Harvey ignored him, and Ash, finding no amusement in the situation, opened "Aurora's Mage Manual."

He had barely opened it when he received three messages.

"Death Mad Sword Maiden's Growth Report 6.14~7.4"

"Bonds Level: 4 (75% Experience Share)"

"Sword Technique Faction: Gold→Gold"

"Light Magic Faction: Silver→Silver"

"Water Technique Faction: Silver→Silver"

"Time Faction: Gold→Gold"

"Space Faction: 0→Silver"

"Magic Power: Gold Full Wings→Holy Domain One Feather"

"Training Evaluation: S!"

"Due to receiving an S rank evaluation, Death Mad Sword Maiden has received a professional enhancement from the Mage's Handbook: Death Cultist!"

"Death Cultist · Professional Characteristics: Has a 5% chance of inflicting true damage on the target's soul."

"With the enhancement in Magic Power, Death Mad Sword Maiden's innate talent has been strengthened!"

"Due to receiving an S rank evaluation, Death Mad Sword Maiden has received the professional assessment task 'Death Cultist'!"

"Death Cultist: In the next 7 days, instantly kill 100 targets using the Death Cultist characteristic. After completing the task, the Death Cultist professional characteristic can be permanently solidified! Current progress (0/100)."

Since Ash had parted ways with the Sword Maiden and the others in the Void Realm, there had been no growth report until now, which showed the accumulation of three week's reports.

The Death Cultist trait was terrifyingly powerful, as true damage could not be defended against or reduced by any means other than the Holy Domain. Paired with the Sword Maiden's already lethal hit-or-miss style of combat, once triggered, it equaled instant death. However, although there were many battles in the Distant Realm, the number of enemies was not high, unlike the Time Continent where one could farm enemies. Hence, instantly killing 100 targets presented some difficulty.

The Sword Maiden's talent improved from medium to high rank. Aside from the statistical enhancement, she could now summon the Phantom of the Grudge Dragon more closely—based on past experience, this effect virtually guaranteed an instant kill.

"Black and White Witch's Growth Report 6.14~7.4"

"Bonds Level: 2→4 (75% Experience Share)"

"Spirit Faction: Silver→Silver"

"Fist Claw Faction: Gold→Gold"

"Time Faction: Gold→Gold"

"Water Technique Faction: Silver→Silver"

"Space Faction: 0→Silver"

"Training Evaluation: S!"

"Magic Power: Gold Full Wings→Holy Domain One Feather"

"Due to receiving an S rank evaluation, Black and White Witch has received a professional reinforcement from the Mage's Handbook: Witch!"

"Witch · Professional Characteristics: Has a 5% chance of inflicting a special status on the target with each attack, lasting 5 seconds (Affection, Infatuation, Cherishment, Obsession)."

"With the enhancement in Magic Power, Black and White Witch's innate talent has been strengthened!"

"Due to receiving an S rank evaluation, Black and White Witch has received the professional assessment task 'Witch'!"

"Witch: In the next 7 days, trigger the Witch characteristic 500 times. After completing the task, the Witch professional characteristic can be permanently solidified! Current progress (0/500)."

Wow, Ash muttered to himself mentally. If the Death Cultist markedly reinforced the Sword Maiden's combat power, then the Witch was a peak new enhancement of the Witch's control abilities. But these special states, why did they sound so odd? Shouldn't they be states like stun, blindness, knockdown, and so on...

And it was said to be four special states, but weren't they all just turning the target into the Witch's dog?

The Witch's talent also underwent some changes:

"Innate Talent · Witch (High Rank): Receive an additional 200% experience in Time, low chance to gain 10000% Time experience, and occasionally summon the aid of the Bronze Dragon (unlocking higher talent levels as strength increases)."

Ash remembered that it used to be the "Bronze Dragon's Favor", but now it had turned into an assist?

"Yooran Weiser's Growth Report 6.28~7.4"

"Bonds Level: 0→2 (40% Experience Sharing)"

"Magic Power: Holy Domain Zero Feather→Holy Domain One Feather"

"Training Evaluation: B"

Weiser's growth report had hardly changed, and Ash could only muster a 'B' evaluation. After all, as a new operative who had just joined, it was normal not to have much growth.

