Chapter 365: Someone Who Frequently Appears in Strange Places
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 365: Someone Who Frequently Appears in Strange Places
"Hmm-hmm-hmm~♪"
Humming a nameless tune, I lightheartedly made my way out of the Witch Cat Cafe. After saying my goodbyes to Sister Bai and those adorable Fool's Dreams, I was left to head out on my own.
Sister Bai is a Transcendent now, so she doesn't even need a flying broom or any other tool to get around. I didn't even have the chance to accompany her.
After all, there’s nothing a teleportation spell can’t solve.
I subconsciously touched the collar around my neck, a faint smile tugging at the corners of my lips. Sister Bai had put this on me with her own hands, and I didn't plan on taking it off for the next few days. It was an alchemical item with a self-cleaning function, and since it was meant to suppress my curse long-term, it only made sense to wear it long-term.
Besides, if I took it off at night, would I really be able to sleep soundly?
That was highly debatable.
I reached my hand out toward the azure sky. On my right middle finger sat a ring with a rather primitive, antique design.
Sister Bai had put it there. Well, technically, I had tricked her into putting it on that specific finger. In this world, there was no special meaning attached to which finger you wore a ring on, nor were there any diamond ring marketing scams.
When the concept of rings first developed in this world, they were merely luxury items representing wealth. Once the Transcendent races arrived, bringing alchemical items and forged equipment, rings became a type of gear.
Since a person can only wear a limited amount of equipment, rings were a convenient way to stack more. If every finger had a specific romantic or social meaning, it would make wearing gear for stats incredibly awkward and prone to misunderstandings.
Therefore, Sister Bai didn't think there was anything wrong with giving me a ring; she was just a little curious why I insisted she put it on my right middle finger herself.
I didn't explain. Some things... are better left as personal secrets.
This ring was also an alchemical item, and its name was very down-to-earth: the Primary Body Refining Alchemical Ring.
As the name suggested, it was equipment used for Body Tempering, providing a long-term alchemical effect.
As long as one performed the corresponding Ritual War Dance, the ring would gradually improve one's physical fitness. This was a must-have for anyone planning to follow the path of Body Cultivation. After all, physical fitness is the foundation of Body Tempering and the basis for using Body Arts.
It was much like how meditation is the foundation for increasing mental power, which in turn is the basis for using spells.
This ring was the very first one Sister Bai had bought when she started her own path of Body Cultivation. I heard she had lived frugally for quite a while to save up for it, so it held significant sentimental value to her.
But now that I had the potential for Body Cultivation, Sister Bai hadn't hesitated to give it to me.
Though the style was old-fashioned, I liked it very much. I’d have to stop by the library later to see if I could find the Ritual War Dance that went with it. Sister Bai mentioned that the academy offered a course for it, and it was quite cheap back when she took it.
Then again, with my level of comprehension, I doubted I’d fail to learn a simple ritual dance. I should save where I can and spend where I must.
Since I had some free time and my plans for the immediate future weren't set in stone, I decided to go pay Sofiri a visit.
Even though it hadn't even been a month, I wanted to see if the seeds had sprouted. I had just promised the Fool's Dreams that I would teach them the art of making Fool's Dream Drink once everything was ready, and I couldn't go back on my word. If there were any issues, I needed to deal with them sooner rather than later.
After a moment's thought, I decided not to call ahead. I wanted to surprise her. We hadn't been in touch for a while, and I wondered how she was doing.
Come to think of it, I was actually a little envious of Sofiri. She had her own plantation where she could grow flowers and plants, research potions when she felt like it, and dive into secret realms with friends to find Transcendent plant seeds when she was free. It was a very leisurely life. Aside from her strength improving slowly, everything else was great.
But that’s just how the Witch Academy is. It’s a place of learning. Learning a craft is learning, and learning to increase your power is also learning. It just comes down to personal perspective.
Standing by the roadside, I pulled out my flying broom. This broom had been through a lot with me. If I didn't look closely, I wouldn't have noticed the scuffs and battle damage on it. I wondered if the Witch Academy had a place for alchemical item maintenance.
