Chapter 259: Memory Shelf Modifications, Learn as You See
Before going to bed, I planned to use one piece of Earth Vein Memory tonight. After all, using Earth Vein Memory can cause a certain level of mental stress, so I thought I’d use one tonight.
Among the three pieces of Earth Vein Memory, two contained massive amounts of skill information that I didn’t plan to use right now. Instead, I planned to wait until tomorrow when Teacher Ji and I finished the modifications of the Spellbook for the Memory Shelf before using them.
After all, the memories from the used Earth Vein Memory are not completely retained in the brain and can easily be forgotten, so I intended to record them in the Memory Shelf. Only the modified Memory Shelf could keep up with the speed of consciousness recording.
And tonight’s memory was that of battle techniques.
When I used it, that memory surged like a tide, and I felt like an outsider completely watching and experiencing this battle.
Although the perspective of the Earth Vein Memory was a bit awkward, it was still clear.
The memories contained in it were more complex than I expected, surpassing simple Spirit Vision. It wasn’t just a fight between spellcasters, but also a competition among spell techniques, interactions between transformation spells, suppression among summoning spells, and the interplay between spellcasters and body techniques.
While I was surprised by the richness of the content within this Earth Vein Memory, many scenes flashed by in an instant. If someone without learning techniques were to use this, they would probably only remember the cool moves and wouldn’t gain any other insights.
I was perhaps slightly better than that, able to remember more or understand the rationale behind their actions. If you can’t figure out why something is done in a battle, then blindly imitating it is meaningless.
The vast and intricate memories consumed bit by bit in my mind, and only the most impressive memories remained.
This is why Earth Vein Memory has become a common reward for new students in past years. It seems wonderful, but the actual benefits obtained after use are limited.
And this was just after my filtering; the memories I didn’t want were likely to be even more jumbled and obscure.
However, I must mention that the clash of external memories can somewhat strengthen the intensity of mental power, but this cannot be compared to meditation, which is why I found it tasteless.
After a night, perhaps influenced by the external memories, I had nightmares all night. In my dreams, I was being chased and beaten. I became an enemy of the Witch Academy, chased by all the senior sisters; thankfully, Sister Bai was there to run with me…
I woke up scared early in the morning.
I comforted myself a bit, and after calming my spirits, I felt relieved. Dreams and reality are the opposite; maybe it was I who was chasing those senior sisters at the Witch Academy, hugging Sister Bai as I chased them?
How absurd.
Looking at the time, after a quick wash, I began my meditation according to my plans. Teacher Ji had also reminded me of the importance of meditation, so I extended the meditation time longer than before.
After finishing meditation, I arrived at the laboratory.
“Um… Teacher Ji?”
I was a bit surprised; Teacher Ji was already here so early. Did she not go back last night?
“You’re here? Great! I’ve organized the materials, and today we can finish your Spellbook. Then you can quickly get out of here,” Teacher Ji said as she set down the printed documents in her hands.
“Uh? Teacher Ji, you didn’t stay up all night, did you?”
“Is there a problem? Extraordinary Witches actually need very little sleep. When researching, one can even go for months without sleeping, because who knows if your inspiration will disappear after a sleep? You’ll get used to it later.”
“Uh… really?”
“Of course! You already have so many Magic Sources; your Witch Transformation should also be quite evident…” At this point, Teacher Ji subconsciously glanced at my visibly developing chest and quickly shifted her gaze. After all, I was still her student, and she wasn’t an Extraordinary Witch yet. “You should have noticed that you’re sleeping less than before, right?”
“Uh… actually, it seems no change? Life is still very regular…” I complained slightly.
“Well, that means it’s just a habit. You may have underestimated your ability to stay up late. Let’s not talk about that. Do your best today. If all goes well and you can be quicker, we might complete everything in the morning.”
As Teacher Ji spoke, she handed me the printed materials, while she held a thicker stack because she had spent all night organizing it, filled with only concise information and no fluff.
Furthermore, the content already involved ritual runes.
The Spellbook regarding ritual runes consists of two aspects: one is the rituals of the spells themselves, which can be broken down into smaller units of ritual runes, and the other is building the spellbook’s runes using true editing technology.
Even though I was starting to touch upon runes now, Teacher Ji only allowed me to work with the runes involved in the former aspect, while the latter was off-limits.
Because I hadn’t mastered true editing technology, and I didn’t even have a basic understanding, haphazard modifications could lead the Spellbook to complete self-destruction.
After a whole morning, my lunch was delivered via takeout.