What was more surprising was that Yooran Weiser's Bonds had actually gone from 0 to 2—mind you, they hadn't even been together for a week!

This pace was even faster than the Sword Witch!

Recalling Weiser's soft and almost ingratiating demeanor, Ash thought to himself that he had truly drawn an honest operative this time. After all, appearances can be deceiving, attitudes can be deceiving, but the system-displayed Bonds can't lie. If Weiser didn't have enough fondness for him, how could her Bonds have risen from 0 to 2?

Having looked over the growth report, a training strategy should be set.

However, after feeding them three "Advanced Physical Potions", "Advanced Experience Potions", and "Advanced Career Potions", Ash did not continue to schedule any specific affairs.

The situation was different now.

When the Sword Maiden and the Witch had first arrived, they did not put much emphasis on magic, so Ash had to prompt their growth through training strategies. But now that they were Holy Sanctuary Mages and understood their own path of magic, Ash's arrangements had become rather superfluous.

More importantly, it wasn't just the Sword Witch's Bonds with him that had risen, but vice versa as well.

He believed they would plan well and was happy for them to have more personal time to manage their own lives. As the Observer, all he needed to do was provide them with logistical support.

As for Weiser, even less needed to be said. If Ash could be suspected of being idle, but Weiser, a bona fide Holy Sanctuary Mage and a Truth Mage skilled in over twenty Magic Factions, how could she possibly neglect her studies?

Thus, Ash no longer set up training, learning, or entertainment programs, allowing the operatives to develop freely.

At this time Igula finally finished bathing and came out, and Ash stretched and went to wash up, asking while brushing his teeth, "Where are we heading next? I can't stand another day in Black Robe Town."

"Didn't you listen to the Mercury Wooden Horse?" Igula, drying his hair with a towel, said, "The Silver Lamp is in Black Robe Town, either we wait for her Prophecy to narrow down the search range, or we wait for her Prophecy to show us where the Silver Lamp is. In other words, we need to stay in Black Robe Town another night either way."

"No—"

...

...

In another room, Weiser looked at the three potions that had appeared on the table. After some thought, she actually skipped any detection and just gulped down the potions.

Her reasoning was very simple—Ash could send potions across Space, so if he wanted to poison her, why not just send the poison directly into her stomach? There was no need to worry about these possibilities; before Ash made a move, she would treat him as a Revivalist who relied on compound miracles.

Once he awakened from the illusion to reality, it meant he was fully revived.

"I'm already familiar with the Sword Maiden's experiences, but according to her, the Witch has no reason to like the Observer—she can't find an opportunity to deepen the relationship with him." Weiser mused, "The Observer's attitude towards the Witch is reasonable, the unreasonable part is the Witch... It seems the Witch has some information that only she knows."

"Which pair should I bring together first..."

Suddenly, a voice identical to hers came from the mirror, "You seem to be troubled over some very interesting matters."

Weiser turned her head and saw a demure girl step out of the mirror. She found it strange, "Has the Illusion Mirror Dragon been watching me too frequently lately?"

"Maybe it's because your recent experiences are very interesting," the demure girl said with a smile. "Seeing you like this, you must have met Ash already."

Weiser nodded, then suddenly asked, "What was Ash like in the other world you encountered?"

"Just like what you are thinking in your head right now," the demure girl lay on the bed, swinging her legs back and forth, "Apart from you and me, the only person who broke free from the illusion."

Weiser couldn't help but feel envy, "That sounds great, why did I have to meet this Ash."

She immediately shared her 'Fast Forward Relationship Plan' and asked for the demure girl's opinion, "Should I devise a way for Ash and the Witch to create opportunities, causing the Sword Maiden's annoyance; or should I let things take their course and help the Sword Maiden and Ash confess to each other, then let the Witch stir things up?"

However, the demure girl did not answer Weiser; she seemed to recall something, a strange smile on her face.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I just remembered something funny," the demure girl laughed, "The Ash in my world, he was married in reality."

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