Chapter 194. The Witch’s Decision (1)

After the school trip ended.

Daily life returned to the school.

The candidates diligently attended classes, steadily accumulating the experience and knowledge needed to become “Heroes.”

Meanwhile, I…

“Another suspension.”

Yeah.

Due to the incident during the school trip, I was suspended for two weeks. I lay on my dorm bed, wriggling like a worm.

‘It hasn’t even been a year since I regressed, and this is already my fourth suspension.’

Honestly, at this point, it feels like some kind of cosmic malice is at play.

“Sigh. Maybe I should go train.”

Since I had nothing to do stuck in my room, I decided to head to the training grounds to master the “Calamity Fire” I had obtained earlier.

Ding.

The Hero Watch alarm went off.

It was a message from Lanes.

[Dale, can you help me with training today?]


“Huh?”

Training all of a sudden?

[What about class?]


[Ah… It’s fine. Today is… self-study.]


[Really?]


[Yeah.]


[Then when should we meet?]


[Ri, right now!]

Lanes, suddenly full of enthusiasm.

I tilted my head and replied.

[Alright. Let’s meet in 30 minutes.]


[Okay.]

After finishing the conversation with Lanes.

I quickly showered, put on my training clothes, and headed to the meeting spot.

“Ah… Da, Dale!”

When I arrived at the meeting spot, I saw Lanes, dressed in training clothes, waving her hands cutely.

Spotting me, she ran over like a puppy seeing its owner.

“Like last time, we’ll go to the back mountain, right? Let’s go, Dale!”

Seeing her pulling my hand, I stifled a laugh.

“By the way, why are you so eager to train all of a sudden?”


“Huh? Th, that’s…”

For a moment, Lanes’ expression darkened, but she quickly shook her head and smiled again.

“Hehe. It’s nothing. I just… want to get better at handling my Blessing.”


“Really?”


“Y, yeah! That way, I can help you a lot in the future!”

Lanes shouted with a voice full of determination, fists clenched.

I nodded and followed her to the back mountain.

When we arrived at the usual training spot, a wide open area had turned into a barren wasteland, devoid of any weeds.

‘We’ve trained here so much that it’s become like this.’

Seeing the clearing in the middle of the dense forest, I couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Well… that’s why we come here instead of the school training grounds.’

It’s better than accidentally burning down the school building like before.

“Alright, shall we start?”


“Y, yeah.”

Lanes nodded and headed to the clearing.

As I was about to follow her.

“To, today, I’ll do it alone.”


“Huh? Alone?”


“Y, yeah. I need to be able to control my power even without you.”


“Well… that’s true.”

Compared to before, she had improved a lot, but she still wasn’t at the level where she could control the Blessing of Frost on her own.

“Dale, you can train on your own, and if… something dangerous happens, you can help me then.”


“Hmm. Alright.”

Though I was worried.

If Lanes wanted to, there was no reason to oppose her.

As she said, she would eventually need to handle the Blessing of Frost on her own.

“Th, then I’ll be training over there!”

With that, Lanes quickly ran off to a distant spot.

‘Well then.’

I couldn’t just sit around either.

“Deep breath.”

I slowly inhaled and awakened the Primordial Flame sleeping deep within my heart.

Whoosh.

The flame, which had once raged like a wild beast when I absorbed the Fire Seed, now burned obediently like a tame lamb, following my will.

‘It’s true that the amount of Primordial Flame I can control has increased significantly since absorbing the Fire Seed.’

When I first regressed, I could only control a flame the size of a candle, but now I could handle a flame large enough to cover my surroundings.

Of course.

Whoosh!

‘But I’m still far from being able to control 100% of the Primordial Flame.’

I looked at the fierce flames burning in the distance, not following my will.

If the day comes when I can control even those flames at will.

‘Then…’

What kind of existence would I become?

It was hard to imagine at this point.

‘Maybe I’ll become something even more absurd than the Devil God.’

If the source of the Devil God’s power was the Primordial Flame, then within me, there was another power besides the Primordial Flame.

‘The Power of Extinguishing Fire.’

I still didn’t know what that power was or why it was within me.

But one thing was certain.

The moment I grasped all of it.

‘I can change it.’

That unbearably white future.

“Exhale.”

I slowly exhaled and raised the flame.

The Ash Fire burning around my body.

Gray smoke seeped out from my pores, spreading like fog.

‘First… about 10 meters.’

Whoosh!

Using “Calamity Fire,” flames surrounded me in a circular motion.

“Ugh…!”

The magic power was draining at an insane rate.

Like water being released from a dam, my magic power was rapidly decreasing.

‘This consumes way more magic power than I expected.’

Since it was a technique that altered the physical laws of the surrounding space, I expected it to consume a lot of magic power, but this was far beyond my expectations.

