NOVPUBThe Philosopher struggled to walk forward, feeling her body become weaker and weaker.
She gasped for air and coughed up phlegm speckled with blood, nearly out of strength as she put down the bundle she was carrying in her hand.
She couldn’t carry it any longer.
Her fingers had already turned white from grasping it. The thing was too heavy for her.
In the simple bundle lay the scattered body parts of the Hatter—ritual materials she had acquired not without difficulty.
In the ritual, the Hatter had transformed into a robust young man. The Philosopher had traded information she had obtained with him, clarified the fact that she could no longer find her teammate, and expressed her willingness to form a team with him.
With the "Hatter’s" help, the Philosopher, who had just escaped from the cabin and was still weak, managed to enter the secret passage. She could barely stand at that moment, almost lifted and stuffed into the passage directly by the Hatter.
And after both of them had entered the secret passage, as soon as the Philosopher caught her breath, she immediately used a spell to ambush and kill him.
—There was no other reason; she desperately needed to heal her body and restore her strength.
There was no Priest for this ritual, and even if there were, it would be difficult to kidnap one to treat herself. Although the Hatter was now willing to cooperate with her, if she continued to appear so powerless, he might just kill her outright.
It was better to strike first.
As a mage of the Path of Wisdom, the Philosopher did not possess healing abilities. Fortunately, as long as she knew how to perform it, she could conduct some simple rituals even without the rank of the Transcendence Path.
And the corpse of a human with mana was an excellent material for rituals—
Indeed, she really had no talent for the Path of Wisdom, the Philosopher mocked herself.
After so many years and using so many resources, she had only just touched the third Energy Level of the Path of Wisdom.
The core principles of the Path of Wisdom are mystery, selfishness, and rationality. Guarding secrets, maintaining neutrality, staying rational, standing alone, outshining the era, uncomprehended by the masses—the wise who follow these rules—
The Philosopher was confident she could fulfill the first two but found the third difficult to achieve because she was prone to anger.
She wanted to dabble in the Path of Wisdom precisely because she felt she easily lost her reason. She hoped this most rational path would compensate for her shortcomings.
It might be the influence from the Transcendence Path or possibly the corruption of her rationality by the Pact with the Demon. When she encountered any pain or setback, she didn’t think about "keeping Silence and disregarding it," or "dismissively snubbing it;" instead, she immediately wanted to take action to make the other party pay.
Because she just couldn’t help it.
—She was so powerful!
High in status, rich in wealth, with a smart and capable heir, a part of an old aristocratic family with a legacy of hundreds of years, both a real power and a general with military achievements. Everyone gave her face.
But the requirement of the Path of Wisdom was to brush off the doubts and hostility of fools with a smile. On the path of pursuing the truth, all that quarreling and noise were just meaningless wastes of time.
That feeling of superiority, of overlooking all beings, of an inner disinterest in worldly affairs, the Philosopher could never grasp.
She had chosen this codename for herself when she ascended in the Path of Wisdom as a reminder to stay rational and think more about everything.
As a result, she not only became a fragile girl... but she also had to endure harassment and insult by such an old man!
—Had this been an ascension ritual in the Transcendence Path, she might have already resonated with the Path by now.
But this was an ascension ritual in the Path of Wisdom. The result was that she was not only raging—making her head spin, her vision dark, her limbs weak—but also feeling her spellcasting probability continually decrease.
In the end, in this Path of Wisdom ascension ritual, she still used a ritual from the Transcendence Path...
Dismembering a body by hand is exhausting, technical work, and takes a long time.
Her current state could not support manually dismembering the "Hatter’s" body, so the Philosopher directly consumed a bit more mana to swiftly set up a "Disassembly Ritual" and quickly disassembled his body into portable materials.
Afterward, she performed the first "Vitality Regeneration Ritual" with the remnants of the Hatter to replenish her strength for the first time.
Then she used his clothes as a bundle, packing those materials into separate bags.
She did not want to encounter any conflict at this time. Because she only had a bit of mana left, and completely exhausting it could potentially cause her to faint.
