Witch Redemption

This actual border refers to the area under the Empire's jurisdiction, including the monster-inhabited areas.

"Um, why?"

"If you don't want to be wiped out by the Empire."

Still feeling constrained at every turn, Li Lan couldn't understand why this country was so harsh on them, these miserable transmigrators.

"It's not just the British Empire that's like this; most countries in the world are like this, which is a troublesome matter."

Number 47 gave a bitter laugh.

"Come on, this way. Soon you'll see what this so-called mimicry chaos really looks like."

"By the way, are there endless monsters in this world?" Li Lan asked curiously.

"Yes, it is said that after the fall of the gods, six apostles remained in this world. I have never seen what they look like, but I know that every month at the full moon they would start a ritual to summon extraterrestrial monsters to replenish the monsters in this world. It is said that they wanted to use these countless monsters to break the seal of the extraterrestrial demon god world, and the so-called 'Crimson Night Torrent' was also their 'masterpiece'."

During the conversation, number 47, who had walked a long distance, suddenly stopped.

Chapter 7 Mimicry Chaos

Suddenly, number 47 asked, "Where do you think this mimicry of chaos will occur?"

Upon hearing this, Li Lan looked around and found nothing unusual about the grove shrouded in morning mist.

He thought for a while and suddenly felt a little scared. "Mimicry Chaos can not only change into the appearance of any living thing based on blood, but also simulate the forms of other non-living things?"

"That's right. In fact, it's not just the Primordial Chaos, but also the Shadow Monsters in the Mo City Ruins or the Intelligent Crystal Monsters in the mining area. In their territories, we are not the hunters, but their prey."

Just like in Li Lan's original world, many insects in nature are good at disguising themselves, either as weak prey or as ridiculously strong hunters.

Unfortunately, the monsters in this world are clearly the latter.

"Of course, there are ways to distinguish them."

Number 47 took the magic book from his waist, opened it directly, and let the open magic book magically float in front of him.

"One method is that our natal magic book can incorporate information within a radius of fifty meters and form a map on the page, so that most of the possible monsters can be detected."

Li Lan and Lana also opened the magic book with the number 47. Apart from the personal information on the left, the right page was still blank.

"You can flip to the left to view the table of contents, where you will find a 'Survey' section. Click on it to enter."

Number 47 patiently explained.

"I see."

Li Lan pressed the bottom of the page; finally, the magic book could be turned today.

As he turned the page, he indeed saw a series of entries, the first of which was "survey," followed by a large number of books that had been recently entered.

I clicked on the "Explore" option, and the pages of the magic book fluttered to the left without any wind, quickly flipping two pages to the left.

Next, a somewhat abstract map began to appear on the blank page on the right. The map was enclosed in the center of the page by a circle with no visible edges, and it looked similar to the Baidu Maps app on mobile phones in the original world.

The perspective is a top-down view, which clearly shows the faint outlines of the trees. Li Lan's position is marked by an arrow, and the arrow points to two red dots that are not very far apart.

"These red dots represent danger. In reality, you are currently at a low level and can only see abstract images. If you can upgrade your grimoires to silver grimoires in the future, you will be able to see clear three-dimensional maps and freely explore the real situation around you with your thoughts, from any angle."

"A silver grimoire?"

“Oh, I forgot to tell you again,” Number 47 smiled sheepishly, “This magic book is something we are born with. It changes as the witch becomes stronger, usually in terms of the color and complexity of the cover pattern.”

"The first stage is the Gray Mist Grimoire, which is like your current grimoire, with dull and lifeless patterns. The second stage is the Silver Grimoire, which is the one I have in my hand, with silver patterns. As for the third stage, the Twilight Grimoire, and the fourth stage, the Dawn Grimoire, I haven't seen them in person, so I'm not very clear about them."

Li Lan and Lana both had expressions of sudden realization.

"These red dots should be those simulated chaos; we'll have to figure out the approximate distance and proportions ourselves?"

“That’s right, so in a way, this tests your experience. You’ll be able to master it after using it a few more times,” Serial No. 47 paused for a moment. “This is the first method to detect monsters in the surrounding area, but the first method may also fail sometimes.”

