First Memory Forgery

Benjamin realized he was far too prone to getting carried away.

"Heaven help me?" What a joke. Looking back at his experiences since transmigrating, Heaven wasn't helping him at all; Heaven hated him, hated him to death. If Heaven truly wanted to help him, it wouldn't have tossed him into such a wretched shell of a body.

He had also forgotten that "I can turn the tables" was one of the three great illusions of life—and he had already fallen for it once before.

How infuriating.

He had just been anticipating Michelle's appearance, and as it turned out, she really did appear. But before she showed up, the curse flared. Benjamin collapsed onto his bed, lacking even the strength to lift his pistol to aim at her, let alone turn the tables.

How insidious!

"I don't wish for our meetings to become so unpleasant either, but I have no other choice. After all, you already possess the ability to kill me," Michelle said quietly, as if telling a story to a child. "I only want to remind you that I am a mage, and you are a mage as well; The Church is our true enemy. If you stand on their side just to deal with me, you will regret it one day."

Benjamin wanted to open his mouth to curse her, but the pain from the curse made it nearly impossible to even speak.

"Don't worry, this pain will end quickly. Everything is just to remind you," Michelle said, clearly aware that Benjamin couldn't speak. "Find a way to open the Treasure Vault, and I will lift the curse for you. If I truly harbored malice toward you, I could have taken your gun and bullets right now, and you wouldn't have the slightest ability to resist."

As she spoke, she walked to the bedside and picked up the pistol that had fallen to the floor.

Struggling in agony, Benjamin instinctively reached out toward the flash of silver in Michelle's hand, much like a traveler dying of thirst in the desert gazing at an oasis in the distance.

Seeing this, Michelle let out a soft laugh and placed the pistol into Benjamin's hand. Benjamin tried his hardest to grip the weapon, but his trembling hands refused to obey, and the pistol fell to the floor once more.

Michelle continued, "But I won't take them. Aside from what I need from the Treasure Vault, I won't take anything that belongs to you. Consider this a gesture of sincerity for our deal. I hope you can trust me."

Trust your ass! Benjamin couldn't say it aloud, so he could only roar it in his heart.

Just then, he suddenly felt his body lighten, and the pain from the curse ceased. His heart leaped; he immediately jumped off the bed, grabbed the pistol, and the shooting interface flashed open before his eyes.

However, when he looked up to aim, he found that Michelle was already gone.

The room was empty, the corners vacant. He was the only one there; it was as if Michelle had never appeared at all.

Benjamin held the pistol, silent for a long moment.

In the end, he lowered his hand and sighed.

Same old routine.

He collapsed onto his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, feeling a sense of despair. Every time he thought the psychological trauma Michelle inflicted on him was enough, her next appearance would always bring even greater pressure.

Did she install cameras in his room? Did she plant a bug on him?

Otherwise, why did she act as if she knew everything?

Since she was already so powerful, why didn't she just kidnap Claude? Let Claude tremble in fear while handing over the entire Treasure Vault?

Why didn't she just blow up St. Peter's Cathedral? Why not strip the Bishop and his cronies naked, hang them at the city gates, and whip them for eighty-one days? That would surely satisfy her, right?

Damn it...

After cursing Michelle from head to toe in his heart, Benjamin finally calmed down.

He couldn't let Michelle lead him by the nose. His despair and anger were exactly what she wanted to see. He had to stay calm and think carefully. Only by analyzing her behavior clearly could he hope to defeat her.

Think carefully...

What was the meaning of Michelle's appearance today?

Benjamin knew very well that she was there to intimidate him.

Why did she need to intimidate him?

Because she was afraid.

As his emotions subsided, Benjamin's train of thought gradually cleared.

She was afraid that the next time she appeared, he would shoot her without a word and kill her. Therefore, she had to come here and put on this show to make him fear her, to make him afraid to use his gun. But why should he fear her? If it really came down to it, the mage he had crippled with a single shot in the outer city was definitely far more powerful than Michelle!

