Munchkin Disciple Wants to Stop Being Obsessed Over

“Permanent death” upon quest failure.
At first I thought I might have misread, so I rubbed my eyes, but unfortunately I’d seen it correctly.
‘Not just death, but what’s “permanent death”?’
Does it mean I shouldn’t entertain any vain hopes of returning to reality even if I die?
That seemed to be the case.
While I’d seen many quests with death penalties in games, I’d never once seen the phrase [permanent death].
‘Stay calm. I just need to pass the test to survive, right?’
I initially felt resentment at this unexpected notification.

Before long, I managed to calm the fury boiling inside me.
Upon reflection, it was fortunate the notification came.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known that Daphne was testing me, let alone that I might die.
‘Let’s think positively.’
So I resolved.
No matter what Daphne wanted from me, I would definitely satisfy her.
I wonder what kind of test it is that results in death upon failure.
But it’s just a test given to a ten-year-old child.
With my mature mindset and the tenacity that allowed me to play the game for over 10,000 hours, there’s no way I’d fail the test.
‘The most important thing is an unbreakable spirit.’
As I was thinking this, the door suddenly opened.
“You’re awake, as I expected.”
When I looked up, Daphne was looking down at me with her hands on her waist.
‘Oh…’
Seeing Daphne in a different appearance from yesterday, an exclamation naturally rose inside me.
Platinum blonde hair tied in a ponytail.
The delicate neckline naturally exposed.
The green apron worn over a snow-white dress.
She was certainly beautiful. How should I put it? It felt like my male instincts were awakened just by looking at her.
“What are you staring at so intently?”
Did I stare too obviously?
Seemingly conscious of my gaze, Daphne asked me in a brusque tone with a somewhat displeased expression.
Did it bother her? If so, that would be troublesome for me who needs to make a good impression.
“Uh… I’m just amazed. It’s my first time seeing…”
“What?”
“Someone as beautiful as Daphne.”
So I deliberately smiled broadly and spoke flatteringly.
‘A child’s body is useful at times like this.’
Since I can say such things naturally.
It’s been said since ancient times that there’s no woman in this world who dislikes being complimented on her beauty.

“…Stop with the needless talk and go sit over there.”
But it seems this woman was different.
After hearing my compliment, Daphne indifferently gestured toward the table in the living room and turned away.
‘That was my trump card…’
Disappointed by the lukewarm reaction that was less than expected, I obediently sat at the table, and Daphne disappeared somewhere.
‘But what is this smell?’
As I sat there, a smell that could come from a sewer stabbed my nostrils.
Is it a smell that comes from the countryside? Or is it a smell from an old house?
I’m not sure what the correct answer is, but it seemed like it would take quite a long time to adapt to this smell.
‘By the way, it seems the smell is getting stronger…’
What kind of smell is this?
Wrapped in an inexplicable uneasiness, I began to look around.
I thought it was an old house, but the interior was surprisingly neat.
Wondering if it might be the smell of rotting wood, I examined everything from the ceiling to the floor.
But I didn’t see any such areas, and instead only thought how well-maintained everything was.
-Thud.
As I was pondering, I heard the sound of something being placed on the table.
‘No way…’
The intense stench getting closer. My head reflexively turning toward the table.
In front of me, bowls filled with black broth and trays filled with unidentifiable food had been placed.
‘What on earth did she put in this?’
I looked closely, but it was impossible even to guess.
Especially, the dish in the bowl boasted an appearance close to the black sewage I saw when I was first possessed.
A natural suspicion arose. Could she have chopped up the corpses of the demonic beasts from yesterday?
The large black chunks floating on top of the sewage-like liquid created such a bizarre atmosphere.
If that were all, it would have been fine.

The stench rising from the bowl was forcing me into a specific action.
To block this stench, even if I had to stab my nose with the fork in front of me.
‘And what is this?’
Next to the black broth was a grotesque-looking food that looked like a gray sponge, its identity impossible to infer from its appearance alone.
“Daphne, what are these foods?”
“Breakfast.”
Oh my god. Was this really food to be eaten?
“No… What are the names of these foods? I’ve never seen them before…”
“Stew and sandwich.”
It was a surprising answer. I thought it was black sewage, but it’s stew.
And that gray sponge is a sandwich, she says.
Looking closely, there seems to be something that might have been lettuce buried under the gray color.
“They say you need to consume a lot of nutrients at your age, right? So I put some effort into it.”
It does seem like she put in a lot of effort. Making stew and sandwich like this.
This goes far beyond the realm of cooking.
‘I guarantee it. This is alchemy.’
Otherwise, there’s no way stew and sandwich would be these colors. Nor would they smell like a seething sewer.
“So.”
No. Don’t do it.
“Eat.”
I desperately hoped not.
Daphne ordered me with a strangely excited expression.

