It felt so good to be close to the witch!

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(A new month, a new beginning, Guguzi is online asking for monthly votes!)

(By the way, this book is aiming for the Three Rivers Award this week. I, Guguzi, humbly request all readers to read the latest chapter every day from today until next Tuesday. This is extremely important to me and this book. I hereby swear that if this book achieves the Three Rivers Award, I will guarantee at least 10,000 words of updates every day for the first month after it is released! Quality and quantity guaranteed! I mean it!)

(Dear readers, you don't want me to be so upset that I can't get on the Sanjiang list or get monthly votes because I haven't been following the story, and I'm crying and making a scene, right?)

Chapter 68 Where does the body feel uncomfortable?

Her drowsy mind gradually cleared, and a faint yellow light flowed into her eyes through the slits of her eyes. The Shadow Witch Lilia opened her tightly closed eyes a crack, and in the dappled candlelight, a figure was reflected in her pupils.

It was a young man with black hair and brown eyes, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

From Lilia's perspective, the candlelight on the desk behind the young man cast a hazy glow, outlining the boy's body in a soft, dreamlike light.

"...Roy, sir?"

A slightly hoarse voice came out unconsciously. Lilia's unfocused eyes gradually focused. The familiar scent of the blankets covering her body gradually calmed her heart, which was somewhat frightened by the nightmare.

Lilia's voice was soft, but Roy, whose physique now rivaled that of a bronze-level three-star knight, possessed incredibly sharp hearing.

Roy's ears twitched slightly, and his breathing gradually stopped. He opened his eyes and looked at the black-haired, black-eyed girl lying on her side on the bed. He exclaimed in surprise, "Lilia, you're finally awake!"

"Finally... Lord Roy, have I been sleeping for a long time?"

Lilia propped herself up, and the blankets slipped off her body, revealing a large expanse of dazzling white skin below her left shoulder. It was something she had torn off herself during the pollution removal process. Roy was too embarrassed to do anything, so he could only cover her body with the blankets.

The night breeze blew against her tender skin exposed to the air, making Lilia sense something. She lowered her head, then casually reached out and pulled up her clothes.

But Roy could see a faint blush on her earlobes, indicating that the girl's heart was not as indifferent as it appeared.

"Cough cough..." Roy coughed twice, stood up and came to the bedside: "It's been about six hours."

“After the pollution was removed, you fell into a coma. I was a little worried, so I asked Shanika to take a look. She said you were in the process of ‘talent evolution’.”

"Lilia, how are you feeling right now? Is there anything bothering you?"

"The uncomfortable area..."

Lilia pursed her lips and placed her hand in front of her heart.

She could still vaguely feel the warmth from where she had been.

The blush on her earlobes was starting to spread, and Lilia quickly shook her head vigorously.

"No."

"However, talent awakening is..."

Hearing that Lilia was alright, Roy breathed a sigh of relief, then said expectantly, "Sanika and I have discussed it, and our preliminary deduction is that when the level of pollution in the body is low and the total amount of magic power reaches a certain standard, the witch's talent may evolve."

"I have already removed all the pollution from your body, and the absorption of natural magic power from the high-purity magic crystal has unintentionally made you meet the requirements. Can you calmly feel whether your talent has changed?"

Upon hearing this, Lilia was stunned, and a ripple of emotion stirred within her.

The nightmare I had was actually the process of awakening my talent?

So, was that previous experience a dream? Or was it a real scene existing in the shadows?

Suppressing her thoughts, Lilia closed her eyes and calmly felt the changes in her body and talent.

The complete elimination of pollution gave her a feeling of being immersed in a hot spring, with all her pores opening up and her body extremely relaxed.

Although her level of contamination was relatively lower than that of her sister Vivian, it was still quite high.

With 90% pollution levels... if this continues, it's estimated that in less than three months, Lilia will follow in her sister Vivian's footsteps and fall into a semi-out-of-control state.

Although she appears normal on a daily basis, only Lilia herself knows that she is constantly suffering from the corrosive effects of pollution on her body and mind.

But now, all those negative effects have disappeared!

In a daze, she felt as if she had been reborn.

After calming herself down, Lilia turned her attention to her talent.

As soon as she tried it, she noticed something different.

She "saw" an irregular, dark crystal slowly rotating deep within her brain.

The slightly familiar appearance made Lilia's heart skip a beat.

This...this is the piece of the high-step staircase I bit off in my nightmare!

A distorted world, a shadowy throne on a high platform, a shadowy scepter before the throne...

Sure enough, everything I experienced before was not a dream!

Lilia's heart suddenly started beating faster.

If it's not a dream, it means she still has a chance to enter that place again, a chance to try to climb the platform and grasp the Shadow Scepter!

Will my power be strong enough to help Lord Roy wipe out all his enemies then...?

The girl's mind raced, but she quickly calmed down.

