Chapter 33 : Chapter 33

Chapter 33 : You Don’t Want to Be Burdened with Debt at a Young Age, Do You?

I didn’t press further.

If I kept asking and Tang Yihan didn’t know the answer, wouldn’t that embarrass her?

It’d be like explaining how to use a phone to someone who’s never seen one, only for them to ask how the phone was made.

How do you even answer that?

You’d probably say the process is complex, involving a lot of intricate theories.

The industry’s too deep for a kid to grasp.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, I stopped asking about that and instead inquired more about spell slots to see if they really worked like in a game.

In the end, I concluded they did.

A spell book was a tool for quickly mastering and using spells, but it wasn’t a learning aid—it didn’t impart actual knowledge.

You still needed to read the instructions or figure out how to use it yourself.

Spell books even had a limited number of uses, and if you overused them, they’d self-destruct.

Plus, making spell books was a hassle.

Apparently, you needed to reach transcendental status just to meet the threshold for crafting them.

This really opened my eyes.

Wasn’t the supernatural world starting to sound like a game?

No, in reality, it was probably more like a hell-difficulty game.

I had no main storyline, no main quests, and no quest rewards.

But the academy’s task system did offer rewards—at least money, right?

That’s how it was for everyone.

It only seemed easy for those with resources, but that definitely wasn’t me.

I comforted myself to stay grounded.

At least these things weren’t something a dishwashing freshman like me needed to worry about.

Spell slots were a huge help for someone like me.

Otherwise, learning a spell would require understanding its structure, studying spell theory, grasping its mechanics, and having strong mental strength to manipulate magic power to cast it.

That sounded exhausting.

I’d been mentally prepared for it, though.

Before entering Witch Academy, our curriculum included spell theory and elemental theory, and those were part of the entrance exams.

But I always thought those theories were too basic.

Understanding them felt easier than some of the math problems from my previous life that left me stumped.

I’d assumed that once I got to Witch Academy, I’d dive into advanced supernatural theory.

Now, they’re telling me supernatural methods have become one-click, idiot-proof spellcasting?

That was hard to accept.

But at least it saved me from the tedious process of casting spells.

The world didn’t revolve around me.

Maybe, influenced by novels and media from my past life, I had my own ideas and expectations about the supernatural world.

To me, it shouldn’t just be a brute-force world where you learn skills and start blasting away.

It should be about exploring the essence of the world from a supernatural perspective…

Maybe I was being too idealistic.

Combat strength was probably the most important thing in the supernatural world.

Popularizing spells in such a simple way did make it easier to quickly build effective combat power.

With strength came influence.

That was true in my past life, and it was even more so in this supernatural world.

I consoled myself with that thought.

Then, snapping out of my daydreams and facing reality, I looked at the still-massive pile of dishes and tools.

Did they really sell enough bread and pastries to use all these?

But that wasn’t my concern.

Tang Yihan had mentioned during our chat that the display cases had preservation spells, so things didn’t spoil easily.

Speaking of solidified spells, I remembered my badge had one too…

A basic fireball spell.

Since I couldn’t manipulate magic power, how was I supposed to use it?

It wasn’t a spell book.

I recalled Bai Yu saying it was meant to help freshmen get through the awkward early phase without combat ability.

But Tang Yihan said freshmen couldn’t manipulate magic power with mental strength for years.

Wasn’t that a contradiction?

Or was I overthinking it?

“Senior Tang, can I ask one more question?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

With the dishwashing task fully on me, Tang Yihan was relatively free and happy to answer my questions.

“When freshmen enroll, they get the four-piece uniform set, right? The badge has a solidified spell. How do I use it?”

I pointed to the badge on my chest.

“That badge is an alchemical product, somewhat like a spell book in effect, but it’s a tangible item that wears out. You activate it with mental strength…”

“Wait!”

“What’s wrong?”

I was about to try it as Tang Yihan explained, but she cut me off.

“Don’t try it! You’re new to spells and don’t know their power. Spells can be highly destructive. I don’t want this place blown up. Just listen—you don’t want to destroy the shop at your age and end up in debt, do you?”

“Uh, no, definitely not.”

I nodded apologetically, abandoning any thoughts of trying it.

“In short, the spell on your badge needs mental strength to activate. Once you can manipulate magic power, you can inject it directly, but you can’t do that now. Just activate it, and it’ll automatically draw magic power from your magic power source, releasing a spell with fixed strength.”

The spell’s controllability is poor.

You don’t have the ability to handle the aftermath of casting it.

Every year, freshmen cause explosions around the academy out of curiosity or carelessness, ending up in debt at a young age. So be careful.

Tang Yihan then gave me a lecture, warning me not to use the spell lightly.

Even if I was curious, I should experiment in designated areas.

She also told me not to rely on this power.

Items with solidified offensive spells wear out quickly, especially with continuous use.

In short, don’t try it now, and definitely don’t try it in the shop.

I quickly agreed.

She’d cleared up my confusion—I did have combat ability, but it was a dangerous weapon I couldn’t use casually.

In the end, Tang Yihan rejected my washed dishes for not being clean enough, doubling my workload.

Hand-washing really couldn’t compare to spells, could it?

But she kindly promised to report it to the manager when she returned, so I could learn the spell soon.

Even if it was just a cleaning spell, I was thrilled.

Cleaning spells were so convenient—not just for dishes!

Due to time, Tang Yihan joined me in washing dishes.

Watching her breeze through it with a spell made me jealous.