Chapter 455: Clowning Around
“Sister Xiao Han, is something good happening? You seem in a good mood.”
As soon as I got back, I ran into Guan Qiuling, who had already returned to the villa.
“Yeah, I watched a great show, although the ticket was a bit pricey,” I shrugged and said.
After all, attending that show had cost me so many spellbooks.
Moreover… they took my things, and the prices were marked on the back; they should be the ones worried.
Before meeting them, I thought no one who could get into the Witch Academy was foolish, but I was wrong; there are plenty of people who aren’t very bright.
“A great show? Does the academy have places to watch performances?”
“Well… don’t they? I think anywhere people gather has some fun. By the way, the semester is almost over; don’t you have any review plans or something?”
“It’s break time now; I’ve already started drafting my review plan. I don’t want to fail any courses in my first semester. I recently heard that failing could affect the selection of mentors in the fourth year,” Guan Qiuling was unusually serious about studying.
“I see, that’s indeed quite important. But I’ll head upstairs first; well… it’s getting late,” I glanced at the time. After leaving the Witch Cat Café, I didn’t rush back to the villa but instead wandered around to experience the nightlife of the Witch Academy. After all, many special places in the academy only open at night, and I had lost track of time.
“Wait… Sister Xiao Han…”
“What is it?” I looked at Guan Qiuling, who was watching TV while scrolling on her phone, a bit curious.
“Um… I don’t know how to say this, but I think it’s still necessary to let you know, Sister Xiao Han, don’t you usually not scroll through posts or videos?”
“Yeah, it seems so,” I thought about it and realized I indeed had become someone who didn’t engage much with online content.
Once I realized that, I suddenly felt a bit terrified, but I quickly suppressed that feeling; after all, it represented my self-control improvement, right?
Facing temptations that I previously couldn’t resist, now I could casually say they were optional.
“This was a post made not long ago by someone; its popularity doesn’t seem to have taken off yet, but those claiming to be Tan Han’s supporters are wildly boosting its visibility and sharing it.”
“Tan Han’s supporters… oh, the clowns, what have they done?” Hearing that name, I quickly understood.
While I admit that some rational individuals exist within Tan Han’s support group, I have no obligation to slowly distinguish them. At least based on my recent interactions, they demonstrated the appearance of clowns, and their reasoning was quite lacking, even giving me the impression that they were not as sensible as the supporters of Xiao Han.
“They said… you used despicable means to steal all of Tan Han’s spellbooks… and then it was filled with unpleasant comments…”
“Is that all?” Hearing Guan Qiuling say that, I was somewhat surprised; what about the incident of them taking back the spellbooks?
They couldn’t possibly pin all the bad deeds on me… oh no, I didn’t do any bad deeds.
“Um… is there anything else? They also brought up the earlier monthly exam again, which is so annoying. I spoke up for you, Sister Xiao Han, and they started berating me.”
“Guan Qiuling, thank you for your kindness, but you don’t need to get involved in this matter. There are always some corners in the academy network that harbor garbage; you don’t need to dirty yourself there.”
“I just couldn’t stand it; I said a few words, and they even threatened me offline…”
“So you don’t need to care about these matters. The academy is full of individuals with extraordinary power, holding weapons, and killing intentions arise easily. It’s unnecessary to engage in a war of words with them.”
“Then… are we just letting this matter fester?” Guan Qiuling still asked unwillingly.
“It’s not me who is anxious; it’s Tan Han.”
“Tan Han? How does this relate to her… oh, this is the doing of her supporters, but… how could Tan Han possibly speak for you?”
“Those spellbooks were given to me by her.”
“Huh? But Tan Han doesn’t seem like someone who would oppose her supporters for an individual…”
“That depends on how Tan Han chooses to act, right? Anyway, I’m not worried.” After all, such matters wouldn’t hinder my role as a teaching assistant; the academy wouldn’t investigate issues between students. If the academy were to interfere, they would have intervened in those past incidents long ago.
“So just relax. The main person involved isn’t anxious at all; just take care of your own matters. If you have difficulties with your review, you can tell me. I’m not against helping you all out, just like last time.”
