Chapter 133: A Half-Day's Harvest
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: A Half-Day's Harvest
Night fell.
Ji Niang glanced at the time; it was already well past the end of normal class hours.
"Xiao Han, are you used to staying up late?"
"Eh? Me? I’m... I'm alright." I was caught off guard by the sudden question and hesitated for a moment before giving a slightly dishonest answer. I knew witches were creatures with vibrant night lives, but I actually kept a very regular sleep schedule.
"Today, I’m going to teach you that sometimes, learning requires a balance of work and rest. We’ll end today’s recording here." Ji Niang tidied up the various experimental records and successful analyses they had recorded in segments from the afternoon until now. The smile on her face made it clear that the gains had been substantial.
"Eh? Okay. So... am I heading back now? Will tomorrow be the same...?"
"Well, I have classes tomorrow. You can come if you want, or not. If you do come, try practicing today’s tests and make sure you’ve thoroughly mastered them."
"Understood!" I nodded vigorously.
"Right, let’s record your information so you won't be stuck outside tomorrow if you're on your own."
After busying myself for a while longer, I bid Ji Niang goodbye. It was quite late, and I hadn't eaten yet. I figured that by the time I got back, the others in the dorm would already be tucked in for the night.
Once downstairs, I took out the flying broom Teacher Ji Niang had given me. I had to admit, having one of these things was incredibly convenient!
Even more convenient than taking a car!
I pulled out my phone. During the afternoon, I had received several private messages from my classmates. Some were asking for information, while others just wanted to chat and make friends.
Unfortunately, I had been busy all afternoon. I hoped I hadn't left them with the false impression that I was some cold, aloof person.
The Class 14 Mutual Aid Group seemed to be at "99+" messages no matter when I opened it. Sometimes I’d join in to "lurk and post," as watching them chat was quite entertaining.
However, my two biggest harvests today were something else entirely.
First, my Mana Sources had reached thirty-two. This meant I had released the Fireball Spell nearly thirty-two times today. Normally, it takes a full day for a Mana Source to recover; I hadn't yet mastered the ability to speed up that process at this stage.
Furthermore, according to Teacher Ji Niang, it was better to increase the number of Mana Sources rather than focus on recovery speed for now.
If it weren't for the fact that my mental power was so depleted, I might have been able to "leech" even more Mana Sources.
I’d had to use meditation to speed up my mental recovery during the process, and I felt like my mental power had actually improved a bit.
The second harvest was the Fireball Spellbook itself.
I had already completely wrecked one Fireball Spellbook; the one currently inside me was a new one.
As for why it broke, it was naturally caused by my attempts to "mod" the spellbook. I discovered that the technique of modifying a spellbook was truly magical—especially after changing the internal rituals. Even Teacher Ji Niang couldn't accurately predict what the consequences would be.
The attempt that completely ruined the spellbook involved modding the limiter structure. It caused the spellbook to draw mana without limit, resulting in a fireball as tall as I am!
Fortunately, Ji Niang had stepped in to stop it in time. The price, however, was that the forced interruption destroyed the internal rituals, leaving the spellbook in a semi-damaged state.
But Ji Niang simply put the "waste" to good use. Since it was already broken, she dismantled it even further to let me feel the internal structure more clearly, even turning it into a display sample.
Now, I had mastered several ways to use the Fireball Spell, including but not limited to Double Fireball Spell and Multi-fireball. I felt like if I kept modding the Fireball Spell like this, I really might break it for good.
I could even control the power of the Fireball Spell now, ensuring it didn't drain an entire Mana Source all at once.
I also discovered that the conversion rate of mana into the fire element was shockingly low. If the mana from a single Mana Source were perfectly converted, the resulting Fireball Spell would likely have enough power to blow up this entire building.
Of course, that was just a metaphor. The building was reinforced with spells, so it was impossible for a single Fireball Spell to bring it down—not even a modded one.
Riding the flying broom, I felt the cold wind blowing against me in the darkening sky. I toyed with a small fireball in the palm of my hand.
This was a Fireball Spell with its fire elements completely retracted. This meant it wasn't hot; I could even pinch it with my fingers, even though it had no physical form.
But if it were to explode, its power would be nothing to scoff at.
It felt like holding a firework that could go off at any moment.
With the flying broom, the long distance between the Central Teaching Area and the dorms didn't take long at all.
It took only a few moments to reach the villa. After all, flying in a straight line between two points is naturally very fast.
"I'm back—hm?"
As soon as I entered the villa, I caught a familiar scent in the living room.
Incense!
I walked into the living room and saw three figures sitting in a row, each on a cushion.
A medium-sized incense burner was placed nearby, with wisps of smoke drifting from it.
Are they actually meditating?
That was my first thought. I immediately stopped myself from calling out to them, as being disturbed during meditation is a miserable experience.
But only half a day had passed—how had they already started meditating?
I remembered my schedule; there were no meditation classes today. Why was Hong Chenyi joining in on the fun?
