Chapter 11: The Standard Witch Four-Piece Set
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 11: The Standard Witch Four-Piece Set
Although I was told I was here to collect my school uniform, it wasn't until I arrived that I realized exactly what that entailed.
The first thing that caught my eye was the massive witch hat with its tall, pointed crown. Its wide brim was so expansive that, once placed on one's head, it could cast a shadow large enough to shroud the entire body.
Looking at the rows of witch hats, they seemed to come in various sizes and even different colors. They were stacked one on top of another, suggesting that students could choose their own.
Soon, a senior sister in charge handed me a registration form. she instructed me to fill it out and hand it back, after which I could wait for my uniform to be issued.
I looked at the form and the pen in my hand, quickly accepting the premise. The form was divided into four sections, which meant the "uniform" consisted of four distinct parts.
The first section made me pause—not because I didn't understand it, but because my "choice paralysis" kicked in.
The first thing I had to choose was a magic wand.
The types of magic wands were optional: short wands, long wands, and custom wands.
Below that was a blank remarks section. If one had specific requirements for their magic wand, the school would fulfill any application that wasn't "too excessive."
"What's wrong? Encountering some trouble?" Sister Bai asked as she came up behind me, her voice laced with concern.
"Um... a little. Sister Bai, do you have any recommendations for the magic wand?" I asked, pointing to the first column of the form.
"A magic wand will accompany you for a long time during your academy life, so you need to choose carefully. Generally, I suggest a short wand. Long wands are too big—usually about as tall as a person—making them inconvenient to carry. Plus, before you have any spatial storage equipment, they're hard to store and prone to wear and tear," Bai Yu offered her advice, along with her reasoning.
I could naturally foresee the issues Sister Bai mentioned. Something that large would indeed be a hassle.
"Then what about this custom wand?"
"That's for those who minor in weapons. These 'magic wands' are technically cold weapons imbued with the properties of a wand through alchemy. Sabers, spears, swords, halberds—anything can be customized. Why? Do you want a personal sword or some other weapon?" Sister Bai asked with a smile. Then, she leaned in and whispered in my ear, "I know you young boys like playing with blades. It's perfectly fine to choose this, you know."
"Ahem..." Hearing Sister Bai say that, I was indeed a bit tempted. After all, it would look incredibly cool!
But I'd just be playing around. I was a total novice when it came to cold weapons; I'd only self-taught a few flashy moves and sword flourishes. If I actually picked one, I wouldn't know the first thing about using it properly.
"Forget it. I'll stick to being practical and ordinary. I'll go with the short wand you recommended, Sister Bai~"
"Alright. Oh, and you have to fill out the remarks column too. I'll dictate, and you write. Otherwise, without remarks, you'll just get the most basic wand. Since they've given us a remarks section, we might as well milk the system for all it's worth."
"Right! Let's milk it!" I echoed excitedly. After all, who doesn't love getting extra value?
"First, the wand core needs high-quality mana superconducting material. In parentheses: quality can be lowered, but the material must be mana superconducting material. The wand body needs to be carved from a single piece of Mithril Gradient Wood. In parentheses: if unavailable, other materials may be substituted, but it must be a single-piece carving with no joints or adhesives..."
"Slow... slow down, Sister Bai..." I scribbled furiously, recording everything. Sister Bai seemed to have a lot of expertise in this area; once she started, she couldn't stop.
"Sorry, I got a bit excited. Next is the magic wand core. Your mental power is pan-affinity... forget it, let's go with a non-attribute crystal inlay. Finally, the wand body itself needs a final wire inlay using a coupling inlay process. The metal wire needs to be..."
I didn't stop until the remarks column was completely filled; I even went slightly over the lines.
I couldn't help but glance at the note that said "can fulfill applications that aren't too excessive." Was this really considered "not too excessive"?
I looked at Sister Bai, feeling a bit lost. "Um, Sister Bai, with so many requirements, will the academy really follow them?"
"Making demands is your right. Just write them down. If they don't follow them, the worst-case scenario is that you end up with the same thing as everyone else. But if they actually agree to your requests, you've struck gold, haven't you?" Bai Yu said with a grin. She was a seasoned veteran of the academy, after all, and knew exactly how to squeeze every bit of benefit out of the place.
"That's true." I nodded heavily, agreeing with her logic.
"Besides, the requirements I gave you are interconnected. As long as they adopt even a part of them, your magic wand won't be bad. When crafting a wand, they have to consider the overall balance. If there's too much of a quality gap between the main materials, the crafting is likely to fail. Don't worry."
"Mm, then I'll leave it all to you, Sister Bai!"
"Good. Next, the witch hat and witch cape are pretty much standard. There aren't many specific requirements we can make, just some basic body measurements." As she spoke, Bai Yu pulled out a soft measuring tape she'd borrowed from nearby and walked toward me. "Let Sister Bai take your measurements~"
Looking at her, I felt like Sister Bai was acting a bit differently than before. But I wasn't afraid of this level of teasing. I spread my arms and met her with a grin.
"Then measure away~"
After the senior sister finished measuring, I gained a general understanding of my current physical stats. However, the numbers weren't exactly ideal.
"It's fine. The physical changes during a boy's witchification process are even more drastic than a girl's. It doesn't matter now, but there's no telling what will happen later. If you feel like your witch hat or cape doesn't fit anymore, you can come back here to have the size adjusted."
Sister Bai whispered in my ear, offering a bit of comfort.
"Okay."
I took the form and continued reading. Magic wand, witch hat, and witch cape were all settled. The last one was... a medal, or rather, a school badge?
In short, it was a chest badge to be worn on the breast. There were several styles to choose from. "Sister Bai, what's the chest badge for? How should I choose?"
"The chest badge has a solidified spell on it. It's essentially an initial spell provided to freshmen. As long as you learn how to use it, it can guide mana into the badge, allowing you to release the spell at near-instant speed. However, don't expect the damage from this spell to be very high."
"As for how to choose, just pick whatever badge style you like. You can also pick whichever solidified spell you prefer. Since you have mental power pan-affinity, they're all pretty much the same for you."
"Oh... alright then."
As expected, for a "pan-affinity" ordinary person like me, everything was the same. There was no real room for optimization. I picked a style at random and looked at the solidified spells.
There were Fireball Spell, Torrent Spell, Wind Pressure Spell, and Earth Spike Spell.
Only four spells. They all looked like the "basic attacks" you'd find in a game.
I'll go with the most basic Fireball Spell. Out of the four elements, fire seemed to have the highest attack power. Naturally, I'd choose the one that dealt the most damage.