Benjamin couldn't be afraid of her. This was a psychological game; whoever flinched first would lose.

However, there was still one question: why didn't Michelle take his belongings?

Because she was bluffing, putting on a front as if she wasn't afraid at all to scare him, but in reality...

Wait, no... was there any need for her to bluff?

If she had taken everything, he would have had no ability to resist, making intimidation unnecessary. By leaving the gun, she actually increased the danger to herself. A single moment of negligence could lead to her being taken out by Benjamin in one shot.

Why would she do that? Aside from posturing, it seemed useless. Or was she just setting up a smoke screen to confuse him?

"Why? Why didn't she take the gun and the bullets?"

Benjamin's train of thought stalled as soon as it had cleared.

"Didn't she say it herself? She did it to show sincerity. You really are hopeless, taking kindness for malice," the system suddenly chimed in, speaking with a tone that suggested it had seen through everything.

"..." Benjamin couldn't be bothered to reply.

If it were truly as the system said, he would be thrilled!

A so-called deal was built on the foundation of equality between both parties. But as long as Michelle held his life in her hands, they could never be equal, and there would be no fairness in their deal.

He could help Michelle get the items from the Treasure Vault, but what then? If Michelle didn't lift the curse but instead used it to continue threatening him, what could he do? Keep working like a slave for her? He might as well be dead.

Pinning his hopes on Michelle's conscience, expecting her to lift the curse after getting the loot, was far too passive. And honestly, it was naive.

Therefore, Benjamin could only stall, drag out the timeline, and wait for Michelle to reveal a flaw so he could eliminate her. Or, he could stall until he found another way to resolve the curse.

Stalling again...

He was so tired.

He hadn't had a few days of peace before these matters came crashing down on him, leaving him breathless. He had to play tai chi with Michelle on one side and constantly watch out for The Church on the other. He felt like a ticking bomb, ready to explode at any moment.

Plus, with the military training Claude had dumped on him, how could he have any energy left to study magic?

Right, The Church...

Holy crap, The Church!

Suddenly, as if struck by something vital, Benjamin sat bolt upright on his bed.

"Hey... didn't you say that last time I was rescued by The Church, they extracted my memories?" Benjamin said to the system, his tone exceptionally serious. "Can you quickly forge another memory? One that starts from when I returned to the Riser Family—mostly true, but with all parts related to Michelle and magic deleted. A memory that won't raise any suspicions if The Church examines it."

Whenever magic was involved, The Church acted with extreme arrogance. He was worried that after the Paladin reported tonight's events, the Bishop might get annoyed and send someone to extract his memories again. He had to be prepared.

His memories contained things that The Church absolutely could not know.

He had gotten lucky last time. If it happened again, he was a dead man!

"Oh my god, how would I know how to do that? You're making things so difficult for me!" The system sounded startled by Benjamin's request and replied without hesitation.

"It's not that hard! Just copy the file format of my previous memories, create a new file, and input the fabricated memories we come up with. When they come to extract them, just transmit that to them. Easy!" Benjamin didn't dare give up and tried to rephrase it in a way the system could accept.

He had no other options for dealing with memory extraction besides the system. So, no matter how unreliable it was, he had to force it to come up with something.

"Hmm... hearing it like that, it actually seems possible." Fortunately, after a moment of contemplation, the system finally said those words.

"Then start quickly. I'm worried that after the Paladin reports the situation, they'll come for me tonight." Benjamin urged it again. Ever since this realization hit him, he had been plagued by a terrible premonition.

He had to prepare for such things as early as possible.

He felt he really was a jinx. He had just thought about "playing tai chi with Michelle while watching out for The Church," and now, he was truly caught in the middle, unable to move.

However, he soon discovered that the power of his jinx was far greater than that.

Because three hours later, the people from The Church really did arrive.