The taste of the black sewage stew and gray sandwich was, needless to say, terrible.
The stew was as difficult to swallow as fermented fish sauce, and the sandwich tasted like a mix of stinky tofu and cigarette ash.
“Thank you… urp… for the meal…”

Nevertheless, I managed to eat all the food without leaving any, and even succeeded in putting down my spoon while forcing a smile.
My stomach was churning and I wanted to go to the bathroom right away, but I had no choice.
Because I thought that eating all of this terrible food was Daphne’s test.
“You eat better than I expected…”
Daphne was looking at me with a somewhat surprised expression.
‘Surprising even to you?’
Judging by her reaction, it seems I was right. Even if it was her own test, she probably couldn’t have imagined that I would eat all these horrible foods.
…Or so I thought.
But Daphne’s answer mercilessly attempted to break my spirit, which I thought would never bend.
“I’ll make more for you next time.”
“Pardon?”
“I didn’t know you’d eat so well. Your body is small, so I deliberately made just a little…”
Daphne trailed off with a regretful expression.
‘So eating that garbage wasn’t the test?’
It seems something is going wrong here.
Otherwise, the quest completion notification would have arrived by now.
“Of course, I’m not sure if there will be a next time for you.”
“That’s the one thing… what?”
“I haven’t decided yet. Whether I’ll kill you or keep you.”
‘So “death upon failure” means dying at Daphne’s hands…’
I tried to deny it, but it seemed she really meant it.
‘She certainly is that kind of woman.’
Judging by her psychopathic tendency to feed someone terrible food without batting an eye.
“…What do I need to do to survive?”
“Prove it.”
“By proving, you mean…”
“First, convince me that you won’t cause a calamity no matter what happens.”
Tap, tap. Daphne continued speaking while tapping the table with her index finger.
“Second, prove that you have enough value for me to take you in despite the trouble. Then I’ll spare you.”
“…”
“For your information, if I take you in, you’ll be able to learn things from me that you can’t learn anywhere else in this world.”
‘Things that can’t be learned anywhere else…’
It seems Daphne intends to teach me things like swordsmanship and magic if I pass the test.
“How can I prove it?”
This was exactly what I had been wanting.
I asked with deliberately shining eyes.

“…That’s a good look in your eyes.”
In response, Daphne stared at me with a strange expression for a moment, then began to speak again.
“I’ll give you a chance. A chance to prove your worth.”
“A chance?”
“Yes. I’ve already prepared everything.”
Saying that, Daphne stood up and flicked her index finger.
Was it magic? With a snap sound from her finger, the empty bowls on the table disappeared like a lie.
“Let’s go outside first. Follow me.”
Saying that, she turned around and walked out the door.
I, who had been marveling at the magic used in everyday life, hurried to follow her after seeing this.
I don’t know what kind of test she’s prepared.
But having just eaten food that seemed freshly imported from hell, I felt like I could accomplish anything.

Daphne, who had stepped outside the house, walked silently, and I was following behind her.
‘She said we would walk.’
In fact, we had long since gone beyond the level of just walking.
This was natural. After all, our starting position was a log cabin located deep in the forest.
There was no such thing as a path on the route Daphne was walking.
Only bumpy and sloping terrain continued to unfold ahead.
“Haah… haah…”
It was that difficult a path. Moreover, I’m in a child’s body. Naturally, I couldn’t help but get tired.
‘How long are we going to walk?’
Unlike me, looking at Daphne advancing lightly ahead as if strolling in a park, emotions welled up inside me.
For good reason. Daphne, who had told me to follow her, had been walking for five straight hours, not just one or two.
‘If my life wasn’t at stake…’
I would have long since laid flat on my back and shouted GG.
“We’re here.”
Just as I was about to stop and bow my head to catch my breath because my legs were trembling, the sweet voice I had been waiting for was heard.
“Haah… haah…”
When I raised my head, the scenery had changed.
The end of the seemingly endless forest path was a cliff with an open view, and Daphne was looking at the scenery below.
“Wow…”
Having reached Daphne’s side, I had to open my mouth wide in admiration as I looked at the same place she was looking.
The scenery that unfolded before my eyes was that beautiful.
A huge lake with a mysterious hue.
Verdant trees stretching all the way to the horizon beyond it.

