Chapter 1879: Chapter 1879

The little gray mouse leaped into the air, transforming into a spinning, violet-gold orb of light that expanded until it became Jenkins, clad only in a shirt.

Fortunately, the hem of the coat gifted by the Sage was long enough for Jenkins to use his enhanced [Creation Pencil] to instantly "draw" the rest of his clothes. Otherwise, he would have been too ashamed to ever face Miss Windsor and Magic Miss again.

"Did you really think I was afraid of you?"

He stood before the two ladies, addressing the snake with his back to them, purposefully avoiding a glance at their expressions.

"Magic Miss," he asked, "does this snake have a weakness? How did it follow you into the Mysterious Realm? Creatures struggle to leave these realms in the first place; they shouldn't be able to re-enter so easily."

The only exception he could recall was [Lucky Misfortune], A-05-1-4490, the entity that had engaged him in a second gambling game earlier that spring. That creature had misused a doomsday-level Mysterious Realm and was ultimately captured by its master, [Mr. Prankster].

Therefore, for this snake to follow them into the Mysterious Realm, risking permanent exile from the material world, there had to be a compelling reason.

"A glutton for darkness, this serpent has an insatiable appetite for anything with a [Dark] attribute. I can assure you I carry nothing of the sort... Miss Windsor..."

"Say no more," Jenkins interjected. "I understand."

"How do we banish this thing? Do you have any specific information?"

"Though it appears solid, the serpent is more of a conceptual being. In theory, all we have to do is feed it until it's full—give it enough physical matter imbued with spirit. But we can't feed it Cursed Items. It possesses the trait of devouring any Cursed Item and converting its properties into its own abilities."

"This is a Mysterious Realm. Where are we supposed to find items with vast amounts of spirit?"

As he spoke, Jenkins pulled a Blasphemy Seed from his pocket. After returning from the underground, he only had two Blasphemy Seeds and a single Gem of Ages left. He needed to keep some in reserve to cover the 'fare' for Alexia's next trip underground, where she would consult the [A4 Type Arithmetic Auxiliary External Machine] to calculate divination results.

But there was no time to worry about that. He took out the Sin Coin and surveyed his surroundings. They were in a narrow corridor paved with long, interlocking wooden floorboards. The walls and ceiling were made of the same timber. The hallway stretched perfectly straight into impenetrable darkness in both directions, its sides lined with evenly spaced, silver-white metal doors.

Only the nearby part of the corridor was lit, but there were no light fixtures inside. The light seemed to emanate from the wood itself.

Not far from the trio and the serpent sat an old man on a three-legged wooden stool. His head was completely bald, his eyelids drooped, and he wore a faded gray overcoat. The stool was so tall that his worn shoes dangled far above the floor.

The old man's most striking feature was that he had three arms. The third grew from his back and was at least twice the length of a normal limb. It was pitch-black with a jade-like sheen, arching up from his back like a tail and swaying gently behind him.

The old man radiated the corrupting presence typical of creatures from a Mysterious Realm, making the black hand seem particularly unnerving.

As Jenkins tossed the Sin Coin towards him, the hairless old man caught it with his third hand.

The serpent’s glowing red eyes remained locked on Jenkins. Even as the [Blasphemy Seed] flew past its head, it showed no inclination to flick out its tongue and snatch the coin.

"This snake shouldn't be here. I'll pay you one Sin Coin to banish it."

In truth, [Blasphemy Creation] would likely have worked on the serpent. But ever since learning the true nature and purpose of Cursed Items, Jenkins had grown reluctant to use his coin-crafting ability on them, fearing it might trigger unforeseen complications.

"No, there's no need to give me a Sin Coin."

The old man tossed the Sin Coin back to Jenkins with a flick of his wrist. He hopped down from his high stool and clapped his hands at the snake.

"Hey, you've probably come to the wrong place. This is my territory."

The great serpent swiveled its head and flicked its tongue menacingly at the bald old man. But its new target lacked Jenkins’s patience. Just as the snake tensed to strike, the nearest door burst open. A colossal cyan hand, webbed with gruesome cracks, smashed through the doorframe and into the corridor. It seized the serpent as one might pinch an earthworm and viciously dragged it through the doorway. The door slammed shut, and the splintered frame slowly mended itself, as if time were flowing backward. Unfortunately, the open door had blocked the trio's line of sight, hiding whatever lurked within.

