"...15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50!"
Veronica completed the count as I took the final step, stumbling forward into her arms. "Great job as always," she added, but I remained lost in my thoughts, just letting her take me to my room in silence while I calculated how much longer I had left in this exile.
It was now two more months since I woke up, making it a total of five months here. My legs were more responsive than at the start, but the pain remained persistent. Today I was able to take fifty steps, only requiring Veronica's assistance for the first thirty.
Okay, that sounds pathetic when I think about it.
But it's considerable development considering this is a bone-related injury. By a few more months, I should be able to walk around on my own, and from then on I can begin the first part of my plan, which would be getting Veronica to train me. As much as the sight of her alone enrages me, I'm not stupid enough to not take full advantage of her while we're still together.
Is she strong?
That was the wrong question.
The question should be—how strong is Veronica?
By my estimations over the years I was with her, I would say VERY. She was too OP for her own good. In the novel, she was one of the characters I just described as "powerful," and there was no other detailing to that. No limit. No range. I just called her powerful, and this world took my words to heart.
In the novel, she's supposed to be the person who would bring an end to Artemis.
Yes.
Artemis was killed by his very own maid at the last moments of his life.
Weeeeeeell, I didn't explicitly detail out what she did to him. I just made it more like a cliffhanger for which readers were passed the baton of imagination to forever wonder what happened to Artemis. All I really did was write out how his final battle with Lucian played out and how it had all come to an end, bringing about the death of two important heroines and some named supporting characters.
Yes, Artemis did that.
But not by his strength, as you may have guessed. He had done something that even I, who is so desperate for power, would never even consider an option. Ever. He became a vessel for a NIGHTMARE. It was at that final moment of his death, after he had been pushed off into another dimension to die slowly, that Veronica suddenly appeared from nowhere, and then... well, there was no then since that was the last thing I ever wrote about Artemis.
But that's besides the point.
All I'm trying to say is that Veronica should be far stronger than the protagonist himself. What makes her so strong is one, her bloodline ability, and two, the fact that she has affinity to four elements. She's broken, that's an undeniable fact, and I intend to make proper use of that.
I don't have mana, so anything related to that aspect is a no-go area for me. That said, I will focus more on physical training. When I get strong enough, I will then explore the lands beyond this mansion. A little life and death situation should sharpen my mind and body.
"You know, Amelia and Lucian might actually—"
"Don't, Veronica. Just don't." I said, to which she fell silent.
I already knew what she wanted to say, and frankly, I didn't give two flying fucks about it. As I said, my plan is to get into the academy, find those characters, and locate the way out of this world.
"Do you... still like her?" I heard as I sat on my desk, about to immerse myself in these completely worthless books.
I tilted my head to look at Veronica. She was looking right back at me with an odd expression I couldn't place and frankly didn't care about. "No. I don't. Why?" I asked, to which she said nothing for a while, just turned around and left the room.
Unpredictable as always.
With that, I turned to the stacks of books and picked up a random one.
"The Snow Family."
I had already read this one. It's about how the Snow family was formed and their roots, which could be traced back to the age of fallen gods. It even had the record of the god from which the bloodline ability came about—Ignis. I'm not sure how accurate this is since I didn't detail out these parts of Atlantis history. I'm just an author, not a psychopath.
I dropped that one and picked another.
"Where Worlds Collide."
I have also read this one as well, however this is knowledge I already have since I had detailed this part out at some point in the novel. It's about the history of Atlantis. Back during the age of the fallen gods, there was no Atlantis. In fact, before the fallen gods found this world, which was previously called Earth, there was no knowledge of mana. No one knew about it. It wasn't that mana wasn't in existence—it was just that no one could sense or manipulate it.
But that all changed after the fallen gods invaded the world to seek refuge, in the course of which the knowledge of mana came into the open, causing the chain reaction which led to the invasion of NIGHTMARES and then the creation of Atlantis.
Sigh.
I sighed and slouched before placing my head on the table, my arms folding around it to make it more comfortable. Before I knew it, I had already fallen deep into sleep.
"...ster."
"Ma... up."
"Up..."
"MASTER."
"HAAAH!" I gasped, sitting up with a start only to find Veronica staring right at me.
"Ugh." I pressed my forehead to ward off the hazy feeling, scratching my neck as well as I felt a bit itchy there. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's time for your lunch," she said, moving back to stand properly, to which I turned to look around then squinted at the bright ray of sunlight filtering through the windows.
Hmm.
How long has it been since I've seen some blessed ray of light?
"Already?" I asked, to which she nodded.
"Shall we?"
I drew my palms down my face before exhaling deeply. "Alright," I said, then stood up following her out of the room.
Hmm.
Something feels wrong here, but why can't I place my finger on it?
"Master, what am I to you?"
Eh?
"...What did you say?" I asked with furrowed brows.
"I asked if I'm the only one who feels this way..."
Okay, what sort of nonsense is this?
"Look, I'm in no mood for—"
CHA!
"Huh?"
Splatter.
"I knew it," she said. "You don't feel the same way. You don't love me! You lied! You still love her! It's always about her!"
W-what's going on?
"Why do I always have to feel this pain? Why don't you just look in my direction?! Why won't you just love me in return?! Why does it always have to be her?!"
I looked down to find red liquid drenching my shirt.
WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK.
"Ve-ronica," I said, watching her smile as she pulled out the blade. Before I could even realize what was happening, I was staring at the blue ceiling.
Oh no.
She actually did it.
She actually killed—
Wait.
Something is wrong with all this. Why don't I feel pain?
"HAAAH!"
All of a sudden, I found myself seated, gasping as I stared at the stack of books before me. I proceeded to stare at my palms, then my chest.
Nothing.
There was no injury.
"It was just... a dream?" I muttered.
Now that I think about it, there was no way it was real. The sun in this dimension is a bloody red. Also, I was walking—that shouldn't be possible yet. Plus there's also that blue ceiling. Everything was just odd. I should have noticed.
Sigh.
Creak.
I looked back.
It was Veronica.
"Master, it's time for your meal," I heard.
She was smiling that same way as well.
This is not a dream, right?