“My child, I have heard the countless souls struggling within the mineral vein beneath Phantom Peak. They are suffering in agony.”
“Please, this matter must be handled before you head to the Sanctuary of Sera.”
“Take Ann with you and go with Sophia. There, you will surely meet my old friend.”
***
Eiris woke up early, her eyes vacant and glazed. It seemed her so-called mother was sending her tasks through dreams again.
‘Play games with a smile! Yes, don’t play on your knees.’
They couldn’t even enter human towns right now, let alone approach Phantom Peak in the center of the continent.
‘Other people play MMORPGs and pick up main quests with yellow exclamation marks. For me, someone specifically sends tasks into my dreams. The “Hardest Witch” officially designated by the game—is that really the setting? Isn’t it just some kind of errand girl setup?’
Sighing, she decided to continue focusing on the Disguise Potion. After all, this was truly important for them.
If they didn’t go to a human town to buy supplies soon, there would be no more flour or seasoning at home! When that happened, the witch sisters would have no staple foods left to eat…
Eating fruit from the forest every day wasn’t impossible, but the two of them felt they shouldn’t mistreat themselves.
The white-haired girl dressed herself and hopped off the bed. After heading downstairs, she saw the little baby dragon snoring away, blowing bubbles from her nose.
‘What’s going on? Where is my big Sister Ann? Did she degenerate again?’
Eiris immediately looked at Sister Ann’s status.
[Angelica Vermillion, Level: 40 (Status: Slumbering. The power of Divine Faith has been exhausted, causing her level to regress again. All attributes decreased by 95%)]
[Dragon’s Protection: A barrier constructed by Angelica outside the Witch’s Cottage. It grants immunity to all attacks from enemies below Level 50 and forbids entry or exit to anyone except Eiris and Sophia. Remaining duration: 6 days, 16 hours, 15 minutes, 32 seconds]
She then looked at the key alchemy materials Sister Ann had left on the test tube rack next to the cauldron. Her heart felt heavy with a mix of emotions.
‘Mother Ann has burned herself out again. She’s truly… I’m crying my eyes out.’
‘If I have time today, I should make a nest for Sister Ann. She’s about the size of a cat now, so maybe a cat bed? I hope she likes it.’
Because she woke up early, Eiris prepared two portions of vegetable salad and one portion of mashed potatoes. She only ate one salad herself, keeping the rest under a food cover for Sophia.
Then, she threw herself wholeheartedly into alchemy.
Using the same familiar recipe from last time, she kept Sister Ann’s instructions in mind. She recalculated the ratio of volcanic stone and finally added a moderate amount of Sister Ann’s… drool.
She stirred the mixture thoroughly while injecting mana. 15 minutes later, the contents of the cauldron began to change once more.
[Current success rate for “Disguise Potion” is 99%. Continue?]
‘Stupid system, you’re finally talking today? Last time in the depths of the swamp, you almost cost me my life. Oh? You’re being quite honest today, aren’t you?’
Eiris now felt both a sense of familiarity and detachment toward this system unique to the two sisters. The previous accident was clearly a penalty for the bug she used when pulling the Treant King.
The system provided them with a certain level of convenience, but the future still held many uncertainties.
She needed to analyze the laws of the system. It felt as if some kind of will was manipulating it; if someone exploited features of this world beyond a certain limit, they would be punished.
When you gaze into the abyss, does the abyss gaze back at you?
Eiris didn’t want to encounter another life-threatening situation like the last one. They were living, breathing people in this world, so they naturally had to follow its laws.
Returning to the alchemy work, a 99% success rate was a massive improvement over the previous 63%. She immediately pressed YES.
This time, the liquid didn’t turn ink-black. Instead, the color cycled between light blue and peach before finally settling into a bright purple.
Feeling a bit nervous, Eiris poured the finished potion into several vials. She then activated [Appraisal Eye] to observe the item’s properties.
[Disguise Potion (Excellent Quality): Capable of changing the user’s hair color, skin tone, and other physical characteristics. Duration is determined by the dosage.]
‘Someone needs to test it first. Should I wait for Sophia to wake up and let her do it?’
‘Erm, forget it. After all, a little Priest can save herself if something goes wrong. In “Titan Chronicles: Star Wish,” a healer can also heal themselves.’
Steeling her nerves, Eiris drank the Disguise Potion.
How should she describe it? The taste was mediocre. It had a hint of gunpowder at first, but then it left a sweet, tea-like aftertaste. ‘Incredible. What kind of material would cause a tea-like aftertaste? It’s so hard to guess.’
While she was still evaluating the flavor, a wave of dizziness washed over her. She quickly grabbed onto a chair for support. It took a while before the sensation faded.
She walked slowly to the mirror and gently touched its surface. A brief sense of unfamiliarity made it hard for her to recognize herself.
Her long, snow-white hair had turned into a head of jet-black silk. Her clear, sky-blue eyes had become a common black, and her skin tone had shifted from fair white to a healthy tan.
“Haha! Lord Eiris is a genius! Eiris is unparalleled! Eiris is brilliant!”
‘Heh, Eiris has a pointy hat, and Eiris is flat as a board.’
The black-haired girl raised her arms and cheered, hopping and skipping with joy. The Disguise Potion was finally a success. “[Appraisal Eye]!” She checked her own status.
[Eiris Omnia, Level 35, HP: 725/725, MP: 1880/1880 (Disguise Potion duration remaining: 23 hours, 54 minutes. High-level activation of Divine Crests will forcibly dispel the disguise)]
It seemed that the dosage in a single small vial was exactly enough to last a whole day.
Now, as long as they didn’t go looking for trouble in the human town, no one would ever suspect they were witches. This potion had completely covered their previous features.
There would be no problem entering the human world in this form.
Win! Win! Win!
***
Sophia was indeed exhausted and slept until noon. After washing up, she chatted with Eiris while eating the meal left for her. At the same time, she didn’t forget to prepare a portion of roasted meat for Sister Ann, though she didn’t know when the dragon would wake up.
“Whoa, Sister Ann is actually that powerful~” After hearing about everything that happened yesterday, Sophia felt a bit regretful. She had been unconscious the entire time, and as someone who loved a good show, she felt like she had missed out on a lot. “As expected of Eir! We can finally go shopping in the human town!”
Eiris thought of something else and asked for Sophia’s help. “Sophie, Sister Ann is truly like family to us. You’re good with your hands, so help me make a nest for her. It can be like a cat bed~”
“Got it! Leave it to me!” Sophia struck a signature pose like a certain anime character, rolling up her sleeves to show off her modest biceps.
Eiris brushed her long black hair aside and spoke cheerfully. “During the closed beta, we played characters from the human faction. We can really make good use of the information from the beta guidebooks to better integrate into human society~”
The next day, the witch sisters had transformed into a pair of black-haired humans. Holding hands, they walked toward the south gate of Northon Town.