[Anna·Kagreia: Purification Magic +1]
[Critical Hit Return! Host gains: Divine Purification Magic!]
Hearing the system's voice in his mind, Ashu felt a surge of joy. He quickly reviewed the information flooding into his mind and came to the following conclusion:
[Divine Purification Magic: Can remove curses and make the target immune to curses of the same level.]
In other words, from now on, whenever he encountered heretical beings specializing in curses, as long as they were within the same level, he could completely immunize himself against their curses and defeat them with ease.
"Phew, I feel much better."
Thanks to Anna's Purification Magic and the system's return, Ashu felt both physically and mentally refreshed.
"Anna, do you have any other magic you need to relearn? Can you demonstrate it? I'd love to have a good look."
Ashu held Anna's small hand, a plan forming in his mind.
Since Anna was like a walking library from the Witch's Guild, she must have mastered a vast array of magical skills, especially since she was a universal practitioner.
As long as she relearned all the magic she had lost, the system would provide a return of several times the amount!
He could become a magic powerhouse in no time.
Anna smiled slightly and replied, "I'm just a cultivator apprentice now, unable to even reach the level of a full cultivator, so I can only use magic available to apprentices. For higher-level magic, even though I have complete knowledge and extensive experience in my mind, I still can't cast them."
Hearing this, Ashu's dream was shattered.
For Anna, as long as her cultivation level rose, learning new magic would just be a matter of thought. But due to the cursed mark, her cultivation could not advance.
So.
In order for Ashu to rack up multiple times the reward through the system, he would have to help Anna overcome this hurdle.
"Anna, any progress with your mark...?" he asked.
"It will take some more time. If the current method is correct, we should see results in about ten days."
"Don't stress too much. I'll help you think of other ways."
"Mm."
Despite these words, the next morning, before Ashu even opened his eyes, a prompt from the system arrived.
[Anna·Kagreia: Magical Essence Control Proficiency +1]
[Critical Hit Return! Host gains: Magical Essence Control Proficiency +18!]
Ashu opened his eyes and saw Anna, with her long silver hair cascading down, diligently studying by the bedside. She seemed to have made some progress, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Today, the return multiplier had increased again, reaching 18 times.
Ashu didn't disturb Anna. He quietly got up, washed his face, and then, with muscle memory, began cooking breakfast.
The results of last night's battle were still visible on the main road.
He pushed the door open and saw a few early-rising villagers standing by the giant serpent's corpse, pointing and whispering.
As soon as the villagers saw Ashu come out, they quickly greeted him with enthusiasm.
"Ashu, is this the monster from last night? You're amazing!"
"Oh my god, this was the monster from last night?! Thank goodness Ashu warned us, or we would've all been swallowed alive!"
"Ashu saved my life! What else can I say? From now on, whatever Ashu says, I'll do!"
"Who cut open its belly? Was it you, Ashu?"
Ashu walked over to the giant serpent's corpse. Last night, it had been too dark, and even with the moonlight, he couldn't see clearly. Now, he could finally appreciate the full scale of his trophy.
Kidopriest had already disappeared, probably returned to the town to report. The serpent hadn't even moved by the time he left.
From the looks of it, the giant serpent was easily over two hundred meters long—so massive it was almost terrifying to think about.
If Ashu had known how long it was last night, he would have just packed up and left without hesitation.
Fortunately, Anna's guidance had been precise enough, delivering a direct hit. Otherwise, such a massive creature could have wiped out Gorn Village just with its size.
"The belly was Kidopriest's doing," Ashu casually replied.
"The fatal blow on its head, though, that must've been you, Ashu! You're even more impressive than Kidopriest! From now on, our village will rely on you!" one of the villagers said, throwing in some flattery.
Ashu didn't respond to this.
Just then,
A discordant voice rang out from a distance.
"Carol~ Carol~ Mom's Carol~ Are you in the snake's belly?"
The group turned toward the sound and saw Carol's mother stumbling toward them, her hair disheveled and her clothes in tatters. She was the only one left alive from her family, and the cause of death was from her own kin's reckless actions.