There probably was. Where there’s demand, there’s a market. After all, the academy wasn't just full of students; many graduated witches lived their lives here. For instance, that shop Sister Bai took me to—the owner, Senior Sister Isha, was likely one of them.
After flying through the high-altitude winds for a while, I arrived at my destination. I smoothed out my wind-blown hair before approaching Sofiri’s plantation.
I hoped I hadn't come all this way for nothing. I was starting to regret not calling ahead.
Reaching the gate, I couldn't find a doorbell. It felt rude to just walk in, so I pulled out my phone to contact Sofiri.
I swiped my hand over the phone, and a light screen formed from mana hovered above the screen. This was the high-end way to use an academy phone that Sister Bai had shown me when I first enrolled. Now that I could interfere with mana, I could finally do it too.
However, now that I could actually use it, I wasn't as excited as I thought I’d be. I realized that, just as Sister Bai had said, there was zero technology involved—it was entirely powered by me manually shaping the mana.
Once the novelty wore off, the excitement faded. I dialed Sofiri’s number.
A call prompt appeared on the floating screen in front of me, showing a large version of Sofiri’s profile picture. Unless she agreed to a video call, I would only be able to hear her voice.
After the symbolic ringing tone lasted for a few moments, Sofiri finally picked up.
"Huh? Xiao Han? You're actually calling me? Is something wrong?"
Sofiri’s voice came through, sounding pleasantly surprised.
"Of course. What else would I be calling for? I wanted to come see how that batch of seeds is doing. Is it a good time?"
"Of course! I'm at the plantation right now. You can come over whenever. I’m telling you, almost all the seeds you gave me have sprouted! They’re some of the easiest plants to grow I’ve ever seen."
"Really? That’s great news. Well, since you're at the plantation, could you be a dear and open the gate? I'm already here~"
"Eh? What! Wait... wait, how... how did you get here so fast?" Hearing my words, Sofiri sounded instinctively flustered, her words tripping over each other.
"Is there a problem? It’s not like you’re doing anything weird in there, right?"
"Of course not! It’s just... I’m just shocked you arrived so quickly..." As Sofiri spoke, I heard a flurry of noisy activity from her end.
A moment later, the plantation gate swung open.
"Xiao Han, you... this look... I thought you were joking..."
"I wasn't. I wanted to surprise you, but then I realized I forgot to ask if you were even here, so I had to call. Anyway, I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" I asked, hanging up the phone and looking at her.
"No, not at all. Um, please, come in." Sofiri stared at me blankly, her gaze a bit dazed. If it weren't for the fact that the call had definitely come from me, she wouldn't have believed the slightly unfamiliar girl standing before her was Xiao Han. However, remembering that I knew Disguise Spells and had played the role of a white-haired girl when we first met, she wasn't entirely shocked.
"Mm-hmm~"
I cheerfully stepped into the plantation. Although it wasn't my first time, the sheer contrast between the exterior building and the internal space still made me marvel.
"Where are they? Sofiri, where did you plant the seeds... Huh?!"
My eyes eagerly scanned the surroundings. Not much had changed since my last visit, but Sofiri had clearly been making better use of the space. Areas that were previously empty or overgrown now seemed to be planted with various things.
But then, I spotted someone who, theoretically, shouldn't have been there.
"Uh..."
"Um... Dongli Yiren?"
I stared at the girl in front of me. I was starting to think my roommate had a knack for appearing in places that shocked me. Like... last time at the maid cafe?
What was she doing at Sofiri’s plantation?
At that moment, I could practically see Dongli Yiren cringing so hard she could have dug a hole through the floor.
She had recognized me the moment I called her name. After all, I often appeared in this form back at the dorm. Even with the slight facial adjustments, it wasn't hard to guess.
I turned back to Sofiri. I remembered her saying she wasn't hiring part-timers?
And Dongli Yiren had said she... wait, I remembered Dongli Yiren had some tsundere traits.
"You two... forget it, I won't pry."
In the end, I bit back my questions, and Dongli Yiren let out a visible sigh of relief.
"Um, actually, it was just a coincidence that we met... haha..." Even though I had stopped asking, Sofiri felt the need to offer a token explanation, ending with an awkward laugh.
