Chapter 310: Summoning a Hell Creature: Green Dumpling Bug

"I think it has its pros and cons."

When Lan Qingyou voiced her concerns, Eluel gently shook her head.

"Since we aren't using our actual eyes, you could also say we don't need to rely on them," she explained.

"On the contrary, the way I see it, the Witches who do rely on their physical eyes need to focus much more on protecting them. Otherwise, if they get attacked, they might not even be able to use their Magic Eye talent."

Although Eluel's words seemed quite straightforward, she personally felt she was being rather tactful.

She had actually wanted to say 'having your eyes gouged out or blinded.'

"That truly is a major weakness for Witches. Though, we still aren't sure if the talent can be used without eyeballs after the eyes are attacked," Lan Qingyou mused.

This was a problem Lan Qingyou had never considered before Eluel brought it up.

Despite Eluel's subtle phrasing, Lan Qingyou understood exactly what she meant.

It was a brutal tactic, but she had to admit it was a 'good method' for dealing with Magic Eyes.

Yet, even knowing they needed protection, she had no idea how to actually go about it. They couldn't just have everyone wear glasses—those things offered barely any defense anyway.

All she could do was warn the Witches at the tea party.

"What about you, Aina?"

Lan Qingyou turned her head to look at the mature woman she was meeting for the first time.

"Mine is the Green Dumpling Magic Eye. It can summon a Green Dumpling Bug with a hard shell to help absorb damage. It seems a bit weak, honestly."

Aina spoke with a hint of embarrassment.

She always felt that her Magic Eye was a little lackluster, perhaps only slightly better than nothing at all.

'Summoning?'

Lan Qingyou paused in surprise for a moment, but then her expression cleared.

Summoning not only consumed Spirit and Mana Points, but it also required a strong physical constitution.

The teleportation at the Shelter was the perfect example of this. A single misstep, and one could easily be swept into distorted space.

Of course, this was just a judgment Lan Qingyou made based on what she currently knew.

No one knew the exact specifics.

It might also just depend on the type of magic creature being summoned.

"Tell you what, why don't we find a spot outside to test it?"

Uncertain, Lan Qingyou decided to have the two of them spar a little so she could get a clearer understanding.

"The Witch Academy has a combat arena. Should we go try it there?"

"I think that works. Let's gather some people while we're at it—say, a hundred. Just tell them the Clan Head is in a good mood and plans to give away a hundred vials of Witch's Potion."

Despite Susi's previous warnings, Lan Qingyou did not pay them much mind.

The list she had requested from Chu Yuan earlier was enough to add over a hundred thousand smart individuals to the large Witch Clan family.

So, having an extra tens of thousands who were a bit dumber or sillier wouldn't be a problem at all.

In fact, a Witch Clan entirely composed of smart people would be rather boring.

Most importantly, Lan Qingyou never really overthought these things. Her operating style was simply to let nature take its course.

Whether they were geniuses or goofballs, they were all Witches in the end.

Take Eluel, for example. Her Magic Eye was clearly suited for someone like a magic archer, someone who attacked while dodging and weaving.

For someone like Eluel, who wielded firearms, it was an absolutely perfect match.

It even saved on ammunition.

However, even though it only seemed capable of producing bullets and didn't look particularly powerful, the very act of conjuring physical objects out of thin air was already terrifying.

Lan Qingyou even felt it was more impressive than her own Soul Siphon magic, which relied on Soul Materialization.

The combat arena.

Despite the name 'combat', Diana had specifically designed it during the planning phase for experimental purposes.

After all, the Witches generally needed a place to put their various theories into practice.

Therefore, a combat arena like this was absolutely essential.

With Lan Qingyou's authorization, Diana had even equipped each ring with anywhere from one to ten magical golems.

These golems also served as part of their experimental equipment.

Naturally.

If anyone ever got the itch for a fight, the rings could occasionally double as a stage for actual sparring matches.

By the time Lan Qingyou arrived, a hundred people were already waiting there.

This was a contingency plan Diana had formulated after figuring out Lan Qingyou's impulsive, whim-driven personality last time.

That was why these hundred individuals had arrived at the arena ahead of time.

Seeing this, Lan Qingyou could not help but give Diana a mental thumbs-up, praising herself inwardly for her 'eye for talent.'

Stumbling upon such a little administrative genius was simply a stroke of incredibly good luck.

"So, who wants to demonstrate first?"

Lan Qingyou asked, looking at the two of them.

Surprisingly, Aina was the first to raise her hand.

In her mind, her bug-summoning Magic Eye was likely very weak. She figured if she showed it off before the fierce-looking Eluel, she wouldn't embarrass herself too badly by comparison later.

Thus, she took the lead and stepped onto the arena stage.

"…&%¥#))&^%^*(#$—"

Ancient and mysterious syllables that no one could understand spilled from Aina's lips one by one. Soon after, everyone present—even the hundred unevolved Transmigrators—could feel the ambient mana density rising rapidly, let alone the others.

Meanwhile, Lan Qingyou kept her Analysis Magic Eye active, observing closely.

Let alone Aina herself, even Lan Qingyou hadn't thought much of a Magic Eye that summoned bugs.

But now, witnessing the surging mana and the 'Green Dumpling Bug' slowly materializing behind Aina, Lan Qingyou realized she had been too shallow.

No, it would be more accurate to say her perspective simply hadn't been broad enough.

The entire Green Dumpling Bug was a vibrant bitter-melon green. It was roughly sixteen feet in size, shaped like a hemisphere, with three thick but very short legs on each side of its body.

Though it looked bizarre, its most memorable feature was undeniably the massive, sunken mouth positioned at the lower center of its front. It took up almost a third of its 'face' and was lined with a ring of razor-sharp teeth.

Directly above this gaping maw sat a bulging compound eye.

The Green Dumpling Bug floated behind Aina, much like a guardian spirit.

Lan Qingyou's Magic Eye could even perceive the individual strings of mana connecting the Green Dumpling Bug to Aina.

If she had to guess, these mana strings served as the connecting tether established after the summon.

"So this is the Green Dumpling Bug. It looks a lot stronger than I imagined."

Once the summoning was complete, Aina turned her head to look at her creation, letting out a gasp of awe.

After all, its ferocious appearance was entirely different from what she had pictured!

Forget about a cute name like 'Green Dumpling'—if someone called it a 'Savage Beast,' no one would bat an eye.

"Green Dumpling Bug: a guardian summon classified as a Hell creature. It has two active skills, Bite and Poison Spit, along with one passive skill, Block."

"Since it responded to your summon, it will not cause you any harm and will protect you according to the requirements of the summoning contract. Therefore, in a critical moment, you can even dive into the Green Dumpling Bug's mouth for shelter without worrying about getting hurt."