Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Xiulasa is an efficient person.

The morning after Leon ran away, she herded the remaining six people out of the cabin and lined them up in an open space. The morning mist hadn't yet dissipated, and the six stood barefoot in the mud, their clothes disheveled, their hair uncombed, and their faces unwashed.

Xiulasa walked past them, looking at them one by one.

"Your people have run away."

No one spoke.

"If one runs away, the rest have to fill the gap." She stopped in front of Lance. "That's the rule."

Lance looked at her.

"What do you mean by 'supplement'?"

"Training," Shurasha said. "Aren't you paladins? Paladins must act like paladins. You can't skip any of the training sessions at night."

She turned and walked to the center of the open space, drew a short whip from her waist, and flicked it in the air, making a crisp sound.

"Starting today, tonight... double the amount."

The deputy stood beside him, holding a wooden board with a piece of paper covered in writing nailed to it.

"First rule: Obey orders."

"Second rule: No running away."

"Thirdly, you can't refuse at night."

Xiulasa put away the short whip and tucked it back into her waistband.

"There are only three rules, not many. Whoever violates them will be punished. After the punishment, they can go back to doing what they were doing before."

She walked past the front of the line at a leisurely pace.

"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that if you just bear with it, it will pass, and one day you'll be able to escape."

She stopped in front of Gregory and tilted her head to look at him.

"There's no escaping it."

Gregory's lips moved, but he didn't speak.

Xiulasa walked away from him and turned around.

"This is Kant. Not Wiggins. Your Pope has no jurisdiction here, your Holy Knights have no jurisdiction here, your goddess..."

She looked up at the sky.

"Even your goddess can't interfere here."

three days later.

Lance fainted during training.

It wasn't an act; he was genuinely confused.

He collapsed on the training field, covered in mud and water.

Xiulasa walked over and nudged his arm with her toe.

"stand up."

Lance didn't move.

"Let me tell you."

Lance's fingers twitched in the mud as he tried to get up, but his arms trembled and he fell back down.

Xiulasa squatted down, reached out and pinched his chin, lifting his face out of the mud.

"You can't even handle this?"

Lance's eyes were half-open, his gaze unfocused.

"Is this all you paladins are capable of?"

Lance did not answer.

He was so exhausted that he didn't even have the strength to be angry. For the past three days, he had slept less than four hours a day, eaten less than a dog, and worked more than an ox. He was treated like an animal during the day and like a tool at night. He didn't know how much longer he could endure it.

"Take it back." Shurasha stood up, patted the mud off her knees, "Wash it clean, feed it, we'll need it tonight."

The deputy came over and dragged Lance off the ground like he was dragging a bag of soaking wet flour.

Gregory stood by and watched Lance being dragged away.

His fists clenched, veins bulging from the back of his hands down to his forearms. He wanted to rush forward, to pin Xiulasa to the ground, to snap her neck. But he didn't move. His power was still sealed; he could only use the first level of his fourth-tier strength, not even enough to defeat an ordinary soldier.

"Stop looking." Someone tugged at his sleeve.

"It's no use looking at it."

Gregory released his grip.

"We need to think of a way."

"What method?"

"have no idea."

That evening, when Lance was taken back to the cabin, he felt completely drained. He collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, motionless.

Gregory sat on the opposite bed, watching him.

"Boss."

Lance did not respond.

"How are you?"

Lance's eyes twitched.

"fine."

"It's good that you don't look like it."

Lance didn't reply. He covered his eyes with his arm, blocking the light from the oil lamp above his head.

Gregory.

"Um."

"Why do you think the goddess treats us like this?"

Gregory paused for a moment.

He hadn't thought about this problem.

He was a paladin, raised with the belief that goddesses don't make mistakes, they don't abandon their followers, and everything happens for a reason. But now, even he himself doesn't believe those words.

"I have no idea……"

Lance removed his hands from his eyes and stared at the ceiling. His gaze was calm, something that shouldn't be the case after three days of torture.

Gregory.

"Um."

"If I do something, will you follow me?"

Gregory looked at him.

"What is it?"

Lance sat up and put his legs off the bed.

"demon."

Gregory's pupils contracted sharply.

"What?!"

He leaned back in his chair, and the control panel popped up.

[Kant Border Valley Camp - Emergency Briefing]

[Time: 3 PM]

[Event: The Six Paladins Break Free from Their Restraints]

[Method of escape: A demonic contract.]

[Contract Details: The seal will be broken in exchange for the souls of the six individuals. The demon was intrigued, not because the six souls were particularly valuable, but because she knew them, or rather, she knew their target—Wayne.]

In the open space of the camp, Shurasha was taking inventory of the goods.

She had no idea what was happening in the wooden house behind her. She didn't know the six-pointed star was shining, that the seal on the six people was crumbling, or that a four-hundred-year-old demon was looking this way through the crack in the contract.

All she knew was that there would be extra dishes for dinner tonight.

The assistant ran over from the kitchen.

"Big sister, we're out of meat."

Shurasha frowned.

"How much is missing?"

"Enough for one pot, or two if needed. Those paladins have been training a lot lately, and their appetites have increased too. If this continues, our supplies won't last more than three days."

Xiulasa thought for a moment.

"I'll go to town to buy it tomorrow."

"How much do you want to buy?"

"Buy enough to last half a month."

The deputy nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," Shurasa called out to her.

"How are those paladins doing today?"

"Not bad, they're quite obedient."

"No trouble?"

"No trouble."

Xiulasa nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

She turned and walked towards the cabin, wanting to see what those "obedient" paladins were doing.

She walked to the door of the wooden house and reached out to push it open.

The door was closed.

It was locked from the inside.

Shurasha frowned.

"Open the door."

No one answered from inside.

I said, "Open the door."

Still, no one answered.

Xiulasa took half a step back, raised her foot, and kicked the door. The door cracked open, and with a second kick, the entire door flew off and crashed to the floor inside the room.

She stood at the doorway and saw the six-pointed star.

Lance stood in the center of the six-pointed star.

His eyes turned black.

He looked up at Xiulasa.

Xiulasa took half a step back.

"you……"

Lance took a step forward.

The seal was broken. Fourth-tier power surged from the depths of his body like a flood bursting its banks, washing away everything that had weighed on him these past few days. His muscles bulged, and a faint layer of black energy appeared on his skin—not holy light, but something else entirely.

Xiulasa turned and ran.

She ran three steps and tripped over something.

Looking down, I saw that the shadow on the ground had stood up.

It wasn't her shadow, it was Lance's.

A shadow rose from the ground, like a black ribbon, and wrapped around her ankle. She fell to the ground, her knees hitting the stone, causing her to gasp in pain. She tried to get up, but the shadow had already wrapped around her wrists, waist, and neck.

She can't move.

Lance walked up to her and squatted down.

"You said the other day that there's a rule in your line of work."

Xiulasa's eyes widened.

"Inspect the goods upon receipt."

Lance reached out and pinched her chin.

They also said they would keep checking until they were satisfied.

Xiulasa's lips were trembling.

"You...you made a pact with the devil?"

"Yes."

"You're insane! You're paladins!"

"That was before." Lance released her hand, stood up, and looked down at her. "It's not like that now."

He turned around and looked at the five people behind him.

"Follow their rules."