After all... Sofiri had learned quite a bit from Dongli Yiren and knew about my relationship with her.
"By the way... I heard you were hit by the Sleep Curse, Xiao Han. Are you okay now?" Sofiri quickly changed the subject to check on me.
"Of course I'm fine. Who do you think I am? You should be asking if my enemies are in danger, not me."
"I see... I heard that many people who woke up from the Sleep Curse were injured. There are even rumors of deaths in other academies..."
"People did die," I said with a nod.
"Xiao Han, you seem to know a lot about it? I heard that people under the Sleep Curse had their consciousness appear in some kind of city. Is that true?" Sofiri asked curiously.
Even Dongli Yiren leaned in, looking interested.
"Yeah. It’s called Ninglan New City. It’s actually a very nice city. Are you guys curious?"
"Mhm! There have been so many versions of the story online these past two days. A lot of people are crying about how they almost lost their lives before they even finished a few days of school."
"Maybe. But if they can't even handle that much, then a Transcendent academy probably isn't the place for them." I recalled how many students seemed to have zero combat capability and were just following orders to stay in shelters. The ones complaining were likely those people.
They didn't even have the clearance to hear the truth about the luck and the script in the Underground District. It wasn't surprising; they just hadn't seen enough of the world yet.
"Why don't you show me the seeds first? I'm not as professional as you when it comes to planting, so I'll just check the general progress. If you want to know more about the Sleep Curse, I can tell you while we walk."
"Sure, follow me. I’ve set aside a special area for the seeds you brought. Yiren, you come too. It’s a good chance for you to learn something new," Sofiri said, her tone tinged with excitement. It was a slight contrast to the introverted, quiet girl I had first met. Perhaps she was most at ease here in her plantation.
Dongli Yiren gave a quick response and followed along.
"Yiren? I didn't expect Senior Sister Sofiri to be so close to you," I whispered as I walked beside Dongli Yiren, following Sofiri. Hearing the familiar way she addressed her, I couldn't help but gossip.
"It’s... it’s no different from people calling you Xiao Han, is it?"
"Fair enough. I just didn't expect you to get involved with her. If you don't mind me asking, how is it going? Are you just working part-time, or...?"
"Senior Sister Sofiri is very kind to me. She’s teaching me about plants and showing me how to plant them step-by-step..." Dongli Yiren explained.
"Well, as long as you're happy. By the way, don't you have classes today?"
"No classes. Even if there were, it would just be review. The Monthly Exam is only a few days away," Dongli Yiren said.
"Monthly Exam?"
I blinked, momentarily stunned. It hadn't registered. Thinking back, I realized I really hadn't taken a Monthly Exam yet. The last one had been delayed by various events.
"Xiao Han, you didn't forget, did you? Maybe you should spend the next few days reviewing. I heard you missed the last one, and a lot of people are skeptical of you since you have course exemptions..."
"True. Sigh... why do course exemptions not include exam exemptions?" I grumbled softly, though I wasn't truly worried. It was just a Monthly Exam; there wasn't that much to cover.
Looking at the courses: the Witch Meditation Method course didn't have exams. Basic Evocation and Elemental Theory were basic knowledge for me.
Spell construction theory was just about spell structures and didn't even touch on internal runes yet, so that was fine.
As for the general knowledge of the Transcendent world... I could just flip through a book and memorize it.
Such was the confidence of having a Memory Bookshelf spellbook.
As for the practical combat skills course, I wasn't sure if the Monthly Exam would cover it, but if it did, it would be a total curb-stomp.
"By the way, you're not reviewing today? You're just helping out here?"
"I... I've studied enough. My grades have always been stable. This time should be no different." Dongli Yiren turned her head away, clearly unwilling to elaborate.
"Here, Xiao Han. These are the seeds that have sprouted. I don't know their scientific names, so I’ve used markers to distinguish them. I have to say, these seeds grow incredibly fast. Since it’s the first time I’m breeding them, I didn't dare use growth-acceleration spells. They look healthy for now. I’ll observe them for a few more days, and if there are no issues, I’ll try accelerating their growth."