The Forbidden Book and Bad News on the Nightly News
The Zeroth family mansion wasn't a "home". It was a mausoleum for the living.
The building loomed pitch black atop a cliff overlooking a turbulent sea, its architecture sharp and menacing as if wanting to pierce the sky. There were no flower gardens. Only gargoyle statues whose eyes followed the movements of anyone passing by.
The limousine stopped in the main courtyard.
"We have arrived, Young Master." Luna opened the door. Her face was flat again, but she wasn't staring at my neck with a look that wanted to slice an artery anymore. Those macarons were truly the best investment.
"Prepare a bath," I ordered while walking quickly up the main stairs. "Use Dead Sea Salts and... three drops of Nightshade oil. I need total relaxation."
Luna's eyes widened slightly. Nightshade oil? That's a mild poison. Maybe she thought I was training poison resistance, or just plain crazy.
"As you command. But preparation will take one hour."
"Good. Do not disturb me until the water is ready. I will be in Father's Study. He's on duty at the border, isn't he? So I am in control of this house."
"Understood." Luna bowed, then disappeared into the left wing corridor.
As soon as she was out of sight, I turned sharply to the right. Not to the Study, but towards the underground library.
In the game world, this was the [Hidden Dungeon: Zeroth Archive].
A Level 50 area full of magical traps. But the key wasn't 'Level', the key was 'Zeroth Family Blood'.
I stopped in front of a large painting of my great-grandfather—Duke Zeroth I, a Necromancer said to have once revived a legion of corpses.
I reached into my pocket, pulling out a small golden skull-shaped key. But this key wasn't inserted into a keyhole.
This key was a ceremonial dagger.
Slash. Without hesitation, I sliced my own palm with the tip of the key.
Fresh blood dripped onto the floor.
[HP -10]
[Status: Bleeding (Minor)]
"Damn, that hurts..." I grimaced, enduring the sting.
The stone floor beneath the painting absorbed my blood. A rumbling sound of shifting stone was heard.
The large painting swung open, revealing a pitch-black spiral staircase passage.
The smell of old paper and rotten Mana wafted from inside.
This is it. The villains' treasure trove.
I turned on the flashlight feature on my smartphone (a strange contrast, modern technology in an ancient dungeon) and stepped inside.
The stairs seemed endless. Every step echoed in the eternal silence.
Finally, I arrived at a circular room whose walls were packed with bookshelves reaching up to the ceiling.
The books here weren't ordinary books.
There were books chained up because they liked to bite readers. There were books whispering seductively in ancient tongues. There were books burning with eternal fire.
I ignored the high-level offensive magic books. I didn't have the mana to cast them.
My goal was specific: The Category Shelf [Deception & Suppression].
I walked down aisle C-4. My eyes scanned the titles on the dusty spines.
'How to Summon a Succubus in 3 Steps' — Maybe later when I don't want to die.
'1001 Curses of Festering Boils' — Useful for people I bully, but not now.
'Advanced Demon Anatomy' — Boring.
Ah, here it is.
A thin book with a gray leather cover that looked very simple compared to the other glamorous books.
[Manual of The Void Heart]
I picked it up. Dust flew.
This was a passive breathing technique used by ancient magic assassins to hide their presence. But its side function was more important to me: This technique taught how to lock Mana leakage.
My Mana Poisoning problem was that the mana in my body was too wild and overflowing, damaging the clogged channels. If I could 'shut down' that mana flow to absolute zero, the pain and coughing blood would stop.
I opened the first page.
[System Alert!]
[You found Skill Book: Void Heart Technique (Grade A)]
[Requirements: Intellect A, Mana Capacity B+]
[Your Status Meets Requirements.]
[Do you want to learn this instantly?]
Instant? Ah, right. Novelpia System. The advantage of being a 'Player'. Natives had to study it for months. I only needed to press a mental button.
"Yes."
Zing!
The book glowed, then turned into gray light particles that seeped into my forehead.
A headache hit me for a moment, then was replaced by an incredibly comfortable cold sensation in my chest.
My left chest, which had felt hot and stinging all day, suddenly became cool.
My coughing stopped. The tightness in my breath vanished.
"Phew..." I took a deep breath, then exhaled. No wheezing sound in my lungs.
[Skill Acquired: Void Heart (Level 1)]
[Passive Effect: Mana Recovery +10%, Stealth +20%]
[Active Effect: 'Mana Shut-Down'. Stops 100% of mana movement in the body. Eliminates pain from the curse, but you cannot use magic at all while this mode is active.]
Perfect. As long as I was in this mode, I was just a normal human. But at least, a healthy normal human.
"One more thing," I muttered. "I need 'cosmetics'."
I walked to a glass table in the center of the room. Stored there were various failed or cursed magical artifacts.
I looked for a silver ring with a cracked opal stone.
[Ring of the Great Deceiver (Grade C)]
[Effect: Creates a fake Status Window illusion when scanned by low-mid level Appraisal magic.]
[Curse: This ring consumes the user's self-confidence little by little (Causes mild depression).]
"Depression?" I laughed hollowly. "I already know my destiny is to die in 890 routes. What kind of depression could scare me?"
I grabbed the ring and put it on my left ring finger.
Immediately, I set the 'Fake Status' via thought.
Setting: Mana Capacity S, Strength B, Magic Tier: 4.
Now, if any student or teacher (besides Viktor or the Headmaster) tried to peek at my status, they would see a monster, not trash.
"Mission complete. Time for a bath."
