Mystery: The Witch of Desire

Mrs. Waffle paused, her tone becoming lighter, and a growing fervor appeared in her eyes:

“In my dream, I heard the stars whispering and the moon singing. The starry sky above me cast a soft and peaceful light. Following the light, I arrived at a small island. On that island, I saw the great master at the altar where I served Him.”

The great master...that evil god? Mrs. Waffle saw the true face of that evil god directly? And what is that island with the altar? Could it be Short-tailed Island?

A wave of fear washed over Livre. Before she could decide whether to listen to Mrs. Waffle's next words, Mrs. Waffle continued:

"His appearance is that of a tall tree with a beautiful female face. The surface of the giant tree is covered with glistening and tempting fruits, wet and alluring flowers, all kinds of metal badges, a black heart, naked tumors, and metal coins from different civilizations. At first glance, one can be irresistibly drawn into it."

Just listening to Mrs. Waffle's description, Livre felt a strange emotion welling up inside her, as if she had become hot and was sinking into desire.

No, stop talking...

Liviel desperately tried to cover her ears, but a strange magic seemed to draw her in, making her unable to resist listening to everything about that evil god, like a hyena greedily eyeing rotting flesh.

Until Mrs. Waffle, in a trembling voice filled with both deep resentment and profound reverence, said:

"The great Lord who gave me all of existence, His revered name is—"

"The Mother Tree of Desire".

In an instant, Livre felt as if an electric current had surged through her body, leaving her in a tingling, numb state, and she collapsed to the ground.

An overwhelming desire surged through her, and in the blink of an eye, beads of sweat appeared on Livre's forehead. She desperately tried to suppress this desire by activating the abilities of a sex addict, but to her astonishment, she found that the abilities of a sex addict had failed!

The force that aroused her desire clearly came from a higher level, pushing her body into an uncontrollable abyss of desire.

Mrs. Waffle looked at Livre, whose cheeks had turned crimson, and revealed a wicked smile:

"I once thought of belonging to you, of having each other, but unfortunately, you rejected me."

"Now, under my master's protection, I'll let your body belong to me. Without your intact body, I certainly can't survive."

Mrs. Waffle shed tears, which slid down her half-mutilated face and dripped onto her broken body.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want this to happen, but I hate my husband, I hate those promiscuous men and women, so I killed them, and I killed myself, and now I have no choice but to kill you..."

The next second, the last shred of reason in her eyes vanished, and countless emerald green vines sprouted from the severed limbs, dripping with sticky sap, and coiled towards Livr.

Liviel quickly activated her writhing hunger ability, switching her grazing soul to the Light Priest, and showering herself with purifying light.

In an instant, she felt herself become righteous and awe-inspiring, all other thoughts vanished, leaving only a devout desire to sing praises to the blazing sun.

Praise the sun!

With a touch of shame, she raised her hands and shouted something. Then, Livre flicked her wrist and flicked a ball of black flame, which transformed into countless scattered flowers that rushed toward Mrs. Waffle's mangled body.

Sizzle! The black flames touched the bark-like skin, emitting a foul stench of burning flesh. Mrs. Waffle, who had lost her mind, screamed and frantically swung her vines to try and grab Livia, but Livia nimbly dodged and weaved, her fingertips flying with spider silk, cutting all the vines in half.

Finally, under the scorching heat of the black flames, Mrs. Waffle's body gradually lost its function, leaving only half a distorted face, with a trace of painful regret flashing in her empty eyes.

Livre watched silently for a few seconds, then turned and went upstairs. After searching through the ruins of house number 27, she found four books.

While searching through the books, Livre accidentally found a letter addressed to Miss Marilyn Monroe.

A letter sent to me? The sender didn't know I had moved away long ago, so I never received this letter.

Livre put the letter away, intending to deal with the matter at hand before reading it.

She returned to the basement, placed the four books in the four corners of Mrs. Waffle's room, then picked up the ritual staff and, following the knowledge Edwina had taught her, used the staff's power to manipulate the 'Cage of Knowledge'.

The four books began to tremble simultaneously with a "thump-thump." Then, without any wind, the pages turned on their own, and lines of text floated up from the pages, transforming into dense chains that intertwined, connected, and stacked together, instantly forming a six-sided cage that trapped Mrs. Waffle tightly in the center.

