One-Eyed Monster

”Witness the true power of the Black Crow’s leaders!”

After overcoming a transitional period, Jani and his party finally began to show their prowess. The atmosphere on the mountaintop turned upside down in an instant. This shift was mainly due to the imposing presence of the three leaders of the Black Crow. Now their spirits were high; everything seemed to be within their grasp.

Jani drew out all his Bone Blades—twenty-four sharp and eerie blades that served as both his weapons and his shields. He wore a somber expression, waiting for a chance to strike. Estev recalled his Smoke, planning to reconfigure it. He had decided to fight earnestly, no longer caring about wasting his strength.

On the other hand, the transformation undergone by the chubby Alchemist, Mugen, was even more drastic. His Forbidden Spell was a summoning spell. The principle of exchange in Dark Alchemy differed from regular alchemy. Regular alchemists emphasized creativity in the exchange; therefore, they preferred using Exchange Beasts, while Dark Alchemists only cared about the result. Whether the result was created or not was irrelevant to them; they just needed to bring something existing into this world.

Mugen’s Wire Puppet was a perfect example. Wire Puppets, these bizarre creatures, lived in the Wilderness without interacting with the beings of the continent. Even the ancient Hunters never stepped into the Wilderness, but the dark faction couldn’t care less. As long as they could summon the Wire Puppet to this world, their goal was achieved. They never considered the consequences or the price to pay.

Mugen sustained his Wire Puppet with his own blood and Spirit Power. The puppet’s existence was deeply tied to him, but for the sake of achieving their leader’s goal, he fully committed, completely merging with the puppet—which signified the profound principle of his Spellcraft. The puppet in his hand was the Queen, which could command other Wire Puppets, and its body could divide indefinitely. After attaching to Mugen, its living host, the Wire Puppet became even more excited. If it weren’t for Mugen’s strong Spirit Power and willpower, his body might have already been taken over by the puppet.

After the Wire Puppet attached itself to Mugen, it started to absorb rapidly, and Mugen’s chubby figure began to change noticeably.

”With my blood and flesh as offerings, you return with strength,” Mugen murmured, reciting a part of the Alchemy Equation. His true purpose was to obtain the Wire Puppet’s power to fight.

However, his opponent was Stan Sol, the ancient Hunter. Stan Sol was not surprised at all by these things. Wrapping himself in his cloak, he dodged the attacks of the Wire Puppets. He remained silent, his face expressionless, betraying no weakness as he focused solely on evasion. The Wire Puppets hadn’t fully formed their attack, but what Mugen hadn’t anticipated was his opponent’s profound calm.

Of course, not everyone on this mountaintop could keep their cool. The Great Witch Biggs felt like a headless fly.

She was incredibly frustrated. She had inexplicably advanced to a Gray Robe, which should have been a cause for celebration. Yet, she felt completely adrift. After a long journey, she had ended up on this peak without any time to experience the joy of her advancement. She didn’t mind the labor all that much; after all, she used to be a witch who had to rely on the generosity of others for survival, doing errands at their bidding. But what she couldn’t understand was why, despite never declaring she would assist this deputy chief of the Liuli City Court of Guards, these people had blindly classified her as an enemy. Though she had seen many others act illogically, that was always founded on the principle of one party having the power to crush the other. But these three people here might at best just be on par with the Court Chief of the Liuli City Court of Guards. How dare they so arrogantly categorize her in this irrational manner! The Great Witch Biggs really couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

It wasn’t the first time Biggs had met Estev. She recalled that she did have some history with the deputy chief of Liuli City on this trip up the mountain. If it weren’t for this deputy chief, she would probably be studying the Spirit Book she had just bought. If it weren’t for this deputy chief, Elder Rostellum wouldn’t bear such a grudge against her. The deputy chief had taken her to Gaga County, which was where her nightmare began. However, it wasn’t entirely a nightmare; at least she had advanced to become a Gray Robe Wizard. Thinking about it, that was probably the only thing that had been offering her some solace during this time. But this small comfort couldn’t obscure her distress. She felt she was seriously unlucky. How on earth did I get stuck in this mess, and it doesn’t appear to be a simple one at that? What’s more important is, I’ve only just completed my advancement and don’t possess a shred of battle skills! I don’t even know what I should do—whether to run, to jump, or to scamper around! In the end, I don’t have much combat experience, and in such a moment, I can only stand frozen in place.

However, her opponent, that eccentric old man, put on a completely different display. The Spellcraft of a Wizard required great Spirit Power as support. Wizard Gus had been acting strangely for so long, but once he decided to use his Forbidden Spell, he fell silent. He was gathering Spirit Power and accumulating Spirit Power. His goal was simple: to defeat the Wizard in front of him who had just advanced, and then seize her wind-aspected Gray Robe.

He didn’t dare to underestimate her. Sometimes, a Wizard who had just advanced was an uncertain factor; you never knew when the Progressor’s Exchange Power could burst out. So, for the sake of safety, Wizard Gus decided to be cautious. But in his mind, caution equaled overwhelming the opponent, taking unilateral control, and leaving the opponent with no chance to counterattack. That’s why he activated his Forbidden Spell. He wouldn’t show a bit of leniency, nor a hint of sympathy. All he wanted was victory.

But there was one thing he didn’t quite understand. The Wizard who had just advanced seemed to not be preparing any Spellcraft at all. This newly advanced witch seemed to stand still without moving an inch. Wizard Gus didn’t know that his opponent was a true novice, with no combat experience; she couldn’t possibly pose any threat to him. But, for the sake of securely crushing his opponent, Wizard Gus couldn’t take any risks.

Looking at the silent and motionless Great Witch, he was temporarily uncertain about how to make his move. She must have set some kind of trap! he thought. Otherwise, how could she expose such a major flaw right in front of me? I’d better test the waters first.

Muttering something, Wizard Gus conjured his first Spellcraft: a simple Binding Curse, mainly to control the surrounding temperature, freezing the opponent’s body locally, making her correspondingly stiff and thus unable to move. This spell was usually effective against Adventurers with Class because they couldn’t detect temperature changes, whereas for Wizards, Spirit Sensing Skills were specifically for detecting temperature. Therefore, this curse could only be regarded as a tentative move.

However, the Great Witch on the other side still didn’t show any reaction.

What on earth is going on? Does she have something hidden on her? Gus suddenly felt that things might not be as simple as he thought. This Great Witch has become so mysterious after her advancement, he mused, feeling bewildered and unsure what to do next.