Once all was calm, the old man addressed the trio. He turned, shuffled unsteadily back to his high stool, and practically crawled back onto the absurdly tall seat.

Jenkins paid him no mind, turning instead to the two ladies. Magic Miss was holding up well. As an experienced Enchanter, she was no stranger to such events, even if she didn't frequent Mysterious Realms with the same regularity as Jenkins.

Miss Windsor, however, was another story entirely. Only a few minutes ago, she had been an ordinary woman.

"We can discuss the details once we're out of here," Jenkins said to her. "For now, know that we're in a Mysterious Realm. Think of it as a fragment of space outside our world, a place that hosts a series of malicious games and challenges. The penalty for losing is unleashing this realm's malevolence upon the material world." Chapters fırst released on novᴇlfire.net

Miss Windsor looked faint. It wasn't the physical toll of spatial transference that affected Jenkins, but the mental strain. After encountering a Cursed Item and then a Mysterious Realm in quick succession, her psyche was teetering on the brink of madness.

He was reminded of his own first experience. The original Jenkins had also been hunted by a monster before stumbling into a Mysterious Realm. His own calm composure while following Mr. Barnard had come at a steep price: the complete death of the body's original soul and the arrival of an outsider to claim the empty vessel.

Jenkins asked Magic Miss, who was propping up her pale-faced employer.

"How could she be? Of course she's not alright... Was it Miss Silver Flute who sent for you?"

"Yes, the clue you left was fairly obvious, but it was already dusk when I found this place. Let's resolve things here quickly. I have important matters to attend to tonight. I will get you both out safely."

He took Miss Windsor's other hand. Even though a cold sweat had soaked her face, causing strands of blonde hair to stick to her pale cheeks, she still raised her head at his action.

"Relax. Feel my guidance."

A current of natural energy slowly seeped into Miss Windsor’s body. While raw life force had no psychotherapeutic properties, his evolved [World Tree Seedling] ability possessed a unique function: it could stabilize emotions by gently guiding a person's spirit toward the tranquility of nature. In this instance, it proved useful.

Naturally, this was a passive effect, not an active use of the [World Tree Seedling]. According to the rules of this Mysterious Realm, he had not expended his single allowed use of an ability.

"What was that mouse transformation ability? Did you find some lost druidic texts?"

Magic Miss posed the question while Jenkins was tending to Miss Windsor. The woman was exceptionally perceptive; she had seen through the mouse's disguise instantly, which was why she had been so quick to smooth down her skirt.

And because she was so adept at reading a situation, she had subtly loosened her grip on Miss Windsor when Jenkins approached, allowing the other woman to lean against him. Magic Miss had to mentally applaud her own tact.

"It's a complicated story," Jenkins said. "It involves my cat. We can talk about it when we get out."

Jenkins deflected, not wanting to linger on the topic of his murine transformation. He was immensely relieved that Chocolate hadn't followed him; otherwise, the earlier scene might have played out very differently.

Successfully entering a Mysterious Realm guaranteed that one would become an Enchanter. It was the simplest path to gaining power, but returning to the material world was another matter entirely. For that reason, no organization had ever used this method to cultivate its members.

Now that she was safe, Miss Windsor had officially crossed the threshold from the mundane into the mystical, leaving the safe island of normalcy for a world roiling with occult storms. As was the rule for this era's power system, she immediately gained two abilities. When Jenkins asked, she didn't hesitate to describe them.

Her World's Gift Ability was a white, basic-type power called [Heart's Whisper]. It was a mental ability, allowing her to perceive the vague thoughts of another individual. The clarity depended on the mental states of both the user and the target, as well as the difference in their power levels. All in all, it wasn't particularly potent; its near-clairvoyant flashes of insight served as little more than a reference.

Her Soul Trait Ability was a red martial power: [Oppressive Force]. Its effect was simple—as long as she held anything that could be considered a weapon, she would exert mental pressure on anyone who laid eyes on her. While this pressure was nothing compared to Jenkins's own [Aura of Fear], its advantage was that it consumed no spirit, effectively acting as a permanent passive skill.

Miss Windsor's social standing complicated matters; how she would navigate her new identity as an Enchanter was a question for another day. For now, the priority was surviving this Mysterious Realm. Everything else could wait.

As Jenkins soothed her agitated spirit, Miss Windsor asked a few basic questions about Enchanters. Recalling his previous warning that she possessed an important artifact, she correctly guessed that the serpent's pursuit was because of the very item she carried.