While My Mage Wife Grinds, I Power Up Idly-Chapter 23: The Apprentice Witch No Longer Cares About the Mundane World

Chapter 23 - 23: The Apprentice Witch No Longer Cares About the Mundane World

Thus, the moment the Magical Essence reticle formed, three Water Bullets followed in its wake.

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Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three impacts, from three angles, each met with a corresponding sound.

"Dead," Anna transmitted the result of the sniping.

When Ashu was still at the apprentice level, using a single Water Bullet would exhaust his stamina. However, after gaining passive regeneration, this was greatly alleviated.

Now, as a full-fledged mage, he could cast three Water Bullets in quick succession, with the enhancement of Nature's Absorption Technique. Once finished, his breath was steady, not even a hint of exhaustion.

"Since advancing to mage, it seems like my casting speed has increased?"

In the heat of the moment, he hadn't had time to analyze things. He hadn't even completed the chant before feeling the Water Bullet taking form. Without hesitation, he had shot it out, not waiting to perfect the spell.

Thus, the first two Water Bullets were cast almost during half of the chant, and by the time the third one was launched, he had completely forgotten to chant.

"Of course, the Magical Essence we hold within us isn't stored without purpose. When casting, our intent channels the energy, and the spell's shape is already partially formed," Anna explained.

"These people aren't like bandits."

Ashu started investigating. He moved towards the assassin's body and ripped the arrow along with the mask off.

The face beneath the mask showed no distinguishing features, but one thing was certain—they weren't bandits.

This path, both inside and outside the village, had seen countless travelers. There had never been any bandits around here. If any bandits dared to rob in this area, they would have to prepare themselves for a thorough beating by the border guards.

Ashu began tearing at the assassin's clothes.

There were no identifying marks or items on him.

It wasn't until Ashu peeled away the assassin's back that he discovered a mysterious occult symbol etched into the skin.

Three diamond-shaped marks, one on each shoulder blade and one in the middle. Each diamond shape had a straight line extending downward, twisting, and finally forming a circle.

"This is a cultist," Ashu made a preliminary judgment.

Only followers of such twisted beliefs would carve these kinds of marks into their bodies. Normal people didn't have such tendencies.

This wasn't a tattoo, but a scar made with a knife, carved slowly and carefully to ensure the design wouldn't be distorted.

Moreover, the wound couldn't be allowed to heal. Just before the scar fully healed, it had to be reopened with a knife to keep it fresh and raw.

Only a twisted individual would go so far.

"Hmm, definitely a cultist. I've seen this mark in the Witch's Guild records. It belongs to a sect that worships 'Cidi.' Based on the completeness of the mark, they aren't the most devoted followers, more like a derivative group, a blind faction," Anna explained.

"Cidi?"

"One of the evil gods, capable of fulfilling the desires of its summoner. It can manifest any woman the summoner wishes to see before them, and even make her appear naked. Alternatively, it can make the summoner's desired object fall in love with them, exposing all of the target's personal information and secrets."

Ashu scratched his head.

Well... Cidi seems pretty good, maybe I should join the Cidi cult.

But then he thought about it. Anna already fulfilled his desires.

The ability to summon any woman you want might sound appealing, but there must be limitations. Otherwise, why not try summoning the Virgin Mary, for example?

"Why would these people target us? We shouldn't have anything to do with them, right?"

Anna's gaze swept over the scene, and after a moment of thought, she replied, "I don't know."

She, too, was puzzled. Why would the Cidi cult suddenly target them? If they were after a live sacrifice, they wouldn't be aiming for vital areas like the neck.

As for any sort of personal dispute or motive, there was nothing to suggest that. Ashu had lived an honest life, and she hadn't encountered anyone from the Cidi cult along the way.

Why they targeted them was one thing.

But what was certain was that this assassination was orchestrated by someone.

And that someone was most likely someone they knew.

Who could it be?

Anna quickly thought through the faces that came to mind: Kyle the law enforcer, Kidopriest, the cleaning nun, the tailor from the clothing shop, the villagers of Gorn Village, the forest elf...

In the end, she narrowed it down to two people.

One was Kidopriest, the other was Kyle the law enforcer.

"We should head home first," Anna said.

"Yeah."

Ashu used his Magical Essence to lift the bundle and quickly led Anna toward Gorn Village.

