Chapter 253 (1): Spoiled Pride Will Soon Lead to Ruin

Wayne slapped Senna’s backside and waved his hand to heat the water, dragging Senna into the hot spring with him. The hot spring itself wasn’t the point, but a means to trample her dignity. Things had changed. Silvia was not only Senna’s student, but her master’s master.

When facing Silvia, Senna would have to learn to show respect, just as her master did.

Moreover, it would be a chance to study her body—it was serious scientific research.

Senna was Wayne’s first true follower, quite different from Filomina. Wayne wanted to find a balance by studying Senna’s transformation. If he could strike a balance, perhaps he could lift Silvia’s and Veronica’s curse while maintaining their human forms.

He examined Senna thoroughly for half an hour, checking every part of her body, but the results weren’t encouraging. Outside of confirming that Senna was indeed a great beauty, he’d discovered nothing.

Because he had corrupted her with no regard for consequences, her transformation was quite complete, making her research value far lower than Filomina’s. But Filomina’s corruption had exceeded the point of balance, too. She just didn’t know that she had undergone a life-changing transformation because Wayne had kept it from her.

Wayne climbed out of the water, his body melting and diving into his clothes before reshaping into his human form. His brows furrowed. He needed a new test subject, someone he could evolve as slowly as possible to find that balance point.

He didn’t want to do it. The evolution path of the ancient god was only an excuse to fool people; he didn’t even know what he was himself. To not cross the line of morality, he wouldn’t actively capture test subjects unless they were wicked women like Senna, who had brought it upon themselves.

If he didn’t conduct research, though, Silvia and Veronica would never have their curses resolved. The Goddess of Nature didn’t even pay Senna, a legendary mage, any attention, so those two would fare no better.

Since he couldn’t count on the goddess, he had to figure it out himself.

“This is hard. I can throw away my heart, but not my conscience...”

Nonsense, you’ve long lost your conscience.

Senna trembled as she climbed out of the water. Hearing his muttering, she wanted nothing but to call him shameless, but she only dared to think it.

Even thinking it caused both her arms to melt and fall off. The two clumps of white foam writhed slowly on the ground. She regenerated her arms and absorbed the foam back into her body. On her first day of not being human, her heart had already become cold.

Worse yet, when Wayne disciplined her, not only had she felt no shame, but she had actually enjoyed it. She tasted a pleasure she had never felt before at the edge of falling.

Senna despaired. Her pride was spoiled. It would sooner or later lead to her ruin.

“Don’t be sad. Every faith is the same. If I weren’t tormenting you, the Goddess of Nature would torment you eventually.”

At least the goddess is female!

“So what? Don’t be so stuck up on sex and gender. Use your imagination a little, will you?”

“...”

“Whoa, isn’t your imagination too vivid?” Wayne waved his hands repeatedly at the mental image he had seen, grinning from ear to ear.

Stop looking! Stop reading me!

Senna staggered to her knees, her grief and rage reaching their peak. Her pride was trampled and covered in dirt, making her yearn for nothing but death.

Wayne handed her her clothes, but Senna slapped them away. Whatever. She no longer had a future. She strongly suspected that she had destroyed the world in her past life, or she wouldn’t suffer such terrible karma.

“Look at the bright side, Senna. I’m about to leave headquarters, so we won’t see each other for years. Doesn’t that give you the will to live again?” Wayne held up her undergarments with two fingers, shaking his head judgmentally.

As a fashion designer, he found her terrible taste disagreeable.

“That was only a lesson for you not to badmouth Master Silvia in front of me. Again, you can keep your dignity and decency, unless you don’t want them.”

Wayne urged her to hurry up and get dressed. She was a grown woman. She shouldn’t seek death after encountering such a trivial setback. If everyone were as psychologically fragile as she was, humanity would’ve gone extinct long ago.

He pontificated and fed Senna platitudes, barely making her recover her spirits.

She didn’t stand back up because of his empty encouragements, though, but because of the fact that Wayne would soon leave headquarters, and freedom was beckoning to her.

It would be a world without Wayne!

“But you’re full of Wayne...”

The difficult truth hit Senna like a bullet to the chest. She put her clothes on with shaky hands, quickly recovering the cold expression she had had on her face during their first meeting. Since she had given up on herself, she was ready to vent her frustration on the world.

Wayne pursed his lips. This woman was unhinged. When she had suffered a misfortune, she wanted to drag everyone else down with her. Since she couldn’t take revenge on Silvia, she switched targets to someone else.

He didn’t comment on it since the restraints of his thoughts would make sure that Senna could do nothing but daydream. She would understand that eventually.

“Senna, during the earlier selection round, I encountered an interesting forest—the Misty Forest. Find a way to make it mine.”

