Chapter 11: Death of the White Moonlight
1377words
【System Notification: Encountered elite monster 'Toxic Slime' LV.28.】
Accompanied by the system's prompt sound, a gigantic, mountain-sized dark green gelatinous mass crawled out from the forest ahead, blocking our path. It had no fixed form, its body resembling a thick liquid constantly bubbling, emitting a suffocating stench and visibly releasing dark green toxic gas. Wherever the poisonous gas drifted, vegetation instantly withered and blackened, as if their life force had been completely drained. It writhed its enormous body, with its corners (if those could be called corners) continuously dripping viscous, highly corrosive venom that sizzled holes into the ground wherever it fell.
This was essentially a walking, self-aware biochemical weapon!
"Protect His Highness the Prince!" Arthur let out a roar, immediately drawing the knight's longsword from his waist, the blade instantly igniting with dazzling holy light.
Almost simultaneously and without hesitation, I activated [Protective Barrier]. A pale golden, semi-transparent magical shield instantly enveloped Frederick and me. I held this little tagalong tightly behind me, quickly retreating to hide behind a massive boulder, away from the main battlefield. No joke, as a LV.12 theoretical instructor going against a LV.28 elite monster, I'd just be throwing my life away. My primary mission is to ensure this future major villain survives until the day he's supposed to turn to the dark side.
Arthur and Anais, who had regained a considerable amount of strength, drew their weapons on either side and engaged in a fierce battle with the giant slime. Sword flashes and magic intertwined and danced among the trees, the roaring sounds of battle were incessant, and powerful energy waves continuously struck the surroundings, causing the leaves to rustle. Arthur's swordsmanship was bold and powerful, each strike carrying purifying holy light, leaving scorching marks on the slime's body. Anais, with the agility far surpassing nobles due to her commoner background, moved around the edges of the battlefield, constantly seeking the monster's weaknesses with her poisoned dagger.
However, an accident still occurred.
While dodging a sweeping attack from a slime's tentacles, Anais made a fatal positioning error. She was tripped by a vine that suddenly sprouted from the ground, causing her to lose balance. The slime's gelatinous tentacle, like a giant whip, struck her forcefully in the side of her abdomen.
"Ah!" She let out a painful scream, her body flying through the air like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily to the ground not far in front of me, with a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.
The magical beast immediately locked onto this fallen, vulnerable prey. It emitted a deep roar, and its massive body accelerated its slithering movement toward Anais. At the same time, the poisonous gas emanating from its body grew more intense, nearly turning the surrounding air dark green.
As I watched this scene that could only be described as a "plot-driven death," my heart was caught in an intense struggle between conflicting impulses.
"Although I've been reincarnated as Winifred, I'm only at LV.12, not yet proficient with magic manipulation, and most of what I know is just theoretical knowledge. The opponent is a LV.28 elite monster - if I go up there, I'd just be throwing my life away! And all this to save someone who will be my love rival in the future?" My survival instinct was screaming at me to run away.
But another voice reminded me. With Anais in imminent danger, if this female protagonist died, the entire game plot would completely collapse, and my main quest—"Fill in all the missing game storylines"—would utterly fail. Quest failure meant I might never be able to return home!
Of two evils, choose the lesser one.
I gritted my teeth and had no choice but to forge ahead. I pushed Frederick behind a safer rock, ordered him "don't move," and then rushed out from our hiding place. I stretched out my hand, mobilizing the not-so-abundant magical power within my body, and released several low-level [Fireballs], attempting to impede the magical beast's advance with ranged attacks and buy Arthur time for rescue.
The orange-red fireballs whistled through the air and crashed against the slime's enormous body, yet they only produced a few muffled "puff puff" sounds, like a mud ox entering the sea, leaving only a few insignificant charred marks on its body. My attacks were merely a tickle to it, serving instead as a provocation that thoroughly enraged it.
[System Notification: 'Venomous Slime' has been enraged by your attack and entered a berserk state!]
The monster let out a screech so sharp it was piercing to the ears, its enormous body suddenly expanding violently, like a balloon inflated to its limit. Then, before everyone's horrified eyes, with a loud "BANG," it violently burst apart!
Its gigantic body transformed into thousands upon thousands of fragments of varying sizes, all mixed with highly concentrated venom, falling like an overwhelming, dark green downpour, indiscriminately crashing down toward our position.
Arthur reacted extremely quickly. He darted forward and, just before the toxic rain fell, grabbed Anais's arm and pulled her forcefully behind him, using his tall frame and armor infused with holy light to create a safe zone for her.
Meanwhile, I, and Frederick not far behind me, were completely exposed within the attack range of this rain of death, with open space all around us and nowhere to hide.
In that moment, as I watched the green poison raining down from the sky and smelled the deadly sweet stench in the air, a crazy and bold thought flashed through my mind like lightning.
"If I... die here, would I be able to go home? According to the original game setting, Winifred is the 'early death' first love. Dying here to protect the prince would perfectly fill this major plot hole in the game's storyline. With the mission complete, would I be able to log out of this cursed world?"
Once this thought appeared, it wouldn't go away. It was like a wildly growing vine that instantly wrapped around my entire heart.
Going home. These words held more temptation than anything else.
So, in the final second before the deadly toxic rain fell, I resolutely and without hesitation turned around, spread my arms, and with my not-so-strong, only level 12 body of flesh and blood, protected the dumbfounded future arch-villain Frederick behind me with a "Guardian Spell."
[System Notification: You have been hit by 'Toxic Splash' attack, HP-50, entered 'Severe Poisoning' state.]
[System Notification: You have been hit by 'Toxic Splash' attack, HP-50, HP-52... your health is rapidly decreasing...]
Dense, corrosive poison masses fell continuously on my back, cold and sticky. I could clearly feel my Health Points (HP) rapidly decreasing amid system notification sounds. My beloved plain white instructor's robe, which I had always treasured, was instantly stained beyond recognition—the dark green poison and the corroded, damaged fabric mixed together, emitting a foul stench.
"How unfortunate that I can't even die beautifully," I thought, trying to find humor in my misery.
I could feel Frederick, whom I was protecting beneath me, his entire small body frozen stiff. He remained shocked and motionless, allowing me to shield him, seemingly unable to comprehend what was happening before his eyes.
He surely couldn't understand why his instructor—the one he always teased and who would get upset with him for half a day over a strand of hair—would now be protecting him with her own life.
Great, this is exactly the effect I wanted. To leave this future big villain with an unforgettable, most profound imprint.
My eyes reddened as I forced out a few genuine tears mixed with longing for home and fear of death. With my last strength, I painfully turned my head and gave him what I believed was the world's weakest, gentlest, most sacred, and most affectionate smile.
"Don't be afraid, Frederick," my voice was as faint as a candle in the wind, "The mentor... will... protect you..."
After saying this, I felt exactly like those self-sacrificing, saintly female protagonists in games who earn players' tears. I have to say, this feeling, right before "logging off," was really... quite moving.
I, Winifred Jin, am about to sacrifice myself for art today!
