Chapter 9
Though it had only a minor role in the novel, it was written that the troll chieftain’s wand was embedded with a mana stone brimming with magical energy. A mana stone was, quite literally, a stone filled with mana. Arin believed it would raise her mana points.
Atop the altar covered with animal skulls big and small, the troll chieftain sat with his back to Arin. Just beyond his angry, green, heaving back, a faint purple glow emitted from the mana stone.
Arin tiptoed closer, step by careful step, until only two meters remained between her and the chieftain. That’s when it happened. The troll casually stood up, flared his nostrils, and stared directly at her.
‘No way… He couldn’t have…’
But the chieftain stomped toward her, opened his massive jaws, and let out a thunderous roar.
“RAAAAAGH!!”
Thick, slimy spit splattered onto her face. She didn’t even have time to think how disgusting it was. Life and death now hung by a thread.
Arin trusted in the luck that had gotten her this far and in the power of her buff items.
Gripping her sharp MacGyver knife, she twisted her face into a fierce scowl. Her pupils trembled at the thought of killing a living creature for the first time, but her movements held no hesitation.
Arin swung her arm with all her might, aiming at the troll’s thick neck. But her blade slashed through nothing but empty air.
“Ah!”
The momentum knocked her off balance and she tumbled forward. The chieftain looked down at her with a smug expression, as if magic wasn’t even necessary, and raised his massive fist.
‘If that hits me, I’ll die!’
Arin rolled to the side and clawed at the dirt. A small handful of gritty soil gathered in her palm. Praying it would work, she flung it at the troll’s eyes.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’
It was as if he had a magic shield over his eyes—completely unaffected. She cursed internally, but her whole body trembled like a leaf in the wind.
The furious chieftain raised his wand high. He meant to tear her apart with magic.
But what was torn apart wasn’t the insignificant creature before him—it was himself.
“GRARGH!”
Arin stood frozen as the troll’s body shattered into dust and scattered. The grotesque and brutal sight made her gag.
“Ugh…”
“What a mess. I only reflected the spell and still had to witness that.”
Standing nobly beneath the moonlight was Deneb.
With a flick of his index finger, blue flames engulfed the chieftain completely. Not even a speck remained, as if he had never existed.
Arin felt a wave of despair that the enemy she had fought so hard to defeat vanished with just a single gesture.
“Tsk.”
At the sound of his tongue clicking, she instinctively looked at Deneb. His throat bobbed roughly.
“So this is all you managed to find?”
In his hand was the mana stone she had desperately sought.
“I could give you thi—”
But before her brain could process anything, her body was already moving. As Deneb spoke, Arin turned and sprinted away like mad.
‘I have to run. As far as possible.’
She rolled, stumbled, and ran until she finally reached the cave in the rocky hills. After checking that Deneb wasn’t nearby, she let out a sigh of relief.
“I-I survived. Hah…”
Drip. Drop. The salty tang of tears slid from the corners of her eyes. She had held back so well until now, but once the tears began, they wouldn’t stop. Fat, wet drops soaked her pale cheeks.
“Waaaaah! What did I do to deserve this?!”
She sobbed uncontrollably.
“Nothing goes right… hic I keep getting chased and almost die. What did I do wrong to end up stranded on a deserted island…”
Arin clung to her system backpack like it were a person, burying her face in it and sobbing.
“Why… Whyyy! Why this godforsaken place?!”
Why here of all places?!
Arin, with puffy eyes, gently washed her face with bottled water. The sting at the corners of her eyes reminded her she had cried too much.
“It hurts…”
Her mind returned to the image of the troll’s death the night before.
“But if I’d been caught, it would’ve hurt a whole lot more.”
She slumped down on the cave floor with heavy limbs. Ever since Deneb had found out about the mana circle healing potion, everything had spiraled downward.
Her plan had been to absorb the mana stone to raise her mana points and then upgrade the system using those points.
If her body was bound to the system, even Deneb wouldn’t kill her—he’d need her for healing.
“But now I’ve lost the mana stone. My life is seriously screwed.”
She had even left Yellow behind in her rush to escape. Munching a mixed nut pack from her bag, Arin began to brainstorm.
How could she increase her mana points and bind her body to the system? Would Deneb find her here? Could she stay in this cave? How would she meet up with Yellow again?
Her mind was so cluttered she felt the need to refresh. Hoping the greenery would clear her head, she stepped out of the cave toward the forest.
As she walked, something bumped against her foot.
“What’s this?”
Crouching down, she found something delicately wrapped in leaves. Carefully unwrapping it, she discovered a piece of well-trimmed, glistening meat.
“This is…”
A shiver ran down her spine as a memory flashed in her mind.
“Haha… Why is this here?”
Only one creature on the island prepared meat like this.
Arin bolted out of the cave and looked around frantically. Just as she feared, she locked eyes with a wild-looking man draped in bearskin like a cape.
“He—He’s here!”
Screaming, Arin spotted Deneb staring down at her from a thick tree branch and took off running. Her backpack bounced violently with every panicked stride.
Deneb watched her go, his gaze cool and unreadable.
“She’s running away… again.”
It no longer mattered whether the chicken or the egg came first. What bothered him was her attitude—like he was some kind of filthy villain. His lip twisted into an exaggerated smirk.
Arin hadn’t noticed, but Yellow had been hiding under the tree Deneb stood on. The creature’s eyes rolled nervously as it tried to back away. But as soon as it showed signs of fleeing, Deneb’s mana surged violently. Yellow quickly stopped and obeyed.
Deneb contemplated how to make Arin come to him willingly. Just then, he sensed a familiar presence approaching and an idea dawned on him. The tension in his brow eased slightly.
“She’ll come find me on her own.”
With a flick of his fingers, he and Yellow vanished into mist—he had teleported.
Moments later, a troll arrived at the scene where its chieftain had been slain, clutching a massive club, searching for clues of what had killed its leader.
Meanwhile, Arin had left the cave, heading toward Yellow’s old den. She thought perhaps he might’ve returned there.
The journey hadn’t been long when she was with him, but going alone, she’d gotten lost and hadn’t arrived yet.
“Was it this way?”
Flap. Flap. Strange noises flapped behind her and she whipped around.
“Oh, just a bird.”
She knew she was being jumpy over a bird’s wings. But ever since she left the cave, she’d felt like someone was always nearby. Maybe it was paranoia—but there were a few undeniable signs.
A few nights ago, she’d stayed up fearing danger, but eventually passed out cold. At first, she thought the exhaustion was to blame. But the fire hadn’t gone out all night.
And this morning, while washing her face by the lake, she heard a noise, turned, and found a goblin—dead. Its body was stiff like stone—clearly a magical death.
She felt like she was going to develop a complex. Whoever it was, they weren’t hurting her, just watching. But that alone was terrifying.
Arin was convinced: Deneb was toying with her, driving her mad.
‘Yep. Definitely a villain-class lunatic.’
Whatever his motives, Arin decided to make good use of this small window of time. She needed to find Yellow, secure safety, and gather anything that could boost her mana points.
In the distance, she finally spotted the bushes surrounding Yellow’s den. It had been a long, difficult journey, so relief brought a smile to her face. Arin rushed toward the familiar rocks and trees they used to sleep near.
But her smile quickly froze.
There, standing and waiting for her, was an unexpected green visitor. A troll.
As she took a step back, the troll stepped forward.
It sniffed the air, then grinned wickedly at her. Though it didn’t speak, she could almost hear the words:
“Found you.”
