A vigorous whip crackling with electricity whistled through the air. Mu Lin instinctively raised her arm to shield her face. The lash struck her forearm with brutal force; burning pain tore a scream from her throat. A red welt swelled instantly, and the current coursed through her body, numbing half of it in a flash.
Before she could react, the second strike landed. Mu Lin felt her insides shatter; clutching her stomach, she collapsed to the ground.
The short-haired girl spun, her whip tracing a long arc before lashing across the curled-up Mu Lin's back once more.
"Still gonna fight back or not?" Rebecca flicked her whip impatiently. Sparring practice wasn't meant to be one-sided beatings.
The sexy instructor—who had been silently observing—approached slowly. Her tight, high-slit uniform skirt accentuated her curvaceous figure.
"Switch partners." She fixed her gaze on Mu Lin, now unable to stand. This new witch was even weaker than expected—clearly not combat material—yet she was that man's familiar.
As a former colleague of Deliya, Nancy knew a thing or two about Noyes. The high priest's… tastes had certainly changed…
After successive thrashings from several witches, Mu Lin was relegated as an "injured" party to the rest area to observe. Watching alongside her was a certain bespectacled girl.
"This must be fate," Nina said cheerfully. The "useless zone" had been hers alone until now; finally, she had company—and legendary company at that.
"So your ability isn't suited for combat either?" She looked at Mu Lin's battered state with sympathy.
"What ability?" Mu Lin asked.
"Every witch awakens a unique power after possession," Nina explained, pointing to the witches sparring on the training field. "Evelina can read memories. Rebecca—the one who just fought you—controls electricity. And over there…"
Mu Lin followed her finger. Eugenia lounged on a bench in a corner, gazing idly into the distance. Her serene figure stood out starkly amid the battling crowd. Before her, her opponent stood frozen, blankly slapping himself.
"She looks really strong…" Mu Lin couldnled her own cheek unconsciously, then turned to Nina. "What's yours?"
Nina pouted at the sky. "Great digestion. I can eat a lot."
"…" Definitely not combat-suited.
"What about you?" The bespectacled girl's curiosity flared again.
Mu Lin frowned in thought. She seemed to have no special ability. The only difference from normal people was the exceptional regeneration Noyes had mentioned.
"Exceptional endurance for beatings, maybe…"
Soon enough, Mu Lin discovered she lacked not only special abilities but basic ones too.
She suffered crushing defeats in magic and combat classes alike. Her reputation swiftly shifted from "the mysterious witch who recovered after degenerating—the first in history" to "the weakest witch in history." The looks around her changed from wary monster-gazing to contemptuous trash-gazing.
"You holding up okay?" Even Nina began to worry.
Mu Lin gritted her teeth. "I'm fine."
They wore arm and leg guards—thin-looking but astonishingly heavy, weighing Mu Lin down until she could barely lift her legs.
"Twenty laps. You may use magic. No dinner until you finish."
At the instructor's command, several witches leaped away in bursts of speed, vanishing instantly. The rest followed gradually.
"I'll head off then," Nina said after hesitating, then joined them.
Mu Lin took a deep breath and started running. The magic-infused guards made her steps leaden. She was gasping long before far, lungs burning as if to explode. She wanted to collapse right there, but unwillingness drove her on. She dragged her burdened body for who knew how long—falling to her knees countless times, only to force herself up again with stubborn gasps.
Night fell. When Noyes came to fetch her, he found the girl sprawled exhausted on the ground.
"Am I embarrassing you?" Mu Lin mumbled into his chest as he scooped her up horizontally.
"Witch training far exceeds what ordinary humans can endure. If you can't use magic and rely solely on human strength, finishing is impossible." He carried her to a circular training arena, set her down, and handed her a vial of holy water. "Drink."
The sweet liquid refreshed her instantly, banishing hunger and fatigue.
This was what had sustained her when burns prevented eating. Holy water—brewed from rare herbs infused with magic—was precious externally for healing and stamina. Noyes used it lavishly, treating it like ordinary food.
Seeing her color return, Noyes walked to a wall lined with weapons, selected a small, light sword, and tossed it to her. "Rested? We begin."
A witch's power stemmed from the parasite monster within. By fusing body and mind with it to varying degrees—entering a demi-demonic state—she could wield its strength for extraordinary abilities. Greater fusion brought greater risk of full degeneration, hence the need for a priest's control and purification.
What Mu Lin needed to learn now was harnessing that power.
"Sense the monster inside you. Fuse with it. Attack with magic," Noyes said, standing casually in the arena's center, hands clasped behind his back.
Mu Lin still felt nothing. Regardless, she raised the sword and charged at full force.
The white-robed priest shifted lightly, letting her stumble past empty air before chopping her down with a hand strike.
Her knee must have scraped the ground—stinging fiercely. Yet anger flared within; ignoring the pain, Mu Lin scrambled up and attacked again and again.
Noyes remained utterly composed, evading most strikes with minimal steps while critiquing her form.
"Don't rely only on human strength. If you never learn to use magic, you'll never touch me… Your openings are too wide." He sidestepped another slash, then kicked the off-balance girl squarely in the stomach.
Mu Lin screamed as she flew several meters.
"Continue," the priest commanded coldly.
She curled tight, clutching her belly in cold-sweat agony.
Noyes frowned. He had controlled his force—no internal injury should result.
He crouched beside her, lifting her shirt. A long whip mark swollen high crossed her entire abdomen, oozing blood. His kick had landed directly on it.
The wound was from daytime classes. Noyes gazed at Mu Lin and sighed softly. "That's enough for today."
That look—she knew it too well. Nearly every instructor had given it to her all day. As if to say: High Priest Noyes's new familiar, successor to the former top witch Deliya of the Cis Holy See, was a powerless waste.
She didn't care about others' opinions. But when Noyes looked at her that way, it stung deeply.
"I can keep going," Mu Lin said through clenched teeth.
Noyes paused.
"I can!" she repeated louder. Lips pale, drenched in sweat, she trembled but stood.
Noyes studied her a moment, then resumed his calm stance in the center. His voice rang cold once more.
"Continue."