The Witch and the Beast manga, in its initial state, presented an intriguing and captivating story that left readers eager for more. The main idea of the manga revolves around a young witch named Moyako who forms an unlikely alliance with a mysterious beast. **The manga begins by introducing Moyako, a witch living in a secluded forest.** She is portrayed as a strong and independent character, capable of handling her own battles. However, as the story progresses, we discover that Moyako has a hidden past and a connection to an ancient curse. **This revelation adds depth to her character and engages readers in her journey to uncover the truth about her origins.
“Amara, was it?” the tome clutched under arm asked.
One crashed into the light rune and the other dissolved most of his fire runes, effectively neutering the spell down to a level 1 fire bolt that she effortlessly evaded. One crashed into the light rune and the other dissolved most of his fire runes, effectively neutering the spell down to a level 1 fire bolt that she effortlessly evaded.
**This revelation adds depth to her character and engages readers in her journey to uncover the truth about her origins.** **The beast, on the other hand, is depicted as a fearsome and powerful creature.** It is shrouded in mystery and is initially viewed as an antagonist.
Chapter 71: A Price Paid Heavily
Erlaut fired several light bolts wreathed in fire into the room, forcing Amara into a roll. She seized Rozen from the table, clapping the book shut. She stuffed the book into her Spell Weaver’s robe she wore over her armor. Luffa shook her head, muttering something as she clutched at the golden collar. The fight left Luffa as soon as Erlaut’s aura flared powerfully. She backpedaled until her back met the wall and she slid down. Certain of her own death.
Amara wove several void blasts in return. She hissed a muffled curse as the bolts crashed into Erlaut’s radiantly flaring aura. She wasn’t going to punch through that with a weak shot. She’d have to focus him down if she wanted a chance of making it out of this.
“Luffa!” she barked over her armored shoulder.
The green eyed primal’s red eyelids blinked through a fear filled fog. Her master was displeased, and she had no intention of incurring his wrath. Amara was on her own, which suited her fine. She’d been in those kinds of scenarios before.
“You disobeyed me!” Erlaut roared. More fire shrouded light bolts zipped into the room.
Amara’s eyes flashed gold. Time slowed perceptibly. She blinked several times. A fiery missive popped up in her vision and she recognized it as a system prompt.
System Info: Maetrayopts Active. Cost 1 AetherPoint.
An icon of a golden eye appeared next to her HP and AP bars. Her visual divination spell buff. Now that she had time, she studied her master’s spell bolts more closely. They were level 2 spells, but still just basic bolts spells. He also wasn’t aiming the bolts too carefully. Now that she had the benefit of knowledge, she felt better armed to handle the situation.
She sprinted forward and tumbled over the first bolt. She watched it splash against the wall of the dorm as she tucked herself into a ball. The instant her feet hit the floor again, she sprang up and twisted with a dancer’s grace. A second and third bolt flew under and over her as she twisted in the air. She hit the ground running, cutting a path diagonally across the room. Three more bolts crashed into the floor in her wake.
Her right hand quickly wove a series of air signs forming compressed air bolts that snapped in off rapid succession. They crashed against his personal wards. The impact points shimmered, discoloring a wounded pink, then returning to silver. Another fire laced golden bolt streaked out in response and she twisted to avoid it. She maintained momentum and wove another air bolt, this time adding another air rune to the spell. Lightening crackled around her hand as ionized air compressed into a lightening bolt and surged out, dancing along Erlaut’s ward. Wherever the bolt made contact, the runes of his ward soured from silver to pink to red.
He changed tactic and held a palm out to her as his off-hand wove a series of fire runes and mixed in a light rune. Amara’s Maetrayopts fed her data input based on the spell casting.
System Input: Cone of Plasma. Level 3 Spell.
At that level, the spell would fill the whole room with a cone of plasma that would scour everything to ash. She watched as the fire runes formed before his palm, awaiting the light rune. She quickly snapped off a pair of void bolts. One crashed into the light rune and the other dissolved most of his fire runes, effectively neutering the spell down to a level 1 fire bolt that she effortlessly evaded.
“Not bad, little priestess . But a true spell weaver would have simply counter spelled. Do you not know how?”
“I would.” She growled. “If someone would teach me instead of preening in front of the students all day,” Amara snapped. Her casting was getting faster than it had been, though. And her dueling techniques had improved since the first time she fought with him. She relied on weapons less and thought on her feet faster. But it still wasn’t enough. She knew that.
