Chapter 235: There Are Bigger Problems Than Clothes [Bonus for the Golden Ticket & Power Stone]

The next day, Melisandre left camp with the blue-robed and green-robed units, leaving 1 person from each behind to handle the farms and putting Renna in charge.

If everything went well, the round trip would take 6 days. Until she returned, the attack and defense units would be responsible for protecting the camp.

Magna had a wait of his own to worry about. He had learned that someone on the other side had to open the passage to the Witch Realm, meaning he would have to stay here for at least another 7 days.

"What if no one opens it at all?" he asked, sitting inside the large red tent that served as the attack unit’s main tent.

Renna had explained that their only means of communication was an artifact shaped like a raven, made of Grak Steel.

If the raven ran into danger and was destroyed along the way, the message would never arrive. They would have to send another one later, meaning another wait of 7 days or more for a reply.

From across the table, Renna answered tiredly. "They open the entrance every 90 days to collect the resources we’ve gathered, even if they haven’t heard from us. The last time was 35 days ago, so in the worst case, we’ll have to wait another 55 days."

Magna’s face fell at that. He wasn’t sure he could survive that long in this realm without dying of boredom.

Playing with the Shadows was a good way to pass the time, but even the most enjoyable activity could become boring if repeated too often.

Renna laughed at his expression, leaning forward over the table with one eyebrow raised. "What? You spent 12 years in the middle of nowhere, but you can’t handle 55 days in a camp full of beautiful women?"

Magna briefly looked away. "Well, I was asleep the whole time, so..."

He couldn’t exactly tell her he had been watching the universe being created.

Besides, boredom wasn’t the only thing bothering him. The lack of food was an even bigger problem.

Without food, he had no way to replenish his mana.

His reserves were currently at 95%, with another 10 mana-replenishing pills in his pockets.

That meant he could only go through 1 mutation for now if he wanted to save the remaining mana for emergencies.

He had grown used to becoming stronger quickly, so having his progress suddenly cut short was frustrating.

The mana shortage also kept him from practicing spells, leaving him with little to do except read Renna’s book and learn the theory.

Training with the others wouldn’t increase his already high stats either.

With neither option helping him grow stronger, he needed something else, however small, to make him feel that he was still making progress.

"Should I go for a short walk and explore the area?"

Their conversations had taught him many things about the Underworld, though mostly they had shown him how little the Witches themselves knew about it.

Beyond this region were 6 more that remained unexplored. For now, Magna could only imagine what he might find there.

Renna sighed, sounding almost angry. "This again? I told you it’s dangerous. There are other Desolations much more powerful than the one you defeated."

It wasn’t the first time he had suggested going sightseeing during their conversation. Every time he brought it up, she frowned and reminded him how dangerous it was.

Watching her react the same way again, Magna became more aware of just how much time had passed since they last met.

She still looked much the same as she had years ago, but now she was almost behaving like her grandmother, Rowena.

’She must have been through a lot.’ He sighed inwardly.

He had never asked exactly how her grandmother had died, but he could clearly see how it had affected her.

Rather than push the matter any further, he asked for something less important. "At least help me find something to wear."

Renna paused at the request, her eyes moving to his still half-naked body.

All he had on were his black pants torn into shorts.

"About that..." She didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him, so she settled for laughing. "Sorry. I asked everyone, but no one has any spare clothes."

The Witches wore robes and Witch Hats, both artifacts too precious for them to carry spares. There wasn’t any spares in the first place anyway.

It was much the same for the Shadows, who had brought no everyday clothes and wore only their armor.

"How can they be comfortable in all that metal without even wearing underwear?" Magna muttered, looking bored and unhappy again.

At that, Renna suddenly burst out laughing as though he had told a good joke.

"What?" Magna raised an eyebrow, unable to understand what was so funny.

"Nothing..." She wiped a tear from her eye, trying to stop laughing. "It’s just that we Witches do wear underwear, and I happen to have some spares, if you don’t mind."

Realizing what she meant, Magna gave her a strange look. "Just what are you imagining in your head?"

He didn’t even want to picture himself walking around in something like that.

He had already been forced to wear a pink dress once in this life. There was no way he would do anything like that again, even if he ended up in hell.

’Well, technically, I’m already in hell.’ That thought only made him feel worse.

"I’m just joking, okay?" Seeing him look increasingly displeased made her want to laugh again, but she held it back.

While Renna continued enjoying herself and Magna questioned his life, a Witch in a red robe pushed through the tent flap and hurried inside.

"Lady Renna, we have a problem." She looked alarmed enough to skip the usual formalities.

Renna’s smile disappeared as she stood. "What happened?"

"It’s the farms..." The Witch was out of breath, looking as though she had run a long way. "They suddenly started burning and drying out."

"How?" Renna stepped closer, looking at her in confusion. She hadn’t heard of anything like this since arriving here.

She knew the soil was slowly burning and becoming contaminated, but this was the first time it had suddenly caught fire like this.

"We don’t know. The soil just started burning, along with the crops."

The mention of the burning soil brought the only possible cause to Renna’s mind, making her eyes widen.

Her chest tightened, but she pushed down her fear and gave an order. "Tell everyone to gather in front of the camp. Now."

"Yes." The Witch bowed her head before rushing out to carry out the order.

"What happened?" Magna had already stood up and walked over to her.

Standing beside her, he could clearly see her body trembling slightly. Something had apparently made her very uneasy and afraid.

Renna took a few deep breaths to calm the growing unease inside her before finally turning to him. "We might have to fight the Bleeding Desolation."

Her voice and the look in her eyes told Magna that she was far more certain than the word "might" suggested.

The worst part was that this was happening just when half their forces had left the camp for another mission.

***

GenF: Yo, after a few days of being sick (turns out I got corona, I didn’t even know it was still around lol), I’m back with more bonus Chapters. I’ll try to publish at least 3 Chapters a day from now on, with 4 or even 5 on good days. Thank you for all the support you’ve been showering me with so far!