Chapter 17: The Tsundere Witch

The Terminal City.

The high tower.

Ilya sat high upon her throne, cradling a crystal orb in her hands. Within it, the entire landmass of the Oracle continent was reflected in miniature.

A thick black fog blanketed the surface — each shrouded region representing territory under the dominion of the Witches.

Now, a considerable number of those areas had already been cleared of their black fog by adventurers.

The pace of progress was truly something...

Gazing at the regions where light had begun to re-emerge, Ilya narrowed her eyes and drummed her fingers rhythmically against the armrest of her throne.

These adventurers were developing far too quickly.

Since the dawn of the Qiyuan Era, the human faction had always been the overwhelmingly weaker side — brought to the brink of annihilation on more than a few occasions, barely clinging to survival under the protection of the gods.

But in recent times, the number of adventurers had grown abnormally large. They had actually begun launching counterattacks against the demon forces, and the Domain Lords she had stationed along the border regions had nearly all fallen.

Setting herself aside, the other Witches faced much the same situation. Even the territory of the Lust Witch — which boasted the greatest number of demon creatures — had been overrun.

After a moment of contemplation, Ilya set down the crystal orb and called out softly, "The Priest."

The instant her words fell, a portal shimmered into existence within the tower. The Priest stepped through, clad in black robes, his posture one of absolute deference. "Lady Witch, what are your orders?"

Ilya asked, "I was just observing the magic orb. It appears the border regions have already been seized by the adventurers."

"This cannot stand."

The Priest bowed his head, his tone carrying a hint of panic. "I have been doing my utmost to contact the border Domain Lords, but..."

"Enough."

Ilya extended her hand. A deep green eyeball materialized in her palm. "Take this eye and deploy it."

"I have no wish to see these adventurers advance any further."

For certain reasons, Ilya was unable to leave the tower during this period, so she had resorted to another method to discipline these adventurers.

The eyeball in her hand was called the [Eye of the Abyss]. Once infused with magic power, it could leave a "rift" through which the demon creatures dwelling in the abyss could emerge.

The Priest reached out and caught the eyeball as it drifted gently down to him, then spoke up. "By the way, Lady Witch, there is a matter your subordinate must report."

Ilya asked, "What is it?"

The Priest let out a short whistle. A deep black crow glided in slowly, a letter clasped in its beak.

The Priest looked slightly awkward. "That border Undead Domain Lord has sent another letter. Do you wish to review it?"

Ilya said nothing. She simply extended her hand, drawing the letter toward her with magic power, and broke the seal.

The contents were lengthy, but the information within was already known to her — nothing of particular use.

And yet she was genuinely surprised.

This fellow's domain still hadn't fallen?

She was well aware of what level of strength the adventurers had reached at this stage. For a border Domain Lord to have held out this long was no small feat.

Raising her head and observing Ilya's hesitation, The Priest spoke up. "Lady Witch, this Domain Lord has held on for so long even as the surrounding domains have all collapsed. He must have considerable ability — and he has shown such loyalty..."

"If he remains stationed at the border, it is only a matter of time before the adventurers wipe him out. Perhaps you could send a reply, release him from his Soul Contract, and bring him here?"

These words struck right at the heart of what Ilya had been thinking.

A talent like this — to let him be buried at the border would truly be a waste.

Ilya gave a small nod. "You make a fair point."

"But writing that directly in a letter is out of the question."

The Priest: ......

For reasons he couldn't quite explain, after Lady Witch said those words, he suddenly had the distinct impression that her head was just a little bit pointy.

The Priest hesitated for a moment. "Then... what do you mean to do?"

Ilya said, "You go and make contact with this Domain Lord yourself. Convey the message in a roundabout way."

In that moment, the Witch of Pride once again revealed her quintessentially tsundere nature.

* * *

The Undead Domain. The castle.

After seeing off wave after wave of players lured in by the forum post, Xia Er finally had a brief moment of free time.

He was now seated at his writing desk, scribbling and revising in a small notebook.

Xia Er was in the process of "fabricating" a side quest for himself.

Endlessly having players run prerequisite tasks was simply not sustainable. For long-term development, this next step was indispensable.

And to be honest, the Undead Domain did in fact contain one very well-hidden side quest.

It was the tooth inside Little Ghost's coffin.

[A dying friend of the Blood Clan entrusted his daughter to the Undead Domain on his deathbed, asking him to look after her. The matter is entangled with secrets concerning the Blood Clan's progenitor Liliya from the previous century, and draws the domain into certain ties with the Blood Clan...]

Right — the rough outline of the story was more or less set.

There would inevitably be a few minor logical bugs, but that was of no consequence.

The players would fill in the gaps themselves.

He had just finished fleshing out the skeleton of the story when a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Xia Er tucked the notebook away and looked toward the study door. When he saw who it was, he was mildly surprised.

He had expected one of his lieutenants — but it turned out to be that kid Li Shen again.

"What is it?"

Faced with the question, Li Shen took a deep breath. "Lord Xia Er, the task you assigned me has been completed."

As he spoke, he produced a skull, upon which a line of text was inscribed.

[Uriel's Skull]

That fast?

Seeing the skull, Xia Er was taken aback.

This was by no means a simple task — even for someone who had undergone job advancement, it was not a dungeon that could be cleared in a short time. And Li Shen was only level 26. How had he managed it?

He used some tricks?

Xia Er quickly pieced together what must have happened. He hadn't expected that after discovering there was competition, this guy would push himself this hard.

Good thing he had prepared for this.

Taking the item, Xia Er gave the other man a quiet pat on the shoulder. "I acknowledge your ability."

"Come with me."

Upon hearing those words, Li Shen's heart nearly leapt out of his chest with excitement.

Just as he'd thought! The money he'd spent hadn't been wasted!

The prerequisite task was complete — now it was time to fully enter the side quest!

Following Xia Er's footsteps at a leisurely pace, they soon arrived at a basement.

Candles flickered on the mottled walls on either side, and on the floor, an arcane magic circle had been painted in blood — cryptic and incomprehensible, radiating an air of deep mystery.

Xia Er walked slowly to the very center of the magic circle, then turned around to face Li Shen, his tone utterly grave. "Do you know why I have remained in this domain all this time?"

At those words, Li Shen was momentarily stunned.

Why had he remained in this domain?

Wasn't it because he had signed a Soul Contract with the Witch and couldn't leave?

Of course, that was what he thought — but as an NPC character, if the Undead Archmage was saying this, there had to be another reason behind it.

Li Shen shook his head. "I don't know."

Xia Er said nothing more. Instead, he pointed to the magic circle and said slowly, "Do you see this magic circle?"

"It will give you your answer."

Li Shen: ???