Chapter 529: Sounds Simple

Chapter 529: Sounds Simple

Oro returned to his room to contact the Church. Before leaving, he specifically told Zheng Yichen not to get his hopes up too high. After all, his primary quest was merely to investigate, not to delve into a thorough and exhaustive examination of this Derivative Witch.

His main task was solely to investigate the recent movements and reasons behind the Cursed Witch’s actions. Her dangerously power ful ability had been repeatedly used several times, and not understanding why was deeply unsettling. Now, after her attacks and Zheng Yichen’s two encounters, the reason was basically confirmed.

A Witch dealing with a Derivative Witch… Well, pondering it felt rather strange. He couldn’t fathom why the Cursed Witch would attack Derivatives having nothing to do with her, especially with such lethal intent. Without overthinking, from the signs at the scene, those targeted Derivatives were basically dead.

The Curse of Destruction was a power that, once a Witch was contaminated by it and did nothing, ensured certain death—let alone these Derivatives born from the remnants of the Undying Witch. If a Derivative had escaped, the Curse on her would surely have spread. But other than the desert, no traces of the Curse of Destruction had appeared anywhere.

The Fate Witch’s scheme? Sitting in his room, Oro tapped his fingers lightly on the desk as he pondered, casually contacting the Church to ask for money… Ah no, to request the necessary funds for gathering intelligence. The Church had sent him here for this quest without a word and just assigned him a few strong, burly bodyguards? That was it?

Even without the Zheng Yichen affair, Oro would have demanded funds from the Church afterward. For such mentally taxing and risky work, demanding more expenses wasn’t excessive at all, right? Nobody should underestimate Derivatives as mere pseudo-Witches; they were genuinely dangerous too.

Using his exceptional eloquence and persuasion skills, he successfully left the Church agent he contacted speechless. The agent switched Oro straight to a different contact—someone higher up, essentially a leader.

Dealing directly with the authority figure, Oro truly unleashed his rhetorical skills, leaving the leader on the other end stunned. It was as if not allocating these “unnecessary” funds to him was a monstrous crime!!

“Hold on,” the leader said, “Since you’ve already gathered sufficient information, can’t you just return? Why keep tangling with that Dragon?”

“True enough,” Oro replied. “However, a minor complication has arisen here. Something that could easily become a troublesome difficulty if not handled cautiously.”

“…You consider this a minor complication?!”

“Handled promptly, it remains minor. But it requires money—valuable things, or items of significance. Only that Dragon can help resolve this.”

“Fine. Here’s the list. Pick yourself. Just don’t exceed my allocation cap.”

Oro clapped shut his Magic Weapon Summoning Book (MWTB) and returned to Zheng Yichen. “Alright, make your selections yourself.”

Zheng Yichen examined the MWTB Oro handed over. It displayed two pages listing resources. Ordinary types he skipped entirely. He cut straight to the point, picking certain rare materials…

“You certainly aren’t holding back,” Oro commented, seeing Zheng Yichen pick nearly all the listed, valuable high-end materials. The allocation was based on the convenience Oro could arrange. If Zheng Yichen took everything, it meant the quantities had to be reduced. So this Dragon was shrewd—some of these materials clearly included things Zheng Yichen needed right now, things not easily obtainable through normal channels.

Choosing individually would indeed yield more. But Zheng Yichen had abandoned that approach, opting for the most conservative, safest method possible. Well, no new useful intelligence could be gleaned from this. Oro wasn’t disappointed; this was just peripheral.

Once Zheng Yichen had the goods in hand, he promptly got down to business, answering Oro’s questions.

“The Witch hidden in this town possesses the ability of Soul Synchronization,” Zheng Yichen said. “Not synchronizing others to her—but synchronizing herself to others.”

“I see… well, that’s troublesome,” Oro frowned slightly. Soul Synchronization. Against a powerful being, this ability would likely allow only one-way synchronization. But how many beings were powerful enough to resist a Witch? Even a Derivative Witch couldn’t be resisted by ordinary humans.

