Chapter 180: Unpleasant to Look At, the Audience Slept for Three Hours
My match with Shi Huiyu ended quickly this morning. Her spells were just as I guessed, centered around transformation spells with a focus on close combat, and her melee skills were quite impressive.
Moreover, her transformation type was a tiger person transformation, though I might not recall the specific name; after all, there are many variations even within the tiger person transformations.
But this effectively qualifies as a clear “mother tiger,” in the literal sense.
To be honest, I’m not particularly fond of transformation spells. I can accept the cat person transformation that Sister Bai gifted me, but I’m not really fond of others.
If the transformation completely departs from human form, I’m even less inclined to like it.
Compared to those transformation spells, I prefer summoning spells. I currently possess quite a few summoning spells, at least more than transformation spells.
Of course, shaping spells are also great; after all, using brute force shaping spells is quite satisfying too.
After the match, I didn’t leave immediately but took a seat in the viewing area. Today is already the fourth day, and it’s also the time when the final top ten list will be announced.
So I stayed, and I also have the Earth Vein System, which prevents me from becoming bored.
By the time the afternoon matches conclude, the academy should announce the final top ten rewards.
Other rewards are inconsequential to me, whether it’s Earth Vein Memories, materials produced by the Earth Vein, or other items; I’m indifferent.
Even the Magic Sources and regular spellbooks in the rankings don’t interest me; I just want that spellbook that enhances learning efficiency.
I hope Teacher Ji isn’t lying to me, after all, she gave me such hope. If she didn’t, I would genuinely be sad enough to cry.
Otherwise, in the future, I could only accompany potions daily, becoming a “Potion Mother” that resorts to desperate measures for research.
At this moment, I took out two potions: one for mental refreshment and the other a meditation potion.
Yesterday, I tried the Long-lasting Memory Potion; today, I would take the opportunity to try the meditation potion to see if it could provide me with more inspiration while I study the spellbook.
If the effects are unsatisfactory, there’s little I can do; at worst, I could try other potions.
I activated the Earth Vein System and retrieved the spellbook model from yesterday. This is the most basic method of modifying the spellbook—relying on simulation for deduction, trying various possibilities.
Having understood the Fireball Spell, I realized that other shaping spells could also be figured out without much specialized knowledge regarding elements; structurally, it’s all connected.
I want to try what Teacher Ji said: thoroughly understand the operation of a spellbook, then burst forth with inspiration in battle and turn it into operational techniques!
Of course, this is quite a risky endeavor. No one knows if the so-called inspiration will strike, and no one will wait for my inspiration to erupt before allowing me time for modifications to resist.
But that’s a problem I need to face later; right now, I need to thoroughly absorb the foundational consumption spellbook I have.
With this in mind, I uncorked both potions and swallowed them in one go. The mental refreshment potion hit me hard as it did last time, while the meditation potion felt like it had no effect at all.
I turned my gaze to my spellbook model, trying to prove the effectiveness of this potion, but unfortunately, it seemed to have no noticeable results.
Was it an ineffective intellectual tax, or was it a high-tier item that I misused? I couldn’t tell, but that didn’t prevent me from promptly sentencing this potion to d*ath.
Lowering my psychological expectations, any slight effect would still make me happy for a long time.
I set this thought aside and focused on thoroughly exploring the spellbook.
Today’s goal isn’t much; I have about a dozen standard consumption spellbooks and five shaping spellbooks. Today, I aim to understand these five thoroughly, and who knows, perhaps in tomorrow’s ranking battle, I could witness what inspiration truly looks like.
Time passed slowly as I continued my exploration, and this was my first experience with the nutritional meals provided to contestants in the arena.
However, I didn’t immediately eat but set it aside, as the effect of the mental refreshment potion hadn’t worn off; I didn’t want to waste time. But if I calculated the time, it was also about time.
