Witch Redemption

After confirming from the magic book that there was no danger around, the three of them did not dare to be careless. Instead, they chose to rest against a large tree and wait for their strength to gradually recover.

After waiting another ten minutes, the three of them, having regained their strength and calmed down, began to slowly walk towards the border area of ​​Mori City.

After all, Lana only had one or two more uses of her professional skills left, while Lolina was even more extreme, having used them all.

As Lana walked, she asked, "Karen, it seems our herb gathering attempt failed this time. Sigh, if it weren't for this incident... we could try again next time."

Hearing this, Li Lan somewhat dejectedly flipped through the page for the sub-professional pharmacist, intending to check her gains for the day.

Chapter 39 Are you a dead fat otaku too?

"This...this..."

Li Lan was overjoyed. All the herbs that could be collected on the plains of the southern part of the Mori Defense Forest had their icons lit up, showing a large quantity.

The recipe for the recovery potion that Li Lan and Lana needed most at the moment had an innumerable number of Green Ghost Vine plants. Lana had personally collected as many as 500 Mo Grass plants from the North District, and the Misty Grass that had previously caused them so much trouble now had an additional 200 plants.

The "Refined Gathering" skill must have been effective.

Li Lan became more and more excited as he thought about it, finally having some initial assurance of his and Lana's safety when they went on adventures.

Perhaps noticing Li Lan's joyful expression, Lana asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Why are you so happy even though the herb gathering failed? Well, it's true, escaping death there is definitely something to be happy about..."

"It's done! It's done!" Li Lan exclaimed excitedly. "We'll try making it as soon as we get home tonight! If it's successful, it will save us a lot of money in the future!"

Lana's skill usage is almost used up, and neither of them are in good condition. Li Lan naturally has no intention of trying to make recovery medicine on the spot, lest she waste too much time and end up losing her life.

"Ah..." Lana was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized, "How did you do that, kid?"

"Who knows! I'm European now!"

Lorina watched the two ragged men talking excitedly about something, and her curiosity grew stronger until she finally couldn't help but ask, "What are you talking about?"

"Forehead……"

The two, Li Lan and her companion, who were somewhat carried away by their own thoughts, only then noticed that there was another witch beside them.

The witch's black gothic dress was also tattered and corroded by the blood of the simulated chaos, and her exposed skin was also severely corroded. Unlike Li Lan and Lana, who were almost used to it, this witch grimaced as she asked the question, clearly enduring the pain from her wounds.

Li Lan and Lana exchanged a glance and immediately realized that this was a good opportunity to win them over.

"Hello, I am codename 002, Lana Sivir. Let this weakest and most invincible witch answer your questions about us." Lana spoke before Li Lan could, as if passing the buck, and then stared silently at the abstract "Survey" map on the magic book.

"You bastard..."

"There has to be at least one person who can't get distracted and has to focus on the safety of the surroundings, right?"

Lana was clearly trying to avoid trouble, so after learning that Li Lan had once been a struggling salesperson, she completely dumped the communication task on him.

Li Lan shook her head and began to respond to Lorina's question, "Hello, let me reintroduce myself. I am codename 001, Karen Elf, and my race is Elf..."

Since this morning, Li Lan and Lana have not had any deeper contact with the two witches who accompanied them. They only know each other's code names and do not know each other's real names.

After a brief introduction, Li Lan and her companion learned the race and real name of the girl with short black wings on her back. "Regarding what we were just talking about, the so-called secondary professions, I have two secondary professions: Pharmacist and Life Creator..."

"Secondary occupation? Isn't that field blank?"

Lolina exclaimed in surprise.

"Uh, none of you knew?"

As soon as Li Lan asked the question, she suddenly realized that even the senior witches didn't know, let alone these newcomers.

"I don't know," Lolina replied truthfully. During this time, much of their common knowledge had been taught by a soldier, Major General Abbot of the Empire, mainly about the professional use of magic books and some techniques for fighting monsters.

Li Lan then explained the unlocking conditions for the relevant secondary professions, which also involved the storage function that comes with the magic book.

