The Pragmatic Villainess

"He's helped me so far. He is why I could discover my physique and finally have hope of getting rid of my powerlessness", Lin says with a thankful smile.

"I don't think Shinji is after any benefits, from what I know, he seeks fulfillment in entertainment. From what I can see he hasn't changed since when I first looked up to him.", Albert says.

Adalinda nods and says, "I can tell that he doesn't have intentions against us but it's still bugging me that he has strange actions, he hasn't even explained where he got the information about Kagai-Sha from. And I can't doubt him because Headmaster Hideo trusts him, thus giving him credibility, even all of you do too. I'm more inclined to believe he's got his secrets. What bothers me is that he seems to have a better grasp of the situation than, more anyone right now. Just now we were suggested to head to the place up ahead.", She gestured forward.

"Power to gather 2 pieces of highly secretive evidence is already baffling enough, but he went out of his way to tell us. That would need inside intelligence from both Gold Coffin Academy and Kagai-Sha, either that or the ability of foresight to see into the future and make necessary preparations.

If he had intelligence on the Kagai-Sha already, he would have prepared beforehand by informing the Headmaster before all this. No, he could even have the hypothetical insider inform the Headmaster, but he didn't.

There is more evidence to suggest he has an intelligence-gathering ability as he talks familiarly with Drax and Kaitlynn who I have noticed to not recognize Shinji in our first meeting. Reasonable because they come from different Kingdoms entirely.

Immediately they became familiar with each other.", Adalinda gave an observation.

"Doesn't that mean Shinji can make friends easily?", Lin creases his brows not knowing where this is going.

"Before Drax and Kaitlynn met Shinji they both were minor acquaintances meeting only because Prince Albert invited them to a hunting group but immediately after meeting Shinji did they become more familiar.

Just now, Prince Lin, what you said Shinji was the reason you discovered your physique. You became familiar with him after that. This highly suggests some ability too.

I don't know about Princess Dongmei but I don't plan on prying.", Adalinda remained respectful and gave her honest analysis.

Dongmei glanced at Adalinda and thought inwardly, 'She has great reasoning skills and uses her intelligence and authority in the right things. She didn't press further about my relationship with Shinji but she investigated Drax and Kaitlynn when Prince Albert decided to invite them. She probably did the same for Princess Audelia which explains her wariness of someone who suddenly became a baroness getting close to the prince. As for the reason why she mentioned all of this in front of us... she may be showing her stance, warning us, and mainly informing Prince Albert of the hidden dangers.

She clearly knew everyone here has a good impression of Shinji, I can tell she doesn't hate the guy but took it upon herself not to be naïve and took the situation in and gave necessary doubt where it should be. After getting a small hypothesis she did what was important and wanted to tell Prince Albert who is her fiance.

She did it in front of us because we are the royalty of the Kingdom, she can entrust us with this thing. She also said it in public to say she isn't planning anything evil against Shinji and is merely gathering information to not only solve Shinji's secrets but also to have a grasp on a situation she isn't in control.', Dongmei felt enlightened and turned to Albert

'Brother Lin is oblivious to the underlying things but he is also casual so he didn't take it to heart when he heard Princess Adalinda's conjecture, rather he was intrigued. He even was pleased when Princess Adalinda respected my relationship with Shinji. Clearly, Brother Lin also approves of us...

As for Prince Albert, he is unfortunately blinded. I've already heard of the rumors that Princess Adalinda is after Prince Albert's wealth and status after their household fell in grace, only now were they royalty in name and even some nobility in their kingdom don't respect them.

It seems Prince Albert didn't take it in a positive way judging by his frown, I'm sure Princess Adalinda knows his character so why...', Dongmei turns to Adalinda and sees the latter staring at Albert, 'Either she doesn't realize or did it knowing full well of the consequences. Either way, she takes the prince as a high priority more than herself.', She notices this point vaguely.

