The New Year Approaches

With that in mind, Lan Qingyou pulled out her card.

Silent Witch: “Tsk, tsk, tsk. This won't do.”

Moonlight Witch: “What’s the point of a red lizard like that? Bring it here and let me take a look. I happen to have a familiar slot left.”

Steel Witch: “I think it’s fine. I have one too; how about letting me try first?”

Flame Witch: “You’re all dreaming. Get lost.”

Thorn Witch: “Oh, as expected of a woman with a Fire Elemental. You’ve certainly got some backbone.”

Dream Witch: “No, no, Pandora needs to get back to her research quickly.”

Moonlight Witch: “Research, huh? No wonder.”

Pandora's research was always Schrödinger's research. When you saw her, she wasn't doing research; when you didn't see her, she was doing research even while chatting in the group.

Really.

What kind of person stares at a group chat while doing research? That's just slacking off.

But more than any of that, everyone's attention was currently on the photo Alice posted of Pandora and her Fire Elemental.

After all, everyone loved the “Dragon Knight” vibe. Well, perhaps it should be called a “Dragon Witch” now.

The group chat continued to buzz, but Lan Qingyou didn't participate. Instead, she quickly returned to the shelter tree opposite the Perching Giant Tree.

Originally, she had wanted to see what these flying monsters domesticated by the Perching Giant Tree would look like as familiars, but as it turned out, none of the witches intended to form a contract with them yet.

Though it was a bit of a shame, it at least laid a solid foundation for the future opening of the Perching Giant Tree.

After all, the witches who would be responsible for managing the Perching Giant Tree had seen exactly how to call them.

To be honest, the appearance of the Fire Elemental had been far too sudden.

Not only had Lan Qingyou been completely unprepared, but she hadn't even had any psychological preparation.

She had seen the Yellow-maned Griffin living in the middle tier of the Perching Giant Tree before, but she hadn't been very interested in the fellow.

After all, a creature from the middle tier didn't quite match her aura.

However, considering her own physical condition, getting a larger flying pet seemed like it might be quite nice.

The thought of Pandora standing majestically on the head of the Fire Elemental made her heart race for a moment.

No... no...

Now was not the time to consider such things. She still had work to do, and she would wait a few more days to see if anything better flew in.

Lan Qingyou, who had originally wanted to try her luck with the griffin, ultimately suppressed the urge.

While the Yellow-maned Griffin was cool, what if there was something even cooler waiting for her?

She shook her head.

Casting those thoughts aside, Lan Qingyou pulled out her card and looked up the meditation method Alice had sent her.

Though there was no thesis to support it and she didn't know where the girl had gotten the theory, Lan Qingyou had to admit it was good after looking it over.

This so-called meditation method was essentially a way to enter a state near hypnosis through a specific set of verbal cues, thereby achieving intense mental concentration.

But unlike true hypnosis, the witches could remain conscious while entering this meditation, ensuring they wouldn't be killed in a sneak attack.

In a way, the balance found here was incredibly precise.

It was as if one were in a state that was neither a dream nor reality, neither awake nor asleep.

“I see... that makes sense.”

After reading how the meditation method worked, Lan Qingyou had a general idea of where the girl had sourced the theory.

She then gave it a try and succeeded on her first attempt, which was nothing unusual for her.

“Hmm... mana utilization has improved.”

After exiting the state, Lan Qingyou checked her personal profile.

If a spell previously required fifty mana points to cast, then after entering this meditation state, the same spell only consumed forty mana points.

In other words, this meditation method could save twenty percent of one's mana.

For the witches, this was practically heaven-sent news.

However, there was one drawback—though it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and could even be considered a benefit.

That was that only the Witch race could learn it.

Since it was something researched by a witch, it was naturally only suited for a witch's constitution.

Furthermore, according to Alice, she intended to continue this research topic, aiming to reach the point of saving forty percent of mana.

One could only say that everyone's research was very interesting.

After trying it out, Lan Qingyou put down her card and continued her work on the 《Flying Monster Encyclopedia》.

Another batch of witches arrived in the afternoon, followed by two more batches in the evening.

The overworked 【Thorn Witch】, Cynthia, was naturally among them.

Fortunately, she moved quickly; otherwise, she probably would have been nagged to death by that last batch of witches.

Of course, “beautiful accidents” like Pandora's were not repeated.

This left everyone feeling a bit disappointed.

As a result, they began to tease Pandora incessantly in the group chat.

Strangely, however, the girl didn't show up to battle everyone this time.

It was unusual and unfamiliar, but there was nothing to be done.

Since the person in question didn't appear, those envious and jealous plastic friends could only call it a day.

Lan Qingyou, who hadn't slept all night, returned to her shelter to sleep before dawn.

Although for someone like Lan Qingyou, going three to five days without sleep was no problem at all.

But who wouldn't want to sleep if they could?

It wasn't as if they were a group of severe insomniacs.

...

A few more days passed.

On this day, after finishing the 《Flying Monster Encyclopedia》, Lan Qingyou finally emerged from her shelter.

After all, there were only a few days left before the monster park opened, so she needed to finish the book early and send it to Diana so she could have the introduction signs and other items carved and set up.

However, when she stepped out after several days, she realized something seemed wrong outside.

The shelter, which usually felt somewhat serene under the influence of the Five Dragon Reincarnation Magic Circle, had turned bright red.

Whether it was the red lanterns hanging from the branches, the colored lights, or the streamers, they had all changed the base color of the area.

Specifically, the place had been remodeled!

“Oh, Clan Leader, you’ve come out of seclusion!”

Upon seeing Lan Qingyou, Susie, who was wearing a green robe and directing everyone in installing items, gave her a greeting.

“What are you all doing?”

Lan Qingyou was a bit dazed, especially after turning her head to see that it wasn't just her place—the entire Typhon City was like this.

“Huh?”

Susie was also stunned for a moment before coming to her senses.

Right, the Clan Leader hadn't left her house for the past few days, so she naturally wouldn't know about these things.

So, Susie explained to her.

“Oh, it's like this. Isn't the New Year tomorrow? Since you hadn't come out, we added some decorations here after finishing up Typhon City.”