Chapter 116: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (7)

Chapter 116: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (7)

- Han Kain

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 38

Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)

Sage’s Advice: 3

Arima’s “treatment” began.

“Arghhh!”

“Please, please save me!”

“Let go. Hold him down!”

“...”

We were speechless at the horrific “treatment.”

Arima ordered her guards to hold the slaves down, then skinned them alive and attached their skin to Jinchul-hyung’s body.

At first, Songee was so shocked she immediately commanded Luca—yes, in that short time, she named the two-headed wolf Luca—to attack the witch.

Had I not intervened immediately, a fight would have broken out.

Arima seemed to enjoy our alarmed reactions.

Songee couldn’t contain her anger.

“What is this? How can this be considered treatment? We need to—”

Kim Mooksung: Yu Songee! Use the chat!

Since Grandpa’s “Communication” was enhanced, the character limit in the chat has significantly increased.

In situations like this, where reckless dialogue might make us seem weak, it was very useful.

Yu Songee: Shouldn’t we stop this right now?

Kim Ahri: Calm down. Considering the witch’s abilities, this kind of treatment was expected.

Kim Mooksung: It’s gruesome, but saving Jinchul is more important.

Yu Songee: But doing it this way?

...It had been a while since I felt the gap between the Administration team and the rest of us.

The Administration team, used to brutal and grotesque scenes, judged strictly based on practicality, while the rest of us honestly found it unbearable.

When Arima began skinning the slaves, I had to avert my eyes.

Calm down.

Think with a heart as cold as ice.

The Administration team’s judgment is correct. What’s the point in dwelling on cruelty now?

We’ve already killed countless NPCs inside the Cursed Room to survive.

Saving Jinchul-hyung is far more important.

The treatment lasted about 30 minutes.

As the screams of the skinned slaves subsided, Jinchul-hyung’s skin started looking more human.

There’s no need to match blood types or immunosuppressants—just slap any ol’ slave’s skin on and it’ll be a-OK.

Any doctor would be flabbergasted.

Of course, in a world where magic existed, doctors would be unnecessary.

I approached Arima.

“His skin looks much better. When will he wake up?”

“That’s not up to me.”

“...”

“I don’t know what made his body so twisted, but even his internal organs are in disarray. It’s a miracle he’s still alive. But, of course, treatment is possible...”

She trailed off, giving me a knowing smile.

She didn’t say it outright, but I understood.

If I wanted more intensive treatment, I’d have to teach her magic.

Now the real game begins.

I gestured for Ahri to come over.

Arima asked curiously.

“Who is this? Quite a beautiful lady.”

“She’s my most gifted disciple. She’ll be giving you a lecture in the Arcane, so you should at least greet her.”

Arima’s expression immediately hardened.

“I thought I’d be learning directly from you, Mage Han?”

Sorry, but I have no knowledge to share.

I smirked dismissively.

“...What’s the meaning of this?”

“Words carry power! Do you believe yourself to be an equal to me because I speak so nicely? You can’t even handle a single letter I write.”

“What are you—”

Without hesitation, I summoned the Grimoire and opened it slightly.

As expected of a witch, despite deliberately opening it slowly, she averted her gaze in an instant, sensing the impending danger.

I changed the lecture topic slightly.

“What do you think of ‘Fortune’, Lady Arima?”

“What? How does that relate to the Arcane?”

“It is very related. Common people think of fortune or luck as something mandated by the heavens. They see it as a fate beyond themselves, and something they must willingly accept. But are we common people? Do you intend to live in such a manner, Lady Arima?”

“No! I walked this path to transcend a mundane fate. I know what people call us—devils, witches. Hunters and priests regularly come to kill me. But I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to live a mundane life. I want to be like a star in the sky. If I can grasp even a part of the world’s hidden secrets—”

Her reaction was intense.

Did my previous nonsense lecture really give her some enlightenment?

I simply asked if she wanted to live an ordinary life, but she had a huge emotional response and passionately shared her dreams.

I continued the conversation, a bit flustered.

“Listening to Lady Arima’s story, I remember when I first started exploring the Arcane 80 years ago. Every mage’s beginning is humble.”

Kim Mooksung: Oh great, you’re pretending to be a hundred-year-old mage now?

“Back to the topic of luck. Luck is about belief! Living without doubt, having faith in life, and having self-confidence. I act, so the world follows. Let go of the notion that luck leads an individual for it is an individual that leads luck.”

Seungyub!

As planned,

Seungyub approached. He casually tossed a die.

Naturally, it showed a 6.

Gaining confidence, Seungyub started a more entertaining show.

He pulled out a deck of cards, shuffled them, and flicked a card at Arima’s chest.

Surprised, Arima pulled it out and found a Queen.

Seungyub nonchalantly drew another card and handed it to me.

I flipped it to reveal a King.

Even knowing about his Blessing, this was impressive.

We could dominate a gambling den at this rate.

Arima’s eyes widened as she alternated between looking at Seungyub and me.

“Is this something that can be learned too?”

Time to pull back a bit.

“This is difficult. It’s heavily influenced by innate talent. I just wanted to show you some of the possibilities of magic.”

You can’t do this without a Blessing.

“I’ve never met anyone like you, Teacher. Not even the Chief Mage of the Empire or the Magician King of the Eastern Forest could possess such diverse powers.”

Does this world have an empire or a kingdom?

Are those areas fully implemented?

With this level of conversation, the day’s lecture ended.

Arima left the cabin before dawn.

After Arima left, I recalled the updated scenario content from earlier.

Most of it was trivial, just detailing our plans and that Arima would come to the cabin.

However, one sentence caused significant concern.

The witch, who is now one step closer to wicked wisdom, arrives at the cabin with great dreams.

The latter part just stated she arrived at the cabin, but the first part was worrisome.

The witch who is now one step closer to wicked wisdom.

Did she really gain some insight from our nonsense?

I stepped outside for a walk, pondering.

Seriously, what if she’s really gaining something?

I recalled Ahri’s words.

Venerable Wonhyo 1 achieved enlightenment by drinking from a skull filled with water.

Isaac Newton had the inspiration for the law of gravity by watching an apple fall.

Enlightenment didn’t always come from complex lectures from experts.

A complete beginner wouldn’t gain anything from a falling apple or a skull of stale water.

But if said someone has spent their life seeking wicked wisdom...?

A witch knocking on the door of evil truth might only need a small shift in perspective to make a leap forward.

A foreboding feeling grew.

A growing villain*?*

An enemy growing stronger, while we hesitate due to treating an ally.

Is this the core of this trial?

We must end this tomorrow.

It’s clear that dealing with the witch is more important than Jinchul-hyung’s treatment now.

One question remained.

If the witch has truly gained some “enlightenment,” what exactly was she realizing?

It must be a revelation so malevolent, it’s beyond a normal person’s /genesisforsaken