HH Chapter 32

It seems like I’ll need to buy more soon. But I couldn’t leave the house without Haylan’s permission.

Supplies were delivered once every two weeks; would it be possible to leave and come back in with them?

“Do you think you can activate that?”

“Huh?”

I’d been doodling a magic circle while lost in thought when Haylan’s voice made me raise my head.

“It’s written in the book, so check it.”

“Check what?”

“The precautions.”

Haylan said, scrunching up the bridge of his nose.

Next to the paper where I was drawing the magic circle, an open book displayed the chapter title, “The Principles of Defensive Magic, Chapter 2: Deploying a Wide-Area Protective Barrier.” 

I skimmed the contents more closely.

【The ‘Wide-Area Protective Barrier’ spell is primarily used to protect a space from external threats. This spell doesn’t reinforce the object itself but aims to defend everything within the area—including the air.
⋮
The barrier can be shattered instantly by even a small crack. Therefore, the key to this spell is a robust structure and precise designation of the effective range.】

‘There are no precautions here.’

What is he talking about?

When I glanced at him, Haylan let out a long, thin sigh as if explaining was too much trouble, flipped the book he was reading over and closed it.

“The designated area is wrong.”

“But I copied it exactly as it was written in the example?”

“That’s why it’s wrong. When would you activate this spell?”

I answered confidently, just as it was written in the book. The keyword was ‘area.’

“If it were me, I would use it when a horde of monsters suddenly attacked our camp in the middle of the night. To buy time. While I protect the camp, my colleagues would prepare for battle.”

Haylan held out a piece of cookie he’d picked up to eat himself. …A reward? I instinctively accepted the cookie and stared blankly at him.

“Defensive magic has almost the same properties as offensive magic. That’s why some argue that it should be called ‘counter-offensive magic’ instead of defensive magic. Because it repels external impacts with equal force….”

“…….”

What’s he going on about?

Haylan, realizing that I’d only understood half of what he said, gave me a pitiful look, cut off his explanation, and got to the point.

“The area you designated is too wide. It would cover this whole house and then some.”

I roughly calculated the volume in my head and nodded. Haylan shot me a displeased look, seeing that I still had no intention of adjusting the area.

“…Defensive magic, especially barriers, cancels out lower-level magic within the area. So, it consumes a lot of mana.”

“Yeah?”

“You can’t do it alone.”

He was certain I would fail.

Probably, Haylan, a living history book, a human magic encyclopedia well-versed in theory, would be more accurate in predicting the probability of success than me, who barely knew anything about magic.

‘Is that so?’

But I’d activated offensive magic with a much wider area than this. I’d never even felt mana consumption.

‘I’m guessing it’s because the system activates it as long as the calculations are correct.’

I didn’t fully understand why I can use magic myself. But one thing was certain; my mana sensitivity is practically zero for a mage. That’s why I couldn’t even measure my rank accurately. The rank-measuring crystal ball remained unresponsive when I touched it. The temple priests called me a “miracle wrought by the gods” and tried to lure me into their lair.

Anyway, that wasn’t important the important part….

Haylan asked me,

“Are you confident in your skills?”

“Not exactly confident… but I’m not completely incompetent either….”

He looked dumbfounded at my rambling trying to evade his question. I scratched the back of my head and asked,

“What will you give me if I activate this as it is?”

“What?”

He said I would fail because of the high mana consumption. He was saying that because Haylan didn’t know me at all. As long as the calculations were correct, the magic circle would definitely activate, even if the formula was unconventional.

However, Haylan was as confident as I was. He snorted and tilted his head.

“I’ll grant you anything.”

“Then can I go outside?”

“Outside?”

He murmured, repeating my words, then chuckled.

“Sure.”

[A sudden mission has occurred!]

[Reward: ‘Permission to Go Outside’ will be granted upon successful completion.]

Even the quest system got excited, stepping in to mediate our bet.

“Then I’ll move it to a bigger space and draw it.”

I got up and started redrawing the magic circle on the floor. Since it was large-scale magic, I had to use my whole body to draw even a single straight line.