She's still far too weak right now.

Ninety-nine steps, she couldn't even withstand the first step. In just one second, her body was crushed by the terrifying pressure.

To truly reach the Shadow Throne, one would probably need a Grand Witch, no, even a Grand Witch isn't enough, one would need strength surpassing that of a Grand Witch!

We need to work even harder...

Having made a silent decision, Lilia focused her attention on the changes in her talent.

With a thought, in an instant, her body completely merged into the shadows.

A second later, Lilia emerged from another shadow beside Roy, her eyes filled with surprise.

Previously, she had merged with the shadows, requiring a 0.5-second transformation period. This time was very short, but against a truly powerful opponent, it was the most fatal flaw. Just as when the Ice Witch Ais attacked her before, she seized upon this weakness and completely froze her.

But now, that flaw has disappeared!

Now, with just a thought, Lilia can completely blend into the shadows, making her virtually invincible!

Lilia raised her right hand, and the shadows flowed backward like a liquid, forming in her hand a dagger even darker than obsidian.

With a few simple swings, the chilling hissing sound of the weapon cutting through the air demonstrated just how terrifyingly sharp it was, formed from shadows.

Although she hadn't actually tried it, Lilia could tell from the feel alone that the quality of the shadow weapon she had conjured had improved by more than one level.

But the changes don't stop there.

Under Roy's gaze, Lilia walked to the open space in the center of the room, took a deep breath, and raised her hands, palms down.

Strands of shadowy magic emanated from her body, flowing to the ground and forming a circular black circle.

The next second, the black circle began to spin rapidly, and a ferocious and terrifying beast slowly rose from the black vortex.

It was a shadowy creature, half a person's height, with scarlet eyes, a lithe body, sharp claws and teeth, and an appearance extremely similar to a wolf.

After emerging from the black circle, it did not roar or make any frenzied movements. It simply walked obediently to Lilia's side, raised its head, gently rubbed against Lilia's hand, and then lowered its head, like a subject waiting for the "king's" command.

Chapter 69 Hugging?!

In the candlelight, the girl and the giant shadowy wolf lying in front of her created a strange and beautiful scene, leaving Roy, who was watching this scene, stunned.

A few seconds later, he snapped out of his daze.

The giant shadow wolf in front of the girl was docile and quiet, but Roy could feel a chilling sense of oppression emanating from it.

Even with the Temple Punishment Knight and Uncle Rami, a Silver Peak expert, he had never felt such a terrifying crisis.

This means that the Shadow Giant Wolf's strength has surpassed the peak of Silver rank! As for whether it has reached the Gold rank, Roy doesn't know, because he has never met a Gold Knight before.

“Lilia, it is…” Roy instinctively lowered his voice.

"Lord Roy, please don't worry."

"Its name is Fenrir. I summoned it from the shadow world. It is very obedient and will not harm anyone without my command."

As she spoke, Lilia gently stroked the head of the shadow wolf Fenrir with her slightly pale hand. The smooth touch brought a smile to her face.

The shadow wolf Fenrir tilted its head obediently and contentedly, but out of Lilia's sight, its scarlet eyes were fixed on Roy, revealing a hint of brutality.

That look seemed to say, "Stay away from my master, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

"Tsk."

Roy was annoyed by Fenrir's gaze.

Good heavens, this mere "little wolf" dares to do this.

Although you are currently "a little" stronger than me, but...

Under the ferocious gaze of the shadow wolf Fenrir, Roy stepped forward, came up behind Lilia, and hugged her tightly, while giving Fenrir a provocative look.

Little wolf, weren't you supposed to be fierce? Huh? Now try being fierce again and see what happens!

Because of the angle, if the shadow wolf Fenrir wanted to look at Roy, it had to be facing the shadow witch Lilia. Facing its master, it dared not show its "brutal" gaze, so it could only lower its head as much as possible, its fur about to stand on end, but it had to force itself to endure it.

Roy was in a good mood seeing Fenrir, the giant shadow wolf, looking angry but not daring to retaliate.

Hmph, you little brat, you've got to be arrogant.

Suddenly, Roy's body stiffened.

Wait, did I just hug Lilia?

Just now, the boy's inexplicable competitive spirit suddenly ignited and completely overwhelmed his reason. Everyone should understand this feeling, right?

It's that kind of impulse that comes from when your friends say "you can't do it" or "you can't do it," and then you feel a surge of passion and want to prove them wrong.

Now that the "impulse" has subsided, Roy realizes that his behavior was inappropriate.

He glanced cautiously at the girl in his arms. Because of the angle, he couldn't see the expression on her face, so he immediately let go, saying, "I'm sorry, Lilia, I..."

"It's fine."

Before Roy could finish speaking, Lilia whispered, though her voice trembled slightly.

"Boom! Boom!"

My heart is beating so fast...