Dark Fantasy Normalized – Chapter 30

To put it simply, it was a failure.

While I was acquiring the enchantment for the lucky coin, a sudden thought crossed my mind.

“Wouldn’t it be profitable to mass-produce and sell this!?” That plan ultimately took a nosedive.

As my understanding of the enchantment process improved, I realized the true nature of this ‘lucky coin.’

It was merely a vessel of power in the shape of an object.

This was no grand item like the ‘sacred artifacts’ they spoke of.

If I had to liken it to something, I would say it was like “hot iron.”

It had temporarily taken on similar properties under the influence of my power, but those properties were extremely unstable.

If I didn’t continually infuse it with power, it would cool down and vanish almost instantly.

Selling such an item would be no different than being a second-hand scammer saying, “It was fine when I sold it. No refunds.”

In the end, I concluded that the idea of selling lucky coins was simply an impractical business venture.

Why did they make me expect something about ‘sacred artifacts’ or whatever?

It left a bitter taste in my mouth. The dream of copying money just flew away.

The one silver lining was that I wasn’t left completely empty-handed.

I looked down at the coin in my hand.

While I ultimately failed to imbue the coin with purifying power, mana was a different story.

The coin was definitely infused with the properties of mana.

I had successfully made the enchantment technique completely my own.

Of course, I was still only at the crawling stage—

But ‘hey, that’s something.’

I was simply satisfied with the fact that my magical abilities had expanded.

“Did you really think that was possible?”

Pamon, having heard my story, teased me in disbelief.

“Dreaming is free, you know?”

“Free?”

Pamon was currently sitting on the side of my bed, wiping the blood from my face with a warm cloth.

She waved the red-stained cloth in front of my face.

“Enchanting is a technique where you detach part of your power to imbue it into an object. It’s like losing your mental energy and stamina like dough falling apart! It’s so burdensome to do it the way you just did—”

“But still, I was kind of careful. If it felt really dangerous, I was going to stop.”

“What do you even consider ‘really dangerous’? Death? Passing out? Exhaustion? Quit the nonsense and just say it. I won’t push myself next time.”

I understood what Pamon was getting at.

I’m not an idiot. After all, this magic training is all about preserving my own body. If it harms my health, what’s the point?

This time was just a bit special.

I felt convinced that I would gain something if I pushed through.

“Don’t be like that. Here, take this.”

I handed Pamon the monumental result of my first enchantment.

“Yeah, what am I supposed to do with this? You’re not seriously thinking of calling this an artifact, are you? It’s just a coin with some mana on it. It might be useful for hammering nails without a hammer.”

“It’s my first enchanting result. One day, when I become an enchanting master and get famous, it might be a collector’s item, right?”

“What are you even saying?”

Pamon rolled her eyes but took the coin anyway.

A moment later.

“All done.”

Once she finished cleaning my face, Pamon backed away from me.

“Thanks, Pamon. Honestly, you’re the only one who worries about me.”

“Uh-huh. I don’t recall worrying about you.”

Hmph. Pamon snorted and stood up from the bed.

“So then, what now?”

“Huh?”

“You just said thanks. So what are you supposed to do now?”

“…Should I hug you?”

Swoosh. A towel flew at my face.

Guess that wasn’t the right answer.

“…Did you have breakfast?”

“You ask that after causing this ruckus since morning? Did I have breakfast? No! Obviously, I didn’t. Thanks for asking.”

“In that case, can I take the honor of buying you breakfast?”

“Ugh. What am I supposed to do with my mouth?”

Pamon said that as she left the room.

She left me with a “Get ready to go out soon” message.

I guess that was the right answer.

I quickly got ready to leave.

Despite being tired from training all night, thanks to Pamon’s energy, it didn’t take me long to prepare.

“Did you pack everything?”

Finally, I dropped a single coin onto the wet blanket beside Pamon and stepped out of the room.

At that moment, a woman came out of the adjacent room, almost simultaneously with me.

“…”

“…”

The timing was such that our eyes met.

I found myself captivated by the woman’s face.

Her left cheek looked as though it had been burned, with ugly scars marring her features.

…And there was an unsettling vibe coming from her.

Those long, toned limbs, resembling someone who had been through rigorous training, and her crimson hair—

She was an impressive woman with that haunting scar on her face.

Salana.

She didn’t like anyone staring at her face.

That was due to the grotesque scar that devoured the left side of her face.

It was easy to guess. Who would enjoy having someone gaze at their flaws?

“…”

Thus, Salana felt dumbfounded.

The moment she stepped out of her room, a man from next door was staring at her blankly.

‘What’s this guy’s deal?’

If it were the usual Salana, she would have already shouldered past him.

And eventually, he would have come to realize that his shoulder had dislocated.

But Salana chose to endure it this time.

Unconsciously, she rubbed her own face.

For some reason, her skin had somewhat improved during the night.

Had her efforts finally! For the first time! borne fruit?

It had been how long, since that awful scar hadn’t cracked and burst overnight?

Waking up on a dry pillow instead of one soaked in pus.

It felt pleasurable to look in the mirror and tidy up in the morning.

Right now, she was in a good mood.

That little breach of etiquette was something she could brush off.

“What’s on my face?”

Salana said cheerfully, putting on the facade of a high-ranked adventurer.

“Uh? Oh! I-I’m sorry— I didn’t even realize!”

The man leaped back in surprise, apologizing to Salana.

There were occasionally those who would openly gawk with disdain.

Those types usually needed a few fingers broken to get this reaction—

At least this guy didn’t seem like he fell into that category.