Amara stopped. Folding her arms. She narrowed her eyes at him. Her golden irises shimmered with faint rainbows of reflected light. “You were just testing me again, weren’t you?”
Erlaut’s defensive wards dissolved and folded his arms, smiling broadly. “I knew you’d be the sharpest one Morwen brought back. Well done. You faced a superior threat. You thought on your feet. Improvised. You cast your spells swiftly. You didn’t rely on your weapons. Remember, a mage’s greatest weapon is himself foremost. Anyone who leans on baubles and trinkets is using crutches. I believe you are closer to being ready.”
Luffa still sobbed and cowered in the corner. She clutched at the golden necklace around her neck. Erlaut regarded her for a moment and frowned. For an instant Amara thought he might actually show some compassion for the primal girl, but huffed and departed without a further word. Amara rolled her eyes and kneeled down next to her friend.
“He could have executed me.”
“It was just another stupid test.”
She turned to look at Amara, tears clinging to her eyes. “For you.”
Amara regarded their room for a moment. Most of the scorch marks were already fading. The enchanted wood in their dorm already healing away any damage the arch mage had done. She felt like a fool now, for not having seen the test for what it was. She’d been too caught up in the combat.
“I should have known he’d do something like this.”
“You performed admirably.” Rozien’s muffled voice said.
She blinked, startled, and they both glanced down at the enchanted tome tucked into her armor. She withdrew the dark brown leather-bound book, and it glanced up at them with an appreciative. “Thank you. Had an errant spell struck me, that would have been the end of me.”
Amara shook her head. “I don’t think that would have happened.” She glanced back at the doorway with a frown. She wasn’t sure she agreed with Aerynian training method so far. It seemed very sink or swim and didn’t really impart proper lessons. She only hoped Akamori was faring better than she feared. He’d always been slow to learn, but his sharp intuition made it difficult to tell how and when he picked something up.
She returned her gaze to Luffa, who still absently clutched at the gold rune etched collar. Her friend’s stare was vacant, and Erlaut wrapped her mind in fear. In that moment, all she could do was wrap a comforting arm around Luffa’s shoulder and just be there for her. That’s all she knew how to do.
After a long moment, Luffa finally shrugged free of Amara’s hug. She rose, cleared her throat, and rubbed her cheeks dry. When she looked back down, she gave Amara a stiff nod. She didn’t vocalize her thanks, but Amara could see it in her eyes.
“You may have passed his test, but he’ll expect answers for removing the tome.” Luffa said stoically.
Amara stood with Rozien tucked under arm. “You aren’t going to put me back on that dusty shelf, are you?” Rozien asked.
“No. I suspect we’re far from done with you yet.” she said.
Amara left the room, leaving Luffa behind. Her friend clearly needed some space to recompose herself. She knew Luffa was a war slave, but she wasn’t sure if Luffa had actually seen any fighting. Come to think of it, she’d only seen Sala on the front and that was because they directly attached him to Captain Morwen’s unit.
She reached Erlaut’s office after padding silently through several open lectures in the main hall area. She saw younger mages learning their basic hand signs, and how to weave runes together with verb commands to execute simple spells. Most just wasted aether in fizzled attempts. A few cast a simple bolt in various elements. The bulk of successes were light aether.
Erlaut glanced up from his desk with a smug look of satisfaction. He puffed on a pipe lazily. The earthy herbs snapped in embers at the small bowl at the end, a hazy cloud wafted out. “Little Priestess. Excellent performance today in your pop evaluation. I was especially pleased to see an improvement in your battle sense. It brings me great pride to say you’re closer to what you’re becoming than what you were when you first arrived.”
Amara sighed, trying to mask the disgust at his praise. Even when complimenting her, he still somehow put her down in the same sentence. “I came to make a request.”
Erlaut’s eyes narrowed. “You seek to keep the tome.”
Amara nodded eagerly. She studied his reaction as he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. She noticed his index finger tapping the pipe in a measured beat. A song perhaps? Was he toying with her? Or mulling over the risks of letting an elder magic artifact go.
“I’ll allow it. On one condition.”
“Name it.” She blurted out.
“I want a full report on the contents. A comprehensive one. With citations. It’s been far too long since the beginning histories have been reviewed in any detail. Something I think we could all benefit from. See to that? And the tome is yours to keep.”
Amara blinked. Rozien was a powerful artifact. To entrust it to her like that was a huge gesture of trust. She stammered for words, but none came readily. She shook her head. This couldn’t be real. She waited for someone to pinch her and wake her up. She remained right here, and oh gods, she was gaping, too. Her mouth clapped shut before Erlaut commented on it.