Livre, holding a ceremonial staff, guided the characters and words like a sharp scalpel, peeling away Mrs. Waffle's body bit by bit.

Mrs. Waffle let out a piercing scream, but her broken body was firmly chained, and she could only struggle in vain.

Livr sighed softly, and with her other hand, she gathered frost, transforming it into a spear, and aimed it at Mrs. Waffle's heart.

Whoosh! The spear pierced Mrs. Waffle's heart with pinpoint accuracy, ending her life.

Although Edwina said that the Knowledge Cage would be more effective at refining living targets, but...

Let her rest in peace.

Minutes later, nothing remained inside the cage of knowledge except a crystal that shimmered with a pinkish luster. This crystal, compared to the one left by the nightingale, possessed an even stronger aura of desire.

Liviel picked up the knowledge crystal. Noisy footsteps could be heard on the ground, indicating that reinforcements of official extraordinary individuals were searching the vicinity.

Without lingering, Liviel used her ritual staff to summon flames, burning away all traces of the past. Then, she flicked her sapphire ring, activating her mirror-travel ability, and arrived at an inn where she had once stayed.

After stepping out of the mirror, she eagerly picked up the newly acquired crystallization of knowledge and felt the information it contained:

[The Miser's Path Sequence 5: The Fallen Treant]

It can control its emotions and lustful desires, create illusions and enter dreams, and possesses various tree spirit abilities, such as the ability to grow vines and use tree branches as arrows. Depending on the tree host it chooses, it will possess different and limited special talents, such as a limited ability to reach a higher rank or being difficult to completely kill.

So that's how it is. Mrs. Waffle is a Sequence 5 of the Miser pathway. In terms of abilities, the Fallen Treant is a qualitative leap compared to the Sequence 6 recipients who don't seem to have much of an improvement.

However, is there any way to bypass the Desire Tree and complete the sequence advancement? I wonder if these knowledge crystals can be used like extraordinary traits...

Just as Liviel was pondering, she sensed that the Mirror of Arodes had moved again. Picking up the mirror, she saw new text appear on its silver surface:

"I can tell you how to use these crystallized knowledge to attain a higher status."

"However, I answered one of your questions before, and according to the principle of equivalent exchange, now it's your turn to answer me."

That's true. I was busy fighting earlier and didn't answer Arodes's question. This mirror really waited until I finished my business before asking the question.

She's quite sensible...

Livre was pleased with Arrodes and said generously:

"Okay, go ahead and ask."

New text quickly appeared on the surface of the mirror of Arodes:

My question is: Where is the source matter associated with spiritual authority located?

Livre froze, a huge question mark appearing in her mind.

The source substance related to spiritual authority? What is the source substance...?

She stared blankly at the Mirror of Arodes, and after a long while, said with a hint of helplessness:

"I don't know, could you ask me a question I do know the answer to?"

Arodes, however, seemed to have anticipated this, and quickly displayed two lines of text:

"If you can't answer, then prepare to accept my punishment. The contract of equivalent exchange has taken effect, and you cannot escape the punishment!"

The two lines of text were followed by a big smiley face, making it hard for Livre not to suspect that Arrodes was deliberately trying to stump her with a difficult question.

"My punishment is: to torture you with slippery tentacles for an hour."

What? Tentacles?!

Before Liviel could react to the new characters appearing on the mirror, several tentacles, each about two fingers thick, suddenly shot out from the mirror, which was engraved with ancient patterns, and flew towards the shocked Liviel.

"Hey! Wait! Waaah..."

……

26 Minsk Street, amidst ruins.

The extraordinary beings of the Mechanical Heart, along with the Night Watchers and Punishers who came to help, cleared away the remaining vines.

Having just survived a fierce battle, Iconsel Bernard, dressed in tattered clothes and looking exhausted, was anxiously searching among the rubble.

"Where did it go? Where did Sealed Artifact 2-111 go...?"

After a long search, the Mirror of Arodes could not be found anywhere.

Ikonser let out a long sigh; it seemed he was about to receive a major punishment.

But for some reason, he wasn't too upset. Getting rid of the Mirror of Arodes and taking a disciplinary action didn't seem like such a bad deal after all...

……

……

An hour later, inside the inn, a panting Livia collapsed weakly onto the bed. Beside her, the Mirror of Arodes was bathed in a hazy pink glow, and several heart-shaped symbols appeared on its surface.

