Cursed Villainess' Obsession-Chapter 50

But now it was clear.

‘No matter the method, a clear is possible.’

In the previous game, if a clear was impossible due to programming, players were left with nothing to do but comply.

But now that it had become reality, anything deemed impossible in the game could be achieved with a shift in mindset.

“Alright! Shall we move on to the next room?”

With Alicia's cheerful shout, we stepped through the open door into the next room.

“…This is.”

What lay beyond the door was another chamber.

However, unlike before, there was no exit in sight.

What was present were bland walls closing in on a room centered around three boxes.

‘Clear rewards!’

Since this event was originally deemed impossible to clear, I had never even considered that something like this would be prepared.

Was it an Easter egg of some sort?

Well, it was from a game company known for creating bizarre hidden settings that weren’t mentioned in the game descriptions.

They might as well have prepared clear rewards for an event that couldn't be cleared.

“Wow! Is this a treasure chest? For a haunted mansion, it’s pretty well done!”

“But there are only three.”

Upon discovering the treasure chests, Alicia’s bright smile froze at Mary’s comment.

Indeed, there were only three rewards.

With eight of us present, not everyone who participated could receive a reward.

“Hmm, what should we do?”

“It seems we need to decide who will take the boxes…”

As Ziegfried muttered while looking at the chests, everyone turned to me in unison.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

“…Me? Are you talking about me?”

Taken aback by the sudden attention, I pointed to myself in disbelief.

Then Adrian, smiling, responded.

“You gathered everyone here in the first place. If you hadn't, we wouldn't even be in a position to earn rewards.”

Mary nodded in agreement with his words.

“I’m fine with whatever method Ken decides.”

The others also had no opposing views, simply waiting silently for my response.

What they wanted was for me to decide how to fairly distribute the three boxes.

Distributing rewards…

It felt like a heavy burden.

It was like being made the leader of a group project.

Three boxes.

The first idea that came to mind was that the contributors to the event each take one.

While it was true that Alicia played a major role in the end, everyone else also struggled to find keys.

If I divided the boxes based on who did well, it might leave someone feeling slighted.

In situations like this…

“Alright! I won! Yay!”

“Wow! I never thought I’d win!”

Alicia and Emily, who had consecutively won at rock-paper-scissors, smiled brightly, each holding up their winning hand gestures.

“Is this the last one?”

Now, only six of us remained.

Though we didn’t know what was inside the boxes, everyone wore serious expressions, treating it as a simple challenge to win a prize.

After a moment of contemplation, we each picked our cards.

“I won!”

I lifted my fist triumphantly, letting out a shout of joy.

“Ugh! I was going to throw a fist!”

“Hehe, congratulations, Ken.”

Ellis, trembling as she held out her scissors, expressed her frustration, while Raphne beamed with delight.

Hmm… I hadn’t expected to win a reward, but was it really okay to take one?

…What does it matter! I played well in rock-paper-scissors!

The three winners stood before their chosen boxes.

“Hmm? There’s something written on the boxes.”

“Mine too. …Box of Desires?”

At Alicia and Emily’s comments, I looked at the lid of my box, finding the same phrase.

…Could it be a mimic or something similar?

No, one of the main features of this event was that we wouldn't get hurt. There was no way they would place a monster like that as the final reward.

“Well then! I’ll open mine first!”

Unable to resist the temptation of the rewards, Alicia gleamed with excitement as she placed her hand on the box.

Creeeak!

As she slowly opened the lid, seemingly to heighten the suspense, the contents were revealed…

“Wow! Guys! This is amazing! It’s sparkling gold!”

“Wow…! How much is all that worth?”

Inside Alicia’s box were gold coins filling it to the brim.

I estimated that it could easily buy a whole mansion.

“I want some too!”

Seeing this, Emily hastily opened her box.

“…A book?”

What emerged from Emily’s box was a thick tome.

“Can I take a look?”

I reached out to Emily, who was standing there puzzled with the unknown book.

“…This is.”

As I took the book from her, I examined its surface.

It was a luxurious leather-bound book, quite sizable, with a magical gem embedded like a lock.

The book was pure white.

I recognized this design from the game.

“……It’s a skill book.”

“A skill book?”

“It allows you to acquire skills by channeling magic into it when you open it. …This color indicates it’s a recovery magic type.”

“Wow! Really? So you can learn recovery magic right away?”

Emily, who had shown no particular reaction to the mention of the skill book, beamed like a child who just received a gift at the mention of recovery magic.

Once I handed the book back, she hugged it tightly with a bright smile.

“Did you want to learn recovery magic?”

The academy teaches basic magic, but recovery magic is typically reserved for the priests of the temple.

In the academy, only those connected to the temple learn that type of magic.

Thus, Emily had not learned magic from that particular field.

Of course, she could end up supporting her companions by learning recovery magic through a skill book like this.

I hadn’t expected her to be this happy.

“Recently, some dangerous situations have come up, so I wanted to learn something like this.”

In response to my question, Emily answered playfully with a grin.

‘…I see, the Box of Desires.’

Alicia received gold coins, and Emily received a skill book.

It seemed Alicia loved money enough to run a dating business with hypnosis.

Similarly, Emily obtained the skill book for magic she had always wanted to learn.

So, does that mean this box gives the person opening it what they need?

I placed my hand on the lid of the box in front of me, feeling nervous.

Everyone else’s gazes were fixed on me, eager to know what would come out.

What I wanted.

I thought for a moment, but nothing specific came to mind.

So, with my heart racing and no expectation of what would come out, I opened the box.

Creeeak…

“…A potion?”

It was Raphne’s murmuring from beside me.

