Chapter 8: I Am the Night Witch

“ENDLESS WORLD (Endless World)… huh?”

Without any warning, the familiar square particles from previous duels once again filled my entire field of vision.

Even though the sensory experience when entering BHAO was extremely similar.

I could still clearly feel an essential difference between the two.

A duel felt more like being thrown straight into a fully constructed “stage.”

The Endless World, however, gave me the illusion that my body had been dismantled and reassembled.

Perhaps it was only my guess.

Duels merely rebuilt the surrounding environment.

The Endless World embedded the entire body, along with consciousness, into a brand-new world.

Someday someone might fully confirm this.

This time, no three-dimensional title text appeared before my eyes.

Instead, an emotionless system prompt sounded.

This world and the environment it presented did not seem to be randomly generated based on when a player entered.

At least, that was the limit of my current understanding of the “Endless World.”

My train of thought halted abruptly.

The faint scent of club snacks and drinks that had lingered in my nose was suddenly replaced by a nauseating stench of decay.

My vision dimmed as well.

Since it was nighttime in reality, the Endless World was also shrouded in night.

Once my pupils adjusted to the darkness, a vast cluster of European-style buildings resembling a collection of classical architecture appeared before me.

Compared with “normal” European buildings, however, they clearly contained elements that should not exist.

Ancient. Vines. Blood. Ruined walls and broken ramparts.

These were the keywords I instantly assigned to the structures.

If I had to combine them into a single phrase.

It would probably be: a blood-soaked fallen royal city.

Every corner here radiated an ominous aura.

Even the wild grass pushing through the gaps in the stone slabs seemed soaked in an inescapable scent of blood.

“So this is the territorial scenery of the N2 district?”

I muttered softly.

“Looks like… danger lurks everywhere.”

It had only been a simple, unremarkable comment about an unfamiliar area.

Yet the moment my words faded.

That familiar, scalp-tingling voice rang out once again.

The voice was childishly sweet, like soft candy stripped of its coating.

Yet impossible to ignore.

My brain involuntarily entered a few seconds of “short-circuit mode.”

Following the sound, my gaze first met the raised arm.

Fair. Soft. Almost unreal in texture.

It offered pleasant visual enjoyment while stirring a dangerous impulse deep in my mind.

The urge to pinch.

Almost every exposed part evoked the same feeling.

Even so, her outfit could not be underestimated.

It was a simply designed purple tracksuit.

As clothing for BHAO’s “magic faction,” its details were far more complex than the surface suggested.

Magic-circle-engraved buttons ran diagonally across the chest to the waist.

A rune-covered belt cinched the waist.

The fusion of modern tailoring and magical elements already possessed high completion.

The real “bonus points,” however, lay elsewhere.

Hot pants that barely covered the hips and private areas.

Paired with black stockings that cleverly accentuated and fully displayed the lines of her entire thighs.

“…This design is enough to make any lolicon lose their mind on the spot.”

A self-deprecating quip laced with mockery slipped from my mouth.

I was not actually obsessed with such praise.

The clothing design itself was fine.

For combat mobility, hot pants were undeniably the optimal choice.

As for appearance.

I extended those delicate, petite fingers and poked randomly at the air in front of me.

In the Endless World, players could summon an additional interface outside of combat.

Its main use was to check equipment and status.

It could also serve as a mirror at times.

The girl reflected in my vision created an indescribable sense of dissonance.

She resembled my sister, Yae Hatsuyuki.

Yet she was clearly not her.

Rather than Hatsuyuki’s shadow, she was.

The feminized projection of “Yae Yoruichi.”

Black long hair did not stand out in the darkness.

But those eyes, interwoven with deep purple and crimson, condensed an undeniable charm within the night.

“I still prefer those muscle-bound, greatsword-carrying power-type characters…”

It had only been a simple complaint.

Yet spoken from the girl’s mouth, it turned into an unconscious coquettish whine.

A helpless blush rose on her cheeks.

Finally, accompanied by a soft sigh, it melted into the night.

Well… it’s only a game character anyway.

Like those true game enthusiasts, I should simply enjoy the game. That’s what I ought to do.

I draped a black cloak over her.

Only at this moment was everything finally complete.

This appearance.

Was the enduring symbol of the “Night Witch.”

The black robe itself provided no combat assistance.

And the only person who could glimpse the true form beneath the robe was me.

In the eyes of other BHAO players.

The witch who symbolized nightmares of the night, if the robe were lifted to reveal this “super-young-type” figure.

The community would probably erupt into chaos if word got out.

The consequences would be uncontrollable.

After sorting these irrelevant thoughts, it was time to dive into the real game.

This time’s target was an armament that had never appeared in BHAO before.

The information came from the BLUE DEEP WEB.

A dark trading network related to BHAO.

For it, I had paid 2000 points.

Currently, the Night Witch’s tier was 4.

I did not know whether this was punishment for obtaining an “illegal character.”

Whenever I tried to raise the tier to 5, the upgrade option was forcibly locked.

No matter how many points I invested, I could not break through.

Even so, with the existing skills.

The three skills possessed by the Night Witch had all been reinforced to max level by me.

In Blue Hearts: Arena Online, higher tiers meant more and stronger skills.

But for now, these three skills were already sufficient to handle the vast majority of situations.

“Then—”

“Let’s see whether this armament can make me stronger.”

I deliberately lowered my tone to make the voice sound colder.

Yet it still carried an inescapable milky sweetness.

I stretched out my right hand and began gathering power in the air.

At the same time.

Below the green-liquid life-value tube above my head, another tube filled with black liquid appeared side by side.

This was the power restriction for me.

For the “Night Witch.”

There was no text explanation and no system prompt.

The black liquid flowing inside the tube had neither its composition nor its meaning annotated.

I privately called it SHADOW POWER.

Although “dark energy” might have been more accurate.

As long as I remained in darkness.

After consuming a certain amount of SHADOW POWER, it would quickly recover.

But once exposed to light.

It would not only stop growing but would continue to decrease, eventually causing bodily weakness and complete loss of combat ability.

It was dangerous, like a double-edged sword.

Darkness granted me power.

Light would take everything away.

To fight while attached to the night.

That was the survival rule of the “Night Witch.”

Power gathering completed.

The black liquid above my head retreated one notch, then swiftly refilled.

This skill possessed an extremely long channeling time.

But its returns were absolutely worth it.

“My most proud Terror Doll ah—”

“I hope you bring the deepest fear to my enemies.”

I chanted the heavily chuuni line in a low voice.

Even though I had once complained about its embarrassment, I knew clearly that it was an indispensable step for skill activation.

Immediately afterward, a childish voice answered me.

“I will definitely succeed, Mommy.”