Chapter 16 The Collar of Sisyphus (2) Good boy, you guessed right again...
"Hmm, looks like you're stuck in a quagmire, darling~"
The hooded monster lay down beside Xia Ying, propping up its unseen face with its hands and swaying its legs coquettishly.
“That’s right, exactly.” Xia Ying rubbed her head in annoyance. “I knew things wouldn’t go so smoothly, but this is just too unlucky.”
The hooded monster sighed gleefully, "How pitiful, Miss Succubus. If you can't break free from the control of the Sisyphus Collar, you'll probably be at the mercy of the dragon, tormenting you in every way..."
The giant white mist hand grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him in front of Xia Ying like he was being lifted by a mouse's tail: "Hey, do you know what the [Sisyphus Collar] is?"
“You can call me ‘The Eater,’ darling,” he said affectionately. “The Sisyphus Collar comes from the dragon’s private treasury and is a magical artifact that is not registered in the Student Handbook. You’ve come to the right person.”
Xia Ying waited for him to continue, but the diner just gazed at her affectionately without uttering a single word.
The giant hand clenched into a fist, its knuckles cracking: "Hello? You know you're easy to beat up like that."
"Let me introduce myself again. I am a 'middleman,' or what you'd call a broker," the diner finally said. "So, if you want to get information from me, you'll have to pay me a fee."
The giant hand immediately assumed a shot put throwing stance, then quickly changed his tune, saying, "However, since I'm seeking your cooperation, I'll consider the first transaction free as a customer benefit."
As he spoke, the diner reached into his hood and pulled out a crumpled little piece of paper from nothingness, handing it to Xia Ying: "Here, the instruction manual for the [Sisyphus Collar]."
Xia Ying opened the instruction manual and began to read it carefully:
Magical Artifact: [Sisyphus Collar]
Effect:
1. The holder can summon the target regardless of distance.
2.1 Once a day, the subject of the action shall not disobey the instructions issued by the holder.
3. Without the holder's permission, the target cannot launch an attack against the holder.
Conditions for effectiveness:
1. The holder can only designate one effective object.
2. The holder and the effective object are respectively the "superior" and "inferior" relationship recognized by the rules.
Xia Ying frowned, staring at the second condition for the condition to take effect: "Why is that dragon in a superior-subordinate relationship with me?"
"In my opinion, there are about two reasons for this."
Before anyone could notice, the diner slipped lightly out of the giant hand's jaws like a fish, drifting leisurely through the air.
He held up one index finger: "First, during the [Ring Domain Internship], you will belong to the Crimson Crown Ring, and that evil dragon Fafnir happens to be the King of the Crimson Crowns. This is the first level of the hierarchical relationship."
"The King of the Crimson Crown?"
“Each ring has its own king, and the Demon Lord grants them the power to shape and manage their respective rings,” the Eater explained. “Generally speaking, the king is the strongest being in that ring.”
Xia Ying nodded in understanding.
The diner held up two fingers: "Secondly, Fafnir became your mentor, which adds another layer to the hierarchical relationship."
Xia Ying stared at him: "This situation isn't just a matter of luck, is it?"
“Luck? Darling, of course not!” the eater laughed. “Fafnir must have used many tricks to ensure you would fall into his trap. He probably devised these schemes the moment the [entertainment program] ended.”
Xia Ying pressed further, "But why?"
"What else could it be? Miss Succubus, you know the reason in your heart."
The drinker's fingertips gently brushed against Xia Ying's face.
"That's because, of course, that dragon is hopelessly infatuated with you."
######
Xia Ying woke up and was almost blinded by the magnificent golden dragon cave the moment she opened her eyes.
She moved her limbs slightly and felt sore all over. Without even looking, she knew that her body was probably covered in bruises.
The giant dragon resting beside her opened its eyes sharply and stared at her with its lantern-sized golden pupils.
“We really can’t go on like this,” Xia Ying said to him, suppressing her surging emotions. “To be honest, I’m considered one of the more vulnerable ones among succubi, and I simply can’t bear to go through this every night…”
The dragon yawned lazily, releasing a few small flames.
Xia Ying, unable to bear it any longer, pointed at the mountain of gold coins beneath her and yelled, "Who wants to sleep in piles of money every day?! I'm covered in bruises!"
"Stop making such a racket so early in the morning," Fafnir said haughtily. "Go and clean my scales, quick."
Just as Xia Ying's anger was about to erupt, the Sisyphus Collar came into play. The collar around Xia Ying's neck flashed, and she turned around uncontrollably, grabbed a huge brush, and stumbled as she climbed up the dragon's tail and onto its back.
After failing to resist the forced effects of the magical artifacts several times, Xia Ying had no choice but to channel her resentment into strength and vigorously brush the red scales on the dragon's back.
Fafnir leaned down comfortably, occasionally letting out a pleasant hum.
By the time Xia Ying had finally brushed all the scales in that area until they shone like rubies, she was already panting heavily. But before she could rest for a moment, the dragon suddenly swung its tail, wrapped it around her waist, and pushed her upwards.
He commanded imperiously, "Scan this area again."
"..." Xia Ying glanced at the brush in her hand, and without warning, drew the [Kusanagi Sword] and stabbed it towards Fafnir's neck.
As she swung the blade, the neck ring flashed again, and Xia Ying was suddenly struck by a lightning-like pain, instantly detaching from the dragon's back and rolling off. The [Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi] also vanished from her hand.
Fafnir caught her with his tail and curled it in front of his eyes: "As long as the [Sisyphus Collar] is still in effect, you will never be able to ambush me. Don't waste your energy."
Xia Ying smiled at him: "How will you know if you don't try?"
