The ceiling cracked open.
A mass of colorful stuff crashed down, splattering everywhere.
“Ahhhhh! Meow!”
Lilia scrambled backward on all fours.
The pristine white floor she had just been lying on was instantly flooded.
That smell—
Sour, rotten, fishy-sweet, fermented… all sorts of nauseating odors mixed together, assaulting her nose.
“What the hell is this! Meow!”
She screamed up at Lucia, suspended in midair.
“A mixture of Chaos Ooze, Abyssal Snot Slug, and Rotten Eyeball Demon secretions.”
Lucia floated above, her tone calm.
“Doesn’t it look prettier than before?”
Pretty, your grandpa!
Lilia almost fainted from rage.
Where did this pervert’s collection obsession come from!
Does she go around the universe collecting the most disgusting things on purpose?
“Your Majesty.”
Lilith stood in front of her.
“The young lady’s mental strength is at its limit. She can’t continue any longer.”
“Is that so?”
Lucia’s gaze dropped.
“I think she still has a lot of potential.”
She raised her hand, pointing her fingertip at Lilia.
“Watch.”
A beam of magic power shot out.
“Bzzzz—”
Lilia’s mind exploded.
That force didn’t even give her time to react.
It stormed into her spiritual world, slamming into the Magic Power Node!
“Ah—!”
She clutched her head and screamed.
Her spiritual world was being forcibly expanded!
It felt like a balloon about to burst!
Agony radiated from the depths of her soul.
Her whole body convulsed, and her vision turned blood red.
“Your Majesty! What are you doing?!”
Lilith’s expression twisted.
“If you force the node, her Spiritual Sea will collapse!”
Collapse?”
Lucia laughed.
“You underestimate her.”
“This little one’s soul is far more resilient than you think.”
“Without a complete breaking and remaking, how could she possibly grasp true power?”
Lilia couldn’t hear their conversation.
Her soul was being torn apart.
Her consciousness blurred, her body curling into a ball.
She couldn’t hold on—
“Boom!”
A tremendous explosion erupted inside her spiritual world.
The Magic Power Node she had always handled so carefully—
Shattered under that overwhelming force!
The broken node scattered into billions of black starlights.
They spread across her entire spiritual world.
Then, the starlight began to recombine.
No longer a single ‘point,’
But woven into a vast, intricate ‘net.’
That net covered her entire Spiritual Sea.
Every line was a Mana Circuit.
Every circuit was tightly connected to her mental strength.
Lilia’s body stopped convulsing.
She sat up from the floor.
The world had changed.
She could ‘see’ the multicolored Elements flowing in the air.
She could ‘hear’ the torrent of magic power surging through Lilith.
She could even ‘smell’ the vast, unfathomable Laws emanating from Lucia.
Most importantly—
She could feel the newborn ‘net’ inside her body.
With a single thought,
Magic power would flow through her whole being!
No more struggling to ‘pull’ or ‘guide.’
Just a ‘will’ was enough.
Lilia raised her right hand, gazing at her palm.
“I want a Light Sphere.”
The next second, a fist-sized Light Sphere appeared out of thin air.
No delay, no buildup.
Where the mind went, magic followed.
She stared blankly at the Light Sphere in her hand.
So this was the power of a First Tier Apprentice?
“How does it feel, my little pet?”
Lucia’s figure landed before her.
Lilia looked up at the perfect face just inches away.
She opened her mouth.
She wanted to curse her as a pervert, a demon.
But in the end, she only whispered:
“Why are you helping me?”
She didn’t understand.
This woman treated her like a pet, a toy.
She humiliated and tormented her in every way.
Yet with such a violent method, she helped her break through her limits and step into the realm of magic.
What was she after?
“Help you?”
Lucia smiled, pinching her chin.
“I’m not helping you.”
She leaned close to Lilia’s ear.
“I was just bored.”
“A pet that can create more advanced toys is simply more fun to play with, isn’t it?”
Lilia’s body went rigid.
So that’s how it was.
All her effort, her struggles, her pain—
In Lucia’s eyes, it was all just to make her a ‘more interesting toy.’
Rage and humiliation surged from the depths of her heart.
Stronger than ever before.
“Lucia…”
She lifted her head, heterochromatic eyes burning.
“Just you wait! Meow!”
“One day, I’ll pin you—this pervert—to the ground! Meow!”
“Oh?”
Lucia looked at her bristling with anger.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
She released her grip and straightened up.
“But before that—”
She gestured to the multicolored sea of slime around them.
“Show me your new toy.”
“As a reward for advancing to First Tier, the time limit is halved.”
“If there’s even a trace of color here before dawn—”
Lucia smiled.
“I’ll throw you into the slime and let you soak for a day.”
Her figure vanished.
Leaving only that declaration echoing in the air.
Lilia stared at the slime more terrifying than hell itself, then at the Light Sphere in her hand.
Anger, humiliation, and frustration fused into pure motivation.
She stood up, raising both hands.
“Watch closely! Lucia! Meow!”
She closed her eyes, spiritual energy surging through her magic network faster than ever.
The next second—
Hundreds of Light Spheres materialized around her.
