Witch

Unmeasurable fear!

That's how the old man felt right now, as if the grim reaper's hands were running through his back, giving him a chill in every nerve. His mouth was dry, sweat was forming on his body, and he was trembling.

"Um, who are you?"

It spoke. The entity did not have a mouth, but the voice came from anywhere, ringing in his ears, rumbling in his mind, and echoing in his heart, as if the voice penetrated through his soul.

However, desperation and sadness were greater than fear as the old man carefully opened his mouth.

"Uh, ah... I... P-please, help me!"

The old man, after saying that, immediately kowtowed, the fog under him moving in a gyration as if with one wrong move he would be sucked into the unknown.

"Help?" A look of surprise crossed Kai's face.

'If someone needs help, it should be me. I want help, too, on how to survive in this world or go back to my home...' Kai sighed in his mind, but looking at the old man's state and appearance, which looked like a beggar, he thought this old man couldn't provide the help he needed.

The old man didn't respond, he was still kowtowing. Kai noticed the old man was trembling.

'Is he trembling because he has a disease, or is it because I am terrifying his eyes?' Kai then shook his head at the latter.

What was terrifying about him? There's none. Looking at another perspective, Kai's appearance looked like that of a simple student with glasses that always got bullied in an American movie.

Perhaps it's a disease, and the old man needed his help to help cure the disease. This was a new world. After all, it should be possible, but this was only a guess.

"What help do you need?" Kai asked, since he was bored. Kai didn't mind listening more and probably gained more information about this world.

As for the thought that he has been transported to another world again, he has already thrown it out of his mind.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

The old man slowly stood up; Kai could see the old man's eyes brightening a bit.

"I… I've been cursed by a witch," the old man said, with anger and fear in his eyes.

"Witch?" Kai muttered; the word "Witch" made him grow interested.

"What kind of witch?"

As far as his knowledge goes, there were different witches. For example, the one that used the broom and had an ugly appearance, the witch that studied astrology and astronomy, the nanny witch, etc.

However, this was knowledge of Earth, and this word and Earth might be different.

"Ruin Witch... The one who cursed me was a strong Ruin Witch, probably stronger t-than... G-god?" The old man stuttered. He seemed too afraid to continue, but forced it out of his mouth.

"Ruin Witch? God? Interesting."

"Can you tell me more about witches? Maybe I could help you if I gained more information," Kai said with interest.

The old man gave a startled look, then nodded frantically as his eyes became brighter and brighter.

"There are many kinds of witches, one of which was the Ruined Witch. This witch was corrupted by an evil entity and used this evil energy to harm others... cough!" The old man paused, wheezing and coughing.

"Are you thirsty?" Kai asked.

"N-no…" the old man shook his head.

'Ah, I'm thirsty too. It's been hours since I drank water, but too bad I have none. And it's magic if this place could provide some.' Kai couldn't help but touch his throat and gulp as he imagined a cup of cold water on his desk.

As if waiting for this, a cup of cold water suddenly materialized beside the book.

Kai was taken aback and immediately touched the cup of cold water with curiosity, like a monkey.

'Real water? Real water!' Kai laughed.

'But how did it appear?' Kain then narrowed his eyes and thought about any possibilities. 'Wait… I imagined water, and then it suddenly appeared... So it should be that, right?'

He then tried it to see if it was true. He focused his intent and imagined a glass of water.

A second later, the glass materialized, and water filled the glass.

'Is this my power…? A cheat?

A smile appeared on his face, and he felt joy in his heart. He couldn't wait to try more but glanced at the old man, who was keeping silent. He explored more when he was done solving the problem of this old man.

If he could, that's it.

"Here." Kai handed the old man a glass of water with a smile. "By the way, I still didn't know your name."

The old man seemed in a dilemma if he wanted to accept or not, as he kept glancing at the glass of water and Kai.

"I…"

"What, you don't want to?"

