第22章 恶魔真的来信了

Although summoning a larger water ball did not seem like a big deal—it could neither be used to attack enemies nor protect himself, nor could it undo the curse Michelle had placed upon him—the significance behind the water ball was far greater than the water ball itself.

It pointed out a path for Benjamin, a path that could lead to power.

Although he still did not know how to learn new magic or how to perceive other types of elements, at this moment, he had begun to believe in his talent for magic, and a sense of self-confidence was gradually building in his heart.

Facing magic, he was finally no longer completely in the dark!

"What is there to be so surprised about? It's just letting magic runes absorb elements to grow. Is such a thing really that hard to think of?" The system, never one to behave, persistently popped out to pour cold water on him.

"You've been getting more and more asking for a beating lately." Benjamin could not take it anymore and said in a low voice.

"I was wrong, you are a genius." The system learned to behave at the speed of light.

"..."

Benjamin was truly too lazy to bother with it.

Returning to the matter at hand, he finally pulled his focus away from magic cultivation and returned to reality. He raised his head and glanced at the tightly shut iron door.

He had been in this basement for quite a long time: the initial rest, followed by Mary's visit, and then the subsequent ten-plus hours of studying magic... If his calculations were correct, it should be the early morning of the second day outside the door.

However, staying in the basement without any sense of day or night, he could not be entirely sure.

When would Claude finally vent his anger and let him out?

His manservant, Jeremy, should have returned long ago with the tasks he had assigned. Although Benjamin could no longer remember what he had sent Jeremy to do, he needed to keep Jeremy running errands to distract the attention of The Church and obtain Annie's inheritance as soon as possible.

Time was not exactly urgent, but it was not exactly abundant either. Michelle's curse was like a ticking time bomb; who knew when it would explode? He only feared that if danger came again, he would still lack the power to contend with Michelle.

However... there was no point in worrying now.

His father's intentions were impossible to guess, and he had no idea to what extent Mary could persuade him outside; in the world beyond the door, anything could happen. Thinking of this, he sighed and had no choice but to try his best to relax his mind and stop being so anxious.

No matter how anxious he was, he had no way to walk through walls or doors to get out of this small basement.

Therefore, he actually felt more relaxed.

He stared at the ceiling and zoned out for a while, treating it as a way to recover the energy consumed during his "meditation." By the way, Benjamin had just decided to call the cultivation method of absorbing water elements into characters "meditation."

It sounded a bit cliché, but as for the name, as long as it was easy to remember, that was fine. Benjamin thought to himself, besides, he wasn't writing a novel, so why be so imaginative? Giving it a cool, flashy, world-shaking name wouldn't make his "meditation" any more efficient.

After zoning out for a few minutes, he started to have nothing to do again. He was a little hungry, but not very hungry; he was a little sleepy, but not very sleepy.

After thinking about it, he decided to continue "meditating."

He lay on the ground and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep in case someone came in and thought something was wrong. In his heart, he had long since sunk back into his consciousness space, starting to urge the water elements again and again to strengthen the central blue triangular rune...

The process of meditation was quite slow; he was not satisfied with this, but he could not find a way to improve it.

However, this meditation session was not as long as the last one, and he did not fuse all the water elements in his consciousness space into the rune.

Because, when he was more than halfway through, he was suddenly interrupted by someone else.

It was the first time he had been called out while in his consciousness space.

The feeling was not pleasant; it was a bit like being woken up shortly after falling asleep. His head felt a bit dizzy and heavy, and he felt a bit annoyed. The calls echoed in his ears, forcing him to wake up from his grogginess.

"Young Master! Young Master! It's time to wake up! Young Master!"

Benjamin opened his eyes and saw a large face looming right in front of him, which startled him.

After subconsciously backing away, he realized what was happening.

It was Jeremy, his manservant.

It wasn't just Jeremy; another person was standing in the basement at that moment. Benjamin's mother, Mary, was also standing at the entrance, looking at Benjamin with a gentle smile. Behind her, the iron door that had been tightly shut for so long was wide open, and the previously dim basement was much brighter.

Benjamin was stunned for a moment, but he quickly came to his senses.

He could finally leave.

However, he was not in a hurry. Instead, he glanced outside the door, and finding no one there, he asked, "Where is Father? Didn't he come? Has he forgiven me?"

He deliberately used a rather guilty tone, putting on an act of being very afraid of Claude.

"It seems there was some trouble in the southern fief, so your father went over there. He probably won't be back for about a week," Mary replied with a smile. "But before he left, he told us to let you out. So don't worry, your father won't be angry anymore."

Hearing this, Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't just because he could leave the basement. Claude going on a long trip was also good news for him. Although the fear on his face was just an act, in his heart, he also felt that Claude was a nuisance and didn't really want to face him.

"Thank you, Mother. I really couldn't stay here any longer." Benjamin stood up and continued to show a pitiful expression toward Mary.

"It's alright, we can leave now." Mary smiled and turned to instruct Jeremy, "Take the young master back to his room. It's getting late; bring some food from the kitchen for the young master, then serve him so he can wash up and prepare for bed."

Jeremy hurriedly replied, "Yes, My Lady."

Accompanied by the two, Benjamin left the basement. Looking at the pitch-black sky outside, he realized that it was already the night of the second day.