“Thank you so much!” she bowed deeply.
“Yeah! Thanks!” Rozien said from under her arm.
Erlaut waved them away dismissively. “See that I’m not disappointed.”
Amara clutched Rozien tightly as she backed out of the arch mage’s office. She felt the invisible tingle of the wards affixed to his door way wash over her like a magical membrane. Someday she’d have to use her maetrayopts ability to puzzle out what those wards were and how they worked. It seemed a prudent measure to take, placing safeguards in one’s office. She’d have to study a few of her own if today was any sign.
“Amara, was it?” the tome clutched under arm asked.
“You appeared to have purchased my freedom, after all. I don’t know how to thank you.”
She smiled softly at the tome, slipping it a friendly glance. “A price paid heavily. But paid happily. A dusty shelf is no place for knowledge to sit. Besides, I’m bound to find myself in some kind of trouble, eventually. So if adventures are your thing? You’re in good company.”
Amara spent the rest of the day studying the tome in her free time. Luffa kept to herself, slipping away to go do some casting training in the range. She figured the primal girl probably just needed to blow off some steam. Not that she could blame Luffa. She’d never grown up a true slave as Luffa had, but Amara understood fear intimately ever since the Sauridius reduced Hoshun to ash.
“So,” she said, breaking the silence of leafing through Rozien’s ancient yellowed pages. “What else can you tell me about Maetraya’s legends?”
The Rozien’s face pursed into a thoughtful expression. The dark leather creasing as one’s eyebrows would furrow. “Well, there is a legend that she saw all of creation. All of existence. All of life, and that it was so bright, and so great, that it burned her eye color away, leaving only the golden glow of light aether.”
Amara grinned and leaned forward, looking as though she’d just won a prize. “Tell it to me.”
However, as the story unfolds, we see a different side to the beast, one that is compassionate and protective. **This contrast in the beast's character challenges the readers' perceptions and creates intrigue.** As Moyako and the beast form an alliance, they embark on a quest to break the curse that plagues them both. **Their shared struggle and the development of their relationship form the core of the story.** The manga explores themes of friendship, trust, and self-discovery as Moyako and the beast face various challenges along their journey. The artwork in the manga complements the story, with vivid illustrations that bring the characters and their world to life. The use of stunning visual imagery adds to the overall appeal of the manga and enhances the readers' experience. Overall, The Witch and the Beast manga, in its initial state, sets the stage for an intriguing and captivating story. **With its well-developed characters, engaging plot, and beautiful artwork, it leaves readers eagerly anticipating the next chapter in Moyako and the beast's journey.**.
Reviews for "The Representation of Gender Roles in "The Witch and the Beast" Manga"
1. Sarah - 2/5 - I was really disappointed with "The Witch and the Beast" manga in its initial state. The artwork was inconsistent, with some panels beautifully detailed and others looking rushed and unfinished. The story was also confusing and lacked depth, as if the writer wasn't sure where they wanted to take it. Despite its potential, the characters felt underdeveloped and the relationships between them weren't properly explored. Overall, it felt like a rushed and unfinished product, which was a shame because the concept had so much potential.
2. Michael - 1/5 - I found "The Witch and the Beast" manga to be a complete letdown. The art was mediocre at best, with awkward proportions and unappealing character designs. The storyline was convoluted and disjointed, making it difficult to follow and get emotionally invested in the characters' struggles. The pacing felt off, with some scenes dragging on for too long and others feeling rushed and glossed over. This manga had a promising premise, but it failed to deliver on its potential due to poor execution and lackluster storytelling.
3. Emily - 2/5 - "The Witch and the Beast" manga was a disappointment for me. The artwork was lackluster and at times, the characters looked indistinguishable from each other. The plot had potential, but it was poorly executed, leaving me feeling confused and unsatisfied. The pacing was off, with the story jumping around without giving enough time to fully develop important plot points. I had high hopes for this manga, but unfortunately, it fell short in terms of both art and storytelling quality.
4. David - 2/5 - I did not enjoy "The Witch and the Beast" manga in its initial state. The art style was unappealing to me, with inconsistent coloring and messy linework. The story also left much to be desired, as it felt like a generic and predictable fantasy tale. The characters were underdeveloped and lacked depth, making it difficult to connect with them on an emotional level. Overall, this manga failed to capture my interest and I would not recommend it to others looking for a captivating and well-executed story.