Rise of the Dark Witch

What kind of person is Roya?

To this question, Aita can answer without hesitation - "Roya is a person who cares more about his own life than external things such as strength, power and wealth."

She couldn't imagine that Roya would risk his life for a foreign object.

She has always believed that as long as it is something Roja decides to do, then Roja must be 100% sure in his heart before he takes action.

"Roya is essentially the same type of person as me."

This was the conclusion she came to before she even met Roja, but only after hearing about Roja's related deeds.

As she and Roya met, got to know each other, cooperated, and became partners in fighting side by side, the more she learned about Roya, the more certain she was about her inner view of Roya.

However, Roya's words completely negated her conjecture.

Is her understanding of Roja wrong for hundreds of years?

She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt afraid.

In the past, because Roja was stronger than her and could threaten her life, her body was like a mouse facing a cat, with instinctive fear.

But now Roja gave her a completely different feeling.

Did it turn out that the Roya she knew was just the tip of the iceberg floating on the water?

Did it turn out that Roja's threat was far greater than she realized?

So scared.

So scared.

Facing Roja who suddenly became a stranger, she instinctively wanted to stay away.

"Don't, stop joking!" In order to dispel the fear in her heart, Aita couldn't help but raise her voice, "You must have learned the relevant information about the elf mission through unknown channels and got the strategy, right?"

"Are you in Black Abyss Witch City?"

"Black Abyss Witch City is a place where you can fish for soul fish. There are many powerful wizards in it. I heard that Li Ti, the Lord of the Underworld City at the sixth level, can redeem anything, whether it is treasures or secrets, as long as she is given a soul fish. Arrived..."

"That must be it!"

"Hmph, I am sure of completing the elf mission, but in the end I would rather cooperate with Nan En, who has little interaction with me, than bring along my old friend?"

"Just tell the truth, I won't blame you."

"Do you need to go out of your way to trick me?"

Aita, who thought she had found the real reason and exposed Roja's lies, smiled proudly.

However, Luo Ya just drank tea silently and looked at her with clear eyes, as if he was watching a clown performing for his own entertainment.

"I……"

Aita opened her mouth, but failed to continue.

She fell silent.

She rethought the information she had received about Roya.

As a grassroots wizard who rose from humble beginnings, there is no secret in the process of Roya's rise. Even the relationship between Roya's first teacher Barney, the witch doctor, and Xiestis, the official wizard of the Qianlin Ancient Kingdom, has been discovered. .

Faced with all the information about Roja from his birth to becoming an official wizard before them, not many people believed this extremely detailed information.

A person who barely awakened his bloodline in an accident when he was eighteen years old, with average mental talent, and a mixed-race. Barney Witch Doctor, a teacher who was not even a wizard apprentice, only stayed with him for a month or two... …

How could such talent and resources possibly rise?

There must be something hidden in it.

Many people think so.

Aita is no exception.

Since Roja has a hidden trump card that is unknown to everyone, it means that the seemingly dangerous things Roja has been doing are actually certain to win.

risking one's life?

Just a stroll in the safe back garden!

But if, what if...

Roja doesn’t have any particularly powerful trump cards?

Did he really keep moving forward without knowing anything, despite a narrow escape from death, without any certainty at all?

Is that confident look on the surface all just an act?

"Okay, I admit that my previous understanding of you was a bit biased, but why?" Aita asked softly.

"Why?" Roja asked.

"Why do you want to do the Elf quest? Is the Silmarillion so tempting? Can't you go with me to the Land of the Ancients to collect the Blood Crystals of the Ancients? The Blood Crystals of the Ancients are indeed worse than the Silmarils, but I don't think you are. Someone who would risk his life for that difference."

"I'm really not that kind of person, but my real purpose is not for the Silmarils. I want... to enter the Elf Rebirth Pool."

"The rebirth pool that gave birth to elves?"

Aita frowned, wondering why Roja wanted to enter the elf rebirth pool.

Relevant information about the Elf Rebirth Pool emerged in her mind, and she continued to analyze it.

The souls of elves are sealed in the "World Tree System". As long as the "World Tree System" still exists and the souls stored in the "World Tree System" are not damaged, the elves can live forever.

But the eternity of the soul does not mean the immortality of the body and spirit.

When the body and spirit are destroyed due to aging or fighting, life must be regenerated through the rebirth pool.

Elves are perfect creatures, beings born with a 100% balance of body, blood and spirit, and wouldn't the rebirth pool that can give birth to elves...

Although she had never heard of any precedent, Aita had already guessed it based on clues.

"Yeah?"

"That's right."

"Do you want to achieve 100% unity of body, blood and spirit? Do you want to become a perfect creature like an elf?"

"Are you in the Void Guard House?"