They reached a point where the land was sloped in an upward direction. The greenery and monsters started to become less wood-like and more related to vines and moss. This detail was noticed by both Lin, a hunter who was once by himself, and Adalinda, whose daily goings to the library are frequent which added to her crystallized intelligence.

Gradually Lin changed his fighting style that was focused more on sweeping rather than stabbing to get better effects. Adalinda did the same and applied more flammability to her spells while focusing a lot on the sword which was perfect for cutting.

Albert slid through with the 2-Star [Beam Walk] and cleaved around, proving to be highly effective due to the monsters getting scorched with every cut of 3-Star [Photon Sheen]. With Dongmei supervising he feels enough security to try out a 3-Star spell for practice.

Adalinda wasn't far behind but she held back from using such levels of fire magic in consideration of the prince and the environment, she would use it at appropriate times. She kept certain proximity with the prince despite the latter's displeasure.

"Senior Dongmei, do magic spells hinder the training of the body?", Albert asks for guidance after hacking off another monster.

"Frequent use of magic trains the mind rather than the body but the spells you use on the body can give the effect of training due to the magic straining the body. I would recommend you use enhancement spells rather than movement spells because the latter uses mana to work out the actions while the former amplifies the action. The benefit of enhancement spells can even be the same as martial art techniques.", Dongmei explains patiently.

Albert nods his head finding it unfortunate that he chose a movement spell for a 3-Star spell. They gradually reached a cave at the top of the land mass to discover that on the other side was a cliff where its vertical wall is full of vines and plantations like it.

The large cave situated in the middle of the cliff was illuminated by luminous cluster stones found in its ceiling. Underneath the lights was a serene aurora lake. The lake's surface is covered in faint steam and the clear water revealed the dark red stones submerged. The rough stone looked fascinating as it seemed that fiery embers were crackling inside of them.

With a glance, Dongmei saw a red metal with a silver sheen at the bottom of the lake and immediately identified its traits, 'That is some high-quality metal, and judging by the cluster stones around it might be related to fire and light attributes, and might even have water attributes. As for if its nature is leaning toward magic or qi...'

Adalinda looks around to check if there were monsters attracted by the natural [Treasures] while Albert inspected the inside of the cave knowing that monsters usually guard the [Treasures]

Lin's ears perked after his eyes darted everywhere for a scan while Dongmei watched the group's actions finding their defensive and cautious actions to be decent. Lin's sensitive ears heard the crawling and tapping of rocks as several bugs resembling caterpillars and other herbivorous bugs come out of the cracks of the walls.

"[Cater-Pillar] is considered a delicacy due to it first being discovered by a gourmet who immediately found its potential in the food industry. They are Rank-5 monsters but only because of their strong shells that develop in relation to the minerals in their environment they usually appear in caves with huge greenery due to their main source of sustenance and attack means both come from the fibers from their habitat.

The monster is omnivorous and will eat the meat of prey that comes into its territory. It spews large quantities of sticky fibers that easily corrode metals and break down biological masses. They also use this for digestion."

The group left out the finer details and focused on the properties of the monster especially its means of attack. A mechanical voice kept speaking about the monsters that were rapidly reaching the entrance of the cave where the group was.

The sounds came from Shinji's scanner! It came in handy as the variety of insects started increasing. It seemed to be a gathering of a genus where every species under it was invited. The wriggling wave made a disgusting and creepy sight that would make any newbie shiver.

Adalinda and Albert shivered but it didn't mean they hesitated from casting their spells. They were mages and they were to make first contact to shape the field in their party's favor.

Magnified 2-Star [Bright Wave]

Intensified 2-Star [LeaBurn]

Adalinda was a step behind, but they both cast their spells in the end.

A bright shining wave pushed against the frontline as they scorched and charred. The insects that were held back due to the spell were then crawled over by the insects behind them.

A wave of fire spread out from underneath burning the increasing pile of monsters and cracking their shells like fragile clay pots.