In Oro’s brief investigation, apart from himself and his bodyguard, none among the other Church members felt anything strange about the extra ‘presence,’ even when the one person became two. Analyzing the Soul Perception Derivative Witch, Oro’s conclusion was that these Derivatives possessed low intelligence.

Though capable of logic and thought, they exhibited a distinctive stiffness. This stiffness hampered even their speech. Yet, there was a catch: they learned. Though derived from the Undying Witch’s remnants, possessing wisdom was undeniable. With intelligence, even starting incredibly stiff, they would grow smarter over time simply by surviving and experiencing life!

But that particular Soul Perception Derivative had been intensely suppressed by the Church’s Saintess. She’d had little opportunity to interact with humans extensively or learn through other experiences. Yet, under that pressure, her increasing difficulty to handle proved that survival forced rapid improvement!

Oro even worried: if Derivatives were left unchecked, might they grow into genuine Witches… or Psuedo-Witches?

The Witch in this town right now was even more problematic. Through Soul Synchronization, she could easily bypass the slow learning process of time. By constantly synchronizing, she could learn rapidly. The problem of losing oneself through excessive synchronization? Well, think logically. Even as a Derivative, possessing even a fraction of the Undying Witch’s abilities, once formed into an independent entity, she was complete.

How could a complete being potentially lose her original self merely through synchronization?

Oro had no certainty. How many Church members had this Witch synchronized with so far? How much information had she gained this way? And even worse… were they themselves replaced? In Oro’s observations, the doubled Church member exhibited absolutely flawless behavior. Or rather, until the Derivative Witch revealed herself, both versions were himself.

“Is there a way to resolve this?”

Oro asked. Given the severity, even if Zheng Yichen demanded more compensation, as long as he provided a workable solution (especially with the Church lacking one), Zheng Yichen could likely get whatever he wanted. Enlisting one Witch to deal with another… Hm, Oro actually had advocated for that approach once.

But he’d torn up the proposal. If he could think of it, how could others not? Besides, it was such an obvious move. Having the idea wasn’t the issue; the problem lay with the person proposing it. Against ordinary foes, Oro brimmed with confidence to scheme and maneuver freely. But against Witches… even an old schemer like him could capsize.

Once a Witch truly decided to act, reason went out the window. Simple ploys couldn’t stand against a power that rendered most preparations futile—unless the Church committed to protecting him wholeheartedly… But was that possible?

Well… maybe. If he was willing to sacrifice himself to set a trap, this person before him was an excellent lure. But Oro didn’t want to risk it—not for his own sake, but because of the Witches. A Witch who lost a significant person might go mad, but could also become an extreme outlier like the Undying Witch.

In the end, she’d grown mad enough to target the Containment Barrier! She never considered: even if she succeeded, causing an issue with the barrier and restarting the Abyssal Calamity, could she ever get the peaceful life she desired?

The Abyssal Creatures, sealed once, wouldn’t stumble into the same pitfall again. So Oro didn’t want to set such a trap. What if… the Cursed Witch also went mad? Imagine a global outbreak of the Curse of Destruction! The Church would be forced to exhaust its deepest reserves then.

Ultimately, each Witch was comparable to a being holding a nuclear bomb launch button. Therefore, dealing with them should strictly follow normal procedures. Conservatism assured stabler outcomes… especially since these Witches, suffering a crisis of trust among themselves, couldn’t possibly reunite.

“Nope,” Zheng Yichen shrugged.

“Rewards aplenty!” Oro showed Zheng Yichen what he’d scribbled: “The Church won’t be stingy on this front!”

It was precisely because this Derivative Witch’s ability posed such a hassle that he felt entitled to guarantee it. Left unchecked, she would likely soon become an Undying Witch Version 2.0. While lacking the Undying Witch’s comprehensive capabilities, an intensely focused Soul Synchronization ability was still immensely troublesome. Conceptually, it could be likened to the Veteran Evil God that once emerged from the Abyss Entrance.