"For example?" Li Lan was somewhat surprised.

"For example, mid-level or higher monsters, or intelligent monsters, can detect a witch's presence from more than a hundred meters away, which is especially dangerous for a witch. At this time, their concealment is not just a simple mimicry, but a complete erasure of any trace."

"Even the magic book can't capture them?" Li Lan and the other person gasped.

"That's right. At this point, we must use the second method: professional perception. For example, warrior-type professions have the basic skill 'Mind's Eye.' The higher the proficiency of this skill, the better one can predict impending dangers and avoid them. Archer-type professions have the basic skill 'Eagle Eye,' which is similar in principle to 'Mind's Eye,' but has the widest range of applications. The most mysterious is probably the 'mage' type of professions. Mages have the heaven-defying basic skill 'Divination,' which is simply a miracle in terms of seeking advantage and avoiding harm."

After explaining number 47, she gently pressed her slender fingers on the grimoire, then moved the floating grimoire to her side.

In an instant, Li Lan and Lana both felt a strange aura around them, as if they were being watched by something, and the source of that gaze was none other than number 47.

“Each basic skill can reach its maximum at level 10, and each one has a proficiency requirement. How do you increase proficiency? By using it. For example, my class is ‘Thunder Swordsman’, and one of the basic skills is Mind's Eye. Currently, I’m using LV7 Mind's Eye, and that’s the effect.”

Number 47 pointed to a large tree ten meters ahead. In Li Lan's eyes, there was nothing there, and it seemed that there was no danger.

However, in the display of the magic book, there were indeed two red dots moving slowly forward, one in front of the other.

This means that the two monsters have crept over silently.

Number 47 showed no emotional fluctuation whatsoever, but calmly gripped the hilt of the sword behind him.

He steadily removed the Libra Cross Greatsword, which belonged to number 47. Below the three circular engravings on the blade was a long blood groove, seemingly stained with an indelible blackness from years of killing.

“Low-level witches do have weaknesses in various aspects of power, but this is not unchangeable.”

"There are two ways to change this: one is to continue hunting monsters to level up, and the other is through years of training."

His seemingly slender arms suddenly bulged with strong muscles. Number 47 gripped the greatsword and, with a swift movement, swung it out with incredible ferocity.

In the blink of an eye, the cross-shaped greatsword, which had become a blur, shot out like an arrow released from a bow, carrying an unparalleled force.

"Ah-"

The ear-piercing sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh rang out simultaneously, and a large amount of dark purple liquid suddenly exploded in the air.

When Li Lan and Lana came to their senses, the greatsword, dragging something along it, plunged into a large tree ten meters away with a loud "crack".

"There's one more, little..."

Li Lan and Lana noticed a red dot on the map of the magic book that was rapidly approaching number 47, but before they could say "be careful," they saw number 47 swipe towards the magic book beside them.

"Thunder!"

Like a bolt from the blue, a thunderous sound was heard as an ice-blue arc of lightning appeared out of nowhere and pinned a swiftly moving, invisible object to the ground, blasting open a patch of scorched earth.

Then, the surroundings fell silent again.

Li Lan noticed that number 47 had somehow acquired an ice-blue Western rapier. The elegant hilt and the 1.2-meter-long ice crystal blade made it look like a magnificent work of art.

"This is the sacred artifact of our profession, which is used by every witch. All our professional skills are inseparable from this weapon. It can be said that we can use this weapon to unleash extremely terrifying destructive power. Unfortunately, it is not without its drawbacks."

Number 47 walked forward calmly, while Li Lan and Lana, who were closely following behind him, also noticed that something was wrong.

In the abstract map shown in the magic book, the red dot symbolizing the monster killed by the Libra Cross Greatsword has disappeared, but the red dot of the monster that ambushes later still remains.

Li Lan guessed, "The drawback is that it can't completely kill the demons?"

"Not entirely correct. To be precise, in this world, only our own class-specific artifacts are upgradeable. They need to be upgraded to the maximum level before we can destroy the core of a monster's intelligence. Before that, we must use the Libra Cross Greatsword to assist us in killing any monster."

"I see."

After all, this is the only weapon that everyone has that shows the maximum level in the magic book.

