The advantage of the forest at night was that it shattered the night sky. The four moons were nowhere to be seen; with only moonlight trickling down through the gaps.
"I've suddenly realized that a Lich is the best companion," Teest said. He was carrying a lantern while his boots stepped on thick fallen leaves. The leaves, soaked with moisture, felt almost like a carpet.
Nol was walking ahead, carefully sensing the scent of the skeleton rats—there were plenty of corpses in the forest, so he had to be extra cautious.
"Why the sudden praise?" Nol adjusted his course upon spotting a skeleton rat.
"If it were a regular person, they'd definitely call the Investigation Knights," Teest mused. "That would ruin the adventuring mood, right?"
Yeah, as if he had a choice. Nol rolled his eyes, not bothering to hide them, which glowed with a ghostly blue light.
In theory, it would indeed be safer to call the Investigation Knights. But if he did, he'd have to demonstrate his guiding necromancy to the Temple, potentially turning his head into a church artifact.
Nol continued forward. His mental state had stabilized. He decided not to think about the grim fate of the young knight that occasionally haunted his vision—
Regardless of his distress, nothing would change. "Calmness" was his main weapon, even if it was a fragile one built on sand.
Suddenly, he stopped.
"Hm?" Teest hummed.
Nol looked down at a thread—a taut strand of flax-colored hair. If not for his dark vision, he wouldn't have noticed it.
It looked like a tripwire for a landmine. As a warning, there were two skeleton rats nearby, forming an exclamation mark.
"Don't move a step!" Nol immediately warned.
He felt something was off just now. It was too quiet here, with no sounds of animals to be heard.
Nol summoned a skeleton crow. The crow flew low along the hair, soon spiraling up, cawing.
"Form an earth wall barrier in the direction of the crow's call," Nol instructed Teest, touching his Dragon Corpse Notebook.
Without hesitation, the ground trembled, and a half-meter thick wall of earth rose beside them. Nol broke off a dry twig and threw it at the hair strand.
"Boom!"
The thick earth shield shuddered, and once the smoke cleared, Nol moved to the other side of the shield. The originally smooth surface of the earth was now pockmarked, embedded with three or four ceramic human teeth. They weren't deeply embedded, indicating the explosion wasn't that powerful.
…A fragmentary landmine, a standard anti-infantry one.
Looking at the dark, bushy forest, Nol pursed his lips tightly.
It was a monster's skill, but not a normal monster's way. Nearby might be a neighbor, who was clearly hostile—the landmine was placed right where the skeleton rat pointed, clearly a warning.
"Hehe." A giggle echoed from the bushes.
A broken ceramic doll emerged, with decayed clothing, faded paint, and one missing eye. The remaining eye was eerily blue.
"Go back," it croaked, swinging its arms. "Go back or die."
"Die, die…"
In the darkness, countless voices echoed softly. The bushes swayed, and the noise of joints twisted one after another. The dark forest turned into a puppet theater, with arms, legs, and heads popping out and retracting.
"Puppet Witch, a type of humanoid monster," Nol quickly deduced. "They're good at traps and potions, controlling humanoid non-humans."
Traditional Puppet Witches preferred ropes, traps, and poisoned darts. This one seemed to prefer landmines.
After hearing the explanation, Teest applauded leisurely, as if on a spring outing.
Nol intently watched the ceramic doll, knowing the witch was observing through the doll's eye.
"Please wait here for four hours. I'll be back before sunrise," Nol said.
The doll turned its neck with a creak.
"Lady Lynn won't accept your things," it giggled. "Only fools accept enemy gifts."
"You just need to bring it back. I guarantee she will accept it," Nol said, staring into the doll's single eye, emphasizing each word.
...
"So, you're going to write her a letter? Seeing you come back specially, I thought you were preparing some extraordinary bribe." In the inn room, Teest sat on Nol's bed. "Just a letter. Chances are she might throw it away before even reading it."
"She won't," Nol said, picking up a quill pen.
"Oh?" Teest responded with keen interest.
