Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Secrets
Translator: 549690339
Han Dong had little interest in the opposite sex.
This characteristic had already been proven long ago.
This was why, on his trek through the swamp, Han Dong had repeatedly declined Mia’s ‘friendly’ assistance… because he could feel that once he got tangled up with her, it would be difficult to shake her off.
Of course, another significant reason why Han Dong didn’t want to ‘bond’ with Mia was also at play.
But currently, under the witch’s meddling, the two were forced into a relationship.
However…
The moment Mia’s mask fell off,
Han Dong revealed a rather unfriendly strange smile, as if he had different ideas.
At the edge of the island where the [Witch Apprentice] was stationed, there stood a twisted tree over ten meters high.
Mia led the way here and quickly climbed up.
Sitting on a thick tree branch that could hold the weight of ten people, she greeted Han Dong below, signaling for him to come up.
“Do you need my help… with your body?”
Mia suddenly remembered that Han Dong was quite slim and might struggle to climb such a tall tree.
“No need.”
To her surprise, Han Dong, relying solely on his right arm and the sharp nails digging into the bark, quickly climbed up.
When seated on the branch, he purposefully positioned himself a distance away from Mia.
“…Earlier, did you see it?”
Mia was still unsettled about the incident with the falling mask.
It seemed the secret on her right cheek was an issue for her, and she didn’t want anyone to see it.
“Everyone has their own secrets, it’s normal.”
Han Dong didn’t seem to mind, for if all ‘secrets’ were to be revealed, his would definitely be a bigger deal than hers.
“No… my secret is not something nice.”
As they discussed this issue, Mia appeared sad, her fingers lightly brushed over the half-mask covering her face, as if recalling some heartbreaking memories.
“Some kind of curse?”
Han Dong himself was quite interested; his hidden Demon Eye perceived some dark energy on the surface of the mark.
Dangerous and fatal.
Moreover, when the mark was exposed to the air, a terrifying ‘Spider Domain’ was generated instantaneously.
What was odd was
that Mia, who was branded with the curse, seemed to be unaffected, at least her physical condition was not much different from normal people.
When Han Dong mentioned the word curse, Mia was shocked!
“How did you figure it out?”
Han Dong shrugged, calmly replied:
“Didn’t I tell you earlier? Everyone has secrets they don’t want others to know about… I have them too, and they’re not good things.”
His words touched a chord in Mia’s heart.
Mia subtly bit her lip, her fingers involuntarily fidgeted, and she slowly moved half a body closer to Han Dong.
“So… can we exchange secrets? I’ll share a bit, then you share a bit?”
Han Dong refused outright without thinking, “No… but if you want to share one-sided, I’d be happy to listen.”
Mia pouted, looking upset, “What’s with you? I won’t tell you then!”
Han Dong didn’t respond, just sat quietly on the branch.
“Like this!” Mia seemed to have a good idea.
“Hm?”
“Anyway, Mrs. Kaylonia asked us to stay in the [Witch Academy] for one day… The ‘affair’ between her and the Great Plague Chief might take quite a while.
How about we have a competition? Whoever loses has to reveal their secret.”
“… if you want to talk, just talk. I’m not unwilling to listen.”
“You!! So annoying! I’m asking if you dare to have a match with me. There are open fighting areas in Witch Academy… whoever loses has to fulfill a request of the winner.”
“Alright.”
Han Dong didn’t have much else to do and was somewhat intrigued by Mia’s curse.
He could also use Mia as a ‘benchmark’ to gauge his current abilities among the Apprentice Knights.
Under Fiya’s guidance,
they arrived at a damp and vast fighting space underneath the academy.
“This place is where we, witch apprentices, practice a variety of destructive black witchcraft and combat skills.
According to the basic sparring rules of the Apprentice Knights, no Fate Items or one-time supplement items are allowed. The duel continues until one party surrenders.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
Han Dong seemed not to need any preparation. He was ready to start at any time.
Mia’s original intention was just wanting to share some ’emotions’ with Han Dong.
What she didn’t expect was that Han Dong, with just a few words, touched her heart and killed their conversation… making her both moved and irritated.
As soon as the two of them arrived at the underground training ground,
Witch Kaylonia seemed to be aware of the two younger generations’ movements.
While she was in the midst of a love affair, she lightly pointed to a mirror at the foot of the bed… the monitoring image of the underground training ground immediately appeared on it.
“I arranged a private room for them and even added ‘Aphrodisiac Powder’ to their tea to give them a chance to ‘deeply’ understand each other.
These two little guys actually go spar. I really can’t understand the thinking of young people nowadays.
Not enjoying the good times while they’re young is such a waste.
However, having said that, my love, who do you think will win the match?”
The Great Plague Chief focused on the two people in the mirror, and asked first: “Is this girl the ‘Spider Witch’ you mentioned?”
“That’s right… Mia has tremendous witch talent!
Her unfortunate innate experience ironically became her powerful asset later on.
Mia successfully completed a three and a half star difficulty novice event and due to her extraordinary performance in the event, she directly received two Fate Points.
In recent months, I have helped her stimulate her ‘Spider Talent’, making her capable of fighting higher levels.
Plus, her talent in black witchcraft and herbology assures that she will become a unique and outstanding witch in the future.”
Speaking of Mia, the witch gave very high praise.
This was also why, when Mia with Han Dong, interrupted her lovely moment with the Great Plague Chief, she was not particularly angry.
If it were any other witch apprentice, they would probably have been severely punished with the ‘pig-cage soaking’.
“My love, who do you think will win? Mr. Black’s disciple or my student?”
“Those who Mr. Black takes a shine to are naturally not bad. Since you chose this female student, I’ll choose this boy.”
“Hum… this boy will lose badly!”
The witch had issues with Mr. Black White, who sits high on the chairman’s seat.
Now, her lover was lying on the same bed as her and still affectionately calling ‘Black and White’.
That made the witch a bit upset.
She immediately conjured up a stitched bat to carry a message to Mia, who was in the training ground.
She instructed her to go all out, to use her Spider power at will, and to give Mr. Black White’s frail disciple a hard time.