That Evil God had strengthened its camouflage ability to its absolute peak. Its disguises could effortlessly pose even as a purely benevolent Saint! If not encountered its natural nemesis, Dan Marina, who knows how long that Evil God might have operated unchecked.

Therefore, while this Derivative Witch’s specialized power made her prone to specific counters (unlike the comprehensively powerful Undying Witch, who required elaborate schemes and sheer force to confront), the problem remained: no readily apparent hard counter existed for such an intensely focused Soul Synchronization… unless… an ability like Soul Splitting?

Ahem. What Witch could possess that? Realistically, her natural counters would be the Undying Witch herself, or other Derivatives with opposing powers. Yet, the likelihood of such enemy Derivatives emerging seemed slim, didn’t it?

Oro persisted in questioning Zheng Yichen for precisely this reason: Zheng Yichen had connections, potentially even backing from Witches. The Cursed Witch was targeting these Derivatives. Zheng Yichen also seemed tangled in some unclear relationship with the Fate Witch. All this gave Oro a sliver of hope.

He was only an investigator! Since there was a potential for easier solutions, he’d prefer to ponder less initially, hear out Zheng Yichen’s thoughts first, then proceed with planning solutions. Sacrificing some personnel certainly wouldn’t solve the problem. Eliminating both doubled individuals wouldn’t mean eliminating the Derivative Witch herself.

Oro remained unclear about this Derivative Witch’s very form of existence. Soul Synchronization was her power—but what about her body? How did the physical change occur? Shaping her body based on the synchronized target?

“The issue is, for now, there really isn’t one,” Zheng Yichen shrugged. “This isn’t something money can fix. To be honest, I seriously want to resolve the Derivative Witch problem too.” He did. If a good solution existed, why wouldn’t he leverage the Church’s strength?

The problem was all these Witches held that obsession toward him!

“Fine. A pity then,” Oro yielded. “My offer stands. Should you discover an effective solution, Kind Sir, please don’t hold back too much. After all, this benefits us both.” Oro emphasized the word “benefits” with heavier strokes. Zheng Yichen gave a sidelong mouth twist. Clever people were truly troublesome indeed.

This guy surely suspected something.

That night, Oro’s bodyguard scanned a report Oro had written, his brow rising slightly. Despite his rough exterior, strength implied capability. He skimmed the densely written page rapidly.

The report was an analysis of Zheng Yichen and his connection to the Undying Witch incident at the Border Great Wall. It analyzed those who targeted the Undying Witch… including the surprisingly crucial role Zheng Yichen played, a major factor influencing her defeat/survival.

Resulting in these Derivatives holding a peculiar ‘singular fixation’ on Zheng Yichen. The analysis even touched upon the Soul Perception Witch—that Derivative who had antagonized Zheng Yichen right after appearing likely had a necessary motive… definitely not concerning mere Dragon ambassadors like Augusta and his kin, who represented the Dragon Clan’s presence on the Continent and generally avoided trouble.

Zheng Yichen was the sole exception.

Woosh— The report in Oro’s hands burst into flames, turning to ash. Watching this, the man’s mouth twitched as a headache bloomed. “Pal… you planned to use me as a scapegoat, didn’t you?”

“My~ How could you say such a thing?” Oro feigned innocence.

“Fine!” the man retorted, massaging his temples. “If you truly meant that ignorance, you wouldn’t have shown me this before burning it!” Seeing this detailed analysis only to witness its immediate destruction made the intent crystal clear! Being Church personnel himself, having seen it meant he couldn’t fully dismiss it later. Oro was different—constantly flitting around, always ready with convenient excuses.

The man glared. “That treacherous mind of yours!”

“You could always keep it,” Oro suggested smoothly, stretching leisurely. “After all, it’s merely an unfinished draft~ Or, treat it like nothing ever happened?”

“… Sounds simple!” The man felt his headache intensify.