Chapter 473 - The Witch (Patreon)

Days pass by quickly. Mana training, getting taught and then killed by Whitey, giving pointers to Lily and to the twins.

There isn’t any talk anymore about having them swap difficulty. Even when they are not combining their forces to fight, they are dangerous. They do not flinch when they get hurt. They are quick and much more experienced now when it comes to combat. Surprisingly, they are also very patient and don’t mind initiating longer battles, gradually building up their advantage.

Their projections are amazing, to be honest. Mimicking mana signature, heat, and imitating vibrations of movement. These projections are something I showed a lot of interest in, and we worked on together.

Even I’m capable of something similar. With my better mastery over mana, with kinetic energy and thermal, I even have a much easier time. But I'm the type that prefers more damage over such trickery, so I don’t go too deep into that—just when I feel bored. So their projections are currently better.

[Connection] is a straight-up broken skill, and [Resonance] as well. The things we have come up with lately are… scary at times. In a good way. I always said it, but if you can hurt yourself with your own skill it’s a bad sign for your opponent.

I don’t mean it in a maniacal way or anything. Your body is adapted to your skill, allowing you to endure it better. So, something that causes you trouble would hurt your opponent even more. For example, Lily’s body and bones can withstand [Disintegration], but if she used it on someone with the exact same stats and traits, they’d be completely wrecked.

Even though we both tried, even together, we couldn’t figure out exactly how it works or how skills influence the body, but it's something we’ll definitely return to later.

As for the twins, my instinct of having them push into training mana proved to be an excellent decision—as always—and even though they need to combine their minds currently to take over most skills, there is a clear path ahead of them.

I don’t think they will ever be the strongest 1v1 guys, but 2v1 they are scary, and in cooperation with people like me, there is hell to be made.

As for Lily… yeah, there is no need to worry about her.

Two days before the expedition, Biscuit also returns.

An unidentified floating object appears on the horizon. It bears a shape similar to a burrito and moves surprisingly quickly. That floating object is added into the exceptions of my defensive array and passes through easily, slowing down over the garden where all of us are.

Announcing his majestic presence with a loud (Food), the future overlord floats lower, landing on the ground with a cute surprised noise as he lets go of his levitation a bit early and falls from a higher height than expected.

Two months is how long I haven’t seen him. Calculating the 10 boops per day I usually did, that’s 600 boops I have missed out on, and they will have to be delivered.

Ever since the Golden Retriever accident, we have made some changes, so Biscuit ignores others and stops in front of me.

I immediately lift him up against my chest, the familiar feeling, weight, and scent of the best corgi of the 6th floor. He boops my nose with his paw, I caress his tiny head, and let him happily lick me while he wags his short tail, making even his body wiggle together from sheer inertia.

Only then do I let him go, and he goes to greet the others.

I’m allowed to pet other animals, and Biscuit is allowed to be pet by other people, but he will be my number one, and I will be his. With that simple deal, the dark times after the Golden Retriever incident ended.

I would love to know what he has done to train, as I get only flashes of memory, but I guess time will show soon enough. It’s about time something screws up and things go very badly.

Those near-death experiences over the past five months just don’t feel the same as they used to. Lily and the twins probably wouldn’t agree, though. There was Dennis getting cut in half by that guy, Lily trapped under a mountain while hunting a high-level monster, and Aaron poisoned and paralyzed for three days before we finally figured out how to cure him.

Things like these are already something I consider part of life in the tutorial. If they don’t like it, they can switch to Hard difficulty, where they’d probably clear each floor on their own.

The old pre-tutorial me would probably be a bit shocked by that way of thinking, but what can I do? Screw that guy.

That thought also makes me curious about how he would react and what a conversation between us would look like.

***

“You are free,” I tell the man whose name I’ve already forgotten.

“I… why are you giving me an old sock?”

“It’s a custom where I’m from.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t want to insu—”

“It’s fine. As I said, we will leave the rooms unlocked, and there is some stuff left behind, so you guys can sort it out, kill each other for the items, or whatever you’d like to do.”

“Oh…”

“You also mentioned that neighboring group sneaking around, right? Lily checked on them last night, and I don’t think they will make any trouble anymore. If you are lucky, you might even take over what’s left. But don't expect any fancy items or materials, we took them all.”

"If it's she who went there, there won’t be many people left alive to take over. But thanks, we’ll—"

“Sure.” I wave him off and teleport, appearing further in my underground lab.

The only way to get here is through teleporting with the Ley Line that leads here. Otherwise, the lab is very, very deep and nearly perfectly shielded.

