The worst thing about nightmares was that you couldn’t escape them even if you closed your eyes.

Yuria Greyhounder's dreams were no different.

[Young Lady, why… Why?]

The restless voices of the dead constantly echoed in her ears. The smell of blood lingered on her hands, and she couldn't even tell whose pieces of flesh were at her feet.

Corpses formed a mountain.

And everything was her doing.

The gardener who cultivated a small bonsai with her, the housekeeper who made her favorite carrot cake for dessert with a warm smile, and the maid who always nagged her but was worried about her wellbeing.

All of them.

She cut down everyone.

Just because they were within three steps of her.

“…”

She screamed at the top of her lungs.

I didn't mean to. I didn't want this to happen.

No, never.

Shedding tears of blood, she pleaded while vomiting.

However, not a single word reached them.

Her mouth wouldn't open.

Everyone glared at her with resentful eyes, wishing upon her curses as they morphed into a cold corpse.

Then, she saw a man emerging from the sea of bodies.

A robe of pure gold. A pure white wand. A swinging rosary.

A man boasting a perfect beauty as if he was meticulously created by a God.

Yuria knew who it was.

The Pope. The pinnacle of all religious figures in this era.

[Are you still hoping for someone to save you?]

An eerie sound, like a jade bead rolling on a tray, echoed out.

[Are you still hoping to get close to someone?]

However.

To her, it was the voice of a predator that made her body shake just by hearing it.

[You cursed apotropaic.]

She dreamed of this.

Always.

[You will be alone until you die.]

It ended with the Pope's whisper.

“…!”

Her eyes opened with a shallow scream.

Her whole body was drenched in cold sweat.

“…”

Yuria Greyhounder rubbed her face and looked out the window.

Fortunately, she hadn't overslept.

Her day always started at a regular time.

Living a self-sufficient life in a place far from people forces even a refined greenhouse flower to get accustomed to life in the wild.

Through the window, she caught a glimpse of the Academy building.

A civilized society filled with vibrant energy.

“…”

Yuria averted her dry gaze from that direction.

She had no time for such places. She had a mountain of tasks to accomplish.

She needed to reinforce her tent, check the traps and snares she set up to catch prey, and also wash the clothes she had been wearing for a week.

That was her life. A savage living in a place completely disconnected from society with zero human interaction.

A sparkling and brilliant civilization awaited her, and it was only half a day's walk away. However, she was never a human who could approach it.

Curse of Severance. The bondage of a lifetime of isolation.

She just needed to do her role, and today was no exception.

Yes. That was how it should be.

“Are you awake?”

“…”

That was what would have happened if it had not been for this strange man, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

A masked face, an altered voice.

‘…Uh?’

She knew this person. More precisely, she recognized that familiar mask.

This was the person who visited her once before and gave her delicious snacks.

And he also said that he knew something about her and her sister.

Recalling such information, Yuria instinctively calculated the distance between herself and this man with sleepy eyes.

Three steps, then.

'He came closer!'

“…!”

Again, she violently drew her sword out against her will.

Her face turned pale after seeing the sword lunging towards the man at lightning speed.

This time, once again.

She was about to kill someone again against her will.

“That's right.”

However, the man pulled out the sword he had prepared as if he had been waiting for this.

Then, he effortlessly parried her attack.

Continuing on, he stood his ground and blocked her successive strikes.

As if he had intended to do so from the beginning.

After the continuous exchange of blows, he swiftly went outside the three-step range when he slowly started getting pushed back.

“…This should be enough. It's enough to withstand it, and I'm getting closer..."

He mumbled something with a satisfied tone.

As if her attacks were worth receiving.

“…”

Yuria was stunned for a moment as she alternately looked at her sword and the man.

It wasn’t the first time she'd seen someone receive her attack. Especially if it was about three steps.

The way her sword worked was the closer the opponent, the more her combat abilities increased. Likewise, the farther the opponent within her range, the less powerful her attacks were.

The problem was...

‘This is the second time, isn’t it?’

On their first meeting, this man also got attacked after closing the distance.

That was why she understood when he completely disappeared afterward.

“…”

— You will be alone until you die.

The sentence she always heard in her dreams replayed in her mind.

That was right. She knew very well that it was her destiny.

After all, who on earth would want to get entangled with someone who would slice them up if they get even an inch closer than permitted?