"At that time, I did feel an unusual and strange fluctuation from your garrison, because I later learned that you were a God Hunter and could absorb the power of the void without any side effects. I thought it was a strange phenomenon that occurred when you absorbed the power of the void. , so I didn’t take it to heart anymore.”

"It seems like you got something amazing back then!"

Aita already understood the reason why Roja entered the elf rebirth pool.

If Roja can really complete the 100% unity of body, blood and spirit, and become a perfect creature comparable to an elf, then Roja's strength will definitely undergo earth-shaking changes, and he will be far superior to other wizards of the same realm.

After the already extremely powerful Roja becomes even more powerful, what state will he reach in the future?

If he didn't die, he would definitely be able to become a sixth-level wizard, right? Most likely a level seven wizard? Isn't it impossible to break through the wizard's curse and enter the eighth level?

but--

"...I still can't understand." Aita sighed, "Roya, it's been more than two hundred years since we first met, right?"

"I think I know you very well."

"I don't think everything I know about you is wrong. The reason why I think you are someone like me is based on my understanding of you."

"Do you want to hear how I came to this conclusion?"

Before Roja could reply, Aita started talking to herself, "Everyone has a purpose in life."

"Some people have empty intentions, so they just get by."

"Some people have clear goals, so they are very capable of action."

"Among the many people with clear goals and strong actions, those who do whatever it takes to move forward and are willing to sacrifice themselves are the pinnacles of them."

"There is no shortage of people like this in the wizarding world who stand at the 'top'."

"I've seen too many of these people."

"But what their goals are, most of them are not a secret except for a very small number of people who hide it very deeply."

"how about you?"

Aita looked at Roja with a puzzled expression.

"For your goal, you gave up your comfortable life, rushed into the foggy wizarding world, and risked your life to keep moving forward."

"Why on earth are you doing this?"

"What are you craving for?"

"strength?"

"You have been working hard to become stronger, but I don't feel your enthusiasm for power. Power is just a tool for you. If you can achieve your goal, it doesn't matter to you whether you have power or not."

"Power?"

"Some people like the feeling of being superior and controlling everything. They like to conquer others and enjoy the sense of accomplishment when others prostrate themselves to them. But I don't see any yearning for power in your eyes."

"eternal life?"

"There are so many people in this world who long for eternal life, and there are even more people who devote their lives to the pursuit of eternal life. They long for eternity, they are afraid of death, and they will use all means to live. Will you be such a person? ?Then why don’t you have any envy in your eyes when you face the elves in Guangmingling City who can live forever?”

"truth?"

"Some wizards can pay any price for the truth. What a lofty ideal this is. We may not like what they do, but their ideals are indeed worthy of admiration. However, we all know that you are not the kind of lunatic who seeks the truth. ,Right?"

"As for beauty, food, money..."

"These things are just daily condiments for you. It's best if you have them. It doesn't matter if you don't have them."

"It's precisely because of your character that you don't care about anything and have almost no desires or desires, that's why I wonder if you are like me?"

"I don't care about anything external either."

"I am like this too. Money, power, beauty... are all just supplements. I become stronger just so that I can live comfortably and live and die normally."

"I don't want to live a luxurious life, I don't need other people's flattery, I don't need delicious food, as long as I live comfortably, that's enough."

"I do not pursue eternal life and am not interested in eternal life. Normal birth, old age, illness and death are enough."

"The two of us are so similar."

"Now you tell me that we are different?" Aita grabbed her head with both hands, her face twisted and her eyes red, "I can't understand! What are you living for!"

Bang.

Roja put down the cup in his hand and looked at Aita speechlessly.

He felt confused as Aita became more and more excited as she spoke, and her face became more and more contorted.

Why is Aita so excited?

What does he want to do, how does he want to live, does it have anything to do with Aita?

"What's the point if you know?" he asked.

"Of course it makes sense!" Aita replied without hesitation, "You are obviously the same person as me. You should have been with me. How come you, who are walking on the same path as me, are able to reach the same place as me? A different destination?”

Facing the somewhat crazy Aita, Roja thought for a while and then showed a clear look.

"So this is ah."

"In the past, you were just like a fat pig. Your ultimate dream was to eat when you are full, sleep when you are full, and eat when you are full. You had no pursuit in life. Suddenly, you found that another pig in the same stall as you looked at the window and revealed something you couldn't understand. Deep eyes.”

"So your heart is restless, right?"

"Obviously, as long as you are a pig and can eat and sleep happily in a pig pen, why do you yearn for the world full of strife outside?"

"You don't care about people who are in the world of conflict outside."

"But the companion you were supposed to stay with in the pigsty went to the world of strife outside, so you were at a loss."

"You want to know what I live for?"