There were some troubles getting breathable air inside, but I solved it with some mana stones—inspired by the one given to me by that blacksmith from Beyond’s entrance floor.

Currently, the lab feels unusually tidy, gone are the chaotic piles of items and materials all over. The best ones and useful ones packed in the bags I or the others will carry, and the rest sold to the system shop or left up in my room, which I’m sure is already getting looted.

The only thing of note remaining in the lab is the bust with inscriptions and crown hovering over it. The bust serves to stabilize the crown so it doesn’t lose mana while it's not over my head.

With the bust currently charged, the crown should be able to hover there for two or three weeks without any trouble, and the Ley Line thread heading to it makes it possible to summon it to me.

To avoid annoying questions during the expedition and to not clash right away with a certain person, I plan to leave it here and summon it at the first sign of trouble, which I’m sure will happen soon enough. Until then, I at least won’t be bothered by these people.

I mean, I could probably just take over the expedition at this point, but that would be too annoying.

Giving my precious crown a last look, I teleport in front of the door to Lily’s room and knock.

“Come in!” she calls after a few seconds, and I enter.

“You should have been packed an hour ago,” I note seeing her messy room.

“I know, I know!” She turns to me, holding a dress in front of her. “What do you think?”

The dress is pale blue, with the skirt ending just over her knees. The design is a bit weird.

“Huh, no good.” She reads something from my face I don’t even know I showed and throws it on the ground, quickly picking another one, this one very dark red. “This one?”

“That’s where your pocket money went?”

“So this one is also not good,” she sighs and throws it away. “And yes! I’m a young woman, of course I like to dress nicely. Well, other women probably wouldn’t care about clothes in a situation like this, so maybe it’s just me, but you know what I mean!"

Lily picks another dress, this one dark blue with thin shoulder straps, “This one?”

“That one looks the best so far. Do you think you will use it anytime soon?”

Happily, she throws it on the bed and starts folding it carefully before putting a small mana stone on it and putting it into some protective bag, and then adding it to her other things.

“I don’t think I will need it, that’s why I’m taking only one and leaving the rest behind. Before you ask, that mana stone is supposed to help keep insects, dirt, mold, and some other stuff away from the cloth. I have only a few of them, so you can’t have one—you would break it just to see how it works.”

“That’s a terrible accusation. If that happened, I would make you a new one.”

“Sure, sure! And for some random reason, you would add an additional function that would allow it to get charged with mana and explode. Do you remember that mana stone that was supposed to keep clothes fresh smelling?”

This time I defend myself, “That bullshit stone was clearly a scam and didn’t work.”

“So why did it explode later?”

“It did have an interesting structure that gave me an idea so I modified it a bit and… that’s not the point! So, ready?”

“I guess.” After putting her bag on her back, she takes a few steps, grabbing that massive ax made of her bone, and a nostalgic smile appears on her face as she looks over the room for the last time. “I think I got quite used to this room. For a while, I’m sure I might miss it.”

“I can understand that.”

“These past few months have been great, honestly. It’s been really fun having all of us together, and I’d love to keep that going. Hopefully, we get many more like this.”

“Nice jinx. The expedition will go great.”

After a short laugh, she straightens up her posture, gray mana swirling around her, reminiscent of the shape of a mantle.

"Everything will be fine, you’ll see. I’m here," Lily says with unwavering confidence.

***

We find ourselves in the same yard where the twins got caught not that long ago. Despite losing one of their strongest, Gravelhands has managed to hold onto their fort, which guards one of the largest entrances to the mines beneath Hollowgate.

There are probably a few hundred people all around, and looking at the results of past expeditions, only around 10-50% will return. Monsters, other members of the expedition, fights for resources, unresolved disputes. It will be quite easy to just disappear down there.

So while Dennis is with a smaller group of leaders, we wait to the side, and I observe people around.

One of them is no. 1 of Hollowgate, a thylarin woman called The Witch, and over her head, a [Mana Crown] is floating. It’s a crown I would recognize anywhere.

[Terra Shaper - lvl 306]

There’s a rumor about the Witch. Some say she joins the expedition only once every ten years, then retreats to her manor, likely spending years charging her crown for the next journey. That’s why her crown is a deep blue with streaks of light purple and pale blue.

The sheer amount of mana it holds can’t be hidden—just being near her feels like the air itself grows heavier, as if the immense power she carries could crush everything around her.

Then there is my good friend, the thylarin with kinetic energy and four swords. For some reason, it seems like he decided to join the expedition. He isn’t looking at me, but I’m sure he knows I am here, and he stands close to The Witch—a position akin to her bodyguard.

Well, if this expedition won’t be fun.

***

Next Chapter