Unless You Swear

"A-hab-Gul!"

Vivian gritted her teeth, spitting the name out one syllable at a time.

"You shameless bastard!"

"How could you... You have no right to tickle a girl!"

Ahab spread his hands and laughed speechlessly.

"You really have a short memory. I told you long ago."

"A newborn of my level has the right to tickle anyone!"

Vivian ground her pearly teeth until they creaked.

"Ahab Gul, I suggest you keep your hands to yourself."

"Gray has been banished, so he's already out for today.

"That first-class apprentice called Taize might not be able to last long against Senior Clifis.

"I can still endure ten-odd minutes of tickling.

"But if you dare touch me, once Senior Clifis comes back, you're going to regret it!"

Ahab raised his head and glanced toward the horizon, where the two figures had already vanished.

Even Instructor Gray, who had fallen earlier, had run off to who knew where.

Vivian's words were not exactly false. If a Void Cultist also trained as a wizard, they could be called invincible in single combat among those of the same level.

Old Wizard Merlin's original arrangement had been to have three first-class apprentices go in together and tie down the enemy's high-level Void Cultist.

But Clifis's betrayal had instantly turned the situation around.

And as the mole, Clifis would not give Taize the chance to activate his Rescue Badge.

Taize, a first-class apprentice, might not be able to hold out for long.

But things depended on human effort. Was he really going to give up just like that?

"Then let's see whether that senior of yours gets back first, or whether you break first."

Ahab placed both hands on the ribs at Vivian's sides, each finger lining up perfectly with one rib, and gently rubbed.

"Wait—there, it doesn't tickle!"

Boom!

A majestic bolt of lightning struck Taize head-on.

Taize wiped the soot from his face and kept flying into the distance.

Void Cultists hiding among wizards often learned highly explosive wizardry.

Because of the authority of See Through, Void Cultists could reliably hit their target four times.

As long as their burst power was high enough, it was entirely possible to kill an enemy instantly with four spells.

As a result, not long after the battle began, Taize fell into a disadvantage and spent the whole time fleeing with his head tucked down.

After only a few minutes, the two had chased each other more than a dozen kilometers away.

Boom!

The sky abruptly darkened. The lightning Clifis held in his hand connected straight to the horizon, its end nowhere in sight.

Clifis had affinity with several elements, but in the end, he had chosen to study the lightning element with the highest burst power.

It was all to maximize the power of See Through.

Vivian had chosen to study lightning-element wizardry for the same reason.

"No good. I can't dodge it!"

Taize twisted around and raised a thick energy shield.

Both sides were evenly matched first-class apprentices, so Taize should not have had much trouble blocking this bolt of lightning.

However—

"Knowing thou wouldst resort to this scheme, thus have I already..."

Clifis gave a wink, and the shield around Taize turned into an illusion.

Clifis was a high-level Void Cultist. Not only did he wield the more powerful authority of Banishment, he also wielded See Through.

"Clifis, screw your ancestors!"

Taize cursed, then turned to ash under the thunderous force.

"Gained 300 points of faith. What a sinful fellow."

Clifis clapped his hands together, making a gesture of a job well done.

"Time to go back and take a look."

"Still, that Ahab Gul really was strange."

"Gray said he poisoned an entire ship of apprentices, but my Spirit Vision couldn't see any sin on him."

Clifis was muttering when he saw a figure slowly rise into the air, meeting him at eye level.

Gray?

Clifis was surprised for a second.

The authority of "Banishment" could lock two of the three elements of a void-formed being and leave only one.

And the three elements that made up a wizard's combat strength were elemental witchcraft, body-refining runes, and bloodline transplants.

Just now, he had already banished Gray, restricting him to bloodline power.

In other words, before the end of the day, Gray couldn't use any witchcraft.

If he had also trained as a body-refining wizard, he likewise couldn't use any inscribed runes.

But as far as Clifis knew, Gray had never undergone a bloodline transplant.

Then why...

After meeting Gray's eyes, Clifis understood the answer.

The Gray before him now had none of a wizard's calm or wisdom on his face.

Instead, his face was twisted in a savage grin, his eyes filled with madness.

And Gray's left pupil had already turned a chilling scarlet.

It echoed from afar with the silver-white left eye of Clifis, the Void Cultist.

"A believer of the Ancient God of Life?"

"There have been frequent rumors lately that the Ancient God of Life is controlling all kinds of people in large numbers. Looks like they're true."

Clifis murmured.

On the other side, Gray threw his head back and let out an "urgh-aoo" roar, his body rapidly mutating and swelling.

In the blink of an eye, Gray had turned into a monster.

It stood five meters tall, its whole body covered in coarse black hair, its left arm swollen until it was as large as its torso.

On that swollen left arm were strands of viscous tentacles.

In an instant, Clifis sensed his life force being continuously drawn away by Gray.

"It's the authority of life."

"Then come on!"

Clifis activated his authority and tangled in battle with the beastified Gray.

"Pfft-hahahahaha..."

Vivian laughed until her cheeks were red, and fresh tears joined the dried tear tracks at the corners of her eyes.

Being made to lose control and laugh by Ahab left her, who had always been a little proud, feeling unspeakably humiliated.

Most importantly—

"It's almost been two hourglasses! Why hasn't Senior Clifis come back yet!"

In that single moment of distraction, Ahab used the tip of his nail to sneak an attack on Vivian's armpit.

"Haha, haha, cough cough cough cough—"

Vivian coughed with her neck stretched out, every part of her body itching so badly it bored into her heart.

Damn Ahab Gul!

And of all things, an itch was a sensation that simply couldn't be endured.

What was more, she, who had always been aloof and proud, had to itch until she shed tears and drooled in front of her greatest enemy.

This psychological torture was even harder to bear than simple cruelty.

"Hahaha, fine, you win, you win, I'll transfer the authority to you, hahahaha..."

"But you have to agree to a few conditions, hahaha..."

Vivian laughed in spasms, but her tone was still rather stubborn.

"Mm, what conditions? Let's hear them."

Ahab spoke lightly and calmly, continuing to trace the lines of Vivian's sole with his fingernail.

Vivian held her breath and only with great difficulty managed to say a long, coherent string of words:

"You have to swear to the Void Great Dao that after you accept the authority, you'll let me go, and you're not allowed to harm me directly or indirectly in any form!"

After saying that, she burst into another round of "giggle giggle giggle."

Since Ahab wanted to seize her authority, he first had to become a Void Cultist.

An oath sworn to the Void Great Dao was very binding.

Once a believer violated it, divine punishment would inevitably descend.