A triple-row meditation session, huh?
If I remembered correctly, this was their first time encountering the Witch Meditation Method, right?
Could they... succeed in just half a day?
I instinctively used Spirit Vision to observe them. I couldn't see anything like a phantom Meditation Space around them, which meant they hadn't succeeded.
Still, seeing them try so hard made me reluctant to interrupt.
I quietly sat down on the sofa. I really didn't know why they wouldn't just sit on this perfectly good sofa instead of insisting on sitting on cushions on the floor.
Just as I sat down, I saw Hong Chenyi sneakily squinting an eye. Clearly, she couldn't hold the pose any longer.
I also noticed that the incense in the burner had finished. It looked like they had been at it for quite a while.
"Alright, stop pretending, everyone. The incense is already burnt out."
Seeing that they still hadn't entered a meditative state, I had no choice but to heartlessly interrupt them.
"Still not opening your eyes? Do you really think I can't tell whether you've entered meditation or not?" I got up and gave Hong Chenyi a little poke. She was the one who had just peeked at me, so naturally, she was my first target.
Besides, she was in my Class 14. What was wrong with a Class Monitor disciplining her own student?
It was only right and proper.
"Ow! Sister Xiao Han, I was just about to enter meditation and you disturbed me!" Hong Chenyi said, clutching her head with a look of grievance.
"I had already succeeded in meditation before you even moved into this dorm. You think I can't tell if you're actually meditating?"
"Eh? Sister Xiao Han, you've already succeeded?" Hong Chenyi asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Dongli Yiren and the others also opened their eyes. They indeed hadn't succeeded; they had just finished their first class and bought some incense to try it out back at the dorm.
"Sister Xiao Han, let me rub off some of your luck! Give us some meditation tips!" Hong Chenyi flopped to the floor and hugged my leg again, wailing. I always felt like this girl had a very strong desire for attention.
She was a total show-off.
"We haven't even had meditation class yet, have we? I've seen the schedule. What's the rush? Are you afraid the teacher won't explain it in class?" I asked helplessly.
"Sister Xiao Han, you have course exemptions, so you don't care about our survival! Yiren told me that the teacher's explanation in her meditation class this afternoon was like gibberish—completely unintelligible!"
"Sigh..." I massaged my temples. All this over that?
But because of my exemptions, I really didn't have to worry about such things.
"Sister Xiao Han, share some experience! Me, Yiren, and Guan Qiuling will all be grateful to you."
"There isn't really any 'experience' to speak of." I looked up at Dongli Yiren and the others. They hadn't said much, letting Hong Chenyi do all the talking, but I could see the hope in their eyes.
They wanted me to explain it to them.
"Sigh... fine. I'll share my personal take, but don't treat it as absolute truth. Honestly, with meditation, don't worry too much about what the teacher says. As long as you understand the basic principles of the Witch Meditation Method, just spend some money on incense and keep trying. Oh, and also, there are dedicated Meditation Rooms in the academy. Didn't the teacher tell you?"
"Eh? There's such a thing?" Hong Chenyi turned to look at Dongli Yiren. Obviously, only Dongli Yiren's class had held a meditation session today.
"The teacher didn't say. She only explained the general differences between the Witch Meditation Method and our previous meditation styles. There wasn't much practical content," Dongli Yiren said, shaking her head.
"There really wasn't. I had to go with them to the library to borrow books on meditation before we could even start," Hong Chenyi said, boredly flipping through the books on the coffee table.
"Anyway, let's not talk about that! Sister Xiao Han, where did you get your flight license? I want to fly too! This morning, I watched you zoom off and disappear in an instant. I was so jealous!"
"Jealous? Good. Work hard and you'll have everything eventually. It took me an entire summer break to get my flight license." I understood Hong Chenyi's envy; who hasn't felt that way?
"I can tell you where I learned, but the tuition isn't cheap." I glanced at Dongli Yiren, whose eyes had just lit up. I knew she was short on cash, and my words would likely crush her current plans to get a flight license.
Even so, after I mentioned the place, Dongli Yiren silently made a note of it. She was probably planning to go once she had the money.
In a way, the boys who ended up at the Witch Academy were all "accidents" and generally lacked money. They couldn't contact the outside world, and even if they did, whether their families would even recognize them was another question.
So, being broke was perfectly normal.
On the other hand, Guan Qiuling didn't seem to lack money... her family probably wired funds to her card.
I stopped thinking about it. Other people being rich didn't make me rich. After joking around with them in the living room and sharing some "senior" insights, I bid them goodbye despite their reluctant gazes. Regardless of whether I had classes tomorrow, I was going to the lab.
I needed to sleep early.
Even though Teacher Ji Niang wouldn't be there tomorrow, it didn't mean I couldn't manage on my own. There were so many parts of the spellbook's internal rituals that could be modified. Isn't exploring the unknown the greatest joy of all?
Even if it came with risks... as long as I didn't go looking for trouble, I’d be fine.