Chapter 67: Chapter 67

If she hadn’t just double-checked with her navigation spell, she wouldn’t have realized.

She immediately made everyone stop. “We’re going the wrong way!”

The will-o’-the-wisp, seeing them stop, bobbed impatiently, urging them forward.

Mu Ying immediately drew her bow and aimed. An energy arrow formed on the string and shot out with a whoosh.

The will-o’-the-wisp hadn’t expected her sudden attack and was hit squarely, shrinking noticeably and turning visibly red. It shot toward them like a cannonball.

It was incredibly fast—an instant later, it was right in front of them. Lu You swung his blade and struck it, but it was completely unaffected, slipping past him and heading straight for Mu Ying.

There was no time to shoot again. Mu Ying was knocked off balance, realizing that pure physical attacks didn’t work on this ball of flame. Other fire-based attacks wouldn’t help either, and binding spells were useless against something so intangible.

For a moment, they were in a tough spot. She could only use a jump spell to put some distance between them and try shooting again.

Fortunately, the others reacted quickly and switched up their attacks. Jie Gong’s magic missile was the most effective, especially at close range—it hit the will-o’-the-wisp right away.

Realizing it was outmatched, the will-o’-the-wisp flickered a few times and disappeared.

“Looks like you can’t judge an enemy’s strength by level alone!”

Mu Ying sighed. She’d underestimated it, and hadn’t expected to encounter an energy creature immune to physical attacks and so fast.

Luckily, the will-o’-the-wisp’s own attack power wasn’t that high. When it hit her, her barkskin spell absorbed most of the impact—she only lost a few HP.

She still wondered where it had been trying to lead them.

With lingering anxiety, the group quickened their pace, only relaxing once they made it back to their territory.

Mu Ying parted ways with the others by the treehouse and climbed back to her own little home.

The first thing she did was quietly dig out a small stone chamber underground in her territory.

This was no problem for her—everything in her territory was under her control. She just had to find a suitable spot, then convert the surrounding rock and soil into building materials and store them in her territory inventory.

Her land was covered in trees, except for the area around the seed shop, where there were fewer. Mu Ying decided to let the mushroom people keep the seed shop company.

She created a square stone chamber about ten meters underground, opposite the seed shop, and built a tunnel leading up to the surface, reinforcing it with the stone she’d just converted. Near the surface, she covered the entrance with a large stone slab.

She planned to move the mushroom people’s dungeon here tomorrow, but wasn’t going to open it up just yet. The mushroom people needed to prepare as well—the elder said they wanted to build a few mushroom houses at the dungeon entrance to serve as shops.

This way, Huo Shaobai and the others would be less likely to suspect she was behind the dungeon’s relocation.

For now, the surface still looked like a patch of lush mondo grass, with half a meter of soil beneath—very safe.

She didn’t have to worry about getting in, either. She could just teleport.

The teleportation array didn’t just allow travel between the main territory and sub-camps—it could also be used within the territory itself, though no one else was extravagant enough to spend money on a trip that only took a few minutes on foot."

"""Did you three young witches have a good weekend?"" Principal Melani strolled leisurely into the classroom, a stack of books floating behind her.

Mu Ying and her friends nodded obediently—they’d had an absolutely wonderful time.

Finally, they could start learning magic! Mu Ying was so excited. She never wanted to be ambushed by will-o'-the-wisps again without knowing how to fight back. She wondered if witches had spells like magic missiles.

Principal Melani summoned the stack of books to the front, and one book flew to each of their desks.

Wait, that whole stack was just three books? Mu Ying stared at the massive tome taking up half her desk. With a book this size, it really lived up to the witchy reputation.

Their desks were big—three by two meters—yet it would be a struggle to carry these books back to the dorm by sheer strength.

Leather covers, metal corners—though the covers were blank, they were still stunningly beautiful.

""This book will be your very first magical item, accompanying you throughout your life as a witch. Now, open to the first page, pick up your quill, and write your true name. After that, with the help of this book, you’ll sense your magic for the first time. Oh, and don’t forget to place your broom grass seed and wand wood on the desk, as close to the book as possible.""

Ms. Melani crossed her long legs and sat gracefully on the high-backed chair at the lectern, speaking slowly.

Mu Ying opened her book as instructed—the first page was blank.

Since the principal said this book would be used for a long time, Mu Ying practiced her handwriting on a piece of parchment first, not wanting to ruin it with ugly writing.

On her right, Lilian had already dashed off her name in bold, lively strokes.

As soon as her name was written, her book began to glow!

A red light, matching her hair color, flowed from her quill tip, quickly filling the book with patterns of crimson flames.

Mu Ying even smelled a faint burnt scent from Lilian’s desk. The broom grass seed and wand wood she’d placed there were tinged red—Mu Ying worried they might get scorched.

On her left, Windsor’s reaction was much milder. Blue light shimmered, and tiny droplets of water condensed on her desk, but it wasn’t much of a problem.

Poor Mu Ying, caught between fire and water, was enveloped in a cloud of steam where their magic met. She’d hesitated a moment too long and now found herself surrounded by the vapor.

She looked up at Principal Melani, only to receive a schadenfreude-filled smile.

Mu Ying sighed—no more time to practice her writing, she’d just have to go for it.

Soon, her book began to glow as well.

But she barely noticed the light—an indescribable sensation spread from her writing hand through her whole body. If she had to describe it, it felt like the world coming alive in spring, vibrant and full of life.

From her quill tip, tiny flowers bloomed along the letters of her name. The book’s metal edging transformed into vines rooted in the pages, winding all the way to the center of the cover, where they formed four flowery characters: ""Book of Witches.""

Even the broom grass seed on her desk quietly sprouted a tender green shoot, and the wand wood grew slimmer, faint floral patterns appearing on its surface.

Lilian, who finished sensing her magic first, looked on with envy, nearly in tears—her broom grass seed probably wouldn’t survive.

When Mu Ying’s ""glow"" finally faded, she looked at the flowery, garden-like tome in front of her and wondered if it was still usable.

She quickly flipped through it. ""Whew, only the cover is over the top. Inside, there are just a few extra floral patterns—it’s still a book!""

""Alright, the appearance of your Book of Witches is the most direct manifestation of your magical affinity. Remember that feeling just now, and try to recreate it with your wand wood and broom grass seed. Infuse them with your magic until the wand wood can’t absorb any more and the broom grass has sprouted,"" Principal Melani said lazily.

""Principal, my seed isn’t going to get burned, is it?"" Lilian asked anxiously.

""Every Red Witch has worried about that, but trust me, you’re underestimating that seed,"" Principal Melani replied calmly.

""Of course, not every Green Witch can make their seed sprout and their wand wood take shape on their first try, like Miss Mu Ying here. That means your magic is very lively, and your control is excellent.

Tonight, you can go to the greenhouse and plant your broom grass in a pot. But until it’s fully grown, you’ll need to infuse it with magic every day. Before long, you’ll be able to start making your very first flying broom.""

Lilian and Windsor looked at Mu Ying with envy.

""Alright, let’s talk about the Book of Witches,"" Principal Melani interrupted after they’d each practiced infusing magic into their seeds again. This time, the magic was much more subdued—just enough to envelop a single seed.

""Once you write your true name in the Book of Witches, it’s truly bound to you. Right now, it contains only half its content—what you need to master in your first year: introductory magic, alchemy, potion-making, herbology, and history.