Volume 3, Chapter 2 – The Cat-Eared Nun and the Space Rift

In a world of endless yellow sand, a group of women dressed in black robes and veils were forging ahead—to call their attire black robes was not entirely accurate; more precisely, their dress was similar to the nun habits Fia was familiar with.

It was a conservative style of clothing that tightly wrapped the body from neck to ankle. But in its details, this full-body garment was quite different from a traditional nun’s habit.

First, the veils of these “nuns” all had the shape of upright cat ears, giving them a cuter and more mysterious look. Second, on the chest and waist of the clothing, there were numerous ornate decorations that seemed “unnecessary.” They were outlined with mithril and, on top of that, other magical metals, with shimmering magic crystals at their core.

These items were not merely decorative; they could add considerable defensive properties to the clothing. For example, an ordinary short dagger could not penetrate the fabric at all. Even a Second Rank [Flame Lance] would be nullified by the magic barrier within the crystals.

But it should be noted that this nun-like attire did not mean the women’s identity was that of nuns. Their true identity was extremely mysterious; they wore clothes that covered them from head to toe simply to prevent the wind and sand from eroding their skin.

They were witches.

A name detested by the people of the World Tree Continent.

If people’s attitude toward those afflicted with the Darkborn disease was one of contempt and avoidance, then their attitude toward witches was a mixture of disgust and fear.

Witches were powerful and capricious, willing to do anything to get what they wanted. Few could become friends with a witch; they were solitary and trusted contracts far more than emotional connections. If one shared a common goal with a witch, she could be a good partner, but if one couldn’t pique a witch’s interest yet forcibly tried to establish a good relationship, the end result would surely be self-inflicted humiliation.

This was the description of witches that circulated on the continent.

Clearly, it was at odds with reality.

Because at this moment, the group of women walking in the desert were all witches. If one were to zoom out and look behind them, one would discover that they were followed by a group of poorly equipped men traveling in a company. Compared to the composed witches, these men, numbering about two hundred, were drenched in sweat and out of breath, having clearly followed the witches for a long distance.

“Hah.”

Gradually, the witch walking at the very front stopped. She looked up at the sun, which was obscured by clouds, and said in a low voice to her companions behind her, “Everyone, rest for a while.”

“Yes, Lady Friede.”

At the word from the petite woman, the entire party, including the men at the rear, came to a halt. Surprisingly, this group was almost entirely composed of magic casters. Before resting, they used magic to create stone benches and sat upon them.

A party of over two hundred magic casters was a force not to be ignored anywhere, yet the leading woman was accustomed to such a sight. As usual, she took the water handed to her by an apprentice witch and gulped it down—even witches had to eat, drink, and relieve themselves.

“Lady Friede… Do you think we can really persuade the ‘Flame King’ to join us?”

“I don’t know.”

Questioned by the apprentice witch who served her, the witch named Friede gently shook her head.

“But we have no choice but to try. Without the Flame King’s power, Lianne will never bow her head.”

“We should just fight our way through. What combat power can a disorganized mob possibly have?”

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A cold, androgynous voice picked up where Friede left off.

Friede turned her head. The one who had just spoken was the witch second only to her in strength within the group. Even if her words were insolent, no one would say she was wrong.

“Even if it’s a disorganized mob, Lianne represents the Witch’s Hall. If we attack the underground by force, the Witch’s Hall will exist in name only. Not to mention, Lianne still holds the Witch’s Heart Core. If we push her too far and she destroys the Heart Core to take us down with her, all our efforts will be for nothing.

But if we can persuade the Flame King to attract Lianne’s attention, we can sneak into the underground, secure the Witch’s Heart Core, and then settle things with Lianne. You and I both know the Flame King’s power. With him on our side, victory will be ours.”

“Indeed…”

The apprentice witch serving Friede affirmed softly.

The place where they stood was originally a dense jungle. Its transformation into the current landscape of endless yellow sand was entirely the work of the “Flame King.”

About forty years ago, a demon calling himself the “Flame King” traveled from the Land of Blazing Flames in the south of the continent, following the ocean to this place, and made it his lair. Along with the Flame King came his countless followers. These monsters used to live on lava, and to adapt the environment for their survival, they transformed the original jungle landscape into a desert. The current desert region, spanning a radius of two hundred kilometers, was the result.

No one knew just how strong the “Flame King” was, but to prevent the desert from expanding further inland, the Alfrieg Kingdom once hired a powerful team of adventurers to cooperate with the army in a campaign against him. In the end, neither side could defeat the other, and they had to compromise. They agreed not to interfere with each other’s existence, and the Flame King acknowledged that the desert was the territory of the Alfrieg Kingdom. Only then did things quiet down.

The force mobilized by the Alfrieg Kingdom at that time included three Fifth Rank powerhouses and one Sixth Rank magic caster, supplemented by army-grade soldiers. In this context, the Flame King’s strength was undoubtedly immense.