“The Misty Forest is the church’s property, not mine to—”

“This is an order, not a request. If there’s a problem with that, solve it.” Wayne huffed. “You must have burned a few storages to claim the treasure inside as an immoral higher-up. Why don’t you just do it again? Do I really have to teach you that?”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

“No, that’s not the problem. The Misty Forest can’t be burned down,” Senna said stiffly. “The forest is a tethered vitality field, made with the concentrated lives of legendary mages. It’s one step away from becoming the Philosopher’s Stone...”

“Wait, explain in more detail. What is the Philosopher’s Stone, exactly?”

To his knowledge, the Philosopher’s Stone was an alchemical masterpiece, also known as the fifth element or the miracle stone. Senna explained that, indeed, the stone was related to alchemy, but the materials were the precious legendary mages.

More precisely, legendary mages met the bare minimum requirement as the stone’s material, but the success rate of creating a Philosopher’s Stone out of them was low, nigh impossible.

To create a Philosopher’s Stone, demigods were needed.

A demigod’s vitality domain could influence others and grant knowledge and power, creating followers. A Philosopher’s Stone made with a demigod could grant the user the power of a demigod, allowing them to create a domain and convert people. And with alchemy enhancing the power, the stone would be more widely applicable and effective than what a demigod was capable of.

Senna made a simple example: she was a follower of Nature. With a Philosopher’s Stone, she would be able to create a Death and Darkness follower through the imagination of her thoughts.

The stone could not only grant vitality domain, but also help the user reach their full potential, projecting their imaginations into reality. More incredibly, the stone posed no requirement on its user. Even a mundane person who had never learned magic could use the power of a demigod without concern.

For those reasons, a Philosopher’s Stone was more precious than a demigod.

“What’s the catch?” Wayne interrupted her. “Everything comes with a price. What’s the price of using a Philosopher’s Stone?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen a real Philosopher’s Stone, and there is no demigod in the Chosen Land. The known price is the life of a demigod.” Senna shook her head, her tone making her yearning for a demigod clear.

Her expression changed minutely. Now that she had gone down a more advanced evolution, demigod was no longer an unreachable dream. If she became a demigod one day, would she be able to drive Wayne’s thoughts out of her?

“Give it a try,” Wayne encouraged. “It should be possible, so work hard. I have high hopes for you.”

Senna paled, worried that he would drag her back into the water to discipline her. She hurriedly explained, “I don’t mean to betray you. I just... I haven’t gotten used to this. Give me time. I promise to never entertain such fantasies.”

“Don’t. I appreciate such fantasies. You are free to think like that. I approve of ambitions.” Wayne patted her on the shoulder, his words taking a turn. “But don’t entertain childish betrayal. If not for your arrogance, you wouldn’t have fallen under my mercy.”

Senna glanced at him carefully, looking for confirmation. If Wayne permitted betrayal, she would have the drive to stay alive.

“Yes, I like ambitious people.” Wayne nodded. “Keep going. What’s the deal with the Misty Forest?”

Whether he was telling the truth, Senna held onto the hope like a crutch. “The Misty Forest originated from a legendary mage of the Church of Death. The church captured them and attempted to make them into a Philosopher’s Stone through alchemy...”

The Misty Forest was a failed end product, with a half-finished Philosopher’s Stone as its core. It was incredibly important and precious.

Senna had no power to give Wayne the stone, and neither did the Pope. It would have to be the goddess’s decision.

“Not even the Nature Knight?”

“Um, the Nature Knight would be able to do it, but...” Senna gulped. “Can you really become the Nature Knight?”

Senna had been confident in Wayne and his magical talent, believing that he could easily communicate with nature after some training. No one would be more talented than he was.

Now, though... What even was he?

Thud!

Senna’s one arm fell to the ground. She smiled awkwardly, “I need time to adapt.”

Wayne rolled his eyes. If not for Master, he would’ve done much worse to a treacherous woman like her.

“Since you’re now one of my own, Senna, I’ll let you in on another secret.” Wayne grabbed her collar and whispered into her ear. “My original bloodline mimics an ancient god. My power lies not in my physique, but in my infinite possibilities. Aren’t you curious how I transform into an elf?”

Senna froze, her breathing quickening. He was too close. Her body and thoughts expressed their cravings for the source of her faith.

Wayne paused, pushing her away. “Show some self-respect. I’m still a child.”

Who do you think made me like this?!

Senna furiously cursed her faith out of her gentle, courteous heart. Her body dissolved into white foam, only reverting to human shape after a long while.

Cursing the Pope, the High Prophet, and the other higher-ups of the church, she angrily put her clothes back on.

Since she couldn’t curse out her faith, she vented her fury on others, deftly shifting the target of her ire.

Listening to her pleased Wayne. He liked this untamed side of Senna. She had to accept discipline while resisting it. The process was beyond delightful.