One hour later, I walked out of the bathroom in a silk bathrobe, feeling much fresher. The Void Heart effect was truly a medical miracle. I felt like I could run a marathon—even though in reality my Stamina stat was still F.
I sat on the room's sofa, turning on the magic television floating in the air.
The glowing crystal screen displayed the Empire's evening news broadcast.
"Breaking News: Monster attack on the Southern border successfully quelled by the 3rd Legion..." Boring.
I changed channels. Entertainment channels, noble gossip, mana crystal stock prices...
Until my finger stopped pressing the remote button when I saw a familiar face on the screen.
A girl.
Long wavy golden blonde hair. Emerald green eyes radiating pure kindness. Wearing white nun robes with holy gold ornaments. She was waving to a crowd of commoners cheering hysterically, worshiping her name.
Aerith Solari. The Saintess. Holy Daughter of the Church of Light.
Main Heroine No. 1.
And the woman destined to kill the Final Villain with one word: "Judgment."
The news reporter spoke with a fiery tone: "Shocking News! The Holy Temple announced that Her Holiness Aerith will conduct a comparative study at Helios Academy earlier than scheduled! She is scheduled to arrive the day after tomorrow to join Class S!"
My heart, which had just calmed down thanks to the new skill, started beating fast again.
"Wait a minute... The day after tomorrow?!"
I jumped off the sofa.
"The original scenario said she only arrives in the middle of Semester 1! After the 'Forest Dungeon' incident! Why is she coming in the first week?!"
Was it because of the 'Butterfly Effect'?
Because I changed the interactions with Sylvia and Lukas?
Or because the System deliberately sped up the difficulty to Hell mode?
The problem with Aerith wasn't her power. The problem was her passive eyes: [Evil Detection].
She could see someone's 'Sin' and 'Curse' as a black aura.
Amon Von Zeroth's body?
Oh, my body was a lighthouse of darkness. I was coated in ancestral curses, black magic, and bad karma from the previous body owner.
If Aerith saw me, she would immediately scream, "DEMON!" and the whole school would gang up on me in the name of religion.
[EMERGENCY QUEST!]
A blood-red panel appeared in my field of vision, covering Aerith's beautiful face on the TV.
[Quest: The Saintess' Judgement]
[Description: The Saintess's arrival is accelerated. Her Holy Eyes are an existential threat to a Villain. You cannot fight her. You cannot kill her.]
[Objective: Find a way to hide Amon's 'Dark Aura' within 48 hours.]
[Failure: Public Execution by Church Inquisition.]
[Reward: Aerith's Initial Affection not instantly -100.]
I fell sitting onto the carpet.
The ring I just picked up underground could only deceive digital Status Windows and basic Appraisal magic.
That ring COULD NOT deceive Holy Eyes that looked directly into the soul.
"48 Hours..." I massaged my temples.
I needed a legendary-class item. Or a very specific potion. The 'Potion of False Redemption'.
A potion that turned the user's aura purely white temporarily.
The problem?
The main ingredient was Lunar Flower Petals which only grew in the Headmaster's private greenhouse... or in shady black market shops for billions.
My wallet? Full. Money wasn't an issue.
The issue was access.
Suddenly, my smartphone vibrated on the table.
One incoming message from an unknown number (Encrypted).
[Sender: Unknown]
[Subject: Interested in Your 'Dance' in Class S]
[Body: I heard Young Master Zeroth showed off demonic knowledge in Viktor's class. We have 'goods' that might interest a collector of your class. Underground Auction Sector 13. Tonight. 11 PM. Bring a mask.]
Amon's eyes narrowed.
Coincidence? No. In this novel world, there are no coincidences. Someone was watching me.
And Sector 13 was the place where Lunar Flowers were often smuggled.
I glanced at the wall clock. 9 PM.
There was still time.
But Luna was guarding my room door (or at least the hallway outside). Going out through the front door was impossible.
I walked to the balcony window. The night sea breeze blew hard.
3rd Floor.
Physical Status: F.
If I jump, I die.
I smiled faintly, opening my system inventory.
[Mana Potion x1]
[Smoke Bomb x2]
[Grapnel Gun (Rope shooting tool) - Last Week's Gacha Reward I thought was trash]
"Alright, Saintess," I muttered while putting back on a pitch-black suit—this time a Rogue model without family attributes. "You want to judge me? You have to catch me first."
I activated [Void Heart]. My presence vanished.
Tonight, Amon Von Zeroth would become a ghost in his own city.
Meanwhile, in the next room, Luna Artoria was sitting on the edge of her narrow bed.
She was holding a small diary with a worn cover.
A quill pen danced on the paper.
Daily Report #1832:
Target (Amon) shows strange behavior. Highly deviant from usual psychological profile.
1. Detected Grade-B poison but forgave it.
2. Gave accurate medical advice to rival (Sylvia).
3. Gave macarons (observer subject's favorite object) without clear strategic reason.
Luna stopped writing. She stared at the remaining strawberry macaron crumbs at the corner of her lips through the mirror.
Analysis:
Possibility 1: Target is crazy due to pressure.
Possibility 2: Target is planning something far more evil and needs my loyalty.
Possibility 3: ...Target changed.
Luna closed the book.
Her blue eyes stared at the wall separating her room from Amon's room.
"Who are you really, Young Master?" she whispered to the darkness.
And in the darkness of the night outside the window, a black shadow slid down from the balcony using a thin rope, disappearing into the pitch black night of Neo-Arcadia city, unnoticed by the Zeroth family's best Assassin.
The 'Void Heart' skill was already showing its fangs.