“Haha. I get it. As you can see, I have quite a beauty, right? There must be at least a handful of guys who would just stare at me.”

“I…! I apologize again.”

“Ah, no worries. You just got lost staring at my beauty, right? Anyway, I’m Salana. I work as an adventurer. I’m a high-ranker.”

“Ah! I’m Ricir. By the way, a high-ranked adventurer…? That’s impressive!”

Ricir knew that the average rank of a high-ranked adventurer was around level five.

Salana appeared to be in her twenties—

Reaching level five at such a young age was no easy feat, even for noble families with full support.

“I agree. At this age, with this beauty, being a high-ranked adventurer. So, I’ll excuse you for staring blankly at me.”

“Ah…! I apologize once more.”

“Hey, there’s no need to apologize. You were merely mesmerized by my beauty, weren’t you? Anyway, Ricir, nice to meet you— let’s meet again if we get the chance.”

Salana turned away from Ricir and was about to leave.

“Oh, wait! Miss Salana!”

“…”

Salana grimaced internally.

What the heck—

Why was he bothering her like this?

So irritating.

She forced a bright smile as she replied.

“What’s up? Are you asking me out on a date or something?”

“Ah— that certainly is an attractive proposition, but—”

Of course, it wasn’t a date proposal.

He had to mention that he already had prior commitments.

Ricir hadn’t forgotten about Pamon, who was waiting for him outside the inn.

Yet something about Salana made him call her back.

It was reminiscent of the time with Todina.

Ricir felt a hint of ‘purification’ from Salana.

He was certain that his power could be of help to her.

With that assumption in mind, Ricir thought it over.

‘She said she’s a high-ranked adventurer, right?’

Building a good relationship with someone like her could undoubtedly bring great benefits later on.

Furthermore—

Ricir had realized something while organizing his powers yesterday.

That his abilities had undergone a magnificent change.

Actually, it might be more accurate to say he confirmed it.

He had a vague intuition that he had experienced growth in his powers at least twice.

Right after the Rona incident was one.

The second was right after the Todina incident.

From that, Ricir deduced one fact.

Whatever the principle might be, purification seemed to directly correlate with an increase in mana.

That was the real reason he had stopped Salana.

Meeting her was a golden opportunity.

“What’s up? Speak.”

“…”

Ricir hesitated.

How should he bring up the topic?

It was always cumbersome in these situations.

Noticing someone’s problems with a power he didn’t fully understand—

Then trying to provide help with that same power.

How on earth was he supposed to convince the other person of this?

‘The lucky coin— that’s not it.’

This was a different scenario compared to Todina.

In Todina’s case, the problem was clearly visible. Plus, she was actively seeking help.

Just handing over a lucky coin was enough to get the conversation started.

But Salana was different.

‘I know the scar on her face is a problem—’

She wasn’t openly revealing her issues, nor was she seeking help for them.

If he suddenly offered her a lucky coin that could help with her scar—

The likely outcome would be a challenge to a duel, not gratitude.

“Haha. What is it? Did I mishear something? If there’s nothing else, I’ll just take my leave?”

Oh well, whatever.

Time to roll the dice.

“Miss Salana!? Please don’t take this the wrong way, but may I ask if you are suffering from any illnesses?”

“Illness? You mean this?”

Salana rubbed her face.

“If I could provide assistance in healing that ailment— would you believe me?”

“…”

At that moment, Salana’s demeanor shifted.

Ricir felt the subtle change, and his hairs stood on end.

That aura was far too sharp to be emanating from a high-ranked adventurer— a level five specialist.

“What do you mean? Speak.”

Though she still wore a smile, there was seriousness lurking beneath Salana’s expression.

Just like before, there had been those who approached her, claiming they knew how to heal the scar on her face.

Without exception, they were charlatans or swindlers, targeting high-ranked adventurers for their wealth.

They all paid a price.

To the master of the Assassin Guild, known as the Black Snake.

A sinister aura began gathering at Salana’s fingertips as she stood with her arms crossed.

Colorless. Odorless. Formless.

With no symptoms or signs, only the final outcome remained.

It was a poison that only those who had mastered the arts of assassination could wield.

If Salana chose to unleash her will upon the man before her, he would meet an inexplicable demise by nightfall.

“Shall we change our location for now?”

Salana led Ricir out the back door of the inn into a quiet alley.

“Sorry to impose, but may I touch your face for a moment, Miss Salana?”

Ricir finally spoke up after contemplating during the walk.

Salana paused to think for a moment.

‘Should I just kill him?’

That was the contemplation in her eyes.

Ricir, as if oblivious to her thoughts, nodded and brought his hand towards Salana’s face.

“I’m going to touch you.”

“…”

Salana’s facade of ‘easygoing high-ranked adventurer’ began to crack slightly.

As a place she herself was reluctant to touch, another man’s hands were on her.

Salana stared at Ricir with a chilly gaze.

Now that it had come to this, let’s see what he has to say.

What could he possibly be babbling about?

All the charlatans and swindlers she had encountered thus far had tried to fool her with believable words.

Through those experiences, Salana had learned one lesson.

Three minutes.

If a long-winded explanation exceeded three minutes, it wasn’t worth listening to.

Therefore, Ricir only had three minutes.

Ricir nodded.

And soon enough, his lips parted.

Salana entered her countdown.

With a mindset to watch this foolish conman waste his remaining three minutes right before her eyes.

“Alright. Are you ready to check this out?”

“?”

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■Salana


Level: 61


Race: Human


Class: Assassin


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