Witch's Embrace

The room Hawthorne stayed in was almost adjacent to the kitchen. After all, the convent where the witches hid wasn't very large.

According to the system data, it was a total of about 2,200 square meters. After allotting space for praying, reading, exercising, greenery, resting, cooking, and serving porridge, there wasn't much space left for the nuns to hide people.

Even the convent's kitchen wasn't big. It was less than 50 square meters, containing only a stone stove for cooking large pots of oat porridge, with a stack of firewood behind it.

On the other side of the stove were vegetables like carrots and potatoes, which seemed a bit withered from being stored for too long.

On the dirt-colored walls hung a few knives, spoons, some salted fish, and a large chopping board. Below the cookware was a jar of salt and a stack of plates. Beyond that, there wasn't much else.

The simplicity left Hawthorne scratching his head. "There really isn't much here..."

Heidi also felt a bit embarrassed, given that witches themselves had no need for food. Whether serving porridge to the poor or feeding those they captured, it was enough to have something to eat, without concern for taste.

"I can go out and buy some ingredients and spices." She continued, "At this time, fishermen should have just returned, so there should be fresh sea fish available. Also, the general store probably hasn't closed yet..."

Since the ceasefire with the Amazons, the South Harbor District had gradually reverted to a fishing port. Liberl Port followed an absolute free-market economic policy, so local residents received no support or assistance, relying solely on fishing to sustain their impoverished lives.

Although the witches didn't need food themselves, they understood the locals' habits—otherwise, they couldn't have discreetly captured them as food—therefore, Heidi knew she could buy plenty of fresh seafood if she went out now.

But Hawthorne shook his head slightly, raised his hand to stop her. "No need, I have a better solution."

Saying this, and under Heidi's puzzled gaze, he extended his finger and began to navigate the system screen visible only to him, lightly scrolling through and reading the instructions.

The process of purifying Heidi had been quite rewarding, not only gaining her allegiance but also earning 1,150 Purification Points.

You know, upgrading the core building of the convent—the Prayer Hall—from level one to level two only requires 1,000 Purification Points. Unlocking ordinary level-one buildings—like the Kitchen, dormitory, or warehouse—needs only 100 Purification Points.

So, this income of over a thousand points is more than enough for him to improve his situation.

For example, his attributes are clearly lacking. Despite being fifteen years old, he has only eight points in strength and even just seven in constitution, which is less than many children and even some malnourished goblins. He definitely needs to improve this!

However, his method for improving attributes isn't to spend Purification Points to directly increase them but to unlock the "Kitchen."

The reason is simple: he tried earlier and found, just like in the game, that directly spending points to enhance attributes is outrageously expensive!

When an attribute is below thirteen points, each point increase requires 100 Purification Points; at thirteen points or higher, it costs 200 points per increase; above fifteen, it's already 300 points, and even higher levels require more.

With the Purification Points he currently has, he can't afford many enhancements at all!

Moreover, attributes are just one aspect of strength. Even if he boosts all his attributes to eighteen and above, seeing an immediate strength increase is unlikely. He still needs to gain a profession, train in expertise, and learn magic—those are the true components of combat power and the major uses of Purification Points!

So, he doesn't have extra points to spend directly on attributes. It's better to spend 100 points on building the Kitchen and gradually improve his constitution through diet and conditioning—getting the most out of the least expenditure.

His body is only fifteen, with plenty of room for development. If he starts taking care of it now, there's still time!

Looking at the system screen displaying the prompt to spend 100 Purification Points to build a level-one Kitchen, Hawthorne clicked "Yes" without hesitation.

Then, his consciousness suddenly zoomed out, as if ascending to the sky, overlooking the entire South Harbor District below.

However, at this moment, in his view, other areas were shrouded in darkness except for the brightly lit convent, identical to the building interface in the game.

Clearly, in the system's judgment, this is his territory, so he can do whatever he chooses here.

Ha, but there are still six powerful witches here who could easily kill me. Without Heidi, I wouldn't even dare go anywhere...

Hawthorne chuckled to himself, then focused on the task at hand. His fingers slid over the screen, and as he moved, the silhouette of a Kitchen building shifted with it.

This allowed him to choose the building location, exactly like the game. He placed the Kitchen in his current location, perfectly overlapping with the existing convent Kitchen, then double-clicked.

A dialog box popped up: Another building exists at the selected Kitchen location. Determine it as a regular Kitchen; merge with it?

Hawthorne immediately clicked "Yes," and the next moment, his consciousness returned to his body, restoring the view of the Kitchen's interior.

Then, under Heidi's astonished gaze, the entire Kitchen illuminated with a diffuse white light, identical to the glow during her Purification.

In that glow, everything in the Kitchen began to change rapidly: the original stone stove was quickly replaced by a row of metal stovetops of various sizes;

The knives on the wall multiplied rapidly, with cleavers, meat carving knives, and other cooking tools of various sizes and designs neatly arranged;

Below the knives, various seasonings such as refined salt, oyster sauce, soy sauce, chili peppers, and sweet bean paste appeared one by one, lined up neatly, ready for him to showcase his skills...

Hawthorne was immensely satisfied as he watched Heidi's eyes widen in shock. Though it wasn't his own ability, but rather the work of the system, he still managed to astonish an adorable witch, didn't he?

Finally, the white transformative light completely faded. Looking at the Kitchen, which was more than twice as large as before and filled with various unfamiliar cooking utensils and dinnerware, Heidi was utterly amazed: "This... Master, how did you do it?"

Saying this, she suddenly thought of something, quickly turned, and walked outside. Seeing that the exterior and footprint of the Kitchen hadn't changed at all, she was even more shocked to realize that the interior had become an independent space of its own!

Creating a demi-plane!

This is something only an eighth-level spell could achieve, yet Master clearly has no magical power and can't cast any magic…

How did he do it?

Watching Heidi slowly return in surprise, Hawthorne, though equally amazed—having never seen the Kitchen's details in the game either—couldn't help but let his lips curl into a slight smile. He then softly said, "This is precisely the secret behind the happiness and security I can bring you, Heidi."

Instantly, she collected herself, and her smile bloomed like spring flowers.

She threw herself into Hawthorne's arms, hugging his arm tightly, eyes narrow, lips curved, filled with boundless admiration and happiness: "I knew it, Master is omnipotent!"

Feeling incredibly satisfied, Hawthorne then looked at the stovetop before him, growing ambitious: "Next, Heidi, let Master show you what cooking is all about!"