Chapter 76: The Sin of Memories

Alden’s POV:

As the bright morning sun rays fell on the small forest clearing, I lay there, feeling the pleasant warmth spread across my skin. My eyes fluttered open, and I quickly looked around, trying to piece together what had just happened.

All around me, the villagers lay on the grass, slowly waking up from their unconscious state. It looked as if the invisible threads tying them to their terrible nightmares had finally snapped. I watched as people sat up, looking around in pure confusion. Fortunately, every single one of them was alive. The unknown spell that dragged them into this mess didn’t actually kill anyone.

As I sat up and aligned my racing thoughts, several system chimes suddenly rang in my brain, snapping me to attention.

[Ding! You have obtained a ’Sin’ of ’Memories’!]

[You have gained a new passive ability ’Absolute Memory’!]

[Ding! Your overall stats have been increased significantly!]

[Your mana capacity has been increased significantly!]

My gaze fell on the system interface. I didn’t feel surprised at all. I already guessed this was another similar orb like the one I touched back under the sea. But unlike last time, this one felt a little different. My mind felt relatively calmer and sharper than before.

’It seems every time I grab that particular ’Sin’, I get some cool new abilities. But still, what exactly is this ’Sin’? Is it some kind of curse, or something entirely different?’

I couldn’t help but think hard about it, but my gaze soon caught the confused villagers standing up. The job here was done, which meant it was time to claim my sweet reward.

...

Inside the Village Lord’s cozy house, I sat at the dining table. Opposite me sat the Village Lord himself, Byron, wearing an expression of pure bewilderment. He looked like he didn’t know what to make of the situation. One day he was stressing over how to save his people, and the next moment, a young guy appeared out of nowhere and solved the massive burden weighing on his shoulders.

Beside him sat the little girl, Ellie. She happily munched on a piece of bread while watching the two of us.

I took a sip from my cup of warm tea and looked right at him.

"So! It seems the work is done. I should get my reward now, right?"

Byron looked at me, still stunned. He knew I was right; the villagers were safe and returning home. But how could he just hand over the money without learning what the actual problem was?

"Okay, I will give you the reward! But before that, you have to explain to me what exactly happened. I need to make sure this incident doesn’t happen again."

I nodded calmly. I knew he wouldn’t just hand over the gold without asking questions. Good thing I already had an excuse prepared.

"Ahem! I will tell you. A strange monster appeared in the surrounding vicinity. It seems it was a beast that traps people inside their own nightmares, which is exactly why everyone wandered into the forest. I simply went there, followed the trail of the people, and killed the monster. Its body vanished into thin air after it died, and the people were instantly saved."

Ellie’s eyes sparkled at my words. She totally believed my excuse, especially after seeing me magically summon a wheelchair and blow up a wolf monster earlier.

"Papa, Mage Bro must be telling the truth! He also killed the bad monster with a giant dash!"

Byron looked at his excited daughter, shook his head, and nodded at my reasoning.

"Okay, if you say so, then I will believe it. Thank you for saving the villagers from this crisis. Here you go."

With a flick of his fingers, a large, heavy pouch filled with shiny gold coins appeared in his hand. He pushed it across the table toward me.

I accepted it happily. I thought about counting it on the spot, but seeing their earnest expressions, I decided not to push my luck. I stood up and transferred the heavy pouch into my inventory, making sure to show off a fake storage ring on my finger so I wouldn’t reveal my System to anyone.

"Okay, I will leave now."

Byron’s eyes widened, and even little Ellie looked surprised.

"You can stay here if you want to. The village is out of danger, and you will like the atmosphere around here. It is a relatively peaceful place."

I looked at them and shook my head.

"No, I have to go back to the academy soon. There are only a few days left before classes start again, and I still have to train a bit. But thanks for the offer."

I looked at the little girl, who showed a sad pout. Strangely, I didn’t actually feel much emotion toward her. I lacked the willingness to comfort the kid, feeling a bit emotionally detached. Still, I forced myself to move. I placed a hand on her head and forced a bright smile.

"See you later, little one. Here, take this!"

I pulled out several chocolate bars I had summoned from my past world earlier and handed them to her. Her sad expression vanished instantly as she looked at the new treats.

"Oh, thanks, Mage Bro!"

Seeing her smile, I turned back to Byron and gave a firm nod.

"Okay, I should get going."

Before he could reply, I turned around, walked out the open door, and immediately used my skill to teleport away. I wanted to head straight back to the academy, knowing that even if I tried to run away from that place, I ultimately had to return.

...

Alicia’s POV:

Meanwhile, back inside the academy.

The sprawling training ground was relatively quiet. Very few students could be seen wandering around, as more than half of them had already gone home for the vacation.

A girl sat alone on a wooden bench. Her silver hair was tied back in a neat ponytail. She sat stiffly, staring at nothing. Her fingertips gently tapped the bench, and with every single tap, a layer of frost spread across the wood.

Alicia sat there, listening to the exact same rumor that had been going around the academy for three days straight: the incident about the kiss.

Her face remained blank, showing no outward expression, but hiding behind that calm facade was the real Alicia. Her patience was wearing razor-thin, and she was trying her hardest to hold back from going totally crazy.

’I thought this time it would be a little different. It seems I was wrong. He was never supposed to be mine. Was I just holding onto false hope all this time?’

’Is he already drifting away from me? It is my fault. She must have told him about those things... about the past things I did to him. That must be why he got manipulated by her! That b*tch, should I just kill her?’

Alicia sighed and shook her head. The freezing cold inside her body still remained. She was getting used to feeling this torturous wave of ice over and over again. It was just yesterday that she was finally able to step out of her dorm room, and the very moment she calmed down, she heard the rumor about Syrene and Alden.

Just as she lost herself deep in her thoughts, she saw a boy entering the training ground. He had messy black hair and familiar, striking red eyes. She didn’t even have to stare to know who he was; his face and eyes were already imprinted in her mind.

Alicia stood up and walked forward to meet him. Her steps were light as she forcefully calmed the icy storm racing inside her chest.

She wanted to know how much he had found out. How did Syrene explain the past to him? She needed to know right away so she could either clear up the misunderstanding or just face him directly without making any cheap excuses.

As she neared him, he noticed her walking his way. He paused and looked at her calmly.

"Oh, it’s been a while, Alicia."

His voice sounded normal, as if nothing had ever happened. He acted as if he didn’t realize the truth, as if that kissing incident a few days ago meant nothing, or perhaps he simply didn’t care about her feelings at all. That casual attitude unnerved her way more than if he had shown pure anger.

She stopped in front of him and asked the burning question.

"How much did you find out?"

Alden looked at her calmly, tilting his head slightly before replying.

"Maybe everything I’m supposed to know..."

Alicia remained quiet after hearing his answer. For some reason, she felt nervous as she asked again.

"How much?"

Alden finally turned toward her completely as he continued in a relatively sharp voice.

"Let’s talk somewhere else, shall we?"

Alicia looked at him, unsure of what he was going to say, and nodded involuntarily.

"Alright..."