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

Chapter 30: Alchemy Society
Creating new magic isn’t something a first-year witch should attempt.
Whether it’s modifying an existing spell model or constructing one from scratch, the difficulty is overwhelming—it’s not something a girl can figure out in just a few days.

Even among Aislyn’s graduates, only the top-tier witches—the best of the best—are capable of crafting their own spells and integrating them into a personal tactical system.
Jiang Cha had only borrowed five more books, but the sheer depth and density of knowledge in them was staggering. Even with her remarkable focus, she struggled to get through more than a few pages in a sitting. She could finish a basic potions textbook overnight if needed, but these… these were in a completely different league.
Thankfully, developing one’s own innate spellcraft is a lifelong pursuit for any great witch. There’s no rush. For now, she just needed to continue strengthening her magic and gradually shift its properties.

Her current energy was still mostly devoted to secondary professions and magic theory.
After a recent combat class, Jiang Cha became painfully aware of one major shortcoming: her spell library was severely lacking.
With over 60,000 in raw magic power, the quality of her spells had become a bottleneck. If she could just improve that, both her offense and defense would scale naturally.

“So that’s what this magic book meant…”
She turned another page of an old parchment volume, glowing faintly with magical light, and scratched her head as another concept clicked into place.
She had always wondered: Why are textbooks for secondary professions just regular printed books, while magic books need special materials that preserve mana?

Now she got it.
A “magic book” is basically a reusable magic scroll. Scrolls are one-use and powered independently, while magic books require the user to supply their own mana, guiding them to reconstruct the spell model with each use.
“The Giant Strength spell builds temporary magical muscles to amplify force… But why not just use a hydraulic rod instead?”

Constructing something as complex as muscle was wildly inefficient. A hydraulic system would be simpler, stronger, and consume less mana.
“Let’s see… the third and eighth rules use the fourth principle… Outer inscription says [Simulation], middle’s [Muscle], core is [Strengthening]… and this one—what is that?”
Magic books didn’t just walk you through casting; they included detailed diagrams, case studies, and even alternate spell structures for study and modification.

Jiang Cha wasn’t just copying—she was training herself to analyze spell models. It was like solving advanced math problems: you had to work through them to really understand.
The deeper the magic, the more complex the structure. Even if you memorized every rule and formula, if you didn’t start practicing with basic spells, you’d be totally lost at higher levels.
“So this part’s [Protection] and [Adaptation]... If I switch it to hydraulic mechanics…”
As usual, her instincts moved faster than her brain. That was classic “combat talent”—a trait common among battle witches and a big reason their research departments had such high accident rates.

The faster the casting, the better. That pressure led to generations of witches evolving all kinds of niche talents. Most weren’t unique or game-breaking, but nearly everyone had at least a few.
And so, Jiang Cha, caught up in the moment, failed to stop herself. Before she could fully assess how bad her “brilliant idea” really was, the spell model had already completed—and her mana had filled it.
Cast complete.

Boom!
“What the heck!? Chabao, did you mess something up again!?”
A golden-haired loli burst out of her room and rushed in, already holding clearance to open the dorm door.

“...the spell model modification went wrong.”
Jiang Cha stared at the wreckage of her desk. Her right arm—its muscles torn, veins ruptured, and blood steadily seeping out—hung limply at her side. With her good hand, she wiped the blood off her face.
Now she understood why the original creator had filled the spell with so many protective runes.

Giving a human arm hydraulic-rod-level force? A broken finger would be the least of your problems. The neural signals from the brain couldn’t even coordinate that kind of power—it was entirely uncontrollable.
Even with a witch’s body being tougher than a human’s, that level of physical output…
Even Optimus Prime would’ve collapsed after a punch like that.

“Pfft! Hahahahahaha!”
The golden-haired loli burst into laughter. Jiang Cha’s annoyed, deadpan expression was just too much. She was a combat witch, but her life was pure slapstick sometimes.
“Honestly, Jiang Cha-chan, be more careful next time.”

