256. Arya’s Test – (2)
***
good.
The sound of the teacup placed on the table was exceptionally loud.
“thank you.”
“no. take it easy.”
Chunseong cautiously looked around the inside while carefully lifting the teacup she handed him.
—-The top floor of the Magic Tower.
The splendor of Arya’s space was indescribable.
Luxurious items of extreme luxury and sophistication were scattered all over the place.
Even small items in a common cabinet can feel the unusual energy.
‘Everything is magic items that can be compared to magic engineering items… .’
Unbeknownst to me, such a thought occurred to me. There are obviously numerous items tightly packed in the space, but each of them was close to a special artifact.
So I felt overwhelmed just by looking around.
Even in the Empire’s royal family, magical engineering items were considered a great treasure and were rarely given.
Even Kali, who has made great achievements, is only lending magic engineering items in the form of lending. The items in this room now were that there were a lot of items that could be compared to it.
‘Arya is… .’
But even Arya didn’t feel like valuing those items.
Why doesn’t it say that there are people who live in a world completely different from the world they live in? I was fully aware of it now.
In addition, the many mages I met before coming here. I vaguely sensed that I was envyed and jealous of them just for being by Arya’s side.
They were jealous of me just because I was by her side.
That Arya’s influence is great. and the world she lives in. Calmly reminding myself that even my eye level is completely different from mine… … .
“… … .”
My gaze returned to the woman across from me.
At first glance, between the bright silver hair, she was dignified yet relaxed. There was a strange interest in his gaze as he looked at me.
‘Could there be something I didn’t know about?’
Suddenly, I thought that the way she looked at me from the entrance of the magic tower was different from the way she looked at me now.
I was just trying to straighten out my attitude. It didn’t seem that bad.
“So agar. What did you want to come to me for?”
About an hour has passed since we met at the entrance. I smiled lightly when she finally asked about my purpose.
“It’s nothing else… I looked back at the token you gave me the other day and thought about it. Ariya, I’m not waiting for the Lord of the Wizards to come find me… I’ve received that kind of favor, so I have to show the attitude that I have to go find the Lord of the Wizards first.”
“Are you going to show the right attitude?”
“yes. That’s right.”
While answering calmly, the attitude I decided on was to show her a self-confident attitude that didn’t offend her.
In fact, until I reached this place, there were times when I corrected the trembling of my hands and feet. The eyes of the mages towards me were never filled with goodwill.
Disbelief and hostile gazes.
Even the mages of high level sent such a gaze… I couldn’t take it lightly.
“Huh. That’s right. Not bad.”
Took. Seeing him spitting out words and nodding his head, I smiled softly and put down the teacup.
Arya’s personality has been explained at least in small ways in the work.
Extremely arrogant, a mage who has achieved an overwhelming level to match, and at the same time has a ‘narcissistic’ personality.
That’s why he only treats those he “recognized” as befitting.
good.
I carefully put the teacup down, but I couldn’t even taste the taste of the tea.
I thought it was just bitter tea, and my attention was focused on Arya.
“And I wanted to know one.”
“You want to know, what?”
“About the meaning of giving me this token.”
Seruk.
He took out the white flower jewel she had given him from his bosom, picked it up, and gently put it down.
“what. Don’t you know what that means?”
I smiled lightly at the indistinct voice and spoke again.
“I still want to hear it myself. After our previous encounter, I learned more about the Mage Tower Lord. And I came to know that he is a greater person than I thought. So, if I don’t become a mage even after being taught… I wondered what you would do with me. Aren’t tokens given only to those you consider to be ‘disciples’?”
This was a very strange question, I think.
I ask a question, but there is no clear intention.
just to talk to her. I just thought that this question was something she would be curious about.
“It’s true that I gave it to my disciple, at least it’s a token given only to those who are qualified to receive my teaching. So what if you don’t become a mage? Well… you already gave me the answer to that. You have a path you want to take, and you want to stick with it. Didn’t you say it yourself?”
“Yes. but… .”
It was a car that was trying to follow the words I naturally thought of.
“—!”
My eyes suddenly became blurry, and my upper body slanted involuntarily.
snap.
Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed the table to keep from falling. And as I forcibly supported my body, my vision spread bizarrely like a window frame distorted by rain.
It felt like a flash of light, and I was dizzy as if my vision was spreading, so I couldn’t even think of anything for a moment.
“… … .”
I blinked blankly and said nothing.
what… ?
Why am I doing this?
It felt like my heart was beating so fast even as I exhaled involuntarily at the sudden change.
pounding! pounding! pounding!
In addition, even the blood flow rapidly circulating throughout the body was greatly felt.
As he continued to swallow his saliva, he hurriedly spoke out.
“sorry. I suddenly felt dizzy…”
“are you okay. Because I purposely made you that way.”
“…yes?”
Between blurry vision, even my tone was shaking unsteadily. I barely raised my head.
There, Arya, her mouth curled up, was staring at me with her chin resting on the table.
And even her appearance was distorted as if her vision was flashing in the light.
“The tea you and I drank now contains an unusual ingredient. It must act as a kind of stimulant.”