“Beautiful lady, I hope my punishment won’t embarrass you too much.”

"After all, I am a gentleman who is willing to consider the lady's feelings."

Holy crap! Is your gentleman a tentacle monster?!

Liviel couldn't help but curse inwardly, and even Little White couldn't help but sigh:

"Livia, I don't think I've ever seen you so ravaged before..."

"Too talkative..."

Liviel gritted her teeth and got up, grabbing the Mirror of Arodes with an angry expression, wishing she could throw it on the ground and smash it to pieces immediately.

But she quickly suppressed her impulse. The Mirror of Arodes was of a very high status. When it reached out its tentacles to grab her, Livre felt that she was firmly bound by the contract and could not resist at all.

If it really came down to a fight, I'm afraid I wouldn't be a match for this mirror.

Besides, the Mirror of Arodes is quite useful, providing a lot of knowledge and information. Although it has a somewhat perverse sense of humor, aside from feeling a little ashamed, it doesn't cause any real harm; on the contrary, it's quite comfortable...

Liviel blushed slightly, placed the Mirror of Arodes on the bed, and asked again in a deep voice:

"Honorable Arodes, my question is: how can I use these two crystallized knowledge pieces to achieve a leap in rank without provoking that being?"

Playful characters appeared on the surface of the Mirror of Arodes:

"Oh? After accepting my punishment, you didn't run away, but instead continued to ask questions? Beautiful lady, I admire your courage!"

It even flashed a somewhat comical thumbs-up after the text, leaving Livre speechless.

"Now, I will answer your question in the most straightforward, clearest, and most direct way: On the edge of the raging sea, there is a small island. By placing the crystallization of knowledge on the altar on the island, you can draw upon its power."

Looking at the appearing text, Livre asked with some confusion:

"Will doing this really avoid the gaze of that evil god?"

Arodes appeared as a square character, conveying a sense of certainty:

"Yes, currently, the barrier between us and the starry sky is quite strong, and those beings cannot project too much power. The altar is abandoned and is very safe. Also, I must remind you, this is the second question, and you will have to answer two questions for me in a moment."

I see. Now that safety is ensured, let's leave the two questions as they are... Wait, what does the barrier between us and the starry sky mean? Is the Mother Tree of Desire located outside the starry sky?

What is the meaning of those existences? Is there more than one evil god located beyond the stars?

Livre resisted the urge to ask questions, because every question she asked Arrodes came at a price, and she had to use her questions wisely.

She asked with a death-defying air:

"Now, ask your question."

The mirror of Arrodes trembled slightly, and the words that appeared conveyed an emotion of excitement:

"My first question is: Wherein lies the uniqueness of the diviner's approach?"

What is uniqueness...?

Livre felt a headache coming on. It seemed that Arrodes's so-called question was just an excuse, and his purpose was to punish her.

However, the concepts of source quality and uniqueness seem to be very advanced knowledge. If we can take this opportunity to understand them, it would be a good thing.

Livre suddenly had a brilliant idea and calmly said:

"You must first explain the definition of uniqueness to me before I can answer this question."

She did not use the question form to prevent Arodes from counting it as a question again.

Arrodes hesitated for a moment, and then several lines of text appeared on the mirror:

"Alright, since I enjoyed the punishment just now, I'll explain it to you. Ahem, listen carefully."

Arodes manifested a small hand holding a pointer, tapping on a mirror surface like a blackboard:

The so-called "uniqueness" is the unique existence formed by the convergence of all sequences of each path. Its external manifestation may be some extraordinary material or some abstract thing. "Uniqueness" can change its form according to the will of the holder.

When ascending from Sequence 1 to Sequence 0 and becoming a true god, all three Sequence 1 extraordinary properties of that path are required. In addition, the most important thing is the extraordinary material that can contain "uniqueness". Each path has one and only one "uniqueness", therefore each path's true god is unique.

There are three ways to accommodate "uniqueness":

Being born with it is equivalent to having "uniqueness" activated and integrated with human nature;

The "uniqueness" is activated to a certain extent, then forcibly absorbed into the body, suppressed by the position, and gradually worn down and adapted over a long period of time until balance is achieved.

The "uniqueness" was concocted into an incomplete potion, which was then consumed with a simplified version of the ascension ritual.

Amidst Livre's shocked expression, Arrodes announced that his explanation was complete.