Mystic Arts Association

What a top-tier fairy, Mu You thought. Even the dust she leaves behind when she walks is treasure.

He opened the panel's storage tab and took a look: Lucky Dust 5/5.

Five uses-not bad. He just didn't know exactly how much it would increase the trigger rate.

Still, he definitely couldn't use it carelessly. If he burned it on some road in the middle of nowhere, even a 1,000% boost to luck wouldn't trigger any events.

It would work best when he knew something good was hidden nearby but simply couldn't find it.

Putting away the dust, Mu You continued on his way.

[With no more obstacles blocking your path, you enter the Dark Forest.]

[The moment you step into the Dark Forest, you suddenly notice the trees around you beginning to shift, constantly changing positions.]

[In the blink of an eye, the clearly visible path before you vanishes without a trace. You find yourself in the middle of the forest, unable even to tell north from south, east from west.]

[You are lost!]

"What the hell?"

Mu You stared blankly. What was going on?

He'd barely taken two steps inside, and it had already gotten him lost. This wasn't the Dark Forest-this was a moving maze!

Now came the problem: the Witch had told him to keep heading north, but where was north now?

Never mind north-he couldn't even see the way back anymore.

Mu You had no choice but to wander through the forest, gripping the Pocket Watch tightly, ready to rewind as soon as anything happened.

After four or five minutes of aimless wandering, a new notification finally appeared.

[As you wander aimlessly through the Dark Forest, you suddenly see a crow fly in from the horizon and land on a branch ahead. It speaks to you: "Another trial candidate. You are the thirteen thousand six hundredth person to take the Mystic Arts Association's entrance trial. Remember your number: 13600."]

Mu You wondered if there had been some mistake. He'd finally encountered a talking crow, only for it to immediately tell him to take some trial and even assign him a number... He was here to learn from the Witch, not to join some "Mystic Arts Association."

[You express your confusion and tell the crow why you have come.]

[The crow tells you it amounts to the same thing, because to meet the Witch of Calamity, you must first pass the trial and become a member of the Mystic Arts Association.]

"All right, then."

Since the crow had put it that way, Mu You had nothing else to say. He might as well take the trial.

[The crow takes flight and heads in one direction. You follow it and soon arrive at a stone altar in the forest.]

[The ground around the altar is densely covered in stark white bones-at least several thousand skeletons-as though it were a mass grave. On the altar sit two identical bottles of red springwater. One contains Life Spring Water, brimming with the essence of life, which adds 10 years to your lifespan when consumed. The other contains Fatal Springwater, laced with an extremely potent poison, which kills you within two seconds of consumption and reduces your lifespan by 100%.]

[The crow tells you that without exceptional luck, how could you possibly become a member of the Mystic Arts Association? This is the first stage of the trial: choose one of the two potions and drink it. You have a 50% chance of dying, with no opportunity to revive. The stark white bones around you are all that remains of your predecessors who drank the poisoned springwater.]

"Holy crap! A 100% reduction in lifespan..."

Mu You stared in disbelief. Springwater like that actually existed? It cut off even the chance to revive. This was far more deadly than the Witch's poison.

And this Witch was seriously ruthless. Over ten thousand people had come to apply, after all, yet she'd poisoned half of them right off the bat without a word. This was only the first stage, and the bones were already piled almost mountain-high. Who knew what awaited him further on?

Mu You was starting to believe what that Fairy Maiden had said. No wonder she was called the Witch of Calamity. With methods like these, she certainly couldn't be lawful good.

"Cola, have you heard of Anthony Vivian?"

Rather than rushing to choose, Mu You first asked Cola about the Witch's background.

"Anthony Vivian..."

Absorbed in the world of anime, Cola unconsciously murmured the name, then quickly shook his head. "No, meow."

"No? Then what about the Witch of Calamity?"

"Meow?"

Cola whipped his head around. "The W-Witch of Calamity?"

"You know her?" From his reaction, Mu You was certain he knew something.

"Of course, meow! The Witch of Calamity is the most dangerous fugitive in the history of the Wizards' Association. Ever since she became a Dark Wizard hundreds of years ago, she's committed every evil imaginable. Rumor has it that wherever she goes, everyone there is afflicted with curses, and disasters strike everywhere. They even say an entire country was destroyed because of her. That's how she earned the title 'Witch of Calamity.' She's a walking source of calamity, meow!" Cola said excitedly.

"Seriously?"

Mu You's expression turned odd as he listened. A calamity in human form? Was she really that terrifying?

He felt that anything the Wizards' Association said should be taken with a generous pinch of salt. The reality surely wasn't that dire.

Of course, that didn't mean it was all false. The Witch had probably done some genuinely shocking things, and she wielded power beyond most people's imagination. That was why the Wizards' Association was so afraid of her.

"What about the Mystic Arts Association?" Mu You asked.

"The Mystic Arts Association is an organization devoted to studying black magic, founded by the Witch of Calamity and eleven other notorious Dark Wizards, meow." After a moment's thought, Cola added, "For example, it's like the Akatsuki in Naruto."

"I see."

Mu You nodded. That example really made it easy to understand.

So the person he was looking for really wasn't some respectable witch, but the big boss behind a major villainous organization!

...Excellent!

That fit the Fool's position perfectly!

Whatever the case, he was already here, so he certainly couldn't turn back now. Besides, this was a trial that played to his strengths.

[You step forward, pick up the springwater on the left, and gulp it down.]

[The instant the springwater enters your stomach, you suddenly feel every cell in your body breaking down. Your legs give out, and you collapse, bleeding from all seven orifices. Through the haze, you seem to hear someone whispering in your ear: Dark Wizards steal power from nature. They must remain humble and cautious at all times. Never pursue power you cannot control, or you will inevitably lose control...]

[As your health rapidly drains, your lifespan is about to reach zero...]

"Rewind!"

The moment he saw the words "poisoned springwater," Mu You had already pressed the Pocket Watch.

That poisoned springwater really was the genuine article. His sixty-odd years of remaining lifespan had actually been wiped out in one go...

Time rewound, returning Mu You to the earlier choice. Naturally, he chose the springwater on the right without hesitation.

[You drink the springwater on the right. This is a bottle of Life Spring Water. Surging life energy flows through your body. Lifespan +10 years. Remaining lifespan: 73 years.]

Sure enough, the one on the right was Life Spring Water. This first stage really did come down to pure luck, with a 50% chance of passing.

What puzzled Mu You, however, was the meaning of that message after he had drunk the poisoned springwater.

Mu You had assumed that this sort of interlude appeared after every drink, but after drinking the correct springwater, nothing popped up at all.

The message only appeared if he drank the poisoned springwater? What was that supposed to mean?