Chapter 3: The Futuristic Academy and the Burden of Knowledge

There were eighteen boys in the class. No, now there were seventeen of them, all silently trailing behind Teacher Qieluo as they exited the classroom.

This was my first time seeing the scenery outside the classroom. When the topic of witches came up, I used to imagine a medieval aesthetic.

However, this academy, at least, was distinctly futuristic and sci-fi in style. Various symbols were visible everywhere, alongside flowing energy conduits that might have been decorative.

As we passed other classrooms, I could glimpse their homeroom teachers earnestly explaining something.

Then there was our homeroom teacher. She was a person of few words, but immense capability; she had eliminated three students right from the start.

Now, she was leading us to move some items.

“They are explaining the school regulations,” Qieluo stated, as if sensing my thoughts. “If you ask me, you can just go back and study your contracts. All the school rules are written there.”

“If I were to explain them to you, it’s not guaranteed you’d listen, and if you were to prematurely interpret the rules I described, you might miss something important.”

After saying this, she offered no further explanations. Some of the boys stepped forward, attempting to strike up a conversation, hoping to build rapport with the teacher and leave a good impression.

Qieluo responded sporadically, her replies feeling perfunctory, as if the topic held no real substance for her.

****

Eventually, we arrived at another building.

“This is the largest library in our Witch Academy,” Qieluo announced, leading us to an area in front of the entrance. “I shouldn’t need to explain what a library is, should I?”

Many items were stacked there, not just books, but various other things as well.

Driven by a touch of obsessive-compulsive tendency, I counted the library’s floors. Assuming there were no subterranean levels, this library astonishingly boasted ten stories!

The sheer volume of books was terrifying, not to mention its immense footprint.

As we drew closer, I noticed someone nearby calling out to us, or rather, to Teacher Qieluo. “Yo, Teacher Luo, is it your turn to lead the new students this year? Which class are you taking?”

The person was, undoubtedly, another teacher.

“Class 14,” Teacher Qieluo replied, a faint smile gracing her lips. “Where are our class’s things?”

It seemed they were acquainted, likely friends.

“Over there,” the other teacher said. “But won’t you chat for a bit? Class 14… that’s a pretty high-ranking class, isn’t it?”

“No, not now. Perhaps another time,” Teacher Luo responded, directly declining the offer to chat.

Turning to address us, she instructed, “Over there are all our class’s items. Move them all back, and be careful while you’re doing it.”

I followed the crowd to where our class’s items were stacked. There wasn’t a vast quantity of things: a large pile of books, some crystal stones of unknown purpose, card-like objects, and… something resembling a mobile phone.

‘No… that design, that screen—what else could it be but a phone? Did other worlds truly possess such devices? Was this even possible?’

‘Though my time at the Witch Academy had been brief, the futuristic architecture had already led me to believe that witch civilization was highly advanced, a world that blended the supernatural with technology. Otherwise, how could they attract talents from so many different races to the academy? But to still be using mobile phones? Shouldn’t they have personal terminals or holographic projections by now? Using a mere phone felt like a significant step down in sophistication.’

‘While I silently griped, I dared not voice my thoughts aloud. What if my understanding was limited, and this device held some hidden function?’

I instinctively joined the queue to move books. Realistically, there wasn’t enough to require all seventeen boys, the heaviest items being merely the books themselves.

I leaned in to examine the titles. Among so many books, there were only three distinct types.

The thinnest, “Basic Meditation Methods,” could easily be carried by one person.

“Foundational Alchemy Materials” was the thickest, more substantial than any dictionary I had ever encountered.

“Basic Plasmonic Theory” was manageable, yet still as thick as a dictionary. If these were the subjects we were expected to master, I feared I might lose my mind studying them.

When my turn came, I was handed five copies of “Foundational Alchemy Materials” and found myself unable to move. The stack was so tall it completely obstructed my vision.

Perhaps they perceived my build as rather slight; I was indeed somewhat short, at least among humans. This might have been due to malnutrition, leaving me to wonder what kind of world the original owner of this body had inhabited.

Compared to the robust demi-humans and humanoids in the class, I was undeniably small. In particular, the tallest demi-human had horns protruding from their head, visible hard scales on their exposed arms, and a thick tail connected to their spine.

Undoubtedly, they must have been a Dragonborn. I found myself curious how they managed to sit down.

‘I was also quite curious about what their physique would be like once they transformed into a witch. Would it be… an eyesore?’

Perhaps my gaze had been too intense, for the Dragonborn noticed me.

They looked at my small frame and seemed to sneer, not bothering to speak to me. Perhaps someone like me held no value as an acquaintance in their eyes.

I watched as they single-handedly hoisted an entire crate of crystal stones, while cradling numerous books with their other hand. Combined with their height, which was over two meters, it was truly an enviable sight.

Their bulging arm muscles were simply prodigious.

While I personally had no desire for such musculature, it didn’t prevent me from appreciating it. Perhaps such extreme fitness was meant to attract others of their kind.

Soon, our homeroom teacher led us back to the classroom. As we pushed the door open and entered, the low hum of discussions within the class abruptly ceased.

As the moved items were all set down, some students began to gasp. If those ridiculously thick books represented the curriculum they were expected to master, their future prospects seemed truly bleak.

Back in my seat, I found myself slightly out of breath. After all, I was currently just an ordinary person, and somewhat malnourished.

Moving things was quite the physical exertion for me, especially since the distance between the teaching building and the library was not negligible.

Teacher Qieluo stood at the lectern, picking up a student ID card. I had glimpsed these card-like objects earlier on the way; they were essentially student IDs and identity cards for everyone in our class.

They featured our portraits, basic information, and… student numbers.

The information on the identity cards had been pre-recorded before the students’ enrollment. Thus, Teacher Luo set aside three cards; these belonged to the three individuals she had eliminated earlier, making their identity cards naturally useless.

“These are your identity cards,” she announced. “Each of you has a corresponding one. I advise you all not to lose them, or you’ll have to replace them yourselves.”

She tossed the cards towards us, and each identity card seemed to possess a a will of its own, flying directly into our hands.

I carefully took my identity card. The portrait depicted a slender male figure. This was the first time I had clearly seen my current appearance—or rather, it was quite ordinary, like that of a mere passerby.

However, my appearance seemed of little consequence to me now. Given that the students in the class were of different races and possessed varying aesthetics, there was no need to cater to their preferences.

My name was displayed on the identity card, and my eyes narrowed. It read, ‘Lian’.

‘My immediate thought wasn’t that I had taken the wrong card. The name ‘Lian’ must have been the original name of this body. Indeed, an identity card couldn’t possibly synchronize instantly if I were to casually change my name, could it?’

‘I wondered if this name would affect my contract. It shouldn’t… right? The contract had already been signed, so at worst, I could claim the name on the identity card was incorrect. Alternatively, I was already prepared to become a witch, and the name Yang Yuehan would be my future name, symbolizing a new beginning. If I needed to explain anything, I could simply make something up on the spot.’