Chapter 1193 - 1193: Fallen Down

The pitch-black shadows swallowed the view like a tide, but the darkness lasted only for a brief moment before light quickly returned to sight.

Right after that, appearing before the mute girl was the much younger face of the Shield Woman.

Although the nickname given to her on the communication software was "Shield Glasses BBA," the mute girl knew that this Shield Woman teacher's eyesight wasn't bad, at least not requiring the aid of glasses.

The Shield Woman's glasses were as thick as the bottom of a wine bottle, so sturdy that they remained intact even after car accidents and explosions. Once worn, no matter how beautiful a person is, their presence would be instantly overshadowed.

According to her, they were custom-made to make her look more like a teacher.

After all, she looked barely older than the students.

Although in the mute girl's view, the Shield Woman was well past her expiration date age-wise, perhaps due to her affluent family and good upkeep, even in this world where bodies aren't nourished by magic power, the Shield Woman still had an endearing youthful face.

So in order to earn the trust of parents and to establish the necessary authority in front of students, she had no choice but to wear these heavy glasses.

That said, in the Kingdom, few people would hang such cumbersome and fragile objects on their face just to correct their vision.

The Saintess's familiar did wear glasses all year round, but that was supposedly to differentiate its appearance from the Saintess's relatives.

In the end, unless afflicted by some nasty curse or unfortunate eye injury, there were few Kingdom people whose poor eyesight affected their daily life.

Glasses there are typically a kind of magic guide device with special magic added.

Thus, the Shield Woman who lost her memory over there naturally wouldn't have the habit of wearing glasses.

Therefore, at this moment, looking at the face before her which was now without glasses and much younger, the mute girl did not feel unfamiliar; on the contrary, it seemed even more familiar.

Otherworldly people, during the process of crossing the realm's barriers, undergo a reshaping, and the Shield Woman, a prodigy breaking through legendary in just a few short years, had a face closer to that of the Shield Woman post-crossing.

Yet, the expression on the face of the girl before her was something the mute girl had never seen on her teacher's or the knight's face.

It wasn't the coldness based on malice or rejection, but a deeper numbness.

Inherent emotions worn down by years of repression had been eroded to the point of completely forgetting how to express themselves.

But there still seemed to be a faint, yet-to-be-extinguished thing cautiously budding in those eyes gazing this way.

Through the reflection in those pupils, the mute girl confirmed her current appearance, and then blinked calmly.

...She didn't expect to become a baby.

However, nothing in the Illusion Realm is worth being surprised about.

Moreover, even in the Illusion Realm, magic power's basic laws must be followed.

Being suppressed into a baby now looks fragile and vulnerable, but the mute girl wasn't worried.

This is like first transforming a dragon into a docile sheep with Sheep Transformation, then stabbing it to death—sounds good on the surface, but in reality, someone capable of casting true transfiguration on a dragon can kill it easily with any magic, more efficiently than simply throwing a fireball.

Likewise, the Illusion Realm suppressing her to this extent means all the available power has been used to lock her.

So, quite the opposite, becoming a baby actually means there won't be further danger, nor problems requiring combat to solve.

Thus, although unable to move her body, the mute girl isn't panicked, maintaining calm thoughts.

And sure enough, without needing her to take any action, time in the Illusion Realm began to flow rapidly.

The newborn mute girl grew day by day. She learned to turn over, learned to crawl, learned to wobble walk, learned to babble speak.

And the first word that came out of her mouth was neither "Mom" nor "Dad," but—

"Sister."

For the Shield Woman, this might be a day worth commemorating and joy, but from another angle, it revealed how indifferent the parents in this family were about their daughter.

Even leaving the mute girl wondering if the second daughter she embodied was really born after ten months of pregnancy—perhaps picked up from a roadside trash bin?

In the rapidly passing time, not only did the baby sister grow, but the little girl who was both sister and mother to her changed unknowingly too.

The original her was a child of indifferent expression and emotional numbness, like a doll operating merely to achieve better results.

But ever since the irresponsible parents threw her a sister, though most chores were handled by maids, and she, younger than the now middle school-aged sister, had little room to intervene in baby care,

simply by staying by the side and watching the small life grow bit by bit, the Shield Woman herself seemed watered by something silent, beginning to change slowly.

Finally, years later, when she held the mute girl's hand who could walk by herself and handed her to the kindergarten teacher, she made a decision at that moment.

For the first time, she defied her parents' arrangements and wishes, choosing her future out of her own will.

In this world's civilized system, a student growing up in a peaceful country typically faces a crucial exam at age eighteen—college entrance examination.

The results of this examination, and the ultimately chosen academy or major, profoundly impacts a person's entire life trajectory.

Although the Kingdom hasn't popularized compulsory education, institutions like the Royal Capital Academy also hold national selection exams periodically.

However, someone like the Shield Woman, born into luxury akin to the noble class, doesn't need to view this exam with utmost importance.

Her parents have long paved the way for her to inherit vast wealth and family business. As long as she follows the steps, Shield Woman is almost destined to achieve accomplishments out of reach for most.

In the Kingdom, should a lazy mage attempt to access realms like this, what awaits might be an intolerable brain erosion from knowledge, eventually becoming a heavy knowledge addiction patient, ending up as a hollow shell waste.

Yet here, with enough money and cunning, even borrowing others' research and achievements, one could unimpededly step into the highest academic halls without risk, except being exposed—which, even if exposed, countless means could cover up.

Though civilization here isn't considered backward, it is after all a world without extraordinary power; those judging humankind are often only humankind themselves.

Moreover, the Shield Woman is by no means a pampered brat. Growing up under the high-pressure parenting of her eccentric parents, she possessed not only intelligence but also the diligence matching it.

But even such a li, a path many dream of, li away, Shield Woman did not take.

She chose another path, one covered in thorns, lacking flowers and applause, ordinary for her.

Without discussing with anyone, nor notifying her parents...

She silently altered her aspiration, opting to become a teacher.

[Perfect Star's Guidance Critical Success]

1.5. Virtual Coin Issuance Tutorial

2.6. Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Simulator

3.7. Older Sister's Boy (?) Friend

4.8. Angel's Depravity (Depravity Enhancement)

9. Broke Girls (Depravity Check)

10. Great Success/Great Failure

D10=8

♛: Angel's Depravity (Body Swap, Range Extended to External Dungeon)

[Blessing of the Fallen God]

1~3. Golden Wind: Bestow willpower enhancement during "depraved" acts

4~6. Heart's Fire: Love by all

7~9. Sin Song: Gain enhancement during rhetoric, singing, etc.

D10=7

♛: Sin Song (Minimum 0.5, Enhancement +30, 110 + Cancellation, 150 + Check)

D50+50+30=(14)=94