Chapter 161 : Chapter 161

Chapter 161: The Promise Unilaterally Broken by Big Sis Bai

“Um, may I interview you? Just a few questions, our Press Club will definitely report truthfully! We'll never resort to clickbait titles or taking things out of context!”

This senior said, looking at me with great sincerity.

If it wasn't for her bizarre act of chasing me on a broomstick, which made my brows twitch, I would have actually believed her!

Seeing that I was still unmoved, the senior had no choice but to pull out her trump card and say.

“I, I'll personally pay an interview fee!”

“Interview fee? Alright, let's discuss how much first.”

I came to a screeching halt.

If she was offering money, she should have said so from the start!

Making it seem like I was unwilling!

“Huh?”

This senior clearly didn't expect me to react this way.

She didn't have time to stop and shot right past me.

Then she made a wide circle before coming back.

“So you agree?”

“Let's see what the interview fee is first?”

I asked, getting straight to the point.

“Uh… about that, do you want money or something else?”

The senior asked, a bit embarrassed.

In fact, as a reporter for the Press Club, she had naturally encountered all kinds of interviewees, and it wasn't uncommon for them to ask for money, but she didn't expect this one to be so down-to-earth.

But if she was willing, then everything was negotiable!

“Hmm, money is so tacky, can you give me Magic Power Sources? Spellbooks are fine too.”

I asked tentatively.

After all, I wasn't short on money at this stage.

Although I wasn't working part-time at the bakery anymore, so I didn't have a stable income, the academy subsidies and so on were enough for me for a while.

Besides, with my current strength, would I have to worry about money in the future?

Although I hadn't thought about how to cash in on this strength yet.

However, at this stage, it was more cost-effective to get something more valuable than money.

“Huh? How could a Spellbook be possible! That kind of thing… um, is a small Spellbook okay? Or a Magic Power Source is also fine, but not too many.”

“A small Spellbook? The kind without a Ritual inside?”

I asked again to confirm.

“Yes, that's right. Is that okay?”

“Well… it's not impossible, but the power of this kind of Spellbook is nothing to look at. Isn't this kind of thing rampant in the academy? I can even see them at street stalls.”

I continued to belittle the small Spellbook.

Although they were indeed sold at street stalls, they weren't cheap, so I said this first to start raising the price.

“Uh… so what do you have in mind?”

“Add some more Magic Power Sources.”

I said with certainty.

“You still want Magic Power Sources, this… can I just give one?”

The senior said in a negotiating tone, as if even giving one was extremely painful for her.

“One is so boring, let's make it 5.”

Although one or five wouldn't be a huge improvement for me, if I could fight for it, I naturally had to fight for more.

I naturally still remembered how happy I was back in the club when I got one spell and one Magic Power Source.

Now I was looking down on them.

Life really changes too quickly.

“Five? Don't be too ridiculous! Two at most!”

“You're the one asking for my help right now, you know?”

I reminded her.

“But five is too many, 3 please.”

“Hmm… I'll take a step back too, let's make it 4. I'll tell you something, I have 266 Magic Power Sources right now, how about adding 4 to make it an even 270?”

“270!”

It was obvious this senior was shocked by the news I just revealed, “Really?”

“It's fake. Give me four Magic Power Sources, and I'll say it's true.”

“Okay! Here, here, here!”

“This…”

Seeing her agree so readily, I instantly regretted it.

This situation clearly meant I asked for too little!

I watched as this senior stuffed the Magic Power Sources into my body, as if she was afraid I would go back on my word.

I couldn't transfer Magic Power Sources at this stage, it seemed this senior wasn't as simple as she appeared on the surface.

“And this small Spellbook, please take it! Um, can I start the interview now?”

“Hmm… let's go down, it's not good to do it in the sky.”

“You're right!”

After this senior came down with me, she found a good angle and started her professional work.

“Do you need to film? Can we not film?”

“Um filming makes the report more convincing, you know, um…”

“Isn't taking pictures enough? Let's just forget about the filming.”

“Okay, of course.”

The senior had no choice but to reluctantly put away her equipment and pick up her recording device, “Um, may we begin?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded.

“According to rumors, the number of your Magic Power Sources has reached 270. Is this number accurate?”

“Uh… it's about right.”

I watched her constantly winking at me.

It looked like it was for the record as part of a standard procedure?