The inn regularly accommodated merchants, so it was fully equipped. Nol quickly found what he needed—ample and sturdy wrapping paper that could be cut into envelopes of various sizes.
"Please leave." Seeing the white-haired knight stuck to the bed, Nol put down his quill again.
"Let me watch," Teest pleaded pitifully.
"No."
"Ah, well. It seems this is a 'monster-to-monster' secret conversation," Teest said as he got up from the bed, dejectedly walking out. Before leaving, he made sure to lock the door securely.
Nol appreciated this about Teest. Once he refused, he didn't persist annoyingly, nor did he constantly probe with insinuations.
However, to be safe, after locking the door, Nol cast two soundproofing spells. He then summoned a skeleton parrot with the little MP he had left.
In this world, monsters could only make monster noises, and he could only read and write in the common language of "Tahe".
Even Players communicated using this universal language—it was how the system was set up. In this way, not only was it more in line with the world view, but it also allowed Players from different regions to communicate without barriers.
But lately, Nol had been keen on finding loopholes, and he indeed found one.
The game's language correction only appeared when people "perceived" this world. If he closed his eyes and imagined home, Nol realized he could still speak his native tongue.
Like now.
Imagining his parents' faces, Nol began to speak to the skeleton parrot.
He first briefly described the world's situation in his native language, then introduced himself and the three surviving compatriots in the Dragon's Lair. To prove it, Nol also mentioned how to call up the status bar.
"My companions and I are looking for Margaret Swain," Nol finally said gravely. "We suspect the street urchins know something, which is why we followed them. If you need help or know anything relevant, please contact me anytime. I'm staying at the Blue Fountain Inn, in the Iris Room's east bedroom."
Just in case, he repeated everything in the most commonly spoken foreign language.
The skeleton parrot nodded, scattering into a pile of fine bones. When it reformed, it would recount everything it heard, then return to death.
Nol wrapped it into a flat little package and then picked up the quill, carefully drawing a crest on the package.
It was a symmetrical spiral design—three spirals connected at the tips, simple and elegant. The sales office said it was three auspicious clouds, but Nol always thought it looked more like a clover.
It was the logo of the "Yunshang Joy Garden" community.
After drawing, Nol closed his eyes and scribbled the date "2××3.07.31" below it—the exact date they transmigrated. Once the ink dried, he tucked the package into his pocket.
When leaving the inn, Nol instinctively looked at Teest's room. There was no light through the door crack. Most likely, Teest had fallen asleep.
"Goodnight," he whispered, and he gently closed the door.
The witch's response came quickly—
When Nol returned to his room, the eastern sky was just brightening. Before he could sit down, there was a knock on the window.
Opening the curtains, he saw the child leader from the other day, Hannah, clinging to the window, nose pressed against the glass while her eyes curiously scanned the room. The inn was heavily secured, and he wondered how she got in. Seeing the dirt and grass on her, it was clear she didn't use the main entrance.
As soon as he opened the window, Hannah hopped in like a bird.
"I'm here to reply," she said nonchalantly. "Hey, there are cookies here. Can I eat them?"
Nol had to cast another soundproofing spell. "…Speak first, eat later."
The fact that the witch Lynn sent a local to relay the message wasn't a good sign.
"Lynn thanks you for your kindness. She has personal matters and really can't get away." Hannah quickly grabbed a cookie and continued, "She's willing to exchange information for tools and potions, but she doesn't want to meet now. That's it."
As expected, the other party was very cautious. Nol didn't feel offended. Unlike Ye Meng or the old couple, this neighbor probably struggled alone for a month. A more gullible person would likely have been reduced to mere bones by now.
"I understand," Nol responded calmly.
Hannah looked him up and down for a while, then took a bite of her cookie.
"Oh, also," she began with a smile, "Lynn mentioned that if you don't immediately scoff, frown, or berate her for being ungrateful, she has something else to say."
Nol smirked, finding his neighbor quite intriguing.
