Mr. Witch Was Very Troubled

Every gift from destiny has been secretly priced.

Perhaps Triss didn't know this saying, but as someone who had already reached Sequence Seven, the various experiences she had after becoming an Extraordinary had etched this principle into her instincts.

No one would help you without reason; giving more than you receive often just means the other party can gain even more.

Looking at Triss's alluring eyes, the black cat suddenly stood on its hind legs, flicked its front paws, and said with a helpless expression:

"It's not impossible for me to tell you, but before that, I think you should understand that if you don't know anything, we're just making a transaction. Perhaps I'll gain 'favor' by giving you more than you paid, which would at most allow me to ask you to do things that don't touch your fundamental interests when necessary. Although there's some risk, once it's done, you won't owe me anything anymore.

But once you know the reason, you'll no longer be a chess piece that can leave the board after a game ends. Whether you like it or not, you'll be constantly dragged into new games, risking your life again and again until you're completely dead.

So, are you sure you want to know the reason?"

"Gulp..."

Triss involuntarily swallowed, suddenly regretting asking too many questions. If she hadn't asked about the damned "free gift" earlier, would she not have to face such a choice now?

Looking at the black cat's burning gaze, Triss felt her heart clench violently.

Should she be a chess piece, unknowingly placed on the board when it's time to play, and quietly withdrawn when the game ends, or should she understand everything and bear the risks that only a player should bear?

He's only Sequence Seven!

In discussions that could casually involve True Gods, what right did he have to be a player?

Seeing Triss fall silent, the black cat didn't urge her. Instead, it kept rubbing against the box containing Extraordinary materials until a one-eyed pattern with an infinity symbol as its pupil was carved onto it. Only then did it stop its actions and say indifferently:

"You don't need to rush your response; we have a long time to spend together."

"..." Triss took several deep breaths to calm her emotions. She really needed to think carefully.

However, as she looked at the kitten in front of her and the box several times its size, she suddenly remembered her purpose for preparing all this and asked:

"How are you going to take it away? Do you need me to give you a ride?"

"Just help me seal the room," the black cat rolled its eyes at Triss, then assumed a praying posture and chanted in Ancient Hermes:

"Traveler from distant time and space;

You are the contradictory spiral of logic and wisdom;

You are the reflection of knowledge, the reverse side of truth.

Your loyal servant begs for your gaze;

Begs for you to accept his offering;

Begs for you to open the gates of the kingdom."

This ancient incantation echoed within the spiritual barrier Triss had just opened, slowly accumulating a raging wind.

"No spiritual materials were used?" Triss's Witch Potion had endowed her with considerable ritual knowledge, which was precisely why she immediately recognized this as a sacrificial ritual and also realized how incomplete it was.

There were no candles representing herself and the deity, nor offerings to please the deity, nor spiritual materials for communicating with the divine realm.

Besides the three-part epithet representing the True God's status, the only thing locked in was the one-eyed symbol with the infinity pupil.

Yet, this simple ritual had already begun to work.

Under her dumbfounded gaze, an illusory gate made of white mist appeared by her bed, and above that gate was the symbol of the double-pupiled one-eyed creature.

Creak—

Although there was no physical sound, Triss seemed to hear the sound of an ancient gate opening. The illusory mist gate slowly opened, revealing a vast sea of clouds behind it that was difficult to describe.

"Don't just stand there, put the box in!" the black cat suddenly turned and glared at Triss. Triss felt a bit flustered, but intimidated by the terrifying pressure emanating from the misty gate, she instinctively cupped the box with both hands and handed it before the gate.

A suction force suddenly appeared at this moment and then quietly disappeared. The only change in the room was that the box had vanished without a trace.

The mist-formed gate quietly dissipated, and Triss finally let out a breath.

"Ignoring so many conditions yet still completing the sacrifice, and just to transport the raw materials for a mere Sequence Nine Potion, this cat... or rather, the person behind this cat, is likely a divine favored one enjoying immense grace."

At this moment, Triss no longer doubted the existence of a "True God" behind this cat. Even if it wasn't a True God, anyone who could use a three-part epithet must be a great existence close to the status of a True God.

Seeing Triss's fearful expression, the black cat revealed a humanized smile, leaped onto the windowsill, turned its head, and said:

"The transaction is complete. If you need anything, I'll find you again. As for anything you need, you can pray to my Lord."

With that, the black cat jumped off the windowsill and disappeared into the city's shadows.

"Pray?" Triss recalled the epithet the black cat had told her and was lost in thought. He didn't make any vows like "I, Triss, would rather die than..." because he knew very well that he wasn't praying now simply because he hadn't encountered a crisis that necessitated prayer.

Rather than falling into the abyss in the future, dying immediately was the most unacceptable outcome.

In a guest room on the second floor of the Fragrant Tree Inn in Tingen City, Sno endured the whispers echoing in his mind and opened the Summoning Gate.

Thanks to the near-infinite spiritual power output of "A Foot of Rod," he could afford to maintain skills that consumed no more than a quarter of his total spiritual power for extended periods.

Although most of the time he used it to ensure he could activate "Concept Swap" at any moment to evade active probing from certain viewership pathways, he still had enough yoyu to open the Summoning Gate like this.

In fact, if he wanted to, he could even use the Summoning Gate as a teleportation skill. The only problem was that Lily didn't have enough spiritual power to actively open the Summoning Gate.

But now, the spiritual power had arrived.

Sno opened the box and began to mix the potion using the hotel's teapots and cups. As a bottle of black potion, as brilliant as the starry sky, appeared in the cup, Lily's figure also appeared outside the window.

"My time calculation ability seems to have improved again," Sno chuckled as he released the consciousness attached to Lily and handed her the cup of potion—

"Drink it, this is my destiny."

Irresponsible commentary: You never know what the hotel's teapots have boiled...

ps: Speaking of which, some people didn't get the point at the end of the last chapter. Feng Xue's last words meant that the phrase "I'm serious about transactions" itself was not as valuable as the potion