Hadn't Carol's father invited the wizard from Creekwater Village into their home, none of this would have happened, and Carol wouldn't have crossed paths with that wizard.
As a result, Carol's mother's mind had been shattered, and she had become somewhat deranged.
"Damn! How did she end up like this?"
"Sigh, there's nothing we can do. Carol was just tested for spiritual perception, level one. She was about to bring her whole family up in the world. Who would've thought her father invited that wizard from Creekwater Village, killing Carol and himself in the process?"
"Wait, how do you know all that?"
"Didn't you see the notice at the village head? Kidopriest left it behind. He sacrificed three law enforcers just to find Carol and her father's bodies!"
"Damn, that old fool really messed things up! Not only did he destroy his own family, but he also got three law enforcers killed. You know the city's going to send people down for a big investigation soon."
As the villagers murmured and sighed, Carol's mother approached the giant serpent's corpse and desperately tried to crawl into the creature's belly through the gash. But she wasn't a cultivator. The height Kidopriest could easily jump with his abilities was impossible for her to reach without a ladder.
Carol's mother tried several times, but each time she fell to the ground.
The pain and the falls seemed to bring her back to her senses. She turned a venomous gaze toward Ashu.
"Ashu! It's all your fault! You killed my Carol! You must pay for her life!" Carol's mother shouted, her voice full of fury. As she spoke, she picked up a wooden stick from the side of the road and began walking toward Ashu.
It seemed like she was planning to challenge Ashu.
Seeing this,
The villagers quickly intervened, trying to dissuade her: "Enough already! Get a grip on yourself! Your daughter turned into a monster and nearly killed Ashu and the Saintess, and as a mother, shouldn't you be regretting your actions? Instead, you're blaming Ashu? What the hell is wrong with your family?!"
"That's right! You're crazy! You're impossible to reason with! I actually felt sorry for you at first, but now you're biting the hand that saved you! To hell with you! If it weren't for Ashu and the Saintess, your daughter would've run through the village and who knows how many people she would've hurt! That damn monster, if it hurt my family, I'd personally chop your entire family into pieces!"
"Get lost!"
"Get lost!"
"Get lost!"
The villagers' judgment was cold and harsh, but it wasn't without reason.
They didn't have enough sympathy to show compassion for a madwoman. In fact, they were all afraid of getting involved with her, as she would likely stick to them like glue, making it hard to shake her off later.
That, for their families, would be catastrophic.
Even the onlookers, who didn't speak out, didn't stop those harsh voices either, and in doing so, they subtly distanced themselves from Carol's mother.
"You… you… Carol's soul will never forgive you, and neither will I!"
Carol's mother swung the wooden stick around, marking everyone as her enemy.
Then, she ran off, madly heading back to her home.
Ashu looked at her retreating figure, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. No one liked dealing with a crazy woman causing a scene at their doorstep first thing in the morning.
With that, the matter seemed to be over.
However, a new problem quickly presented itself: What should be done with the enormous corpse of the giant serpent?
Not only did it occupy the fields, but once it started decaying, the stench would spread throughout the entire village. Furthermore, it was an alchemical beast—who knew if its decomposing body would cause permanent damage to the land?
The most troublesome part was that Gorn Village was a dispersed settlement, with each house not built side by side but separated by patches of open land. Therefore, only Ashu's house was nearby, with the serpent's head facing his front door, and there were no neighbors around to help.
If they needed to move the body, unless they offered payment to the villagers, no one would be willing to do it for free.
"Ashu, what do you plan to do with this monster? Its meat shouldn't be edible, right?"
Upon hearing this,
Ashu replied, "Of course not. I don't eat alchemical products. Eating it might turn me into a monster too."
His somewhat nonchalant comment made the surrounding villagers burst into laughter.
He finally understood.
Back in his past life, when he was just a corporate drone, those higher-ups were just like this—saying anything and having everyone below them laugh like sycophants.
"Let's wait and see. Maybe the Cultivator Guild will send someone to handle it. If they don't show up by tonight, I'll light a big fire and burn it all down."