Haylan watched me, munching on the few remaining cookies.

“What a waste of time.”

He even muttered it loud enough for me to hear. But I deliberately ignored his words.

My confidence didn’t come from my magic skills. I know better than anyone how this world worked.

In other words, I was putting my faith in the ‘system’s blessing’ that favored the player.

“Done.”

The moment I finished designating the area and lifted the chalk from the floor, the lines I had drawn gradually glowed with a pale yellow light.

The air rippled heavily around where we were sitting, stirring up a gentle breeze.

The formulas interlocked like gears, spinning and clicking perfectly in place. Haylan, who had been watching me with an indifferent expression, sat up when he saw the magic circle continuously activating, but it was too late.

“……?!”

[Deploying wide-area protective barrier.]

[Remaining Duration: 9 minutes, 59 seconds…]

The densely woven barrier pulsed, then expanded its range widely, instantly enveloping the entire mansion.

“Oh my….”

“The air’s sparkling!”

The servants murmured. The air within the barrier shimmered with a mysterious light, mixing with the activated mana. It was like proof that the magic circle had been successfully deployed.

People passing through the hallway peeked into the library and reached out their hands into the air.

[Mission Complete!]

[The effect of ‘Haylan’s Wish Ticket’ has been activated. This effect will remain active until the user’s wish is granted.]

“Just who… are you?”

Haylan looked back at me in shock, and I chuckled, feigning a humble posture. 

I felt good, somehow, like I had won.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

I realized I had caused trouble only when midnight came that day.

Leaving my room as soon as the date changed, I was puzzled to see the door of the room across from mine open.

‘What’s this? All the doors in this house are supposed to be locked….’

The moment I turned my head, I came face to face with the very being I had been so desperate to avoid.

‘A monster?’

It was something incredibly grotesque, neither human nor monster. Something with empty black sockets where eyes should have been stood motionless in the hallway. And the moment its head turned towards me,

“……!”

I couldn’t even scream and died on the spot.

[You have died.]

Its horrifying appearance, incomparable even to Lena’s, was, as it turned out, the ghost of this house.

The ghost, attacking me before I could have a chance to escape, killed me instantly.

The sensation of dying was both familiar and strange every time. The feeling of being lifted, as if my soul is being forcibly ripped from my body… It definitely wasn’t a pleasant sensation.

[The original story is reviving the possessed player.]

[Revived!]

“……!”

Invincibility time. 

As soon as my consciousness returned to my body, I started running towards the library with all my might. The ghost just stood there, where it had sliced me apart.

And as I reached for the library doorknob, I saw the ghost, noticing me, turn its head again.

I fumbled with the key, my hand shaking uncontrollably, and inserted it into the keyhole.

‘The invincibility time is too short!’

Immediately after revival, the player becomes invincible for 10 seconds. During this time, the mansion’s ghost doesn’t recognize the player’s existence, so the player has to get as far away from the ghost as possible or enter a safe zone to reset its hostility.

The ghost was much faster and stronger than I thought. And it looked so terrifying! How am I supposed to avoid that thing?

The library door opened with the click of the latch. I barely managed to throw myself through the doorway, feeling a burning sensation seared my ear as the ghost grazed it.

Drip, drip. 

Feeling the blood trickle down, I raised my hand to cover the wound on my torn ear and collapsed on the spot.

I hadn’t expected to confirm that the library was a safe zone this way. The ghost stared at me through its empty eye sockets, then lingered by the door for a while, as if reluctant to leave, before turning away.

“…….”

I carefully closed the door shut after the grotesque figure disappeared from sight.

I exhaled shakily, catching my breath. My heart was pounding; it was the first time I’d seen something like that. Even after closing the door, I stayed crouched there for a long time, trying to calm my racing heart.

“What are you doing there?”

“……Lenaaaaa….”

I was so disoriented that I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. A familiar voice called from downstairs.

Looking over the stair railing, I saw Lena looking up at me with a puzzled expression.

“What happened to you?”

“Well….”

I stood up, touching my mangled left ear.