Chapter 127: The Class's First Meeting
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127: The Class's First Meeting
I silently put some distance between us. Is this girl’s head not screwed on right?
If what she was describing was truly her experience, then it was beyond terrible. Besides, the place she was talking about sounded incredibly shady.
"Wait, that place you mentioned... is it called Sentiment Street?" I asked tentatively.
"Eh? You know it too, Sister Xiao Han? It’s not actually called Sentiment Street, though; that’s just what some people call it. It has an official name. The senior sisters there speak so nicely, and the beds are really soft. I loved it there!"
"Right..." I pressed a hand to my forehead. Was she the type to be sold off by some senior sister and still help them count the money?
Or had she been brainwashed somewhere?
"But it was suddenly raided and shut down yesterday. A bunch of senior sisters in uniforms rushed in and ordered everyone to close up. I had nowhere to stay, so I remembered I’d been assigned a room card and came back." Hong Chenyi’s expression suddenly turned sorrowful, her tone indignant, as if she were witnessing a great injustice.
"..."
I stood up in silence. As I suspected, there wasn't a single normal person in this dorm!
Was there really any point in me living with these people?
"Eh? Sister Xiao Han, aren't you going to listen anymore?"
"No. It’s getting late and I have things to do tomorrow. Don't stay up too late watching TV. I’m going to take a shower."
I quickly made up an excuse to slip away. I couldn't stay in the living room; there was someone with a loose screw here. How did someone like her manage to get such high scores?
Did she really study her brains out?
"Oh, right! We have a class meeting tomorrow. Okay then, Sister Xiao Han, don't turn off the light after your shower—I’m going in next!"
"Got it."
I gave a casual reply and headed back to my bedroom with my things.
After a comfortable shower, I went to bed early.
* * *
The next morning.
I made a special effort to groom myself. I still wasn't used to using cosmetics, though; even though Sister Bai had bought me some, I hadn't touched them.
As expected, my inner mindset was still male. Cosmetics and the like belonged in the trash.
Wasn't being natural better?
Witchification was the best skincare product there was.
Today, I wore black clothes again with a skirt that wasn't too long. In front of the mirror, the outfit didn't look too flashy; instead, it gave me a sharp, dashing look.
It had a sort of gender-neutral coolness to it, yet didn't lose the soft beauty of a young girl.
After tying my hair into a simple ponytail, I was ready to head out.
"Eh? Sister Xiao Han, why are you up so early? Wait for me! There’s still so much time before the meeting..." Hong Chenyi called out hurriedly.
She was terrified I would leave without her, pleading with me over and over.
"I'm the Class Monitor. How can I not be the first one there? It would make it look like I don't take the class seriously."
"Shouldn't the Class Monitor make a grand entrance? Heavyweights are supposed to arrive last," Hong Chenyi grumbled.
I ignored her. That would just be acting like a diva. I wasn't going for that vibe; I was taking the "man of the people" route, striving to build good relationships with everyone in class.
I had never managed people before, let alone over a hundred of them.
But I knew that if I was on good terms with everyone, they would be more likely to listen to me. If we ran into trouble later, I’d deal with the specifics then.
For now, I wanted to play my current persona well. The surface-level appearances had to be maintained.
After Hong Chenyi dawdled for ages, I finally boarded the bus to the teaching buildings.
Along the way, I saw groups of girls on the bus, their faces brimming with youthful smiles as they chatted and laughed.
Looking at their single Mana Sources and their naive expressions—untouched by the academy's harsh realities—it was easy to tell the difference between freshmen and senior sisters.
It seemed the senior sister hadn't lied to me; most of the freshman dorms were allocated here. As we got closer to our destination, the bus became more crowded.
I’d have to catch an earlier bus in the future.
However, since different counselors managed different classes, the meeting times varied. I had already confirmed this with Dongli Yiren and the others.
So, I remained calm. It wasn't time for Class 14 to gather yet.
