It felt so good to be close to the witch!

Seeing Roy's sincere attitude, Shanika finally smiled.

"By the way, Shanica, how is Miss Ais doing now?" Roy snapped out of his reverie and looked at the girl in the crimson dress sitting cross-legged on the bed, asking.

"As for Miss Ais, her condition is stable. The natural magic that remains in her body is being absorbed by her 'Witch's Heart'. It is estimated that it will be completely absorbed in another 22 hours."

"Then I will use my healing ability on her, and she will recover quickly."

Shanica raised her hand and tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, speaking softly.

The dim candlelight created play of light and shadow, further highlighting the curves of her figure beneath her pale yellow dress.

Under Shanika's bright gaze, Roy awkwardly turned his head away and asked, "Our short absence shouldn't have any impact on Miss Ais, right?"

“No, we won’t.” Shanika blinked, her full cherry lips reflecting a faint glow. “But, what are we two… what is Young Master Roy planning to do?”

"Ahem..." Roy coughed to cover his embarrassment. What was originally a normal sentence had become so ambiguous when it came out of Shanika's mouth.

He quickly said, "It seems there's been a bit of an accident with Miss Lilia. I'd like you to go and take a look."

"I see~" Shanika said with a slightly disappointed tone, "Alright, whatever it is, young master, I will agree to it."

Roy quickly got up and led the way, not daring to say another word.

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, Shanika might do something "outrageous" despite the presence of the Ice Witch Ais!

Soon, the two arrived at Roy's room.

Shanica's beautiful eyes swept over Lilia lying on Roy's bed. She narrowed her eyes, her smile remaining unchanged: "Young Master Roy, what's wrong with Miss Lilia?"

“I removed all the contamination from her body tonight, but strangely, it has been almost an hour since then, and she is still in a drowsy state. I am a little worried, so I asked you to come and see if there is anything wrong with her body.”

After listening to Roy's story, Shanica didn't say anything, but stepped forward and placed her hand on Lilia's shoulder.

A milky white light appeared, enveloping the Shadow Witch Lilia. A dozen seconds later, Shanika withdrew her hand and looked at Roy: "Young Master Roy, Miss Lilia should be in a state of talent evolution right now."

"Talent evolution? What does that mean?"

Roy quickly pressed for an answer.

Shanika's tone was filled with envy: "A witch's talent doesn't remain unchanged after awakening. Legend has it that under special conditions, talent can evolve."

"There are very few witches whose talent for evolution has been proven, but I was lucky enough to encounter one once."

“Miss Lilia’s current condition is very similar to the case I encountered, so I judge that she should be in the process of ‘talent evolution’.”

"We don't need to disturb her. She will awaken on her own after a while, once she has completed the evolution of her talent."

Roy's eyes widened slightly.

Can talent evolve?

Moreover, the special conditions... compared to before, Lilia absorbed some natural magic, and all the pollution within her was absorbed. Could it be that the removal of pollution could lead to an evolution of the witch's talent?

But that's not right either.

He absorbed all of Shanika's pollution, but there was no sign that Shanika's talent would evolve.

Or is it that the evolution of a witch's talent is not only related to the degree of her own corruption, but also inseparable from the total amount of magic power?

Roy shared his guess with the healing witch, Shanica.

After listening, Shanika nodded and said with a somewhat complicated tone, "Your guess should be correct. The witch I once met who had evolved her talent was a witch who had an extremely high total amount of magic power at the beginning of her awakening, and she had only recently awakened, so the level of pollution in her body was relatively low."

"Speaking of which, I did feel some changes after you removed the pollution for me that day."

“My healing ability has improved considerably. For injuries like yours, it used to take me at least five minutes to heal, but now, one minute is enough.”

"What a pity, my total magic power is still far from enough to support the evolution of my talent..."

Chapter 67 The Throne in the Shadows

Shanica's voice was filled with deep regret.

Talent evolution is something that can only be encountered by chance.

Although it is speculated that talent evolution is related to the degree of pollution and the total amount of magic power, as long as both meet the standards, talents should be able to evolve.

But this is just speculation.

What if, even after the total amount of magic power increases, the talent still cannot evolve?

Moreover, increasing the total amount of magic power is not such a simple matter.

Currently, the only way to increase a witch's total magical power without any side effects is by absorbing the natural magical power within high-purity magic crystals.

But how precious are high-purity magic crystals?

The bargaining chip the Second Prince used to win over Lord Denham and make him risk his life to betray the Border Duke was nothing more than a high-purity magic crystal.

While high-purity magic crystals can store and transmit energy, only the original natural magic they contain can increase a witch's total magic power.