It was worth noting that in the entire elf country, there were no more than five people who could use Seventh Rank forbidden magic; Sixth Rank was already quite powerful. The despair demon general Fia had killed back in Oro Territory had only touched the threshold of the Eighth Rank, not a true Eighth Rank being. And that was on the premise that the despair demon general had absorbed the Seed of Despair and Chaos for his own use, while Estelle’s despair also provided him with a massive amount of mana. The actual strength of a despair demon general was only at the Sixth Rank level.

Across the entire World Tree Continent, individuals like Fia’s father, at the quasi-Eighth Rank, could be counted on one hand.

“But the Flame King’s existence has brought endless suffering to the surrounding residents. His subordinates often attack caravans and travelers passing through here. The blood debt he has accumulated is no less than that of the Darkborn. If they find a village, they will devour everyone in it.”

“If news of us siding with the Flame King gets out, it will only worsen the witches’ reputation. You saw it too, Friede, the way the city residents looked at us when we were asking about the Flame King. They thought we were here to subjugate him. Not only did they give us water and dry rations, but they also offered us sand elephants. When have we witches ever received such treatment?”

The woman with the androgynous voice tried to persuade her earnestly. Although she knew it wouldn’t change Friede’s mind, she couldn’t help but emphasize it.

Friede bit her lip and answered with difficulty.

“It can’t be helped. Besides the Flame King, no one is willing to help us. Our reputation is too poor. The compromises we make now are for a better future. The power of witches should not be buried like this. The Witch of Hope was right. As long as the Witch’s Hall remains stagnant, witches will be reviled ¹ criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner. . We must change.”

“Her Excellency, the Witch of Hope…”

Upon hearing the name of the Witch of Hope, the petite apprentice witch’s eyes immediately glowed with fervor ² intense and passionate feeling. . As an unofficial witch, the Witch of Hope was the person she most aspired to be. The Witch of Hope was the only witch on the entire continent with a solely positive reputation. She had changed the future of the Witch’s Hall. It could be said that at least seventy percent of the apprentice witches in the Witch’s Hall today had come following in the footsteps of the Witch of Hope.

“If Her Excellency, the Witch of Hope, were still here, Lady Friede wouldn’t have to seek out the Flame King like this…”

Rumble—

Just as the apprentice witch finished speaking, a thunderous sound echoed from the distant horizon.

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How could there be thunder in the heart of the desert? Was a sandstorm coming?

The strange sound made all the witches, including Friede, look up. But strangely, there was no sign of a sky-blotting sandstorm in the direction of the noise.

“Strange.”

Friede immediately stood up, her expression grave as she looked into the distance.

In the azure sky, there were only a few thin clouds. The sunlight was so dazzling it was hard to open one’s eyes. The desert in the distance was no different from the one beneath her feet.

An illusion?

As if in response to Friede’s thought, the rumbling grew louder the next second. Then, the earth began to shake, a tremor so violent it was impossible to stand steady. The ground heaved up and down like the surface of water. In some places, the ground cracked open, creating quicksand. If the fissures had been any deeper, the less powerful apprentice witches might have been trapped within.

The apprentice witches in their nun-like habits immediately cried out in alarm. They flailed their limbs to stabilize themselves while moving closer to the strongest among them, Friede, their eyes filled with nothing but terror.

“What’s happening!”

“An-an earthquake?!”

“Quick, use [Flight] magic! Use [Flight] magic!”

In an instant, the once orderly formation dissolved. The official witches who could use [Flight] magic immediately lifted the apprentice witches near them off the ground. The apprentices and men who were left behind quickly used earth-type magic to reinforce the ground, giving themselves a solid footing.

Fortunately, the earthquake lasted only a few seconds and then ended. As the rumbling faded, the earth returned to its calm state.

The shaken people all looked towards their leader, Friede. The mature woman, who looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five, was staring intently at the distant sky, her eyes filled with shock and uncertainty.

After a few breaths, Friede finally turned around.

“It was just a normal earthquake, no need to worry. But just in case, we will assign people to take turns flying ahead to scout. We must gain the Flame King’s trust on this trip, or there will be no future for the Witch’s Hall.”

Friede’s solemn expression helped to calm everyone’s hearts slightly. With a quasi-Sixth Rank official witch leading them, they believed their ideals would one day become a reality. Then, witches would no longer be a stagnant and reviled organization, but one that could stand on the world stage, joining the various nations to drive out the Darkborn, and become celebrated legends, just like the Witch of Hope.

“Yes.”

Answering in unison, the rested witches packed their belongings and continued their journey into the depths of the desert.

◇

With the help of [Flight] magic, Fia soon arrived in the depths of the desert. Worried that high-rank magic might turn into something like an orbital bombardment, with a kill radius exceeding its range, she didn’t bring Anastasia and Liti along, instead having them wait at the desert’s edge.

It should be said that before setting out, Fia had shown the magic crystals to Anastasia, hoping she could tell her what spells were contained within each of the four crystals, which would save her the trouble of testing them one by one.

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As a rule, [Hyper-computation] often enhanced a spell to an astonishing degree, and if Fia wanted to turn a powerful spell into a weaker one, she would have to invest a lot of time in trial and error. Just for the First Rank [Food Creation], Fia had experimented for several hours. For Fifth or Sixth Rank magic, there was no telling how long it would take.