Hong Chenyi was very excited. She was wearing a beautiful outfit today that showed quite a bit of skin. Although it was conservative compared to what the senior sisters at Sentiment Street wore, you could still see the influence of that style.
After all, everything that should be shown was shown.
Plus, she was naturally attractive, so she easily drew people's gazes.
"Look, look, Sister Xiao Han! There are so many freshmen today."
"Yeah. It is the first day of school, after all. I wonder if there’s an opening ceremony. But since there hasn't been a notice, there probably isn't one."
"Eh? That’s such a shame. A Transcendent Academy without an opening ceremony? How unprofessional!"
As Hong Chenyi and I chatted idly, we soon arrived at the teaching buildings in the Central Teaching Area.
There wasn't just one building here, but many. After all, there were plenty of senior sisters coming to class as well. With so many freshmen in every intake, how could there not be many buildings?
"Sister Xiao Han, which building are we going to?"
Hong Chenyi looked at me blankly, as if she could stop using her brain entirely as long as she followed the Class Monitor.
"Sigh... just follow me."
I sighed, helped Hong Chenyi identify the building number, and walked straight in.
As for memorizing the room number?
There was no need. This was just a temporary room for gathering students. Future classes wouldn't necessarily be held here, so why bother? Besides, I had a course exemption; I didn't even need to attend classes.
After climbing a few floors, I found the classroom Ji Niang had specified for the gathering.
The room was huge—exceptionally so. There were well over a hundred seats, more than enough for a class meeting.
You could probably squeeze two classes in here if you tried.
"Eh? This is it? Someone’s actually here earlier than us?" Hong Chenyi was very active now. As soon as she entered the room, she spoke up loudly.
I walked in and saw a girl sitting in a corner. She looked up at me, but after meeting my eyes, she shyly looked away.
"Hello. I'm Yang Yuehan, the Class Monitor for Class 14. You're here early," I said, pausing for a moment before formally introducing myself.
"Eh? Class Monitor? You're the Class Monitor? Um... hello. My name is Feng Yuzhen." She looked surprised, but after the initial shock, she simply stated her name.
"Feng Yuzhen, right? I hope we can get along well." I smiled and spoke in a gentle tone. She seemed like the introverted, socially anxious type—similar to me in some ways, though I was working hard to change myself.
After the brief greeting, I took a seat in the very front row. Since I was the Class Monitor, Ji Niang would definitely have things to say to me later. It would be inconvenient to sit in the back.
Waiting around was boring, but I had brought the papers the teacher gave me yesterday.
I hadn't looked at them much yesterday; the day had been too draining, and I’d fallen asleep almost as soon as I hit the bed after my shower.
Now was the perfect time. After a night of rest, reviewing them would help me master the knowledge faster.
Furthermore, while analyzing that spellbook yesterday, I’d come up with many ideas of my own that I wanted to test. Unfortunately, I hadn't had the chance.
A spellbook could bypass the restriction of being unable to move one's own mana by drawing mana to cast spells.
However, one still needed mental power to establish a connection with the spellbook to cast the spell.
If I mastered the means to modify the internal structure of a spellbook, wouldn't that mean I could change its effects?
Even if such a change would most likely weaken the spell's effect.
But that was still progress! An improvement in technique!
A normal Fireball Spell might blast a hole in the ground, but if I could suppress the power of a Fireball Spell with one hand until it extinguished, that would be a high-end display of strength.
Just thinking about such a scene was fun. It was much more interesting than just pressing buttons to release skills in a game.
While I was reading the papers, Hong Chenyi, who was sitting next to me, still hadn't given up on the idea of pulling me to the back.
She wanted to sit in the back, but she also wanted to sit with me. I didn't agree, so she gritted her teeth and sat in the front row with me.
"Sister Xiao Han, stop being such a try-hard! What are you even looking at? It’s making my head spin!"
"I'm reading A Brief Analysis of the Internal Integrated Structure of Fireball Spellbooks—Using the Standard Fireball Spell Model Spellbook as an Example. Want to see? I have nine other different ones here."
