Witch's Embrace

Initially, Hawthorne was worried that if he leveled up too quickly, he might not fully grasp his new abilities, ending up with a collection of skills he wasn't familiar with, rendering him ineffective in battle.

After all, he hadn't yet completely mastered the few Grimoires he had.

Moreover, Purification Points had various uses, such as constructing new buildings, so he preferred to save them for emergencies.

However, today's encounter served as a wake-up call. The sensation of being hit on the back of the head still haunted him, especially as someone unaccustomed to violence.

Though his hometown was rural, Hawthorne had never even killed a chicken, only ever daring to throw a basketball at them...

Ahem!

In short, living in peaceful times, he was still shaken.

Today's skirmish, fortunately, ended quickly thanks to the two nearly perfect Thunder Waves. Otherwise, things could have turned chaotic.

Even so, his Mana was only sufficient for two first-level spells. With just four points of Mana, the margin for error was quite low.

Luckily today, only two gang members struck him, and Blade Ward's protection ensured he remained unscathed.

Though these thugs were weak, lacked systematic training, and most didn't even have a level in Warrior, Hawthorne himself was only a Level 1 Warlock, lacking a clear advantage in abilities.

If other gang members hadn't been scared off, continuing to attack with their sticks, or if they had more experience and, like in the game, used crossbows to attack from a distance...

Blade Ward, being a Cantrip, could only block a single hit, and the strength of first-level Agathys' Armor wasn't high. If they broke through his defenses, the outcome could have been very different.

His physical attributes, especially his Constitution, were extremely low, indicating poor resilience. Without spell protection, a single hit from a thug could have taken him down!

Reflecting on today's fight, he grew increasingly anxious.

When of the Twin Moons arrives, monsters will riot, and who knows what unforeseen events may occur. So enhancing combat power is absolutely essential right now!

Anyway, by that day, after purifying Yuta, I'll certainly gain a substantial amount of Purification Points again. In the future, I won't be short of these!

So, let's level up first!

Resolutely deciding this, he reached out and tapped the system panel.

Instantly, an intense Purification white light enveloped his body, with endless Magic Power, along with forces beyond Magic Power, pouring into him, forming a new strength...

Moments later, the white light dissipated, and with anticipation, Hawthorne looked again at his attribute panel...

And he was immediately deflated.

Is that it?

With the Warlock level increasing to level 2, his Mana capacity increased to 6 points, matching that of a typical Mage.

At the same time, he gained a new Professional Ability—Eldritch Invocation.

However...

Eyes of the Rune Keeper: You can understand any written language.

Just this one simple description, and nothing else.

Hawthorne was left feeling utterly exasperated.

Why did it have to be a non-combat support ability!

Great, now 300 Purification Points spent, and the combat power…

Well, it's not like there was no improvement at all, but it's minimal.

After all, the increase in Mana capacity by two points allows him to cast three first-level spells instead of two during battle, which is a noticeable improvement.

But the main feature of this upgrade should have been the Eldritch Invocation!

And it turned out to be something like this…

For Hawthorne right now, the most desired Eldritch Invocation would be something like "Agonizing Blast," which significantly enhances the damage of the "Magic Missile" Cantrip, or "Demonic Vitality," enabling him to cast "False Life" on himself indefinitely for better self-protection.

In any case, it shouldn't have been something like Eyes of the Rune Keeper, a purely non-combat, plot-pushing support ability!

System, you cheated me!

Give me back those 300 Purification Points; I might as well have put them into attributes!

He let out a long sigh, looking at his remaining 550 Purification Points with a bit of frustration.

To level up from two to three requires a full 600 Purification Points, and he's just 50 points short...

Forget it, it's going to level two eventually. Plus, the extra two Mana points are better than nothing...

He adjusted his mindset and continued reading!

He forced himself to calm down, massaging his temples, then stood up, stretched his back, took a short break, and prepared to continue studying.

However, the very next moment, the door to the study suddenly swung open.

Thinking it was Heidi, he turned towards the door, only to find the Memory Witch, Die, with her black hair and eyes, standing there, her big, beautiful eyes fixed intently on him.

Immediately, Hawthorne's heart leaped into his throat, nearly scaring him out of his wits!

How did she get in here?!

Damn, weren't the witches said to not visit the study for years at a time?! When I first came to the study, everything was covered in a thick layer of dust!

Why did this witch suddenly burst in today?!

Hawthorne angrily cursed in his mind, and it was no wonder he felt agitated—this unexpected scenario was entirely unsettling.

It was like playing Resident Evil and hiding in a safe room while organizing your items, only to have a tyrant kick down the door and rush you!

What are you supposed to do then?

Countless curse words filled his mind, yet he hadn't realized that Die had come specifically for him today.

Die sensed something was off—terribly off.

Even though Hawthorne and Heidi had tried their best to keep their distance when they left in the morning, the fact remained that they had shared countless intimate and deep encounters, becoming incredibly close.

They had developed certain habits; many of their actions were done subconsciously, without a second thought: like the almost nonexistent sense of distance between them, or Heidi subtly treating Hawthorne with high regard...

Perhaps their disguise could fool most witches who were only interested in siphoning souls and not particularly curious about humans, like Yuta and others.

However, for a witch like Die, who enjoyed reading people's memories, these disguises were somewhat insufficient.

Though she hadn't uncovered anything more profound, she sensed something was strongly amiss.

There was definitely something secretive between these two!

Thus, intrigued and suspicious, Die quietly observed them from the shadows.