Chapter 414: Not Unleashing Your Ultimates at Point-Blank Range Was Your Biggest Mistake
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 414: Not Unleashing Your Ultimates at Point-Blank Range Was Your Biggest Mistake
Feeling the pull of a summoning once more, I realized this was already my third time experiencing this sensation. I was starting to get the hang of it.
Compared to this spell that summoned me, I remembered I had a Teleportation Summoning Spell of my own. By using marks, I could even teleport another person, though I couldn't use it on myself. Moreover, it likely couldn't cross the void between worlds like this summoning ritual did.
As I felt the destination of the summoning draw near, even I began to feel a hint of anticipation. I had been staying in that secluded villa, leisurely studying the plant technology of that world to see if I could gain any inspiration.
I wondered what Qiu Ruxin was up to right now.
After all... it must be quite lonely in a villa with no one else around. It was much like how I felt after Sister Bai left me behind; even with so many people at the Witch Academy, I couldn't help but feel a void in my heart.
However, if those people from the Real Protection Association dared to lay a hand on Qiu Ruxin, I wouldn't mind teaching them the true meaning of cruelty.
As my form materialized within the small world, the scene before me gradually sharpened. With a wave of my hand, I felt as though I were breaking through the final membrane between myself and this world, fully stepping into this reality.
I scanned my surroundings, and the expectant smile on my face slowly froze.
This was not the villa I had anticipated. Instead, I stood in the middle of a street that looked like a war zone. The surrounding buildings bore the heavy weight of history, but they were utterly devoid of the breath of life.
There was only the desolate chill of abandonment, the broken pavement, and... a sea of people.
At this moment, every single one of them was staring straight at me. Their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief; some held a sense of scrutiny and wariness, while others flickered with a lecherous, possessive desire.
Gaze after gaze, hundreds of eyes converged on me. I had to admit, they certainly gave me a "grand" welcome right out of the gate...
After the initial shock passed, my heart grew calm. I swept a seemingly casual glance across the area and finally spotted Qiu Ruxin’s figure not far behind me.
"Respected Calamity Witch, my name is Ri Jiefu..."
Qiu Ruxin was in a terrible state. she was collapsed on the ground, her bleeding hands clutching a single Tear of the Mad Plant. Her entire body was curled up in agony, her legs trembling uncontrollably.
"I believe a partnership between us would be a win-win situation. We acknowledge that your strength is indeed formidable. Rumor has it that you are a traveler of the void..."
I turned around and knelt beside Qiu Ruxin, gently soothing her injuries. I used a derivation of Sensory Weakening to dull her pain, ensuring she was no longer tortured by the intense agony. Then, I immediately cast a Flesh Healing spell, mending both her external and internal wounds. Unfortunately, Flesh Healing was the only restorative magic I had; I didn't possess a truly omnipotent healing spell.
"Miss Calamity Witch, we have come with great sincerity to invite you to join us in uncovering the secrets of this world. In this final carnival, we shall continue the legacy of—"
"Are you a special player?" After confirming that Qiu Ruxin was no longer in immediate danger, I waved my hand to envelop her in a protection spell. Then, I looked up at the man who had been prattling on.
He had mentioned "uncovering the secrets of this world." This made him different from the Secret Diggers I had first encountered; those people didn't care about the world's secrets. Therefore, the man before me was naturally a player with a special status—perhaps one focused on the "main quest."
As I spoke those words, I scanned the crowd. Though many looked surprised, they weren't as shocked as I expected. It seemed I wasn't the first person to call out their identity as players; at the very least, they had experienced this before.
"That's right, we are indeed %&!" Seeing me engage, he immediately broke into a welcoming smile.
However, when he said the word "player," the sound was still censored.
"Can I ask a question?"
"Uh... certainly." The man was under immense pressure from his peers, but he knew that if the Calamity Witch was only talking to him, this was his greatest opportunity!
"I want to know how Qiu Ruxin ended up like this. Who hurt her? Was it you? Was it them? Or... was it all of you?" As I finished, a surge of killing intent rose from the depths of my heart, turning my voice ice-cold.
