NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24
Do you know the common point between an electronic ankle bracelet and my demon mark?
If caught, both result in being socially branded a criminal.
However, while the ankle bracelet only brings scorn if caught, I could face execution, making my crime a bigger deal.
It’s quite similar that I can’t remove that brand voluntarily.
There’s one more similarity I found.
Both the electronic ankle bracelet and my demon mark need to be charged.
Though the charging materials are different—an ankle bracelet charges with electricity while my mark charges with sunlight and air.
By the way, during that time, I need to keep my feet on the ground, and open space all around me. Truly ridiculous conditions.
Why do I need to charge this…?
Charging doesn’t mean I can use the demon’s power or anything like that.
Just like the ankle bracelet doesn’t emit lasers from a machine when charged, right?
The reason for charging is somewhat similar to that of the ankle bracelet.
It’s to avoid risks.
An ankle bracelet gets discharged and the police come after you.
As for me, if I can’t charge it, unusual side effects arose in my body.
It’s like being poked repeatedly by a very thin thorn, making the horn mark itch.
In fact, the longer the battery is discharged, the worse the symptoms became. If I leave it too long, it gets painful from the itch alone.
No, honestly, it’s closer to ‘programming’ than ‘charging.’
It’s designed to make me act up regularly to hide my identity.
Going through these annoying symptoms, I felt the intention of this mark.
“Don’t hide that you are a sinner.
Your blood has been tainted with evil since birth. Don’t even dream of hiding among people.”
“Ao, damn…”
Our demon mark is a troublesome friend indeed! It can’t even torment its owner.
Actually, there hadn’t been much to make me feel itchy lately.
Charging happens only once every few weeks.
Charging just means going out, stripping off my shirt, and sunbathing.
Even in winter, it just means sitting near a bonfire and catching some sunlight.
But I haven’t been able to do that lately.
I can’t tell when those otherworlder bastards might show up.
So I had to be very cautious about openly revealing the mark.
And a few weeks passed in such circumstances.
“Sigh…”
Thanks to that, my itchiness daily grew worse.
*
After a light dinner with Yoo Chaerin, the very next day.
Im Haneul immediately lay down in the capsule and logged into the game.
Once her main source of water is released, she’ll be busy again.
She wanted to meet at least once while she still had a bit of time.
She was a user who played the game before becoming an editor.
So she stood in front of the Forbidden Forest, lightly gathering some items.
A low-level wizard robe, a beginner’s magic wand, a fatigue potion, and a low-grade mana potion.
Nothing that would hurt her if she died; she was well-prepared.
“But, how do I get in…?”
Standing in front of the forest, she began to worry a bit.
Her level exceeded 60, but it was still woefully inadequate to penetrate the Forbidden Forest by sheer force.
Neither had she learned to hide like a rogue class, so she was bound to be blocked right from the start.
“…Hmm.”
Of course, she didn’t come here without any plan.
It was a bit unsettling, but she had prepared a strategy.
Among wizards, she was rare in focusing primarily on support magic.
She was skilled in support and defense rather than direct combat.
And among her support spells, there were a few that seemed fun, albeit not very effective.
One of the recent spells she learned was ‘Flight’.
Although it consumed a lot of mana and was of little use in combat,
it might help her pass through the Forbidden Forest.
‘It should be possible…?’
She felt a bit anxious.
How would she maintain visibility below flying in the trees, and what would happen if her mana ran out?
‘Well, somehow it’ll work out.’
She didn’t think too deeply.
If she calculated everything, she wouldn’t be able to take even a step forward.
Since NPCs were rare to meet, it would be nice if she met one, but if not, it was okay too.
Thinking like that, she began to fly.
Unaware of how vast the forest was.
Just a few hours later, she would find herself falling down, completely out of mana in the forest’s center.
*
Pak-! Pak-!
Today’s a tree-felling day.
No matter how warm the weather gets and spring arrives, fire is essential.
To live, one needs to eat, and to eat, one must cook.
And cooking ultimately requires fire.
Recently, the firewood she had stockpiled was running low.
The bonfire she’d lit throughout winter had devoured a great deal of what she had set aside.
She thought she had gathered quite a bit, but it had gone surprisingly quick.
Just when she had the beautiful axe that Kim Mari dropped.
She planned to spend the entire day gathering firewood, with trees all around making it easy to find some.
Puck-! Purrk-!
“…Ugh.”
But there was one problem.
With every swing of the axe, her right collarbone kept itching.