The main point of today’s afternoon matches is still the elimination of six people competing for three final top ten spots. The pace of this competition is quite fast, so today’s events should wrap up soon.
Feeling a hint of fatigue, I put aside my work and picked up a disposable meal tray.
One side of the armrest on the viewing chair has a movable partition that can be folded in front to serve as a simple dining table.
The contestants’ nutritional meals were actually quite decent. Although they couldn’t compare to the hearty meals outside, the taste was certainly faultless.
As I ate, I reflected on what I had accomplished that morning.
It was only after pausing that I noticed an anomaly I hadn’t sensed before.
Did I really manage to understand the remaining four shaping spellbooks almost completely throughout the morning?
No, upon closer inspection, I even prepared no less than three backup plans for each spellbook.
Is this something I accomplished in one morning?
Even if I applied analogy, that efficiency seems off…
Could it be that I’m experiencing a cognitive issue?
It feels like I struggled tirelessly to solve a challenging final problem, and upon reflection, I hadn’t realized how much I had written down, yet I still managed to find the answer.
That’s probably the feeling; especially after the effects of the potions worn off, it intensified this sensation, making me wonder how I could be so impressive.
Could the meditation potion really be effective, just in a subtle way?
But this effect feels truly mysterious, and it’s expensive; I haven’t reached the point where I view money as nothing…
What if I try becoming a potion master myself?
Not an alchemist of medicines and stones, but a potion master. I don’t need to be an expert; as long as I can brew the mental refreshment potion, the long-lasting memory potion, and this meditation potion, that should suffice.
After all, the raw materials are definitely cheaper than the finished products. I might even make a profit; in novels from before, weren’t alchemists and potion masters lucrative side professions?
Could I not do the same?
The only concern might be where to obtain potion formulas. Should I go find an alchemist to purchase recipes?
That might just lead me to be ripped off… Honestly, deep down, I prefer to get it for free. How about I try using my advanced privileges to look for some papers in the library?
There should be plenty of research papers and materials regarding potions.
If I replicate the results of the research paper, I won’t sell it, only for personal use; I shouldn’t face repercussions, right?
Of course, that thought was fleeting; it’s ludicrous—whether in alchemy or potion mastery, you need to master pharmacology and medicinal materials. Even in my previous life, I knew to advise people to study medicine; it’s ambitious to think even a branch of medicine could drive me crazy. Who knows how long it would take for me to master potion formulations?
Once I finished eating, the effects of the potions faded completely. I now felt lethargic and unmotivated, wanting only to take a nap.
I pushed the partition aside and nestled into the relatively soft viewing chair, figuring it should be okay to sleep for a bit here.
As soon as I fell asleep, it wasn’t long before someone noticed.
Although the competition had reached the final top ten, there were still quite a few people in the contestant viewing area; losing doesn’t mean you can’t show up.
“Wow… she’s sleeping so soundly.”
“Who’s sleeping?”
“It’s that class 14 Exploding Witch; can she really drop off to sleep in the viewing area? How boring does she find the fights to sleep like that?”
“Come on! I’m not kidding. She’s not the Exploding Witch anymore; she’s now the Witch of All Magic!”
“Wait? The Witch of All Magic? Isn’t that Tan Han’s title?”
“Tan Han? No, no, no~ her halo has been snatched by Xiao Han!”
“No doubt! Are you not on the academy website? The senior I follow has updated; let’s check out the real Witch of All Magic!”
“False Witch of All Magic Tan Han, possessing over a hundred Magic Sources, has mastered dozens of standard consumption spellbooks, over ten medium consumption spellbooks, and several high-consumption spellbooks. She can even utilize the Excessive Consumption Spellbook with the help of alchemical items.”
“Real Witch of All Magic Xiao Han, at first, she had only dozens of Magic Sources, and the spells she mastered were limited to the Fireball Spell. Her fireballs could change in numerous ways, and during her first duel, she encountered the final boss and shattered it with a standard attack!”