‘The rate of consumption is faster than the rate of recovery through Ignition.’

If I used Intensification to increase my magic power, I could maintain it longer than now, but that would only be a temporary solution.

“Definitely… using it in the real world is different from using it in the mental world.”

The power and effect of “Calamity Fire” were as overwhelming as when I used it in the mental world.

‘But the problem is proficiency.’

Using it in reality, I realized that too much magic power was being wasted unnecessarily.

It was like trying to drink water from a leaky bucket.

The magic power consumed by “Calamity Fire” was more than I had imagined, but even more than that, the unnecessary consumption was even greater.

‘First, let’s try reducing the range to about 1 meter.’

It might not be a grand expression to call it “Domain Expansion” when it only changes the area within a 1-meter radius.

But it was better than trying to expand the range clumsily and having it disappear quickly.

“Alright, shall we start again?”

Whoosh!

As if responding to my question, the Ash Fire fiercely burned.

* * *

After several hours of training with “Calamity Fire.”

‘Is Lanes doing okay?’

As I approached where Lanes was training, I saw her drenched in sweat, struggling to control the Blessing of Frost.

“Lanes. How’s the training going?”


“Ah, y, yeah.”

Lanes nodded with an awkward smile.

I took a towel and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“Let’s take a break.”


“Ah, no! I can keep going!”


“You still need to eat.”


“That’s…”


“Come on.”

I pulled Lanes’ hand and headed to a tree stump.

“Let’s see. For lunch today…”


“I, I brought bread from the store.”

Lanes rummaged through her bag and pulled out some bread.

I widened my eyes as I watched her take out the bread.

‘Bread instead of a lunchbox?’

Until now, whenever we trained together, she always brought a homemade lunchbox.

‘Was she busy today?’

Well.

It’s not easy to make a lunchbox every time.

“Sorry… I couldn’t make a lunchbox.”


“It’s fine. I’m the one always eating your food.”

I’m not so shameless as to complain here.

“The store bread tastes good too, after a long time.”


“…Yeah.”

Lanes nodded weakly and chewed on the bread.

“…Lanes.”


“Y, yeah? What?”


“Is something wrong?”

I had noticed a dark shadow over her face since earlier.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m just a bit tired.”


“Hmm… Then should we stop training for today?”


“Ah, no! I want to keep going! No, I will keep going!”

Lanes shouted urgently.

I frowned and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“We talked about this before. If you push yourself too hard, your training results will suffer.”


“……”

Lanes tightly closed her mouth and lowered her head.

“…You know.”


“Yeah?”


“You always push yourself too hard.”


“That’s…”


“You… won’t die, right?”


“No, it’s not like that.”


“But you still feel pain, right? It hurts when you get hurt, and it’s painful when you get injured, right?”


“……”

Her voice felt fragile, as if it might break at any moment.

She tightly gripped my hand with both of hers and bit her lip.

“You… don’t want to feel pain either… and you feel frustrated and tired… but you keep trying.”


“Lanes.”


“Can’t I… try a little harder too?”


“……”

For some reason.

I had a feeling that I shouldn’t leave Lanes alone right now.

“Let’s go back.”


“…Dale.”


“Instead, let’s train together tomorrow. How about that?”

Since I’m suspended anyway, I don’t have classes.

I had plenty of time to help Lanes with her training.

“Yeah, okay.”

Lanes nodded with a faint smile.

She stood up and released my hand.

“You’re really… kind, Dale.”


“Where did that come from?”


“Hehe. It’s nothing.”

After a simple lunch, Lanes and I returned to school.

“I’ll contact you tomorrow.”


“Yeah. See you tomorrow, Dale.”

I waved lightly and headed to my room.

“……”

Unaware that Lanes was watching my back intently.

* * *

After parting with Dale.

Lanes headed not to the dormitory, but to the back mountain where she had trained with Dale.

-Dale… Wh, what happened to me in my past life?

A few days ago.

The conversation she had with Dale came to mind.

No, “came to mind” isn’t the right expression.

Since that day.

Her mind had been filled with that thought.

-Lanes…


-Pl, please tell me honestly. I’m begging you!

I shouldn’t have asked.

I should have stayed ignorant.

“The… Witch of the Night.”

Dale told me not to worry.

He said the future had changed, and I wouldn’t become a witch.

I know that.

The future has changed.

I won’t have to shiver in the cold anymore.

But.

‘I… am like this now.’

Slowly, I activated the power of the Blessing.

A blizzard swirled around me.

Sweat dripped down my forehead.

Even as I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood, focusing all my energy, the Blessing of Frost didn’t move as I wished.

“Ah, ugh…”

Tears mixed with sweat and fell from my eyes.