Fine, since I'd received some benefits, it was fine to cooperate a little.

Anyway, this information would be exposed sooner or later, including the Spellbooks I possessed.

“Okay, next question. What are your thoughts on this morning's elimination match?”

“Hmm it made me realize that having more Spellbooks is a good thing.”

“Uh, you don't feel any regret, sadness, or similar emotions from losing?”

“Is your life so pathetic that when you encounter failure, the only thing you can think of is how sad and upset it makes you?”

“Failure is the mother of success. Without learning from the lessons of failure, how can there be success?”

I directly spouted a bunch of chicken soup for the soul.

Interviews, isn't this what they like?

Although I personally only think that failure is just failure.

It's not something to be praised.

It only makes me more calmly realize that I lost.

I will find ways to improve myself, and I will also find ways to change myself.

This is because I have that resolve!

Not because of the lessons from failure!

Failure will only strike my confidence again and again, until it completely grinds down my edges.

“Uh, ah Is this the thinking of a genius? It seems I still have a lot to learn.”

“Then, the next question. Before the massive battle royale in the afternoon, someone saw you and Tan Han in a confrontation. What was the situation? Is it convenient to talk about it?”

“Confrontation? There's no such thing. I was just complaining with classmate Tan Han about the matching mechanism of the academy's Newcomer Competition. We also had a friendly exchange, there was no confrontation or anything.”

I smiled and spouted nonsense.

Could they really go and verify it with Tan Han?

Impossible, right?

“Is… is that so?”

This senior also confirmed awkwardly.

Although she didn't seem to quite believe this statement, since I, the person involved, said so, she would just take it as the truth.

“Yes.”

I nodded seriously.

“Then I'd like to ask, what was the fire-type Spellbook you used for the final blow that broke Tan Han's transformation spell?”

“Fireball, didn't you watch the live broadcast and hear the commentator say it?”

“Uh… um, a Fireball shouldn't be that powerful, right?”

This time, the senior was really starting to sweat.

This answer was a bit too perfunctory!

“Oh, I blew up the entire Fireball Spellbook along with it. That's about it.”

“Huh? Then the Fireball Spellbook you used in the afternoon…”

“Of course it's a new one. It's just a one-point consumption Spellbook.”

“This seems to make sense…”

The senior didn't know how to refute it for a moment, but she felt something was strange.

The Fireball Spellbook had a one-point consumption, but Tan Han's transformation spell consumed a thousand points of magic power!

If blowing up a single Fireball Spellbook could break such a terrifying spell, then why were we pursuing thousand-point consumption Spellbooks?

It would be too cost-effective for others to use one Spellbook to break one spell.

But the reality was definitely not calculated like that.

“Then the next question…”

“Wait, I've already answered four questions, and you gave me four Magic Power Sources. The interview ends here.”

I immediately interrupted her.

“Huh? No, I'll give you more Magic Power Sources, please, just one more question!”

“Bye-bye”

I wouldn't fall for it.

I didn't know the market price before and got tricked into answering four questions for four Magic Power Sources.

Her next questions would definitely be trickier.

Did she think she could make me talk with just one or two Magic Power Sources?

No way!

And looking at her stingy appearance, I wouldn't get much more out of her.

If I didn't run now, when would I?

So I quickly shook her off with my excellent flying skills.

It was also possible that she saw that I didn't want to cooperate anymore and gave up.

In any case, this matter was a small accident.

I got four Magic Power Sources and a small spell for saying some things that were either common knowledge or about to become common knowledge.

It was a gain.

And I had never used a spell driven without a Ritual inside before.

So, I quickly incorporated it into my body.

I couldn't wait to see what this spell was like.

What was its effect, what was its structure, and without a Ritual as the core driver, how would it use those structures to form the spell's effect?

Was it like the scientific way of thinking, constructing the use of transcendent energy?

Or was it using that transcendent knowledge and laws?

It seemed these should be essentially the same.

After incorporating the Spellbook into my body, I found that this Spellbook didn't have a detailed instruction manual, only the name of the spell.

Mud Spray!

It seems this spell, as expected, is quite disappointing.

However, the consumption of this spell was comparable to my Cleaning Spell, making it a decent hindrance.

In the future, if I was annoyed with someone, I could casually splash a face full of mud on them, achieving the dual effect of direct blinding and psychological damage.

I did a simple experiment.

