"..." Xi Mu watched Norma, who was squatting down skillfully cleaning up the bloodstains, and suddenly said a sentence, "By the way, we must keep today's incident strictly confidential."
As he said this, he pointed a finger towards Anastasia standing beside them.
"Otherwise, Miss Anastasia will accuse me and you of being the real murderers. Tell me... will people believe the harmless and gentle Miss Anastasia, or will they believe us two who have nothing?"
"Understood, I will definitely not leak it out," Norma nodded, keeping her head down as she dealt with the bloodstains. What she needed to consider now wasn't whether to reveal today's secret but how to survive.
Killing her, an insignificant character, to keep her quiet would hardly cause a stir including the duel arena, which wouldn't investigate but would replace her with a cheaper worker.
Xi Mu withdrew his gaze and spoke to the young noble lady... no, to the young master standing quietly beside him. "Before you finish dealing with your property and prepare to leave, Anastasia,"
"Remember to give this woman some money."
"...Ah... yes." Anastasia was slightly startled and then immediately complied. The other party's words were so natural and took control so effortlessly that she felt somewhat unable to refute.
Even though she had known this man for less than a day.
"You must get far away before the plague starts," Xi Mu added. In this game world, there was a setting that when the population reached a certain threshold, the goddess who controlled plagues would descend upon the mortal world to unleash a pandemic, conducting a great purge of the excessive population.
Of course, the plot would certainly be interesting with twists and turns. The descending God of Plague would be assassinated by a witch, and the goddess's resentment before her death would turn into a curse, causing all those with insufficient strength to die.
This was also why he wanted Anastasia to leave; otherwise, even if he helped Anastasia escape her stepfather's problem, she would still die in the ensuing curse.
"Yes." Anastasia nodded. She had intended to leave anyway. Her stepfather's death could not be hidden for long, and she needed to hurry to escape.
Luckily, her stepfather was a minor noble and quite unpleasant, resulting in no friends at all, making him an inconspicuous figure among the nobility.
This, in turn, gave her enough time to prepare and flee.
"Come with me to the warehouse," Xi Mu turned and walked towards the outside of the house, accompanied by Anastasia, searching for some necessary spoils of war in the warehouse.
For players who wanted to speed through the game, they had to use every possible means to increase their strength in the shortest time.
And magic potions, which temporarily boosted attributes, were among the most essential in this regard, as they affect one's ability to handle equipment and use mana-draining skills.
Take the heavy greatsword he was using as an example; without the strength boosted by magic potions, he simply couldn't swing it freely, and slow movements made it very easy for enemies to seize the opportunity to kill him with a single strike.
After using magic potions, he would be able to wield the heavy greatsword effortlessly, executing the techniques that befit it, thus completing challenges beyond his level.
Inside the warehouse.
"By the way, I'm going to challenge Greis tomorrow; you should bet as much money as possible on me winning, and then give me a share of the earnings afterward,"
Xi Mu, picking up a black box, began packing bottle after bottle of magic potion from the shelf, his movements fluid, while still finding time to reveal his plan to Anastasia beside him.
"Yes, I understand," Anastasia nodded gently. She no longer doubted Xi Mu's identity as an Astrologer.
Without needing her to lead the way, he directly entered the warehouse, effortlessly recited the spell to break the warehouse's seal, and chose various types of magic potions with clear organization.
If this was not due to prior knowledge, being well-informed, it was impossible to achieve this level.
However, she had some difficulty understanding why an Astrologer with such strength wanted to participate in a duel—what could that possibly mean for an Astrologer?
Money... No, for a powerful Astrologer, money held little attraction, and it was even less likely to be for fame.
After all, Astrologers already held a high status.
"Let's go, back to the study," Xi Mu closed the black box, picked a suitable box for holding a corpse from the shelf, and handed it to Anastasia standing beside him.
The two of them, one in front and one behind, carrying their respective boxes, returned to the study where Norma had nearly finished cleaning up the crime scene, evidently very skilled in her work.
Norma retracted the cloth that was wiping the desk corner, and seeing the two returning with their boxes, she had the illusion that she had become an assassin.
"Well done; it seems we still have room for cooperation." Pleased, Xi Mu surveyed the crime scene and pointed at the box Anastasia held, "Pack the corpse; we should leave."
