I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

"???"

Upon hearing this, Duke nearly vomited blood in anger. Even while being relentlessly chased by the puppet, he still managed to spare a moment to glare fiercely at Amber, causing the maid-clad elf girl to shrink back guiltily. Yet, she still stubbornly insisted, "I don't need to use such low-level offensive spells!"

"That's great! Miss Witch, please take advantage of me distracting it and use a high-level offensive spell to finish it off!"

"I...I don't need to use offensive spells!"

"???"

How could a witch who can instantly cast teleportation spells not know any offensive spells?

Although this stubborn elf made Duke start to question his life, Amber really wasn't lying. She truly didn't know any offensive spells, let alone more advanced spells like Lightning Storm or Death Finger. She didn't even know the most basic Fireball spell.

Witches are not ordinary spellcasters. The biggest difference between them and mages is that they do not need to go through a strict ranking system. As long as they create a "personalized spell" that only they can use and gain the approval of other witches, they can become witches. Of course, generally speaking, spellcasters who can create "personalized spells" are very powerful, but there are occasional exceptions, such as Amber, who is an example.

Amber was a true genius; the teleportation spell she used before was a self-created "exclusive spell"—a teleportation spell with a short cooldown, short casting animation, and almost no cost, making it the envy of all mages. However, even a genius needs time to accumulate experience before becoming a high-level spellcaster, and almost all of her time was devoted to researching and improving this teleportation spell…

Thus, a bizarre witch appeared who could only teleport and knew almost no other magic.

Amber bit her lip. If she were a normal mage, a single fireball would send this puppet flying, but she wasn't a normal mage. Her mastery of teleportation couldn't save Duke—simply teleporting between two people who were still moving and locked in combat (one of them being attacked unilaterally) was extremely dangerous; a mishap could be fatal.

But at that moment, she suddenly remembered something.

Duke had placed the wine bottle and tinder he had taken out earlier on the ground; he did not carry them with him.

Miss Amber quickly teleported there, picked up the wine bottle and tinder from the ground, closed her eyes, and was about to throw them all away when Duke, seeing the danger, shouted, "Stop! Don't throw them!"

Good heavens, what kind of teammates do I have?!

Duke was terrified that Miss Amber's Molotov cocktail would burn the puppet and herself to ashes. And even if they were lucky enough to only burn the puppet and not him, the heart inside the puppet's chest would be beyond saving! If Duke wasn't mistaken, that heart was "Pinocchio's Heart," a very important quest item.

Furthermore, even if we take a step back and assume that Amber threw a Molotov cocktail that not only avoided burning the puppet but also didn't damage "Pinocchio's heart," then she would definitely be the MVP of this witch's game. In that case, Duke's mission of "winning the game with dominance" would not be completed.

No, we absolutely cannot let Amber throw the Molotov cocktail.

Duke panicked and threw the "Pinocchio's Old Leg" he was holding at Amber.

"Catch this, then quickly dodge."

"what?"

Amber instinctively caught the charcoal Duke threw at her. Then, with a whooshing sound, the puppet instantly switched flames and appeared in front of her, slapping her across the face. The witch's expression changed, and in the next instant, she appeared on the other side of the room, cursing, "Duke, you've done so many evil things!"

Duke shrugged expressionlessly and said calmly, "Sorry, I'm a heartless strategy machine right now."

"*Elf swear words*".

But this was clearly the right choice. Although Amber's attack power was basically zero, her escape ability was far superior to Du's, thanks to her exclusive spell of teleportation. Even in a small room, she could still easily evade the puppet's pursuit by constantly teleporting.

While Amber distracted the puppet, Duke re-examined the wooden room, which was now a mess after the puppet's rampage. Several pieces of the wooden floor were broken, revealing... another wooden room beneath. And after Duke found "Pinocchio's old leg," the original entrance and exit had vanished, leaving them with no way to leave.

Duke pondered for a few seconds, then suddenly asked loudly, "Amber, why does the witch limit players to completing the 'Red Light, Green Light' game within three minutes?"

Amber heard Duke's question and was initially reluctant to answer honestly, but she quickly realized that if Duke couldn't complete the game, she would eventually be unable to escape either—after all, even if she consumed very little, her magic would eventually run out!

"Because the puppet will go berserk after three minutes! That's why we tell players they must complete the game within three minutes."