Besides spraying out a stream of yellowish-brown mud, it had no attack power.

The mud was even a spell effect, which could be cleaned up with a Cleaning Spell, but it didn't leave behind any dirt or the like.

It seemed to be a spell effect completed by borrowing the earth element.

The maximum duration was currently unknown, and I was too lazy to test such data now.

I'd do it later when I was bored out of my mind.

“Little Han?”

“Hmm? Ah!”

A sudden voice from behind me made me jump.

After all, I hadn't returned to the dorm yet, and being called by my nickname in an unfamiliar place was really scary.

But after turning around, I found it was Big Sis Bai.

“It's Big Sis Bai, you scared me to death. Big Sis Bai, how did you find me?”

I asked, patting my chest.

“I followed you when you came out. I saw someone following you, so I came over because I was worried. I didn't have time to tell you.”

Bai Yu explained naturally.

“I see, then um, you also know about the Press Club matter?”

I asked, scratching my head in embarrassment.

“Yeah, next time you encounter those people from the Press Club, don't believe everything they say, and don't take every little advantage, understand?”

“I know.”

I replied, looking like I was listening obediently.

“It's good that you know. By the way, Little Han, do you have any other plans for the afternoon?”

“Huh? Other plans Hmm I want to start researching Runes, starting from the basics.”

I said to Big Sis Bai after thinking for a moment.

I really wanted to research them.

I could also use this time to research Spellbooks, to develop my other Spellbooks to the same level of understanding and modding plans as my Fireball.

After all, with the experience of exploring the Fireball spell, for other Evocation Spellbooks, it was just a matter of changing the soup but not the medicine.

But I still wanted to take advantage of the momentum from my self-realization in today's battle to get a head start on Rune research.

Anyway, today was just the first day of the Newcomer Competition.

I refuse to believe that I'll be matched against Tan Han again in tomorrow's 200-person competition!

How small must the probability be to encounter her?

And the academy also had to consider a very realistic question: if Tan Han encountered me again, could she still win?

Lina gave me so many spellbooks.

Even the previous me could push Tan Han to that point with just those few spells.

So what about now?

Since they said Tan Han was the protagonist and that it involved some kind of interesting relationship, would they dare to take a risk with me?

If it were me, I wouldn't dare to touch it at all!

“Researching Runes?”

Hearing my words, Bai Yu's eyelids twitched.

Rune-related teaching wasn't even in the scope of Witch Academy's compulsory education; even as an elective, it was a rather unpopular one.

Because Runes were a subject strongly related to spells, but Spellbooks allowed everyone to skip the most important part of spell theory composition, so no one would do the thankless task of learning it in the early stages.

Only the courses at the beginning of the school year would mention common sense information like spell principles and elemental theory.

She had previously thought about casting spells without the restriction of a Spellbook, but the power of the spells after detaching from the Spellbook was too unsatisfactory.

So she went to ask her mentor.

But her mentor disagreed with her idea, saying that jumping out of the Spellbook framework was an unwise choice.

However, she respected Bai Yu's resolve and let her try on her own.

And on this basis, she recommended professional materials and information related to Runes.

Bai Yu hadn't expected Little Han to come into contact with something like Runes so quickly.

Was it because of the advantage of her Floating World-level Spirit Vision?

But Bai Yu quickly understood that now was not the time to think about such things.

Since Little Han wanted to research it, she would naturally support her with all her might!

Just like when Little Han came into contact with the truth of the script before, she didn't emphasize keeping a distance from Tan Han.

After all, the third option was Little Han's own idea.

At that time, she knew that Little Han was no longer the little child who needed her guidance.

Since Little Han was no longer a child, didn't that mean Little Han could already ahem, stop.

Bai Yu forced herself not to let her imagination run wild.

Things were far from developing to that stage!

“Big Sis Bai? What's wrong? Are Runes hard to learn?”

I asked, unable to resist interrupting Big Sis Bai's dazed look.

“Ah? No, Little Han, if you want to learn Runes, I, your Big Sis Bai, will naturally support you. But Little Han, aren't you going to try out the newly acquired Spellbooks and get a feel for them?”

“It's fine. There's not that much of a rigid demand at this stage. Does Big Sis Bai want me to compete for first place in the Newcomer Competition? In that case, I might…”

“Of course not, how could I let you compete for first place!”

Bai Yu quickly explained.

If she competed for first place, wouldn't she have to face Tan Han again?

