my heroine refuses to let me be reborn. If I haven't finished my novel

Lanling was facing something—someone? A spirit? She wasn't sure.

A pair of matching high heels dangled weightlessly, one foot propped up without a resting place, causing the hem of a black dress to rise just enough to reveal a glimpse of her thigh. Floating in midair.

The woman's position made the angle Lanling was viewing…from it is rather precarious to sensitive content.

Yes, it's really dangerous!

Her sharp, striking face was framed by deep gray eyes, nearly dark, with shadows beneath them. Black lipstick contrasted starkly against her pale, almost ghostly skin. Her nails, painted with what seemed to be resin from a tree, gleamed black—an unusual yet captivating detail that added to her mysterious allure.

A wide-brimmed black hat made of sheer fabric cast a shadow over her intense gray eyes, which were fixated on the book in her hands. One elbow rested lazily on her cheek, while the other hand held the book, fingers flipping through the pages.

From her posture alone, it was clear how immersed she was in her reading—lost in thought, completely absorbed in the words before her.

"Good evening, Mystry," Lanling greeted.

The woman's fingers paused mid-turn, and she slowly turned her gaze toward Lanling. The black-painted lips curled into a subtle smile.

"Ah, little bookworm," Mystry responded, her voice carrying a hint of amusement. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't come today."

The city of Rose garden is rife with three major rumors.

The first is about a ruthless merchant who recently took possession of the Silver Rose Mansion. He is said to be planning to spend an enormous amount of money to buy the entire city. This very man is none other than Elliott's former creditor.

The second rumor involves the curse of the Silver Rose family, which is said to befall those who harm Elliott. Lately, whispers have spread that the ruthless merchant is being tormented by vengeful spirits haunting the mansion he seized.

The third rumor speaks of a mysterious spirit that appears in the library at night, accompanied by inexplicable phenomena that even magic cannot explain.

Lanling was currently facing the third rumor firsthand—because the so-called 'spirit' was standing before her. Books floated in the air around her, and an eerie silence filled the atmosphere. Lanling couldn't tell whether this woman, Mystry, was truly a ghost or simply a sorceress. Her occasional soft humming sent chills down Lanling's spine.

"Here to read again today?" Mystry asked. "Which herbal book are you looking for this time?"

"Today… I'm interested in learning the basics of mana gathering," Lanling replied, surprising the mysterious woman.

Lanling had been sneaking into the library ever since she arrived in this novel's world, and it was here that she met Mystry. Over time, they became unofficial 'nighttime library companions.'

"So, you want to learn magic?" The pale-faced woman turned to her, shifting her posture as if sitting on an invisible chair in the air.

"Yes," Lanling nodded. "If possible, I'd like you to teach me, Mystry. Please?"

She pleaded, but the beautiful woman's expression remained as cold as stone.

"…Unfortunately, I have to refuse," Mystry said before turning back to her book. "I am not in a position to teach anyone."

"Please, Mystry," Lanling begged. "You're the only one I can rely on in this city."

But the other woman only responded with silence.

"Do you… have a grudge with someone?" Lanling tried again, but Mystry continue reading as if she hadn't heard the question.

With a sigh, Lanling took a seat on an old wooden chair, deep in thought. 'If things are like this, I'll have to teach myself…'

The theory of mana gathering wasn't difficult in itself—she had discussed it many times with Yang Ge. The problem was the restrictions and rules of this world.

Before she entered this novel's world, Cheripha had warned her about certain limitations. Over the past few days, Lanling had been testing ways to work around them.

One of those limitations was that while inhabiting a character's body, she would be bound by the exact status of that character within the novel's world—including their power, knowledge, and abilities.

As the writer, Lanling had to acquire everything on her own while playing this role, and she was bound by a contract that dictated she must follow the story until its conclusion.

This was both a law of the world and an unchangeable agreement. She could only inhabit one character—Cheripha. She couldn't possess other characters, and this was one of the novel's fundamental rules. However, most of the world's laws were unrelated to Cheripha's contract.

Cheripha's current state as an eight-year-old slave girl was practically a blank slate. Her only memory of learning anything was being taught how to read by Cheris while living in the Silver Rose Mansion, but even that knowledge was fragmented. It had taken Lanling two to three hours just to decipher a simple herbal book that Cherish had frequently read.

The cruel irony is that even though I know the theory of mana gathering, I can't use it because Cheripha has never learned it. Lanling clenched her fists. I have to 'study' it myself, or have someone 'teach' me before I can apply it. But if Mystry won't help, how the hell am I supposed to decode an entire magic textbook on my own?

Frustrated, she grabbed a magic book and tried to read, but understanding it was painstakingly slow.

And that wasn't even the most frustrating part—there were inconsistencies in the world's foundation. Take Cherish's herbal knowledge, for example—Lanling had never written about it in the original story, yet it existed. Night after night, she had snuck into this library, only to discover things she and Yang Ge had never created: new monsters, new materials, and more.

She could accept plot holes in the mansion's history or local governance because those were gaps she had left in the story herself. But why were there things appearing that had never been written in her original novel? Even characters like Mystry shouldn't exist…

The only explanation that made sense was that the novel's world had evolved beyond what she originally created. It had used her imagination as a foundation and then grown into something independent, generating its own lore, history, and even new characters.

In a way, it was like a game world populated by NPCs—but with a life of its own.

"Why... Do you want to learn magic all of a sudden, little bookworm?" Mystry suddenly asked, causing Lanling to pause before closing the book in her hands.

"...Well..." Lanling hesitated. "There's something I need to do."

"What kind of matter would make someone with no foundation in magic struggle so hard to learn it, especially at a time like this?" Mystry pressed on, her gaze fixed on the girl's bruised face.

