Witch Taming System-Chapter 51: Fiore [2]
Countess Gretelle had made a mistake.
To aid her research, she needed Fangscale Lizards, and the closest place to obtain them was the Wastefield.
The reason she had posted the request in the first place was the lack of stock from her usual suppliers.
Bothered by the delay, she sent out the request. When no one accepted it, her lack of patience led her to send her apprentice, Fiore, instead.
But now, after a full day with no word from Fiore, Countess Gretelle realized something was wrong.
Without delegating it further, she made her way to the Wastefield herself. It wasn’t a place befitting someone of her standing.
A Countess had no reason to step into a zone where discarded experiments and failed works were thrown aside, left to rot among the lowest circles of witches.
But this wasn’t something she could ignore. This required her direct involvement.
The moment she stepped into the area, she noticed it.
"A distortion...?"
The entire forest was distorted. The range was so massive that it couldn’t be natural.
By tracing the frequencies in the air and doing the necessary calculations, she figured out that this distortion did not just warp perception but even altered an individual’s disposition.
Only one kind of factor could produce something like this.
A witch.
And it wasn’t something that could occur by accident. Whether it was for experimentation or something more deliberate, the intent behind it didn’t change the fact that it existed.
However, a large-scale distortion like this was illegal in Riviere. That meant it was either a witch who didn’t care about legalities, a stupid witch who wanted to get sued by everyone affected, or a witch who shouldn’t be in Riviere at all.
Black Witches.
A term used for those who had been exiled from Riviere. Witches who no longer operated under its laws, either because they refused to or because they had already crossed the line beyond return.
And Black Witches were often known to be hostile.
"Sigh."
Countess Gretelle let out a breath before wrapping her body in mana. Without any delay, she moved forward through the fog,
When she got further, it was then.
Monsters, one after another, emerged from the fog. Fangscale Lizards, Darkmaws, Tarantula Lions, creatures that shouldn’t have crossed paths under normal circumstances, let alone moved in sequence like this.
But of course, none of them lasted.
With a light motion of her staff, they fell.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Each wave was dealt with as easily as the last. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
But Countess Gretelle immediately noticed something was odd.
"...They’re moving together?"
Creatures that should have torn each other apart were instead converging toward a single target.
Toward her.
Countess Gretelle didn’t need to look further into it. It confirmed what she had already concluded.
Illegal practices were happening here.
"This is problematic."
The disturbance of mana in the air was so thick that even if Countess Gretelle tried to pinpoint the main source of this leyline, it was all so contrived that she didn’t know where to start.
Nevertheless, she kept moving ahead, trying to at least pinpoint the minuscule traces she could comprehend.
For every beast that moved to block her path, Countess Gretelle responded the same way.
A single sweep of her staff.
———!
Light gathered without delay, and with that alone, the monsters fell. There was no interruption to her pace as each one was dealt with the moment it entered her range.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Quite frankly, there was no difficulty in it.
To humans, this place would be considered a danger zone. But to witches, it was just a dumping ground. A place where unwanted things were discarded, left behind without a second thought.
That alone reflected the difference.
To witches, the monsters within the Wastefield were irrelevant critters that needed pest control.
"Hm?"
Countess Gretelle lowered her gaze and observed the ground beneath her. There, she noticed traces of Hexencircles forming where she stood. Not fully manifested, but present enough to be noticed.
It was a gradual process that had already begun.
When she took another step, she noticed the fluctuations.
"...."
At that, she understood.
The distortion wasn’t only affecting perception or direction. It was tied to movement itself. The more one moved within it, the more the disposition took effect, subtly repositioning them within the barrier’s boundaries without their awareness.
All of a sudden, she sensed movement behind her.
"...!"
Countess Gretelle immediately turned, already preparing a spell.
But when she saw who it was, her eyes widened.
"...Countess Lieber?"
It was Faust Lieber.
* * *
"I still don’t understand why you insist on hunting them yourself, Lancel. You could just take the Fangscales I offered you. We wouldn’t need to tell Master."
"It’s fine, Miss Fiore. I consider this part of my training."
"You humans are really strange. Calling something like risking your life training... I don’t get it."
Lancel moved forward through the dense fog at a steady pace. Behind him, Fiore followed while hovering in the air on her broom, keeping close enough to observe while leaving him to move on his own terms.
"On your right, Lancel!"
"Huh—"
The warning came just in time.
Lancel reacted immediately. He pulled back as something lunged toward him from the side.
An Armored Snake had appeared within striking range, its fangs aimed straight for his collarbone. Had he been even a moment slower to deflect, it would have dug its fangs straight through his flesh.
"Want me to help?"
"It’s fine."
Lancel adjusted his footing and closed the distance in one motion as he dealt with the Armored Snake without dragging it out.
Fiore watched from behind, genuinely clapping her hands in astonishment.
"Wow... you move pretty quickly. I don’t think I could move like that without using magic."
"It’s still not enough."
"Hm?"
"I used to be faster."
"Oh?"
With Fiore acting as support, Lancel no longer had to divide his attention.
Anything that approached from outside his focus was dealt with before it could become a problem, allowing him to move without interruption as he continued tracking and dealing with nearby Fangscale Lizards.
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[Special Objective Completed!
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[Condition:]
∎ Subjugate Fangscale Lizards 30/30
[Rewards Obtained:]
∎ Strength + 0.3
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