Sorcerer's Handbook-Chapter 649: Are You a Bewitcher?
Ash could choose to leave the Inheritance at any moment. The specter key was with him. But even if he escaped this time, he would face this challenge again later. Ash suspected that his ability to retain memories was largely due to using Soul Refining to strengthen his spirit, allowing him to barely resist the effects of the Rejuvenating Return.
The Rejuvenating Return was subtle and silent, and Sleep in Overcoats might not work again. This challenge required them to create their own artwork, so the Little Sword Princess and the others needed to be fully conscious, not perpetually in the Sleep in Overcoats state.
In other words, if they wanted all four of them to retain their memories and pass the challenge, they would need to develop a new soul miracle. It might take a few days, or perhaps weeks.
However, the problem was that the 35th challenge wasn’t the final one. According to their guesses, the Specter’s Inheritance likely had 100 challenges! If they stopped at every difficult challenge to spend days creating a new miracle, they would surely miss out on the Specter’s Inheritance and the Blank Concept! The Virtual Realm was open to all sorcerers, and even though elves were rare now, there were still those with exceptional Soul Talent among the elf sanctuaries.
Not to mention, among the people Ash knew, Qenna’s progress was undoubtedly faster than theirs! This elf matriarch was a genuine soul sanctuary, with a sanctuary level in the Soul Sect realm, and she had the Gospel system to help her analyze challenges. She had probably already surpassed the first 50 challenges!
If they truly wanted to seize the Specter’s Inheritance, they couldn’t retreat in fear at challenges like the 35th one, which they could barely overcome. They had to break through with determination! This was a consensus among the four of them.
Since Ash could lead them out at any time, they would continue to challenge until they encountered real danger before giving up!
Ash stood beside the Little Sword Princess and asked, “What are you going to draw?”
“Two people!” The Little Sword Princess held up two fingers, her eyes filled with longing. “The woman has beautiful red hair like silk and bright red eyes, wearing a gorgeous wedding dress. The man is in a handsome suit, tall, handsome, cold, and proud. They’re embracing each other, looking like they’re about to kiss!”
Her excitement grew as she spoke, clearly influenced by the TV dramas she had seen. But Ash scratched his head, wondering if the Little Sword Princess had misunderstood, or if the sword Princess originals had some misconception about him.
“Why don’t you start with the face? Just trace the outline, then draw the clothes and the wedding dress.”
The Little Sword Princess nodded obediently, extending her finger to draw while asking, “Hey, why am I drawing these two people? They look like stars from a TV drama promo.”
Didn’t she recognize them? Ash blinked and said, “Don’t you think the beautiful girl you’re drawing is what you’ll look like when you grow up? With red hair and red eyes…”
“Impossible!” The Little Sword Princess shook her head. “How could I possibly look that good when I grow up? I look so plain.”
Ash was about to say, “You’re already adorable,” but then he realized something-when the Sword Princess was young, she wasn’t exactly a beauty. He had seen her childhood appearance in the Amnesia Cabin: frail body, dull hair, and undeveloped features.
He quickly understood the situation.
Rejuvenating Return didn’t actually revert them to their childhood; it merely compressed their souls to a child’s level and blocked their memories after childhood. Thus, their current appearance was just a childlike version of their adult selves. For instance, Little Witch and Little Weiser looked more childlike, but their overall features hadn’t changed at all.
That was impossible. As children grow, their skulls and features change significantly. There’s an old saying, “Kids grow so fast I can’t recognize them,” which means that if adults turn back into children, it’s normal not to recognize them!
So in Little Sword Princess’s mind, she still saw herself as that plain, frail village girl, unable to imagine becoming confident and beautiful in the future.
However, Ash still said, “You’re actually quite adorable now.”
Little Sword Princess raised her right fist again, but Ash caught it, saying, “I’m not talking about your looks. I think your personality is adorable.”
She raised her left fist, “You’re mocking me. You think I can’t tell?”
“Exactly, that’s what’s so cute about you,” Ash said earnestly. “Even though you’re a bit too sensitive, no matter how much malice you face, you always fight back. Even if you weren’t pretty as a child, would you give up when you grow up?”
“By the way, I remember you like Delarose. I’ve never met her, but she must be quite beautiful. Don’t you want to grow up and be as dazzling and pretty as Delarose? With that wish, how could you not be beautiful in the future?”
Little Sword Princess blinked at him, then slowly lowered her fist, whispering, “You actually know I want to be as pretty as Delarose. I never told anyone that… so you’re not lying to me?”