Finally, the progress of modifying the Spellbook was completed under my eager gaze, and I even hadn’t noticed my hands trembling from excitement.
“Give it a try; see if it meets your requirements.”
Teacher Ji watched as I completed the final shell packaging of the Spellbook. This entire Spellbook was my practical work, while Teacher Ji provided guidance from the side.
The process of seeing problems solved by my own hands was truly wonderful.
However, if I were to repeat it, I felt I might not be able to do it again. This was a very realistic and necessary issue I had to confront: perhaps I wasn’t as clever as I had thought, and the fact that I could manage this was due to other reasons. It was like how Tan Han, a genius, would never hesitate to seek advice; successful people often possess qualities that ordinary people do not.
I placed the Spellbook onto the Spellbook Shelf and began to use it.
A memory shelf entirely different from the Spellbook Shelf appeared, retaining the ability for me to write by hand, while it now had a new ability: to learn as I saw.
I consumed magic power to generate a new memory book and casually flipped through a few pages; the inside was empty, but this book was not material; it floated before me without needing my hands to hold it.
Then I picked up the rune book I had borrowed from the library and began to look through it.
After perusing a bit, corresponding content also appeared on the memory book.
“How does it feel? Not bad, right?”
Teacher Ji leaned over, smiling as she asked. She was also reviewing her results. Although she didn’t perform the practical work, she had to continuously replicate the theoretical knowledge in her mind to earn the right to guide students on how to successfully modify spells.
Teacher Ji usually wouldn’t modify the Spellbook like this; doing it occasionally seemed nice, at least it wouldn’t be worse than before.
“Yes, very successful, but… although the recording speed is quick, this book is more prone to errors and requires a review.”
“Indeed, language is a fascinating thing; the more you want to be lazy, the more mistakes you tend to make—that’s within the acceptable range. You just need to read it a few more times; consider it reinforcing your impression.”
“That’s right.” I nodded in agreement with this viewpoint.
However, I more clearly understood the significance of perfecting this Spellbook for me; I could quickly accumulate knowledge!
“It seems you’ve figured something out again.”
“Yes, indeed, plans can’t keep up with changes. I originally had plans for my future life, but now I have to overturn those plans.”
“Why overturn? Plans can be short-term or long-term. If you want to change your plans, it must be because you believe something else is more meaningful than following the routine. Isn’t that good?”
“Mm!”
I nodded deeply; in the end, I was still limited by myself. Perhaps this was the confusion a person without good study methods might encounter.
“I plan to spend a week in the library to catch up on theoretical knowledge. Does Teacher Ji support this idea?” I raised my head and asked.
“Of course! Knowledge usually requires a long-term accumulation for ordinary people, but clearly, this approach doesn’t apply to you anymore. Although…I feel like a week might be a bit long for someone as impatient as you, but it’s best if you can restrain yourself and take your time.”
Teacher Ji sat down directly and smiled while teaching me. Some things are indeed clearer to outsiders; this impatient temperament was even unmasked.
Perhaps this personality could add a burst of enthusiasm, but the more it progressed, the more easily this impatience could shatter a fragile heart in the face of prolonged monotony and failure.
“Thank you.”
Receiving Teacher Ji’s acknowledgment, I felt relieved, although being called impatient… I didn’t want to admit it, but it indeed seemed that way.
I wanted to have a calm and leisurely mindset, but that wasn’t something that came overnight.
Moreover, my plan of spending seven days also aimed to reduce my presence and potential crisis in the outside world. After all, I didn’t know if there were other existences besides the Witch Club at the Witch Academy.
Some things could be avoided, and I wasn’t the protagonist who needed to face difficulties head-on; otherwise, the heart would be damaged or something. My principle was to keep troubles away and avoid if possible; if not, then fight, and if I couldn’t win, just hold on and improve.
Also, a week was enough for many things to fade away. People are forgetful; when realizing the previous first-year student seemed to evaporate, aside from regret, many felt a secret delight.
Many enjoy inspiring stories, but the premise is that they won’t intersect with their own lives. If there’s intersection, ordinary people generally want to see you fail—that’s just normal human nature.
“Why are you thanking me? You should indeed enrich your foundation; otherwise, my research would even be unable to commence. To be honest, many people don’t hold my little group in high regard, including you, because for them, placing hope on a new student is undoubtedly foolish.”
“Then is it time for me to prove that it’s they who are foolish?”
“You sure dare to say that! Such words are fine here; remember, you’d best not say this in front of other Extraordinary Witches; they won’t be polite to you.”
