Any Significant Progress?
Is there any significant progress?
"Waaah!"
"What a fearsome tantrum..."
"Where'd she learn to windmill her arms like that?"
"Would you believe me if I said that's boxing?"
"Doousherus, how do you deal with her getting all embarrassed?"
"Hey, Kali. Don't hold back just 'cause she's a friend—hit her."
"I'll break my hand!"
[Duel Practice]
Every class period, Wiyu Witchcraft drove both professors and students mad in all sorts of ways with her combat prowess. Even so, against the fellow bottom-ranker octopus-headed orc, she managed a respectable 2:8 win rate, somehow scraping together a miraculous 2 wins and 8 losses(?). But come on, she was a witch—she should at least shred an orc with ease, right?
Even when she attacked with fire out of fear of hurting him, she held back so much that the delicious smell lured Zard into earning the nickname "samgyeopsal." His skin cooked up so nicely and glossy that some beastkin students couldn't resist and bit into him—what more needs to be said about the disaster?
Beatus's headbutt should've hurt like hell, but she clutched her chest and flopped over wailing, "Uweng, it hurts!"—displaying her terrifying combat power. Kali couldn't bring herself to hit her, so Wiyu seized the opening, raised her arms dramatically to close the distance... and threw a tantrum. The pat-pat sounds barely qualified as a massage; they looked utterly harmless.
Beastkin had high fighting spirits, so normally they'd counter viciously to such attacks. But if a puppy came up and lightly pawed your foot, then bit you, you'd be a total punk in beastkin circles. Wiyu's utterly powerless flurry of cotton-swab punches was so pathetic that the professor couldn't stand it, called off the match mid-spar, and handed her a judgment loss.
"F for fail!!!"
And so, Wiyu Witchcraft ended up with the legendary record of total losses—except for those two wins against the orc Zard, which were impossible to recover from. Those two wins came from her unpredictable abilities catching him off guard, but after that, her patterns were too obvious, and even Zard dodged them.
"I mean, with the power to turn imagination into reality, is this combat level really okay?"
"B-but... I was scared I'd hurt him... Fighting's bad... And it hurts to get hit..."
"Why the hell did they even let a baby bunny like this into the academy?"
[From what I heard, they really didn't want to send her off even if it killed them. Sounds like they went easy 'cause she's their kid.]
"Hard to believe, but they must love their child after all."
Beatus had only heard rumors, but with evidence and witnesses—and if the first-generation herself were here, Kali might've ended up as shark carpet in a spar like this. [Change] shuddered at the thought: knowing his master, she'd go all-out even killing bugs for the thrill, turning the arena into a bloodbath.
The second-generation, who inherited that blood thicker than anyone, didn't turn the arena into a bloodbath—she drenched it in tears instead.
"Waaah, this isn't Wiyu's role!"
"And then she insists she's a guy."
She threw such adorable tantrums that even another girl might wanna kiss her cheeks...! If she were really a boy, she'd ruin girls for everyone—that's the worry.
"Final exams for first-years first semester are coming up soon. Her future's looking bleak."
[Sparring's an F for her now—things are even more grim.]
"Waaah!!"
"Should've thrown the match..."
Kali hung her head in guilt watching Wiyu cry so pitifully. The boys in their class sighed at their own ugliness for not yielding victory's glory to a lady. But competition results were always cold. If Wiyu wanted to win, she'd have unleashed her full dragon breath. She feared hurting her friend more than losing, so the hesitant one was at fault.
"Ow, hot."
"Hehe, the perks of being in the [Graduating Class] feel so good..."
"Ahh, thanks to the professor's abuse of power, I finally get to enjoy some noble-like tea time after so long."
The basics of nobility—studying [Tea Time] culture and etiquette in the [Graduating Class]. Of course, that was just an excuse; it was really to relax in the academy's most popular garden ahead of first-semester finals. They did teach, but honestly, the only one who needed to learn was Wiyu Witchcraft.
"Okay, fingers go like this."
"Can't I just drink it...? Why's etiquette so picky?"
"If someone ignorant of this culture sneaks into noble ladies' circles, the shame drives them to ritual suicide."
Kaoru-senpai explained it as an unspoken barrier maintaining class gaps. She bluntly called it bullshit but advised following it anyway.
"I love tea time. You can challenge ladies to duels here too. Among noble ladies, staking honor on swordfights is culture."
"I learned practical spars exist for that reason... I could win a swordfight!"
"Sorry, but even if you chug tea from the teapot, no one'd call you out."
Kaoru-senpai brought up the old tale: the kingdom where a princess mocked Aris Witchcraft for her tea-drinking vanished entirely. Not just the princess, castle, or city—the whole country? The scale was so huge it left her speechless, even if it was just a small nation of one or two mountain ranges. After that, no one ever critiqued Witchcraft manners again; it became tradition.
"Nobles hear info faster than anyone, Wiyu dear. There's the story of Aris Witchcraft quartering someone in 17 pieces for doubting her daughter's existence."
"For real?"
"Didn't she say to that high official nitpicking her tamer league entry, 'What'd you say about my precious cutie?' and chop him up alive?"
Why didn't I know these scary rumors?
