I woke up abruptly as the memory was cut off.
During the first few minutes, rage took over me. I wanted to scream, grab Clara by the shoulders, and demand to know why she played me like a fool. But as my breathing slowed and the initial anger cooled, a glaring contradiction hit me.
Wait a minute. If she truly orchestrated this entire setup just to summon a pet like me to control, why would she willingly bring me to Luna's cabin and risk exposing her darkest secrets? And why would she actively search for a way to break the bond?
It didn't add up.
Before I could sort through the mess in my head, a blue prompt appeared in front of my hand:
[Clara Affection increased to 65]
What? How come her affection for me had skyrocketed?
She was sitting nearby, tears still glistening on her eyelashes. I had no idea which pathetic piece of my past life had moved her to tears, but after what I had just seen in her memories, it only made me more suspicious.
"I saw that you were the one who caused all this…" I stared straight at her.
Clara shook her head frantically. "No! I could never. If I was the one who created this link, why would I bring you all the way out here to find a cure?"
Luna adjusted her spectacles and spoke in her usual flat tone. "People change their minds. Perhaps you realized too late that what you prayed for was not a blessing, but a curse."
“It’s her trick.” Clara said to me, “Please, don’t fall for it.”
I looked back and forth between them, not knowing who to trust.
"There is a simple solution," Luna added calmly. "You can stay here in my cabin. Help me with my research, and you will uncover the truth."
Clara's eyes went wide with panic. She grabbed my arm, pleading, "Please, Lee. Do not stay here with her."
My mind was a mega mess. I was exhausted, confused, and angry. Yet, staying with a crafty Court Witch in a swamp seemed far worse. Besides, I still had a hundred questions that only Clara could answer.
"I'm going with Clara," I said, reaching out to take my phone back from Luna's table.
Clara let out a shaky breath and wrapped her arms tightly around me in relief. I didn't hug her back. My arms stayed stiff at my sides.
Turning back to the witch, Clara asked, "What did your research reveal about our bond?"
"The tether between your souls is remarkably strong," Luna replied. "The boundaries between your two worlds are drawing closer. That means high-tier possession spells can now reach across the rift."
"What does that mean for us?" I asked.
"It means you will face enemies in your world as well."
Great. Tell me something I don't already know. We had nearly been shot at the dive bar last night. The trip felt like a waste of time.
"And my phone?" I pressed.
"I left a mark on it; hope you don’t mind," Luna said smoothly. “Travel back and forth with it several times, and come back to me again.”
Great. She just tricked us and dumped us garbage info, clearly had no intention of giving straight answers. I pocketed the phone, wasn't leaving it one more second with her.
Luna saw us out without another word.
The ride back into the woods was dead silent. I was simmering with resentment, but having a blowout argument in front of an armed escort wasn't an option. It had to wait until we returned to the castle.
As the afternoon light faded into dusk, the forest grew dangerously quiet.
Suddenly, a trap snapped. The lead scout's horse went down as wooden stakes burst from the brush, impaling the rider. Goblin bandits swarmed the path from the shadows.
Before panic could spread, Clara raised her hands. Golden light flashed from her fingers, shattering the wooden stakes and knitting the fallen knight's fatal wounds back together in seconds.
Chaos erupted. People dismounted from their horses one after another. I, too, was lifted down from the horse by Richard.
The Knights drew their broadswords, and Clara began chanting combat spells. Everyone had magic, bow or steel.
Except me.
Richard glanced back, took pity on my useless state, and shoved a small iron dagger into my hand before charging into the fray. I stared at the tiny blade. Against monsters, this thing was practically a toothpick.
Besides, the US Army never taught me how to fight Goblins with a dagger.
I raised my status screen. Most of the things were still at zero. The only combat perk I had was for marksman, and my Glock was sitting somewhere in Clara’s apartment.
A guttural laugh echoed to my left. Two towering and muscular troll-goblins stepped out from the trees and blocked my path.
"Help! Over here!" I yelled like I never did, but the knights were all tied down, and Clara was busy blasting the main horde.
The two brutes grinned, swinging their crude clubs. They clearly lacked basic intelligence, but that also meant they had zero fear. Worse, they were going to smash me into paste.
