How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 211

Chapter 211 – Proof

“Disciple?”

At first, I thought I had misheard due to being hit on the head too many tis. That’s how unexpected the proposal was.

“Why? You don’t want to?”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want to…”

“Then take it. It’ll be the best opportunity you’ll ever get.”

Learning the knowledge of Dortas, a high-ranking witch, in addition to Spirit Arts and the Giant Tribe’s martial art, Quanru, was indeed the best opportunity for .

It was certainly a rare stroke of luck, but…

“Will the other witches just stand by and accept this?”

The real issue was the atmosphere in the forest.

Would the witches, in a society where won were the dominant majority, accept an outsider—a male human, no less—as Dortas’s direct disciple?

Right now, I was learning from Natasha due to special circumstances, but becoming a direct disciple was a completely different matter.

It would undoubtedly cause major upheaval in the forest.

“Of course, it’ll be difficult to make it public. We’ll do it in secret.”

As expected, Natasha was already aware of my concerns.

“So, it’s a secret between the two of us?”

“What kind of embarrassing secret is that? As long as Cordy, the Witch of Ten Thousand Ears, exists, there’s no such thing as an eternal secret in the forest. We’ll have to inform the Dortas.”

She ant that only the Dortas would know the truth, while the rest of the witches would remain unaware.

“Will the Dortas allow it?”

“They won’t have a choice.”

“That’s quite the confidence you have.”

“You’re the only one who can uncover the secret of the Millennium Tree. It’s only natural.”

To reach the core of the tree’s roots, where its secrets were buried, one needed the ability to read the flow of mana and the ability to dig through the earth with Spirit Arts.

“There will be no one else with those two abilities in the future either. Your Spirit Arts are still clumsy, but if you beco my disciple, there’s a way to fix that.”

“A solution to ‘contact’?”

“Yes.”

She held out the bracelet she was wearing. It seed to be the solution she was referring to.

“This bracelet will help your spirit make contact. But you can only wear it if you beco my disciple.”

“What is this bracelet?”

“The Bracelet of Gereflam.”

I hesitated and carefully examined the bracelet.

It was a rough, dark-steel bracelet with a faint black sheen.

It seed to be the dium linking her to Gereflam, the Giant. But what exactly was I supposed to do with it?

I wanted more explanation, but she clearly had no intention of telling more unless I accepted.

“I’ll handle persuading the Dortas. All you have to do is choose: Yes or No.”

“Before that, don’t you have sothing to tell ?”

“Tell you?”

“The conditions you expect from .”

Taking my eyes off the bracelet, I let out a deep breath and stared at her.

“There’s no such thing as a favor without a price. And if that price is becoming Dortas’s disciple, then even more so.”

“I like that you’re quick-witted.”

She smirked, brushing back her short red hair. Her gaze locked onto my chest.

“Your spirit.”

“You an Reto?”

“Yes. Sharing all information about Reto with —that’s my condition.”

“What kind of information are you looking for?”

“Everything—its condition, changes, peculiarities.”

“May I ask why?”

“I think it will be useful for Gereflam’s growth.”

A fierce-eyed figure ca to mind.

When we first t, she had only approached out of mild curiosity, as I was the human brought in by Lily, the Witch of Ordor Forest.

She probably just wondered how long I would last in a fight.

But after realizing that the Millennium Tree held a new secret, and after spending considerable ti with , her curiosity had shifted into sothing else.

Expectation.

“I’m convinced that your spirit, Reto, will be able to reach the roots of the Millennium Tree.”

“Is that just a feeling?”

“Yes. A witch’s intuition.”

She had observed for a long ti before making that judgnt.

To her surprise, the spirit residing within seed to be of a higher rank than Gereflam. On top of that, I had an unnatural ability to absorb Quanru as if it were my own.

A terrifying rate of growth.

It was as if I had been born to master Spirit Arts.

If she could properly guide —

“Wouldn’t I surpass her soday?”

Spirit Arts depended heavily on the rank of the spirit.

The rank of the spirit directly determined the level of Spirit Arts a person could wield.

And from the very beginning, my abilities and my spirit’s rank were already far beyond balance.

“I don’t know how you’re not getting completely devoured by your own spirit…”

But if she could help stabilize that balance, my Spirit Arts would easily surpass hers.

A being with boundless potential, whose true strength was yet unknown.

If raised properly, I could beco a great pillar of support for the witches.

“Aren’t you overestimating ?”

“It’s an investnt of sorts.”

“That sounds like you just want to use however you can.”

“If we both gain sothing, then it’s a fair trade, isn’t it? So, what’s your decision? I’ve laid all my cards on the table.”

True to her straightforward nature, Natasha openly revealed her intentions and made her proposal.

I shrugged and extended my hand for a handshake.

“You’ll be my second ntor.”

I had never intended to refuse in the first place.

Becoming Dortas’s disciple was an opportunity I wouldn’t pass up.

And hadn’t she already promised to handle any backlash from the other witches?

As she reached out, she hesitated, furrowing her brows.

“Second? Who’s the first?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“If it’s soone hostile to witches, I’ll kill them.”

Her directness was terrifying in monts like this.

Fortunately, my first ntor wasn’t hostile to witches.

And even if they were, there was no way she could kill them.

“It’s Reto.”

“Reto? Then that makes your first living ntor. Bury the dead in your heart.”

“I already have.”

Natasha let out a small chuckle and firmly shook my hand.

Thanks to Reto, an unexpected bond had ford.

[You should strike while the iron is hot.]

