Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Wayne did not sit down.

He simply stood quietly in place, his gaze resting peacefully on the archdeacon, neither offensive nor overtly affectionate.

"Your Excellency the Archdeacon has summoned me. What are your instructions?"

Casa didn't rush to answer. He put the parchment document on the table, leaned back in his chair, and sized him up.

Wayne didn't avoid his gaze.

Two seconds later, a mission panel appeared in front of Wayne.

[Name: Casa Byrne]

[Position: Vicar Audrian]

[Recent Developments: Your nephew Thomas lost another thirty silver coins at the casino and embezzled public funds from the church account to cover the losses. Meanwhile, Casa still suspects you of using underhanded tactics during the priest selection process three years ago, but no evidence has been found.]

[History: He was very handsome in his youth and was kept by three wealthy women at the same time. Later, he contracted syphilis, and after recovering, he went bald.]

Wayne's lips twitched slightly.

It wasn't a smile, just a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.

Casa frowned, thinking he was nervous.

“Father Wayne,” he began, his tone unusually tinged with admiration, “I’ve seen the results of the Audrian Church over the past three years. The number of believers has doubled, donations have tripled, and even the families of miners who never used to come to church now attend services every week.”

He paused.

"You did a great job."

Wayne didn't respond.

Kasa continued, "The church needs people like you. But talented people need to be placed in the most suitable positions."

"so?"

Casa pushed the parchment forward.

"The bishop of Frost Town died last month. During the demonic surge, of the seventeen people in the church, only one monk escaped. The Grand Church has decided to send you to take over."

Wayne glanced down at the paper.

Appointment letter. Church emblem.

Frost Town.

He knew that place.

North of the border, near the Frost Mountains, it snows for eight months of the year and melts for the remaining four. It is a place of exile and a graveyard for church personnel.

The demonic tides, wild beasts, refugees, and out-of-control superhumans—more bishops and priests died there than in all the dioceses of the kingdom's southern province combined.

The previous bishop died after only three months in office.

The one before that, two months ago.

The one that lived the longest lasted for six months.

"Congratulations." Casa smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes crinkling together. "The first young talent under the age of twenty-five to be promoted to bishop in the Southern Diocese in thirty years."

Wayne didn't say anything.

To translate Casa's words: He will be the first young fool in thirty years to be sent to his death.

"What," Kasa tilted his head, "you don't want to?"

Wayne picked up the letter of appointment and tucked it into his sleeve.

"We shall obey the Lord's will."

After a pause, Wayne added another sentence.

"It is an honor for a shepherd to be able to cultivate a less barren piece of land in the Lord's vineyard."

Casa's eyelid twitched.

That's so beautifully said, it's like it was taken from a biography of a saint, but...

Casa doesn't like this kind of beauty.

"Very good." Kasa leaned back in his chair. "We'll depart in three days. Frost Town is short of supplies, so you can take five followers with you from Aldrian; the church will cover the related expenses."

Wayne remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was cursing the old man's ancestors for eighteen generations.

Just then, the panel reappeared.

[The lover Kasa had in his youth who contracted syphilis is the wife of the current bishop of Frosttown. The bishop's stroke was related to his wife spiked his drink. And that woman is still alive. A widow. Forty years old. Still alluring.]

In the Kingdom of Wiggins, it is not unusual for clergy to marry and have children.

However, this Casa tastes quite different.

Wayne's eye twitched. He made an excuse to leave and went out of the house.

This panel is great in every way, except it has too much unnecessary chatter.

This thing has been around since the day he awakened his water magic three years ago. It's not a system, there are no quests, no rewards, no leveling up, it just pops up messages from time to time—sometimes gossip, sometimes potion recipes, sometimes someone's embarrassing history.

And the content of this message...

Well, how should I put it?

Quite unserious.

For example, last week it told Wayne that the beautiful bakery owner used her extra breast milk to make extra bread after giving birth, satisfying her strange fetish.

For example, the black cat that sits on the wall of the city lord's mansion all day long has a succubus sealed inside it. The demon thinks every day about how to make the world more lewd, but the black cat is too lazy to do anything about it, so nothing ever comes of it.

Wayne discovered something: his water magic could double the effects of potions.

It's not the kind of cure that multiplies the effect by dozens of times.

All the medicinal effects.

Applying hemostatic medicine will cause the wound to scab over in half an hour. Taking fever-reducing medicine will take effect within an incense stick's time. Painkillers... applying too many painkillers can keep a person unable to stand for three hours, with a strange smile on their face.

The side effects are also consistent: it's too pleasurable.

The ladies of Audrey have a lot to say about this.

However, Wayne was having a bit of a headache at the moment.

Who in their right mind would want to go to Frost Town?

With five slots available, he can probably only take away homeless people who can't survive in Odrian, or desperate fugitives who have to run away because they're in debt.

However, since the church is willing to cover the expenses, he could go and take a look at the slave market...

When Wayne stepped into the market, it was just getting dark, the busiest time of day for trading.

Iron cages, wooden frames, and thatched huts lined both sides of the dirt road, torches stuck in the pillars, casting flickering light on the faces. The rows of slaves were no different from livestock; they were mostly naked, and some of the female slaves had their soft flesh completely exposed.

So when he appeared at the market entrance dressed in a priest's robe, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

"Father Wayne?" The slave trader froze, forgetting to put down his whip. "What are you doing in a place like this?"

Wayne didn't explain, he only said two words:

"Buy people."

The trafficker was even more stunned.

It's not uncommon for clergy to buy slaves, and churches need servants to do manual labor, but usually deacons are sent; priests don't usually do it themselves. Especially not a promising priest like Wayne.

"How many...do you want?"

"I'll look around first..."

This isn't Wayne's first time here.

Over the past three years, he has treated many slaves, those who were beaten by their masters, those who were tormented by illness, and so on...

He never accepted money, only a thank you to the goddess.

Just as he was passing through a row of wooden cages, he heard the dull thud of a whip striking flesh ahead.

"You little brat, you dare to hide? I'll teach you to hide!"

Snapped.

Snapped.

Wayne heard screams and cries.

Wayne stopped in his tracks.

A few steps ahead, a fat, burly slave trader was whipping two small figures huddled in a corner. A crowd of onlookers watched, but no one intervened, and no one seemed to think anything was wrong.

They were nothing but slaves.

If they kill him, so be it.

"You dare eat it! You dare steal the food I feed my dogs!"

Snapped.

Another lash.

Wayne walked over.

The crowd automatically parted to make way.

The fat merchant was about to lash out with his whip again when he looked up and saw Wayne's black robe. His hand froze in mid-air. He looked Wayne up and down, and the fat on his face jiggled.

"Father Wayne? What brings you here?"

However, Wayne ignored the fat man and his gaze naturally fell on the two girls.

His pupils quickly contracted.

These twins in front of me are witches!