Kill me again, Miss Witch

Chapter 3: The Woman Under the Tree

As his left hand touched the pattern on the floor, a soft white light began to slowly radiate from the palm of Char's hand.

Although Char's current magical abilities only classified him as an ordinary apprentice, after years of practice, he had mastered the most basic skill of channeling magical energy. So, when his hand touched the pattern on the floor, the soft white light quickly flowed through the lines on the floor like it was being absorbed by a sponge, progressing forward.

The magical array for the ritual was drawn using a mixture of highly conductive magical beast blood and mercury, which was expensive and now showed its importance.

As the white light grew stronger, the entire magic array became connected with Char's magic. In this secluded room, it emitted a dazzling glow.

"Hmm—"

The next moment, a small wooden box in one of the corners suddenly made a sound.

Inside it was a long-dried purple lich's heart, but under the effect of the array, it emitted a faint pulse.

At this juncture, the once silent room began to resonate with the sounds of the ritual materials, and various magical ores emitted beautiful lights, harmoniously intertwining like a melodious orchestra, creating a radiant spectacle.

The primary materials include rare organs from twelve different exotic creatures. The nodes of the magic matrix contained moonlight crystals, blood-red stones, essence of the abyss serpent, scales of the void demon, and four other extraordinary materials. The setup was so elaborate that someone unfamiliar might mistake it for an attempt to communicate with some dark deity.

But in reality, these materials were just one of the necessary conditions to connect with the abyss.

So far, everything was proceeding according to the instructions in the forbidden book.

Char wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Being just a magic apprentice, his total magical power was insufficient to handle such a large-scale ritual. After only a short while, Char felt drained as if all his energy had been sucked out.

Every second that passed, dozens or even hundreds of gold coins were spent. It was a truly painful sensation. No wonder the old folks in the Magic Guild had yearly battles with the Minister of Finance about research funding.

The field of magical research is undoubtedly a money-burning endeavor.

After a moment, the eerie smiling face on the floor became more and more vivid, indicating that the magic array was about to be completed. Char watched this, and his heart began to beat slightly faster.

It's come to a crucial step.

He carefully took out a test tube from his pocket. By the light of magic, he could see a thin layer of shimmering substance at the bottom of the test tube.

This is powdered Voidstone, an incredibly rare and valuable material, even in the prosperous capital city. Its worth is beyond measure, and it's widely used in strategic magic, like teleportation circles.

Char gently poured this powder into his palm and began chanting an intricate and mysterious incantation. He then stood up and started to move rhythmically around the array, encircling it slowly.

The once soft white light, as the eerie smile grew more lifelike, gradually transformed into a crimson hue, adding a touch of madness and wickedness to the entire ritual once again.

Faint whispers and chuckles emanated from the void, causing a sense of unease.

Char remained composed, and as the culmination of the ritual was approaching, he gently scattered the dust from his hand, letting it fall into the mouth of the inverted sinister smile.

"Boom!"

In the center of the magic formation, a string of silver flames suddenly rose, burning the dust of the void stones. It was as if the sinister smile had opened its mouth wide and was greedily devouring it!

Along with the burning flames, a passage that could only accommodate one person at a time slowly materialized. It appeared like a rolling plane of mercury, concealing the inner scene from view.

"Success."

Char wiped the sweat from his forehead, and a faint smile appeared on his pale face.

After ten years of effort, he finally received the payoff.

In times of peril, praying to the divine yielded no response. Instead, the reviled, seemingly evil presence became his last hope.

If seeking vengeance meant descending into evil, he was willing to do it at any cost!

There was no hesitation.

In the next moment, he reached out his hand towards the teleportation portal, as if to grasp his own future,

A strong attraction force came, and Char suddenly disappeared from the original place.

The commotion in the room gradually subsided, leaving only the inverted pattern on the floor, which seemed to be mocking in its appearance.

....

"Thud!"

With a muffled sound, Char's body landed heavily on the smooth, cold ground.

The consequences of an unstable teleportation array are evident now. Char feels his stomach churning, and his mind is foggy, as if he were strapped onto a small boat and sailed into a stormy sea.

He takes a deep breath, feeling the cold dampness around him. He rubs his forehead and stands up unsteadily.

Even though the surroundings were somewhat dark, the only illumination came from the dim, pale magical lights on the nearby walls. But with this faint light, Char surveyed the area and observed the scene around him.

It seemed like he was currently in the main hall of a palace.

On either side were large stone columns carved with reliefs. The central pathway extended into the interior of the palace, the details of which were not entirely visible from where he stood.

In theory, the teleportation ritual should have been successful; otherwise, the portal wouldn't have opened.

But according to the records, the witch was sealed in the depths of the northern continent, and there is no mention of such a palace. Judging from the style of decoration, it shouldn't belong to modern times. In other words, this place has probably been here for a very long time.

Perhaps some step of the ritual went awry, sending him to the presence of some other unspeakable entity?

A bewildered Char let out a sigh.

As Char knew, no matter where he was killed, he would respawn at the predetermined revival point, so he wasn't worried.

At this point, all he could do was continue moving forward.

About five minutes later, a new scene gradually appeared before his eyes, causing Char to widen his eyes in surprise.

This place was already a palace, so even though there were now two rows of guards in heavy armor in front of him and a majestic throne above, where the palace's ruler sat, it didn't seem out of place.

But what Char saw was not the scene you described.

What Char saw was an endless expanse of lush green grass, dotted with pink wildflowers, and a massive tree with a trunk as wide as several people embracing it.

Under the warm yellow magical light, the branches of the tree cast shadows on the grass, swaying gently and creating a dance of shadows under the shade.

The appearance of such a scene in the current environment was already quite strange.

But even more strange was that there was a woman sitting quietly under the tree, leaning against the trunk.