Chapter 33: The Witch’s Reckoning: A Risky Ascent

Two weeks later, at Duke Liddell’s estate, Alice arrived at the study precisely on schedule, preparing for her lesson.

To her surprise, Queen Isola was also present in the room today.

The study’s large desk was covered with an array of bottles and jars, brimming with various medicinal ingredients. Queen Isola and the Duchess stood waiting for her beside it.

“What’s happening today?” Alice asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

Queen Isola typically never attended her lessons. Alice could vaguely discern a distinct shift in the atmosphere today, feeling far more serious than usual.

“You’ve been studying diligently lately, and you’ve already acquired a foundational understanding of potion-making. Your adaptation to a witch’s powers has also been remarkably swift. Therefore, after discussing it yesterday, we’ve decided…” the Duchess began.

“…to attempt to arrange your advancement ritual soon.”

“So soon?” Alice was quite taken aback.

“You are advancing with the concentrated resources we’ve provided for you. Remember, when Queen Isola was expected to achieve greatness by the kingdom, it still took her less than half a year to advance to the middle rank,” the Duchess explained.

“Moreover, we don’t have much time to waste.”

Alice understood the implications of ‘not much time.’ Only about two months remained until the local Holy Academy’s entrance exams this year, and Camilla would also graduate from the Southwest Holy Academy after that. She had to prepare as soon as possible.

The Duchess would arrange her transfer enrollment. As for the exam itself, Alice had no concerns; all that remained was to strengthen her powers as a witch.

With the Grand Witch Samira, who had been lurking in the Winter Kingdom, now executed by the Snow Princess, Queen Isola and her allies’ plan for restoration could only focus on finding the Holy Relic. Alice’s current mission, to them, was nothing less than ‘the hope of the entire village.’

“For most wilderness witches, the greatest hurdle in advancing to the Eighth Rank is the materials. However, I’ve taken care of that for you; we simply bought them from the black market,” the Duchess said, forming a money-counting gesture with a smile.

“The essence of it is: money makes the world go ’round.”

“I never thought I’d have the chance to experience the power of money one day,” Alice remarked with a self-deprecating laugh.

The Duchess had previously taught her that the initial advancement rituals for different blessing paths varied slightly, yet all paths led to the same destination: absorbing the power of magical beasts to strengthen oneself.

Those blessed under the ‘Warrior’ path needed to hunt a specific magical beast alone and head-on, then bathe in its blood, to advance.

Those on the ‘Red Moon’ path had to collect the blood of several specific magical beasts, mix it into a ‘Blood Blessing,’ and consume it on a full moon night. Sometimes, this ‘Blood Blessing’ could also be substituted with a large quantity of blood from higher-ranked blessed individuals.

As for those blessed on the ‘Witch’ path, they needed to mix their own witch’s blood with magical beast materials to concoct and consume a specific advancement potion.

In the Duchess’s teachings, magical beasts, strictly speaking, were not living organisms but rather the activated fragments of various path authorities scattered across the world. Evidence for this was that magical beasts did not reproduce; they simply manifested naturally.

The remains of magical beasts would lose their power after decades of preservation, gradually turning into powdery residue, and eventually vanishing into smoke.

“The Eighth Rank advancement ritual for a witch is quite simple: you must personally concoct your own advancement potion,” the Duchess explained. “This step, we cannot help you with; you must rely solely on yourself.”

“I understand,” Alice affirmed, stepping forward.

The Duchess placed a small bottle before her. “I’ve told you before that the magical beast material required for a witch’s Eighth Rank advancement is the scale dust of a Ghost-faced Butterfly. There are sixteen complementary materials that can be used with it.”

“You may only choose three of them. Your witch’s intuition will guide you to which auxiliary materials are suitable for you.”

“I recall you saying that Ghost-faced Butterfly scale dust is hallucinogenic, didn’t you?” Alice inquired.

“Precisely. The Eighth Rank potion will induce hallucinations during advancement. The content of these hallucinations varies from person to person; it might be a beautiful dream, a nightmare, or in some rare cases, even a glimpse of future precognition.”

“You must overcome these illusions, not be swayed by them, and not be intimidated by fear. Otherwise…” the Duchess trailed off.

“The advancement will fail?” Alice prompted.

“No, once the potion is successfully concocted, your advancement ritual is considered complete. The potion will take effect upon consumption, leading to your advancement. However, if you become deeply entangled in the hallucinations, there’s a high probability of mental damage.”

“Most cases show this damage to be permanent, potentially leading to a significant decline in the individual’s cognitive abilities,” the Duchess clarified.

“Can you summarize that? What’s the worst possible outcome?” Alice found it a bit convoluted.

“You’ll become an idiot,” the Duchess paused, then added, “An idiot with the abilities of a Seer.”

“Isn’t that risk a bit too great?” Alice was instantly dumbfounded.

“Don’t worry, according to past statistics, the success rate for Eighth Rank advancement is around ninety percent,” the Duchess said with a smile.

“Meaning ten percent of people still fail, right?” Alice remained apprehensive.

While the success rate sounded high, the consequence of failure was something she could not bear.

“It’s alright. Even if you fail, I’ll take good care of you and fulfill your last wishes,” the Duchess declared, giving a thumbs-up with a bright, ‘you can go in peace’ smile.

‘Your tone, telling someone to go to their death, isn’t reassuring at all!’

At that moment, Queen Isola spoke up. “The pursuit of power always carries risks; every path is the same. The higher the rank, the stricter the ritual conditions. Otherwise, Patra wouldn’t have remained at the Sixth Rank all this time.”

“You still have a choice now; you can give up. But without the power of active precognition for self-preservation, I don’t recommend you venture into the Holy Academy as a witch. They are not short on Inquisitors there.”

Alice turned to Queen Isola, thought for a moment, and then asked, “If I give up, then our agreement ends, right?”

After only a slight pause, Queen Isola provided her answer. “I understand if you’re unwilling to take this risk, and I won’t force you. Regardless of your choice, I can help you kill your enemy; it’s no difficult task for me, after all.”

“I will also continue to offer you sanctuary in the future, considering it my repayment to you.”

“Your Majesty!” the Duchess hastily moved closer to Queen Isola, whispering a reminder. “Don’t spoil her too much! This requires a fair exchange. If she refuses, we’ll have to entirely redraw our plans!”

“Quiet,” Queen Isola commanded, silencing the Duchess with a gesture, her eyes fixed on Alice. “You decide for yourself.”

Alice and Queen Isola held each other’s gaze for a long moment before Alice finally lowered her eyes. “Thank you, but you owe me nothing.”

She reached out, donned the leather gloves on the desk, and prepared to concoct the potion. “I’ll do it. Since I’m already a witch hunted by the Inquisition, I might as well become a formidable one!”