I had only a phone, and I definitely didn't want to get smashed just to test if Clara's healing spell could bring me back.
In sheer desperation, I pulled out the phone, hit the power button, and slammed my thumb onto the flashlight icon, hoping the glare might buy me two seconds to run.
A blinding beam of pure white light erupted from the tiny LED.
It expanded into a massive flood of daylight, cutting straight through the misty woods and illuminating the entire forest canopy like high noon.
The battlefield went dead quiet for a split second. Even Clara stopped chanting, staring in disbelief as a guy with zero mana like me lit up the dusk like a second sun.
Holy shit, what happened to my phone?
I glanced at the screen. The signal bar was empty, and the battery was flashing red at just two percent. I had been an idiot and left the device running the entire ride.
The two troll-goblins were entirely blinded by the radiant burst. They dropped their clubs, shrieking in pain as they stumbled backward.
Count Leonardo seized the opening, driving his spear through both of their skull in quick succession.
With the entire clearing lit up, Captain Richard also spotted a group of goblin archers hiding in the high branches and led a squad to cut them down.
A moment later, the screen went black. The battery died.
For the rest of the fight, I scrambled behind tree trunks to stay out of sight. Even so, I still took some arrows, with one burying itself deep into my right knee.
The pain was fucking unbearable.
Yet, blinding the ambushers had swung the battle, and the system registered the contribution:
[Processing...]
[Reputation increased to 15]
[Pain Tolerance increased to 15]
[Natural Resistance increased to 10]
[Poison Resistance increased to 10]
[Level up!]
[Status Screen]
Name: Lee
Level: 3
Class: Marksman
Agility: +5
Intelligence: +5
Well, look at that. The system dumped all my points into resistances because I was basically a professional punching bag.
But the boost to Agility and Intelligence made sense. Trying to match these knights in raw Strength or Endurance was suicide; outsmarting them and staying fast was my only way to survive.
Once the remaining goblins fled, Count Leonardo trotted over on his warhorse, looking down at me with his usual smug grin. "Seems you aren't so useless after all."
Clara shot him a cold look, then knelt beside me on the grass. Her expression softened into concern as she placed her glowing hands over my injured knee.
“It must hurt…”
I didn’t react.
As the warmth of her magic eased the pain, she looked directly into my eyes, her lips parting as if she wanted to explain everything that happened in the memory.
Up close, she was breathtaking. Her scent drifted toward me on the evening breeze, distinct and sweet, like fresh violets.
Even so, the memory of her prayer and the severed heads on her castle walls lingered in my mind.
"Thanks," I muttered flatly, avoiding any eye contact.
Her lips tightened with a hint of hurt, but she didn't push; she just quietly stood up and moved on to treat other wounded guards.
"The sun has set," Richard announced to the retinue. "We cannot push through the woods in the dark. Make camp on the ridge ahead, now."
We led the horses off the main track and set up on a high grassy knoll.
After lighting a central campfire, Clara personally roasted some potatoes and brought me a bowl of boiled water.
Leonardo sat across the fire, watching her attend to me with eyes burning with jealousy. Despite my frustration with Clara, watching the arrogant noble squirm gave me such a good sense of satisfaction.
She was clearly trying to comfort me, which felt nice, but I wasn't going to let a warm meal erase what I saw in Luna's cabin. I kept my responses short and cold.
Noticing my distance, Clara stepped back, not wanting to make things more awkward. She walked over and sat on a fallen log far across the campsite.
A young squire pulled out a lute and began strumming a gentle melody. Leonardo took the opportunity to sit beside Clara and started singing along.
He had a rich, pleasant voice that carried across the quiet woods.
The song was about two lovers who lost their way in a dark forest, only to find when they met again that they could no longer recognize the person standing before them.
I looked across the flickering flames and caught Clara's eye. She was already looking at me, her expression thoughtful and sad.
Before wrapping myself in the travel blanket to sleep, I looked toward her one last time.
"See you tomorrow," I said quietly.
Her face lit up with a relieved smile.
"See you tomorrow," she replied softly.