“Mm, I understand.” I nodded but soon thought of something.
“By the way, Teacher Ji, is there going to be a big action in the academy? Related to the Secret Realm? Also, regarding the teacher, you mentioned the Witch Secret Realm to me before. Do you hope I go there as well?”
“I do have that thought; it seems you know?”
“Yes… Yesterday I was approached by a senior sister from the Witch Secret Realm Association, claiming to be a former president.”
“No wonder! You must have learned quite a bit. Are you interested in participating?” Teacher Ji asked.
“No.” I shook my head.
“No? Why not? Logically speaking, you shouldn’t want to avoid involvement.”
“After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to avoid the limelight for now.”
“Avoiding the limelight? Is that a phrase you’d use? The first-year student needs to avoid the limelight; aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?”
“When I know what I should do, the ones laughing at me will ultimately become the laughing stock themselves.”
“Very composed response. You clearly understand many things, yet sometimes you act in ways contrary to your own understanding,” Teacher Ji said with a smile.
“Maybe I’ve consumed too much toxic positivity. Knowing, understanding, and doing are entirely different things. If others laugh, then consider it a tempering of my mindset.”
Teacher Ji completely supported my thoughts and kept advising me not to be too eager.
Even when I wanted to leave, I was reflecting on myself. Am I really that eager?
Teacher Ji also told me to leave myself some time to experience life and not to think of time as merely a trade for benefits; living that way would be exhausting.
But she was right; it was indeed tiring, yet my thoughts were already somewhat numb. No, or rather, it was more like it had become second nature.
Logically, I should also enjoy lying flat like a salted fish, yet I was constantly being pushed forward. If this momentum was merely my obsession with extraordinary power, even I wouldn’t believe it.
Before leaving, I also directly used disguise techniques to change my appearance. “Change my appearance” meant merely altering my hair and eye color.
“Is this your alternate self you’ve set up?”
“Mm, I don’t want to attract too much trouble.” I played with my silvery long hair, realizing that white hair was indeed fabulous.
“Mm… It seems to lack something… You plan to spend a week in the library looking like this, right?”
“Mm, is there a problem?” I looked at Teacher Ji curiously, sensing she had something more to say.
“Let me give you something good.” Teacher Ji walked back to her office, and I followed.
“Put this on…” Teacher Ji took out a pair of black-framed glasses and placed them on my face. “Now you look very literary.”
“Huh?” I frowned deeply, not expecting Teacher Ji would joke with me like this.
“This is an Alchemical Item: Anti-Fatigue Glasses. They adapt to nearsightedness levels and slightly improve nearsightedness. Their main function is to alleviate eye fatigue. If you don’t want it, give it back; it’s a little toy I won in a bet with another witch.”
“No, thank you, Teacher Ji; gifts given cannot be taken back.” I instinctively picked up the glasses and saw etched unknown words inside the frame.
“That’s the name etched in witch language. It’s from that witch who is skilled in alchemy, but she has a habit of etching her name as a mark on her works. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Witch language?” I tilted my head, hearing that term for the first time.
“It’s the common language of the Witch Race. Don’t worry too much; it’s something you’ll have to worry about only after you leave this world. Moreover, witch language is already a mature language system, having gone through special integration; one contract is enough to master it.”
“Wait… a contract can master knowledge?” I immediately seized the key phrase.
“Indeed, but compared to your Memory Shelf, it’s much more troublesome. The contract is equivalent to printing technology: it’s hard at the start, but with a template, it can be replicated in bulk. That’s the advantage of a contract, but you don’t need to reverse the order like that; just enrich your Memory Shelf.”
“Alright.” I nodded silently, noting down all the new things I had learned.
I adjusted my glasses, as if activating past habits; in my previous life, I was an ordinary person and nearsightedness was inevitable, so I had a habit of wearing glasses.
In this life, I had been attentive, possibly influenced by Spirit Vision; I didn’t have nearsightedness. I thought I had lost that habit, but unexpectedly, it reappeared so naturally.
Soon, the alchemical glasses adjusted and became plain glasses.
“And take these printed materials with you. Look at them from time to time; this is one of your few practical experiences with runes. Just reading dead materials isn’t good; sometimes you need to practice as well.”
“I understand.” I nodded and took all the printed papers that had piled up into a small mountain. This was guidance material organized by Teacher Ji, and it was meaningful to review it many times.
This was also the content necessary for modifying a non-limited consumption Spellbook, and feeling its weight before me, I couldn’t help but reflect on how much still lay ahead of me.