I lifted the small bottle that lay inside the box.

Suddenly, a status window appeared before my eyes.

[System: You have obtained a rare item.

Item Name: Dragon’s Essence.]

‘Dragon’s Essence?’

The status window transitioned from the acquisition message to the item description, almost as if to answer my question.

[Dragon’s Essence: A concentrated essence extracted from the heart of a dragon, significantly increases the user’s magical power.]

An item that boosts magical power.

Such items are commonly found in games.

But I had never seen anything like essence extracted from a dragon’s heart.

‘Even when I hunted dragons, I never got anything like this.’

And then I recalled a certain individual as soon as I thought of dragons.

I glanced at Ziegfried beside me.

This was an item that boosts the user’s magical power.

However, beyond that simple description, since it came from a dragon, it might also enhance magical talent.

I thought of the secret settings that game developers often create.

‘…Could this item have been made for Ziegfried?’

If he consumes it, he would undoubtedly gain not only swordsmanship but also magical talent.

If that’s the case, it would provide him with the abilities he desired.

Just as I was about to speak to him, determined to offer the item…

“Stop, Ken.”

“…What? Huh?”

“I won’t take that. It’s something you earned.”

He immediately grasped my intentions and spoke first.

“But, senior, drinking that will surely grant you the abilities you’ve been wanting!”

Ziegfried smiled faintly at my words.

“If that’s the case, then it’s fine. …Not long ago, you gave me the answer. I’ll strive toward that. I won’t rely on a potion like that.”

He refused.

It was undoubtedly an item made for him, yet he preferred to sharpen his skills through his own efforts rather than take the easy route.

He truly was impressive.

Since Ziegfried declined, I opened the potion’s lid without hesitation.

“W-wait! Are you going to drink it right now? Isn’t that suspicious?”

“It’s fine. I know what this is.”

After explaining to the startled Alicia, I immediately gulped down the potion.

[System: You have used Dragon’s Essence.

The effects of Dragon’s Essence will be conferred upon you.]

The liquid flowing through my body felt vivid, and I soon sensed a powerful energy spreading throughout me.

[System: Your magical power has significantly increased.

Due to the effect of Dragon’s Essence, dragons will exhibit strong hostility toward you.

Due to the effect of Dragon’s Essence, you gain strong resistance against dragons.]

As I felt the energy spreading and absorbing, multiple status windows appeared before me simultaneously.

‘Resistance against dragons… and hostility?’

While one message appeared to be a drawback, the advantages far outweighed it.

And among them…

[System: You have surpassed the threshold for magical power and acquired a skill.

Acquired Skill: Magic Conversion.]

[Magic Conversion: If materials needed for item creation are lacking, they will be replaced with magical energy. The amount of magic consumed varies depending on the quality of the materials.]

My magical power surged significantly, and I gained an additional skill for item creation.

It was a skill that allowed me to substitute materials.

‘…If my guess is right, this means…’

There had been many times during item creation when I struggled due to a lack of materials.

Of course, it might not be possible to substitute materials of a certain level with just my increased magical power, like items of Aspetra’s grade.

However, now I could use my magic to create materials in urgent situations.

“Hey, Ken! Are you alright?”

I turned to see Raphne, who was concerned about me, and smiled brightly.

“Yeah! I feel fantastic!”

Fantastic, indeed! I had obtained an incredible reward I never expected!

“Thank you, really. I appreciate you helping me solve this headache! Here, this is the ownership deed to the mansion we promised!”

After receiving the reward and stepping outside the mansion, the ominous energy that had shrouded it dissipated.

As I opened the door again and went inside, it appeared as a perfectly normal mansion.

And as expected, I received the ownership deed to the mansion.

“Ugh, I don’t need such a creepy mansion… what about you, Ziegfried?”

“I also don’t particularly want a mansion like that…”

“Muhahaha! I’ve obtained enough gold that I don’t need a decrepit mansion!”

“I have no desire for the mansion either.”

It was no surprise that both the wealthy Alicia and Adrian refused the ownership deed, but even Alice and Ziegfried, who had terrifying experiences in the mansion, did the same.

Once the matter concluded, the four of them waved goodbye as they departed.

I stood there, watching them leave, alongside the three women.

“Well, regarding the ownership of this mansion…”

Since we all received it together, we had to decide what to do with it.

I asked the remaining three for their opinions.

“…I’m okay with not having such a creepy mansion.”

“I-I don’t mind if Ken takes it.”

“Why don’t we let Ken hold onto it for now? We might need it later.”

In the end, the bothersome ownership of the mansion fell to me.

I shouldn’t have to pay any taxes, right?

Still, I would need to repay the others who helped me properly later.

Having gained unexpected income, we returned to the academy.

It was merely a test challenge for the mansion.

I never imagined there would be such a significant reward.

After saying goodbye to Emily and Mary at the fork leading to the academy dorms, I returned to the tower with Raphne.

Just in time, I had acquired a new skill.

I was eager to test it out.

Arriving at the tower and climbing the familiar stairs to my room, I found it was already nighttime.

“Thanks, Raphne. Your help today was invaluable.”

“……”

“Oh, are you hungry? Should we have dinner first? I just need to make something for a bit…”

“……”

“Raphne?”

On the way to the tower, we had conversed normally.

But now that we were in the room, and I was donning my work apron while trying to talk to Raphne, there was no response.

She stood at the door with her back turned.

And then…

Clink!

“……Raphne?”

I heard a sound as if something was being locked, and she turned to face me.

“Stay here for the night, Ken.”

Ah, …now that I think about it, you did say to be prepared when we returned to the tower.

Raphne gazed at me with a familiar expression, smiling softly.