Chapter 157 - 157 City of Witches (1)

Words : 1041 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

157: City of Witches (1) 157: City of Witches (1) “―Enki, I got it!” Announcing that, she hopped back onto her stool and presented a white scroll. Contract Details [Black Magic] Paper Book Publication Protagonist: Aella | Beloved Tags: #Fantasy #Drama #Philosophical #FemaleProtagonist #NonhumanProtagonist #ChildProtagonist #Witches #Magic #Alchemy Difficulty: ★★★☆☆ Scanning through the Contract Details, the very first thing to steal my attention was that the name of the Illusory World felt somehow familiar, as if I’d heard it somewhere before. ‘No idea...’ Not able to think of anything even after a minute of trying to recall, I continued through the rest, primarily struck with a sense of unease at the ‘Beloved’ typing. ‘Hm... Actually, it might not be that bad. There’s no #Romance Tag, so maybe there’s nothing to worry about.’ I was also glad to see no #Action Tag. Although I thought I’d be able to handle fighting without too much trouble with the new Draconic Shadow armour set, the sheer agony from last time was enough to make me want to avoid direct confrontation as much as possible. The main concerns this time seemed to be regarding #Magic. I wasn’t sure how prominent #Alchemy would be, nor what it exactly indicated, but at least I should be fine thanks to the Draconic Shadow’s property of Superior Magic Resistance. Other than that... #NonhumanProtagonist was undoubtedly concerning. However, #ChildProtagonist being right after that pretty much made up for it. ‘It shouldn’t be too bad... I mean, regardless of what it is, it shouldn’t take nearly as long as Drakon-Rasa purely because of how I’ve grown since then.’ Of course, I knew well that even Contracts existing within the same Difficulty rating could vary in terms of how much practical trouble it’ll give me, but no matter what, it’s undeniable that I’m in a far better position than I was at that time. ‘I should be good to go then. Just one thing...’ Recalling something from a long while ago, I opened the Skills section of the Store and scrolled down. “Here it is. Librarian, what do you think?” Skill – [Lockpicking] (Level 1) (Active) A basic skill for any half-proficient rogue, thief, ranger, or other professional handyman. By magic or by might, anyone can open a lock or two. However, it just isn’t a skill anybody can master, isn’t that so? Those wise, those fearsome, those young and those old, and even someone like you. Doors remain closed to some, but does it have to be that way? When a person is unrestrained by such limitations, they would find themselves truly free. (Locks can be opened) Level 1 – Basic physical locks can be opened. Price : 1,000 U Reading the skill description over again, I nodded to myself. This was a Skill I had kept an eye on from a while ago since it seemed to have high potential for its relatively cheap price, and although it would consume mana to use, it wasn’t a Skill I would need to use often in the first place. Since there wasn’t much else I felt I needed to use the World Stability on, and because I was already going to earn more than enough to purchase Mana Corruption from the 3-star Contract, there was no need to save up for it. The only other thing I would consider using it on right now is to level up Sneak, but judging by the Tags, it didn’t feel very necessary for this one. Showing the description to the Librarian, I watched and waited for her opinion. “Hmm...! I think it’s a good investment, certainly! If the Protagonist ever has a secret safe, you can go looting!” “Right?” Thus, with her approval, I went right ahead. Skill Purchased [Lockpicking] (Active) added to Status And just like that, I was left with a meagre 90 World Stability Units to my name. ‘Well, I think that’s about all the preparations there are to make. Should I just start quickly?’ “Librarian, let’s go.” “Certainly, yessir!” Not wasting any time, I called her, and as she jumped up with an endearing salute, the space around me soon began to distort, and I instinctively closed my eyes. [Transporting to the Illusory World of ‘Black Magic’!] A few moments later, when everything settled down and I felt my position stabilise, I opened them. Before me, a dark corridor stretched forth, only faintly illuminated by soft, blue glows. “...” Turning my head briefly to scan the surroundings, I only found more of the same, and upon closer inspection, whatever was glowing was certainly not something that existed on Earth, floating by the sides of the corridor like little wisps. ‘...I think I should’ve bought Night Vision instead. I was getting fucked by the darkness in the last Contract, too...’ At least it was illuminated enough to barely see the surroundings, but I still would’ve preferred a bit more than this... “There definitely was no #Horror Tag, right...?” I knew it was true, but nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end feeling the cold breeze brush me by. Even though the Blessing that lay within me was incomparably colder, more merciless, something about the atmosphere was just... as if I was being watched. “...Nah, fuck this. Librarian, hurry up with the rest of it.” [C-certainly! My apologies... Ahem! The target is ‘Aella, the Beloved’!] Nodding my head, I looked down at myself, finding the Draconic Shadow armour set replaced with another Gothic age sort of suit, similar to the disguise I was assigned for the Decalogue Trial, albeit subtly different in its core design. For instance, there appeared to be a differently-coloured armband around one of the sleeves, perhaps for identification purposes. [Your identity is of a personal tutor brought in by the White Witch Queen from outside the City of Witches!] “Personal tutor...?” Muttering that, puzzled, my gaze absentmindedly wandered around the place while I pondered. ‘I have to teach someone...? Me...?’ Before I knew it, my hope for clearing this Contract in a respectable amount of time was already dwindling.

Chapter 157 - 157 City of Witches (1)

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