“Yeah. Judging from your swings, you seem healthy. Have you been well?”

Except for this strange man in front of her.

As Yuria looked at the man with a perplexed expression, he slumped down and caught his breath.

It seemed that the intense exchange they just had exhausted him considerably.

[…What is, what the hell?]

Characters formed by manifesting her divine power floated before her eyes.

As someone afflicted by the Curse of Severance, she couldn't use her vocal cords. That was the reason why she was communicating this way.

It was a question filled with complex doubts.

'What's the point of doing this? What the hell are you doing?'

Last time, he just disappeared and didn’t come back for a while. Then, he suddenly came back with a sword and started competing against her.

Moreover, he skillfully maneuvered within her danger zone.

As if he knew about her curse.

‘…No, what is it really?’

Truly, his existence was just incomprehensible.

“Didn’t I tell you before? I'll occasionally come to bring you food.”

However, the other party simply replied nonchalantly.

In fact, along with those words, a lunch box filled with food slid towards her.

“Eat. I'm taking my leave. Someone will get angry if I stay for too long.”

“…”

Yuria blankly stared at the man as he left.

'What kind of person is he, really?'

The day passed just like that.

She spent the rest of the day pondering over thoughts of that man while attending to her tasks.

‘What's going on? What kind of person is he?’

She was accustomed to the solitary life. She had plenty of time for thinking.

‘It's probably just a whim.’

In the evening, she successfully came to that conclusion just before she was about to sleep and went to bed with a satisfied smile. It was the result of thinking only of him for nine hours.

Yeah, that was right. He hadn’t shown himself for a while after visiting her once.

It would probably be the same this time.

[…You're here again?]

However, the next morning, the man came in the same way.

At the same time, she woke up, with the same sword, and at the same distance.

Briefly engaging in combat, and then withdrawing.

Finally, he threw her some food and disappeared.

“…”

Yuria pondered as she stared at the lunchbox left behind by the man.

Yesterday, it was nine hours. Today, it was twelve.

Her brain, which had rarely been put to use due to living a monotonous savage life, was being pushed to its limits.

‘Could there be something special that he wants from me?’

She thought of a reasonable hypothesis.

The first time they met, he said he was asked by someone to take care of her. It seemed that there had been a recent change in that regard.

‘…But what's with the sword fight?’

In the end, she couldn't reach a conclusion until she fell asleep.

“Are you awake?”

The next day, the man came again.

Following the same routine, he tossed her a lunchbox.

“Hey, do you know?”

But this time, he didn't leave right away and engaged in small talk with her.

It was simply some trivial conversation.

He talked about the happenings at the Academy, the current nice weather, and something he found amusing recently.

Really, it was a dreary story with no value whatsoever.

She didn’t even respond. She didn't know anything, so she had nothing to give back. Meanwhile, the man just told his stories as he pleased.

“…”

However, for Yuria, who had not had the opportunity to interact with people for a long time...

It felt like she was finally having a human conversation for the first time in a long while.

“Hey!”

However, perhaps because the man stayed longer than usual, someone came to pick him up.

It was someone Yuria knew: Headmistress Atalante.

She was the person who provided Yuria with a place to hide and stay.

“I warned you not to stay for too long! How many times have I told you that if someone like you gets hurt, it will cause a big problem…!”

“It’s a bit too rude to just exchange swords and then leave. And it's not dangerous if I chat a little farther away. I'm just being friendly, so what are you getting so antagonistic about?”

“You always like to talk misleadingly! I’m telling you not to stay long because I’m afraid you’ll cause an accident while talking nonsense!”

"...I can't argue with that."

Yuria heard such a conversation in the distance as the man got dragged away by Atalante.

It was probably a conversation they were having thinking she wouldn't hear them, but it was futile because Yuria was keenly listening.

‘A student, huh?’

She managed to gather a few fragmented pieces of information.

He obviously knew about her curse.

He was a student at the Academy and someone impressive enough for Atalante to personally take care of.

And yet...

He wanted to be friends with someone like her.

“…”

— You will be alone until you die.

Once again, that sentence came to mind. Yuria chuckled to herself.

She knew that.

That was why she had no intention of harboring such futile hope of it actually happening.

She was just curious, that was all.

Like what could he be thinking?

And so, she spent almost the entire day thinking about that person.

Continuously, endlessly.

About the mysterious masked student.

‘…I don’t know anything.’

