"What!?" His breath hissed into the damp, glowing air of the forest..
The voice deepened, echoing directly against the walls of his skull. In a panic, Vale slapped both hands over his ears, pressing down hard to shut out the sound, but it was completely useless. The words didn’t come from the air around him; they resonated from within his own mind.
[Hey, oddball. Just listen to me.]
Vale exhaled sharply, forcing his runaway pulse to slow down. He squeezed his eyes shut for a brief second, controlling his spiraling mind until his body grew quiet, then opened his eyes to listen.
[Boy, you are impossibly weak. With a fragile shell like this, how are you even still breathing?]
A thick vein bulged against Vale’s temple. His jaw clenched, his knuckles turning white as he restrained a wave of sudden, hot anger. All he could hear was this unseen, feminine voice slandering him again and again, mocking the very weakness that had cost him his life at the academy.
"OK, STOP!" Vale shouted, his voice cracking into an echoing scream that bounced off the geometric obsidian trees.
The inner voice abruptly went silent.
Vale panted, staring at the empty air. "If you’re just going to sit in my head nagging me, then shut up."
[It is...]
"I know how weak I am!" he cut in, his chest heaving. "I don’t need a voice in my head to remind me!"
Before he could pull himself together, a faint, crystalline chime rang in his ears. A white, translucent floating display materialized out of thin air directly in front of his face, casting a pale glow over his features.
°°° [ QUEST ACTIVATED ] °°°
[OBJECTIVE: Defeat 20 Red-Horned Rabbits]
[PENALTY FOR FAILURE: Death]
[TIME REMAINING:72 Hours (3 Days)]
[ REWARD: Obtain the Dungeon Key]
Vale stared at the stark text, his mind going momentarily blank. "...Huh?"
[Now this... this makes things far more intriguing,] the feminine voice purred.
"WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP?!" Vale yelled hysterically, clutching his head with both hands.
[Oh boy, why are you so terrified?] the voice chimed in again, entirely unbothered by his outburst. [It’s interesting, isn’t it?]
"What part of playing with death is interesting to you?!" Vale hissed, his eyes wide as he scanned the edge of the dark woods.
[That exact part.] The voice was neither a snarl nor a terrifying roar; it was something far worse. It was entirely devoid of human warmth, pulsing with a cold, manic excitement..
[Playing on the edge of death is the only thing truly worth doing. You’ll understand once you try it.]
"What even is this thing?" Vale thought, a cold sweat breaking out across his back. "I don’t want to deal with a voice that sounds like a euphoric lunatic."
[Hey! I can hear you!] the voice snapped, a sharp edge of displeasure cutting through her tone.
Vale froze. "What? Don’t tell me... she can read my thoughts?!"
[Exactly,] the voice replied, the irritation melting back into a mischievous hum. [And stop calling me ’she’ or ’it’... I have a name.]
"Oh? And what is your na—"
[My name is Narsarossa,] she cut in abruptly, not bothering to let him finish his question.
Vale’s face twisted into an irritated scowl. ’This woman really knows how to test my patience. I bet this pompous voice belongs to some ancient, wrinkled hag’
A sudden, suffocating silence fell over his mind. A second passed. Then two..
[YOU BASTARD!] Narsarossa’s voice exploded inside his head like a thunderclap, making Vale wince violently and double over
[IF I HAD MY PHYSICAL BODY RIGHT NOW, I WOULD TEAR YOU INTO TWENTY PIECES!]
"Alright, alright! I’m sorry!" Vale winced, holding his hands up in mock surrender to the empty air.
He slowly straightened his posture, looking back at the glowing system interface hovering quietly in the clearing. He had no idea what a Red-Horned Rabbit was, nor did he know what kind of spatial tear had swallowed him, but despite the absurd situation
The quiet atmosphere of the clearing felt strangely peaceful. There were no nobles looking down on him, no instructors handing out falsified verdicts, and no Kail smiling pleasantly behind his back.
He cleared his throat. "Hey."
[..]
"Hey... I said I was sorry."
[..]
Vale rolled his eyes slightly. "I know you’re sulking in there."
[I am not sulking!] Narsarossa snapped back instantly.
Vale allowed himself a faint, dry smirk. He was standing in a secluded clearing surrounded by obsidian-barked trees; the area seemed to act as a safe zone where no beasts roamed.
:A safe point’ he analyzed internally. But to survive the three-day timer, he couldn’t stay here forever.
"Do you know where I can find these Red-Horned Rabbits?" Vale asked the empty forest. Anyone watching him right now would have assumed the boy had completely lost his sanity.
[I don’t know,] Narsarossa replied flatly. [Find them yourself.]
Vale let out an audible sigh, clicking his tongue against his teeth. "Tsk. Useless."
[HEYYY!]
"It’s fine to be useless," Vale added, keeping his tone intentionally casual. "I’m used to it..."
[Head toward three o’clock!] Narsarossa barked, her pride clearly wounded. [Move a hundred paces out into the brush and you’ll find a whole nest of them!]
*It really is easy to manipulate proud people,* Vale mused, keeping the thought deeply buried beneath layers of mental discipline so she wouldn’t catch it.
Drawing a deep breath, Vale stepped off the soft moss of the clearing and onto the dark, unpaved earth of the ancient forest. He didn’t have much of a choice. He was trapped between an unknown world and a ticking death sentence.
However, as he reached the denser, darker section of the thicket where the vegetation turned a deep, bruised violet, Narsarossa’s voice echoed again—this time completely stripped of her previous anger.
[Stop. If you fight them right now... you will die.]
Vale halted mid-step. "What?"
MEANWHILE...
The evening sun dipped beneath the horizon, painting the sky in shades of bruised purple and rust.
Outside, the tavern was bursting with its usual, chaotic energy. Adventurers laughed loudly over heavy mugs of ale, merchants bargained over regional trade prices, and the smell of roasted meat filled the main hall. But in the small, private quarters behind the kitchen, the warmth was entirely absent..
Gregory had spent the better part of the afternoon at the Lionring Adventurer’s Guild, searching for any scrap of news regarding the missing boy. He had returned with only devastating news.
A corrosional faultline—a sudden, unpredictable phenomenon—had opened directly over the barren lands where Vale’s E-rank gathering quest was located. The entire area had been quarantined by high-ranking guild parties.
When Gregory delivered the news, his wife Carolin had broken down. Even though Vale had only stayed under their roof for a short time, his quiet, gentle demeanor and the way he cared for their daughter had made him feel like part of the family.
Night had fully fallen, but in the small upstairs bedroom, little Hina was curled up under her covers, sulking in total darkness. She refused to come down for dinner, her eyes swollen from crying for her new "big brother."
The bedroom door creaked open, throwing a warm strip of light across the floorboards. Carolin entered quietly, carrying a small tray with a steaming bowl of broth and fresh bread.
"Hina, sweetie... you need to eat something before bed," Carolin said gently, setting the tray down on the small side table and sitting beside her daughter.
Hina buried her face deeper into her pillow, her tiny shoulders shaking with quiet sobs.
"Mommy..."
"I’m here, baby," Carolin murmured, gently stroking the girl’s hair.
"Is... is big brother leaving me too?" Hina hiccuped, her voice muffled against the sheets. "Just like my first brother did?"
Carolin’s chest tightened painfully. She leaned down, gathering the little girl into a warm embrace and pulling her against her chest.
"No, my dear," Carolin whispered softly, wiping a stray tear from her daughter’s cheek. "He’s strong. He will come home."