And the notification window floating in the air.
[Hidden Quest ‘Daphne’s Test (1)’ has been completed.]
[Please select a reward.]
[1. All stats +10]
[2. Deceiver of the Scale (Lv.1)]
[3. Starlight (Lv.1)]
‘Amazing…!’
The reward list that appeared before my eyes was ecstatically beyond expectations.

Daphne and I were sitting side by side at the edge of the cliff, enjoying the breeze for a moment.
“Not bad. I thought you would definitely run away in the middle.”
“I need to survive.”
“Need to survive… That’s quite an answer I like.”

With her elegant platinum hair fluttering, Daphne answered with her eyes closed.
“Is this enough proof?”
“To some extent.”
“To some extent means there’s still more to prove?”
“Yes. It was just hiking, after all? I haven’t even shown you what I’ve prepared yet.”
Just hiking, she says. My legs are still trembling.
“Well, it was still impressive for a child.”
“I was desperate…”
“I know. That’s why I want to give you a reward.”
At the mention of a reward, my ears perked up reflexively, and my head turned sideways.
Did she find that cute? Daphne smirked, adjusted her posture, and sat facing me.
“You sit facing me too.”
“…?”
“I’m going to teach you how to envelop your body with mana.”
“Mana?”
Surprised by the more radical proposal than expected, I asked back while adjusting my posture.
“Yes. I’m only going to explain it once, so listen carefully and make it yours. Otherwise…”
“…?”
“You’ll never have another chance to prove yourself to me.”
Daphne spoke as if it had nothing to do with her.
Hearing those words, I became fully alert.
What Daphne said meant that if I didn’t learn what she was teaching me in one go, I would die in the upcoming test.

Magic is a miracle that occurs through a transaction with the Scale.
The user pays mana to the Scale.
The Scale allows the user a miracle appropriate to the mana it receives as payment.
This is the foundation of all magic, and enveloping the body with mana is also a type of magic.
When mana is paid to the Scale as a price, a miracle occurs in the physical body.
‘This works.’
A body that became unbelievably light, strength overflowing incomparably more than before.
I absorbed Daphne’s teaching, made a transaction with the Scale, and succeeded in faintly enveloping my body with mana.
“Not bad. You have talent.”
Sensing that I had succeeded, Daphne muttered with another surprised expression.
“I feel like I can do anything.”
I answered with a genuinely bright smile.
‘Maybe I’m an impossible munchkin?’
To think that I could handle mana. And in just 1 hour at that.
I was very excited. So excited that even Daphne, who had fed me black sewage and gray sandwiches, looked like an angel.
“That’s how it should be. You should be able to do anything. Otherwise, you’ll die.”
“What?”
“Can I have your hand for a moment? I have something to give you.”
What is she giving me here?
At those sweet words, I greedily extended both hands, and Daphne put a bracelet on each of my wrists.
“What is this?”
“An artifact.”
Upon hearing Daphne’s answer, I was so moved that I tried to cover my mouth with my hand.
For good reason. In the game, artifacts, no matter how low their grade, were items that were very difficult to obtain and expensive compared to other equipment.
“Thank you… huh?”
[Hidden Quest ‘Daphne’s Test (2)’ is now in progress.]
Just as I was rejoicing, a sudden notification window arrived.
As I read this, I sensed that something was wrong.
“Daphne, my hands and feet suddenly feel heavy.”
“That’s to be expected. Those bracelets, I made those artifacts for that purpose. Well, I didn’t make them too heavy, but they’re enough to burden you.”
It was as Daphne said. There was an intangible weight on both hands and feet, feeling like two or three thick books hanging from them.
And above all.
“Is it because of these artifacts that the mana I had enveloped my body with has dispersed?”
“Yes, that’s right. Those bracelets have magic that restricts the wearer’s mana operation.”
I was dumbfounded. After teaching me how to handle mana, she put artifacts on me that restricted it. What is she thinking?
“That doesn’t mean you can’t use mana at all. You can operate very slight mana that isn’t affected by the restriction magic.”
“But with that slight mana, you can’t manifest normal magic. Because I made it that way.”
“However, there is a way to manifest magic.”
I don’t understand what this means.
While my feelings were complicated, Daphne slowly began to approach me.
“You need to deceive the Scale. Then you can evoke magic with much less mana than normally required.”
Having reached right in front of me, Daphne smiled and continued speaking.
“So.”
After raising her right foot.
“Try to deceive it once. Then you’ll be able to survive.”
She whispered while kicking me in the abdomen.
“Urgh…!”
Due to the sudden abdominal pain, I momentarily found it difficult to breathe.
But there was a bigger problem than the pain.
‘Am I flying?’
I was flying through the air…
No, I was falling at a very high speed toward the lake at the bottom of the cliff.