Similar days followed with the same pattern.

They clashed swords, and he handed her a lunchbox. They chatted briefly, and then he disappeared.

She didn't understand why he kept wearing a mask, nor did she have an idea of who asked him to come give her food every day.

Even more, he kept entering within her range despite fully knowing the viciousness of her curse.

Saying ‘I want to be friends’ while getting stabbed felt incomprehensible.

There was nothing she could find out.

Even after contemplating for 22 hours and sacrificing sleep, she made no significant progress in her mind. It just gave her a headache.

‘Will he come again tomorrow?’

On that day, she had this thought before going to bed.

As if, even just a little.

As if she were hoping he would come again.

***

“…That wasn't too bad, right?”

I mumbled while taking off the mask.

The fastest way to mastering any skill, as I said before, was engaging in real combat against strong opponents.

In that regard, Yuria confidently ranked at the top in what the players call a Skill Grinding Optimization NPC.

Because despite her being ridiculously strong, one could end the fight by controlling the distance.

By continuing to engage in constant battles, one could rapidly increase their Attribute level.

Moreover, the closer the distance, the more her combat power increased. Once I had accumulated enough proficiency to withstand the current distance, I could simply get closer and further accelerate the growth of my Attributes.

That was what I had been doing all along.

‘There…’

It was risky as she came straight for my life, but from my point of view, the more dangerous it was, the better my stats. So it didn't really bother me that much.

Because I wouldn’t be able to use my swordsmanship attribute properly if my stats were lacking. Given my horrendous stats that barely allowed me to swing a sword, let alone wield it, this was actually a cheat.

‘…And, well. I've got safety measures in place.’

Thinking so, I looked at the illusion mask in my hand.

This was the same mask I wore the first time I met her.

It was a must-have item for the so-called Yuria Skill Grinding Mechanic.

This was a tip that only veteran players knew. Due to the Curse of Severance, the automatic attacks were slightly less powerful if the opponent had their face covered.

'But... there was some reason for it.'

If used properly, it was helpful in the finale of Chapter 2. However, I couldn’t remember what it was.

It looked very trivial, yet it was so important…

‘…I’ll think about it later.’

I'd definitely remember it when the time came to use it.

But for now, I had other matters to attend to.

System Notification

[ Inspection Successful! ]

[ Attribute: Tristan Style Swordsmanship Proficiency Increased. ]

[ Proficiency Upgraded! ]

[ Attribute Grade promoted from Basic to General! ]

< Mastery Info >

[ Tristan Style Swordsmanship ] [ Grade: General ]

[ Current Proficiency: 0% ]

[ Master Sword Technique of the Tristan Duke Family. ]

[ ■ Can exert a certain level of power regardless of weapon. ]

[ ■ When equipped with a longsword, can use Deflect. ]

[ ■ When equipped with a longsword, can partially ignore the opponent's defense and inflict damage. ]

“…”

The speed of progression was unusually fast.

Even though I had some prior accumulation of proficiency, going from Basic to General proficiency in just seven days was a crazy achievement.

Wasn't it supposed to take at least a month?

‘And the listed effects…’

Deflection was a common parrying technique in the game. By timing the defense against the opponent's attack, one could negate damage and gain a turn to counter-attack.

The ability to ignore defense and inflict damage.

It was exactly as described. It was simple yet powerful.

‘…Alright, then.’

These two things should be sufficient. I could consider all the preparations done.

< Gift-Related Character Alert >

♥ Eleanor Elinalise La Tristan

[ Love Level 1 ]

[ Exclusive Quest Curse Inheritance has been created! ]

[ Exclusive Quest-related Event will occur in D-1 ]

▼ Gideon Galestead La Tristan

[ Curiosity Level 1 ]

[ Exclusive Quest Curse Inheritance has been created! ]

[ Exclusive Quest-related Event will occur in D-1 ]

To get the results I want in tomorrow's Class Observation event.

“…I should go to bed early today.’

The accumulated fatigue in my body from fighting Yuria every day was no joke.

I fell asleep as soon as I got back to the dorm.

Then...

System Message

[ Skill: Fatal Charm has been Activated! ]

[ The Villain's favor has greatly increased! ]

[ Target Yuria's favorability raised to Interest Level 1! ]

[ Rewards are available in the Gift Tab! ]

I was greeted by such a message the next morning.

“…”

'What the hell is this?'