Otaku Witch

Time rewound to five minutes earlier.

The Three Witches, beaten so badly they couldn't move, were maliciously cursing the Succubus Witch about to take the baseline test, even starting a betting pool on how long Madeline could last.

"One second, no more."

Above Dorothy's head, Hat Senior Sister opened her starry eyes, declaring so decisively.

"Eh, come on, not that fast. Madeline is so powerful she can't just flop over in a second. Then what's the point of the test?"

Although she knew that senior Fanny's judgment probably wasn't wrong, Dorothy still asked, somewhat puzzled.

If this were a real fight and their own mother directly one-shot the Succubus Witch, Dorothy would believe it because, after all, if a Peak Witch were fighting an Elite Witch and needed a second move, that would be the real issue.

But wasn't this supposed to be a baseline test? They should at least give Madeline a chance to show herself, right? Otherwise, if you just one-shot her, wouldn't that be a lonely test?

The Little Fox, as the most sluggish amongst them, had nearly two minutes to show off her skills, and Senior Mia was more miserable due to her being personally trained by their mother, so perhaps there was no need for excessive showcasing, and she became Mia-chan after just thirty seconds.

As for Dorothy herself, she lasted three minutes.

"That's because you three suck and are still at the Martial Arts stage, but this Little Succubus has already achieved Martial Soul Completion, so naturally, the test should be about her Martial Soul. Martial Arts would be meaningless."

Hat Senior Sister explained lazily.

"Martial Soul? There really is such a thing?"

Since her combat tactics and techniques were all sneakily learned from Senior Mia, and she hadn't seriously attended any classes, the term suddenly hit Dorothy's blind spot of knowledge.

Even though she had seen discussions in the Combat Magic System's theoretical knowledge about the distinctions of the three realms—Martial Artist, Martial Saint, and Martial God—most of it talked about how warriors should refine their Martial Will. As for the Martial Warrior's Soul that supposedly comes with the Martial Saint realm, it was only occasionally mentioned.

After all, the books stated that the Martial Saint realm was elusive and advised little witches not to aim too high. You would understand when the time came.

Yeah, it was all very cryptic.

For Dorothy, it was frustrating. Who could understand all that? I'm studying magic, not Cultivation, right? So why all this fantasy stuff? What's there to comprehend?

Anyway, Dorothy never bothered with words like Martial Will or Martial Warrior's Soul; the pragmatist in her always did what felt comfortable. After all, just throw a punch—it's done. Win the fight, and all's good. Lose, and it means your kung fu is lacking. Just go back and train harder. That's how simple it was for her.

She had always treated the so-called Martial Warrior's Soul as some kind of spiritual state and was surprised to hear from senior Fanny that it genuinely existed.

"Of course, it exists."

Hat Senior Sister said, and seeing her Master in a contemplative mood, she added.

"Martial Souls are usually something only Great Witches need to consider. You don't have to worry, Dorothy. Your mom is a Peak Martial God, and with her teaching you, you'll have one soon enough."

However, for Dorothy, her comfort was needless. She just glanced at the shining Paladin behind the Succubus Witch in the Arena below, then asked with a peculiar expression.

"Senior Fanny, is the Martial Soul you're talking about the shiny Paladin behind Madeline right now?"

Dorothy clearly saw when the Succubus Witch below assumed her fighting stance and entered the combat state, a Paladin phantom decked in shining armor, exuding saintliness, appeared behind her, bearing a striking resemblance to Madeline herself.

Was this a Succubus Holy Knight?

Come to think of it, it wasn't Dorothy's first time seeing the phantom of the Succubus Holy Knight behind Madeline.

During their previous assessment, when they were desperately holding out at the end, Dorothy, who was seeing red from the fight, had caught a glimpse of the Succubus Witch's Soul Avatar, which ultimately became one with Madeline, turning the Succubus Witch on the brink of death ferociously resilient, impossible to defeat.