After a series of conversations, Lorina was stunned. "Is this magic book really that amazing? It can store items, store knowledge, and even view navigation maps?"

Before this, like Ann Gnath, Lorina had always thought that these two guys were just being lazy and had been looking at magic books the whole way, and that their actions were just to show off. But it turned out that these two were not actually showing off.

"This magic book still holds many secrets that we don't know about. We can only explore it slowly in the future."

After Li Lan finished speaking, she took the opportunity to inquire about what Luo Lina and the others had encountered before arriving in the border city.

………………

For nearly two hours, Lolina recounted everything that had happened during that time without reservation.

It turns out that this group of witches were all summoned as early as March 14th of the new calendar and gathered together at another border of the empire for training. In other words, these people had already arrived before the Crimson Night Torrent, but they were not sent to Mori City after that.

"The warden who summoned us was very kind. He explained the reasons for our summons in detail and gave us good food and clothing. To be honest, I was very moved at the time. If I hadn't been thinking about how to get home, I would have accepted everything with gratitude."

Lolina was also the kind of person who, even knowing the way to "return home by death," wouldn't dare to gamble with her own life.

"..."

Not only Li Lan, but even Lana beside her was speechless.

How can there be such a huge difference between people? The warden they saw before was a rather frightening old woman, how could she look kind?

Moreover, the warden actually told Lolina and the others that they were the saviors of this world, and that they had been summoned here to save the world. But what is there to save about this world?

The Crimson Night Torrent can be dealt with by the Empire's giant ships and cannons, and there are plenty of adventurers to handle the monsters on ordinary days. At the very least, the Empire's army is not to be trifled with; they can be deployed for a carpet hunt.

What is the point of a witch's existence other than being cannon fodder?

Li Lan was also very clear about one thing: if they had received the same treatment as Luo Lina and the others when they first transmigrated, they might have also had the same concept of "serving the empire".

Unfortunately, they were sent to the border on the first day and also came into contact with four special witch seniors.

Whether the information Lolina mentioned was true or false was unknown, but compared to the unfamiliar British Empire, Li Lan and Lana ultimately chose to trust the four witch seniors numbered 47.

Regardless, the deaths of the four witch predecessors are a fact, and their deaths reminded Li Lan and Lana that the so-called "witch summoning" is definitely not as simple as they imagined.

They should be thinking about how to save themselves rather than saving the world.

"Don't believe that old woman's words too much."

After thinking for a moment, Li Lan finally said these words.

"Of course, I don't believe in the idea that you can return to heaven after death and decide whether to go home or stay in this world based on your own will. It's like some kind of charlatan. I don't want to joke around with my life. I don't know if others have noticed, but I always feel that people's hostility towards witches is a bit abnormal. It's not because of the betrayal of you two traitors, as they say."

Lolina spoke frankly, even revealing that the Witch Cult had falsely accused Li Lanlana of colluding with the Sixth Apostle.

Li Lan and Lana then realized that there was indeed a reason why the new batch of witches were so hostile to them: the people from the Witch Cult had ulterior motives and were deliberately trying to smear them.

"Those bastards..."

They were the ones who killed the four witch predecessors, and now they are the ones making false accusations. Li Lan and Lana are helpless about this.

However, after such a period of life-and-death experience, their mindsets have changed imperceptibly. If it were half a month ago, they might have been cynical and critical, but now they just gave a dismissive "oh" like salted fish.

"So what's your opinion of us?"

Li Lan said curiously, "This guy is really one of the few who still dares to contact them after learning about the 'betrayal'."

"You guys are pretty nice. Besides, I think you've been here much longer than us, so you must be seniors and have a lot of understanding of this world. Consulting you will probably increase my chances of survival."

Lorina said nonchalantly, now that she thought about it, she was right. If she hadn't shamelessly asked the two of them to discuss it, she wouldn't have known that there were so many secrets in this magic book. She would have to experiment with it properly next.

"Besides, we haven't even had any contact, so how can we be sure that you two are as vicious as others say? Moreover, I think it's possible that we've all traveled from the same world, and most lucky transmigrators aren't bad people."

