What if you ascend to the wrong world?

“But it should be soon, it won’t take too long,” Fina added.

They were afraid that Lorne would just run away and quit.

"That's good."

Lorne nodded.

Actually, he was quite conflicted.

A daily wage of ten gold coins is a high-paying job that even 99% of first-tier extraordinary professionals cannot find.

With this level of salary, he could save enough money to buy potion ingredients in just a few days.

In this respect, he hoped that Fina could be hired for a few more days.

But...

Fina's problems look very troublesome, and she might have to deal with the Saint-level professionals from the Mage Association later on.

Regarding the current relationship between the Mage Association and the Dawn Empire...

The risk of actually encountering those holy realms is extremely high.

From this perspective, he also hoped that Fina could leave as soon as possible.

It's a contradiction.

"If the holy-level professionals from the Mage Association decide to meet with you, please let me know in advance."

If Fina doesn't agree, he'll turn around and leave right now.

“…” Fina blinked. “Okay.”

He seemed to really dislike dealing with people from the Dharma Association.

Fina, realizing this, didn't think much of it.

Firstly, everyone has their own secrets.

Secondly...

She has very limited time to think about things each day, so she has to focus her attention on the most important things.

Lorne breathed a sigh of relief.

If the biggest risk—being a 'Holy Archmage'—can be avoided, then this job is still pretty good...

"Fina?"

The sound rang out in the room without warning.

Then, strands of dark purple magic, like fine sand, gathered and intertwined to form an elegant and intellectual figure dressed in a mage's robe and wearing a pointed round hat.

Fina stared blankly at the figure that had suddenly appeared in the room:

"you are?"

“Daphne Fairchild, you must have heard of me, right?” Daphne chuckled.

She is still very confident in this regard.

Although she doesn't usually appear in public, she is, after all, the vice president of the Dharma Masters Association.

As the next Elf Queen, this little guy couldn't possibly be someone who hadn't even heard of her.

However, Fina stared at her for a long time, as if she had been thinking for a long time, before she finally realized who she was.

"So it was Her Majesty Daphne."

With that, Fina stood up and bowed.

Daphne: "..."

No!

Is my own fame really that low?

"I apologize, because of the curse, my mind was somewhat affected and I did not recognize you immediately."

It turns out it was because of a curse...

Daphne hesitated for two seconds, then looked at Lorne, who was standing to the side, his whole body tense.

"May I ask who this gentleman is?"

In an instant, Lorne was extremely nervous, his hair stood on end, and his mind went blank for a moment.

The terrifying magical aura made him lose all will to resist or escape.

“He is a half-elf, the guard assigned to me by my tribe,” Fina quickly said. “He is also the captain of the seventh squad of the Nature Patrol Army.”

Guards?

This little guy seems to be a pure human, and doesn't have any elven blood, right?

"But I remember that you need to be at the second rank to be the squad leader of the Nature Hunting Army, right?" Daphne asked curiously.

Fina was stunned for a long time after hearing this.

Affected by the curse, she didn't know how to reply for a moment, and after a long while, she managed to stammer out:

"The situation is special now."

"I see."

Daphne didn't investigate further.

She will investigate later; there's no need to ask now.

"Tell me about the 'curse,' and let me see what's going on."

“Your Majesty, the curse I have been afflicted with is corrupting,” Fina warned.

"It's okay, just tell me."

After all, she was an eleventh-level Saint Archmage, and a part of her soul had been refined and become extremely pure.

If it's just a description, there shouldn't be any major problems.

“If things don’t go well, I’ll make you stop.”

Fina didn't answer immediately, but instead glanced at Lorne.

It turns out she was worried about him.

He raised his right hand, and with a light tap of his fingertip, a wisp of dark purple magic, as fine as sand, flew toward Lorne and lingered around his ear.

"I've blocked his hearing, so you can rest assured now, right?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty Daphne."

Fina bowed again, then took a few steps to the side and lifted her sleeve.

The wood grain is clearly visible, and there are obvious splicing marks at the joints, just like a puppet's arm.

Ok?

"The source of this curse is an ancient castle that suddenly appeared in the Elf Forest, the Queen and..."

Daphne had only heard the first half of the sentence when the rest of the voice became hollow and ethereal.

It's like listening to a teacher's lecture in a half-awake state; all you can hear are some incomprehensible babbling.

Thoughts seemed to freeze. The body, which was clearly constructed of magic, was gradually becoming stiff. The wood grain began to emerge, the joints dented inward, and obvious splicing marks appeared.

Unlike before.

This pointed description suggests that Daphne was subjected to far more intense contamination!

It looked like her magical projection was about to completely turn into a puppet...

The babbling that had been coming and going suddenly stopped, as Fina had finally realized something was wrong and stopped telling the story in time.

After an unknown amount of time, Daphne, with her powerful soul, finally managed to restore some of her almost frozen thoughts.

Looking down, I noticed that my fingers and arms were all covered in an unnatural bright white, as if they had been coated with a layer of varnish, with the wood grain clearly visible.

My body became incredibly stiff.

It makes a gritty crunching sound with just the slightest movement.

The projection constructed by magic seemed to have truly become a puppet.

"Your Majesty Daphne?" Fina asked tentatively, "Are you alright?"

Her condition wasn't much better either.

Because of the description just now, the curse has worsened, and traces of woodiness have appeared on his face. In the depths of his jewel-like blue eyes, an ancient castle shrouded in gray-black mist is faintly visible.

“This curse is far more powerful than I expected,” Daphne said with difficulty.

"Wait here, don't wander off."

As soon as she finished speaking, Daphne's figure vanished like wisps of sand, a manifestation of her magic.

An intricate and elaborate magic circle unfolded on the ground, enveloping the entire hotel.

Lorne, who was standing nearby, was both shocked and angry. He looked at Fina, about to say something.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know Her Majesty Daphne would come so suddenly."

Fina took out a ring inlaid with a green gemstone.

"There are 50,000 gold coins and some potion ingredients in here. No matter what happens afterward, as long as I am still here, I will not let them take you away."

"..."

Seeing the guilt in Fina's eyes, Lorne's shock and anger suddenly dissipated.

"no need."

Lorne did not answer.

"Ten gold coins is ten gold coins."

Just to show off?

To appear more sophisticated?

Actually, there's a bit of that in both cases.

Although his temperament has changed due to the influence of the Immortal's Shadow, he is still only in his early twenties.

Most importantly, Lorne felt he shouldn't take the 50,000 gold coins; Fina's guarantee was enough.

……

……

"This curse..."

Daphne's private workshop.

Before the alchemy furnace, Daphne, who had just withdrawn her magical projection, looked solemnly at the wooden texture that appeared on the back of her hand.

Could the curse on the magical projection actually be reflected back to the real body?

No wonder that guy asked for help; this curse is indeed extraordinary.

Thoughts raced through my mind.

Daphne turned and walked out of the workshop.

A surge of magical power emanated from his body, making him resemble a dazzling purple meteor, trailing a long, fiery tail as he descended upon the [Aetheran Workshop].

We can only turn to Ye Tu.

Let's see if he has any ideas.

Having been there many times before, Daphne easily found her way to the backyard and found Ye Tu sitting in a chair listening to a report on lust.

In an instant, his mind, which had become somewhat drowsy due to the curse, cleared up, and the wood grain on the back of his hand began to fade away little by little.

Ok?

The curse has been suppressed?

why?