The [Divination] professor said they only needed academy graduation etiquette, but was that right...?
"So, it's been about half a month at the academy... What've you actually learned starting from zero?"
While piling up knowledge from various subjects and honing academics, what had Wiyu learned? Everyone expected big things since she could do anything she truly wanted.
"I can breathe fire from my mouth."
The one who'd actually seen her dragon breath gave a thumbs-up: "Freakin' awesome."
Her "cut" technique looked like pure teleportation, hard to explain and niche, so they skipped it.
"I can spit water too."
"Anyone can spit water from their mouth."
True... She nodded at the [Divination] prof's retort, speechless.
She could demo this one, so she set up a wooden bucket and comfortably laid Grand Duke inside.
"Mix fire and water! I can spit hot water from my mouth! Bueee!"
[Oooh, this is paradise.]
"I could change the contents to warm milk or whatever... but soup feels too vomit-y."
[The blissful life of a baby bird getting fed by mama bird... Childhood was the best...]
Grand Duke sighed about adult life's hardships while bathing in warm water, begging for milk with his beak open till she poured it in—then he grinned happily.
[Is this familiar welfare...? What have I been doing all this time...?]
"What am I even watching?"
"Gimme a cup of warm milk."
"Why're you asking for that and flopping over?"
"Bueee."
"Don't give it to her, man."
"How about top-grade black tea from World Tree sap?"
"Bueee."
"Wait, it actually works?"
The birth of a terrifying all-purpose witch vending machine, spitting user-requested drinks on demand...! The [Divination] prof marveled at the taste of a drink she'd only tried once due to the price. Meanwhile, when she set her cup down, Change dunked his head in muttering about maiden's saliva or whatever and stole sips.
"Nutty... delicious... reminds me of grandma's hot milk by the stove as a kid..."
"Okay, impressive for sure... but anything else besides this?"
"That's it."
The [Graduating Class] was supposed to teach studies, but had this girl really only studied...? Looking back: study, study, study—plus stamina training and manga drawing, etc. Not a single thing to boost combat power, so it was the obvious result, realized Kaoru and Greatsword-Dunce. Ironically, her water-spitting came from the God of Nurture as hush money.
"Doesn't the prof teach [Magic] or stuff like that?"
"Just theory—no practice allowed."
Others got hands-on, but witches were a bad match for circles or incantations. Afraid of what might pop out, even her summoning was theory-only. At this rate, her first year would be ruined—drastic measures were needed.
"Dungeon raids? Familiars got you covered, right?"
"Sorry, but few use familiars here. Personal ability matters."
Third-year advice, so Greatsword-Dunce crossed her arms: "Then what?"
"No, there is a way."
"All academy students are adults...! If reason's the problem, the answer is booze...!"
"Since we're drinking, make it strong stuff."
[You lunatics, stop!]
Not caring about means to win was one thing, but giving alcohol to someone who warps reality with imagination? A drunk Wiyu thinking "Is this the sea?" while walking could turn the city into an ocean. The mere thought choked Grand Duke with terror, making him hiccup.
But for Wiyu, who always thought dumb stuff like "just take the hits" in fights, it was a necessary drastic measure. Making her blackout to win felt iffy, though—drunk Aris Witchcraft's nonexistent humanity plunged negative, turning her demonic.
[Can't hide the blood's instincts forever.]
"So, alcohol reveals my true instincts or something...?"
She wanted to graduate, not as an alcoholic. Plus, Mom never touched booze—wouldn't it be weird if she did? From what she'd heard, Aris quit after causing too much chaos. Probably held back around her.
"Still, I learned stuff even if I didn't get taught! I've got a secret trump card!!"
"""What?!"""
[I'm so happy I'll make this a holiday.]
"...That's it?"
Their reactions were so extreme they hurt her feelings instead. Staring like "You know it's bad," she sullenly hung her head.
"Anyway! Since I only defended, I figured I'd toughen up on purpose! Like how Minji-senpai turns black using power!! I copied her, so it worked!!"
"...? That's demigod... whatever, do you."
Problem child third-year Park Minji's skin turning black was her divine bloodline's authority—not just "black = tough." Principles and race totally wrong, but for Wiyu Witchcraft, "I can do it too" made it real with mindset alone. She turned pitch-black, eyes floating like in darkness.
"How's this! My [Harden]!"
"Your self-invented new technique is called 'Harden'... Weren't you already tough? Swords didn't cut you."
[It's something, at least...]
"Full-body Armament Haki Black Firm Human... reached the black realm...?"
Her copper skin became light-swallowing Vantablack, but since she thought "I'm tough!", she surely was stupidly so.
"Then, let's test it."
"Huh?"
Greatsword-Dunce recalled that day like this: First time seeing someone hover slightly off the ground spinning seven times. And that toughness only worked if she didn't think "ow, that'll hurt"—damage went through anyway.
She swung full-force declaring a direct hit, but right before impact, Wiyu panicked thinking it'd hurt. Her cheek ballooned up, and she passed out, carted to the infirmary.
"Tough, yeah."
"Thinking about it, even without a hit, imagining one causes wounds—handy downside."
[So just scare her to win?]
Grand Duke's words drew stares from the three, including the prof. Her weakness was her own cowardice...