Chapter 38: The Incense Deal and Inner Transformations

Watching Air leave, I finally exhaled. After all, I still wasn’t accustomed to having others occupy my personal space.

However, after a moment of thought, it suddenly struck me: I had forgotten to tell her not to involve me in the incense matter!

Yet, on second thought, she knew my personality. Moreover, her emotional intelligence seemed quite high; surely, she wouldn’t make such a mistake?

But I couldn’t afford to gamble! What if the class president simply hadn’t considered it? Thus, to be safe, I sent her a message, instructing her not to link me to the matter.

Only after receiving her affirmative reply did I truly relax. This was the only way to be certain.

With the incense changing hands, each portion yielded nearly 200 credits in profit. In the end, I stood to gain approximately 40,000 credits!

Forty thousand! That was four times the loan limit available from the Odd Job House!

With these credits, I could finally try my hand at alchemy, couldn’t I?

Materials costing over ten thousand credits would allow for roughly a hundred practice attempts. A hundred tries—surely that would be enough to perfect my technique, or perhaps even ruin my hands?

As for the remaining credits, perhaps I should visit the library to broaden my horizons?

Though I had already resonated with the Witch’s Heart, I possessed no combat power whatsoever. A lack of combat power equated to a lack of security; in this transcendent world, strength was the ultimate foundation.

If I wielded absolute power, what minor class conflicts could possibly intimidate me?

On this point, Long Shi was correct: in the transcendent world, strength was truly indispensable.

I conceded that this statement held truth, yet it was not absolute.

At the current stage, absolute power could indeed crush all obstacles. However, such overwhelming strength would inevitably breach into another tier of existence.

To continue dominating, one must either retreat into their original world or acquire absolute power capable of crushing *that* new world. This was a vicious cycle, a hypothetical one at that.

Power would not seek you out without reason. Therefore, those who believed strength could solve everything ultimately faced only two paths: to die in pursuit of power, or to withdraw into a secluded corner, content with their self-imposed limitations.

Neither of these appealed to me. I wasn’t even sure what I truly desired, perhaps merely to witness the myriad sights I had yet to encounter?

For now, I only knew these concepts were too distant, so far removed that contemplating them held virtually no meaning.

Returning to the main point: it was evening, so taking a shower was perfectly normal, right?

The dorm had a dryer, so not changing clothes was also normal, right?

The main issue was that I couldn’t wear the two dresses out in public just yet.

Although I was still biologically male, my appearance… well, if I obscured *that* part, it wouldn’t be entirely unfeasible.

Who knew? Perhaps after the next feedback from the Witch’s Heart, I would finally transform into a girl?

I was still very much looking forward to it.

Even though I hadn’t fully become a girl yet, I felt my personality had changed considerably. I seemed to be more uninhibited, sometimes even unconsciously adopting a girl’s perspective.

I admitted that I genuinely wished to become a girl and live a carefree, “salted fish” life, but wasn’t this transformation happening too quickly?

The Witch’s Heart detached from my waist clasp and floated before me. No matter what, even if all of this was my own issue, was the Witch’s Heart truly blameless?

I entered the bathroom, pondering the events I might encounter tomorrow, as well as the upcoming Shaping class. Shaping was essentially magic, wasn’t it?

I vaguely recalled Granny Dou mentioning that a ritual would be the focus of tomorrow’s lesson. Although I still had no clear idea what this “ritual” entailed, my best guess was something akin to a magic circle?

I dried my body, placed my freshly washed clothes on the dryer, and then burrowed into my bed.

Today’s affairs would conclude today. I would sleep soundly and face tomorrow’s challenges refreshed.

****

Early the next morning, I rose promptly.

After washing up, I gathered my gear and headed out again, only to discover my phone’s group chat was practically exploding with messages!

My heart sank instinctively. I feared I had missed some crucial news overnight; after all, what kind of urgent message was sent so late? Didn’t they worry early sleepers wouldn’t see it?

I scrolled back through the chat history and found that Air had initiated the conversation, addressing the matter of the incense.

Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief. So it was about this! I hadn’t expected her to inform the entire class through a group chat; it felt like such an unpretentious method.

Yet, it was effective, with surprisingly good results. Many classmates were actively chatting, as if a floodgate had opened, speaking freely without pressure.

Were they all truly night owls, with such active evening lives?

Chatting so late?

However, the conversation still carried a hint of tension.

As Long Shi put it in the chat: “Who would buy incense for 400 credits?”

After all, two portions of incense would consume almost their entire fortune. This was likely unbearable for many in the class.

Moreover, what good was such a small quantity if it left them completely penniless?

I noticed the boys in the chat were the most vocal, stirring up emotions and drawing some girls into the discussion, all hoping the incense could be made cheaper.

Sure, it *could* be a bit cheaper, but then I’d be the one losing out.

However, this was a group chat, and Air was naturally unfazed by such an offensive. Furthermore, several girls provided crucial assistance, with one playing the “good cop” and others the “bad cop,” effectively suppressing the class’s negative sentiments.

I strongly suspected that those providing assistance were Air’s people. After all, she had mentioned having others handle the incense matter, implying she had cultivated a reliable group of followers.

Given that a class president could appoint vice-presidents—a minor position—coupled with her substantial credit allocation and personal influence, she could indeed gather trustworthy individuals to act on her behalf.

In any case, the 200 portions of incense were now finalized. Considering the class’s current circumstances and each individual’s credit balance, it was clear they couldn’t afford them all.

But if they lacked credits, they could simply borrow them!

Once borrowing credits became the norm for the class, the matter would be accepted by most.

Air had also explained that credits could be earned independently, listing methods like the Odd Job House and others. With the situation already built up to this extent, anyone who remained uncooperative would likely be left behind by the class.

If one was unwilling to earn credits and instead waited for their monthly allowance, they would surely earn the reputation of being gluttonous and lazy.

This was more like it! Truly worthy of a class president; completing the transaction for 200 portions of incense in just one night. So, today would be collection day, wouldn’t it?

The thought of so many credits flowing in made me splurge a lavish three credits on my breakfast in the cafeteria!

I had to admit, that pie-like dish tasted surprisingly good.

With a cheerful mood, I walked into the classroom. The moment I entered, I could feel many people discussing the incense.

The class was quite full now. I hadn’t chosen to arrive early, as unlike yesterday, I was certainly not the protagonist today, so I took my time.