Hearing his voice, the voice sounded as if he didn't accept; he wouldn't get out of this place alive. The old man shivered, and every sweat in his body felt like an ant that was crawling all over his body.

"Thank you very much!" The old man then gulped down the entire glass in one go. After finishing the whole glass of water, he said respectfully, "Thank you very much! Uh, my name is Beric Dondetre."

"Beric Dondetre?" Kai muttered, then looked at Beric. He said, "Is there meaning in it, in your name?"

"Yes, in the Xerian language, Dondetre means 'Reach the stars'. Usually, every alchemist's last name in the Xerian language always means 'stars' because..." Beric paused as he kept glancing at Kai, "C-can I say it?"

Kai narrowed his eyes and didn't know what kind of secret he would say. That made him afraid.

"You can say whatever you want." Kai nodded; he didn't mind because this was a piece of valuable information.

Beric exhaled a sigh of relief and continued, "Because alchemy is about studying the secrets of life and the universe, but the gods prohibited us, so there are now a few alchemists living in the world."

"God, witch, evil entity, what a dangerous world... Just hearing all of this made me want to leave this place..." Kai muttered with a bit of fear in his voice, and unknowingly, Kai found it comfortable in this place.

Knowing they were getting away from their main topic, Kai asked, "How about the witches?"

"Witches, on the other hand, are more interested in magic; for example, if the Ruined Witch continues to kill and spread evil throughout the world, their magic will grow stronger and faster. But not all witches are evil; there are…"

After listening to Beric, Kai gained a lot of knowledge and information about the witch.

There were different witches, but only a few were active in this world.

Ruined Witch–a witch that preferred to work alone, because of their nature, this witch gained the moniker "Apostle of Evil". The Ruined Witch grew stronger by absorbing evil energy, which could gain by killing or making one fall into despair.

A Coven Witch was a witch who operated as part of a wider group of witches. They were led by a witch called Mother. The Coven was more focused on summoning and ritualistic magic.

The Cosmic Witch was a witch that was all about astrology and astronomy. They were largely focused on the lunar energy of the moon cycles and celestial bodies. They protected and predicted the planet from celestial events, a catastrophe that would lead the residents of the planet to extinction.

In the past, they liked to work with alchemists, but for some reason, they became enemies.

According to Beric, an alchemist, the Cosmic Witch sought to change the energy of the world into lunar and solar energies.

This means that the life and mana of this world would disappear, making this world a half moon and half sun. As for the reason, they sought it. Only the Cosmic Witch knew.

Green Witch - These witches were all about nature, healing, and nurturing. They drew their powers from the earth and used plants, flowers, herbals, and tools as the primary sources of ingredients and ritual content. The Green Witch respects nature above all.

Gray Witch—they were witches that could use evil energy but were not corrupted by it, Gray Witches typically seek justice for themselves, these witches receive the unfairness and discrimination of the world because of the Ruined Witch's presence and since the world has only one thought about them "There's no difference" but, despite all of it, they continued to achieve their own goal–to get rid of all the Ruined Witches.

After absorbing all this information, Kai said to Beric, "So, why did the Ruined Witch curse you?"

"I, I have a granddaughter, but unlike other girls at her age, she was very kind, not spoiled, always thought before acting. I don't know how to put this... But she was like an angel. She was very considerate even to that person who had done something wrong to her. Revenge? She never thought about that.

She was pure and kind as if she was the embodiment of kindness... when I found her injured and clothes torn apart in the street; I was shocked and scared and immediately found out what happened…

S-she got raped! Ye-yet, the only thing she did, was smile and said to me 'It's okay, grandpa.' She never cried, never got angry, and never show despair! I don't know what to do. I don't know what will happen to my granddaughter after I die. Likewise, I couldn't imagine… what w-will..."

Tears fell from his eyes. It was not sadness; it was tears of madness. Beric recalled all the despair that had happened, causing him to fall into madness again.

"So, I took the risk. I introduced her to the evil..."