"I Became a Witch, but Now Everyone's in Love with Me!"

Chapter 14: After gradually becoming familiar with the environment, Cha Bao's true nature was revealed
 

"It feels... useless." The girl shook the small black wooden stick in her hand and made a subtle complaint.
In her perception, the improvement that this magic wand brought her—if expressed in simple data—was a 2% increase in casting speed and a 1% increase in magic power operation.
Compared with the disadvantage of occupying a hand, the improvement was negligible—possibly even a negative benefit.

"Of course the basic wand is useless. It's just stationery."
Lina chimed in, then pulled out a two-meter-long crimson knight's heavy sword with elaborate carvings from her waist and stabbed it into the ground with a loud "dong!"
If the academy grounds hadn’t been magically reinforced, the blade probably would have sunk half a meter deep.

That wasn’t all—Lina activated her magic and charged it into the sword. Instantly, a blazing red flame burst out, scorching the ground black.
"This is my staff. It increases spellcasting power by 50% and magic power by 30%. It also has a few spell slots engraved on it."
"A staff?"

The girl's eyelid twitched. She looked at the small stick in her hand, then at the massive thing Lina was holding.
The heavy sword had to weigh at least 500 to 600 pounds. It looked nothing like a staff.
"Lina-chan's is a long staff."

He Qin covered her mouth and smiled softly, explaining: "There are many styles of staffs, and appearances can be customized. It’s normal for combat witches to use melee weapons as staffs."
"Generally speaking, there are three types of staffs: short, medium-long, and long. Short staffs are the cheapest because they use less material, but they don't have many engraving slots. They're mostly used to help witches mobilize magic power and increase casting speed.
"Long staffs have many slots for spell engravings, allowing for more customization—usually to increase spell power.

"Medium-long staffs try to do both, but are harder to engrave and the effects aren’t as strong. They're also the most expensive to make."
"As for appearances..."
He Qin looked a little shy, but still waved her hand and summoned a wand out of thin air—a sci-fi-style laser gun about a meter long.

"It’s more spontaneous."
"So I fought so hard just for this stationery...?"
Jiang Cha glanced at her own wand, then at He Qin’s sci-fi blaster and Lina’s flaming greatsword.
Somewhat disgusted.

She’d already finished analyzing the inscriptions on the stick. If she had the materials, she could’ve crafted one herself.
There was no technical complexity—just a few basic inscriptions she’d seen in popular science books.
On the other hand, Lina and He Qin's staffs had intricate inscriptions and complex manufacturing processes she couldn’t even begin to understand. Forcing herself to analyze them would only overload her brain.

"Forget it, as long as it works."
She sighed softly.
What else could she do? She was just poor.

"Don’t worry, staffs aren’t expensive. Jiang Cha can save up for a better one quickly if she studies hard."
He Qin's staff had been bought with her own money. In a witch society with abundant resources, buying a wand wasn’t difficult unless you wanted something top-end.
The Battle Club only issued basic models. Most witches pursued personalized, handmade staffs and looked down on mass-produced ones. Basic models were only used temporarily in cases like Jiang Cha’s, so they didn’t waste money issuing better ones.

...
After chatting a while, Jiang Cha nearly forgot they’d snuck out during a break. Luckily, the break was long enough that they could still talk and stroll after playing a match.
With a little more time together, the girl got to know her two roommates better. Their group dynamic slowly took shape.

Lina always talked the most.
Just on this short walk, Jiang Cha learned she was the youngest daughter of a traditional witch family—the Noyce family, one of the top dragon-witch bloodlines.
Lina’s older sisters had either long graduated and were now fighting on the battlefield or were in sixth grade and rarely on campus.

Life was easy for her. Other than her love for fighting, she didn’t have any big goals.
He Qin was as gentle and angelic as she looked. She patiently explained common sense Jiang Cha didn’t know. When it wasn’t necessary, she’d simply smile and listen to conversations, occasionally chiming in.
She never spoke of her background, but Jiang Cha could tell she’d had a hard life. No one supported her financially. She worked part-time, mastered puppetry, and saved money for a year just to enroll. She was the oldest of the three.