What she lacked was not magic powerful enough to blast enemies to smithereens ³ small pieces. , but magic that could blast enemies to smithereens while ensuring that the people around them were not harmed.

So, rather than using [Hyper-computation] to strengthen already powerful spells, it was better to save the magic crystals and throw them when needed. In any case, as long as she had used a spell once, [Hyper-computation] would remember it for her, so there wouldn’t be the awkward situation of throwing a magic crystal and failing to record the spell in [Hyper-computation].

Therefore, it was necessary to ask Anastasia what spells were hidden in the magic crystals.

“You’re the only one whose effect is completely unknown.”

Fia tossed the white magic crystal in her hand as if flipping a coin. Anastasia was truly worthy of being the elf princess’s personal attendant; she even knew clearly what magic crystals the princess carried. Three of the four had been identified by Anastasia, leaving only the white magic crystal, which symbolized space magic, with an unknown effect.

Fia scanned the desert a thousand meters below and slowly descended. ⁴ she really likes desert…

This was already the center of the desert. There were no roads, no travelers, and no oases. As far as the eye could see, there was not a single sign of life. There was nothing but sand dunes all around. It was the perfect place to test magic.

“Although I know there are all sorts of little animals under the sand, there’s no better place than the desert right now. You’ll just have to bear with it.”

If she were to forbid magic experiments because of small animals under the sand, the next step would be to give up using magic because of bacteria and microorganisms.

Clasping her hands together, Fia prayed for the souls of the small animals in her heart. Then, she descended to about a hundred meters above the ground, infused mana into the magic crystal, and then threw it forcefully into the distance.

Crack.

A barely audible sound of a crystal shattering.

Immediately after, a strong wind suddenly whipped up in the calm, windless desert sky. A black fissure, a hundred meters long, appeared out of thin air in the azure sky, as if someone had torn a seam in space. The moment the fissure appeared, all surrounding matter—sand, stones, air, and even the clouds higher up—was sucked into it. Even light was forcibly pulled in as it passed by. Everything in Fia’s vision twisted and distorted. The sand dunes a hundred meters below seemed to have their gravity reversed, pouring towards the sky as if their lives depended on it.

However, the fissure only existed for a brief moment—it vanished in less than a tenth of a second. The sand and stones rushing into the sky had just lifted off the ground before they fell back to the earth.

What was that?

Even Fia couldn’t help but be startled by the scene. Because the time was too short, she couldn’t determine what that fissure was.

Did it create a vacuum? Or did it create a super-massive object, to the point of altering the curvature of spacetime?

The former was possible, but the latter was too incredible.

Although Fia was no stranger to warp drives, the technology was second only to spatial jumps even in the Shining Era ⁵ her previous world that had a sci-fi theme . To say that a mere Fifth Rank spell in this other world could alter the curvature of spacetime was too unbelievable. After all, that was a massive fissure over a hundred meters long.

It was better to understand it as an unknown, mysterious power. After all, this was a world of magic that was unfamiliar to her. If it was magic, anything was possible.

Magic, oh, magic.

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Comforting herself thus, Fia began to call upon the power of [Hyper-computation].

Compared to previous times using [Hyper-computation], Fia spent more time on analysis this time. About five seconds passed before Fia roughly understood the limits of this space magic.

If she sacrificed width, the fissure could extend up to five kilometers. If cast normally, it would create two overlapping, cross-shaped fissures, each two kilometers long and over a hundred meters wide.

Fia decided to name it [Spatial Rift].

Might as well give it a try.

To avoid being sucked into her own magic, Fia ascended to a height of one thousand meters in one go. Then, she turned her body and targeted the yellow sand below.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Fia felt that the sand dunes below were bulging upwards, as if a giant turtle was rising from beneath.

How could there be such a big turtle?

Thinking such thoughts, Fia gathered her mana. She raised her right hand high as if grasping the entire sky, and then, her right hand swung down violently.

[Spatial Rift]

In an instant, two black fissures that seemed to tear the sky apart plummeted into the earth like meteorites. A deafening roar, accompanied by a wail so short it was imperceptible, echoed throughout the world.

When the raging winds subsided, the terrain that was once a desert had been transformed into a brown surface of exposed rock. And upon the earth were carved two bottomless, cross-shaped canyons. Anyone who came here would not be able to help but imagine that the canyons were created by someone who had brutally cleaved the earth apart with brute force.

Fia nodded lightly.

The power is not bad.

Although a length of two kilometers was very long, compared to orbital bombardment, [Spatial Rift] could be classified as being within the acceptable range of use.

As for the sand and dust on the surface, it was probably sucked into the fissures as they descended.

Where did all that sand end up?

Placing her index finger on her chin, Fia tilted her head cutely.

The easiest way, of course, was to dive into the fissure and see for herself, but that would be too reckless. It would be safer to put a marked object into the fissure and then travel around the world to find it.

…Just thinking about it felt very troublesome.

I should head back to Anastasia’s side first.

With a joyful heart, Fia slowly flew back to where Anastasia and Liti were.