"Beep! Basic instruction is about to begin. Teleportation countdown starts... Three, two, one."
Before Fafnir could finish speaking, Xia Ying's [Student Handbook] suddenly popped up a notification. As expected, she raised the corners of her mouth and raised a middle finger.
"Class time is over! Goodbye, silly dragon!"
Xia Ying's figure disappeared in the white light. Fafnir activated the [Sisyphus Collar] in displeasure, but only received repeated prompts such as "Do not interfere with teaching time" and "The academy's laws are supreme," and was unable to pull the succubus girl back to his side.
The dragon quickly lost interest and lay back down in the treasure mountain.
He intended to roll around in the pile of gold coins as usual, but suddenly stopped, picked up a few coins with his claws, and fell into deep thought.
"Succubi...so they can't sleep on gold coins?"
#####
On the other side, Xia Ying was also lost in her own thoughts.
Q: It is known that to get rid of the dragon, one must first remove the [Sisyphus Collar].
How can I remove the Sisyphus collar?
Xia Ying was the first to write a "solution" in her notebook.
Solution ①: The holder of the Sisyphus Collar, namely Fafnir, voluntarily removed it.
Xia Ying paused for a moment, her pen tip filled with doubt: Would that giant dragon be so kind?
So she quickly started a new line and continued writing.
Solution ②: Overturn the conditions for the Sisyphus Collar to take effect, that is, change the superior-subordinate relationship between the two.
Condition A for hierarchical relationship: The Red-Crowned King has a status advantage over the Red-Crowned Ones.
Condition B regarding hierarchical relationship: The supervisor's superior position over the trainee.
Wait a minute, there does seem to be a situation that could allow her to refute both conditions A and B simultaneously, and that is...
"Student, please answer the next question." Just then, the instructor of the basic course stopped in front of Xia Ying.
Xia Ying looked up and replied, "Okay, Jormungandr."
At this moment, the basic courses taught by the Serpent Demon are taking place in the Teaching Tower.
The Instruction Tower is a circular tower made of runic boulders. The seats for the new students are hung on the tower walls like bats. Jormungandr, the instructor, wears a priest's white robe, holds a staff of two serpents, and floats in the center of the tower. With each step he takes, a planar magic circle is generated beneath his feet.
He asked, "Miss Xia Ying, what are the necessary conditions for generating magic?"
“Magic elements and laws.” Xia Ying replied without hesitation, “Magic elements affect the material world, while laws determine the way they affect it.”
“Very good answer.” Jormungandr gave her an encouraging smile and walked away from her seat.
He gently waved his staff, and red magic particles emerged from the stone wall, gathering towards one of the snake heads before transforming into a cluster of flames that exploded in the heart of the tower.
Jormungandr's gentle yet powerful voice echoed within the round tower: "When the laws invoke magic, magic will occur."
Brilliant fireworks fell into Xia Ying's eyes. During this brief demonstration, the instructor continued, "The law of elimination, the disorder of magic elements, will also destroy magic."
Before she could feel the heat, the flames burst into magical energy again, the crimson particles splashing onto Xia Ying's shirt buttons, which she then picked up with her fingers.
She watched curiously as the fire elemental bounced twice on her skin, then slowly drifted away and disappeared back into the runic boulder.
As the course was about to end, Jormungandr calmly dropped a depth charge.
"More importantly, as a prerequisite for passing the [Circle Realm Internship], I need you to pass the final exam for this 'Basic Principles of Magic' course."
After he uttered those words, a pale silence fell over the tower.
The snake demon seemed oblivious to this, and even kindly reminded him, "Also, remember to do your homework."
Xia Ying, who grew up in the human exam-oriented education system, was greatly puzzled: Aren't these just two magic analysis questions that are similar to classroom cases? What's so difficult about them?
She glanced around discreetly, and finally noticed something amidst the silent despair that permeated the classroom.
These abyssal creatures seem to be very bad at learning.
Xia Ying vaguely sensed an opportunity.
Before she could figure out how to use this, she suddenly caught a glimpse of an instructor in the tower who had finished his lesson lightly touching the tower wall with his serpent staff, opening a passage from the runic boulder.
The moment he took his first step outside the tower, Xia Ying sprang into action.
She braced herself with her right hand, nimbly leaping onto the tabletop, aiming at the slowly closing stone gate, crouching to gather her strength, and then shooting out like an arrow.
Xia Ying jumped over several hanging desks and grabbed the hem of the man's robe before he disappeared.
Jormungandr stopped abruptly, turned around, and seeing the surprise in his eyes, Xia Ying said, "We meet again..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xia Ying was suddenly horrified. The sudden feeling of weightlessness made her realize that the stone door on the tower wall was actually a stone window.
The succubus, who had not yet mastered flight, plummeted like a weight, frantically grabbing Jormungandr and pulling him down with her.
The snake demon's soft, curly white hair was blown by the wind, and the golden tattoos on her body shimmered and moved slowly across her honey-colored chest.
"Is your confinement over?" Amidst the howling wind, Xia Ying gazed into his warm, brown eyes. "Why did you become an instructor here?"
A hint of helplessness flickered in his eyes: "Xia Ying, can't this just be a coincidence?"
“I won’t repeat the same mistake,” Xia Ying replied. “Coincidence? No, this is a trick and conspiracy you deliberately created.”
A bluish-green hue appeared in his eyes, tiny scales crawled up his cheeks, and the snake's tail silently coiled around him, intertwining them intimately.
Jormungandr smiled, his slender snake tongue flickering in and out, as if he were probing for some enchanting and secret scent.
"Good boy, you guessed right again."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Actually, this chapter was the author's initial reason for wanting to write about this subject matter. How should I put it? I wanted to brush scales onto a dragon (?).
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com