He had spent an entire day and night in this small basement. This showed that his sense of time was indeed quite dull during the process of meditation.

Walking through the stairs and long corridors of the Riser Family, he returned to his bedroom under Jeremy's guidance. After saying goodnight to Benjamin, Mary turned and left to return to her own room to rest.

"Young Master, please wait a moment, I will go find the cook to get you something to eat."

After entering the room, Jeremy said this to Benjamin and turned to leave as well.

Benjamin had originally wanted to call him back to ask how the task he had assigned earlier had gone. However, thinking that he would be back soon, Benjamin was not in a hurry.

After experiencing such a long meditation, he couldn't bring himself to be anxious right now. Fatigue washed over him like a tide, and he just wanted to collapse onto his soft, comfortable bed and sleep until the end of time, regardless of whether the world fell apart.

Therefore, he walked to the bed, collapsed onto it, and rolled around, stretching his limbs.

"Ah, I never want to get up again!" he shouted lazily.

"Really?" the system asked.

"...Fake. I wish I could, but reality doesn't allow it; the conditions are too harsh. The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades still need to work hard." Benjamin sighed and replied.

Hearing this, the system was silent for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject and said in a low voice, "Is that so? I thought you had discovered what was under your pillow?"

Benjamin stopped rolling.

"What thing?"

Hearing the seriousness in the system's tone, his own tone became grave.

"You're asking me? Flip it over and look!" If the system had a face, this sentence would have been said while rolling its eyes.

Benjamin didn't waste any time and immediately flipped over his pillow. There, on the stark white bedsheets, lay a stark white letter. It was well-sealed, with no signs of having been opened.

Seeing this, Benjamin felt his heart sink as if he had realized something.

"God help me, don't let me be a jinx."

With a trembling heart, he took a deep breath and picked up the letter to scan it briefly. However, the worst-case scenario had occurred. On the back of the white envelope, written in black ink, was that nightmarish name:

Michelle.

Benjamin felt the world go black.

In a state of denial, he looked it over carefully twice more, confirming that he hadn't misread the name due to messy handwriting. The result was still disappointing; the word was "Michelle," without a doubt, the one and only "Michelle."

Was this retribution?

Being able to deliver a letter under the nose of The Church and place it under his pillow in his own bedroom without anyone noticing—Michelle's methods were indeed unexpected. And for Benjamin, this was not good news.

After repeatedly confirming with the system that he didn't know anyone else named "Michelle," he felt a bit of regret for the story he had concocted for the bishop.

"What's meant to come will come." The system's tone suddenly became enthusiastic and intimate. "Whether it's a letter, a greeting card, or a text message, the voice of a dreamer will not stop. Delivering your yesterday, recording your today, achieving your tomorrow, so that your dreams won't become distant because of the length of the journey."

"..."

Although he was speechless, after hearing the system's nonsensical rambling, Benjamin's mood was not as tense as before.

After calming down, he realized that he was no longer a hostage in Michelle's hands; Michelle had long since lost the power to decide his life or death. With the support of The Church, he could take the initiative.

When he was kidnapped, Michelle couldn't beat him. Now that he was free, there was even less to be afraid of.

No matter what Michelle said in this letter, no matter what traps were waiting for him, he just needed to deal with it calmly. Besides, weren't there people from The Church? He could completely hand this letter over to The Church and let them deal with it. The most powerful force on the entire continent was now his backing.

It wasn't that he trusted The Church so much; he just knew that The Church wouldn't let a noble meet with an accident right under their noses.

Just hand the letter to The Church!

Thinking this, Benjamin no longer hesitated, raised his hand, and neatly tore open the envelope.

However, unexpectedly, the first line of the first page of the letter was like a thunderbolt, completely disrupting all of Benjamin's plans. It read:

"You have great talent in magic. In ten days, I will come to teach you magic."

After a brief moment of shock, Benjamin realized that he had lost the option of handing the letter to The Church.

He saw the intention behind this sentence.

With a single short sentence, Michelle had cut off the possibility of Benjamin seeking help from The Church. He couldn't possibly hand this letter to the bishop; if the bishop saw this sentence, he would discover his magic on the spot. He would die faster than anything. Therefore, he had to bear the malice from this evil witch all by himself.

Michelle was as if she had mind-reading powers, guessing his thoughts with perfect clarity.

This was what made him feel the most uncomfortable.

At this moment, Benjamin realized that his situation had not improved at all. No, it should be said that it was even worse. At least before, Michelle didn't know he could use magic; he had used that fact to checkmate her and escape back to the Riser Family. But now, Michelle had already begun to use this point to counter him.

Would Michelle really teach him magic?

Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn't. But whether she taught him or not, Benjamin's life was still firmly held in Michelle's hands. Unless the curse was lifted, he could only be subservient and obedient to this woman.

In just this short moment, cold sweat soaked Benjamin's shirt.

The death game had begun again.

The death game had never ended.

Thanks to "Pure Lich King" for the tip~~~ Also thanks to b4g6b1 for the recommendation votes, and to 13erserker for the tireless daily recommendation votes. I might not list you specifically sometimes, but I have kept every bit of your encouragement in my heart, bowing~~~