Chapter 689 – #139_Seven Falls, Eight Rises (3)
#689
1.
After the sparring session, Rinne knelt down and entered a meditative state.
The purpose was to train within her mind.
To reflect on the battles she had fought, to observe her swordsmanship, and to find a better path forward.
The sanctuary where only her sword and herself should exist had become disturbed after taking on a new disciple.
More precisely, after she became certain of his magical amplification, it was no longer a peaceful place.
A choking anxiety and compulsion were binding Rinne.
There was an intentional flaw in Rinne’s brand.
This flaw was not unique to her.
It was the ‘curse of deficiency,’ a spot among the 22 strokes of the brand that all the Sword Witches of the past had possessed.
Because of that curse, Rinne’s five senses and emotional system did not function normally.
The taste of a fine delicacy.
The peace that could be felt in daily life.
The tranquility of being wrapped in a soft comforter.
Even the pleasure that could be obtained through a relationship with a man.
These were not permitted to Rinne.
Because they were all impurities.
Achieving a higher rank and greater strength was the fate and duty of a witch.
Rest makes humans hesitate.
Pleasure makes humans weak.
Tranquility makes humans complacent.
Love makes humans irrational.
Only pure desire born from deficiency makes humans blindly pursue their goals.
Based on this ideology, the Sword Witches of the past had put a leash on themselves to focus solely on one goal without looking elsewhere.
The only peace allowed to Rinne was the sense of stability she could feel when she was certain that she was growing stronger.
That was all.
The reason she repeated grueling training and fought countless witches was the same.
Rinne’s predecessors, and their predecessors, had lived the same lives, and such ideas and attempts could be considered successful.
The Sword Witch had become one of the strongest among countless witches.
However, there was a reason why the curse of deficiency was called a ‘curse.’
A witch’s lifespan is autonomous.
Their spiritual bodies do not age, and their energy does not diminish over time.
Therefore, the average lifespan of a typical witch is about 150 years.
After leisurely completing their research, they would entrust their legacy and grand ambitions to future generations.
But the Sword Witch was different.
Rinne’s predecessor had lived for 42 years after becoming a witch before dying.
Her predecessor had lived for 27 years before passing on the brand.
Except for Rinne, no Sword Witch in history had lived for more than 80 years.
The reason was simple.
Witches were still human.
The basis of their psychology was no different from that of humans.
The human mind balances positive and negative emotions.
Even if something very difficult and painful happens, positive emotions offset it and help with recovery.
However, the psychological balance of the past ‘Samaels’ was completely broken.
All positive emotions were restricted by the curse, while negative emotions were perceived without any filtering.
The compulsion felt when realizing that one was ‘stuck without rising higher’ was not at the level of ordinary self-loathing and anxiety, and painful memories and traumas of the past remained in the memory without fading.
Self-loathing that sucked one into an endless pit of despair.
The sense of loss of being broken down into a worthless existence.
Everything was directed inward without any reduction, becoming a whip that lashed at oneself.
The end of a human who burned through each day based on such self-flagellation could be seen in her predecessors.
Her master, who seemed as if her insides had been eaten away by worms, leaving only the shell, and who self-harmed every night while screaming like a beast, was soon to be Rinne’s future.
Rinne’s exceptional talent and mental strength had endured for hundreds of years without stopping for a single day.
Nevertheless, there were limits in the world.
Rinne had recently seen a wall.
The first time she had felt her own limits.
To Rinne, it was a more terrible prophecy than anything else in the world.
It was like a notice that the terrible nightmare and suffering would soon come.
Rinne’s every action was the struggle of someone cornered, and even if it was a slim chance, Shin Siwoo’s magical amplification was the only way to save Rinne.
“……”
Rinne stared blankly at the cup in front of her.
It was a sake cup filled with clear sake.
She was aware of how shameful it was to intertwine her body with her disciple, to give up a hole that was not originally meant for the insertion of a sexual organ, to be toyed with by vulgar teasing, and to act coquettishly like a courtesan.
If it weren’t for the curse, she would never have done such a thing.
Nevertheless, Rinne would ask her disciple for a night together again tonight.
She couldn’t possibly bring herself to do it sober.
Rinne felt the shame and humiliation more intensely than anyone else.
Because there was no pleasure or love to neutralize such feelings.
Therefore, she decided to seek the help of alcohol, just like yesterday.
The power of drunkenness, which would blur her reason and even make her forget some of her memories, would be helpful.
-Gulp, gulp, gulp
The clear, strong liquor flowed down her throat, setting it ablaze.
Rinne, who only thought of the things she had learned and practiced so as not to forget them, got up.
It was time to head to the battlefield.