The mark that hadn’t been charged for nearly weeks was causing chaos.
An itchy sensation poking repeatedly, irritating her right collarbone.
It felt as if a vibrator was embedded inside her skin.
If it was just for a short while, it would be manageable, but having lingered for almost weeks, the stress was mounting.
The discomfort intensified to the point where it was impossible to ignore.
Especially during the quiet nights when trying to sleep, it even turned into sharp stabs.
Nevertheless, she forced herself to ignore it and continued chopping wood.
After all, she had to get things done.
She aimed to clear her mind by focusing on the sounds outside, like when she went Berserk B.
Pak-! Pak-! Pahrk-!
So, for a while, only the sounds of chopping wood echoed in the quiet forest.
In this calm place, such sounds even seemed loud.
Perhaps because the weather had warmed up quite a bit, she began to sweat after moving around for some time.
Sweat from her brow dripped, soaking her clothes. The thin short-sleeved shirt was getting damp.
As she continued chopping wood for a bit…
The itchiness.
“Aaah!”
Pak-!
Unable to bear the persistent itch, she finally threw the axe away.
I can’t live like this!
If it keeps up like this, I would probably die from stress before knights caught me.
Even if I die, I must resolve this itch!
So, without a second thought, she left the axe behind and dashed into the forest.
The destination was behind her cave—the very spot where she had hung her laundry before.
As mentioned before, that place received the most sunlight.
Because of that, sometimes she’d sunbathe herself there instead of hanging laundry.
After a short run, she saw the spot she desired.
In a world shaded by leaves, a particularly sunny spot stood out.
As soon as she arrived, she prepared to take off her shirt.
“Phew… Phew…”
Though she was a little overwhelmed by impulse, she wasn’t going to mindlessly expose her mark.
She would remain as cautious as possible.
Looking around, she heightened her senses.
The movements of plants nearby, stones rolling on the ground, even the sound of the wind brushing past her ears—all gathered within her senses.
Even if there’s hiding, it can’t conceal everything.
Some sort of traces will be left behind—be it footprints or rustling leaves.
After checking her surroundings for a while, she realized she felt no presence nearby.
At least there were no creatures around her, front, back, or side.
Alright! With this, charging for a moment should pose no issue!
Thinking this, she excitedly stripped off the shirt she wore.
The subtle muscles formed from tough forest living became visible. A cool breeze flowed, soothing the sweat streaming down her body.
It felt like the sun was scratching her itchy parts, gradually easing the discomfort.
Feeling refreshed, she released a sigh.
“Sigh…”
This might be what sex feels like. If it feels this cool, it counts as sex.
So feeling delighted, she indulged in sunbathing for a bit.
Little did she realize, she hadn’t noticed the presence she sought wasn’t around her, but right above her in the sky.
“Huh?”
That strange noise made her tilt her head momentarily.
“Gyaaaah—!”
She discovered something fierce dropping toward her.
*
Thinking of crossing the forest by flight, it seemed to be a misguided thought.
If that was doable, wizard NPCs would have already conquered this forest, right? How did she not realize this?
With the high consumption of mana flying through such a vast forest was indeed too much. The changing winds introduced too many variables.
Only after her mana ran out and she reached the middle layer did Im Haneul realize it.
As the trees grew taller, her altitude kept increasing, and the mana consumption soared.
She had already downed three mana potions, yet her mana was draining rapidly.
To make matters worse, now she was down to her last mana potion.
Swoooosh—
Around that time, the wind blew in and shook her.
Perhaps it was because she was in the skies, the winds felt different.
She frowned.
At this rate, she might drop dead before even meeting that NPC.
“Tch!”
With no other option, she decided to crash to the ground.
It seemed less mana-consuming to drop down than try to balance herself in the air.
Sure, she’d sustain some damage, but it was unavoidable.
Turning off the flight spell, she gathered her mana and began chanting another spell.
As the feeling of weightlessness dissipated, gravity began pulling her down.
With earth rushing up to meet her terrifyingly fast, a primal fear surged within her, causing her to scream.
“Gyaaaaah!”
Then she collided with the ground.
Boom!
A sound erupted and dust billowed high into the air.
A tremendous impact breached her 15% absorption rate. Yet it seems her carefully prepared barrier worked.
Before long, she could regain her senses.
“Ow…”
Holding her head, she briefly scanned the area.
And she saw him. The NPC named Yor staring at her with a pale face.
Strangely, he was shirtless.
“…Wha?”
Her face turned red in an instant.