Lan Qingyou frowned.
Whether it was evolution or devolution was unknown?
That sounded a bit strange, didn't it?
“Actually, it's in the report, but toward the end. I'll just give you the spoilers now.”
“For people like us, evolving into a witch or a Man-Demon is a sublimation performed while maintaining integrity, which is why it's called evolution. But that's because we used ancient blood to create the items.”
Diana glanced at the confused Lan Qingyou and explained further.
“However, those people who used witch blood failed to maintain their overall integrity during the evolution process.”
“As a result, many Transmigrators who used those evolution items ended up turning into short, lust-driven goblins, or emotionless lizardmen covered in scales, or even hairy beastmen with very little intelligence.”
“We now generally refer to this category of people as 【Degenerates】.”
“And this phenomenon has been dubbed 【The Witch's Curse】 by those with ulterior motives.”
“Even though those people used the blood of other evolved races besides ours, they pushed all the blame onto us witches. Just thinking about it makes me angry.”
As she spoke, Diana angrily shook her fist at the vine branches above her head.
Though her fist didn't actually strike the vines, they snapped under the pressure of the wind from her punch. The small leaves growing on them broke free and drifted slowly through the air.
Having a strength stat in the hundreds meant such a small movement was nothing at all.
Meanwhile, Lan Qingyou began to calculate in her mind after hearing Diana's introduction.
Overall integrity.
Although it was the first time she had heard the term, Lan Qingyou understood that it essentially referred to everything a complete human being should possess.
The combination of body, soul, cognition, memory, emotions, and so on.
And there were many ways to fail to maintain that integrity.
In a sense, a person lacking intelligence could be considered a form of degeneration.
It just wasn't as thorough as the degeneration into the races Diana mentioned.
They had degenerated into entirely different races.
“Ah... come to think of it, my Origin Witch title mentions something about the witch's curse.”
As soon as she thought of the Degenerates and the curse, Lan Qingyou recalled seeing similar wording before.
However, she had seen it in her personal profile.
Without even waiting to read the investigation report, Lan Qingyou opened her personal profile to check.
Sure enough, she found the term right there on her title.
“Wait! There really is a witch's curse!?”
Diana, who had been angry about the term just moments ago, now looked at Lan Qingyou with her mouth slightly agape, wearing a ‘you've got to be kidding me’ expression.
“If we were still on Blue Star, what would you think of first when the word ‘witch’ is mentioned?”
Lan Qingyou asked a question in response instead of answering.
“It would have to be the wizard robes, the witch's pointed hat, and a flying magic broom with a lantern hanging from it—just like the set we're wearing now.”
Despite being questioned, Diana wasn't angry; instead, she gave Lan Qingyou's question serious thought.
“True, in terms of appearance, we are already very close to the traditional image of a witch on Blue Star, but that's not enough.”
“Then what do you think is missing?”
“Is that even a question? Curses, of course! A wrinkled old witch standing by a crucible, stirring a potion while chanting incantations under her breath—that should be the truly complete image of a witch.”
Lan Qingyou spoke the words without a second thought.
She could no longer trace where this image had originated, but the picture remained clearly etched in her mind.
It could be said that the moment she became a witch, this was the image that came to mind.
Before, she only needed to focus on her appearance.
But now it seemed that appearance alone wasn't enough; she needed sufficient deterrence as well.
This curse happened to be something that struck fear into people's hearts.
In some parts of Blue Star, things that go bang are indeed less intimidating than mysticism; it was the same logic.
“What about those invaders? Have people been sent to hunt them down?”
“Yes, they are currently hunting the groups.”
“That's good.”
Seeing that Diana had already made the necessary arrangements, Lan Qingyou didn't interject.
After all, if she interfered, it would only make it harder for Diana, the Governor, to carry out her work.
“If there's nothing else, go ahead and handle your own business. I don't need anyone staying here. I'm going to take a bath and get some sleep first.”
After several days of continuous fighting and then receiving so much new information upon her return, her head felt a bit heavy.
“Alright. Here is an introduction and user guide for the new magic everyone has researched recently. Take a look if you're interested.”
Diana didn't linger. She could see Lan Qingyou's exhaustion, so she silently left the first-floor hall.
As for what Lan Qingyou meant by the curse, she had no intention of asking.
After all, it was the Clan Leader's magic; if she wanted to teach it, she would have done so long ago.
The next day.
A refreshed Lan Qingyou woke up in her bed.
After washing up, she left the shelter.
Looking at the Perching Giant Tree across from her shelter, she noticed something seemed to be missing. She then learned that some people had actually made a fortune by selling parts of the Perching Giant Trees.
The treant she had struggled to defeat before had died because she hadn't managed to finish it off in time, which directly led to the death of all the War Treants in the south.
Forget it, there was no point dwelling on those things. Typhon City was still being rebuilt, so the sounds of hammering and construction drifted over from a distance from time to time, which Lan Qingyou found quite pleasant.
But now was not the time for leisure.
After clarifying the situation yesterday, Lan Qingyou had a plan she wanted to set in motion.
Didn't they say that witches were currently just all style and no substance?
A witch without a ‘curse’ as her soul really didn't count for much.
In that case, wouldn't it be fine to just research that aspect directly?
As for how to conduct the research, Lan Qingyou had already thought it through before falling asleep last night.
Flying to the teleportation circle, Lan Qingyou directly entered an address and then disappeared from the tree hollow's teleportation circle.
Two seconds later, Lan Qingyou arrived inside a building.
The scorching sun was overhead, but Lan Qingyou paid it no mind.
Instead, she looked calmly at the two identical twins bowing to her from the left and right.
“Hello, esteemed guest. May I ask what business brings you to Alisa's Alchemy Workshop?”
It was just like yesterday.
Lan Qingyou was welcomed the moment she landed.
Only this time, the welcome felt a tiny bit colder than yesterday's.
Suddenly, alarms blared throughout the building, startling Lan Qingyou, the one who had triggered them.
“I was wondering who would dare to barge into my workshop without me saying hello. So it's you.”
Rate on N.U.