Never before had I felt such a murderous urge—a desire to swing the executioner’s blade and slaughter everyone here, regardless of status!
That wave of killing intent accompanied my voice, causing the people in the front row to instinctively recoil half a step, terrified that I might suddenly snap and attack.
But they weren't afraid of death. They were afraid of losing their eligibility to compete in the "closing down" carnival of Sin Star!
No one gave me an answer, but I already had one in my heart. Regardless of which individual or group did it, they were all players in the end. They had no empathy for the people of this world.
There was no right or wrong in this conflict, only positions. I was merely a third party, but I didn't mind stepping onto the field now to stand against them and take them down a peg.
A nameless irritation rose within me, born from the sharp contrast between my original plans and the current reality.
I knew I couldn't let this emotion fester, or it would turn into pure self-attrition. Rather than consuming myself with frustration, it was better to consume others.
Of course, my best course of action would be to leave immediately and not get involved in this mess. I could just watch them jump around like clowns. After all, I was curious to see how much tolerance the various nations of this world had for these Secret Diggers.
To think they would let them run so wild.
But my emotions had already been stirred. Although I had said I wanted to be the master of my emotions and harness them, venting them reasonably was also a part of that mastery. It was a different concept entirely from letting emotions dictate my thoughts.
Ignoring their reactions, I scooped Qiu Ruxin up in my arms. At that moment, my gaze drifted to another Secret Digger nearby who was also critically injured and on the verge of death. I didn't know him, but he looked at me with a pleading expression.
I looked past him. I guessed he was likely a member of the Real Protection Association. But save him?
Impossible. This was no time for soft-heartedness. I had said from the beginning that I didn't trust anyone from the Association. Even if this man's intentions were genuine, I could only say I was sorry; he had become a pawn abandoned by both me and the Association.
Furthermore, the information that the branch president had promised me had yet to be fully delivered. Even now, I didn't have a clear understanding of their world.
Weren't they treating me like an outsider?
Why should I play the saint?
Even if he had protected Qiu Ruxin all this way, it didn't change anything. It could only be said that he chose the wrong side from the start and made an effort that was destined to be in vain.
Moreover... to him, this was just a game. But to me and Qiu Ruxin, this was reality.
"It's time to leave the center of this farce," I said softly.
No one understood what I meant until a spatial portal opened before me. Before they could even realize what it was, my figure vanished completely.
"Dammit... don't let her get away!"
A few quick-witted players had tried to block me, but how could they possibly react in time?
Seeing the situation end like this, many began to curse loudly. After all, this was a hidden quest character! In this final month-long carnival before the servers closed, their time was precious.
To be toyed with like this naturally sent their resentment through the roof. Some in the front row began hurling insults, while others started fighting amongst themselves. They were just playing a game, and being mocked like this made their tempers flare.
One had to understand that the threshold for a game account in this world was like a job interview; if you didn't have the ability, you wouldn't get an account.
With the game entering its final "closing down" carnival, who knew how many people had spent a fortune or used high-level connections to get in?
"Time is money" was no joke here.
Seeing the chaos, the few members of the Real Protection Association simply logged off. This "account" was basically ruined anyway; rather than struggling, it was better to give up and reroll.
In any case, no one knew the real-world identities of the Association members. They could just switch to a different character and join the faction hunting down the Real Protection Association.
* * *
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a nearby skyscraper, two figures appeared out of thin air.
It was Qiu Ruxin and me.
I set her down. After the Flesh Healing spell, she was mostly recovered. Unless she had broken bones, she was physically no different from a normal person, aside from some lingering phantom pains from the speed of the healing. Since she didn't seem to have any fractures, there was no need to keep carrying her.
"I'm sorry... Sister Xiao Han... if it weren't for me..."
"There's no need to apologize. This was an act of God. Just tell me what happened these past few days—keep it brief," I said, interrupting her self-reproach.
"Okay..." Qiu Ruxin nodded. She instinctively moved her body and found that the injuries and pain had almost entirely vanished. After a moment of shock, she quickly recovered.
