Chapter 39: The Allure of Energy Shaping

I returned to my seat, effectively interrupting Kereiya’s conversation with the two students behind her.

She then pulled me into their discussion.

“Ren, you’re here! By the way, you didn’t say anything in the group chat last night. Were you secretly messaging the class president to buy incense? How many portions did you manage to snatch?” Kereiya immediately questioned me about it.

‘Why would I need to snatch any? I wouldn’t,’ I mused silently to myself.

Yet, I couldn’t voice that aloud. “No, I wasn’t planning on buying any incense. My need for it isn’t great right now. I’m mainly focused on earning academic credits to pay off my debts.”

“What’s there to be afraid of? More debt just means less worry, right? Why are you so eager to pay it back?”

“Exactly! I pulled some strings yesterday and borrowed credits from an upperclassman. I could almost buy dozens of portions of incense, but the class president wouldn’t allow it. Seriously, what’s with the purchase limit?”

“After all, she has to consider the entire class, so everyone should try to understand,” Kereiya explained, chiming in. “Even I only managed to secure the right to buy six portions of incense.”

“Huh? Six portions? That’s one more than me! Did you use your position as a class representative to get an extra one?”

“Today, the two of us will act on behalf of heaven and borrow your class representative status!”

“Not at all! Originally, I was also limited to five portions, but there were definitely some left over in the end. I had to plead with the class president to get it. After all, 400 credits per portion of incense is still very expensive, but the academy sells it for even more!”

“True. I heard incense was priced as high as 1000 academic credits. Isn’t that absolutely outrageous?”

“It is. Those people are just trying to rip us off. How could a single portion of incense be worth a thousand? I feel like a few hundred is already exorbitant.”

I didn’t participate in the conversation after that. I’m not particularly skilled at chatting, but listening to their exchange was quite insightful. They were surprisingly accurate in their guess—the original price of the incense truly was only a few hundred credits.

However, the incense was currently caught in a whirlwind, its price inflated dramatically. Perhaps after the freshman elimination round, it would plummet back down.

But for now, it had no bearing on me.

I simply waited quietly for today’s class to begin.

After all, this was an energy shaping class. Those races naturally endowed with the ability to wield supernatural energy could never truly comprehend how desperately an ordinary person like me yearned for such power!

During this spare time, I attempted to skim through the alchemy materials textbook, setting a small goal to finish reading the entire book.

Given my memory for supernatural materials, I typically remembered most of it after one careful read. If I ever truly forgot something, I could always review it again.

In any case, I possessed the talent (and achievement) for alchemy. I would first build my qualifications, gain experience, and then make a fortune once I became an alchemy master.

Soon enough, class time arrived. I watched the teacher walk in, a sense of familiarity washing over me.

It was one of the two from Teacher Qieluo’s office yesterday!

This was far from ideal. They had witnessed my conversation with Teacher Qieluo yesterday. Would she decide to give me ‘special attention’?

‘Is she going to mess with me like this?’

“Hello everyone, I am your energy shaping teacher. My name is Luwen Ailin, and you can call me Teacher Ailin.” Teacher Ailin wrote her name on the blackboard, introducing herself.

“Today’s lesson will be self-study. I promised your Teacher Qieluo that you would dedicate this time to meditation. Honestly, I’m also a homeroom teacher, and your class’s progress in meditation is far superior to my own class. Teacher Qieluo often boasts about it to me,” Ailin said, her gaze flickering towards me, then to Air.

‘As for me, I highly doubt Teacher Qieluo would boast about such a thing. It feels more likely she mentioned me specifically,’ I thought.

“Getting back to the main point, today’s lesson has no mandatory requirements. However, students who wish to learn energy shaping can come directly to me. For now, I’m only accepting students who have condensed their spiritual power or whose spiritual power can interfere with supernatural energy, because today I’ll be teaching the most basic energy shaping spell: the Fireball spell, which requires practical operational ability.”

Upon hearing about a spell like the Fireball spell, many in the class seemed to lose interest. Even students who had initially intended to explore the energy shaping course decided that meditation was a more reliable pursuit.

After all, quite a few students in the class could already interfere with supernatural energy using their spiritual power; this was their racial advantage.

The Fireball spell was a well-known incantation, yet its very commonality meant that few people found it particularly interesting.

However, Ailin revealed a subtle expression, one that suggested these students lacked foresight.

‘How could anything included in the Witch Academy’s curriculum be simple?’

While the Fireball spell was indeed common, it boasted countless versions and variations. As one of the most formidable invading races, witches had acquired an immeasurable number of Fireball spell prototypes.

Even the latest versions of the Fireball spell were no longer numbered.

Since they showed no desire to learn, she naturally had no inclination to teach them.

“Feel free to self-study. I will use soundproofing to seal off the podium area, so it won’t disturb the students meditating in class.”

As Luwen Ailin uttered her final words, the class once again devolved into disarray, and Long Shi took the lead, exiting the classroom.

Although Luwen Ailin hadn’t explicitly stated they could leave, her lack of intervention in Long Shi’s departure effectively granted her silent approval.

I sighed, then stood up.

“Are you going to try the energy shaping class again?” Kereiya inquired.

“Yes, I never had access to supernatural power before, so I’m very interested in the Fireball spell,” I replied, nodding.

“Envy. Is this the confidence that comes from achieving resonance?”

“Exactly, I’m so envious! I’ve decided! Today, I’m going to buy a huge pile of incense and then secretly meditate tonight. I refuse to believe I won’t achieve resonance by tomorrow!”

“You should focus on condensing your spiritual power first. Can you even enter meditation yet?”

“Hmph, isn’t he the precedent? Am I really going to lose to him?” the girl declared, pointing at me. “I have an innate advantage. How can a girl possibly lose to a boy when it comes to becoming a witch?”

“It’s probably better not to act so impulsively,” I kindly advised, knowing full well that not everyone was a cheat.

After speaking, I didn’t wait to see if she would heed my words. I simply walked directly into the soundproofed area around the podium.

This time, besides me, Air, the head class president, also decided to attend the energy shaping class. Given that she had already resonated with the Witch’s Heart, her presence wasn’t surprising. However, Filing Errol was also there. If I remembered correctly, wasn’t her talent arcane energy affinity? The Fireball spell, by all accounts, was elemental energy. And by choosing to attend the lecture, was she not planning to use today for meditation?

‘Or perhaps she felt confident enough not to worry?’

“Only three of you?” Ailin chuckled softly. The number wasn’t entirely unexpected, though she had only anticipated the two students who had resonated with the Witch’s Heart. To find an unexpected bonus was a pleasant surprise. “Student, what’s your name?”

This question was directed at Filing Errol.

“Teacher, my name is Filing Errol. You can just call me Filing,” she replied.

“Filing? Excellent, I truly admire you,” Luwen Ailin said with a smile. “As for the other two, you’re familiar faces. The three of you should know each other, right? After all, you’re all in the same class.”

Luwen Ailin was quite familiar with Air, having spoken with Teacher Qieluo about her. As for Ren, he was simply too well-known. While some teachers might not know Ren personally, his name had certainly circulated. Resonating with the Witch’s Heart on the very first night, and as a male no less—this carried significant implications.