OHNIR – Chapter 63
Chapter 63: The Mission
The rose pudding truly lived up to its reputation as the bestseller from the academy’s top dessert shop, sold out the moment it was released. It balanced both flavor and function, making it perfect for the large population of night owls at the academy.
After eating one, Gloria was urged by Kelusta to change out of her long dress. She put on a set of Kelusta’s loungewear and then comfortably commandeered the other’s bed, falling into a deep sleep.
Having served the noble lady tea and water for half the day, Kelusta finally let out a long sigh of relief. She shook her head and yawned, feeling a bit drowsy herself.
After all, she was also just recovering from a serious illness. Even if healing magic left no side effects, it still took time for her body’s functions to fully recover.
But before she could even cast a tentative glance at the small empty space next to Gloria on the bed, the System inconsiderately spoke up, interrupting her latest attempt to take advantage of the other girl.
“According to the settlement system’s check, you have successfully completed the fourth stage mission, 【The Swan's Memory】. Would you like to receive your reward and begin the fifth stage mission now?”
“...The mission’s complete?” Kelusta blinked, then said “Oh,” in realization. “So 【The Swan's Memory】 was referring to those two necklaces... That name is so convoluted. I thought it would be about the Goddesses of Light and Dark. I really didn't think it was about me.”
“This is your world, temporary host,” the System said earnestly. “You are the heroine of the game Oceanum, the center of the world... Based on my many years of on-the-job experience, headquarters rarely issues missions that are completely unrelated to the protagonist. I suggest that in the future, when you encounter mission names that are difficult to deduce, it’s best to start by guessing from your own perspective.”
Kelusta nodded and said with a smile, “Thank you for your guidance, Old Sy. Let’s start the settlement.”
“Command accepted. Settling the fourth stage mission... It has been detected that the temporary host has completed the important plot point 【The Swan's Memory】 and successfully recovered her lost memories. Distributing rewards now...”
“...Confirmed. The fourth stage mission reward, 【Gathering Magic Circle ×1】, has been issued.”
“Wait, a Gathering Magic Circle?” Kelusta propped her chin on her hand, looking puzzled. “Why does that sound so familiar?”
The System hesitated for a moment before explaining, “A ‘Gathering Magic Circle’ refers to a sacred space drawn by a mage using a good conductor of a certain type of magical power, capable of casting powerful magic.”
The moment it finished speaking, Kelusta’s brow furrowed, and her expression instantly darkened.
With the System’s explanation, she immediately realized why the term felt so strangely familiar. It was because—
In the original game, a “Gathering Magic Circle” drawn with the blood of several hundred people as its conduit was the main culprit behind the destruction of Seaside Town.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to suppress the complex emotions swirling within her, and asked with relative composure, “In the original world line, was the magic circle Gloria used to seize the Holy Force Source the same ‘Gathering Magic Circle’ you’re talking about?”
“Yes, and no,” the System replied.
“In this world, a ‘Gathering Magic Circle’ is equivalent to a ‘template’ that can be applied at any time. It can only act as a vessel for a spell; it cannot exert any magic on its own.”
Kelusta blinked blankly and suggested, “That’s too abstract. Be more specific.”
“Alright—for example, in the original world line, the magic circle the Goddess of Deceit’s faction used on Seaside Town was fused with a dark spell that had a ‘ritual summoning’ effect. It used the townspeople’s blood as both the drawing medium and the sacrifice, thereby successfully creating a complete magic circle to summon the Holy Force Source.”
“Got it,” Kelusta said. “So, this reward is just an empty shell for now? To make it work, I have to fuse a spell into it first to form a complete magic circle, right?”
“Eighty percent correct,” the System added. “But this reward has a special feature compared to Gathering Magic Circles produced within this world: the temporary host can find a spell you deem valuable and fuse it with this reward. You can then create and deploy a complete magic circle with the same effect as the spell, without needing a conduit.”
Kelusta thought for a moment, then ventured, “So you’re saying... I don’t have to draw the circle myself? And any spell can be fused into it?”
“You can understand it that way.”
This undoubtedly loosened many restrictions. After all, not all spells could be used as a magic circle. Otherwise, the ever-cautious Goddess of Deceit wouldn’t have resorted to such a troublesome and conspicuous method as slaughtering a town to obtain the Holy Force Source; any simple condensation spell would have sufficed.
Moreover, a magic circle used to cover the entirety of Seaside Town would be massive. Even if Kelusta created a complete circle, finding a suitable conduit to draw it with would take a great deal of effort.
The reward from the System undoubtedly gave her a greater chance of obtaining the Holy Force Source before the Goddess of Deceit.