Lanling didn't answer. To be honest... She didn't know which character the person in front of her was, so she didn't dare reveal anything about herself. Even though she wanted to ask for help, she wasn't sure how her actions would impact the main plot—especially when dealing with a character who seemed to wield such mysterious authority.

'If it weren't for this magic contract, I would've already gone back to ask those two merchants for help,' Lanling thought. 'But right now, I have to find a way to break this contract first. Otherwise, I won't be able to do anything...'

"...Little bookworm," Mystry spoke again after a long silence. "Did you know that magic was discovered long ago? Even though new spells and evolutions keep emerging, it's still something ancient, outdated, and obsolete."

'Outdated? Do mages normally think this way?' Lanling wondered. 'Typically, magic users place great importance on magic. They should be striving to research, develop, and innovate new forms of it.'

"Aren't you a mage?" Lanling asked. The dark gray eyes before her widened slightly before curving into a smile.

"I am a 'mage,'" Mystry emphasized. "But a mage's opinion doesn't have to align positively with magic itself."

"That's... true, I suppose," Lanling murmured, still feeling skeptical.

Seeing the disbelief in her expression, Mystry raised one hand and spoke, "Fireball." A bright orange flame flickered to life above her palm before she extinguished it.

"...Could you do that again, Mystry?" Lanling asked, sensing that her body was eager to learn.

"Sure. This time, I'll do it slowly. It's a bit risky, but just once should be fine," the slender woman in black replied. Then, from her raised palm, fine, sand-like blue particles began to shimmer into existence, gradually expanding until the entire library was filled with glowing specks, resembling the cosmic flow of the universe.

'This is mana dust,' Lanling thought, eyes wide with amazement. 'I knew it—scenes with glowing mana dust filling a whole building are absolutely stunning!'

"This is mana dust. Mana is divided into two types: internal mana, which is called 'life force,' and external mana, which is simply referred to as 'mana,' " Mystry explained. The blue specks slowly gathered into her hand, forming a white-blue orb. "This is the result of gathering mana. When casting a spell, you must condense it to the appropriate size for use... In this case, since I'm casting an elemental spell, I'll infuse it with the desired element... Fireball."

The mana orb was consumed, transforming into flames just like before.

'And this—this is exactly the magic system I created! Seeing it up close like this is seriously awesome!' Lanling grew even more excited. Though she had witnessed magic in this world before, it had only been in basic, everyday applications—nothing like what Mystry was demonstrating.

The woman floated closer and gently grasped Lanling's wrist. Upon seeing the runic markings encircling it, she immediately understood the situation.

"...A magic contract, huh? No wonder you want to learn magic," Mystry remarked with amusement. "Are you trying to learn it to break the contract the proper way... or the improper way?"

Lanling sensed danger and instinctively pulled her hand back, then froze in shock at her own reaction.

Mystry smiled. "This city is not only desolate, but it also has no church, no divine authority to provide aid, no sacred power from priests, nor any natural magic from mages to ease suffering or offer healing. Judging by your injuries, it seems you've never received proper treatment either. So that means your master must be some human scum who doesn't even see the slaves under his control as people—even though there are laws meant to protect them."

"It's strange. I've traveled far and wide, but nowhere is as peculiar as this city. Other places are either peaceful and orderly or chaotic yet logical. But here... all I sense are 'gaps in reason' everywhere," Mystry said, her deep gray eyes gleaming with an unsettling light. "If your master is truly such scum, why don't I deal with him for you, little bookworm? Then..."

"What will you do to my master?" Lanling asked. But instead of lessening, the smile before her widened until Mystry's eyes curved like crescent moons.

"I'll kill him," Mystry answered, almost with delight. "And then we'll leave together, how about that? I promise to take good care of you—you'll never go hungry or be beaten again. There will only be... happiness."

Her voice was gentle, yet her words carried terrifying violence, radiating a murderous aura so intense that even Lanling, who wasn't the target, felt it slicing through the air.

"This is... not normal," Lanling involuntarily took a step back, muttering with trembling lips. "Who are you really?"

The other person still wore a smile, but before Lanling could run away, Mystry burst into a giggle.

"I'm just kidding, just kidding," the woman said, the tense atmosphere shattering as if it had never existed. "Who could do something like that, huh? I'd rather keep quiet."

Even though she said that, Lanling couldn't shake the feeling that the other person wasn't joking at all.

Lanling stiffened, and in the next second, she exhaled sharply. She had just realized she had stopped breathing for a moment.

"By the way... why don't you try stealing the slave contract and get one of those Runic Mages to fix it?" Mystry said as she pulled her hand back and crossed her arms, floating in front of her. "Contracts need to be taken to the Runic Mages to fix them as soon as possible, unless you plan to kill your contract partner."

"…There are no Runic Mages reliable enough in this city, and... I can't leave the city without permission," Lanling replied, letting out a sigh. How could she explain that the only Runic Mage in this city was Elliot?

What was worse was that although Lanling had an idea where the contract was, if that bloodthirsty merchant caught her trying to steal it... Given his immense influence and their near-nonexistent relationship right now, it would surely affect the main storyline of this novel.

"So, that's why you came to me, huh? Little bookworm," Mystry said as if she had just figured something out. "You plan to use the most improbable loophole in this story... right?"

"I don't know," Lanling lied with a nervous laugh, hoping the other person wouldn't figure out her hidden intentions.

In reality, Lanling wasn't very sure about the content of the contract, but she didn't dare take too many risks. The only thing she was certain of was one rule that definitely wasn't in the contract. It was the only way she thought could help her and Cheris survive. But the first step in doing that was to start learning magic right now.

"The reversal of the contract's effects," Mystry said finally. "Little bookworm, you're looking at that, aren't you?"