Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Faced with Wayne's questioning, the name quickly came to mind for Gure.

He remembers.

That skinny kid, who looks like a bamboo pole, stole something he shouldn't have ten days ago. The item was taken from the body of a homeless man, and before it could be handed over to the higher-ups, Matt snatched it away.

It took the guild members two whole days to catch him.

What's even stranger is that no matter how much he beat the kid, he couldn't die. Two sticks broke, but the kid was still breathing. So, in a fit of rage, he had the kid's tendons in his hands and feet severed, his legs broken, and then he threw him into the abandoned sewer near the flea den.

He knew that place all too well; it was filthy and teeming with rats. A child with missing limbs thrown in there would disappear completely within two days.

Gu Lei opened his mouth, about to answer.

Then, his expression froze.

His memory of that period has become problematic.

wrong.

not like this.

Matt... his tendons weren't severed.

He remembered... he seemed to have been taken away. A woman in a gray robe came to the guild's base one evening, saying that the child was her long-lost nephew, and immediately took out a bag of gold coins as a "thank you gift" and took him away.

Gu Lei frowned.

That's not true, is it? He's never seen a woman.

But it also seems like it does exist...

His breathing became rapid, and beads of sweat seeped out one after another from his forehead. He even forgot the pain from the broken leg.

Emily Millie frowned and hissed at Guree, "I'm asking you a question! Where did you put that kid named Matt?"

Guree's lips trembled, his gaze darting back and forth between Emily and Wayne, like a mouse cornered against a wall.

"Matt... Matt... he..."

"I broke his leg and threw him down..."

His voice grew softer and softer, and his gaze became increasingly unfocused.

Then he suddenly shuddered, as if he had come to his senses.

"No! His legs weren't broken! He was taken away! He was taken by a woman in a gray robe..."

"No! No! I interrupted him myself! I threw him down the drain myself..."

"No...no...he walked away on his own...he wasn't injured at all...he..."

Gu Lei's speech became faster and faster, more and more chaotic, as if multiple contradictory memories existed in his mind at the same time, each equally clear and each equally real, like several ropes twisted together in his brain, getting tighter and tighter.

He slammed his forehead against the ground, making the stone slabs clatter and tearing his skin, and he showed no sign of stopping.

"I didn't kill him—! He disappeared on his own—! No—! I killed him—! I killed him—!"

Emily took a half step back, a hint of obvious apprehension in her eyes, and turned to Wayne: "...Sir, what's wrong with him?"

The panel appeared in front of Wayne.

[Gu Lei - Cognitive Pollution Confirmed]

[Reason: The indirect effect of the Gluttony Vessel.]

[Note: One of the effects of the Gluttony Vessel is to distort and overwrite the memories of organisms within a certain range. Gure had come into contact with the Gluttony Vessel when it was not fully activated. Although he did not become a host, the residual effects were enough to cause severe cognitive confusion when his mind was vulnerable. That forbidden object not only possesses physical danger, but its very existence is a source of mental pollution.]

Wayne's gaze darkened for a moment.

He was now almost certain that the forbidden object called the Gluttony Vessel not only existed, but was definitely still somewhere in this area. The only question was whether Matt was dead or alive.

Judging from the chaotic fragments of Grena's memories, two completely different endings coexist in his perception, which means that the Gluttony Vessel not only affected the operation of the Thieves' Guild, but may even have actively covered up Matt's whereabouts.

Wayne didn't ask Gure any more questions.

The sacred flame was lit in his hand and burned towards the crazed Gulei, who was quickly reduced to ashes.

He then turned to Emily and said, "Let those children out."

Emily's shadow blade severed the chains on the iron cage.

The children were released one after another. Some walked out supporting each other, some crawled out, and a few of the youngest didn't even have the strength to crawl out, so Emily bent down and carried them out one by one.

Wayne looked at the children in front of him.

"Does any of you know a kid named Matt?"

The children looked at each other, some shook their heads, some blinked blankly, and no one spoke.

Wayne asked again, "About ten days ago, did a thin, short boy come here? Or have you heard anyone mention that name?"

An older boy scratched the back of his head, thought for a while, and then shook his head: "Sir, we don't have anyone named Matt here. I know everyone locked up here, there's no one like him."

Another girl chimed in quietly, "No... I've been here for over half a year and I've never heard of anyone named Matt."

Wayne stood up.

Matt never existed in the memories of these children.

Emily walked to his side, glanced at the group of children, and asked in a low voice, "Sir, what's going on here? Who is this Matt? We risked our lives to come to a place like this just to find this child?"

"Matt had contact with the Gluttony Plate. And this group of people, their memories were corrupted by the Gluttony Plate to varying degrees, but without exception."

"So that's why they don't remember Matt?"

"Yes. That forbidden object is more than just a weapon; it's interfering with all cognition in this area. Matt is either dead, his existence completely erased by that forbidden object, or he's still alive, but the Gluttony Vessel has hidden him in a place beyond the reach of these people's memories. At this point, the latter seems more likely."

Just then, a very faint voice came from a corner of the hall: "...Are you...looking for a boy named Matt?"

Wayne and Emily looked in the direction of the sound.

The speaker was a little girl, thin, and it was obvious at a glance that it was due to malnutrition.

"Do you know Matt?" Wayne asked.

The girl's voice was very soft.

"I...I don't know him, but Natasha told me she has an older brother named Matt. She said he's very thin, but very capable, and always manages to find food for her. But..."

She hesitated.

"But I never remember Natasha having a brother. Not even once. Every time she mentioned it to me, I thought she was making it up. Because... because I've known her for so long and I've never seen that person."

Wayne crouched down: "What's your name?"

"...My name is Xiaolin."

"Lin, what's your relationship with Natasha?"

Upon being asked this question, Xiaolin's eyes quickly welled up with tears.

"She was my best friend. We were locked up together. She said she would protect me, and every time someone came to pick people, she would stand in front of me. But... but a few days ago, she went out and never came back. They said she was hit and killed by a carriage. I don't believe it... I don't believe she was hit and killed by a carriage. She ran so fast, how could she be hit and killed by a carriage? Waaah..."

As she spoke, Xiaolin began to sob uncontrollably.

This scene made Wayne and Emily's hearts clench.

These damned scumbags, letting them die so easily is too good for them.