"If you can pacify the human disaster in Whitebird City, she'd be more than happy to assist you. Observation is necessary. She doesn't want to work under someone whose values don't align or lack ability… These were her exact words."
Having finished her cookie, Hannah now licked the crumbs from between her fingers.
"Human disaster in Whitebird City?" Nol raised an eyebrow.
Hannah's playful demeanor faded, and she looked up, her green eyes wolf-like. "Yes, you'll have to figure out the mystery yourself. Lynn said you're special, and you might think, 'It's not a big deal'."
Nol fell silent. Hannah probably didn't understand the deeper meaning behind those words, but he did. He understood what the neighbor was really asking—
If you're indeed from a gaming company and this place resembles your game, how would you view the misfortunes of its inhabitants?
Would you consider them just "virtual data"?
If their answers differed, cooperation would likely be difficult.
Nol thought of Teest, the indifferent "none of my business" type. With all protective mechanisms now disabled, he didn't want to imagine what some radical Players might do.
"I accept. Her concerns are valid," Nol said calmly.
The young girl finished another two cookies, looking puzzled. "Aren't you going to ask anything else?"
"She has already revealed enough." Nol handed her the remaining cookies. "Please convey a message for me—due to unforeseen circumstances, I can only handle this matter with the help of my knight companion."
...
In the early morning, Teest walked into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He had this peculiar habit of cooking for himself rather than eating pre-made food.
Nol had tasted his cooking before. It wasn't gourmet, but had a simple, homemade taste. Compared to his own nonexistent cooking skills from always working late, Teest's culinary talents were superior.
"You want to enter the City Lord's mansion? The witch actually replied to you?" Teest asked, poking at his fried ham on the breakfast table.
"Whitebird City will face a 'human disaster'. She didn't specify what."
"Sounds just like a witch." Teest continued with his meal. "But how is this related to the disappearance case?"
"I asked, she didn't mention it. Her silence is a statement," Nol said. "If the witch had nothing to do with it, she could have easily denied any involvement."
"You saw it yesterday; the power of the witch's mechanism isn't great. She even evacuated the surrounding animals in advance… She has a soft heart."
Meaning, she certainly didn't view the inhabitants as mere data.
"You think Miss Swain is hiding with the witch?" Teest raised an eyebrow. "So that's why those kids dared to enter the forest so fearlessly, knowing the witch meant no harm."
Nol nodded. "As for why I want to go to the City Lord's mansion—the witch only mentioned a human disaster, without specifying a date."
"I see, so it's not urgent." Teest put down his cutlery. "I guess it's because the Investigation Knights are here, so certain people don't dare to act rashly."
"Exactly. The witch is related to the disappearance, and she specifically mentioned a 'human disaster'. The two must be connected. To investigate the disappearance, the City Lord's mansion is the most logical target," Nol concluded.
Teest's plate was already empty. He rested his cheek on one hand, silently watching Nol. Feeling the stare, Nol got uneasy. "…What are you looking at?"
"I agree to investigate the City Lord's mansion, but I have mixed feelings right now," Teest said. "On one hand, I think you're incredibly smart. On the other hand, I find you so dense that it's scary."
"My feelings are quite straightforward at the moment. I think you're very verbose. Spit it out, Sir Knight."
"It's quite simple. A fourteen-year-old girl, forced to seek refuge with a monster. This implies that, to her, her own father is entirely untrustworthy."
Teest picked up his fork and carelessly jabbed it into Nol's plate. "However, that's assuming she's still alive. Can the witch truly be trusted? You should be skeptical of everyone, honey."
"Teest."
"Hm?"
"Can I trust you?" Nol generously offered up his plate.
Teest forked a piece of fried egg and winked at him. "Of course you can. We can't leave each other, can we?"
The author has something to say:
Modern Warfare Witch
If the culinary skills are rated out of five stars—
Teest: ★★★☆☆
Nol: ★☆☆☆☆
Nol, who probably just boils instant noodles, heats up fast food, or orders takeout on a usual day. The pitiable overtime worker…