The Tale of Hero Alice’s Social Death

Chapter 260: Alice, Representative of Slave Masters

Spells with long-lasting effects could be separated into two types.

The first type relied on mana lingering in the surrounding environment to function. An example of this type of long-lasting spell would be the internet. The internet was a massive spell cast by combining the power of several countries. However, since there wasn't even a possibility for an individual to cast the spell by themselves, it wasn't considered a taboo. Meanwhile, the internet relied on mana in the air to keep itself functioning constantly.

The second type of long-lasting spells functioned without relying on the mana in their surrounding environment. Instead, they operated based on a preconstructed magic array that carried its own mana. Even if the mana around the spell was depleted, the spell could continue functioning normally.

Evidently, the spell Grant had cast on his books belonged to the second type.

"I've never seen this spell before. Was it developed after my death?" Andusia muttered with a frown on her face.

After Alice had let her down and removed the Forest Crystal sealing her mana, Andusia had promptly started inspecting the books on the table. Unfortunately, although she was much more knowledgeable about magic than an amateur like Alice, she had similarly failed to identify the spell cast on the books here. She could only tell that this spell was affecting her perception, causing her to see texts in her memories rather than the actual texts recorded in the book.

"So, does that mean there's no solution to this?" Alice scratched her head in frustration when she heard Andusia's evaluation. She had already gotten rid of Grant's soul. It had also been several hundred years since Grant's era, so most of Grant's acquaintances should be dead by now. If this was a spell Grant had developed, it was very unlikely that she could find someone who knew of this spell.

"There is a solution. Although I've never seen this spell before, it is quite a crude spell, judging by its mana structure. That Grant fellow must have intended this spell to only ward off nosy weaklings. I don't think he was trying to make it difficult for the next Demon King to read these books," Andusia said, shaking her head. Then, tracing her finger across one of the pages and seeing the remnant mana appearing briefly on the page, she added, "There are traces of rushed work all over this spell. If your aim is simply to undo this spell, it is doable. It's just that the process will be boorish."

When Gel looked at how nonchalantly Alice and Andusia talked about the previous generation's Demon King, he felt that he must be listening in on some amazing secret. He did not feel happy about this situation in the slightest. On the contrary, he was very frightened by this situation. Did they forget that he was still in the room? Should they be letting a stranger hear the things they were talking about? Gel was afraid that Alice might decide to permanently silence him the next moment.

Gel also worried greatly about Kamia. Kamia might have said that Alice was her "boyfriend," but he highly doubted that this relationship would keep her safe from a dangerous existence like Alice. However, when he turned to look at Kamia, he found thathis little sister was earnestly looking at Alice, seemingly unaffected by the astonishing discussion between Alice and Andusia.

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Based on his understanding of his little sister, Gel knew that Kamia wasn't listening to Alice and Andusia's conversation at all. Instead, the focused expression she wore was the face she typically made when her mind had wandered off. He knew this since he often received calls from Kamia's teachers about her daydreaming in class.

"Spells that are deliberately designed to leave mana traces will typically have very obvious weak points. So long as you target these weak points with mana, you'll be able to undo the spell," Andusia said, paying no heed to Gel's nervous expression. For Demon Kings like herself, the opinions of other demons were of no concern to her. "This book is quite flimsy, butlet me see."

While saying so, Andusia touched the cover of the book before her with her tiny hands. However, because her body was smaller than even the book itself, she had to move her entire body to physically inspect it.

Shortly afterward, Andusia verified the exact location of the spell. It was located at a point situated on the lower half of the book's cover. Meanwhile, similar to Andusia's deduction, despite the spell's crude design, its complexity was still beyond the average person's understanding. Theoretically, it should be considered a taboo-level spell.

"So, it's going to take a lot of mana to undo it, right?" Alice nodded after hearing Andusia's conclusion. Then, she nudged Andusia's shoulder with a finger and said, "You do it, Andusia."

"Huh? Me?"

Andusia was briefly stunned. She thought she would only be responsible for finding the spell's weak point while Alice would handle the rest.

"Obviously. You know full well that I can only cast weakened versions of taboos with my mana," Alice said with a huff. She refused to believe that Andusia didn't notice her small mana pool. While her mana pool might be large compared to the average person, it still wasn't at the level where she could cast a complete taboo.

Upon hearing Alice's response, Andusia quickly realized her mistake. She indeed knew that Alice's mana pool was significantly smaller compared to full-fledged Heroes and Demon Kings. She had simply forgotten about it after being pushed around by Alice for so long. Meanwhile, with Alice's current mana pool, it was impossible for her to cast a complete taboo. This also meant that Alice didn't have mana to break the spell Grant had cast on the books.

After realizing that she couldn't avoid being squeezed by Alice, Andusia sighed gloomily and put her hands on the spell's weak point. Then, she began injecting her mana into it.

At the same time, Andusia couldn't help but feel perplexed. Even though humans and demons had already abolished their slavery system, why did it feel like she was Alice's slave?