After this incident, both of them were now more cautious.

Once they got home, they immediately focused on improving themselves.

Anna was a walking library of the Witch's Guild, and she had access to any knowledge Ashu needed.

The first priority was flight magic—after all, flight was a crucial means of escape. Offensive magic could wait.

So, in the afternoon, instead of going anywhere else to practice, they stayed in their front yard.

Anna, using her previous experience, successfully cast flight magic in one go.

Immediately, the system sent a prompt.

[Anna·Kagreia: Flight Magic +1]

[Critical Return! Host gains: High-Speed Flight Magic!]

In an instant, a flood of detailed information poured into Ashu's mind. While he appeared to be watching Anna's flight demonstration, internally, he was absorbing the details of the high-speed flight magic.

Since there was a high-speed version, it meant there must be a beginner version as well.

When it was his turn to demonstrate what he had learned, he couldn't use the high-speed version right away. He needed to pretend to be less experienced.

"Ashu, the key point here is..."

Anna, floating in the air, began giving Ashu a detailed tutoring session.

Only after listening carefully did Ashu begin pretending to try it himself. At first, he only flew up half a meter, and his body wobbled.

After half an hour of continuous attempts, he was finally able to skillfully hover around the roof.

When he saw Anna flying at full speed, he noticed that with her standard mage-level abilities, her maximum speed was around 60 kilometers per hour.

However, the high-speed flight magic that the system had returned to him could reach 18 times that speed!

That's a maximum speed of 1080 kilometers per hour! He'd turn into a humanoid Boeing 747!

To use that extreme speed, though, he would first need to strengthen his body. Otherwise, while he might escape at such a speed, it was highly likely that he would faint midway and crash down without a sound.

...

That night.

Anna lay awake for a long time, kissing Ashu's forehead before unleashing her spiritual perception at full power, reaching the twelfth tier.

The once highly regarded super talent by the Witch's Guild was now methodically scanning every inch of Gorn Village.

Her spiritual perception told her that today's attack wouldn't be the last, but she couldn't confirm who the mastermind behind it was.

So, she could only check if the area was safe for now.

Earlier, when she was training her Water Ball Technique by the river, she had felt something odd.

At this moment, she slowly extended her spiritual perception toward the river, simultaneously scanning both upstream and downstream.

Sure enough.

A few minutes later, her spiritual perception was blocked in an area of stagnant water, which was upstream from her training spot.

Something was preventing her perception from probing further, which indicated something suspicious. It wasn't a military outpost, so the only possibility was that there was something hidden, something that shouldn't be seen.

Such as a cult hideout.

"My level is still too low. Though spiritual perception can scan, it can't penetrate. Maybe I could use the wedding to lure a few of them here and have them help me investigate," Anna thought to herself, silently marking the location and withdrawing her perception.

Though she had been exiled from the Witch's Guild, the network of connections she had built over more than a decade wouldn't just disappear. If she released even a hint of information about a wedding, her friends in the Guild's closed space would immediately sense it and project themselves to see what was happening.

Even projections would be enough.

With this in mind, Anna snuggled more comfortably against Ashu.

"Hmm?"

Ashu, half awake and half asleep, wasn't sure what Anna was planning, so he gently pushed her head under the covers.

"Mm, Ashu, let's have the wedding tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, Ashu felt a warm sensation and fully woke up. He spoke, "Tomorrow? Isn't that a bit rushed? I can have my friends in the village announce it, but you haven't even had the chance to notify your own friends and family."

Anna gently shook her head and replied, "They're easygoing. As soon as we start, they'll come without needing an invitation."

Hearing this, Ashu asked with a smile, "Wait, are they all witches? Will my little village seem too humble for them?"

"They're not witches, they're apprentice witches. And they're only projections for now; they can't leave the closed space yet. Unless, like me, they've been exiled. Or there's another, more difficult option," Anna paused, then said, "Become an official agent of the Witch's Guild."

Ashu became a little anxious and asked, "I've kept the setup so simple; will it embarrass you in front of your friends?"

"Don't worry," Anna reassured him, "Apprentice witches no longer care about worldly matters."

At this point, Ashu still didn't fully understand what a witch was. If apprentice witches no longer cared about the mundane world, then what kind of mindset did an official witch, someone working for the Witch's Guild, possess?