Witch Redemption

"That's true. These people are witches, so it's normal for them to bargain. It's no big deal to bargain down a magic core that's worth ten Brown's to only one-tenth of its original price."

Thinking of this, Ryan changed his question out of curiosity and asked, "What's the bid inside?"

"Two Browns." Number 47 frowned. If this person was really greedy, he didn't want to waste his time here.

"..."

Ruthless! Seriously ruthless! This business is damn easy to run now!

Because he had developed a slight liking for the witch, Ryan felt inexplicably uncomfortable with this usual price-cutting behavior.

"how much do you have?"

"Twelve, twelve Browns, no less."

Number 47 didn't understand what this adventurer who had taken the initiative to strike up a conversation meant, and directly stated the price as fixed.

Li Lan and Lana, who were following behind, felt a bit embarrassed. They felt that selling things was not easy at all. There were unscrupulous merchants everywhere. Money in this world was really too hard to earn!

"Okay, if you trust me, give me the goods first."

Perhaps moved by compassion, Ryan stroked his stubble and looked up to speak.

"..." Number 47 hesitated for a moment, then took out twelve magic cores that mimicked chaos. Seeing this, Ryan grabbed a dirty little cloth bag from the side and put them in.

"Wait for me a moment."

He got up, turned around, and walked straight towards the "Magic Core Exchange".

"Senior, aren't you afraid he'll swindle these magic cores?" Li Lan asked in a low voice, feeling that there might be quite a few people in this world who would turn their backs on you without a second thought, so it was best to be careful.

“I’m scared, but there’s no other way,” explained number 47. “Finding another company would be troublesome, and I don’t really want to spend too much time running around in business, so I might as well take a gamble.”

Li Lan and Lana both fell silent.

Indeed, hunting low-level monsters in the early stages is difficult enough, so running from shop to shop for a little money seems like a waste of time and effort.

Li Lan thought about it for a moment, then could only swallow her thoughts. "Right now, I just feel frustrated, extremely frustrated."

A few minutes later, Ryan came out with a wad of banknotes. Once back at his stall, he counted out twelve Brown bills and stuffed them into his purse. He then handed the remaining stack directly to number 47.

"I've taken the commission, so grab it and get lost. If it weren't for the tip I can earn, I wouldn't bother with you!"

After uttering a few harsh words, Ryan, having taken the item from number 47, grumbled and tidied up the stall, saying, "You brat, pack up and go! Damn it!"

The unexpected turn of events left number 47 stunned for a few seconds. He smiled, stuffed the 108 banknotes back into his pocket, and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, you're a good person."

The three of them then tactfully refrained from disturbing them and began walking towards their residence.

………………

"Big...Big brother, why are you so nice to those witches?"

Seeing that his older brother had been acting strangely since returning in the morning, Reiner, who had been holding back for a long time and was feeling a bit apprehensive, finally couldn't help but ask.

This was like stirring up a powder keg for Ryan; the hot-tempered man immediately started cursing at Ryan's mother right there in the street.

Of course, it was also his own mother.

"How dare you say that? You just dumped me there and you still have the nerve to say that?"

"But...but by then it was already..."

Reiner was truly feeling extremely wronged. In that situation, the mimicry of chaos had already taken on human form, and if they didn't leave, all three of them would die there.

"Even your own brothers are this unreliable, pshaw! How do you explain that shot you fired earlier? Were you trying to kill me?"

"It was an accident, brother! It was an accident, let me explain!"

"Explain yourself, you son of a bitch!" The truth is, you almost killed me and then left me there to die. "If it weren't for you, you bastard, would I have lost my left hand? Do you know how much money I worked so hard to earn? I spent it all today because of this hand!"

After cursing several times, Ryan tied up the stall cloth, made a knot, carried it on his shoulder, and turned into the alleyway as darkness was about to fall.

"But, brother, there are gains and losses. From now on, you can use your left hand as a weapon..."

"roll!"

The hot-tempered older brother and the timid younger brother were quiet for a while. Occasionally, pedestrians would brush past each other in the alley, but none of them interacted.

Reiner was getting more and more curious. Although he had betrayed his older brother, his brother had come back alive. If he was alive, of course he should forgive him.

"Big...Big brother, you're so nice to those witches, could it be that you've fallen for them...? Well, those witches are even prettier than those from brothels, but I heard the reason they hide their appearance is because they all have demonic features. I advise you, big brother..."

"Damn it! When will you ever shut up?! They saved my life today! Where were you then?"

Suppressing the urge to slap him away, Ryan quickened his pace in frustration.

He would venture out to risk his life hunting monsters, and in his spare time, he would set up a stall in the streets and alleys to see if he could rip off a few suckers, or go to the Adventurers' Guild at night to see if there were any suitable quests.

This is the daily life of the lowest-level adventurers.

On the border of this empire, people die in the monster zone every day, whether they are witches or low-level adventurers, it doesn't cause a ripple.

"Damn it, today is the day. Next time, I'll stay as far away from these witches as possible."

Ryan clicked his tongue and quickly disappeared into the darkness with his cowardly and troublesome younger brother.

………………

It was around 8 p.m. when I got back to my accommodation, and it was completely dark.

