"Looks like I'll be joining you in the dodging group if we do these drills again," Lotte said after class. She was looking particularly happy with her results.

"I'm just shocked at the progress you've made. Did you stop sleeping entirely?" Lily asked, still feeling quite baffled.

The other students and even the professor had been quite vocal in their congratulations on her progress. Comments had flown around about a "new bloodline spell" and a "rare bloodline inspiration" nonstop.

The other demis had looked enviously while the humans just looked confused, and poor Lily was in both camps. She still had no idea what these inspirations even were, as Rose had never been one to explain things in enough detail.

"I did sleep; it's not like I have an endless supply of Mana, so all my practice sessions had a time limit until I improved my efficiency," Lotte responded.

Right… I keep forgetting that not everyone has my Mana regeneration.

"As for the progress… I'd like to say it was all my effort, but honestly, it felt like the spell was made for me," Lotte continued.

Lotte stared at her for a while, making Lily wonder if she was supposed to respond or something. Thankfully, she moved on before the silence became awkward.

"So yeah… it resonated well with me. I'd even argue it's almost on par with my viper strike spell, which is what I called my bloodline-inspired spell by the way."

[That's good to know. I'm delighted that I managed to tread so closely to this phenomenon on my first attempt.]

Lily bit her tongue to avoid saying anything out loud. She hadn't truly realized how much effort Arakil had put into it, thinking he had just thrown out an existing spell that suited her.

"I wish I could say I had similar improvements. I don't think I'm ever going to get good at dodging," Lily complained.

"Considering you'll probably get full marks for attacking and defending, I can't see it mattering too much."

"I hope so."

Lotte gave her a quick and unexpected hug from the side.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lily replied cheerfully.

Later at night, Lily finally confronted Arakil, asking him about the details of what actually happened. He explained that much like Lily aligning her Mana Core to Astral, he had believed the bloodlines were effectively the same, but taken to a much more restrictive and further degree.

Unfortunately for Lily, none of this was new or groundbreaking from her perspective, as she vaguely recalled a similar conversation before they proceeded with the astral ritual. Arakil offered to go into further detail for her benefit, but it quickly became so out of her depth that she turned it down.

It boiled down to Arakil taking existing spells and tweaking them slightly to better match a particular affinity. For her benefit, he simplified this further by explaining that someone with an affinity for metal magic could easily enhance their earth spells by targeting mineral ores instead of raw rocks.

Lily nodded in understanding and even threw out her own example to confirm it. She asked if someone with an ice affinity would have better control over near-freezing water, and Arakil attested that would be the case.

[For a looser interpretation, you could look at your own astral magic. You're effectively recreating light magic, but through the building blocks of astral. In Lotte's case, I've had the spell use her roots as a basilisk as the foundation and then used petrification as the substitute for stone.]

Lily was far happier with this explanation and thanked Arakil before continuing with her own practice. As fun as it was to hear about new and interesting things, she wanted to get her own new spell under wraps.

"Still… I'm surprised how fast she got it," Lily commented offhandedly in the midst of her own practice.

[I don't want to discourage her own efforts, but I do believe her bloodline did a lot of the heavy lifting. She made several mistakes, as observed, which significantly reduced the efficiency of resources and time. In theory, once she actually masters it, she will reach a state where it costs almost nothing. Assuming she keeps practicing, of course, and not dissimilar to your own Nebula Veil.]

Lily once again thanked Arakil for the little pep talk and continued practicing until bedtime.

***

Despite popular demand, dungeon class was once again a theory lesson. Lily would have said it was an enjoyable lesson despite that, but Alice kept staring at her with a look of almost frustration. At first, Lily thought it might have been her overactive imagination, but it kept happening.

At the end of the class, Lily was tempted to confront her, but instead chose to retreat in the mass of leaving students. She knew she was probably being rude about it, but she didn't want the woman ruining her day as she was really looking forward to afternoon class—Hearthcraft and Household Charms!

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

Thomas also signed up for this class. I forgot to ask him what day he picked.

Correcting her mistake, she quickly asked him when they arrived at the cafeteria.

"I've got Sorcerous Warfare this afternoon, sorry," he replied.

"Oh, it's not a problem. I went to the Enchanting class alone. Maybe next week?"

"Sure," he agreed before quickly fighting off Yona, who was attempting to steal his meal.

After lunch, Lily began heading to the next class, which, to her surprise, was actually located outside of the castle. She double checked that Arakil wasn't mistaken, even though she knew that was highly improbable.

When she saw other curious students heading in the same direction, she felt immediate relief, and some even called out to ask her or others if they were also going to the class.

I wonder why it's outside?

Their destination soon became apparent: a lone house on the edge of the ground. It had its own small garden, where Lily spotted a few familiar herbs growing in immaculate condition, and even a fenced-off area full of chickens and a cow.

[Interesting… This entire area is warded and attuned to one individual. I'd dare say we are entering the domain of a witch. It might be outside of the school to prevent outside interference, or perhaps they just wanted room for their garden and animals?]

Lily managed to hide her surprise, although she did not truly understand what Arakil was claiming. As soon as the first students reached the front door, it opened itself and let out a warm and inviting aura, beckoning them inside.