"You didn't design the game, so if you want others to help you beat it, don't come up with these misleading village rules, okay?" Duke sighed, then muttered under his breath, "...Poor puppet, playing the same game with you every day, is it easy for it?"

As he spoke, he strode to the spot where the puppet had been standing, then turned his back and shouted loudly, word by word:

"One! Two! Three! Wooden! Man!"

Chapter Six: Ban that damn mammoth!

What is Duke shouting about?

Amber stared wide-eyed at her amber eyes, her face full of confusion.

From her perspective, Duke suddenly seemed to have gone mad, running to where the puppet had been standing, turning his back, and loudly chanting "One, two, three, freeze!" Duke chanted very slowly, and during this time, the puppet acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to chase and attack her, which left Amber puzzled.

Is this really useful?

This really works.

"One! Two! Three! Wooden! Man!"

After finishing his lines, Duke suddenly turned around and stared at the puppet, which seemed to freeze in place. Amber, seeing this strange scene, remained rooted to the spot without making any rash moves.

An eerie silence fell over the room.

After a long yet brief moment, Duke turned around again, and without Duke's gaze, the puppet strode forward with lightning speed. It no longer pursued Amber, who was holding "Pinocchio's Old Leg," but instead charged towards Duke.

It was fast, but Duke recited the line "One, two, three, freeze!" even faster, turning his head almost instantly and staring at the puppet again.

The first time Duke read "One, two, three, freeze!", he seemed to slow down his speech and read it out loudly, word by word, so that the puppet would know what he was saying. The second time, however, he sped up his speech so that he could finish reading it before the puppet got close to him.

Amber held her breath, afraid to make any move lest she ruin this race against time. But this was no long-term solution; no matter how fast Duke chanted, the puppet could gradually close the distance. A way to break the deadlock had to be found before it reached Duke.

Miss Witch's mind raced, and she stared wide-eyed at everything before her.

The third "Red Light, Green Light" game ended, and the puppet had already covered most of the distance. On its next turn, it would be right in front of Duke and slap him dead. Duke's forehead was covered in sweat, but his expression remained calm and composed, even a slight smile playing on his lips.

He was enjoying the situation.

Amber realized this with a start, and at the same time, she also noticed something else—whenever Duke turned around and stared at the puppet, his gaze remained fixed on the puppet's chest.

"It's that heart!"

The witch understood.

Amber activated her teleportation spell and, taking advantage of the puppet's immobility due to Duke's gaze, instantly appeared in front of it. With lightning speed, she tore open the puppet's simple clothes before it could retaliate, grabbed at its heart in its chest, and yanked the heart out of the puppet's body.

With the heart removed, the puppet stopped moving.

"Duke!" Amber cheered joyfully, then teleported to Duke's side without stopping, saying as if to take credit, "I did it."

"Well, well done."

Duke smiled and nodded, reaching out to ruffle her hair. The witch was startled by his gesture, finally remembering who this man was—good heavens! This was a wicked man who juggled five women and toyed with witches at will!

"Ah!" Amber quickly took two steps back, covering her head where Duke had ruffled her hair. Like a kitten with its fur standing on end, she closed her eyes and cried out, "I'm still a fledgling, don't hurt me..."

However, Duke paid no attention to her actions and words. His gaze remained fixed on the puppet. Only after confirming that it had truly lost its ability to move did he finally breathe a sigh of relief and extend his hand to Amber: "Give me the charcoal leg and the heart."

"……it is good."

Amber pouted.

Despite her earlier fear that the playboy would make a move on her, the witch became somewhat unhappy after realizing that Duke had no interest in her.

[Item discovered: Pinocchio's Heart.]

[Item Description: Pinocchio's heart, but can a wooden figure also have a heartbeat and pulse?]

[Item Effect: Grants life to any wooden object.]

After receiving "Pinocchio's Heart," Duke showed a somewhat surprised expression, because this heart was different from what he had originally guessed. It wasn't a quest item, but an ordinary item. This meant that it could not only be used in this game, but he could also take it out of this witch's game.

"Why is this puppet playing the 'Statues' game with you so obediently?" Amber composed herself and asked curiously, "And why are you asking about the 'three-minute rule' proposed by us witches?"

