Chapter 700: The First Senior Witch
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
It would be meaningless to fret over the matter now as she had to follow those four even if that would catch attention from others; this would be the best opportunity to observe the city and the Witch Union closely. If she waited until the witches entered the Castle District, it would be much harder to keep in contact with them.
With that thought, No.76 showed Wendy a somewhat timid smile. "I'm sorry to have caused to so much trouble."
"See, I told you that Miss Wendy wouldn't mind," Amy said with a grin.
Instead, it was Annie who sensed something strange. She looked at the two people and did not say a word.
"Let's go." After Hero became a bit familiar with using the wheelchair, Wendy clapped her hands and smiled. "Our first stop for today is the central area of Neverwinter, North Slope Mine!"
"Mine?" All five of them were dumbfounded for a moment.
"What's the point of visiting a mine?" That was the first thought came to No. 76's mind. She could bet that the rest of the group were having similar thoughts. In both Taquila and the Kingdom of Dawn, labors such as mining were all distributed to slaves or prisoners. The working environment in the mine was extremely hazardous. It was common to have deaths and injuries for heavy labors like mining and transporting. Only the valueless ones would be left in the mines to perish.
"Perhaps Wendy's purpose is to exhort newcomers like us to behave ourselves by showing us the consequences of disobedience?" No. 76 guessed.
However, there were no hints of threat in Wendy's tone. "Instead of a mine, it's more like the source of power to Neverwinter. The more steel that one could produce, the more qualified the one would become to represent justice. This is a sentence that His Majesty always says to us. It's a mouthful, right?" There was a lingering smile in her eyes when she talked about the king. "Anyways, you guys will know when you guys see it."
"Represent... justice?"
No. 76 pondered this phrase several times in her mind and still failed to figure out the relation between steel and justice.
When they walked out of the Foreign Affairs Building, the snow on the street had been cleaned. They did not know what kind of magical method that the locals used, there was now only a puddle of water at where the heavy snow had previously piled up. New snow was flowing from the sky, but much less compared to that a few days ago. Hectic freemen were everywhere on the street, seeming to have endless work, they walked hurriedly through the streets and allies in the snow. It was the serene time of severe winter and the Months of Demons, but the whole city was filled with liveliness.
The Five-Colored Stone heated up again, she looked around and soon found her target. There were two people above her head... no, it was a human and a bird, presumably coming to keep an eye on them.
The Witch Union had impressed No. 76 furthermore this time. Such means and conscientiousness were comparable to the small city-state during the Taquila age. It did not seem like a wild witch organization after the decline of the Union.
Besides, she also confirmed that her judgment was accurate, with the clairvoyant power of the green-haired witch, plus the tracking of the flying witch, it would be impossible for her to escape from this place after having exposed her identity.
"Since we've got some time on the way to the mine, let me simply introduce the identity of the witch along with some knowledge regarding witches' power." The red-haired witch led the group to the north and said, "Since the awakening stage, witches are facing the trouble of the magic power bites. The church used to call it the Demonic Torture. However, it's actually a natural reaction due to the continual growth of magic power. You guys must have already known this point by now."
Annie calmly nodded and said, "Yes, otherwise it would be difficult to survive through adulthood."
Amy raised her hand and added, "I heard about it from Broken Sword."
Broken Sword said with a little embarrassment, "I used my powers quite frequently at the time when I wandered in the wilderness. I was just randomly guessing though."
Wendy exclaimed with a sigh. "The Witch Cooperation Association said the same words too. It's a blessing that we all made it through. Once we've stepped into adulthood, the original power of the witch will be solidified and a witch might even develop a derivative skill. The specific symptom is that the magic swirl in her body will expand and becomes distinct."
"What's that?" Amy asked in curiosity.
"Something that every witch has, it's like an air current that never ceases to stop swirling." Wendy patted the young girl's head lovingly. "Only a few witches are able to observe them. It's the exact form of the magic power, the specifics of its form determine the type of magic power."
"Is, Is that so?" Amy asked in astonishment.
Wendy smiled and said, "Wait until the day to test your magic power. These are all the items that need to be recorded. By that time, you'll know the look of the magic swirl inside your body."
No. 76 could not help but frown, thinking, "Has this kind of knowledge about the survival of witches become a secret? What did Starfall City do? The more witches survive, the more ingredients they'll have to establish the God's Punishment Army. Why did they block information like this?"
"Or perhaps, in these 400 years, the witches of Starfall City deviated from the will of Lady Alice?"
Wendy continued to explain, "However, the day of adulthood isn't the end of a witch's magical power. Besides the consolidation of power, there's even the evolution of power. There are no limits on the number of times a power can evolve. It'll not be confined to the original power either. As long as a witch continues to strengthen her understanding of herself and magic power, her ability will continue to evolve."
"Really?" Amy exclaimed in excitement. "Someone like me could evolve too?"
"Of course. As long as you study hard." With these words, Wendy took out a thin silver plate with a red crystal embedded in it and said, "Come to me, I want to introduce a new sister to you all."
No. 76 could not believe what she saw. "That's... The Sigil of Listening?"
Her pupils contracted all the sudden. "How can a wild witch organization own the heritage of the Holy City of Taquila ?"
"No... they would have such a chance. They might find a couple of remaining Sigils of Listening from the scattered ruins of the kingdom. This equipment was usually distributed to Blessed Warriors. I remember... the Quest Society never made such crude Sigils of Listening."
"Yes, it looks like an incomplete sigil. Like a temporary test target made by some unknown witch."
As soon as the red-haired witch finished her sentence, the silhouette in the sky rushed down and perched on her head.
It turned out to be a lovely blonde girl and a fat white pigeon which No.76 thought must be the girl's pet.
The group still stood agape as they were shocked by the speaking crystal.
"Hello, everyone." The young girl showed a bright smile. "My name is Lightning, the greatest adventurer of Neverwinter!"
"I'm Maggie! Coo-Coo!" Pigeon said and spread its wings.
"Gosh, the bird is talking!" Amy widened her eyes.
"They're witches," Annie said calmly, "The power is most likely related to changing the body shape."
"You guessed right." Wendy stretched her arm to allow the Pigeon to rest on it. "She's a sister of ours that went through the evolution of power."
"So it's not a pet..." No. 76 blanked out for a moment. "Wait, what did she say? That pigeon called Maggie is a Senior Witch?"
She stared at the pigeon. It rubbed Wendy's cheek amiably and spread its wings and lifted its head up when being introduced to the group. It seemed to be presenting its strength by doing so. She could not help but wonder, "Is, is it really a Senior Witch?"
"Back in Taquila , she would be able to join the upper class of the Union and become one of the rulers of the Holy City!"
"I should show respect to every Senior Witch. It's an unbreakable rule of the Union, but..."
No. 76 felt something cracked in her heart.