Serena stared in disbelief at her hands—fair and smooth, her fingers slender and delicate. No longer the coarse, clawed paws of a bear. She reached up, touching her cheeks. Gone was the shaggy fur; in its place, soft, supple skin met her fingertips. Even her voice, once a guttural growl, now rang light and melodious. Trembling, she traced the contours of her reborn body, a single tear sliding down her cheek. The joy was so overwhelming that she feared it was a cruel illusion.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Alisa's voice cracked as she watched the transformation unfold before her eyes. Her face twitched, disbelief twisting her features. "You've got to be kidding me!! My curse magic—something I dedicated my life to—why… why… you bastard, what did you do?!"
She whirled toward Yarrow, fury burning in her gaze. But before another word could leave her lips, an iron shovel came down hard on her head. With a dull thud, Alisa crumpled to the ground.
"Ha. Maxed-out magic, but paper-thin defense." Yarrow smirked, raising the shovel again to finish the job.
Before he could strike, a shimmering magic array flared to life, intercepting the attack. The tip of the shovel melted instantly, disintegrating into molten slag. Alisa's protective spell—triggered upon her losing consciousness—had activated. Killing her now was impossible.
Clicking his tongue in frustration, Yarrow discarded the ruined shovel and spun toward Serena. She still sat dazed, fingers brushing against her cheeks as if she might wake up from a dream.
"Quit touching your face! We need to go—your teacher's about to wake up!" He seized her by the shoulders and shook her.
Serena blinked, finally snapping back to reality. She scrambled to stand, but her legs—long and slender once more—failed her. She stumbled forward.
"G-grab me… I'll use a teleportation spell," she gasped, struggling to steady herself.
But before she could even begin the incantation, a groan sounded behind them. Alisa was already stirring, her mage's hat discarded beside her. Blood trickled from her forehead as she forced herself upright, swaying but standing nonetheless.
"I really… misjudged you." A twisted smile curled her lips, her pupils constricting as she fixed Yarrow with a glare. "I never expected a little piece of trash like you to be this troublesome."
Her fingers curled into a claw. "I've changed my mind. You… will also become one of my collectibles."
With a flick of her wrist, glowing ropes of magical energy lashed out, ensnaring both Yarrow and Serena, binding them tightly. Yarrow lost his balance and crashed to the ground as Alisa began chanting a spell. Four lines of incantation flowed from her lips in rapid succession. A thick, purplish-black aura coiled in her palm, taking the form of a serpent before striking toward Yarrow.
It's over.
A single thought flashed through his mind. I wonder if this system has a master protection mechanism…
Before he could react, a figure lunged into the path of the spell.
Serena.
The purplish-black energy engulfed her completely.
Alisa scoffed. "Did turning human make you an idiot? Serena, blocking my magic with your body—"
Her voice faltered.
As the dark aura dissipated, Serena remained unchanged. She was still human, standing there with only a pair of fuzzy brown bear ears twitching atop her head.
"Huh?" Serena looked down at herself, stunned. She had expected to revert, to once again be trapped in a beast's body. Yet Alisa's curse had done nothing.
Yarrow chuckled under his breath. "You really thought your little curse magic could override something not even Zen, the Dragon King, could undo?"
Alisa's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible…"
Her momentary shock was all Yarrow needed. The ability he had stolen from Peach Fox—Pseudo-Cultivation—had finally cooled down. Instantly, he replicated Alisa's own curse magic and cast it back at her. Even with his hands bound, the copied ability required no incantation.
Dark energy surged in his palm, lashing out in a purplish-black wave.
Alisa barely had time to register what was happening. "Wait—this is my—"
The mist swallowed her whole.
A piercing scream rang through the air.
The magical bindings around Yarrow and Serena dissolved as Alisa's spell collapsed. They watched the writhing, dark mist churn violently before it finally dispersed.
Only a pile of clothing remained.
A moment later, the fabric shifted. A tiny calico puppy emerged, trembling.
Yarrow smirked and stepped forward, effortlessly lifting the small dog by the scruff of its neck.
"Well, well. Serves you right."
"Woof! Woof woof woof!!" The calico dog yapped furiously, its tiny legs flailing in the air.
Yarrow bonked it lightly on the head. The dog let out a pitiful whimper.
Behind him, Serena's voice trembled with curiosity and suspicion. "You… Who exactly are you? How do you know my teacher's curse magic?"
Yarrow turned, tossing the calico dog aside as he approached Serena. He extended a hand toward her, a smirk playing on his lips.
Serena blinked in confusion as Yarrow extended his hand toward her.
"Give it to me."
"Wh-what?" She stared at his open palm, uncertain of what he meant.
"The Lost Spell. Didn't we agree? I'd change you back, and that thing would be mine."
Serena sighed, suddenly at a loss for words. "You really are persistent..."
With a reluctant shake of her head, she retrieved the iron sheet from her belongings and handed it over. Yarrow took it with great care, tucking it away as if safeguarding the key to his future happiness. A long sigh of relief escaped him.
"You… I still don't know your name," Serena admitted awkwardly. From the start, she had barely paid him any attention, never even bothering to ask his name.
"Yarrow" He secured the Lost Spell and glanced at her.
"Yarrow…" Serena murmured, rolling the name over her tongue. Then, after a brief hesitation, she asked, "You… what did you do to change me back?"
She eyed him with newfound curiosity. This man—someone she had barely noticed before—had suddenly become mysterious and dependable. Not only had he lifted her curse, but he had also defeated Alisa and saved her life.
Yarrow smirked. "Why should I tell you? Didn't you think I was a lunatic before?"
He was still testing a theory—his suspicion about the system's method for selecting female leads.
The system's designated targets always seemed random at first, but there were conditions that needed to be met for a successful bond. Reflecting on his past encounters, a pattern emerged. When facing Zen, Ji Xiaofei, and Peach Fox, there had always been intense emotional exchanges. Zen had wanted to kill him, Ji Xiaofei had feared being devoured by him, and Peach Fox had been desperate for a title.
But Serena? Their initial meeting had been different. Although his reaction to her transformation had been dramatic, Serena herself had been focused entirely on the Lost Spell. She had hardly reacted to him personally.
That led him to his conclusion: the system would only form a bond when strong emotional interactions occurred on both sides.
Of course, he had no intention of explaining any of this to Serena. Unlike Ji Xiaofei and Peach Fox, she was originally human—someone with her own life and her own path to follow. Saving her had never been about anything more than acquiring the Lost Spell.
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