*** MC's POV ***

"Phew. I made it in time."

Fortunately, I managed to block Nicht's gift before it hit Bianca.

'If I was asked to write down what I've seen about Nicht's gift…'

Then, it would look like this–

[Gift: 1001 Curse of Inevitable Death (B+)]

[Effect: Once a day, you can designate a target to be cursed and shoot an attack from your hand that can bypass special fields. If your target gets hit by this curse, they will grow weaker and inevitably die after 1001 days. This curse can't be cured.]

It was an annoying gift that could definitely kill almost anyone, given enough time.

So why am I still fine?

Because, although it was an annoying gift, there's a trick I can use to circumvent it.

The important point is the sentence "… 'if' your 'target' gets hit by this curse…".

The word 'if' suggests there is a possibility it didn't hit the target.

And the word 'target' suggests that someone else could get hit in their place.

From what I saw with vision skill, the target was undoubtedly Bianca.

So, what would happen if I, who was not the target, got hit by the curse instead?

Then something like this would happen--

[You have been hit by the gift, 1001 Curse of Inevitable Death (B+).]

[You are not the target of this curse.]

[The curse has been removed.]

To put it simply, the easiest way to deal with this gift is to have someone who is not the 'target' get hit by the curse.

'I think counter strike can also deal with it, but...'

Just in case a variable happened, I chose to take it with my body instead.

'Also, despite the glaring loophole, it was actually a fitting gift for Nicht.'

Who was Nicht?

Wasn't he a shady bastard who would stab someone in the back?

If he just pretended to shake Bianca's hands and used his gift, then she would inevitably die 1001 days later.

'Anyway, it's a gift that anyone can deal with if they know of this trick.'

Which is why I'm still alive and kicking despite I was supposed to grow weaker and eventually die due to the curse.

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'However, at this point in time, Nicht probably still didn't know of this loophole.'

I mean, just look at his expression.

Didn't his face become rotten in real time after realizing that his supposedly powerful gift had been neutralized just like that?

'Well, now that he saw me doing this, he would realize the loophole sooner or later.'

He might even laugh in despair when he realizes that his gift is not as powerful as he expected it to be.

'But whether he laughs or cry is not my business.'

Now that my stealth has been undone, I should get away from this place.

'It would be bad if he went into a rampage and gave it his all to kill me.'

It was the moment when I was about to reactivate stealth and leave.

"Oh no, my disciple…"

A trembling voice.

"A curse of inevitable death? No… No! Even if I tried to heal him, Raon will…!"

I turned back and was surprised to see Bianca half in tears.

'Huh? Why did she look like that?'

Can't she see that I'm okay?

"Teacher?"

"Raon…!"

The moment I called out to her, she hugged me as tightly as she could.

'What's with this volume and softness?! I'm suffocating…!'

It was when I pulled my head back and looked at this pretty girl's face.

She was crying.

"I'm sorry…! I'm sorry… Sob… Because of this teacher, your village has been destroyed, and even you… You…"

She couldn't continue as if she was choked with sadness.

"No, no, it's not your fault teacher. You didn't do anything wrong. If you're going to blame someone, then blame them, not yourself."

I pointed to the black dragon over there, who was still laughing in despair as if thinking about his gift.

But he's not important right now. I'm more worried about Bianca than him.

Why is she like this?

'How come she didn't realize that I'm fine even though she has the skill to check my condition?'

It was then that I realized Bianca's eyes were not shining like when she was using her vision skill.

'Ah…!'

So that's why!

"Teacher, listen! Don't worry about me, okay? I'm completely healthy. See?"

I tried to explain my condition to Bianca, but…

"Oh, Raon… Even now, you are still worrying about others. For me to lose such a good disciple… Sob…"

"No, I'm telling you. I'm fine."

"It's okay, Raon. I understand. Just leave everything to this teacher, okay? I will take your revenge."

You don't understand at all…!

Bianca stopped hugging me as I tried to think of ways to convince her.

But when I saw that her gaze had turned ferocious towards Nicht and a thick killing intent spread out, I immediately took a step back.

'That's right, my teacher is also a dragon.'

Despite how she usually behaved towards me, she was still someone with tremendous power who could kill others if she wanted to.

'I don't think I can stop her.'

And now that I think about it, there's no need to stop her either.

Nicht was our enemy.

Bianca might have spared him due to her kindness back then. Still, the fact that Nicht was a dragon with a dirty personality who held grudges wouldn't change just because she showed him forgiveness and grace.

'If her misunderstanding will lead to Nicht's death...'

Then I should explain later after everything's over!

So I told Bianca to be careful and ran back towards the cave at full speed.

'Forgive me, teacher. You can punish me later!'

At that time, I didn't know that her punishment would be so embarrassing and dangerous for my heart—so much that a door that shouldn't have been opened would be opened!

But that was a tale for a later date.

For now, if I were to summarize what happened to Nicht…

After a fierce struggle to survive Bianca's wrath, both of his hands were cut off. But he managed to save his life by reverting to his dragon form and launching a breath attack towards me, who was hiding in Bianca's lair. This forced Bianca to protect me as he took the chance to teleport himself away to safety.

Should I say as expected of Nicht? He was so well-prepared that he even inscribed a one-time teleport magic circle in the area before all of this began.

'It's a shame that he got away. But now that both of his hands got cut off, I don't have to worry about his gift or swordsmanship ever again.'

It was an eventful day in many ways. And now that the danger had passed, it was time to resolve the misunderstanding with Bianca.