Chapter 1: Did I wet myself?!

Chapter 1: Did I wet myself?!

Aella abruptly roused from her slumber when she sensed a sudden warmth spreading within her. A burst of hot fluid snapped her out of a dream and the sudden movement she made freaking hurt, causing the delicate contours of her face to crumble.

'Argh... C-Could it be…?' she thought, her heart pounding in her chest, 'Did I… wet the bed?!'

It was a sensation she had hoped to never experience again, especially after her recent coming-of-age ceremony. 

For pete's sake! She is a fifty-year-old witch and is now a full-fledged adult!

The mere thought sent waves of mortification through her.

'No, no, no. This can't be happening to me!' Aella's delicate face which stopped aging from the age of eighteen crumpled into a grimace. 

Now, how could she face her new squad and explain the stench that would have clung to her sheets? 

It was her first day with them and they decided to camp the night out in a clearing inside a dark forest after exterminating a horde of beasts and collecting their meat and cores.

Today should have been filled with excitement and anticipation since it was the first time she would be able to free herself from the clutches of those old, boring witches in the Central area.

A breath of fresh air, Aella thought she would have that despite going on an arduous journey.

But what's this? Will she really end up as a laughing stock among her peers and consumed by embarrassment because she couldn't keep herself in check?

'Mother, Father, I want to go home,' she sniffled, her heart aching with homesickness. 

Aella doesn't even want to force open her tightly shut eyes which felt like they were glued with dried tears, 'Did I cry last night?' not wanting to confirm that she really did piss herself off.

Luckily, witches are privileged with magical stuff, and she doesn't need to share her quarters with the others.

'Am I really lucky at all?' she wanted to cry. 

A sharp pain radiated through her. Her chest was still rather tight after waking up on the wrong side of the bed, and her body felt heavy, yet oddly full. 

It was a strange sensation as if something was growing within her. 

"Argh!"

A sharp cry escaped her lips as she attempted to sit up, only to be met with a throbbing pain in her temples.

'Perhaps I overexerted myself during last night's hunt,' she mused, her body aching from the previous night's exertion. The thrill of leaving home had quickly been replaced by the harsh reality of adulthood. 

'If I just listen to my father about not venturing out, would I be in this situation? Ugh, working outside is not fun at all it seems.' 

All that excitement for nothing. The apocalypse was a brutal, unforgiving event. One mistake and it's all over for one person or worse for the entire group.

They had encountered a large group of infected beasts and humans. Aella had to use every ounce of her magic to support her comrades in order to halt the advance of the beasts through their protected territories, endangering the old and the children if a beast wave came.

However, the true purpose of their mission was not just to cleanse the area, but to procure meat. Other than providing support from the rear, she had to process their harvest.

Pure blood witches could use a great amount of magic and have the ability to purify meat, making them invaluable assets to the survival of mankind. That is why despite her lack of muscle and fighting ability, Aella became a member of a seasoned human mercenary group after her coming of age, a point where her magic power became stable. 

Meat from infected beasts rot fast. In that case, a witch like her is needed to purify and seal the infected beast's carcass right after it dies, placing it inside her magical storage brimming with mana that maintains its freshness after cleansing it to the highest quality.

Five decades had passed since the apocalypse descended upon the Middle Realm. The witches and humans had long since settled their differences, ending the witch hunts and wars. In exchange for providing the humans with a place to live, the humans developed the witches' terramare into a secure and expansive domain, using their advanced technology.

After the unification, although rare, intermarriage between willing witches and humans became widely accepted. Fostering hybrids capable of wielding magic but it wasn't comparable to pure bloods.

Evidently enough with the way they age just like any other normal humans regardless of having greater features enough to pass like a modern day idol with towering build in contrast to a pure blood witch's delicate features.

Despite their small numbers, the pure blood witches who resided within the innermost and safest part of the territory were a formidable force, their magic and witchcraft are not to be underestimated. 

To this day, a lot of clans are very strict in preserving their bloodlines. 

Apart from their innate power, humans are highly dependent on them for survival especially with the lack of resources. Regardless of the hybrid's small magic, only pure breeds have enough magic and the ability to cleanse contaminated food. 

Thus, they wouldn't go against the norm of the conservative witches to only let their kin go out once they had reached adulthood. 

At this point, they are very confident that they have instilled their teachings and practices well, preserving their maidenship for fifty years through avoiding contact with the outside world, especially men. 

Apparently, Aella was a part of such a clan. 

'Right, I'm a noble witch. I should keep calm. If… If they make fun of me, I'll turn them into slugs!' she frantically thought, her heart was beating as loud as the continuous banging of a drum.

It just so happens that dealing with people in embarrassing situations wasn't part of their teachings. 

Aella instinctively reached up to touch her head, but before she could move her hand, her wrists were bound by something tight. Her arms were pulled above her head, leaving her helpless and unable to resist. 

"Huh?" She tried to pull it down but it won't budge at all.