"I'm just confirming the three-minute rule because if such a rule was devised by a witch, it would be meaningless—like a frog in a well thinking the whole world is only the size of the well. The conclusion drawn from it is meaningless. I'm just confirming whether I can simply ignore it."

As he spoke, Duke pointed to the puppet again:

"It's lonely, it wants some playmates, so it will obediently play the three-minute freeze game. But no one wants to play the same character forever, right? Oh, unless you're in the TI finals and your opponent didn't ban Magnus... cough! Anyway, it's the same, it longs for someone to say 'one, two, three, freeze' so it can experience the whole game."

Born into this empty room, born only to repeat the game according to the fragmented memories in my heart, no one has ever understood it, and even regarded its constant repetition as an unchangeable game rule... The puppet has been waiting for Duke's "One, two, three, freeze!" for far too long.

Amber frowned. While Duke's explanation made some sense, she still felt it was rather far-fetched. The witch, clearly a direct person, bluntly asked, "You can be so sure based on this reasoning?"

"Of course not, I was just trying it out and it just so happened to be right." Duke shrugged and said with a smile, "Besides, it doesn't matter if I guessed wrong. At worst, I'd just embarrass myself in front of you. I'm used to it. Anyway, I wasn't the one being chased back then, so I had plenty of time to try different things."

Amber: "...Pah! You bad guy, you've done all sorts of bad things!"

"but."

Duke's smile faded, and he squinted as he scanned the room's walls, looking at the holes punched in the floor by the puppets, and murmured:

Why isn't the game over yet?

Just then, an anomaly interrupted Duke's thoughts—the entire room suddenly began to shake violently, and the two of them felt a violent acceleration due to gravity. They were like being in an elevator that was accelerating upwards, rushing into the sky. A huge amount of pressure pressed down on the two of them, suddenly slamming Duke and Amber to the ground!

Chapter Seven: The Heartbreaker

"Oh my god!" Amber screamed, unable to get up from the ground. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" Duke roared back, the intense gravitational pull making it hard to support his weight. He could only manage to speak with all his might, "Amber, how far can your teleportation spell reach?!"

Amber appeared to be in much better condition than Duke; although she was also pinned to the ground, she could still speak normally.

"Teleporting from the farthest point in the east to the farthest point in the west of the floating city is not a problem."

Is it easy to cross a city?

The floating city is a megacity, its area even comparable to the major cities of Duke's previous life. The fact that a spell can be cast instantly to traverse the entire floating city means that Amber's self-created exclusive spell is far more powerful than most teleportation spells.

Duke looked at Amber in surprise, then reluctantly extended his hand towards her: "Teleport me out."

Amber looked at Duke's outstretched hand, hesitated for a moment, but understood the importance of the matter, and quickly grasped his hand, asking, "Where to teleport?"

"Teleport out of this room." Duke paused for a moment before continuing with the ambiguous instructions, "East, South, West, or North—teleport in any direction you think is acceptable, but don't get too close!"

"Huh? Outside the room?"

"That's right! You witches were misled by the fact that this room connects to the entrance of the floating city. The room has no doors or windows that allow you to see the outside world, making you think that the scope of this witch game is just one room... No, this game also has a separate otherworldly space!"

Amber nodded as if she understood, then activated a teleportation spell.

The next instant, Duke felt a blur before his eyes and found himself in mid-air!

Amber screamed and gripped Duke's hand even tighter. She quickly used Teleport again to bring Duke to a safe landing. Only then did they finally leave the windowless and doorless wooden chamber and see the whole world.

This is a barren world, with a flat sky and a square earth. There is a clear boundary at the edge of vision, as if the world ends there. The sky also has a distinct "dome" that covers the entire world within a semi-circular area.

The entire world was empty; the ground was a grayish-white, like an unedited game template, made of some unknown material. Above, there were no white clouds or blue sky, only a hazy, oppressive gray. The only thing that existed in the world was the colossal object in the distance.

It was a pair of wooden legs, incredibly huge; one couldn't imagine what kind of giant could possess such long legs. But above this lower body, there was nothing but a tiny "box" placed on top of the wooden lower body, replacing the entire upper body.

That box was from the room where Duke and Amber had been.

The reason they felt a rapid ascent was because the lower body of the wooden giant was standing up from a half-squatting position and crashing into the dome in the sky above!

"Boom—"