"Ah... give me one then. I'll just pretend to read..." In the end, Hong Chenyi took one of the Fireball Spell papers and placed it in front of her.
At first, she read the abstract with great interest, but she soon began to feel drowsy. This girl probably had quite the nightlife yesterday; who knows how late she stayed up watching TV.
Time ticked by, and students who arrived early trickled into the classroom. I watched every student who entered, committing their faces to memory. These were my classmates, after all. Even if I might not attend classes with them later, I still needed to recognize them.
I also @everyone in both groups again, just in case someone had forgotten this morning. I didn't want to imagine Ji Niang getting angry.
If someone was absent, she’d probably be furious. I hoped she wouldn't hold a grudge against them, but everyone had to take responsibility for their choices. If they were going to be absent, they should at least tell me in the group and explain why so I could inform the teacher.
As the scheduled time approached, I looked back at the class. Almost everyone was there.
But clearly, the attendance wasn't full.
I checked in the group again and found that someone had taken the wrong bus and was currently rushing over. Well... that was a reasonable excuse.
While I was waiting for more messages, a figure walked through the door.
The moment she entered, the classroom—which had been buzzing with chatter—instantly fell silent. Indeed, this curvaceous woman with a powerful aura was Ji Niang.
"It seems almost everyone is here~ Let me introduce myself. My name is Ji Niang, and I am the counselor for Class 14. My office is in Room 8405. If you need anything, you can find me there."
As Ji Niang spoke, she turned toward the blackboard.
Only then did my attention shift to the massive blackboard. It didn't seem to be the chalk-and-slate board I remembered.
It was a massive Ley Line Operating System; the blackboard was essentially a display screen.
I could feel the surge of Ley Line energy.
With a wave of her hand, Ji Niang’s name appeared on the board, drawing gasps of surprise from many.
Most of the students here had only ever seen traditional blackboards or perhaps multimedia setups with computers.
None of them had seen a Ley Line System like this, so they were naturally dazzled.
The lectern was the core of the Ley Line System. Once activated, the edges of the blackboard displayed decorative frame patterns formed by gathered Ley Line energy.
"The appointed time has arrived, yet there are still people missing. I hate people who are late. I hope you all remember that from now on."
"Today is the first time Class 14 has gathered for a class meeting. I would also like to welcome all the new students to our Witch Academy!"
Despite Ji Niang’s attempt to rally them, the response from below was lukewarm. There were a few "attention-seekers" playing along, myself included, blending into the artificial excitement.
Ji Niang didn't care. This was her first time being a counselor, and she wasn't very familiar with many things yet. But it didn't matter; even an unqualified counselor was still a counselor. She wasn't going to let this bother her.
"That’s enough for the welcomes. I know many of you are excited to be in contact with the Transcendent, but I must wake you up. The Transcendent world is not what you imagine. The novels you usually read are just stories. No one can achieve success overnight, and no one is a born protagonist."
Ji Niang’s sudden shift in tone immediately dampened the enthusiasm of many. She didn't care; if someone was discouraged by just a few words, they were destined never to achieve anything remarkable anyway.
However, as she finished that sentence, her voice lacked a bit of conviction. Fortunately, it wasn't enough for the students to notice.
After all, these were just platitudes. If this weren't a special period, this kind of talk would be a standard cliché.
But a mediocre student at the Witch Academy, even if they became a Transcendent Witch, would only ever be a mediocre Transcendent Witch.
"Now, we will proceed with your first requirement upon enrollment: signing a Confidentiality Contract. From now on, no important matters within the Transcendent Academy are allowed to be leaked or spread on the external network. Starting today, you and the world outside the academy will be two separate worlds with no intersection."
After Ji Niang finished speaking, not a single person made a sound. She wasn't negotiating with the class; she was informing them.
This contract had to be signed.
Don't be naive enough to think that if you didn't sign, you could just go back to your normal life. The teachers would force you to sign it.
Never forget: any Transcendent Academy is a place that eats people without spitting out the bones!