When Li Lan thought about how her professional artifact should be Revelation LV1, she suddenly felt a little restless.

A priest's exclusive artifact, could it be a magnificent staff, inlaid with gems?

No, no, no, I vaguely remember a guy who was all bones carrying a similar staff, but that guy was a necromancer, right?

"A witch's professional artifacts are all attached to a magic book. The way to summon them is very simple: summon them with incantations or actively select them in the magic book. Of course, taking out one's own professional artifact also depends on the timing. I can't do things like the Dual-wielding Abandon Healing Slash."

During their conversation, number 47 had already led them ten meters away, to the large tree in front of which had been pierced by the greatsword with a hideous crack.

It was at this moment that the slain monster gradually revealed its form.

What she saw was a large pool of strange, viscous substance. Li Lan didn't know how to describe it; it looked like a blackish-gray colloid, giving off a strange sense of nausea. This colloid, nailed to the tree, hung limply, eventually spreading wildly on the ground, emitting a sizzling, corrosive sound.

The area damaged by the greatsword was oozing a large amount of dark purple liquid along the blood groove, which appeared to be the monster's blood.

“It looks similar to a slime,” Li Lan said in surprise. “Could it be that the senior is too strong, preventing it from unleashing its full power?”

Number 47 smiled, did not answer his question, but instead grabbed the hilt of the greatsword and pulled it out with a "creak".

"Avoid contact with the blood of the mimicry of chaos; it is highly acidic and extremely lethal."

After giving a brief instruction, number 47 pointed at the pool of convulsing, gooey colloid with his greatsword.

"The mimicry chaos has two cores, one of which is a magic core, which can be sold for money."

The greatsword's blade sliced ​​through the gelatinous substance, revealing a rhomboid object, like a green crystal. Number 47 gently flicked it, and the green magic core rolled onto the decaying leaf ground to the side. It was crystal clear and had not been stained with any of the fluids belonging to the pseudo-chaos.

Number 47 bent down and grabbed it in his hand, "Hmm, take a look."

Li Lan and Lana each touched it, and it had a cool feel to it.

"The other core is its intelligent core, which can be described in simple terms as its brain."

The greatsword was pressed directly against several broken, dark red crystals in the liquid. "To kill these monsters, we must destroy their intelligence core, using this weapon."

Turning around quickly and decisively, another mimicking chaos began to take shape. This one was in a worse state than the previous one. Most of its body had been evaporated due to the previous lightning strike, with only a small portion of gelatinous liquid enveloping a large oval-shaped dark red intelligence core and a green prismatic magic core.

Number 47 raised his hand and, without hesitation, plunged the greatsword into the core of wisdom.

At this moment, Li Lan flipped through the magic book again and returned to the personal information page, where the experience points section had changed from 0 to 2.

"Senior, a Mimic Chaos has an experience point of 1. How many do we need to hunt to level up?"

Number 47 pondered for a moment and answered affirmatively, "The experience gained from level one to level two is 1000. In addition, there is one more thing I need to let you know: the experience gained by a witch in hunting monsters alone within a certain distance is different from that in hunting monsters in a team."

"Take low-level monsters for example. The experience points for hunting them solo are 10, but the benefit for hunting them in a group drops to one-tenth, or 1. As you go higher, the experience penalty becomes more severe. For mid-level monsters, it's one percent, and for high-level monsters, it's one-thousandth."

"This...this is too outrageous!" Li Lan was dumbfounded.

"Who came up with this ridiculous rule? It's a joke!" Lana retorted.

Regarding this, number 47 could only smile wryly, "There's nothing we can do, so we mostly operate alone."

When Li Lan thought about how the purpose of number 47 leading them out was to familiarize them with the environment and teach them how to survive in this world, she felt incredibly moved.

If it were an ordinary person, faced with such a punitive situation, they probably wouldn't bother taking them out to fight such low-level monsters, right?

"Of course, whenever the Crimson Night Torrent comes, or when they encounter some invincible beings, the witches will always unite again, after all, their lives are more important."

Number 47 revealed his signature gentle smile.

"But if hunting mimicry Chaos is so easy, making money shouldn't be too difficult either?" Lana asked curiously from the side.