He Qin smacked Lina on the head for laughing too much, then began casting a healing spell to repair Jiang Cha’s damaged muscles.
Witch healing was its own strange field—most healing spells fell under creation magic. In essence, healing meant rebuilding what was broken. So, unsurprisingly, the witches best at healing also excelled in anatomy.
Now, He Qin carefully reconstructed the torn muscles and vessels, even replenishing lost blood. It didn’t have to be perfect—witched healed fast enough that minor errors would fix themselves.

“Thanks~”
Jiang Cha wasn’t bothered. Aside from the pain, she was fine.
Well—she was fine. Her desk? Not so much. She’d cut off sensory input to her arm the moment things went south. So the pain she felt was emotional.

That desk was going to need replacing.
Another expense...
...

After the chaos of the morning, the girls split off to do their own things.
Lina headed to the Battle Club. He Qin went to the Puppet Club, where better tools let her make new puppets faster.
Jiang Cha made her way to the Alchemy Society.

While developing [Focus Mode] earlier, she had accidentally memorized the entire basic alchemy textbook in one night. But now she needed more than theory—alchemy was a hands-on discipline.
And also… she needed money.
“Hello, miss~ I’d like to join the Alchemy Society. Is there anything I can help with?”

Without hesitation, the normally shy Cha Bao approached the front desk confidently.
The Alchemy Society’s lobby looked a lot like the Battle Club’s—wide, bright, and retro-styled. Off to the side was a tea lounge, with witches chatting over fancy cups and wooden tables.
“What is this, dim sum brunch?”

Jiang Cha glanced at the time and muttered to herself, but on the outside, she kept up the act of a sweet, wide-eyed newbie.
“Xingzi, someone’s calling for you~ Come greet the new member~”
The receptionist at the desk didn’t respond. She was curled up in her robe, head down, shoulders trembling slightly—not moving at all.

Just as Jiang Cha started to wonder what was going on, a nearby witch teased her in a sing-song voice.
“Don’t worry, freshman. Xingzi’s socially anxious. You can just talk to me instead.”
Clearly, the one called Xingzi wasn’t coming around anytime soon, so the other witch stepped in with a sigh.

“Putting the socially anxious at the front desk… Alchemy Society really knows how to have fun.”
Jiang Cha leaned over the counter, playfully peering at Xingzi’s face. Under the hood was a very cute girl—pink-haired, purple-eyed, with soft features that practically screamed “bulliable.”
Though… not wearing makeup was a minus.

“Hmm, 85 points. In this special setting, 92. Excellent.”
“You’ve got quite the eye, junior~”
The other witch chuckled. “Shi Lan. Third year. Chinese witch.”

“Oh? A senior~”
Jiang Cha’s eyes drifted to Shi Lan’s generous chest, and she smiled. “Jiang Cha. First year. Also a Chinese witch. Looks like we’re from the same hometown~”
Not that it was true.

Only the Dean who’d rescued her from that narrow room knew where Jiang Cha actually came from. She might not even be human. Her mind held all kinds of strange knowledge that didn’t quite match with local history.
Still, the truth would have to wait until the missing Dean returned.
“So, you’re joining the Alchemy Society?”

“Of course~ I heard the benefits are great.”
“They are—if your basics are solid. Fill this out.”
Shi Lan looked over at the still-frozen Xingzi, then back at the quirky new girl, visibly torn between exasperation and amusement.

“Kyoko, come on. Alchemy isn’t just for shy hermits. Social interaction matters too.”
“I-I’ll try…”
Xingzi’s reply was barely audible, her whole body broadcasting “please let me go” in quiet desperation.

Jiang Cha giggled to herself.
Unlike the easy, walk-in process of the Battle Club, the Alchemy Society had stricter entry requirements.
Sure enough, Jiang Cha was handed a written test.

But ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) for someone who could memorize books verbatim, the questions were a breeze—only the last two made her think for a minute.
No problem at all.
“Time to turn in my answers, Senior Xingzi~”

Instead of handing her paper to Shi Lan, Jiang Cha skipped over and presented it directly to the socially paralyzed girl, delighted by her reaction—desperate to run, but too frozen to move.
“Jiang Cha,” Shi Lan said with a sigh, “stop bullying her and give it to me.”