Chương 103: [2.29] The Icy Witch (Part 2/3)

Angelica held out both hands once again, ready to make another fancy axe. But this time, she didn't use Manifest Ice, and instead tried triggering Reprint. And then she tried again, but it really didn't want to go. Her mind lingered to the extra grilled cheese she'd made earlier. Which first, made her hungry, realizing she hadn't had dinner, so she moved the spare to her stomach so it could be satiated.

But more importantly, she remembered the butter being consumed, and the other ingredients being required, so perhaps the problem wasn't the recreation, but the lack of ice. So she activated Manifest Ice, but didn't actually make anything, followed by Reprint while the power was still flowing. [Combo Skill: Manufacture Lv. 1 unlocked | Utilize Reprint to recreate any items whose core components were produced via Demon Skills. Compatible with any Skill that generates items into existence] A perfect replica of the axe appeared, ready for battle once more. So it was accurate to say then that Reprint could not create something from nothing. When she was drawing, it must use up the ink or wear down the lead, and when doing digital creations, maybe it used up, uhhh, electricity? It was harder to say there. And for etching Runestones, that was already using up her MP to activate the Rune in the middle.

Which was probably reasonable since the base Skill only cost a single MP to use. Creating the axe initially had cost her a much heftier chunk, and now with this new Combo Skill, it was still decently cheaper. For this throw, Angelica tried a horizontal slash before releasing. It worked much better, but was an awkward release again, so it wouldn't go nearly as far as she needed. Once more, before it hit the ground, she launched it again with her Skill.

This time, the head cleanly chopped through a Malignant horizontally before slicing the leaves off another, giving them a buzzcut. Apparently, one of them got curious by the axes lying around, and picked one up. But the cold was so intense, their wooden claws froze, and they were forced to drop it. Sadly, she wouldn't get anywhere fast with these axes, at least as they were. She didn't want to give up on her masterpiece, but maybe with a few tweaks…

That would mean making it from scratch once more, or perhaps she could further stretch the bounds of Reprint. Back to her mental visualization, the axe laid out in front of her. She'd definitely made it too big for throwing, since it was designed to be held in both hands. But maybe she could shorten the shaft, tightening it up into a more dextrous handaxe.

She mulled over the process, basically breaking the handle in half then cleaning up the shattered edge, while also warping the shape so it would be easier to hold. Once again, despite the clear course of action, Reprint wanted to fight her on it. C'mon now, it's the same work, just a derivative version! She clenched down with just one hand this time, grabbing the new creation, or rather the recreation out of the air.

[Reprint has been enchanted to Editable Reprint] [Editable Affix: Previously created works can be tweaked to meet requested specifications. The end result must be a derivative of the original. If the changes are too severe, the edit will fail. Amount that can be edited scales with Skill Level, Creativity, and Fabrication Attunement. Cost: Variable MP depending upon severity of edits. Once the edit is completed, both the original and derivative versions can be reprinted for the standard Cost] Wow, that was fantastic, and felt like a huge step on her art Demon journey. Now if she made an error in the initial design of something, she wouldn't be stuck with it or forced to start from scratch. It made her wonder how much it would work for drawings, could she draw the same face and just change the expression, or keep the pose but change the outfit?

Much more to test, but that was a problem for future Angelica once she could properly sit down and art it up again. She pulled back for a moment before hurling the handaxe forward. Oh yeah, that's so much better. Its trajectory was off slightly, since she still needed to get better at aiming, but the distance and power behind it was a staggering improvement. She ultimately had to invoke Seeking Projectile to hit her mark, but she didn't have to expend any MP to boost the power.

It still chopped the Malignant down to size. Actually, this would be a good way to flex what Seeking Projectile's Passive side, where thrown objects would automatically course-correct to their intended destination. So, it was time to unleash a pelting upon this horde. Copies of the handaxe appeared in both hands, only to be launched a second later. Then before those two even finished their flight, she'd flung two more.

Really, she could chuck them even faster, but she had to pay attention to the trajectory of each one, especially with her left-hand, which had far worse aim. If they were going to miss, she forced the adjustment if it didn't activate on its own. Glancing at the DGS, the chance was only 29%, so most wouldn't proc the ability on its own. [Seeking Projectile Lv. 6] Scratch that, 31%.

It was also engaging to actually use her own muscles to throw the axes instead of relying fully on the power of the Skill to propel them forward. Well, if they could be called muscles. Her arms were still as scrawny as the day she'd gotten her system. With all of her Might and Vigor increases, it felt like she should at least have bulked up a bit with some semblance of a healthier body, but it likely fell on her to change her self-perception.

That was a problem for another time, when she wouldn't risk tearing the dress that had just been perfectly tailored to her current form. One of the hurled axes actually kept going after killing its targeted Malignant, puncturing through the wooden body and out the other side. She kind of expected it to magically stop in dead-air since it had and subdued its target, but apparently that's when the Skill's control ended, and the laws of inertia stayed in effect. But that gave her another idea.

Would it still count as a projectile she'd thrown? She mentally grabbed hold of the axe once more and designated a new target, it veered with new force applied, where it chopped the Malignant's arm off and got stuck in its side. Sadly, that axe, along with the several now on the floor, could no longer be made to move again. Seeking Projectile would only work if the momentum of the throw continued.

She could definitely go out there, pick them up, and use the Skill again, but why bother when she could make a ton more? Thanks to Manufacture, each one didn't cost that much, so she'd definitely run out of Malignants way before she ran out of MP. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Upon resuming her target practice, she began paying more attention to the aftermath, making an axe hit more than one opponent whenever possible.