Saying that if she didn’t do it now, she would forget later, Natasha imdiately disappeared into the forest to et the Dortas.

She really had a terrifyingly impatient personality.

Looking around the cave, I saw that Elton and the others were still unconscious.

“It’s about ti I send them out.”

I had already decided where to send them once Natasha gave the OK.

“Ghost… It has a nice ring to it.”

Ghost.

A nickna the witches had given .

It might not be a bad alias to use in the future.

It suited the group’s nature and matched our abilities well.

The way they were sprawled out in bizarre positions was unsettling, so I laid them properly on their backs before leaving the cave.

The sun had long since set, and the night was well into its later hours, but I still had one last task to complete.

I stopped by a restaurant in the Hut Forest, picked up a piece of at, and stepped outside.

No matter what I did, the witches didn’t seem particularly interested in .

Had I unknowingly blended into the Witches' Forest?

At so point, I had grown comfortable here.

Leaving the Hut Forest, I moved into the dense woods.

Before long, I arrived at my destination—a massive tree trunk.

I placed a small talisman on it, then leaned against the trunk and waited for soone.

I wasn’t sure how much ti had passed when—

“Woof.”

“You’re here?”

Turning my head, I saw Keros peeking out from the other side of the tree trunk.

He glanced around, cautiously scanning the area as if checking for any pursuers.

I looked at him seriously and asked,

“How’s Lily? Did she crack?”

Keros shook his head, and I let out a sigh of relief before tossing him the sacred power-infused piece of at.

As soon as he got his reward, Keros relayed Lily’s situation to .

Right now, she was being punished for stealing a pile of gold and running away.

Though, rather than a punishnt, she was under supervised training by the Elder.

For soone who absolutely despised training, this was a serious punishnt.

Since our etings were forbidden at the mont, I had to rely on Keros to get updates on her.

Of course, there was another reason I had called him here.

“You told Lily to keep the location of the gold a secret if she wants to keep getting packed als, right?”

“Woof!”

“For each day she holds out, the al size increases by one tier. After today, she’ll be up to a 10-tier al. You explained it clearly, right?”

“Woof!”

“Good. Here’s a bonus.”

I tossed the rest of the at to him, and Keros happily wagged his tail, swallowing the food in one gulp.

He really ate with such gusto.

Watching him lie on his belly and chew, I recalled the list of gold that Lily had stolen.

“If this works out, it’ll be a jackpot. And even if it doesn’t, I don’t lose anything.”

Right now, a large portion of the witches’ gold was sitting in Keros’ stomach.

And that wasn’t just ordinary gold.

A good number of the golden accessories stolen had witches' enchantnts on them.

If I could sell those tools for their true worth, I’d make dozens of tis more than the value of the gold itself.

Since I’d already managed to steal the dwarves’ gold chest, I figured I might as well take the witches’ gold too.

But this entire plan depended on whether Lily cracked or not.

‘I’ve got a good feeling about this.’

I had dangled packed als as bait, and just like Keros, who valued at more than gold, Lily was also likely to treasure packed als over gold.

It felt a bit like a scam, but in this world, survival ant taking everything you could while you had the chance.

As I was indulging in these pleasant thoughts of gold—

“What’s with the lively conversation?”

“Ugh!”

At the unexpected voice, Keros and I instinctively clung to each other and turned to look at the speaker.

The faint dawn light was beginning to seep through the forest, and a small, hunched figure erged from between the trees, tapping a staff on the ground.

Elder deia.

How the hell did that terrifying old woman find us here?

“…Are you scheming sothing?”

“Just a friendly chat to end the day.”

“Are you two really that close? I always thought you were at each other’s throats.”

She slowly hobbled closer, her presence as ominous as a grim reaper.

How had she found this place?

I had even asked Natasha for a talisman to block Cordy’s surveillance, and I had placed it here…

Then, a troubling thought crossed my mind.

What if Lily couldn’t endure the ‘torture’ and revealed the gold’s location?

“…Don’t tell —she talked?”

“Yes. What exactly did you say to her? She’s being particularly stubborn about this.”

Damn.

The packed als had been strong bait, but not enough.

It seed she had given in after all.

Now that I’d been caught, there was no way to cover it up.

I grabbed Keros by the side and held him out toward deia—whispering for him to only spit out the witches’ gold.

However, deia’s reaction was unexpected.

She just stared at with an expression of utter disbelief.

“…What are you even trying to do right now?”

“…Didn’t you co here for Keros?”

“I ca here for you.”

“…?”

“Hm. Has Natasha not told you yet?”

At the ntion of Natasha, I quietly set Keros down and patted his rear—a silent cue for him to run.

So, this wasn’t about Lily—it was about Natasha.

Shit.

I had completely misread the situation.

I hadn’t expected things to move this fast. Natasha really was like a bulldozer.

“…So, you’re acknowledging as her disciple?”

“The decision was unanimous—if you agree to give us one thing.”

“…Sothing I have to give? That’s the condition?”

“Yes.”

“…And what exactly is that?”

“…Your life.”

“…My life?”

What the hell was this nonsense?

I stared at deia in silence, and she pulled out a small, bright red fruit that resembled an apple.

“This is called the Fruit of Fate. Have you heard of it?”

“…This is my first ti seeing it.”

“Then all you need to do is eat it and prove yourself.”

“…Prove what, exactly?”

“That you are a friend of the witches.”

A bright red fruit given by a witch.

It imdiately reminded of the tale of Snow White—

Specifically, the poisoned apple.