Both were completely cleansed of their internal pollution, but the Shadow Witch Lilia's talent evolved while Shanika's did not. How could Shanika not be envious?

Seeing Shanika's low spirits, Roy quickly comforted her, "High-purity magic crystals are very precious, but there are always ways to obtain them. Don't worry, I will definitely find a way to get them for you and help you complete your talent evolution."

"...Thank you very much, young master."

Shanika quickly composed herself and a gentle smile appeared on her face.

"I'll go back and take care of Miss Ais first. As for Miss Lilia, you can just wait for her to wake up naturally, young master."

Shanica gave Roy a slight bow, then turned and left the room.

Watching Shanika's figure disappear around the corner, Roy sighed and silently apologized to her.

Of the five witches in the territory, the healing witch Shanica is the closest to him.

Although Shanica would often say things that "frightened" him, it didn't stop Roy from feeling closer to her.

Unfortunately, the threat from the Second Prince is imminent, and improving the territory's combat strength is the top priority. Therefore, the only option is to let the strongest and most skilled fighters, the Ice Witch Ais and the Shadow Witch Lilia, absorb the natural magic power from the only high-purity magic crystal.

Roy secretly made a decision: once he obtained a high-purity magic crystal next time, he would definitely let Shanika use it first. He turned his gaze to Lilia on the bed, a look of anticipation appearing deep in his eyes.

After absorbing natural magic, Lilia's total magic power reached 80, and without having to worry about the corrosive effects of pollution on her mind and body, she was able to unleash combat power far stronger than before.

Previously, she was no match for Uncle Rami, the Temple's Punishment Knight, but with her total magic power increased and no longer needing to worry about contamination, Lilia's combat strength has probably surpassed Uncle Rami's.

What's more, Lilia's talent has now evolved!

Once her talent has evolved, her strength will surely reach a new level. Whether she can reach the strength of the Ice Witch Ais before she broke through to the "Grand" rank is hard to say, but at least two or three Silver Peak Knights will not be her match.

Roy sat cross-legged on the floor beside the bed, closed his eyes, and while waiting for Lilia to wake up, he also practiced his breathing techniques.

The combination of the "Burning Heart Secret Technique" and the "Rage State" would place an extremely heavy burden on his body, but it is undeniable that in that state, his physique would be incredibly strong.

Roy temporarily named this state "Destruction State".

In previous tests, Roy only lasted for a second before his body was damaged to that extent.

A second is too short a time; at most, it can only provide enough power for one strike.

To better unleash the power of "Destruction State," his physique still needs strengthening.

Basic physical strength can only be achieved through the practice of breathing techniques and the daily nourishment of "Infinite Desire," requiring gradual accumulation.

"breathe……"

The unique rhythm of the Explosive Breathing Technique spread through Roy's mouth and nose.

The candlelight on the desk flickered gently in the light night breeze, illuminating Roy's resolute face.

……

In a daze, Lilia opened her eyes.

Twisting, evolving, stretching...

Everything before my eyes seemed to be swept into a vortex of shadows, losing its original form.

Subconsciously, Lilia shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her mind.

But this action had no effect at all; her brain felt as if it were covered by a layer of gauze, and she was in a daze.

Before me, the bizarre and absurd world of twisted shadows still remained.

Where am I?

With this thought in mind, Lilia struggled to get up from the ground and staggered forward.

For some reason, she sensed something deadly alluring to her deep within the shadows ahead.

Forward, forward...

On either side of him were huge, twisted, and irregular shadows.

She didn't know how much time had passed, until Lilia felt her legs were numb from walking, and then the world in front of her suddenly brightened up.

The light in the shadow world is different from light in the general sense.

It is a kind of brightness that remains constant, but allows those within it to see more clearly.

At this moment, what Lilia saw was this scene:

In the center of the distorted darkness, there is a high platform made of black crystals, and on the platform, a throne made of shadows stands silently.

Before the throne stood a magnificent yet understated scepter, its top inlaid with a round jewel that seemed to gather the essence of all the shadows in the world.

The moment Lilia saw the shadowy orb on the scepter, an unprecedented longing welled up within her.

A sudden realization dawned on her.

If she could hold this Shadow Scepter in her hand, she would become the absolute ruler of the Shadow World.

But to reach the Shadow Throne and grasp the Shadow Scepter, one must first traverse a dark platform with ninety-nine steps.

Driven by her inner desire, Lilia took a step and ascended the first step of the platform.

But with just one step, she felt an unparalleled pressure descend from the sky.

Muscles began to groan, bones trembled violently...

The pressure was so terrifying that Lilia's body began to crumble inch by inch.

With all her might, Lilia bit off a piece of the stone from the step and swallowed it.

The next instant, her consciousness was completely plunged into darkness.