And she had another potentially brilliant idea. After the next handaxe went clean through, she completely changed the target away from the crowd, back to herself. The idea was for her to catch it and throw it again. Not super useful in this case, but could be amazing if she ever threw something she wanted back. But as it soared through its return flight, she remembered the barrier, and stared closely at where it was going to hit, wondering if it'd be repelled as well or pass right through.

Turns out, it was the latter, likely recognizing the weapon as part of her own magic, so that was cool to learn but the wrong time to be distracted.

"Eep!" Angelica desperately shifted out of the way, since she'd made it fly too fast, and now a very sharp and deadly weapon was trying to chop her. Sure, she could try and grab it by the handle out of the air and look all cool like, but she preferred having arms. Even with the dodge, it still aimed for her hand, so she quickly shifted the target to the ground, not wanting the cottage behind her to take any damage either.

So yes, she could get them to come back to her, as long as she wasn't so stupid as to make herself the target again. Her potentially brilliant idea ended up being a lukewarm idea at best. Not to waste it, though, she pried it from the dirt and hurled it once more. [Achievement unlocked: Scourge-Cleanser - Rank 4 | 100 down, infinite to go. At this point, you should be pretty decent at culling these blighted existences. So perhaps it's time to take a bit more risk and use it to your advantage. Just be careful, since when you cry out, it is not up to you whose ears it falls upon. Next reward at 500 kills and five Lv. 75 or higher Malignant killed as the primary contributor, with at least one being a Lv. 50 or higher as the sole contributor] [Active Skill: Malignant Bait Lv. 1 unlocked | Alert all Malignants within the Skill's radius to your presence, deceiving them into thinking you're the most delicious meal around. The effect fades over time, and repeated uses on the same Malignant will be less effective. Cost: 1 MP per Level. Can be casted at any level up to your current maximum Skill Level. Radius and Duration increases based on level casted. Effectiveness and chance to entice higher levelled Malignants increases with Skill Level and Beguilement] Great, so by the sounds of it, she could trick the Malignants in front of her into thinking she was a big juicy…

she wanted to say steak, but since they were tree things, uhh, acorn? And she understood the warning from the achievement. If she cast the Skill at a high level, she may not just draw the attention of those directly in front of her. If the radius extended beyond that of her Malignant Tracker, she could accidentally lure some she didn't know about, and that could be bad news. Should be fine at just Lv. 1, though, right? Well, the only way to know for certain was to test it.

And what better place to do so than under the protection of a witch's barrier. If she did accidentally bait an even bigger horde, well, she'd deal with that problem when it came. Angelica got as close to the edge of the barrier as she could, really having no frame of reference of how far out this would reach. Activate Malignant Bait. A pulse of energy rippled along the ground, but honestly not very far. It was a good thing she'd closed that gap, or she only would have caught about half the Malignants in her spell.

The Malignants stopped their assault immediately, and the look in their beady eyes shifted. Some sort of sap-like substance began to salivate from cracks in their bark, unable to hold back their hunger even more. Angelica spawned a big version of her axe and jangled the icicle trinkets on the back of the head like it was a dinner bell.

"Come and get it!" They really didn't need the invitation, and bum-rushed the barrier once more. This time, they were even more crazed, clambering over each other, scratching the mystical wall wildly, desperate to get to the Angelica feast within. She slowly walked along the perimeter and they eagerly followed. It was a weird feeling, being the only thing in their sites. She spent so long avoiding attention, that it was odd to suddenly be the center of it.

For a moment, she whimsically daydreamed that she was famous, out on the town in her beautiful attire, and they were her rabid fanbase, desperate to meet her. That bubble burst rather quickly, since their increasingly monstrous behavior became more unsettling the longer it went on. Did they know anything besides their hunger? She bent down and extended a hand to the edge of the barrier, as close as it would go without passing, having thought of a way to confirm one way or another. [Leech Happiness failed. Target cannot feel selected emotion] She could only sigh. Not that she was great at feeling happiness herself lately, but a life devoid of it was just, well, sad. It made her wonder if they could feel sadness, or anything else, but didn't want to dwell on it for too long. The more she wondered, the greater the chance that pity would stay her hand.

Angelica briefly thought about more experiments she could perform on them, like using Venomous Strike with her axe and seeing if throwing them could trigger it, but decided the little monsters had been through enough, and a mercy killing to end their hunger was best. So she raised her axe high and swung, slicing through the front line.

Her increased Achievement Rank should also be increasing the damage toward them due to the similarly named Malignant Bane, but since they were dying in one hit before and after, there was no way to tell the difference. Though, unlike before, they didn't flee or run, capable of no thought besides the meal in front of them. Hell, they even made it convenient for her, replacing the ones that had fallen as soon as their corpses disappeared.

A few more swings and she was done, feeling a little hollow about the act, but knew it was best for everyone involved. Apparently, while she was engaged in combat, the DGS had roughly followed the same rules as her previous Malignant fight, only showing her what was relevant at the time. But now that the battle, if it could even be called as such, was over, the messages came flooding. [33 Malignants defeated] [Gained 339 Essence] [Swipe Lv. 4, Manifest Ice Lv. 14, Frost Touch Lv. 6, Manufacture Lv. 3, Seeking Projectile Lv. 7, Malignant Bait Lv. 2] [Might, Creativity heftily increased] [Competence, Beguilement notably increased] [Fabrication Attunement heftily increased] [Destruction, Glacial Attunement notably increased] A good haul for the light work. If this was actually a regular occurrence, she really would be tempted to double down in an easy life as a witch's familiar, keeping the place safe while growing at a relaxed pace.

But that ultimately would be running away from her problems and her goals, something she didn't want to do anymore.