Magnified 2-Star [Bright Wave]

Yet another wave of light came, pushing the flames further outward and scalding the third wave of insects making the horde pile up. At this moment, Lin took action and charged forward.

2-Star [Trench Traversing: Cavern Pace]

3-Star [Poison Rings: Scorpion Ring]

Lin bolts straight through with his spear, his steps covered in azure energy paving the way through the suppressed wave of flames. He strikes the top of the pile of monsters and his spear burrows grievous wounds to multiple insects while completely killing some of them too. Others in the periphery of the attack were blasted away, having their defense break away as the poisonous effects damage their hard-boiled shells.

2-Star [Trench Traversing: Rift Run]

3-Star [Poison Rings: Hog Ring]

Lin steps back and forth creating oscillating azure energy making him able to make multiple stabbing movements more quickly. He made a sweeping motion as he stabbed accurately at every insect that tried to appear in his sight. He took one step at a time culling the monsters.

When Lin reached the perimeter of the lake he deviated and continued his massacre to the right. Albert was just behind and aimed his magic against the monsters on the left of the lake while Adalinda used multiple 2-Star [FireStorm] to raze wriggling monstrosities on the back.

The trio made what looked like a formation similar to what you would see in a tower defense[1]. The insects with hard shells would suffer from fire which makes their shells brittle and their flesh burn and the numbers would split up due to the lake. Their fate would then be settled in whichever direction they pick, either getting stabbed and broken down or blasted and disintegrated.

It seemed like bullying, many of the insects could release sticky liquid that could restrain a lot of people, and together with other insects, they would become a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, they were fighting against the elements of burning fire, disintegrating poison, and scorching light.

After a while...the fighting died down with the insects fleeing out of fear. Dongmei, Albert, Adalinda, and Lin regrouped and dealt with the corpses. Adalinda once again consulted Shinji's scanner and began calculating reaped benefits.

She also began scanning the cluster stones on the ceiling and under the water, even focusing attention on the metal ore.

2-Star [Light Cluster]

2-Star [Fire Cluster]

2-Star [Aurora Water]

3-Star [Blaze Phosphorus]

The former 2 items were Clusters, which can be converted to the Cluster currency or used for strengthening Mages or Cultivators. It depends on chance whether the percentage and concentration of mana or qi are higher.

This also gave an incentive for trade which gradually gave rise to the universal currency of Clusters.

Luckily both Albert and Adalinda searched the Clusters and most of them had mana as the dominant energy inside. This will significantly help them advance in a short period of time.

The latter 2 were natural treasures due to the conditions of terrain and energy concentration. [Aurora Water] is able to cleanse curses to a certain extent and is good for enchanting fire and light elements. Drinking it gives temporary minor resistance to darkness-related spells and gives a minor boost to light and fire elements. Long-term intake gives a tiny increment of resistance for light and fire elements while giving a small increment of talent for the water element.

[Blaze Phosphorus] isn't phosphorus but is actually a metal with properties similar to phosphorus. When exposed to air it ignites using natural energies as a replacement for fuel. It glows in the dark and causes burns to blisters upon contact with organic material regardless if its ignited or not as long as the aforementioned condition is fulfilled.

As long as this metal can be melded with other supplements then its negative effects can be suppressed while its beneficial functions will be enhanced making it a good material for weapons.

As long as it's turned into a weapon or artifact, it should have effects such as resistance to the water element. Minor talent increment with the fire element. Boost to the fire element and small resistance to fire elements.

Dongmei reached out and controlled tiny amounts of Winter Forest Qi to make a small barrier around the metal and took it to the group.

Adalinda hesitated for a moment and asks, "Is Shinji able to make a weapon out of this?", to which Dongmei replies after a moment of thought, "He indicated that if you want him to make a weapon you would need a few other metals."