Norma: "..."
How did it come to this? She did indeed wish to engage in physical trade, but not this kind of body trade.
She couldn't shake off the illusion of a point of no return.
Willing or not, she still dragged the corpulent noble's body, adroitly cramming it into the box with practiced motions.
"Too fat, he won't fit," Norma tried pressing down on the box, but it just wouldn't close—the killed noble's body was too fat, and despite the box's considerable size, it just wouldn't fit inside.
"No, he can fit," Xi Mu came over, stepped down forcefully, and closed the box, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking from inside.
"Let's go, it's time to deal with the body." He handed the box filled with magic potions to Norma and bent down to pick up the box containing the body.
Then, the two left the mansion calmly.
Anastasia stood in front of the door, watching the two leave, as if she still hadn't fully reacted to the situation, feeling a sense of unreality.
Just as she was about to be raped by her foster father, the mysterious Astrologer had suddenly arrived, swiftly killed her foster father, and then left just as decisively.
It was as if he simply couldn't stand to watch her suffering and had appeared at a crucial moment in her destiny, changing it before leaving without any hesitation.
Just like a hero from a story.
...
…
Meanwhile.
Elsewhere, the sky had already darkened, the magic street lamps alongside the road were lit, and the number of pedestrians had also increased.
Norma, carrying a heavy box, was looking ahead at a man wearing a helmet, carrying a thick greatsword, and wearing only a pair of shorts.
"Lord Ahtal, where are we headed?" she couldn't help but ask, addressing the man's back.
Not long ago, she had thought this man might be a little off in the head, but now she saw him as someone with great abilities, far from ordinary.
"We're almost there, don't rush," Xi Mu said concisely, turning to enter an alley, his figure disappearing into the darkness.
Seeing this, Norma hesitated for a moment, but still followed him; the other party was a powerful Astrologer, and even if she tried to run away, she couldn't escape his pursuit.
It was better to cooperate with his actions.
The secluded alley was damp, with the occasional rat and stray cat passing by, giving an oppressive feeling as if an unknown monster might appear at any moment.
After meandering for seven or eight minutes,
they arrived at a weed-covered clearing with a dilapidated shack that seemed as though it could collapse at any second.
Stepping on it, the creaking sounds made one wonder if the old wooden planks might suddenly break.
Xi Mu looked around to confirm there were no outsiders, placed the box containing the body on the ground, and spoke to the nervous Norma beside him.
"Clear the living room, I need to prepare the magic circle for the sacrifice."
"...Yes," Norma responded with a shaky voice, setting down the box she was holding, beginning to clean the living room which was already dimly lit, and added with the man's mention of sacrifice.
This gave her an ominous premonition.
This man was probably not just an Astrologer, but also a follower of a Witch, otherwise, he wouldn't be conducting such sacrifices.
Gods do not require the sacrifice of any life or soul.
However, Witches and Demons can accept the sacrifice of life and even grant their followers powerful blessings.
Xi Mu ignored Norma's fear; he opened the box, took out the corpulent noble's body, tore the fabric from the man's expensive clothes, and using his blood, began to draw a magic circle.
In this game, many Witches and Demons exist that could establish communication with and obtain rare magic skills by various means.
Offering sacrifices to the Witch of Death could yield potent death-related skills, slowing an enemy's ability to recover and even reduce the maximum of their health and mana bars.
The magic circle was complete.
Xi Mu took a few steps back, looking at the pentagram drawn with blood, he clasped his hands together, gazing at the corpse in the center of the magic circle.
The correct time.
The correct place.
The correct magic.
Only by meeting these difficult conditions was there a hope to obtain death-related magic, otherwise, even knowing the correct sacrifice wouldn't elicit a response from the Witch of Death.
"In the crevice between life and death, deeper than death itself, queen of the realm of the dead, possessor of absolute silence..."
Spell...no, it was praise that echoed.
The magic circle drawn with blood ignited with a ghostly blue flame, illuminating the dark shack and seemingly drawing a gaze from the beyond.
To die, it seemed... she really had encountered a Witch!
Norma clasped her hands over her mouth, watching the body in the center of the magic circle catching fire, feeling her racing heart about to leap out, her entire body trembling in fear.
Vaguely, as if something was about to break free, it made her subconsciously cross her legs.