Chapter 3322

Although intoxicated by the gentleness of the writer lady and the Princess, Xia De of course did not forget that he had promised to see Claire off early on Sunday morning. The witch set off at nine o'clock, and he sent Dorothy away at eight in the morning and then brought Little Mia to the island.

The heavy snow yesterday had stopped, and the sky after the snow stopped looked exceptionally bright and clear, which also made people feel very good:

"Today's weather is actually very suitable for mountain climbing."

Kyle-Todd Town was even more lively than usual on such a Sunday with good weather, and when he saw Claire in the snow mountain hall, she was making final preparations.

Elder Harald, Elder Vilda, Elder Ursa, Elder Solin, and Elder Uller were all there. The five great elders appearing together again also represented the importance of the "Crown of Glory".

That relic used to suppress Claire's level had also been brought. After getting permission, Xia De even carefully checked the black comb, but only after getting it in his hand did he discover that the comb was not originally black; the black on the surface was actually bloodstains.

The bloodstains were in a semi-coagulated state and felt quite strange to the touch. Xia De then looked at Claire, and the witch reminded Xia De:

"You don't need to tell me. I need to stick such a dirty thing in my hair for a whole day. I'm already annoyed enough."

Sage-level relic 【Day of Atonement】, the appearance is an ivory comb stained with bloodstains. When using it to comb hair, every three complete combings can make the Ring Mage's level drop by 1 level within 24 hours. During this period, the total amount of spirit, recovery speed, and physical fitness are affected, and some spirit runes and miracle spells will be sealed.

And when the level drop exceeds the level one possesses, or when it is used on an ordinary person, the body and soul of the user will explode, and then a large-scale disaster event called "Day of Atonement" will be triggered in the area where the user is located.

But after dropping the level through "atonement", when the level recovers, the upper limit of one's own spirit will appear a small increase. Actually, this is the true value of this relic. It's just that using this relic multiple times will cause "inertial reaction" of one's own spirit, which is a decrease in spellcasting speed, so no one will repeatedly use this kind of relic for more spirit.

Of course, in addition to combing hair, inserting the comb directly into the hair without combing, and matching it with the unique charms and alchemical items of the Fatu tribe, can make the user's level drop to half of the current state, and the level will immediately recover after pulling out the comb.

Claire is going to use this characteristic this time, and Xia De even joked:

"Are bald people completely immune to all characteristics of this relic?"

"This requires a hair growth spell."

Elder Vilda, who was biting a pipe, made a joke rarely.

【Day of Atonement】 is one of the few Sage-level relics in the hands of the Fatu people, and in Xia De's view, this relic is more suitable for dealing with dangerous criminals. Of course, in addition to human-like creatures with hair, it also has effects on animals with hair such as cats and unicorns, so it is also quite good for temporarily detaining and dealing with dangerous alien creatures.

This relic fell into the hands of the Fatu people in the early Sixth Era. It is said that it was obtained by the locals in exchange with an outsider. In the Fifth Era, this relic belonged to a defunct ancient god cult and was a relic used by the cult's ascetics to hone themselves.

Under the bloodstains covering the surface of the ivory comb, there was actually a line of fancy letters—

【My sins can never be forgiven.】

Miss Larson helped Claire coil up her beautiful long hair, and then braided a very complex hairstyle to ensure that the comb would not easily fall off after being inserted into the hair.

And in addition to a small amount of spellcasting materials, a map, and this relic, Claire is not allowed to carry any supplies today. Water can be obtained by herself along the way. This season, Fatumont Mountain is not short of this. Food does not need to be considered. Even if the level of an eleven-ring great witch is suppressed, being hungry for a day is not a big deal.

However, Claire seemed to see Xia De's thoughts and even warned him:

"The Crown of Glory ritual requires one person to conduct it. You cannot find loopholes to turn into a cat or other animals to follow me. I know your transformation magic is exquisite, but this won't work either."

The elders all looked at the two talking with smiles, but Xia De really thought so before:

"I'm just following you from afar, ensuring I won't provide any help. Is this not allowed either?"

"Not allowed."

Because she was being tidied up by Miss Larson, she couldn't shake her head:

"I want to pass the test alone. Once I know someone is following behind, my mentality will be different from challenging alone. Please don't follow me. I just want to see you when I reach the summit. Although today is Sunday, are you very free?"

