Chapter 59: The Hex Master’s Awakening

At the mansion.

Alice opened her eyes, sitting up in bed.

“You’re awake?” The Duchess, ever-present by the bedside, smiled. “It seems the advancement was a success.”

“This counts as a success?” Alice asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

A week prior, the Duchess had placed an order on the black market for Alice’s advancement potion.

Five days later, a reply confirmed that the bounty materials had been acquired.

The Duchess then returned to her territory, personally retrieving the necessary advancement ingredients for Alice from the black market’s beast hunters.

Today, Alice had prepared and consumed the Witch’s Potion for advancement. After drinking it, she fell into a hazy sleep for a quarter of an hour before slowly stirring awake.

“The seventh-tier potion is concocted with the venom of a Shadow Two-Headed Serpent. While consuming the snake venom itself isn’t harmful, the Shadow Two-Headed Serpent’s curse properties remain dangerous.”

“Had your advancement failed, you would have been tormented by the curse, suffering unbearable agony,” the Duchess explained. “The absence of any reaction indicates that you’ve successfully advanced to the seventh tier as a ‘Hex Master.'”

Alice diligently tried to sense the change. Unlike her previous advancements, this one felt profoundly different. An invisible, mystical power seemed to flow gently within her, awaiting her conscious command.

“What special abilities come with the seventh tier?” Alice inquired.

“Reaching the seventh tier is quite a significant leap. In summary, it grants you the power of ‘curses.'”

“Curses?”

The Duchess immediately launched into a detailed explanation: “Firstly, your ‘Potion Mastery’ ability has intensified. You can now use your own blood to concoct two types of potions.”

“One is the gender-swap potion you already know. The other is called ‘Bliss and Torment.’ When consumed, a person’s sense of touch and pain become extraordinarily acute.”

“In this state, pleasure and pain are amplified many times over. Additionally, you can now use hexes to instantly vaporize any potion you’ve concocted, transforming it into a toxic mist.”

“Secondly, you’ve gained the power to actively enthrall others. Whenever you deliberately attempt to charm someone, your gaze, your voice, and your physical touch will exert an extra allure on the target.”

“Even your enemies will involuntarily develop a sense of goodwill and protectiveness toward you. Of course, this enthrallment effect cannot compare to a ‘Succubus” ability; anyone with a slightly resolute will can overcome it.”

“However, if you directly kiss the target, the enthrallment effect can reach a hypnotic level. Furthermore, your ‘Fatal Kiss’ can now drain the opponent’s life force, weakening them while temporarily strengthening your own physique.”

“Aside from the ability to create toxic mist, the others don’t seem particularly powerful,” Alice remarked.

‘Moreover, there’s a certain threshold for who I can use them on. For instance, I’d rather die than kiss a man,’ Alice mused.

“I’m about to discuss the core ability of a ‘Hex Master’—the curse skill, ‘Voodoo Doll,'” the Duchess said, extending her hand. “Don’t move; let me demonstrate.”

Alice remained still, allowing the Duchess’s hand to reach towards her chest.

She was astonished to find the Duchess’s fingers penetrate her clothes, then easily pierce her skin as if delving into mud, reaching into her body.

She shivered involuntarily, a primal fear seizing her, making her instinctively try to dodge.

But before she could pull away, the Duchess had already withdrawn her fingers. In her hand now appeared a small figure, seemingly crafted from straw.

This doll shimmered faintly in her grasp, emitting an eerie black aura. Several glowing threads extended from the doll, connecting to Alice’s heart, like the steel wires controlling a puppet. Alice curiously reached out to touch these threads, discovering they were intangible, like phantoms.

“These are the threads of fate. Everything inflicted upon this doll will be imposed upon you,” the Duchess explained. Then, with a mischievous grin, she raised her other hand and lightly brushed the doll’s body with her index finger.

“Ah!” Alice cried out in alarm, for she suddenly felt someone touch her body.

“Do you understand? Whatever the caster does to the doll manifests on the target,” the Duchess said, gently flicking the doll’s forehead.

Alice yelped again, her head snapping back as she felt someone tap her forehead, neither too hard nor too soft.

“Alright, I get it! Stop playing with me!” Alice protested, clutching her forehead.

“For ordinary people and those of lower tiers than you, any damage you inflict upon their voodoo dolls will manifest on them precisely as it happens. If they are of the same tier as you, you can only cause partial damage, and lethal injuries will generally not manifest.”

“If the target’s tier is higher than yours—for example, if you were to use it on me—it would only cause pain, with no substantial effect. Furthermore, if the target possesses special resistance to curses, the ability’s effect will be reduced, or even completely nullified,” the Duchess lectured Alice.

“Can this ability only be used in close proximity?” Alice asked.

“Well, you could also obtain the target’s hair and bodily fluids, then secretly use hexes to create a voodoo doll from afar. However, this method is generally less practical.”

“Not only does it require three hours, but the voodoo doll created this way cannot inflict substantial damage on any target; it can only be used purely for torment. You can only use it once a day on the same target, and its effect lasts for only about an hour. With repeated use, the target will develop resistance, eventually rendering it ineffective.”

Alice pondered this. The ability wasn’t overwhelmingly strong, yet it wasn’t weak either. Against enemies of the same or lower tier, once a voodoo doll was extracted up close, victory was almost assured. Against higher-tier individuals, extracting a voodoo doll could still create a certain restrictive effect.

However, it would be extremely dangerous if the opponent excelled at close combat. In such cases, she would have to rely on her enthrallment ability to create an opening. But if the opponent possessed sufficient willpower or mental resistance, this curse power would be difficult to employ effectively.

Overall, a Witch at this tier still wasn’t well-suited for direct combat, but it would likely be quite handy for secretly manipulating others.

She truly needed to advance further, or perhaps explore the ‘Abyss’ pathway for potential upgrades.

With the Holy Church of Salvation’s influence spanning most of the continent, Witches were considered heretics to be purged if caught. Having more self-preservation abilities could only be beneficial.

“Reaching the seventh tier in a month and a half—your advancement speed is comparable to Her Majesty Queen Isola’s in her prime. Given the resources we’ve invested, this is, of course, to be expected,” the Duchess nodded. “However, from this point onward, you might encounter a bottleneck.”

“Mid-tier potion ingredients are only produced by Alert-level dangerous magical beasts; ordinary beast hunters cannot acquire them. Relying solely on current channels, I might not be able to help you obtain them. Most Blessed individuals typically stagnate at the seventh tier.”

“While this tier isn’t considered exceptionally powerful, it’s enough to stand on your own.” The Duchess paused. “Alright, what’s the advancement ritual?” Alice felt it was always wise to prepare in advance if conditions allowed.

“You’re quite ambitious, aren’t you?” The Duchess wore a look of satisfaction. “To advance to the sixth tier, you must kill a Blessed individual with a curse, or combine enthrallment and curses to shatter a Blessed individual’s spirit, forcing them to completely submit to you.”

“Traditionally, we usually use criminal Witches to facilitate the advancement of selected Witches.” The Duchess paused. “Only Blessed individuals can be targets? Does that mean I can’t use Camilla to complete my advancement ritual?” Alice asked.

“You’re still thinking about that, are you…?” The Duchess tapped her chin with a finger, then revealed a somewhat sinister smile. “Actually, it’s not entirely impossible.”

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