No, not just face Tan Han, but face the entire script, and in a direct and related way!

At that time, when she tried to change the script, even just before it started, and not even facing the script's protagonist, she suffered such serious injuries.

But the result she got was just modifying a trivial prologue of the script something to that effect, anyway.

This time, Little Han facing Tan Han in the first match was a typical setup.

No matter how exciting the process was, the ending was still…

“Since Big Sis Bai has no requirements for me, I naturally don't have any burden.”

I said in a carefree tone, mainly to lighten the atmosphere and stop the conversation from becoming stiff and heading towards a serious topic.

“Don't worry. My focus has never been on the Newcomer Competition. If it wasn't because the class president had to participate, I couldn't be bothered to join.”

“You don't want the rewards either?”

“Rewards… Hmm… I'll leave it to fate. By the way, aren't all the rewards Earth Vein constructs? I haven't researched much about the Earth Vein, and I don't plan to develop in that direction.”

I said nonchalantly.

“But the rewards for the top ten are naturally not just these. Although the rewards haven't been announced yet, high-consumption Spellbooks, a large number of Magic Power Sources, and powerful alchemical and transcendent items will certainly be included.”

“Hmm… but to compete for the top ten, it's inevitable that I'll run into Tan Han, right? Big Sis Bai, didn't you tell me…”

“You're worried about this? Didn't you say before that you wanted to choose your own life?”

“But keeping my distance from Tan Han is also the promise I made with you, Big Sis Bai!”

I said seriously.

How could I go back on a promise!

For the sake of this promise, I had even made my relationship with Tan Han a bit stiff before.

But fundamentally, I didn't have any major conflict with Tan Han.

I didn't even care about the first match.

I had a very good impression of her.

After all, who would hate a friendly rich girl?

“Ah? Because of this?”

Bai Yu was also a bit taken aback at this moment, “Then let's end this promise here. I can't force you to make avoidant choices in your life because of this.”

“But breaking a promise just like that…”

“Little Han, that promise was made under the circumstances that you were unaware of. It was a promise I made for you out of my own selfish reasons. But your choice proved your choice, and it also made me realize my mistake. So just consider it as me unilaterally breaking the promise. It's my fault for breaking the promise, I'll compensate you in the future.”

“I see. Let's talk about compensation later. Just like the help you've given me, Big Sis Bai, I'll repay you in the future, so let's not get hung up on this. By the way, Big Sis Bai, is there nothing you need to do?”

Hearing Big Sis Bai's words, I naturally understood what she meant.

This also sent me a signal that I could choose my own path without any reservations, especially on the matter of Tan Han.

I wonder if my previous words had any impact on her.

I hope not, but there was no need for her to actively compensate me.

After all, without Big Sis Bai's restrictions, would Tan Han no longer be a big trouble?

It was the same.

Just maintain a normal attitude.

“Me, I don't have anything urgent to do. What? Is Little Han going to have her own private life now?”

“Pretty much. I want to go back to the dorm. It's not really appropriate to bring Big Sis Bai back to the dorm…”

The moment I thought of my roommates in my dorm, my head started to ache.

With roommates like that, I wouldn't dare to be honest with Big Sis Bai!

“I see. Then you go ahead and get busy, Little Han. I have things to do too, they're just not urgent.”

“Mhm. Then see you later, Big Sis Bai.”

After saying goodbye to Big Sis Bai, I also headed back to the villa.

I wonder how they will react when I get back, after causing such a big scene today?

I really want to have fun with them, but they also seem to have some distance from me because I hid the fact that I was originally a boy.

But I don't want to shatter my new life now.

Revealing that I was originally a boy will only connect me with my previous life.

This is truly a difficult problem to choose.

Even though I now know that the girls in the class don't feel disgusted by the students who were transformed from boys, and are even more willing to play with them.

But I am the class president.

The class president was originally a boy.

Can they accept that?

Should I see a psychologist?

I feel like there are so many things weighing on my mind that even with the knowledge from my two lives, I can't get over them.

Witch Academy brought so many boys into the academy, they must have psychologists to provide counseling for the boys, right?

Thinking like this, I pushed open the villa's main door.

“Big Sis Xiao Han! You're back!”

The moment I pushed the door open, I heard Hong Chenyi's loud voice.

Although I was already used to this person's behavior, I still couldn't stand it.