Sefina leaned against the cold, rough trunk of the tree, her heart filled with annoyance and anxiety.
Why does it have to be at this moment?!
If only it had been a bit earlier, in the relatively secluded and temporarily undisturbed environment of the Magic Item Storage Room, she might have risked dealing with it quickly.
If only it had been a bit later, after she had safely returned to her villa, she could have handled everything at her leisure.
But now, of all times, she was stuck halfway through her retreat, right in an area frequently patrolled by patrol squads—this was just too awkward, too dangerous!
As usual, Sefina cursed Ophidoro in her heart countless times.
Question: Would Sefina solve it herself in the small shrubbery? Or use the little toy she had developed before?
Neither.
Sefina’s choice was far more decisive, and also carried considerable risk.
Suppressing her discomfort, she quickly took out a sealed, small crystal vial from her inner pocket and poured out a pill with a dull hue that emitted a strange, bitter odor.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Sefina shoved the pill into her mouth and bit down hard. That indescribable bitterness instantly spread throughout her mouth, but she forced herself to swallow the pill.
Once it reached her stomach, the effect was nearly instantaneous—the burning heat in her lower abdomen felt as if it had been doused with a bucket of icy water, quickly subsiding, becoming vague and indistinct.
Her rapid breathing also eased somewhat. Though her heart was still pounding fast, it was no longer that out-of-control thumping. It eased her awkward predicament, if only a little.
But this was no cure. Though Sefina had failed to find a method to completely lift that humiliating magic mark among the vast collection of the Oselenka Library, she hadn’t come away empty-handed.
In a certain ancient, rather taboo-leaning Magic Pharmacy School Notes, she had found a formula for a special potion called the Perception Dulling Pill.
As the name implied, this pill could, for a short time, greatly dull all of the user’s senses, including touch and pain, and naturally also—
The kind of shameful physical impulses and pleasure forcibly triggered by the magic mark.
However, the pill’s side effects were just as direct and dangerous as its name—Sense Dulling.
A few seconds after swallowing the pill, the side effects began to show.
The edges of her vision grew blurry, as if veiled by a thin gauze—things in the distance no longer appeared clear.
A constant, faint buzzing sounded in her ears, interfering with her ability to discern the sounds of her surroundings.
It was as if the whole world was shrouded in a layer of blurring and muting.
This kind of potion was originally used for forcibly dulling pain, or as a poison to numb an opponent’s senses—its danger was self-evident.
But given the current extraordinary circumstances, with the situation so perilous, Sefina had no choice but to depend on this drinking-poison-to-quench-thirst method to forcibly delay a full outbreak of the magic mark.
Worse yet, the pill’s effects would only last about fifteen minutes, and it absolutely could not be taken continuously.
Otherwise, the compounded side effects would rapidly intensify, likely causing severe sensory damage, or even instant unconsciousness. If that happened, the consequences would be unimaginable.
So, time was extremely tight!
Fifteen minutes—there was absolutely no way Sefina could make it back to her teacher’s villa on the other side of the academy in time.
And what about just finding a random spot outside to solve it? The risk of exposure was far too high, and with the resulting social death—this was a fate Sefina would rather fight to the death than face.
Therefore, she had to find a completely secluded, undisturbed, enclosed space, and resolve the problem within the very short window after the pill’s effects wore off.
Sefina dared not delay another second.
Ignoring the discomfort from blurred vision and ringing ears, she relied on her familiarity with the academy’s layout and the shreds of her remaining senses, carefully making her way toward the nearest building she could recall.
She tried to move faster, but every step was taken with utmost caution, as if dancing on a knife’s edge.
Her mental energy was stretched taut, constantly sensing for the magic power waves or footsteps of any passing patrols.
A little faster… just a little faster.
Sefina was burning with anxiety. The surge in her body, momentarily suppressed by the medicine, was already starting to show signs of instability, as if it could break free at any moment.
But all she could do was stealthily make her way through the dangerous night, racing against time.
The longer she dragged this out, the greater the backlash that might come from forcibly suppressing the magic mark.
She could feel it—this bout of the magic mark’s agitation was already more intense than any before, thanks to her earlier search and the accompanying tension, and now, after being forcibly suppressed by the pill…
There isn’t much time left.
The sense of time ticking away in her mind was like the tolling of a death knell.
About five minutes left!
A fine layer of cold sweat beaded on Sefina’s forehead, not just from the pill’s side effects, but also from sheer nervousness.
She could almost foresee that the very instant the medicine’s effects vanished, the long-repressed urge from the magic mark would surge forth with unprecedented ferocity, shattering her reason and leaving her collapsing on the ground in disgrace.
Just as Sefina’s tension reached its peak, she pushed through a sparse copse of trees, and the outline of a familiar building emerged in her blurry vision—
The classroom building!
Thank goodness! At this hour, it was almost impossible for anyone to be around the classroom building.
As long as she could get inside, any empty classroom would serve as a temporary safe haven.
Hope rekindled. Squeezing out the last of her strength, Sefina quickened her pace, almost stumbling as she rushed for a side door of the classroom building.
She darted inside, quietly closed the door behind her, and leaned against the cold door panel, gasping for breath.
The last dregs of the medicine’s effect were fading fast—her vision and hearing were slowly recovering, but at the same time, that familiar fluttering and heat deep in her abdomen was rising up again, more violently than ever!
Sefina couldn’t care about searching for a more secluded corner. This nearest classroom was her lifeline.
She staggered inside, her body finally giving out as she slid down the wall, her petite form curling up in the shadow beside the lectern.
Almost the moment her back touched the floor, the medicine’s effect wore off completely.
“Uhn—!”
A terrifying, stronger-than-ever sensation exploded from Sefina’s lower abdomen.
The strings of her rationality snapped in an instant. Her vision blurred again as the all-too-familiar feelings swept over her.
Sefina barely had time to do anything else, relying solely on instinct to try to resolve everything as quickly as possible. In the vast, silent classroom, only panting and muffled sobs echoed.
Yet at this most critical, fatal moment—
“Tap—tap—”
Unhurried footsteps, drawing closer, stopped right outside the classroom door.
Then, a familiar, slightly curious, cool female voice rang out clearly from outside the door:
“Who’s in there?”