So revealing this information could gain her trust… Ash nodded, “Really, and the red-haired girl you’re drawing is what you’ll look like when you grow up.”
Though still a bit skeptical, she didn’t dwell on it and instead asked, “How do you know I like Delarose? Are we close?”
“A bit closer than friends,” Ash could only reply.
She asked, “If the woman I’m drawing is me, then who is the man holding her?”
Ash and she stared at each other for a while before he said, “I can’t see who it is. I’ll only know once you draw it. But…”
“Do you think that man looks like me?”
Little Sword Princess paused, then her lips moved slightly, and she suddenly punched Ash, knocking him down.
“You’re teasing me again!”
Ash had to admire the power of Soul Refining; despite taking so many hits, he was unharmed. He got up and said, “Start with the facial outline, then the clothing outline. Draw the big shapes first, then the small ones, and gradually refine the details… Can you do it?”
“I can.”
Ash glanced at Little Witch and Little Weiser, noticing they hadn’t started drawing either, so he decided to check on them. But just as he took a couple of steps, Little Sword Princess grabbed him.
“Where are you going?”
“To teach them how to draw,” Ash replied. “This test requires everyone’s effort to pass.”
Little Sword Princess’s face showed clear dissatisfaction. She hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head and said, “I’m sorry, I won’t hit you anymore.”
“It’s okay,” Ash certainly wouldn’t hold a grudge against a child with amnesia. “It’s the test’s fault, you were just responding in your own way.”
“Could you not go?” Little Sword Princess’s voice was tense with a hint of hope.
Ash paused.
He realized Little Sword Princess’s reliance on him was quite natural. After all, he had gained her trust, and his confident demeanor made it only logical for her to depend on him in her reverted childhood state. But this inexplicable possessiveness was odd, and there was a hint of insecurity…
Ash suddenly recalled how Little Sword Princess had been cautious and even somewhat humble when facing Little Witch earlier. Initially, he thought it was due to Little Witch’s leadership skills, but on second thought, it might also stem from Little Sword Princess’s inferiority complex.
Seeing Little Witch being so cute and pretty, she instinctively felt inferior, especially with Little Witch’s calm demeanor. It made her feel even more inadequate, and only by asserting her strength over Ash could she ease her self-doubt.
She hadn’t asked Little Witch and Little Weiser for help with drawing for the same reason. Pretty little girls could draw, but she couldn’t, which made her feel embarrassed, so she only dared to ask the one person she felt she could bully.
Now, she was afraid Ash would leave her to help them, so she didn’t want him to go.
The world of children is so straightforward and simple.
So Ash said, “I’ll teach them and then come back to teach you a second time. Only you get a second chance, how about that?”
“You won’t lie to me, will you?”
“I won’t.”
“Alright.”
Little Sword Princess let go of his hand and obediently started drawing on the whiteboard.
Having settled one, Ash went over to Little Witch and asked, “Are you facing any difficulties?”
Little Witch glanced at him and said, “I have to draw a lot of people, and I hardly know any of them.”
Ash thought that if he hadn’t retained his memory, he’d be just as confused about what he was supposed to draw. Who is this blond man, who is the dark-skinned man sitting on the coffin, why are the crows at a barbecue… Such questions would certainly entangle him.
“Are your sisters not around?” Ash asked.
Witch: “What sisters?” frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Rejuvenating Return has some real magic, suppressing even the Witch’s sister personalities. But it’s not surprising since the sister personalities are latent aspects of the soul, so they’re affected too.
This is much better than in the Amnesia Cabin, where the Witch was nearly driven mad by her sisters. But perhaps because the sisters were temporarily suppressed, the Witch, though still with black hair, now had a few strands of pure-colored hair.
Clearly, the Witch wasn’t her childhood self either, just a softened version of her adult self.
“You can start with the simpler ones,” Ash suggested. “This test might have a time limit, so you need to finish quickly.”
Little Witch nodded, then suddenly said, “In my drawing, I see someone who looks a lot like you.”
“If you’re right, and we’ve only temporarily reverted to childhood, then that person is probably the real you.”
Ash nodded. “That’s right, it’s me.”
Little Witch continued, “But in this drawing, there are four beautiful girls with different temperaments but similar appearances. They all, through their gazes or actions, show their affection for you, and even I can see it.”
“In a picture book, I saw a magical creature called a Bewitcher, which everyone likes.”
Little Witch looked at Ash curiously and asked:
“Are You a Bewitcher?”
This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com