“A stimulant… is it?”
“Think good. It’s not bad for the body at all, no, rather, it’s like a precious treasure. Because I’m presenting you with a treasure that you can’t easily eat anywhere and can’t have even if you tried.”
I felt strange even when I heard her speak in circles without knowing the meaning.
Exactly, I felt bad.
“… … .”
If I don’t put my hands on the table, I feel like I can’t control my body, and my vision is dizzy. As much as Ariya’s enchanting voice, I could hear it clearly as if it was being beaten into my ear.
So it didn’t feel any better.
‘What a bad prank… .’
As I thought to myself, my eyes widened completely.
Even with my eyes open, my vision seems to explode like a flash of light.
“30 minutes as it is now.”
“…yes?”
“You can continue the conversation with me for 30 minutes. Hold onto your reason properly and don’t be swayed by the strange energy that circulates in your body. Rather, try to make that energy yours. How is it, really simple?”
Involuntarily, I shut my mouth at the mischievous voice.
“Oooh!”
Something came up as if rushing in the moment. It was a bizarre sensation that made my whole body twist.
ㅡ!
However, I was able to swallow something that had barely come up.
As time passed, it felt like something inside my body was rising. I shook my head unconsciously.
‘It’s impossible.’
There is no way we can continue the conversation in this state.
He forced himself to open his mouth, enduring the nausea and disgust rising from within.
“What the hell did you… feed me?”
“Guess.”
“I need to know what it is… why don’t I deal with it.”
“But then it’s no fun.”
“Ariya…sama!”
While barely opening her mouth, something foreign was inside right now. I just wanted to spit something out of my mouth.
I would rather throw up and be comfortable.
But I couldn’t.
‘I said it’s not bad for the body.’
Arya is naturally incapable of lying.
Because she is ‘something like that’.
So, what she said must be true. The fact that he fed me something close to the treasure, too.
…but I didn’t know what it was that made it feel so bad and dirty.
Warak.
Then, the corners of my eyes narrowed.
‘This girl is enjoying herself.’
Through his distorted vision, Arya’s smiling face came into view.
“I really can’t stand giving gifts to people like this. And yes. Han Chun-seong, you’re quite tolerant now, the first time I fed this to Esia, you vomited right away and went on a rampage to mess up the room.”
It didn’t feel good to talk with a smile.
Praise doesn’t sound like praise at all… I was breathing in a daze with my head down before I knew it.
“Ha… ha… ha…”
Take a small breath out and inhale right away.
And just repeat it.
Then I was able to survive somehow.
“Even now, thinking about those days was fun, but when I think about how Esia handled the room after that… it reminds me of crying and screaming even though it’s been years already.”
“ha…”
Taking a breath again, listening to her voice blankly, I put a hand to my side.
Seruk!
Then, when I pinched his side so hard that the flesh fell off, I felt a little bit better.
“Ugh… .”
Is it just moaning from pain, or is it moaning from nausea and enduring vomiting? Even though there was no distinction, I somehow endured it.
Then he raised his head and faced her.
Thoughts came and went, but there was nothing entirely unpredictable.
There was one thing that came to mind: this nauseous feeling, this dizzying sensation, as if the vision was constantly flashing.
“Couldn’t you… have you… fed me that?”
I didn’t understand even though I was talking.
If you have common sense, you can’t just use ‘that’ for a prank like this. Because it’s never something to use like this.
“Is that it? You have to speak properly.”
“Mandrake…”
Even as I blankly put it in my mouth, thinking about it made my stomach feel worse.
“Oooh!”
While blankly covering her mouth again, she kept her eyes on Ariya.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Looking at her reaction, it was so unbelievable that what I said seemed right.
“that’s right. how did you know? You wouldn’t even be able to recall it the first time you ate it. In fact, the powder made by grinding alive mandrakes is quite a bit of tea.”
Seeing him give a definite answer, I stopped and covered my mouth with both hands.
“… … !”
And then, he shook his head.
What I had been suppressing and holding back all of a sudden popped up, and I felt like I was going crazy.
‘I have to endure it somehow.’
Still, I had to endure it for sure. Even if I had to die like this, I had to endure it.
This could never be spit out.
Because it is literally a treasure. Mandrake appears only once in the play.
It’s so rare that even if you try to find it, you can’t find it.
That’s right, just by ingesting it, you gain power that you wouldn’t be able to get normally.
It’s just that the condition is that you can endure it… but it’s something that can make the human body go beyond human limits.
‘Yeah, that’s why… .’
I had to endure it somehow.
“…!”
He bit his lip even as he opened his eyes.
“Yeah.”
Took. After passing a turn through Arya’s spitting voice, I blankly lowered my head and put the teacup in my eyes.
gulp.
…I still feel nauseous inside.
My vision continues to distort like a burst of light.
however.
yet.
Still… remained.
The tea containing the treasure called mandrake was still left.
‘Everything…you have to drink it all.’
snap!
As soon as he grabbed the cup, he poured it into his mouth as if pouring it into his mouth.
“You. Are you really human?”
Despite her surprised voice, I was more determined than ever.
What a madman.