2.
The day passed uneventfully.
Well, it wasn’t exactly uneventful.
It was a day of being dragged to the training grounds after only three hours of sleep and getting beaten under the guise of sparring.
“Still, it’s a relief.”
Although he had returned with his bones aching from the beating, what settled in his heart was relief.
Because Rinne had acted the same as usual.
She didn’t end the sparring early under the pretext of researching magical amplification and drag him to the tea room,
nor did she lose control of her strength due to her inability to control her anger.
As if nothing had happened between them, Rinne had only wielded her sword expressionlessly.
When the sparring was over, she had sent Siwoo back to his room with a short ‘good work’ without showing any emotion.
With this, the biggest potential danger had disappeared.
Since life in Hexennacht had become somewhat stable, the biggest variable had been Rinne’s curiosity about magical amplification.
If he could hold out for about another week, he would receive the code for the magic formula that controlled the door that Dorothy would bring.
And in another three or four days, he would establish the dimensional transfer formula.
The remaining event was to compete against Rosie and the Witch Board to win Manya and Malisha.
“…Hmm….”
In the past, he would collapse and fall asleep after sparring, but humans were creatures of adaptation.
Although his mind and body were exhausted from the aftereffects of the recovery magic and the extreme consumption of stamina and magic, he could endure it if he forced himself.
Therefore, he gave up sleep and sat at his desk to study the Witch Board.
One might wonder what kind of grand research was needed for a board game that even apprentice witches could enjoy.
But his opponent was Rosie Alou.
She was a witch who was suspiciously serious about the Witch Board, which was just a game.
She had suppressed Siwoo, who had used the cheat of the Magic Eye, with her skills alone without any tricks.
Even though it was a defeat caused by the advantage of going first or second, he couldn’t go without any countermeasures.
If the outcome was decided by who went first or second, as before, it would be troublesome even if he won.
Didn’t Rosie also demand a rematch with Siwoo as the right of the victor?
If he didn’t win with a clear difference, Siwoo wouldn’t have the justification to demand more than a rematch, that is, Manya and Malisha.
It meant that he had to be serious too.
“Wow, she really was a crazy bitch.”
Siwoo, who was reviewing the previous match in his head while looking at a piece of paper, let out a sigh that was half admiration and half astonishment.
Because the board itself was three-dimensional, the number of possibilities was countless.
There were also very frequent branching points where tactical and strategic modifications were possible.
However, even after repeating the review, it was difficult to find a better move than Rosie’s.
No matter how he looked at it, she only repeated moves that were theoretically perfect.
It was hard to imagine how much time she had put in to gain such skill without the Magic Eye.
“……”
To surpass this, he had to make moves that defied common sense.
That meant he had to deviate from the standard and come up with moves that were better than the standard…
“That’s easier said than done.”
As Diana had said, the standard was a set of general principles created by countless players through trial and error.
The Witch Board was a game where the meta had become stagnant after hundreds of years without a single balance patch.
In the end, just as he was about to go to bed without any significant results, the paper door slid open with a whoosh.
“Follow me.”
It was Rinne, who had changed from her training clothes into a beautiful and elegant black kimono.
He thought she was going to let it slide today, but it wasn’t so?
To think that she would try to cling to him even after seeing that terrible state.
Faced with Rinne’s unexpected fighting spirit, Siwoo quietly followed her.
What on earth did he have to do to shake her off…
If the magical amplification didn’t happen even after all this, he was seriously worried that the arrows of anger would return as karma.
-Creak, creak
The quiet creaking of the floorboards.
The direction of their steps was, of course, towards the garden where the tea room was located.
But…
Rinne’s steps were very strange.
Unlike her usual self, who always walked with her back straight, she was staggering from side to side.
If he tripped her, she would probably fall down with a loud thud.
He hadn’t noticed because the smell was almost non-existent, but she must have drunk alcohol.
“You seem a little drunk, should I support you?”
“I’m fine.”
“How much did you drink?”
“…Three cups.”
“Oh my…”
It was as he thought.
Rinne’s pronunciation was strangely twisted as before, and her eyes, which he had glimpsed, were also hazy.
-Hiccup
A clear and pure hiccup sound like the chirping of insects.
Every time the sound repeated, Rinne’s shoulders could be seen twitching.
After many twists and turns, Rinne arrived at the tea room and immediately loosened her clothes.
Her expression seemed to say that she was too tired for sex and just wanted to sleep right away.
Even though she had only drunk three cups, she was practically wasted in that state.
“Take them off.”
Faced with Rinne’s admirable effort to recover from her mental trauma in just one day and try again, Siwoo quietly sighed.