“Well, okay then. Thank you, Sister Xiao Han,” Guan Qiuling finally nodded obediently.
Back in my own bedroom, I took out my phone to slightly follow up on the developments, but I had no comments on it.
After all, as the involved party, the more I say, the worse it gets; engaging in a back-and-forth with them would be unwise.
However, once I logged into the academy network, I was surprised to find that something that had only happened a few hours ago had already blown up. I hadn’t even searched much before related posts were being pushed to me.
After briefly understanding their tactics, I exited. After all, debating with people who don’t share my values is pointless.
But just as I was about to turn off my phone and take a break, I suddenly saw someone particularly stirring the pot, saying that I had a liaison with a certain extraordinary mentor, and that Tan Han was forced to hand over her spellbooks under that mentor’s pressure.
I skimmed through the other person’s information; she was a senior who would graduate in a year.
I thought about it; it’s probably only those fellow sisters who also aim to become teaching assistants who would use such statements. Otherwise, with such a twisted angle, it’s hard to think of anyone else.
Moreover… given Tan Han’s status, if just one extraordinary mentor wanted to pressure her, she would probably be protected by her own several mentors.
“Boring, time to sleep.”
I turned off my phone and wrapped myself in the blanket. I have to say that casually reading high-bl**d-pressure comments indeed helps me control my emotions to some extent.
But even as I fell asleep, the incident on the academy network continued to swell.
And I continued as if nothing had happened, getting up the next day to continue my meditation and physical training.
Confident in my written exam performance, I didn’t waste too much time revising for it.
I didn’t engage in anything that would overly tax my brain, like continually updating the Knowledge Tree and Identification Arts.
Instead, I did some trivial matters that I wouldn’t usually take the time to do, such as creating a business card based on the Reverse Summoning Spell’s summoning ritual.
As I came into contact with more and more people and received many business cards, I felt that I should indeed make my own.
If it were a generic business card, I could easily find someone to customize it for me. But if it’s for special friends, I would naturally need to make it myself.
Making a card for someone who can use the Reverse Summoning Spell would primarily be someone I care about or hold in high regard, like known extraordinary mentors, etc.
Time flew by, and the day of the teaching assistant exam arrived.
“This must be the right place.”
I arrived at the location notified by the academy; this was the venue for the teaching assistant written exam. Since it was an exam, special regulations were imposed here; the mentor at the entrance had to verify the identity of each student before letting them in.
Once I verified my identity and entered, many senior sisters were already gathered here, waiting for the exam to begin.
Some were confidently chatting with familiar faces, while others furrowed their brows and were reviewing their notes for last-minute corrections. Most just glanced at me when I arrived.
I roughly observed that there were dozens of senior sisters present, even more than the number of a single class.
But it made sense; after all, the remaining individuals after personal information filtering were all capable people. No matter how much individual contributions were lacking, those who passed the review through personal efforts like certification were still common.
The gap between mentors and students at the Witch Academy is as vast as a chasm, destined for students to have limited opportunities to make any special contributions; even if they did, it would only be a small handful of people.
Coincidentally, those gathered here were the elite among that small group.
“Hmph~ The assistant exam written test really allows all sorts of people to participate. Even a first-year newbie can mix in; it’s so annoying.”
Just as I was about to lean against a corner to pass the time, a soft voice came through from the side, enough to attract many gazes.
At that moment, quite a few people turned to look, but no one stepped forward; most just took on a spectator’s posture.
“If I, a first-year student, can pass the identity check to take the written test, shouldn’t you reflect on whether you’ve been living like a dog over all those years at school?”
I turned to look at the senior sister who was provoking me. I didn’t recognize her by looks alone, so I naturally wouldn’t be polite with my words.
If it were the senior sister who had mocked me before, I could at least understand her, but this one… she must know she can’t measure up and has been pushed out by someone for a cheap shot at me.
“Tch~ Maybe you’re in bed with some teacher, huh?”
“Is that so? If you knew I had connections, would you still dare to mess with me, not afraid of me ruining you?”