“Ugh… how long are you going to keep playing this lame meme?”
“Good memes last long, don’t you understand? I’m doing you a favor by showing you the video made by the senior; appreciate it.”
“I’m planning to sneak over and take some candid shots of Xiao Han sleeping.” At this moment, another girl redirected the conversation completely.
“Tsk… you thought of that, too? Take me along.”
“You idiot! Turn off the flash!”
“Sorry, sorry, my bad.”
“This is the first time I’m so close to Xiao Han; she’s really adorable.”
“Such a cute Xiao Han can blow your head off with a Fireball!”
“What are you talking about! What do you mean by that?!”
“Just speaking the truth.”
“And you! Your flash isn’t off either!”
…
Time flies, and by the time I woke up, even I didn’t know how long it had been.
Opening my still-drowsy eyes, I felt a wave of darkness in my vision… but soon, the blinding sky filled my sight.
I stretched lazily and opened my eyes again, realizing it seemed the arena had just hit the peak of the afternoon matches.
Even the shadows of moving figures in the contestant viewing area seemed numerous; judging by their looks, they seemed to have gone to the front rows.
On waking up, I felt a wave of disoriented disappointment, but that’s a normal reaction after a long nap.
I instinctively grabbed my phone, ready to check for any missed notifications or class information.
Upon opening the class mutual assistance group, I immediately saw a sensational scene.
Messages within the group were continuously refreshing, and the class water group was full of people, completely contrasting the desolate state of the neighboring class group.
But what were they posting?
“Not good-looking, the audience slept for three hours.jpg”
“I meditated while you slept.jpg”
“Fell asleep out of boredom.jpg”
“The slumber of the Witch of All Magic.jpg”
One meme after another crossed before me, paired with text that left me speechless, but the background image was of me!
Who took this?
Why is my sleeping face now safe? Didn’t I just nap here for a little while?
Who filmed this?
And what’s with the title of “Witch of All Magic”? Why does my title change every day?
And it’s a candid shot!
It was a candid shot taken without my consent! How did it get shared in the class group like this? If it spread on the academy website, wouldn’t I be utterly humiliated?
I randomly clicked on posts and short videos on the academy website, and upon looking, I was dumbfounded.
So many people took photos while I was asleep?
And others were taking pictures not just of me but all around; it wasn’t just one or two people, but a crowd surrounding me.
Was that sea of black shadows I saw when I first woke up actually a group of people?
I instinctively swallowed hard and returned to the class group.
“Who exactly made these memes?!”
With my message, the lurking members of the mutual assistance group suddenly erupted.
“It was the class leader~ give me a lick~”
“It was the class leader~ give me a lick~” +1
“Interrupt +1, and poke the class leader while you’re at it, isn’t she cute~”
“Do you understand the value of the class leader’s sleeping face.jpg?”
“Class Leader: ‘Who exactly made these memes?!’.jpg”
“Fainted from rage.jpg”
“Xiao Han waking up and getting angry again.jpg”
As I read through the chat records in the group, I nearly fainted again from anger.
I was wrong; I shouldn’t have questioned them in the group; I also heard a lot of discussions behind me. When I turned around, I saw many people falling silent, their eyes full of confusion as they gazed at me.
But as soon as I turned my head back, the voices behind me echoed again.
“Did Xiao Han see her sleeping face memes?”
“This time, she’s really going to faint from anger.”
“Faint from anger? Who did it?”
“If you’re asking that, then it was me.”
“Oh? May I ask your name?”
“I’m Class 145’s class leader, Xin Nu, meme expert, with 30 years of experience in meme making…”
“Oh, it’s you…” Upon hearing their conversation, I was still angry but couldn’t find the person responsible. Now there was someone bold enough to admit it behind me?
I couldn’t just let this slide; I felt I had to teach her a lesson if I wanted to maintain my title as the Witch of All Magic.
