Chapter 12: Unveiling the Arcane and the Badge’s Secret

Having secured the necessary materials for the arcane art, Bai Yu made her way home first.

Regarding the front door of Bai Yu’s home, Lu Xingyao had already arranged for relevant personnel to repair it that very morning. The repairmen, however, remained astounded, wondering what immense force could have possibly caused such extensive damage to the door.

As Lu Xingyao still had some matters to attend to back at school, she did not accompany Bai Yu home.

On the drive home, Bai Yu gazed at the phone in her hand, the message thread with her Mother on Green Bubble still showing no reply.

Logically speaking, her Mother, who worked in Italia, should have already arrived by plane, making a lack of signal an improbable excuse.

Furthermore, Bai Yu had checked the flight online, finding no reports of any accidents or delays.

Yet, no matter what methods Bai Yu tried, she simply could not get in touch with her Mother.

‘What exactly happened?’

A fierce battle raged within Bai Yu. She desperately wanted to know why her Mother had placed that particular box in the basement, and if her own transformation into a witch was somehow connected to her.

However, her greatest concern remained her Mother’s safety. While there had been times over the past year when her Mother was unreachable, none had ever caused Bai Yu this profound level of worry.

Primarily, after coming into contact with the mysterious side of the world, she had grown increasingly curious about her Mother’s line of work.

Her deepest fear was that her Mother’s work might be connected to dangerous entities.

After all, in this entire world, her Mother was her only remaining family.

The thought of traveling directly to Italia to find her Mother had certainly crossed her mind. However, she didn’t even know the specific city, rendering a blind search utterly futile.

Now, all she could do was wait—wait for her Mother to contact her as she always had.

Bai Yu closed her eyes, and the Woman’s voice in her mind remained silent. It seemed that unless something truly necessary arose, she would not speak.

Bai Yu reached into the pocket of her school uniform, her fingers suddenly brushing against the badge Cecilia had pressed into her hand earlier.

She had almost forgotten about it, and quickly pulled out the badge.

‘This is…’

Bai Yu gazed at the incredibly intricate badge in her hand. On its face, a lifelike griffin was carved, flanked by a knight’s sword on one side and a shield on the other.

Bai Yu was unsure of Cecilia’s intentions in pressing this item into her hand. After all, the badge did not appear to be an ordinary trinket; the gems inlaid upon it clearly indicated its considerable value.

[Interesting. This is an ancient artifact. Its spiritual energy content is quite substantial, and it seems its rank is not low.]

Moweila’s tone held a hint of excitement, suggesting this was indeed no ordinary object. However, Bai Yu remained puzzled as to why Cecilia would bestow it upon her, especially since this was seemingly their first meeting in her current form.

‘What is this thing used for?’

[From what I can tell, it seems to contain a high-tier defensive arcane art, capable of blocking one fatal attack.]

‘That strong?’

Bai Yu was somewhat shocked. To offer a life-saving item so readily—were all arcane artists truly this generous?

However, she suspected it wasn’t merely the generosity of an arcane artist, but rather that Cecilia harbored some ulterior motive. She must have had some other intention.

[You’re not wrong. There’s also a hidden message on it, which requires you to inject spiritual energy to view.]

Bai Yu nodded, but refrained from acting on it while still in the car, as she was afraid of attracting undue attention or being discovered by others.

It wasn’t until she returned home that Bai Yu finally plunged into her room.

Prioritizing the study of the arcane art, Bai Yu immediately took out the Night Stone and meticulously followed the step-by-step instructions for learning arcane arts she had received from the Principal.

The method was remarkably simple, so much so that she even wondered if it was perhaps overly simplistic.

Bai Yu retrieved a cup from the kitchen, into which three Night Stones fit perfectly. She then proceeded to sprinkle the entire bag of glowing moth powder into it.

Something miraculous occurred. The instant the powder touched the Night Stones, the previously indestructible stones instantly melted, transforming into a full cup of translucent purple liquid.

Bai Yu took a deep breath, and without a moment’s hesitation, she drained the entire cup of liquid.

Upon entering her mouth, the liquid was not as foul-tasting as Bai Yu had imagined. In fact, it was rather sweet; more accurately, it tasted akin to grape juice.

After finishing the entire cup of liquid, Bai Yu settled onto the sofa, keenly sensing the spiritual energy surging within her body.

First and foremost was the sensation of enhanced spiritual energy coursing through her body—a primary characteristic of learning arcane arts. Following that was the distinct feeling of something coalescing deep within her.

‘Phew, I should have learned it by now.’

Bai Yu let out a sigh of relief, eager to immediately test her newfound ability. After all, this was the first power she had acquired since truly entering the mysterious world.

Bai Yu called upon the spiritual energy within her body. The night-colored energy circulated throughout her form, eventually dispersing to every part of her.

Since it wasn’t night yet, she couldn’t unleash the ability’s full potential. Still, she was curious to see what it was like in its normal state.

As Night’s Kin activated, an indescribable surge of power immediately invigorated Bai Yu.

‘What is this?’

Bai Yu looked at her hands. They were still the same soft, delicate hands, yet her perception of them was now entirely different.

She felt as though she could now fell an ox with a single punch.

This was no exaggeration. To verify her thoughts, she quickly sought out a place to test her strength.

Grabbing a spoon from the kitchen once more, Bai Yu, with only a slight exertion of force, crumpled the spoon into a tight ball of metal.

Keep in mind, this was stainless steel.

Since transforming into a girl, she had gained a thorough understanding of her body. Aside from the spiritual core within her, her witch body possessed only the strength of an average adult, utterly incomparable to someone like Lu Xingyao.

Even though arcane artists would see their physical capabilities increase as their spiritual energy grew, her current situation was far beyond such a standard enhancement.

‘Moweila, what kind of enhancement have I truly gained?’

Because the enhancements received from using Night’s Kin varied for each individual, the book did not specify exact degrees of improvement.

[For now, it’s probably about five times your original physical constitution. If it’s nighttime, that boost can likely increase to around ten times.]

‘!’

Now, only shock remained in Bai Yu’s heart. It seemed she truly hadn’t chosen wrongly; this ability was simply too useful.

However, she did not become engrossed in the joy of her newfound power. After adapting to her body’s changes, she immediately began investigating the badge.

Bai Yu picked up the badge and slowly infused it with spiritual energy.

Instantly, the ruby in the griffin’s eye on the badge began to glow. Then, after the knight’s sword and shield on either side rotated slightly, a line of shimmering golden text inexplicably appeared on its surface.

(Meet on the school rooftop at midnight on the full moon.)

After lingering for a few seconds, the golden light slowly faded, and the badge reverted to its ordinary appearance.