“You… you…” She was immediately taken aback by my words, knowing that I indeed had connections.
She wouldn’t risk her life over some petty benefits; this person is only a first-year, with many years left at the Witch Academy, while she was on the verge of graduation. Once she graduates, it would mean not only losing the opportunity to become a teaching assistant but also no longer being a student at the Witch Academy…
Even if she got permanent residency in the Witch Academy for safety, if the person here truly became a teaching assistant, there would be a hundred ways to make her life miserable, and once she left the academy… her life would be completely beyond her control.
That kind of ending she wouldn’t dare to imagine… if she had known, she wouldn’t have been so stubborn.
Don’t think that the Supranatural Academy maintains a strong hold over students; the outside world appears harmonious, but that’s just the surface. The Supranatural Academy never upholds justice; they only maintain the stability of the main world, hidden darkness off the books. As a senior student, she has experienced it and even participated in it.
“You dare to k*ll? This is the Witch Academy!”
“I’m just joking. I’m just a first-year student; how would I k*ll anyone? I just saw you prancing around like a clown and wanted to scare you a bit. With such mindset, how could a senior expect to be a teaching assistant?”
I said to her calmly, but my cold gaze and inadvertently revealed killing intent made her heart leap.
As for killing… of course, I have.
Even aside from the kills in the Primordial Dream World, I’ve killed in Ninglan New City and the Small World.
And the fact proves that having killed someone and not having killed them gives two utterly different impressions of threat.
One is pretending to intimidate, while the other is the recklessness that follows breaking moral limits. Once such boundaries are crossed, the sense of aggression in one’s gaze brings an uncomfortable feeling of offense.
And under my aggressive gaze, this senior sister instinctively took a step back and ended up sitting down on the ground.
“Hmm?”
I looked down at this senior sister, a hint of surprise flashing in my eyes. She shouldn’t be so weak; after all, she’s a senior. Even if she hadn’t specifically trained, the overall enhancement of her physicality due to witch transformation shouldn’t leave her so weak as to collapse on the ground.
But I had no intention of helping her up; after all, if I were provoked here, I would be watched and treated as entertainment by those present. Now that she had become the entertainment, it served as her retribution.
So I casually found a corner to lean against the wall and closed my eyes to ponder.
This whole farce ended in such a manner, which did surprise many; those who had nothing to do watched with a mix of shock and some even fear in their expressions.
Of course, I didn’t see any of those expressions; even if I did, I would only find it boring. At most, I’d think briefly about what might have shocked those senior sisters. After all, if I were to empathize, I wouldn’t show such expressions.
But it wasn’t long before a mentor approached.
“There’s half an hour left before the formal written exam begins; everyone, adjust your states. I hope you can perform at your best during the exam… hmm? Student, your condition doesn’t seem good. If you have any emergencies, please communicate with your mentor in a timely manner.”
“Okay… okay…”
Seeing she didn’t make any requests, the mentor left her alone. If she couldn’t be responsible for herself, how could she expect others to help her?
That was naturally impossible.
With the guidance of the mentor, I joined the many senior sisters as we filed into the examination room.
The examination space was quite large, utilizing spatial expansion technology to enlarge it slightly. I also sensed a property of external spell effect suppression indoors, seemingly intended to prevent cheating methods. This kind of thing is usually present during monthly exams, but this written test seemed to be a bit more advanced.
To put it simply, external spell effect suppression involves banning plagiarism and theft of other people’s results. Spells are also considered one’s means, so things like Memory Shelf and my Knowledge Tree Spellbook can still be used.
Because of the numerous spells circulating within the Witch Academy, they simply can’t ban everything. Smaller spellbooks are particularly rampant, and the academy’s definitions of cheating have undergone several revisions, ultimately determining that independent completion is the baseline—barring methods like telepathy, sound transmission, and shared vision, which involve collaborative efforts to complete individual assessments.
Until the test papers were distributed, I skimmed the questions on them, and a smile couldn’t help but rise at the corners of my mouth because I knew I was almost guaranteed to pass this exam.