"You want to know why I'm willing to risk my life to keep moving forward?"

Aita felt unhappy about Roya comparing her to a pig, but she had to admit that Roya's metaphor was still very clever.

She did want to live like a pig - provided it was a pig that could live a long life.

Facing Roja who was about to give the answer she wanted, she pricked up her ears and stared wide-eyed. She was not willing to miss the number of atoms contained in the gas exhaled by Roja.

"It sounds like I've never talked about my dreams with anyone."

Looking at Aita who suddenly showed a scared expression and worried that Roja would not want to say it, Roja smiled and said:

"It's not that it's a secret that can't be told. It's just that no one has asked me before, and I don't have a partner with whom we can talk about our dreams, so I haven't told anyone else about it until now."

"If you want to know, it doesn't hurt to tell you."

Gulu.

Aita swallowed nervously.

Roja said:

"I want to find eternal peace."

"I want unchanging peace and quiet."

"That's probably it. It's not such a great dream."

After listening to Roja's reply, Aita lowered her head and frowned in confusion, constantly thinking about what "eternal peace of mind" and "unchanged tranquility" were all about, and why Roja was willing to bet on it. Everything pursues them.

Can't think of anything.

"Shall I explain it to you?"

"Uh-huh!"

Aita nodded sharply.

Roja held the tea cup with both hands and sipped the hot tea while explaining to Aita:

"As you can imagine, I am not very interested in strength, power, money, beauty, eternal life, truth... all things. If someone gives these things to me for free, I will accept them happily, but let me do it for these things. To give everything? To risk your life? Then forget it."

"But even though I seem to have no desires and no demands, and just muddle along, I still have my own pursuits."

“That is ‘eternal peace of mind’ and ‘unchangeable tranquility’.”

"The opposite of peace of mind is fear."

“The opposite of tranquility is noise.”

"So you can also understand my pursuit as - I want to overcome all fears, I want to eliminate all noise."

"The fear of death? The pain of parting from loved ones? The unwillingness of life, old age, illness and death?..."

"The depression when you have no money? The jealousy of watching a beautiful woman enter the arms of others? The coward of having to kowtow to the powerful?..."

"I want to get over all of this!"

"I want my soul to be in a state of eternal tranquility!"

"This state of eternal peace of mind is called the state of Zen?"

"Some monks can eliminate their seven emotions and six desires through practice and reach the state of Zen."

"But I don't think it's right."

Roya shook his head.

"Since the sources of pain do exist, instead of choosing to eliminate them, we 'ignore' them. What is the difference between this and self-deception?"

"What I want is not this kind of self-deception!"

"I want to overcome everything that scares me! I want to eliminate everything that makes my mind fluctuate!"

"I want eternal peace of mind and unchanging tranquility!"

"For this, I will give everything!" As he spoke, Roya suddenly laughed, "Obviously it is to gain peace of mind and tranquility, but he actively puts himself in danger and enters the vortex of disputes. To be honest, it is quite contradictory. of."

"Sometimes I even want to laugh at myself."

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?"

After saying that, Roja spread his hands and said, "That's probably what I'm pursuing."

Aita, who was sitting face to face with Roya, fell into a trance after listening to Roya's story.

She didn't express any thoughts.

She ignored Roya.

She stood up unsteadily and walked towards the door.

Roya didn't stop him.

Aita returned to her room and fell onto the bed.

She thought about what Roya said.

I thought about it word by word, a hundred times, a thousand times.

"I was indeed not wrong. You and I are indeed the same kind of people."

"What we want is essentially the same, you just take one more step than me."

"It is this small step of difference that leads to a huge difference in our behavior."

In fact, she also wants eternal peace of mind and unchanging tranquility.

The difference between her and Roja is that one stays in her comfort zone and is unwilling to get out, while the other goes out of her narrow comfort zone and finds ways to make the entire environment become her own comfort zone.

"Can I be like you?"

In her mind, Aita tried to follow the same path as Roja.

She fantasizes about stepping out of her current comfort zone and fighting to make the whole world her comfort zone.

no!

"I am scared."

Her body was shaking violently.

"That's enough. Isn't this how I've always been? I just need to continue living at my original pace."

"He is him and I am me."

"I don't have to keep up with him."

"I don't have to change because of anyone."

Aita lay on the bed, hugging the pillow tightly with both hands, and her little face was buried deeply in the pillow.

She won't change.

But her view of Roya did change.

From being an ordinary collaborator to being a little more advanced than a passer-by, it took root a little deeper in her heart.

Just a little.

"Roya."

"I treat you..."

Aita closed her eyes tiredly.

There was no fighting, no training, and no studying. She should not have felt any fatigue, but she quickly fell into a deep sleep. (End of chapter)