A palm-sized black crow crawled out of the summoning array.
The crow tilted its head to look at her, and Cen Yao tilted her head to look back at the crow.
The orb introduced, “An elementary scouting spirit crow. It can scout paths, deliver messages, and sense abnormal auras for a short duration.”
Cen Yao's eyes lit up.
“The ultimate tool for dungeon scouting!”
The crow cawed, as if agreeing with its career plan.
Unconventional magic was far more difficult than conventional magic.
Healing magic required her to precisely sense wounds, blood flow, contamination, and the flow of vitality.
At the beginning, she healed the simulated patient's finger so poorly that it ended up looking like a freshly grilled sausage.
The orb fell silent as it watched.
Cen Yao was also silent.
In the end, she bowed solemnly to the simulated patient. “I am so sorry. Even though you are fake, the suffering you went through was very real.”
Dark magic was even more dangerous.
The first time her elementary curse mark went out of control, the black mist rebounded and covered Cen Yao, turning her into a literal coal ball.
She scrambled up from the ground, coughed up a puff of black smoke, and her first words were, “Can this be used to smoke out ghosts?”
The orb: “Host, please respect dark magic.”
Cen Yao: “Okay, respect. But can it smoke out ghosts?”
The orb: “...Yes.”
Thus, Cen Yao worked even harder.
Potion class was a different kind of hell.
The heat level, proportions, order, incantations, and stirring direction—if even one thing went wrong, the cauldron would explode.
The first time Cen Yao brewed an elementary hemostatic potion, the cauldron exploded.
The second time, before she even got close, the orb proactively cast three layers of protective barriers around itself.
Cen Yao: “Sys, you're really hurting your Host's self-esteem.”
The orb: “Host, an exploding cauldron hurts this System's handsome appearance far more.”
But after exploding it so many times, she gradually got the hang of it.
The color of the potion shifted from a bizarre muddy green to a clear, pale red.
The smell also transformed from "someone's sewer has come to life" to a faint herbal fragrance.
Alchemy class was an even greater test of patience.
She had to carve magic runes onto tiny metal plates. If she slipped even slightly, the entire item would be ruined.
Cen Yao practiced until her fingers trembled, yet she refused to stop.
She knew very well that she wasn't here to experience a magic summer camp.
In reality, the Horror Game could drag her in at any moment.
Every spell she mastered and every rune she carved could potentially save her life in a dungeon.
At the end of the second month, a notification suddenly popped up from the System.
【Congratulations to the Host for completing the phase learning task: Introduction to Elementary Conventional Magic.】
【Reward: One Elementary Witch's Wand.】
Cen Yao was taken aback.
“There are rewards too?”
The orb's tone was filled with pride. “Of course. Normally, this task requires the Host to complete it before the beginner protection period ends, but you learned so fast that you triggered the reward ahead of schedule.”
Cen Yao's eyes instantly lit up.
Who would have thought that someone with average academic performance like her would actually be talented in magic?
In the next second, a black wand fell into her palm.
The wand was about thirty to forty centimeters long and completely pitch-black, wrapped in dense, mysterious patterns. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary black stick, but upon closer inspection, a faint silver light flowed within the patterns.
The moment Cen Yao gripped it, the magic power inside her body smoothed out as if it had found an outlet.
With a gentle wave, a simulated target in the distance exploded with a loud bang.
Cen Yao was stunned.
The orb said proudly, “This is no ordinary wand. It can amplify magic for beginners, allowing you to cast stronger spells with less magic power. The material is incredibly hard and indestructible, so you don't have to worry about it breaking.”
Cen Yao immediately hugged the wand to her chest.
“From this day on, it's my biological stick.”
The orb: “...”
That name sounded like something that would make the wand block her overnight.
At the beginning of the third month, Cen Yao completed the phase tasks for potions and alchemy.
【Congratulations to the Host for completing the phase learning task: Introduction to Elementary Potions and Elementary Alchemy.】
【Reward: One Elementary Witch's Robe.】
A purple robe slowly drifted down.
