I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

"You wouldn't believe it, but I have other ways to find out what it's like to be aphasic!"

The saint's soul resided within his lucky dagger, and Duke first learned of the existence of the "Mute" from this saint.

Duke originally had no way to awaken the saint's soul within the Lucky Dagger, but things changed after obtaining Neon. Neon's "soul effect" bullets could completely extract her soul from the Lucky Dagger.

There's nothing a single bullet can't solve; if one isn't enough, fire a few more.

Since the Lucky Dagger's Lucky Strike cooldown hasn't finished yet, Duke can't control the Neon's effects, so he can only take this opportunity to test the specific effects of the various Neon bullets.

After three rounds of shooting, Duke finally had a stroke of luck, using up all the bullets that could destroy or alter the Lucky Dagger—instant death, explosion, and evolution—before he could. Only then did he dare to take out the dagger and fire, finally managing to hit it with a soul bullet, awakening the long-dormant soul of the saint.

"...What's going on? Were you just fighting a hero-level necromancer? Why does this place look like it's been ravaged by several Death Finger attacks?"

"Three shots isn't that many."

Chapter 57 As everyone knows, urban legends are all true.

"So, this is a floating city?" The sage frowned, floating behind Duke, and surveyed the streets of the floating city with an unfriendly gaze. "Strange, how has it changed so much?"

Although she is in an out-of-body state, strictly speaking, she is now the spirit of the Lucky Dagger, so she cannot stray too far from the dagger and can only move at a very close distance to Duke.

I don’t know if it was because of that mixed berry cake back then, but despite being enemies, Saint’s attitude towards Duke wasn’t bad, and he didn’t turn against Duke just because he had to get close to him.

Duke, on the contrary, didn't want her to continue sticking to him like that.

He covered his face with a mask and forced himself to keep going, trying his best to ignore the surprised looks from passersby.

The reason why the two of them were attracting so much attention at this time was quite simple:

The sage's current state is commonly referred to as "naked floating," or more bluntly, as being without clothes.

The saintly soul, having left Gretel's body, revealed her original appearance. Her beautiful face possessed both an inviolable holiness and an alluring temptation that could lead to sin. Every inch of her graceful figure embodied the visual pleasure of the golden ratio. But what was most eye-catching... was that she was naked!

Damn it, if his private parts weren't completely obscured by some inexplicable holy light, Duke wouldn't have the face to walk down the street with her. Even now, he can hear the whispers of passersby:

"What kind of shameful play is this?"

"What a despicable man... Well done!"

"Damn, where did that holy light come from? Is the Radiant Witch nearby?"

"Are there any professional con artists around? Help! We need to find a way to distract Miss Cecil!"

In all honesty, it wasn't him who wanted to engage in this kind of shameful play! It was the Sage who insisted on seeing the current state of the floating city, and she even refused Duke's suggestion to take a less traveled path.

"I've only been gone a short time, how could this place have changed so much?"

"A day in heaven is like a year on earth," Duke said listlessly. "You've been in the witch's game for so long, who knows how much time has passed outside?"

"The flow of time in almost all alternate dimensions is faster than in the main world. Candy Castle is no exception; you've experienced it yourself." The Sage rolled his eyes. "Are you stupid?"

Duke: "..."

"No, if you're an idiot, then what am I to lose to an idiot?" The sage shook his head. "Think before you speak next time, or I'll make you look like an idiot."

"You're my prisoner now, aren't you? Why are you so arrogant?"

"So how are you going to punish me?"

The sage tilted his head and asked in a soft, monotone voice:

"Are you going to expose me naked to lustful gazes, tormenting me with my own shame? Or brainwash me into a slave who will serve you wholeheartedly, obeying your every word? Or are you going to learn soul-touching magic, using your exquisite techniques to overwhelm me with endless pleasure until I lose my senses? Ha, I've seen too much of this stuff. It's useless. Give up."

Duke: "?"

You're a masochist, aren't you? Making lewd jokes, aren't you? You're a seasoned prostitute, aren't you? You've seen it all, you've been a torturer, haven't you?

So you're saying this embarrassing play is something you like, right?

I declare that a certain perverted elf is nothing compared to you; experimental physicists have delivered a devastating blow to theoretical physicists.

“However, I must admit that I am your defeated opponent.” The sage turned his gaze away from the novelties in the floating city streets and said seriously, “Therefore, whatever you want to do to me, I will do it, and whatever questions you want to ask me, I will answer truthfully.”

"What kind of organization is the Aphasia?"

"...This question doesn't count."

Duke snapped, "Didn't you say you could answer any question?"

"This is a different question." The sage shook his head solemnly. "I will not answer this question in the floating city. Remember to ask it in the witch game next time, understand?"

In other words, is it possible that discussing matters related to people with aphasia here might attract the attention of certain entities?

Duke immediately became alert and nodded to her.

"It seems you went through all that trouble to wake me just to ask this question." The saint yawned. After residing in the lucky dagger, her soul had difficulty getting nourished, and the time she needed to sleep each day had naturally become much longer, which was why she hadn't woken up before. "Wake me up when you're ready. Don't use such a violent method next time, just call my name."

"A saint?"

"My name is Megan."

The sage revealed his true name and then vanished back into the dagger.

Duke silently memorized the name, and then, under the curious gazes of passersby, he ran home as if fleeing.

That night, a brand new urban legend began to circulate in the floating city:

"When the brightest star in the sky aligns with the moon, you will see a sadistic man walking around with a naked woman on the street."

……

The Floating City is a rapidly changing and vibrant city.