Lolina's words touched Li Lan and Lana, and they couldn't help but think of those kind-hearted witch seniors, feeling a pang of sadness in their hearts.

This kind of time travel is no lucky break.

Then, Li Lan and Luo Lina chatted for a while. He began to tell this seemingly cold but actually warm-hearted girl some of the common knowledge that Senior No. 47 had mentioned earlier, as well as the current situation of witches, without reservation.

"No way? This is different from what the Witch Cult said!"

“Well, I don’t know the specifics, but I’ve heard some people in the city talk about the ‘Witch Reform’ recently.” Actually, Li Lan only found out the details when she met the Ryan brothers. Now, the only imperial residents in the city who treat them well are these two proud bronze adventurers. “The fact that you dress like this and receive such courtesy from the empire is probably related to this reform.”

If it were like before, they would be wearing the same clothes as Li Lan and Lana now, which would make them look extremely gloomy.

"By the way, have you had any in-depth contact with the other witches?"

Li Lan has already indirectly brought Luo Lina to his side. Once the time is right, he can tell this witch about the possible truth and help her escape this place of trouble.

"No, I've discovered that not every witch who transmigrates comes from the same world. Many of them transmigrated together as a group, and they all know each other. Their way of speaking is also somewhat different from what I imagined."

Lolina recalled the long period of being ostracized, and her expression became puzzled.

"Those eight witches who kicked you out are actually a group. They are very close in private and sometimes chat about their families. The other buildings in the witches' residence are also occupied by people who know each other."

There are very few people like Lolina who come from Earth and are also a homebody. What she can confirm for now is that Ann Gnath is from the same world, and the two of them have tested each other.

Unfortunately, Lolina always felt that Ann Gnath's personality was terrible, and that he was often too selfish and only cared about himself.

"Um, wait a minute, you said before that this world might be a continuation of the world view of some game, right? It takes place ten thousand years after that game world? You guys didn't also get it through that event..."

"..."

My goodness! Such a coincidence!

Li Lan and Lana were both stunned. The saying "one is influenced by one's company" really does exist. Only people who have traveled from the same world can be so compatible, as if it were fate that brought them together.

"Yes, I still regret that one single pull now," Li Lan said, puzzled.

"So, you're all just deadbeat couch potatoes?"

"What? You too? That makes sense, how could someone who plays this game possibly have a girl?"

“That’s right, that’s right,” Lorina immediately chimed in, even addressing him as a brother, which brought the three of them closer together. “Although Anna’s personality is a bit awful, we’re still from the same world, so maybe I…”

"Lorna, don't let anyone else know what we've said today. It's just between us." Lana, who was keeping an eye on her surroundings while listening to Li Lan and the other woman's conversation, suddenly spoke up to remind them.

Although it was a happy thing to know that another witch from the same world had traveled here, Lana couldn't help but think of some unexpected and dark aspects.

"why?"

Chapter 40 The Beginning and End of the Plains Anomaly

"Many secrets in the magic book were discovered by countless witch predecessors who risked their lives to find them, so I might as well speak frankly," Lana's expression became so serious for the first time. "The reason why Karen and I are still able to stand here is because we have inherited the legacy of those predecessors. We can regard all those who recognize us as our colleagues, share secrets, grow stronger together, and live on together."

"But which of those witches isn't hostile to us? Since they're hostile to us, why should we let them know how to become stronger, only to have them turn against us the moment they see us?"

That day, that werewolf truly intended to kill Li Lan, and this incident has always bothered Lana.

"I see, I understand. I will absolutely not let anyone else know what you said today."

Lorina understood that Lana's words meant she considered her one of her own. It was a pity about Ann Gnath; if he had stayed to help back then, maybe... Oh well, everyone has their own choices, and you can't force these things.

Upon hearing this, Li Lan pondered for a while. He harbored a deeper secret in his heart and naturally knew that everyone's destiny was the same, albeit different.

No matter how well the Witch Cult treats the new batch of witches, it cannot escape the fact that one day they will be used as sacrifices.

"If we can grow stronger together, that would be even better, so that we won't hold each other back when we might cooperate in the future."