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Chapter 6
“What did you just say?”
Mona asked, gripping her hand tightly as if to stop herself from digging into her ear.
Did I hear that wrong?
But despite the irritation rising inside her, Team Leader Oh wasn’t the kind of person who talked nonsense.
Flipping through a tablet filled with scribbles, Mona forced a smile at her boss on the screen.
“You’re joking, right?”
—What? I’m serious, Mona.
“Haha, that was really funny. But no. This isn’t okay, Team Leader.”
Team Leader Oh shrugged. The badge on his chest—Team Leader—glinted proudly.
He really loves that thing…
Mona frowned slightly and looked back down at the file she’d been sent.
[Mona and the Sword of Light]
A scholar who pursued knowledge… an ordinary academic… fascinated by dark magic… prejudice against darkness… persecution by followers of the goddess of light, Raiona… a harsh life on the run… eventually settling in the starting village, Newbie… slowly opening her heart to the warm villagers… on the night of the full moon, the darkness she could no longer hide…
What is this nonsense…
Every cliché imaginable had been crammed in. Add a random love story with some village guy and it’d be perfect.
Stories like this always went the same way, didn’t they? Plot holes you couldn’t find even if you washed your eyes—fixed entirely by how handsome the male lead was. No, worse than that…
Are they really trying to turn me into an actual witch?
She clearly remembered something witch-like in the setting bible she’d memorized during her early days. She didn’t remember all the details—but she was certain the name wasn’t Mona.
In short:
Mona = secret witch = surprise hidden quest
A completely slapped-together setting.
“I’m amazed everyone agreed to this.”
What she really meant was: Is it okay to make decisions this recklessly? Are you people actually satisfied?
“I’m… a witch?”
—That’s right.
“A witch… Mona… so that means I’m…”
—Yeah, yeah. I know you’ll want to brag, but keep it quiet for now. Think of it as a promotion. Pretty bold, right?
“Then why not give it to someone who’d actually be jealous…”
—I thought so too, but… it’s already done.
“…What?”
Team Leader Oh shrugged again.
—No choice. It’ll be applied in the next update.
“That was fast. Anyway, I can’t—”
—I sent you some files. Read them.
He completely ignored me!
Mona pressed her forehead as her eyes trembled in disbelief.
“Don’t worry. Even with your terrible acting, it’s more than enough. The item designs are great—ah, I said don’t worry! I checked everything!”
He even said she barely had any lines and told her to trust him.
“The dev team’s been watching. Apparently they liked it. You know, that pale guy with glasses.”
“You said the wolf quest was just a bug.”
“He loved it. I keep saying his taste is weird. Anyway, read it. It’s the revised contract. Not bad terms.”
Mona glared at him like money was the issue here. She’d thought this job was fairly normal—now this?
Sighing, she reluctantly tapped the tablet.
Then her fingers froze.
Her half-lidded eyes flew wide open.
She hesitated only a moment before lowering her gaze.
“I’ll do it.”
She was a slave to money.
* * *
“I must’ve been out of my mind.”
—Yeah… probably.
“What was that?”
Through the voice messenger of [NPC Serious Guard], the sounds of players passing by could be heard.
Laughter echoed before the chat window blinked again.
—Calm down, Dark… Witch…!
(He burst out laughing, damn it.)
As long as they pay well, being a wi—witch…!
(More laughter.)
“Will you shut up?”
—Yes, ma’am. So, are you ready?
“Does ‘preparing’ even help…”
—I’m jealous. A hidden identity… I wish I at least had a proper name.
Despite joking, [NPC Serious Guard] was clearly jealous of his friend’s sudden rise.
“Jealous?”
—I could do it too! Why you? Why does it have to be a witch?!
“What are you even saying?”
—Why not a guard?!
Mona briefly imagined her muscular friend wearing witch robes and handing out quests.
That’s… kind of horrifying. But fresh.
—Isn’t there any role for me? Even a cameo…
“Forget it. Aren’t you logging out?”
—Really nothing? …Fine, I’m going! I’ll come watch later. That’s okay, right?
“Would you actually stay away if I said no?”
—Probably not.
The chat window darkened, and the logout notification appeared.
Mona looked between the quiet shop and the slanted sun outside. Riota hadn’t come today.
So now…
Earlier than usual, Mona closed the shop and stepped outside. Today was a “normal logout”—no AI escort.
An eerie silence hung in the air, broken only by falling leaves.
“Why’s it so empty today? Well… whatever.”
Following instructions, she checked her inventory. Several event-only items had been added.
Rubbing her tense shoulders, she opened the system window. Being cautious when no one was around was exhausting.
[Robe of Darkness]
A highly suspicious-looking robe. Black smoke rises, dealing poison gas damage within a 10m radius.
Symbol of a witch.
Defense: ??
[Staff of Darkness]
A skull attached to the tip emits a sinister aura.
Symbol of a witch.
Attack: ??
They were grotesque. Couldn’t witches be a little more stylish? Why was everything dark and gloomy?
Dragging her feet, Mona opened the daily command window:
[Mona and the Sword of Light – Admin Mode (NPC Mona)]
[Task List]
-
When the moon rises, gather monsters and use [Taming]
(Day 1–3: Incomplete) -
Before leaving, drop [Witch’s Hem]
(Incomplete) -
Avoid direct contact with players
(Report emergencies immediately) -
On the final day, assign [Mona’s Sorrow] to a specific player
(Incomplete)
This doesn’t seem too hard… but—
She remembered what Team Leader Oh had told her earlier.
A training dummy near the Messana-Raha entrance had been destroyed. Completely smashed.
By a player. Out of curiosity.
So… be careful.
Do witches take damage?
Guess we’ll find out.
And just like that—she’d be roasted alive.
Better safe than sorry.
After checking her surroundings, Mona darted into the chief’s house, finished the NPC routine, submitted her report, and—
“Newbie, Black Cave. NPC Code N-6417!”
Teleportation was exhilarating. A witch shouldn’t be walking anyway.
“Grrr—”
A wolf fell silent with a single skill.
“Keee—!”
A poison-spitting mushroom sank into the ground.
Mona, resigned, spammed [Taming].
A snake twisted into a heart.
Is that… flirting?
She pretended she hadn’t learned that and raised her staff again.
<SYSTEM> [Taming] Skill Activated!
The more she used the skill, the hotter her face became.
Was this intentional? Because she was a witch?
[Taming], [Smoke Emission], [Somersault], even [Evil Laughter]—
She closed her eyes.
Evil Laughter was an attack skill.
How do you even laugh to deal damage?
Then she opened the passive skills.
[Witch Transformation]
Transforms the caster into a witch.
Dark attribute skill damage +500%
Emits poison gas to disable approaching enemies.
Skin turns green.
Opposed to the holy attribute “Raiona.”
“…Why green?”
As she lifted her head, monsters swarmed.
Mona swung the rattling skull staff.
“Taming!”