Then, under her will, they began to transform.
No longer plungers.
But into dozens of small, precisely structured—
High-Pressure Water Guns.
Lilith’s eyes widened.
This little one—
She just advanced to First Tier, yet she could control hundreds of complex Mana Constructs at once?
This level of mental control, even I couldn’t achieve at her age!
“Go! My army! Meow!”
Hundreds of high-powered water guns charged into the sea of slime.
“Bzzzzzz—”
The high-frequency magic vibrated into jets.
Wherever the slime was hit, it was instantly blasted clean.
Pure white trails exploded across the sea.
Ten times more efficient than plungers!
“See that, Lucia! Meow!”
Lilia stood on high ground, hands on her hips, tail spinning like a propeller.
Now she was a Commander, commanding her invincible legion in battle.
Her spirit was linked to hundreds of water guns.
She adjusted the pressure and frequency of each gun in real time based on the color and thickness of the slime, optimizing the cleaning effect.
“This is amazing! Meow!”
Lilia was completely immersed in the thrill of control.
If Lucia brought out a few more kinds of slime,
She might invent an Automatic Floor Cleaner on the spot.
Lilith stood beside her, speechless.
She stared at the perfectly coordinated light-powered water guns.
Then at the little one flailing her arms and legs.
She began to doubt everything she’d learned about magic in the past three hundred years.
Magic could be used like this?
Could molding magic into tools be more efficient than traditional spell models?
She tried to imitate, forming a ‘water gun’ herself.
But failed.
There was no concept of ‘High-Pressure Water Gun’ in her mind.
She couldn’t grasp its mechanics.
What came out was just a stick of light vaguely resembling a water gun.
For the first time, this Fifth Tier Monarch doubted her own knowledge.
She looked up at the silver-haired loli.
Just a moment ago, this little one had been writhing in agony from runaway magic.
Now she could control hundreds of complex Mana Constructs at once?
This mental precision—she herself had never reached it.
Where on earth did Her Majesty find such a monster?
When the last water gun blasted away the final drop of colored slime,
The entire white space was spotless once more.
Lilia had drained her last bit of spirit.
Her legs buckled, and she plopped to the floor.
She didn’t even have the strength to smile.
But her eyes were dazzling with victory.
Lucia appeared in the center of the space.
She glanced at the spotless floor,
Then at Lilia, who sat with a face screaming “praise me!”
She paused for two seconds.
High-Pressure Water Gun?
What sort of bizarre things were packed in this little one’s head?
“My new toy is much more interesting than I imagined.”
Lucia walked over to Lilia.
“Congratulations, my little pet.”
“You’ve passed the Entrance Examination.”
Entrance Examination?
Lilia blinked.
“From today, you are officially a First Tier Apprentice.”
Lucia spoke with the pride of granting a boon.
“As a reward…”
She paused.
“I’ve decided to take you outside to play.”
Outside?
Lilia’s cat ears shot upright.
Did she hear that right?
Was this pervert Monarch going to take her out?
“Where? Meow?”
She asked cautiously.
Her mind was already plotting how to escape.
“A beautiful place,”
Lucia replied seductively.
“With warm springs to wash away your fatigue.”
“Soft beds to let you sleep well.”
“And many wonderful things you’ve never seen.”
Warm springs?
Soft beds?
Lilia swallowed.
That sounded… kind of great?
“I’ll go! Meow!”
She agreed without hesitation.
After a night of torment, all she wanted was a hot bath and a long sleep.
“Good.”
Lucia snapped her fingers.
The white space vanished, returning to the original study.
Outside the window, the sky was already growing light.
Lilia found herself sitting on the study’s carpet, with Lilith by her side.
But she could feel the magic surging inside her, and the new magic network within her body.
It was all real.
She had truly become a First Tier Apprentice!
“Lilith.”
Lucia ordered.
“Prepare everything. We leave in an hour.”
“Bring the new outfit I designed for my little pet a few days ago for her to change into.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Lilith bowed and left.
New outfit?
Lilia’s heart skipped a beat.
She suddenly had a very bad feeling.
There was no way the perverted Monarch’s ‘new outfit’ was something normal!
“Master… Um… Can I not change? Meow?”
She tried.
“This one I’m wearing is fine, meow.”
“No.”
Lucia’s answer was blunt.
“It’s a Custom Dress specially designed for your outing.”
She stressed the word ‘Custom Dress.’
“You can’t go out without wearing it.”
Lilia looked at Lucia’s uncompromising expression and despaired.
She knew it!
This so-called outing was no reward!
It was just another new form of torment invented by the perverted Monarch!
She could already imagine herself in a soul-destroying Custom Dress,
Being led by Lucia, publicly humiliated in some beautiful location.
Vacation was over before it even started.
An hour later.
Lilith walked in, carrying a tray draped in black velvet.
Lilia’s premonition came true.
When Lilith lifted the cloth to reveal the… outfit,
Lilia’s mind went blank.
She was wrong.
She’d thought the catgirl outfit with the heart-shaped chest cutout was the peak of embarrassment.
But compared to this—
That catgirl outfit was practically a conservative winter coat!