"Come in, come in, don't be shy," a motherly voice called out. It gave Lily a twinge of nostalgia for a younger version of Margit.

The students entered, finding the inside at a perfect temperature, with a soothing aroma permeating the air. Lily couldn't believe it and felt like she'd just returned home, despite having never set foot inside this place before.

The other students must have been feeling similarly, as quite a few of them let out sighs of relief or suddenly had a soft smile appear on their faces. They walked into a warm and inviting living room, where plenty of chairs and couches were arranged for them to sit down.

Sitting in a rocking chair with a pair of levitating knitting needles was a beautiful woman with striking blue eyes and flowing red hair. Lily found it hard to judge the age of the woman, but assumed she had to be in her mid-twenties at most.

On her lap sat a curled-up lizard creature wrapped in its own wings. It was lithe, but Lily noticed similarities in its wings to the ones Rose had, especially since it was also in shades of red.

[Is that a whelpling? Very, very interesting… And her Mana levels are pretty spectacular. I dare say she has even more than the Headmaster. Which seems odd considering she appears to be a human?]

"Greetings, students, I'm Professor Melina, and I'll be your teacher for this class," she said with a melodious tone. Her knitting continued in the air, not missing a beat. "Please all find a seat and get comfy, I'll have refreshments brought out after we are done with introductions."

Lily took one of the nearest single-seater chairs, not wanting to sit on the couch with someone she didn't really know. Professor Melina pointed around the room, with each student introducing themselves, followed by a nod as if committing it to memory before moving on to the next one.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. And this little darling is Sienna. She's just eaten, so I don't think she will be up for hours, so please forgive her for being a little rude."

She moved to stand up, and at the same time, the slumbering whelpling was lifted up and placed on a floating cushion that had arrived. Both cushion and creature then floated off to be settled down in a quiet corner of the room.

"Now please hold up your left hand if you'd prefer coffee, or your right hand if you'd prefer tea," she instructed. "And use your fingers to indicate how many lumps of sugar."

Lily was confused, but held up her right hand with two fingers.

The woman looked around the room and seemed to be casting a spell of some sort. The results soon arrived as trays came floating in from the adjoining room. From the trays, floating cups were distributed to the students, with lumps of sugar dropping into the cups at the same time, as indicated by the students.

Lily had seen fireballs thrown, stars summoned, jolts of lightning, rocks shattered, and all sorts of other forms of magic being apparated, but she'd never witnessed such a simple yet mesmerizing display of magic before.

[I'm almost speechless. I never thought I'd see someone with such precise control over their Mana in this age. While a basic telekinesis spell is relatively mundane, the sheer precision with which she uses it is marvelous. I dare say I'm bewitched.]

Lily clearly wasn't the only one impressed, as most of the class were hushed murmurs accompanied by wide eyes. And if that wasn't enough, she noticed that the tea in her hand began to stir itself.

"Now, can anyone tell me what this class is about?" Professor Melina asked. "Or why you've signed up for it. And don't worry, this isn't some trick to kick you out of the limited slots available. I like keeping these classes small as not only can my home only hold so many individuals, but I also enjoy giving as much of my undivided attention to each student as possible."

A girl was the first to raise her hand; she looked pretty tired and a little disheveled. "I heard that this class can help me keep up with my chores and living alone."

Melina smiled. "That's correct. Next?"

"I was told it can help me with my gardening," a boy replied.

Melina smiled again. "That's also correct. Next?"

"I heard this can help me take care of animals."

"I heard a rumor that this can help me with my grades."

"My sister told me this would help me in the dungeon."

"I got told this was a cooking class."

Almost every response was different, and yet Professor Melina answered yes to every one of them. Yet with each yes, a growing confusion was clearly building up among the students.

If they were all here for different reasons, how could this class possibly accommodate all of them?

Lily herself was also growing confused, and while it would be a little white lie, she wanted to test the waters. And so when it came to her turn, she answered with what she thought would be an absurd answer.

"I heard this can help me with my glyphwork."

Professor Melina actually paused, looking a little surprised by Lily's response.

Did I catch her? Lily wondered.

But then Melina smiled. "I thought you were supposed to be a first-year student?"

"I am, but I received permission to take Applied Enchanting & Glyphwork from Headmaster Fabrelis," Lily explained.

"Now that is a surprise," Melina admitted. "But yes, this class can help you with that too."

The students were clearly surprised by this. It honestly sounded too good to be true, or maybe even a cheat.

But the professor just gave another dazzling smile, as if this was her intended outcome.

"I'm sure many of you are wondering how this is possible? Am I lying to you? Trying to drum up some false hope with platitudes? Surely one person can't teach twenty different subjects."

She paused to take a sip from her teacup, placing it back on her floating saucer.

"Well, the truth is that I won't be teaching you that many subjects. What I'll actually be teaching you is how to make magic part of your everyday life. Yes, for some, that will include how to use magic to better take care of plants and animals, or how to cook with magic, and so forth.

"But, by fully embracing a magical lifestyle, not only will you see slow improvement in your magical growth over time, but you'll be able to develop a level of control and precision over your Mana and spells like never before."

[I think I love this woman.]

Lily nearly spat out her tea.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.