Chapter 44: Infecting the Books

Chapter 44: Infusing the Books

The third-year seniors, having accumulated three years of experience, possessed significantly stronger magical power than the first-years, with most exceeding 50 Mana.

The ability to see the numerical value equivalent to one's magical power and to know exactly how far one was from becoming a Junior Witch was an temptation no little witch could refuse.

After all, they did not have access to the Witch Clan's books and could not test their magical power at will.

Although they were all capable of paying an amount equivalent to 50 Mana at once, they had magic classes today, so they all chose to pay in five installments.

With thirty-one third-year little witches, Moran's mana reserve reached 237 Mana.

"What a pity, the second-year and fourth/fifth-year little witches aren't coming to the castle today!" Moran said with a hint of regret.

However, she believed news of the {Character Card} would spread quickly, and little witches would surely come knocking on her door soon!

Finally departing from the dormitory, Moran was the first to arrive at the alchemy classroom in the West Tower.

The running and selling along the way had left her drenched in sweat, her hair clinging to her head in wet strands, but the harvest was definitely worth it!

She did a rough calculation.

At midnight yesterday, her mana reserve was 143 Mana, meaning she could naturally recover 143 Mana throughout the day.

After midnight today, the new day's mana payments from the little witches would also arrive.

2 Mana each from Aes and Alba, and 11 Mana each from the other 53 little witches across the two grades, totaling 587 Mana.

Combined with her natural recovery of 143 Mana today, she would not only fully restore her mana but even have a surplus to top up into the purple gemstone of her Card Book for storage.

This was the true path of mana recovery suited for a Card Witch like her!

It was much faster than her huffing and puffing while gnawing on breadfruit!

Moran ran to the washroom to splash her face with water and returned to the classroom feeling refreshed.

When Amisha, dressed in a black witch's robe, entered the classroom, she saw that the energy halos of the little witches were all slightly dim as they ate breadfruit to recover their magical power.

Unaware of what had happened on the way, she felt a sense of relief; needless to say, they must have been practicing magical infusion this morning!

Just how many times did they have to practice to consume this much magical power?

She couldn't help but offer a reminder: "Everyone, you must still exercise moderation during practice. Try to maintain a good state when attending class!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Moran knew that the Lady Amisha who had answered her questions last night, the Lady Amisha who kept a close eye on the little witches, and the Lady Amisha who taught them were not the same person.

She wondered just how many Amishas there actually were.

"Alright! Today we perform the penultimate step in creating a Witch's Book: Magical Infusion!"

Amisha clapped her hands, instructing them to take out the books they had made yesterday.

"Use the magical infusion you learned previously to infuse the books until, in your energy vision, the book carries an energy luster similar to the color of your energy halo.

These books are made of the most ordinary materials, so they are easy to infuse. Using an infusion of the same level as turning color-changing paper green, about an hour of infusion should be sufficient.

Be careful not to use too much force, as it might damage the materials.

The cover, the inner pages—every single corner of the book must be infused.

Only after being infused with your own magical power does this book truly belong to you, and only then will the Witch's Book accept it!

Once you are ready, begin!"

The little witches had mastered magical infusion on their first day and had been practicing more or less over the past few days; hearing this, they all set to work.

An infusion of the level required to turn color-changing paper green consumed less than 1 Mana even after ten minutes.

Even though they had spent quite a bit of mana buying Moran's cards this morning, they could easily sustain this!

Including the breaks in between, the last little witch successfully infused her book ten minutes before the end of class.

Moran touched the parchment book in her hand, which had only three inner pages. The texture felt no different from before the infusion, but it possessed an indescribable sense of intimacy.

Under her energy vision, the parchment book emitted a special multicolored glow; the light was not intense, but it was identical to her energy halo.

Under Lady Amisha's guidance, they used the Witch's Book magic and then placed the books in their hands into the phantom image of the Witch's Book.

The moment the phantom touched the book, it became completely solid and settled into their hands.

"The Witch's Book is now complete," Amisha said. "Now, try retrieving and taking out the Witch's Book. Do as I say..."

The little witches discovered that the Witch's Book magic had become the medium for storing and retrieving the book.

When using the Witch's Book magic, the book would appear.

When used again, the book would be withdrawn into their bodies.

The mana consumption felt similar to the infusion used to turn color-changing paper green.

However, they were still completely in the dark about how to actually use the Witch's Book and what made it special.

When a little witch asked this question, Lady Amisha replied

"Every single sheet within a Witch's Book can accommodate one book.

The higher the level of the Witch's Book magic, the greater the capacity of the Witch's Book.

An Apprentice level can add at most 100 inner pages, accommodating the contents of 100 books.

A Junior level can hold up to 1,000, a Middle level up to 10,000, and so on.

You can freely replace or add the covers and inner pages of the books; the standard is the same as what I taught you before—they just need to be properly infused.

However, once the original cover or inner pages are removed, they will be destroyed directly, but the book contents recorded on those pages will be preserved within the phantom of the Witch's Book. Once new blank inner pages are added, they will reappear.

Only a witch can open a Witch's Book, and only the witch herself can see the contents within.

If someone attempts to force it open, the medium of the Witch's Book will self-destruct.

However, the more books you store, the greater the mana consumption each time you use the Witch's Book magic to retrieve or return them.

Because of this, many witches keep their Witch's Books close at hand rather than withdrawing them when not in use.

Therefore, there is a risk of a Witch's Book being lost.

If your Witch's Book is lost in the future, do not panic; you can use the Witch's Book magic to search for and recall it.

If the medium itself is destroyed, you can simply create a new one, as the book contents are stored within the phantom of the Witch's Book.

Even in places where paper cannot be bought, you can create a new Witch's Book using what I taught you yesterday!

Specific techniques for using the Witch's Book and methods for upgrading the Witch's Book magic are all recorded in the book *Lifelong Learning Companion—The Witch's Book*. Read it carefully and you will understand!

That is all for this morning's class. Class dismissed!"

Lady Amisha spoke at a very rapid pace. After bombarding them with a massive amount of information, she left the classroom precisely when the twelve o'clock bell rang.

The little witches were still dazed.

To be honest, no matter how they looked at it, they couldn't connect the crude, simple bark books, stone tablets, and parchment books in their hands with the "Witch's Book" that the Headmistress claimed could hold thousands of books.

(End of Chapter)