As soon as they stepped into the house, Li Lan and Lana saw two more people in the living room—no, to be precise, two witches.

They were also dressed in the same clothes, and like number 47, they had half their faces hidden in their hoods.

"Oh, you've brought these two newcomers back?"

Somewhat out of place, number 86 still sat casually on a gray down chair not far away and greeted them.

"Serial number 93 and serial number 94".

Number 47 introduced them to Li Lan and the other person one by one. Unfortunately, the two people dressed exactly like Number 47. How could they possibly recognize them?

Perhaps realizing their bewildered state, the two witches raised the Libra Cross greatswords that were leaning against them, as a gesture.

The Libra Cross Greatsword numbered 93 has three parallel line segments engraved on it, while number 94 has a simple engraving resembling the letter S.

"We are witches who came from the same group. We are identified by our serial number followed by a number, and we usually recognize each other by our respective markings. Of course, we don't have the habit of calling each other by our real names. You just need to remember our serial numbers."

After explaining a few words, number 47 felt that the way they got to know each other was a little peculiar.

"Greetings, seniors!"

Since everyone present was a senior, Li Lan and Lana naturally took the initiative to greet them, since they would be receiving their care in the future.

"Hmm, number 47, these two juniors are not bad."

"Witch No. 93" laughed, her words seemingly possessing a mysterious magic, incredibly alluring.

Li Lan and Lana were immediately embarrassed. If they weren't both time travelers who knew each other well and were all cut from the same cloth, they would definitely have been tempted!

"Indeed impressive. On the very first day, they were able to cooperate in hunting down a humanoid Chaos clone. They are much better than we were back then."

He praised her and gestured for Li Lan and Lana to sit on the wooden chairs to the side. Number 47 then took out a stack of banknotes from his purse and placed them on the old round table in the center of the living room.

Wow! So many! Where did you get number 47?

The cat-eared "beauty," number 86, revealed a greedy look and quickly sat up straight.

"If it were really a robbery, I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now," said number 47, waving his hand helplessly. He then asked, "I still have a little bit of savings in my room. Let's calculate it again later. How much have you saved?"

Number 86 rummaged around for a while, then threw a stack of banknotes on the old round table. "Exactly two hundred Browns."

Numbers 93 and 94 also took out a stack of banknotes and placed them on the old round table. "Let's round it up too, two hundred browns each, and see if the four of us can make eight hundred browns."

“Hmm, the Caribbean restaurant in the inner city should be enough. Hopefully, they won’t raise the prices too much,” Number 47 tidied up the banknotes on the table and said to the cat-eared “beauty”, “Number 86, don’t go out tomorrow. Stay here and keep watch.”

"Okay, by the way, isn't it just a rumor that that restaurant doesn't discriminate against witches every March? If it really doesn't work out, we'll have to consider other places, also in the Inner City?"

"We have no objections. We're not familiar with the inner city area, so you can arrange it." Number 94, looking somewhat gloomy, shrugged, indicating that he had no choice but to pay.

"Karen, and Lana, the washroom is on the second floor. The Witch Cult sent over your change of clothes last night. Remember to get some sleep, we need to leave early tomorrow morning."

After giving the general instructions, Number 47 pulled out two black bread rolls from a cupboard and handed them directly to Li Lan and Lana.

Perhaps realizing that number 47 wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible, the two turned around and started walking up the stairs.

However, before leaving, Li Lan asked curiously in a low voice, "Senior, what's tomorrow night...?"

Number 47 smiled gently, "You two newcomers have finally made it here, so we seniors will definitely treat you to a good meal. We'll be back early tomorrow."

The impeccable reasons caused Li Lan and Lana's goodwill towards these seniors to rise to its peak.

Chapter 13 The Third Day of the New World

When the upper floors fell completely silent, it was already around 10 p.m.

How are you feeling today?

Number 86 is clearly asking for number 47's evaluation of the two newcomers.

"One is the strongest, and the other is the weakest."

Even with the best soundproofing in the living room, number 47 kept the sound extremely low, afraid that the two people on the third floor would hear it.

"What's going on?" The other two witches also became curious.

"Code name 002, Lana Sivir, race is Argonian, professional gunslinger."

"Wow! Dragonborn paired with a powerful class! Codename 002 will definitely be stronger than us in the future!"

They all gasped in surprise in hushed tones upon hearing the sound.

"We can't be too happy yet. The sooner we advance to the Silver Magic Tome, the greater the chance of being targeted by witch hunters. Besides, we can't tell them all the secrets directly, otherwise..."

Number 47 was rather worried.

“Sigh,” sighed number 93, “What about the other one, code 001?”

"His reaction speed is in no way inferior to that of codename 002. It may be due to racial talent, but he is too constrained by his profession."

Number 86 became even more curious, "What's their profession?"

"Code name 001, Karen Elf, race: elf, profession: priest."

For a moment, all the witches around fell silent, their expressions varied, and they all seemed to be hesitating about what to say.

A moment later, number 86 seemed to be reminded of a more distant memory. "Number 47, I remember there was indeed a transmigrator with the priest profession in the same batch. His race seemed to be the Skywing Clan. Was he in your group?"