Here, all sorts of gossip are popular, and the idol gossip of handsome men and beautiful women remains hot, but the real top news always has only one theme, which is "Witch Game"!

What has been the biggest news about the floating city in the past few days?

That's Duke, of course!

Duke, which was universally condemned just last week, has surprisingly returned to the top ten of the Best Newcomer list in just a few days.

In just three days, he completed the "Statues" game and the "Candy Castle" game, and then completed half of the "Casino Tower" game. With these three games in quick succession, Duke easily climbed back to the top of the rookie leaderboard, not only breaking into the top ten, but also surpassing several other promising rookie kings to reach sixth place on the rookie leaderboard.

Moreover, as a controversial figure in the public eye, Duke's detailed battle reports of completing the two games were quickly made public. These reports were written based on the participants' self-reports and the magic of the fortune teller. Except for omitting the players' abilities (for privacy reasons), they fully explained the game process and were highly credible.

Duke's public opinion environment was suddenly reversed.

After all, he demonstrated undeniable strength in both games, and anyone who has seen the battle reports cannot question his abilities.

The adventurers in the floating city all admire the strong. Duke's biggest stain in the adventurers' eyes is actually cheating to complete the witch game, not having five girlfriends at the same time... It turns out that everyone wants to be a gigolo and woo the witch.

He was originally seen as an incompetent gigolo, but now he's become someone who, despite his abilities, insisted on living off women. He's shown to have admitted his mistakes and reformed in the face of public opinion, prodigal sons who have turned over a new leaf.

This dramatic reversal has everyone expecting him to continue his crazy game-clearing spree to prove himself.

But Duke didn't participate in any of the witch games the following week.

What has he been doing this week?

A: I'm slacking off.

Chapter Fifty-Eight: The First Half of the Night in the Floating City

Duke had a great time slacking off this week.

His sudden surge of hard work was partly driven by a desire to prove himself and improve his public image, and partly by the fact that he was struggling to make ends meet and had to support his family. However, to his surprise, after just three days and three witch games, his reputation improved dramatically, and his financial situation suddenly improved as well.

So he happily gave up.

Every day, he either accompanies Grete to visit the tourist attractions of the floating city and introduce her to the new world, or he is dragged out by Amber to wander around. Every now and then, there is a doujinshi appreciation session. Every day, he finds time to drag the sleeping Saintess out to bask in the moonlight. Occasionally, he goes out to watch Guangbao perform superhero blockbusters about chivalry and righteousness.

A comfortable retirement life is what it means.

Logically speaking, an adventurer with ideals and aspirations, after breaking into the top ten of the newcomer rankings, should at least seize the time to cultivate and improve their level, even if they don't continue to work hard to improve their ranking and obtain better rewards.

But Duke tanked very thoroughly.

Aside from the day after he successfully changed jobs, when he summoned the Sage to learn a few level 0 spells, he never practiced again, and his job level remained at the glorious level 7.

Duke: I touched it, Rua.

Of course, although Duke started to shirk his righteous duties, normal adventurers don't participate in witch games very often. Normally, two witch games a week is the limit. What he did before, three witch games in three days, was a bit like risking his life for money.

So in Amber and Cecil's eyes, it's normal for Duke to take a few days off.

Duke isn't in a hurry, the witches aren't in a hurry, but the system seems to be in a real hurry.

Ever since Duke started shirking his righteous duties, the system has been issuing daily tasks every day in different ways, urging Duke to participate in the witch games and even delaying the "main quest" of defeating the witches. However, this has clearly aroused Duke's rebellious spirit.

The more anxious the witch-conquest system was to its host, the less anxious Duke became, wishing he could stay home until he ran out of money before setting off again.

"Speaking of which, it's time to take the saint out for a walk."

Duke yawned and pulled out his Lucky Dagger:

“Speak, Megan, speak.”

"I shouldn't have told you my real name." The saintly lady appeared before Duke with a blank expression, her soft and languid voice making one feel... she must still be half asleep. "Damn it, couldn't you have let me sleep a little longer?"

"If you keep sleeping like this every day, you'll get moldy sooner or later."

“You don’t have to call me out for a walk at the same time every day, do you?” Megan glared at Duke. “I’m not a pet dog that needs to be walked every day, thank you.”

After a few days of adjustment, she finally managed to make clothes for her soul state. An elegant red dress replaced the holy light that covered her vital parts and became her regular attire.

Thanks to the new features developed by the Sage, Duke's psychological burden of taking the Sage out for a walk has been greatly reduced.

“That won’t do.” Duke rolled his eyes. “You need to rehabilitate. Are you planning to spend the rest of your life inside my lucky dagger?”

"Otherwise, are you planning to give me a body?"

The saint retorted irritably, as Duke's prisoner, she had never considered such a luxury as a "new body".

“Sure.” To everyone’s surprise, Duke nodded immediately. “I know a very skilled necromancer. Would you like me to have her do a body for you?”

The sage paused, looking at Duke with surprise, before speaking seriously after a long while:

"Okay, if you can find me a body that I'm satisfied with, I will officially acknowledge you as my master."

"No need, just consider it a favor you owe me." Duke waved his hand. "I don't need you to acknowledge me as your master. I don't like that kind of feudal dregs."

He had no deep-seated hatred for the saint; they just happened to be on opposing sides in the Candy Castle game. Duke didn't consider her his prisoner and saw no need for her to remain trapped in the Lucky Dagger.

To be honest, Duke had a very good impression of the Sage—after all, the Sage had answered many of his questions in the Candy Castle game, and he was constantly getting thrashed right from the start, without even a beginner's protection period. With that kind of performance, how could Duke, as an enemy, possibly dislike him?