“I understand.” Knowing this half-good, half-bad news, the brown-haired girl’s expression relaxed slightly. Though still not great, it was no longer as grim as when she had just mentioned the destruction of her hometown. “While I have to praise this ‘perk,’ you guys really don’t let a person rest for a moment... It looks like I’ll have to dive right back into searching for a suitable spell?”
There was only one moment when a Gathering Magic Circle would be needed: during the massive battle on the coast that would erupt when the various factions began to vie for the Holy Force Source.
Before the Goddess of Deceit could fuse a spell and create the magic circle capable of destroying Seaside Town, Kelusta had to find a suitable method faster than her to extract the Holy Force Source safely and completely.
To achieve this, she would have to search through every spell on the Nobili continent and select one capable of collecting divine power—a task that was nothing short of monumental.
There was an even worse possibility... that among all existing spells, not a single one could extract the Holy Force Source from deep beneath Seaside Town without causing harm.
Though Kelusta appeared relaxed, in reality, she didn’t have a single clue.
Seeing Kelusta remain silent for a long time, her expression growing more and more solemn, the System knew that this dedicated temporary host was once again worrying about the mission. It couldn’t help but divert her thoughts. “Detected successful trigger of the fifth stage mission node. Does the temporary host wish to receive it now?”
Kelusta was taken aback. She came back to her senses and, after a long moment, let out a soft sigh.
Fine, if I can’t figure it out, I might as well not think about it.
“I’ll receive it,” she said with a wry smile. “There’s always a way out when you get there. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
She would just take it one step at a time.
The System sighed along with her. After racking its brain for a long time and failing to come up with any comforting words, it reluctantly gave up the opportunity to be a spiritual guide. It began to read the data bytes of the newly transmitted mission step by step and announced them to the temporary host, who was forcing herself to be optimistic.
A translucent screen appeared before Kelusta’s eyes, materializing bit by bit like toothpaste being squeezed from a tube, in sync with the System’s electronic voice.
“Request accepted. Releasing mission...”
“Main Mission: Unlock the 【Secret of the Gods】 True Ending route. Method of Completion (Stage Five): Raise the favorability score of important capture target Gloria Silentdis to 70.”
“Wait—what, 70!” the favorability-impoverished host exclaimed in shock. “Why don’t you just rob me?”
“Robbing isn’t as fast as this...” the System said subconsciously, but upon seeing the fire practically shooting from Kelusta’s eyes, it quickly corrected itself. “Ahem, my apologies. What I meant to say was—Gloria’s current favorability is already as high as 56 points. As long as you keep up the effort, reaching 70 should only be a matter of time.”
“Easier said than done,” Kelusta scoffed. “Although the higher the value, the easier it is for favorability to increase, with Gloria’s strange temperament... I can only pray that I don’t have to drag this out for another year just for these fifty-something points.”
The favorability detection system was linked to the subjective judgment of the capture target. As long as Gloria herself felt she hadn’t reached a certain stage with Kelusta, or if she was hesitating about taking their relationship further, the value would remain stuck in a state of limbo.
So... for a capture target with such a peculiar personality, whether the favorability increased, and by how much, was all up to chance.
“Ahem, relax, temporary host... In my experience, no host has ever encountered such an unlucky situation,” the System soothed. “You don’t have to be so pessimistic. Now that her memories have returned and she has awakened her Light magic, she most likely won’t be so devoted to the Goddess of Deceit anymore... In that case, your relationship with Gloria will only progress by leaps and bounds. It certainly won’t be as difficult as before.”
“I hope so.” Kelusta glanced back at the silver-haired girl’s peaceful sleeping face, sighed helplessly, and murmured, “I hope that this time, she can choose to stand by my side...”
Gloria was at a crossroads in her life.
Should she continue to assist the Goddess of Deceit, earning the glory of aiding a new ruler, and extend her family’s century-long honor once the goddess became the sovereign?
Or should she choose to follow a girl with nothing to her name, risking her life, family fortune, and friends being destroyed, to protect a small town that meant nothing to her?
For an adult, the stance of light or darkness was hardly worth mentioning. Kelusta didn’t even dare to deeply anticipate Gloria’s choice—she was afraid that after all her efforts, she would still end up on the opposite side of the duke’s daughter.
Similarly, until Gloria officially made her stance clear, even Kelusta’s own romantic feelings could only be deeply suppressed in her heart.
The brown-haired girl lowered her eyes, her mind in turmoil, but her red lips remained tightly sealed, not uttering a single word for a long time.
Comments
Post a Comment