"During the days you were gone, Sister Xiao Han, I stayed in the villa and didn't go out. Then the people from the Real Protection Association came and said they wanted to take me away. I didn't agree, but they forced me to go."
"I found out later that shortly after I left... the Secret Diggers blew up the villa. I had no choice but to follow the Association people and hide." At this point, a flash of lingering fear crossed her eyes. If she hadn't left, she would have been blown up with the villa—just like... her younger brother...
"Later, I hid in various Association bases... but no matter where we went, we were discovered before long and forced to move again..."
"Discovered every time?" My eyes narrowed as I looked at Qiu Ruxin.
Finally, after my Spirit Vision picked up a trace of unusual information, I reached out and ripped something off her collar.
It was a device similar to a tracker, extremely well-hidden and designed to blend into soft surfaces. "Where did you get these clothes?"
"The people from the Association prepared them for me..." Seeing the object in my hand, Qiu Ruxin quickly realized what it was. This was likely the reason she kept being found!
"It seems the Real Protection Association is as full of holes as a sieve."
My opinion of the Association dropped even further. Was this organization just some loose, amateur group in their world? Perhaps they didn't even know the high-level secrets of their own world and were just trying to bluff me.
Maybe the vague details they had given me were the extent of everything they knew.
I stood there, looking down at the commotion below. The tracker seemed to have led some people toward this building, but I didn't mind.
Because... this farce wasn't over!
How could I let the people who made me miserable get away with it? I found the idea of waiting until tomorrow for revenge repulsive.
I had left so decisively only because I wanted to get clear first.
The biggest mistake those Secret Diggers made was not dropping a nuke on my head the very second the summoning ritual brought me through!
That would have been their only chance to deal a fatal blow. But because of greed, because of some mysterious potential benefits, they had completely passed it up.
Now, they had better be prepared for my retaliation!
As Qiu Ruxin recounted the hardships she had endured over the past few days, it was clear she had suffered greatly.
But all of that ended now.
I began to review my own arsenal.
My most proficient spells were undoubtedly the basic Evocation spells and their derivatives, but those weren't suitable for dealing with a large-scale crowd.
My gaze instinctively fell upon the "Fire Rain Domain Spellbook."
If I unleashed that spell here, I estimated that the entire nation of Lanas Island would be swallowed by a sea of fire. That wasn't what I wanted.
I didn't care about the small nation of Lanas Island itself, but rather the first and most important "Omni-Link Main Network Tree" located within it.
Though I didn't know much about it, I knew for a fact it wouldn't survive a Fire Rain Domain. What, did they think it was fireproof like the World Trees of the elves?
Even in my previous dream simulation, that World Tree had been scorched by my Fire Rain Domain.
I hadn't forgotten why I had come to this world so eagerly: to study the plant technology developed here and its most significant achievement, the "Plant Network." The "Omni-Link Main Network Tree" was the foundation of this entire information age.
I had prepared so much at the Academy for this and spent a considerable amount of money.
Therefore, using the Fire Rain Domain was unwise. Lanas Island was a small country; I was truly afraid I would wipe it off the map in one go. If that happened, I would have to face the combined opposition of every nation in this world and every Secret Digger.
The reason those nations hadn't stopped the Secret Diggers yet was likely because they wanted to watch me—an unknown and powerful Calamity Witch—and the Secret Diggers fight it out like dogs.
They probably hoped to swoop in and reap the benefits afterward.
But those hopes were about to be dashed. My strength far exceeded their imagination!
To deal with so many Secret Diggers, a High-consumption Spellbook should be enough—something on the level of the Elemental Spirit's Blessing. Even though that wasn't a primary offensive spellbook, its power was still terrifying. A High-consumption Spellbook focused on offense would definitely suffice.
However, I didn't have many spellbooks in that category. Most of the ones I did have were given to me by Tan Han, and I hadn't really touched them yet.
Finally... my eyes landed on a spellbook I had only used a few times.
"Shadow Legion Summoning... Hmm... I think I've used it a couple of times. It's a very good tool for crowd control... I wonder, without the suppression of the Great Weakening Spell, what kind of indelible mark it will leave on this world?"