Compared to those who ascended using young male bodies, she definitely could not beat them without using her Extraordinary Abilities.
So after consideration, the Philosopher chose to use two-thirds of the materials left by the Hatter to set up traps. Explore more at freewebnovel
She had been setting traps along the path she walked. Due to the limited materials at hand, she couldn’t set up traps that were too aggressive.
Considering the possibility of entering the secret passage with companions, she decided against traps that would cause unconsciousness since the victims could be awakened by their peers. Therefore, the Philosopher ultimately chose the "Enervation Ritual."
It was a curse ritual that would render one’s limbs powerless, making it difficult to move.
If someone in the party triggered the trap, they might be killed on the spot by their temporary allies; but if the party members were indispensable to one another, they would choose to help by carrying or supporting, or they might even stay behind to try to lift the curse.
Either scenario would buy her a significant amount of time.
After triggering one trap, they would likely become cautious. They might even prepare countermeasures against curses.
Hence, the second ritual the Philosopher prepared was the "Acid Arrow" ritual, brewed from bile, gastric juice, and fresh blood.
When the enemies entered a long, narrow corridor, barren of everything, and lowered their guard after passing two-thirds of the way, a barrage of acid arrows would fly at them from the front. This first-level ritual might not kill a person outright, but it could cause intense pain and weaken their ability to move and fight.
Afterward, the Philosopher used the hat maker’s spine and liver to create an illusory wall that obscured light sources, marked with several runes. They might mistake it for a dead end and turn back thinking it was a trap, or they might investigate the wall out of curiosity. Beneath this light-blocking wall, the Philosopher set a tripwire to activate the Poison Stinger trap hidden behind it.
As someone attempted to inspect the wall closely, they would be stabbed by the poison stingers concealed behind it—to ensure that taller candidates would also be struck, she intentionally lowered the height of the writing so that one had to bow their heads to see clearly in the dim light. The repositioned stingers would then target their eyes.
—Could these three ritual traps eliminate at least three people?
The Philosopher wondered.
Taking into account the already deceased Foundry and hatter, plus herself...
If three more were removed, then there shouldn’t be many pursuing her anymore.
The first debilitating ritual was also a message for her allies—despite suddenly losing sight of them, the Philosopher kindly left them a clue. Upon encountering her traps, they should be cautious, knowing they were set by her.
She didn’t have many materials left.
She had planned to replenish her energy when she ran out of strength.
But now she hesitated.
—Because the Philosopher wasn’t sure whether the end of this secret passage required opening a door.
If it were a password or a riddle, it would be fine. With the intellectual development from the Path of Wisdom, she could figure it out quickly. But if it involved unknown commands or magical runes, she’d have to force it open with a ritual.
Using up any materials now could mean lacking that very item to open a door later.
"...One body is simply not enough."
The Philosopher gritted her teeth, deciding to economize further.
She would forgo restoring her own condition. 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
Initially, she thought if she couldn’t complete the New Moon Ritual, she could just find a place to hide. Even if she didn’t pass the test, there’d be no penalty as long as she remained alive.
...But after experiencing that ordeal, she suddenly felt that it would be too great a loss if she didn’t pass through.
However, at that moment.
She suddenly sensed a cold and sinister malice—without hesitation, the Philosopher picked up a bundle from the ground and threw it forcefully in one direction.
"Eat their hearts, chew their livers, command with the blood of vigorous youth! Reveal thyself to them, oh drunken bull!"
She chanted aloud simultaneously.
The hearts and livers within the bundle caught fire, followed by a burst of flames intensified by the strong odor of alcohol.
Like straw soaked in wine wrapped around a bull, set ablaze—the golden red flames surged. In the confined space, a shadow like a bull dashed in the direction she pointed.
Yet, to her dismay, she heard no screams.
"—Are you... Alai?"
Only a cold and hoarse voice rose.
A tattered black cloak unfurled in midair, revealing an empty interior with no living person inside.