The former nods and says, "I'll give the [Fire Clusters] for the [Blazing Phosphorus]"

Albert liked the effects of the [Blazing Phosphorus] but he didn't find it compatible with him so he was more inclined to the [Aurora Water]. After thinking about it wisely, he reverted his choice back to [Light Clusters] as the [Aurora Water] could only reveal its best effects when enchanting weapons, which he did not have a weapon special enough to enhance it with.

For the same reason, Lin chose the [Aurora Water] to enhance his weapon, which works well with his dual-element physique.

Dongmei didn't find anything of interest and was going to store the [Fire Clusters] and carcasses but then Adalinda came up with an offer, "Princess Dongmei, may I purchase the [Fire Clusters]? I'll pay for them above market price after this situation passes."

The pale-blue-haired girl nods having expected that outcome and walked past the carcasses, swiping her hand across and taking them into her spatial ring.

The red-haired girl smiled playfully and took out her magic pouch capable of storing items in separate spaces. Her fox-like eyes watched as Lin, whose moonstone cyan spiky hair drooped a little due to sweating, reached down and touched the water using his spatial ring, sucking up the lake like a whirlpool.

She then fell off and landed on the bottom of the lake, which was about only 2 and a half meters deep. Adalinda finished up quickly as she ran around with a metal pick from the same magic pouch she stored all the [Fire Clusters].

After a long while, the group of four headed out of the cave having gained a lot of spoils. Adalinda turns to Dongmei and thanks her, "Princess, thank you for the help. This will be highly profitable."

Adalinda had the idea of using the [Cater-Pillar] for business and as such requested Dongmei to freeze some of the monsters alive. It was easily done as the latter went in deeper into the cave and took back a hundred of them. The former took the monsters solidified in ice and had them packed in several bags resistant to corrosion.

This was fortunate as bags normally come with strong corrosion and rot resistance effects, which are common when buying leather bags. If they needed something fire-resistant or ice resistant, they would have bought a bag made of some certain metal that came in cheaper and had corresponding effects.

Raising insect monsters would be easier than other animal monsters and they're better than plant monsters due to their low requirements in habitat quality. Of course, the minimum amount needed to make a decent habitat for animal proliferation would still cause some rich people to feel the pinch.

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Shinji and Quad went deeper into the forest as the former took the luxury of dismantling the corpses expertly while the other struggled with the tricky and slick monsters.

He stored a lot of the corpse meat into his pouch and left the important materials inside his spatial ring. Of course, he has already taken it out of his tongue. He asked Audelia to give hand in making his' pierced wound leave no scars too.

A [Garnet Diptera] flies in from Quad's blind spot, protruding a large sharp needle aiming for the latter's rather large veined neck.

Quad seemed to sense something, it couldn't be actual danger sense but after fight the same monster for a long time, he got a knack for their attack pattern.

'They went for my blind spot again', with that vague intuition, Quad shifted his feet.

Unfortunately, it was too late to dodge. With fearless resolve, he took the attack head on.

[MetaStone Fist: Shatter Fist]

Quad grasped something at that moment. He saw the monster's large needle and thought, 'Shatter Fist is to break sharpness with a single focal point. To shatter an enemies ability to cleave, stab, and cut'. At the last second, His StalagSpike Qi, from his [StalagSpike Cultivation Technique], stirs and the fist technique produced light brown colors.

Quad's qi has materialized in a fist technique! He adjusted his fist and made contact with the monster shattering the latter's weapon to pieces. This also affected the monster making it suffer lethal damage and dying from its head splitting afar.

Shinji looked up and gave a thumbs up on both hands, "Oh, That rocks."

[1]: [A tower defense game is a type of game where the player is situated in only one place (like a tower) and they have to defend it from enemies so as not to lose. This is just the template, there are always certain permutations and combinations]

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Author's Note:

Finally done with the exams last week and finally done with this chapter. Finally done 970 chapters in Lord of the Mysteries and trying to finish the book. 🧐

To hell with my procrastination but I ain't done nothin' bout it-

Lets just hope I keep up to schedule (what schedule? lmao)