She originally wanted to say that Xia De could find things to do by himself, but suddenly realized that he might go to find Miss Jia Lin Na and the others because of this. Although Xia De going to find Miss Jia Lin Na and the others is also Xia De's own business, but... the words reached her lips and she changed her mind:

"If you have time, why don't you help me do some things? Mother wrote to me this morning, saying that she kept hearing knocking sounds from next door last night, but the house next door had long been uninhabited. I originally wanted to let Stella investigate this matter. Why don't you go with Stella."

The white-haired girl behind her looked at Xia De, with no expression on her face, and Xia De had no opinion:

"Of course, I will set off after seeing you off in a while. According to my past experience, in this kind of area where a chosen one is about to appear, any strange thing is worth investigating. Leave this matter to me."

Although his words were strange, others didn't ask much.

"However, if you encounter an accident in the mountain, Claire, do you have a response plan?"

Xia De asked with worry, and the witch's mouth hooked into a smile:

"Rest assured, there won't be any problems this time."

Elder Harald also nodded:

"Claire is carrying a rune stone for positioning this time, and we can know her position at any time. If her position deviates from the correct direction, or if she stays in a certain place for too long, we will immediately enter the mountain to find her."

Not long after, the time was almost up, so everyone went together from the small path behind the snow mountain hall to the entrance of the mountain on the northeast side of Kyle-Todd Town. The gate had been opened, but the road ahead was covered with white snow. In winter, people in the town would not easily enter the mountain, and there were not even footprints on the snow.

The comb that had been stained black by blood had been solemnly inserted into the hair bun behind Claire. Then the relic resonated with the two black bracelets on her wrist and the rune stone hanging on her chest. Claire's face turned pale, and she felt the spirit in her body being suppressed immediately.

However, she was mentally prepared, so she stumbled but didn't need others to help. Then, after confirming that the items she carried were all fine, she came to the five great elders.

The five old people each held a wet stone plate in their hands, and then each used their fingers to dip different colored pigments on the stone plate and smeared them on Claire's face.

Considering that four of the five great elders were male, she had to try hard to endure the nausea and not retreat, which in itself was quite remarkable. And soon, five colors smeared by mineral pigments appeared on her face. The left side was yellow and blue, and the right side was red, green, and white.

When she turned to look at Xia De and her own apprentice, both of them were trying to hold back their laughter.

She looked at the two "viciously", and finally exhorted Xia De:

"Remember to pick me up at the finish line. Don't forget, otherwise I will be angry."

"Yes, yes, I will definitely go."

Xia De guaranteed, and only then did Claire say goodbye to the elders, and then officially stepped on the road up the mountain under everyone's gaze.

"I don't quite understand. If ordinary people go through these trials, even if the route is simple, it will probably be very late when they reach the summit. How will they come down?"

Xia De asked curiously again, and it was Elder Solin who answered him:

"Of course, they spend the night on the mountain. No one is stupid enough to go down the mountain at night. The finish line of the "Crown of Glory" is fixed, and we have stockpiled a large amount of supplies there. Even if the mountain is blocked by heavy snow and trapped at the summit, there is no problem surviving there for a whole winter."

The great elders dispersed. After this ritual, the date of the "All Souls Festival" has to be determined and started, and they are very busy. However, someone will be watching Claire's trajectory on the mountain today, so there is no need to worry too much about her.

And Xia De decided not to leave the town for a long time all day today to prevent something from really happening without him knowing.

After Claire set off, he walked to the center of the town with the white-haired girl. After confirming that the elders had all gone far, he lowered his voice and asked Miss Larson, who looked preoccupied:

"Is Claire's ring carried on her, or left with you?"

"Hmm? What?"

The young girl was stunned for a moment before realizing that Xia De was talking about the ring symbolizing the witch's identity:

"Miss said she wanted to face this test seriously, and also said that maybe this time is her opportunity to break through to the twelfth level, so she didn't bring the ring either."

Xia De couldn't help but shake his head:

"She clearly knows there is danger on the mountain, but she still does this kind of thing... If we solve the knocking matter first, and then I go into the mountain to secretly follow her, will you tell Claire?"

The white-haired girl confirmed that Xia De was not joking, and hesitated, not daring to give an answer:

"Miss definitely doesn't want you to follow, but if you follow Miss, as long as you don't tell her, it really won't affect her..."

Finally, there was really no other way, and the young witch apprentice complained in a low voice:

"Mr. Hamilton, you should make your own decision. Why do you come to ask for my opinion?"

This made Xia De feel as if he was bullying some white-colored small animal.

(End of chapter)