Release that Witch

It seems like their description of Eleanor as being “amiable and approachable” is true…

Comparing her to Alice, Roland found it difficult to imagine that a Transcendent that emitted a cold and imposing aura would ever say such words.

“No… I believe you.” He waved his hand immediately. The current North Slope Mountain was connected to a huge industry district, so any sudden flight would be a recipe for disaster.

“You should really believe me only after I’ve activated the core instruments,”Eleanor replied somewhat regretfully. From her tone of speech, it sounded as though she was extremely regretful to be unable to reveal her abilities right away.

Roland gained some understanding with regards to her personality.

Her self-acknowledgment of not being a qualified leader did not mean she was ordinary. She had aspects that she prided herself with. Anyone that became a Transcendent was a lofty existence without exception.

“Right… when did you wake up?”

“About a quarter of an hour ago.”

So you’ve been eavesdropping from the beginning! Roland cursed inwardly. “Then why didn’t you tell us?”

“Nobody made it a rule that it’s compulsory to announce to the world that they have woken up, right?,” Eleanor replied matter-of-factly.

“Then why did you speak up in the end?”

“What other reason can there be? Do you really want me to see my junior embarrass herself?” The two rows of eyes at the top of her head rolled upwards in unison. The rolling of eyes at such a large scale was quite a magnificent sight.

It’s because of your sudden ‘awakening’ that makes it even more embarrassing!

Seeing Roland speechless, Eleanor casually changed the topic. “In all honesty, I am rather satisfied with you at the present.”

“Why is that?” He realized that he could hardly follow her train of thought.

“Because there aren’t any traces of exploitations here,” Eleanor replied. “Ever since my connection with this region, I can feel that the foundation of this God’s Stone pillar is fully preserved—proof that you don’t have ideas over it.”

She means that I didn’t exploit this mine, which indicates that I’ve never had the intent to control the witches? Roland realized the meaning behind her words. “Celine should have told you about the Witch Union; could it be that you didn’t believe her?’

‘Of course not. It is just that people get deceived easily by facades, especially from words by an omnipotent King. It would not be difficult for you to fake everything,” Eleanor stated bluntly. “Even if you adhere to such a position for now, it doesn’t mean that you will be the same in the future. Planning ahead is a matter that every leader has to consider. If you harbored any wariness, it would be impossible for you not be tempted by this God’s Stone mine. Secretly arranging to mine, storing, and taking precautions against the witches’ power that would become too potent for you to control, while maintaining a kind and friendly front. Isn’t that what usually happens?”

Roland sighed. “That is because too many people treat witches as a different species, but in my eyes, they are just humans with slightly advantaged.”

“You’re fine even if the witches occupy all the important positions in the kingdom?”

“What you’re asking, should be Alice’s assertions, right?” Roland replied bluntly. “As long as humanity continues to exist, witches will definitely return to the peak.”

“They actually told you that as well?” It was the first time Roland heard Eleanor exclaim in surprise.

“No, but that was what I saw in the Sigil of Recording,” Roland admitted. “In fact, Alice has been mistaken as well. As long as the word ‘witch’ is switched to ‘human’, wouldn’t this sentence be normal and expected? If outstanding individuals are prevented from leading the civilization, the civilization is doomed to have no future. At the same time, if the leader at the peak no longer strives for the benefit of the people, the civilization will not last as well.”

In some sense, random awakenings, the inability to have children, and magic power could be considered a special ability, and should have never been a rift between the talented and the ordinary. The most dangerous aspect was artificial selection and designated inheritance, which prevented the misgivings between witches and ordinary people to cease.

“You…” Eleanor looked at him in a bid to figure out his true thoughts. But after a moment, she gave up. “I shall wait and see. What are your plans, going forward?”

“We will be executing a large scale remodeling of North Slope Mountain to be a suitable flying stronghold.” This was another reason Roland did not allow Eleanor to lift the floating island right away. Regardless of attacking the new Deity of Gods or moving to the Bottomless Land, they had to amass a substantial amount of supplies. Upon leaving Neverwinter, it would be difficult to have resupplies. “Can you estimate the volume of the floating island?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem.” Eleanor blinked her eyes and nodded. “Aside from the remaining vein, the Red Mist tower also takes into account the range and augment accordingly, so it is impossible if you want it to be as big as the Deity of Gods.”

“How do the Red Mist Towers grow?”

“I was equally curious as you on this, so I spent a bit more time investigating this body. I discovered that it can assimilate the God stone pillar into the body. Simply put, while the God’s Stone doesn’t reveal any signs of life in an ordinary circumstances, it will start to self-duplicate upon its binding to a Mother of Soul. The process depends on the quality of the God Stone; using it too much will put an end to the magic power within.”

“Then…” Roland hesitated for a moment. “Are you able to create Red Mist?”

This question caused Eleanor to sigh. “Yes, in fact, not only do I have control over the various unique abilities of the Mother of Soul, I even have a deeper understanding of their intricacies. For example, the Red Mist lake can be considered a type of demon as well, as they are all produced in the same manner.”

“You mean to say—” Roland was surprised.

“That’s right, be it Mad Demon, Fearsome Demons or Lords of Hells, they are produced that way… I found information within the Mother of Soul related to them. But to incubate the demons, there are a few crucial factors lacking—and the one to supply the crucial factors to the Mother of Soul is considered King.”

Roland was dumbstruck. Although he knew that the demons did not need to mate, he never thought that they would reproduce in such a manner.

‘In other words, It is possible for me to become the King of Demons as well—Isn’t it ironic, one of the Three Chiefs will be a demon producer one day.’ Eleanor then glared at him. ‘You have to remember everything you said, don’t make me stay here for too long.’

This will depend on our advancement in magic power and not me, Roland thought to himself helplessly. But what was on his mind went deeper—through the shift of consciousness, Eleanor had practically obtained all the information stored within the Mother of Soul, and just like learning, she could, in a sense, obtain the legacies. It was inevitable that the different legacies from the different races would end up mixed and evolved was inevitable. But why would God be superfluous and use the Battle of Divine Will and legacy shards, for the races to kill each other to push for it to happen?

Secondly, what mattered was consciousness itself.

It was a clear cut distinction in the world where technology was still primitive. Access and a shift of consciousness was simple, as though there was no technique or skill involved. If God were the only one that had the ability to do so, Roland would had let it slide. But why were the underground civilization, demons, and humans capable of it as well?

In his previous world, simulating perception remained a concept and only existed in television shows.

He had a vague feeling that the two might be related.