It has been twenty-four hours since the successful awakening of Xavier in the facility hidden within the dark forest.
These moments became the most joyous for the witches. The smiles and happiness that had been absent for the past two hundred years returned!
The women stopped torturing the men and joined the other witches in the facility to celebrate. The air was filled with laughter and cheer, a stark contrast to the usual atmosphere of gloom and despair. Even the men were happy and hoped they might soon be free.
Inside one of the largest buildings in the facility, a small feast was taking place.
The large hall's walls were adorned with beautiful creeping flowers, and glowing crystals provided soft lighting. Numerous wooden chairs and tables were arranged neatly, creating a warm and inviting ambiance. The aroma of delicious food wafted through the air, mingling with the sounds of joyful chatter and music.
At the front of the hall, there was a special table with six chairs. Liana, Carla, Xavier, and three mysterious veiled women sat around the table, watching the celebration with calm smiles.
Xavier sat to the right of Liana with a composed expression. Although his status among the witches had risen, his chance of freedom had drastically decreased. At this point, his every moment was under the vigilant watch of Carla.
After he woke up, Carla escorted him even to the bathroom. When he was taken to his new room, she was there. The only time she took her eyes off him was when he changed clothes, but she remained in the room. She became a powerful monitoring spirit, stealing all his privacy and hope of escaping anytime soon.
Xavier let out a loud sigh. "Open character status," he whispered, barely audible.
[--CHARACTER STATUS--]
HOST: Xavier Ashcroft
RANK: Early Stage Apprentice
CLASS: Author
➔ SKILLS: Character hack (E) Character control (E) Reality change (FF)
SUB-CLASS: Warlock
➔ BLOODLINES: Nefarious Beast Lord (S)
--➔ SPECIAL SKILL: Nefarious Palace (Lv. 1)
ATTRIBUTES
➔ PHYSICAL STRENGTH: Level 1
➔ MENTAL STRENGTH: Level 1
➔ PHYSICAL DEFENSE: Level 1
➔ MENTAL DEFENSE: Level 1
[--CHARACTER STATUS--]
Xavier noticed many changes, bringing a smile to his face. 'My mana core has awakened. I can now increase my mental strength using the methods listed by the system,'
He glanced across the hall, his eyes falling on a witch drinking soup at a distant table. She was oblivious to his scrutiny, lost in the celebration. He activated Character Hack on her first, curiosity and caution intertwining.
[ Character hacked successfully ]
➔ View stats
➔ Activate character control
➔ Absorb mana strength (20%)
Much to his surprise, the Character Hack skill had undergone minor changes. The text had decreased, but the efficiency had increased drastically.
'I can't absorb mana strength now. I'm sure Liana would notice, leading to unnecessary confusion. I'll wait until they give me a technique to cultivate and then start absorbing mental strength from hackable characters,' Xavier decided and deactivated the control, returning his focus to his character status.
➔ SPECIAL SKILL: Nefarious Palace (Lv. 1)
'What is the use of this?' Xavier wondered. The special skill was related to his bloodline, but he knew nothing else about it and was curious.
'Nefarious Palace,' he whispered in his mind, activating the skill telepathically.
[ Do you want to access the nefarious palace now? ]
[ CAUTION: This skill will cause your body to fall into an unconscious state while your soul wanders into the nefarious palace ]
[ NOTE: This warning is one-time ]
Xavier frowned lightly. 'I won't be able to use this special skill now without drawing suspicion, but I don't have enough privacy to use it secretly later. I might as well use it now,' he reasoned.
Carla had been specially assigned to him, leaving him with no privacy to use such a noticeable skill. In other words, he wouldn't be able to use the Nefarious Palace in the presence of others.
Xavier's mind raced with countless thoughts on how to avoid suspicion while using the skill.
After much consideration, he reached a conclusion.
As a newly awakened individual with a powerful bloodline, side effects were to be expected. If he were to fall asleep now, the witches would likely attribute it to a side effect of his bloodline and probably lay him on a bed to rest properly.
"You are not eating," Liana said beside him in a sweet voice, looking at him with care in her eyes. However, it wasn't affectionate; it was more like someone admiring their property, and this bothered Xavier.
'This might be the right moment to activate it,'
Taking this opportunity, Xavier quickly activated the Nefarious Palace skill. In front of Liana's caring gaze, Xavier's body slumped off the chair to the ground. The hall fell silent for a moment as everyone turned to see what had happened.
At the same time, his soul appeared in a mysterious palace!