7: Deception's Conclusion

"Fuck, that sure was close as hell to my liking." Defolta was now breathing a sigh of relief now that every threat around her vicinity were neutralized, most especially the Witch Matilda who prove to be the greatest danger of them all when left unattended.

Really, as Defolta mentioned earlier, what she really did was truly a gamble. To think that she flirted close with death itself and even risked being demented caused by Matilda's mind spell.

Defolta certainly made the right decision of saving up her five Attribute points when she leveled up. It was her saving grace as a matter of fact. The moment when she witnessed the System notifying her regarding the failed Mind Check and with her Mana constantly being drained as well, Defolta wasted no moment in dumping every one of her points to the Mind Attribute. Having a base value of 10 Mind, she basically increased it to 15. Not to mention, her hatred for Matilda bolstered it even further thanks to the Avenger skill, doubling the Mind to a whooping value of 30.

Mind Check (30), Succeed.

It was enough to break free from Matilda's mind debilitating symptoms. But the deception never ended there. Defolta's ploy was a necessity, due to the fact that her Mana levels then were quite low, and she was not exactly sure how she would fare against a powerful Mage or Witch in open combat.

Unfortunately, increasing her Mind via stat allocation did not in any way recover her lost Mana and simply just added her Maximum Mana value. During the course of her three-day trekking with Nekowa, her Mana recovered at an absurd slow rate, and the only way to reliably recover Mana fully is by proper rest and sleep. Perhaps there are more ways for recovery like Mana potions, but she possessed none of that, obviously.

Thankfully, Stamina was not an issue and did not suffer the same drawback as its Mana counterpart. Stamina can be recovered fairly quickly, especially when her foes were being murdered by her own two hands as a result of the Sadist skill.

Thus, Defolta resorted to more tricks on her bag, employing a crafty and dishonorable move that would make a certain evil incarnate all too proud. She would then feign weakness, continuing to display herself as a weak girl who submitted against the Mind spell of the Wild Witch.

And when Matilda's pride was tickled, Defolta took the opportunity and slashed her right at the throat. If Defolta's hunch was correct, then it would also serve to disable any further chanting of spells from Matilda that would otherwise shift the favor instantly to the Witch's favor.

Overall, it was indeed a very risky maneuver, but it all paid off in the end.

"The Mind Attribute." Defolta internalized while a frown was evident on her face, "This world most likely has some kind of unknown horrors waiting for us to tackle ahead. This was apparent when the System made a Mind check when I got a glimpse of the horror which is the battlefield of slain men, and the corpse of a little girl who was violated by adult men. It is safe to assume that there are people in this world, Witches like Matilda most likely, are capable of manipulating an individual's state of the mind. Yes, better to be safe and sorry, and dump some points in Mind every time I level up. The rest? I'll just save them for now."

It was a perfect timing for Defolta, having also recently leveled up after she performed the killing blow on Matilda. Now having another five Attribute points to spare, it was decided that she would spend two on Mind while the rest were going to be for reserve.

Mind (15 + 2) =17, Mana: 170 / 170

Mind with Avenger Buff = 34, Mana: 340 / 340

Note: Each Increase of Mind adds 10 points of the Magical Girl's Base Mana.

"Defolta!!" Nekowa appeared from her invisibility with a look of genuine concern, "Thank the heavens that you are alright!!"

"Indeed I am." Defolta grinned in response, "Looks like my plan worked."

"That was a risky move, you idiot!" Nekowa's mouth pouted in annoyance while tapping her hands at the Magical Girl, "I could have aided you, distract her, but your stubborn butt refused instead!"

"Well, it did work out in the end, so all is well." Defolta chuckled, "And besides, I also don't want to risk your safety, Nekowa. We actually don't know how powerful Matilda's magic really was if she was given the chance to showcase more of it. It was by a stroke of luck that Witches here in this world are most probably reliant on their words to cast their spells. I merely exploited their weakness. Of course, there may also be the possibility of chantless spell casting from other Witches or Mages who we may encounter, but let's worry about that in the future."

"I suppose you are right. I hate to admit, but I'm really useless when it comes to combat." Nekowa said with a gloomy tone."

"Nah, don't sell yourself short. Your eyesight has done both of us wonders." Defolta attempted to cheer the cat up.

"But even my sight was not able to detect the Witch." Nekowa was still depressed.

"Heh, some mishaps were bound to be inevitable, especially since we are in an entirely different world with a whole lot of the unknown in store for us both." Defolta remained optimistic, "Come on, kitty cat, cheer up. I don't blame you a bit, and you are a huge help to me so far."

"I… thank you, Liam." Nekowa's frown turned upside down and appreciated the Magical Girl's touching gesture.

"Now, we got some prisoners in need of rescue." Defolta said as she now was unto business, "The Witch's tent inside most probably holds some valuable information. Not to mention, some loot that is ripe for the taking."

The pair went inside Matilda's tent and what beholden them was a small bookshelf with an assortment of different books, a work desk, and a bed nearby.

It was nothing out of the ordinary at first glance. But of course, Defolta and Nekowa knew that a Witch's quarters were anything but that.

And both girl and cat were determined to find out the secrets behind the Witch's agendas.