Chapter 10 – English Translation
The troll salivated at the thought of avenging its fallen leader—and of taking a juicy bite out of Arin’s soft flesh.
With every step the troll took, the ground trembled. Feeling the vibrations, Arin bolted in terror. Ever since being stranded on this deserted island, she felt like all she ever did was run for her life.
She reached out, frantically pushing away the branches obstructing her view. One she failed to dodge slashed across her cheek, leaving a bright red cut.
The wound was deeper than expected, and a bead of blood formed before falling to the ground. The moment the droplet hit the dirt, the troll licked its lips and roared.
“Graaaah!”
“Eeeek!”
Arin stumbled, her footing lost. She could hear the troll’s smacking lips right behind her. Gasping for breath, she felt the helplessness of the weak closing in on her.
She struggled to her feet in desperation, but the troll’s club was already cutting through the air with a heavy whoosh.
So this is how I die… beaten to a pulp.
Facing death, a surge of reckless courage erupted inside her.
Dead is dead, doesn’t matter how. Might as well go all in.
Sure, being sliced to death by Deneb wasn’t appealing either, but becoming troll food? Absolutely not.
She wasn’t entirely unafraid of him watching her, but she believed there had to be a reason why he hadn’t killed her yet. She just hoped it wasn’t something simple. This was Arin’s gamble.
“Altair!”
Her voice rang out across the forest.
“I know you’re watching! I won’t run anymore. Please—just let me live!”
The troll’s club was right in front of her nose. Feeling death imminent, she squeezed her eyes shut and screamed:
“Deneb…!”
But the pain never came.
Instead, something hot and metallic splattered across her cheek. At the same moment, the troll let out a monstrous shriek that echoed across the island.
“GRAAAAAGH!”
Arin peeked one eye open and saw the troll writhing in pain before collapsing.
Thud.
Its massive green body hit the ground, sending up a cloud of dust that enveloped where Arin had fallen.
“Cough, cough!”
She sat back against a tree trunk, coughing violently. Tears welled up in her eyes, probably from the dust. Through the blur, she saw a pair of eyes looking only at her.
A large, firm hand reached for her face. Arin flinched and shut her eyes tight. But he only wiped the troll’s blood off her cheek with a rough swipe and then chuckled.
“Hide-and-seek over?”
He probably thought he was being kind, but to Arin, it felt absolutely awful.
“…Shit.”
The curse slipped from her lips without passing through her brain.
“What was that?” Deneb asked.
Arin looked down silently—a gesture of submission, begging for her life.
“Tch.”
That sound of disapproval was the last straw. Stress, resentment, and frustration boiled over. Arin, now pushed to her breaking point, snapped back with fury.
“Did you just tch me? Are you serious right now?”
“…”
“Why are you doing this to me?! First, you try to kill me, and now you stalk me like you’ve got some kind of complex. What the hell do you want?!”
“…”
“Say something!”
“…”
“AAARGH! Stop staring and just say something already! What do you want from me, you psycho?!”
Shaking with rage, Arin kicked at the tree behind her. Most of the kicks missed, but it was obvious just how furious she was.
Deneb calmly watched every movement, then casually sat atop the troll’s corpse. He scratched near his eye with a finger and finally spoke.
“I never intended to kill you.”
Arin froze and looked at him.
He looked indifferent and strangely alluring, lounging on a fallen troll. His pant legs had ridden up, revealing sharp, slender ankles.
He pulled something out from his coat.
“You wanted this, didn’t you? I was going to give it to you.”
In his large palm sat a mana stone.
“What’s in it for you?”
“What I want is simple. Just one thing. Don’t…”
His golden irises flared beneath dark pupils. His tongue licked across his lips with a strange sensuality.
“…run away from me again.”
A chill ran down Arin’s spine. She couldn’t understand why he was so obsessed with her.
“I don’t get any of this. None of it.”
“You’re dumber than I thought.”
That blunt insult made Arin bristle.
“Then explain it so even a dumbass like me can understand.”
She’d said it without thinking and instantly clapped a hand over her mouth. Deneb twisted his lips into a grin and calmly began to explain.
Two hundred years ago, there was an alchemist sect that abducted humans and implanted them with monster parts. Ever since, alchemy had been considered a demonic art.
Because of this stigma, alchemy had become a forbidden practice and eventually faded into obscurity. Over time, it disappeared, with no apprentices to carry it on.
But not completely.
Some people were born with innate alchemical abilities. They could sense the cracks and balances in the world as easily as breathing. Their powers were remarkable—but their lives were often short. Because they couldn’t hide their powers, most were shunned or killed in isolation at a young age.
While being born with magic was considered a blessing, being born with alchemy was treated like a curse.
“I don’t care if it’s alchemy or anything else. What matters is that your ability can heal me.”
“I’m not sure if you saw clearly last time, but this isn’t a complete cure.”
Arin pulled up her system window.
System: Survival Backpack
Energy Tonic: Temporarily enhances mana flow and bodily constitution, granting improved health for 24 hours.
Cooldown per capsule: 24 hours.
“The cooldown… it’s like how long you have to wait before using a skill again. So that means I can only give you one dose per day.”
“If the effect lasts 24 hours, the timing works out. No problem.”
“Well, yeah, but—”
Arin spoke carefully, masking her real motive.
“That mana stone… I was after it to upgrade my abilities. If I have more of those, I might be able to give you better medicine.”
Without hesitation, Deneb placed the mana stone into her hand.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll get you as many as you need.”
Hearing those words from the strongest character in the novel made Arin feel unexpectedly reassured. She tucked the mana stone carefully into her bag.
“Looking forward to working together,” she said.
Deneb held out his hand for a handshake. When she hesitantly reached out, he grabbed her hand and clasped it firmly.
Their fingers locked tightly.
“Let’s work well together.”
And just like that, Arin and Deneb had formed an alliance.
Deneb would protect her, and she would provide him with medicine. Once he recovered enough, their first goal would be to teleport off the island.
Arin thought things would go smoothly now that she had the mana stone—but she couldn’t breathe under the weight of the stares, stares, stares.
Deneb wasn’t even trying to hide it. His gaze burned into her like a spotlight, and Arin wanted to gouge out his eyeballs.
While fixing the bedding, she whipped around and glared at him, trying to say cut it out. She didn’t go full intensity, though—she wasn’t ready to die.
God! Why does he keep staring?!
Deneb’s chapped lips parted, and he murmured something cryptic.
“I’m craving it today.”
“…?”
His golden irises shimmered in the black of his eyes.
“Fish.”
Excuse me? Is he comparing my swollen eyes to a fish now?
Annoyed, Arin aggressively rolled up her sleeping bag and stuffed it into her pack. Don’t flash your lazy muscles and talk about fish, you villain!
Her eyes shot daggers at him.
Just wait. Once I absorb that mana stone, you’ll be polishing my boots.
The only reason Arin hadn’t upgraded her abilities yet was simple: his damn gaze.
As long as he was watching her, she couldn’t access her upgrade menu. If he saw that her ability was tied to her backpack, she’d be tortured to death on the spot.
She was being cautious—but that didn’t mean she wasn’t fuming inside.
Her heart had grown tough from surviving countless crises. No wonder she’d started speaking informally to Deneb.
“I’m going to wash up at the creek. Want to catch some fish?”
This was her last resort.
I’ll pretend to wash, and absorb the mana stone.
“Let’s wash together.”
Arin blurted out what she really thought:
“Don’t you have any sense of modesty?!”
“…?”