He Qin was sixteen, Jiang Cha fifteen, and Lina fourteen.
Aislyn’s admission requirement was simply to pass the assessment ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ before age eighteen, so it wasn’t unusual for them to be in the same grade. It was said that a fourth-year girl was only eleven—a complete child.
"Magic is the cornerstone of modern witch society. Everything we have is built on magical technology... Jiang Cha, what’s the fundamental nature of magic?"

"Magic is omnipotent. It represents miracles and can do anything."
The teacher of magic theory—who looked in her twenties but had lived for over seventy years—was far more energetic than Olivia from witch history class and often joked in class.
"Please sit."

"Magic is omnipotent, but only if you have enough magic power."
"With enough power, even spells that reverse fate or time are just forbidden magic. Creating a world isn't just talk—again, assuming you have enough power."
"But cost-efficiency is one thing, and utilization is another. Brute force alone isn’t viable. Even a single dragon transformation spell would exhaust a sage. But with efficient spell models, any witch can learn it."

"That’s why we develop magical tech—to optimize spell models."
"Still, the core principle of magic’s omnipotence matters. Don’t forget it, my good students."
"Magic is omnipotent. But without magic, you can’t do anything."

It was a line witches often used online to joke about the First Law of Magic and their own lack of power.
So when Diana said it, soft laughter rippled through the classroom.
Basic Magic Mechanics seemed useless—it explained things either not used in real life or already common knowledge. Lina's deep sleep during class said as much.

But Diana’s real lesson was confidence.
Believe in yourself, and leave the rest to magic.
Maybe these first-years didn’t fully understand yet. Maybe their daily lessons made them feel like "magic is omnipotent, but its limits are everywhere."

Only when trouble came would they realize how true that line was.
If they were in an ordinary school, facing average witches with one or two thousand mana, this class wouldn’t be important. But anyone accepted into Aislyn started with at least eight thousand mana.
—Deep mana was the foundation of miracles.

"I see..." After class, the girl sat at her desk, mumbling as if thinking through something.
"Jiang Cha, did you realize something?"
He Qin asked gently. Diana’s class was easier to follow than Olivia’s, so she didn’t feel drained.

"I understand why Lina said this class is useless."
The girl poked the golden-haired loli’s soft cheek with a finger, smiling helplessly.
"Why? I thought Teacher Diana’s class was good."

"Because Lina’s always had this kind of confidence—that as long as she has magic power, she can do anything."
"...." She didn’t get it.
But she didn’t have to.

Witches developed in all sorts of ways. He Qin preferred theory and precise logic—probably linked to her love of sci-fi.
"Lina~ Lina~ Wake up." Jiang Cha said nothing more, only reached out and gently tapped the golden-haired loli’s forehead.
"Huh? Class is over?!"

She’d looked seconds from dozing off, but once she saw classmates leaving, she instantly sprang up—eyes sparkling.
"Class is over."
Jiang Cha rested her chin on the desk, looking sideways. Her ruby-like eyes gleamed, soft and affectionate.

"Then let’s go fight!"
"I’m going to the library to borrow books."
The girl still smiled, mischievous. Under the bright sunlight outside, even her lips seemed to shine.

"Gu! T-That’s fine too."
Lina turned away quickly, ears red.
'Whoa! Too much, Chabao! My heart needs a break!'

"Your ears are red."
Before Lina could escape, the girl leaned in, wrapping her arms gently around Lina’s neck. Her warm breath brushed against Lina’s sensitive skin.
Jiang Cha’s weight rested fully against her, soft chest pressing close through the magic robe.

A stray lock of hair tickled Lina’s cheek as she moved.
The quiet rustling of cloth brushing together only added to the tension.
"T-That’s not true! I’m not blushing! Hahaha~ Let’s go to the library!"

A light-blue shimmer glowed—Lina had activated Dragon Skin and shrank on the spot, crawling under the table to escape.
"Hurry up, you two! Let’s go! We still have time to hit the cafeteria!"
And with that, she fled.

He Qin blinked. "What happened to Lina-chan all of a sudden?"
"No idea~"
The girl still smiled, like a cat that had pulled off a prank.

Then she leaned softly on He Qin’s shoulder and whispered: "Maybe it was just a sudden impulse."
"I see."
He Qin nodded. Since she couldn’t figure it out, she might as well believe Jiang Cha.

"Let’s head to the cafeteria too, before Lina runs too far."
"Okay~"