But at the time, Dorothy obviously wasn't in the mood to care about what it was, considering it some sort of secret technique of Madeline's. It was only after Hat Senior Sister's reminder that Dorothy realized the identity of this Soul Avatar—so this was a Martial Soul?

"Uh, you can see?"

Hat Senior Sister was also startled, her Starry Eyes widening as she looked at Dorothy.

"That shouldn't be possible. Although the Succubus' Martial Soul is almost at Completion, it is only of a Martial Saint's level. Before becoming a Martial God, a Martial Saint's Martial Soul is invisible, only the Martial Saint themselves or other Martial Saints should be able to see it. How could you possibly see it?"

"Isn't it normal for me to see you, Senior? What's so strange about seeing a Martial Soul?"

Dorothy wondered if it was because her Inspiration was too high.
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"That's not the same, alright? Inspiration doesn't really have an effect on a Martial Soul; that's a special kind of Spirit entity, visible only when the Spirit frequencies align."

"Damn, Dorothy, you're not a Martial Saint too, are you? It makes sense, you defeated that Little Succubus. Only a Martial Saint can defeat another Martial Saint. Are you pretending it's your first time seeing a Martial Soul?"

Feeling mocked by this Master, Hat Senior Sister's eyes took on a dangerous cast.

She had every reason to suspect that Dorothy was feeling itchy again, showing off in Versailles.

Dorothy: "..."

I am wronged, I am but a self-made amateur, I can't even hammer properly, and I didn't even believe in the real existence of Martial Souls until today, okay? Unlike the other eight systems, the Combat Magic System is really hard to learn without a teacher, and the only Dragon King Battle Technique I know, I sneaked a lesson from Mia's.

The Homebody Witch was inwardly protesting.

"Senior, listen to me explain, oh never mind, why don't you teach me how to summon a Martial Soul? I'm quite curious to see if I have one of those things."

Who could refuse a handsome Soul Avatar? Dorothy glanced at Madeline's Paladin Martial Soul below and felt a warmth in her heart. She actually hoped that Hat Senior Sister's guess was right, then she too might have a Soul Avatar.

Yeah, if possible, I'd want a Soul Avatar of a white-robed Sword Immortal, I'll not fuss about the strength of the Martial Soul, but it definitely has to be handsome, and cool.

That's what she was thinking.

After giving Dorothy a serious look, Hat Senior Sister, with her ability to sense lies, realized that this person really wasn't lying. This was beyond belief, so she extended a tiny tentacle, tapped Dorothy's head, and crammed a piece of information directly into her brain.

"There you go, this can't be explained briefly. Figure it out yourself."

But what Dorothy feared the least was figuring things out by herself. She felt a chunk of information added to her mind. As soon as she decoded it, it triggered her Inspiration and then she truly got enlightened.

"I've got it, it all makes sense now! So that's how Martial Souls come to be. Why couldn't those lousy books just talk in plain language from the start?"

The Homebody Witch, who couldn't move due to pain just a moment ago, excitedly sat up and slapped her thigh.

"My Martial Soul, don't be shy, come on out and let me see what you look like."

Her Martial Will began gathering as per the method enlightened by her brain's Inspiration. It was as if piercing through a layer of cognitive barrier or as though a cage imprisoning a wild beast finally opened, and a vague figure emerged before Dorothy's eyes.

On the peak of the Blood Sea Corpse Mountain, atop the Skeleton Throne, an aloof sovereign in tattered clothing exuded a commanding presence even in sleep. Sensing something, she opened her blood-red eyes and raised her head, looking ahead, a salted fish entering her line of sight.

"emmm... This Martial Soul doesn't quite match the style I imagined."

Looking at the figure that mirrored her appearance but had a completely different aura, the disheveled sovereign, Dorothy blinked several times, wondering if she might have gotten the wrong Martial Soul.

...Two Dorothys in a silent face-off...