It was an incredibly beautiful witch's robe. The design was intricate yet not bulky, and the fabric was dotted with specks of silver light, looking as if an entire galaxy had been shredded and scattered across its surface.
The hood was pointed. When worn, it perfectly covered the upper half of Cen Yao's face, leaving only her nose and jawline visible.
Cen Yao's eyes went wide.
A girl could be afraid of ghosts and death, but she could never refuse beautiful clothes.
Especially when the clothes looked extremely expensive at a glance.
“This is an Elementary Witch's Robe made of astral sand. It can block intermediate-level magic attacks and conceal the Host's face. Outsiders will not be able to see your true appearance.”
Upon hearing this, Cen Yao quickly put on the witch's robe.
A sense of security.
A total sense of security.
As someone completely useless in physical combat, what she needed most was this kind of damage-resistant clothing.
Putting on the witch's robe and gripping the black wand, Cen Yao stood in front of the mirror, falling silent for a few seconds.
The purple robe concealed her youthfulness, and the hood cast a shadow, revealing only the soft yet tense lines of her lower face.
For the first time, she felt that she really looked like a Witch.
Watching from the side, the orb suddenly felt a sense of gratification.
Although the Host was usually a total coward who would pray to gods or even dogs at the drop of a hat, she truly worked herself to the bone when she was learning.
Other people learning magic might be excited for three days and suffer for three months.
Cen Yao was different.
She suffered, but the more painful it was, the more excited she became.
Those tongue-twisting incantations, complex hand gestures, and repeated explosions and failures were not torture in her eyes, but steps that would allow her to survive.
The final day of her three months in the Learning Space quickly arrived.
Today was the exam day that Cen Yao had proactively applied for.
The orb floated in front of her, its expression unusually solemn.
“Is the Host certain you want to take the Elementary Witch Exam?”
Cen Yao nodded.
“I'm sure.”
“Once you pass the exam, you will officially obtain the Elementary Witch qualification and gain the authority to learn higher-level magic. If you fail, you will need to spend emotion points to apply for the exam again after the Starter Pack ends.”
Cen Yao gripped her wand tightly.
“Haven't I practiced so many times just for this day?”
The orb looked at her, its black-bead eyes flickering.
“Elementary Witch Exam, begin.”
In the next second, the space suddenly transformed.
Cen Yao was standing inside an abandoned hospital.
This was a comprehensive dungeon scenario simulated by the System.
Most of the light tubes overhead had long been broken, leaving only a few flickering dimly. The pale light jumped erratically, making the dried bloody handprints on the walls look like they were squirming like living things.
The air was filled with a mixture of disinfectant, rotting flesh, and rust. From some distant ward, the intermittent crying of a child could be heard, which eventually turned into a woman's shrill laughter.
Cen Yao was in no hurry to move forward.
She first drew a summoning array beneath her feet.
Silver-white magic runes flowed from her fingertips, spreading across the ground like a tiny galaxy, eventually forming a circular magic circle.
The center of the magic circle lit up briefly before quickly dimming, blending into the floor tiles.
Watching from outside the exam venue, the orb's black-bead eyes lit up slightly.
This was a reverse summoning array.
If Cen Yao encountered a danger later on that she couldn't handle in time, she could use the reverse summoning array to pull herself back to the starting point.
Although this array had a limited range and its stability wasn't very high, for a witch who wasn't even an official Elementary Witch yet, being able to secure a retreat right at the start of the exam was already very impressive.
Cen Yao cast a thin shield over herself, then raised her hand.
Several glowing fire butterflies flew out of her palm.
They had translucent wings with a hint of pale gold flame burning along the edges. As they fluttered, they emitted no heat wave, only a soft and warm light.
The fire butterflies fluttered up and down around Cen Yao, illuminating the ground within half a meter of her feet, yet they weren't as blinding as a normal Illumination Spell.
Rate on N.U.
