Chapter 10 – The Core Area

This news struck Vasida like a bolt from the blue.

For the other young witches, it was hardly good news either.

As far as Mo Lan knew, among all the first-years, only she and Iris knew how to cook.

Vasida still couldn’t quite believe this terrible news, and turned to their senior Lilith for confirmation.

“That’s right. The headmistress’s Magical Feast spell is only cast once—on the night of the enrollment ceremony.

The Witch Academy has always taught survival and combat in parallel.

The primary survival objective for first-years is to solve the basic problem of feeding yourselves.

Don’t worry about starving to death, though. There’s no limit on how many ingredients first-years can collect.

Plenty of fruits and vegetables can be eaten raw—they just aren’t very filling.

The academy also has a grove of breadfruit trees that bear fruit year-round with incredibly high yields. As for the taste… well, you’ll find out for yourselves.”

Lilith’s face scrunched up into a knot at the mention of breadfruit.

Judging by that expression, it was definitely not what anyone would call delicious.

The first-year witches: “…”

No wonder the banquet had been so lavish. Who would have thought it was actually the Last Supper?

Now everyone understood why the upperclassmen had been so desperate when the banquet began, and why they were still forcing food down even now, their bellies swollen and round.

The young witches’ gazes toward the food on the table changed entirely. They began picking out items that would keep well, planning to save them for later.

“The banquet was created by the Beyond Peak level Magical Feast spell. Nothing can be taken out of this Great Hall, and the spell only lasts two hours.

As of now, an hour and a half has already passed.”

The moment Senior Tracey finished speaking, the young witches flocked back to their seats like swallows returning to the nest and resumed eating with reckless abandon.

If they couldn’t take it with them, the only option was to stuff as much in as possible.

The most ferocious eater of all was Vasida.

For the other young witches, eating a little less and skipping a meal or two would only mean some discomfort. But Vasida faced the genuine risk of fainting—or worse—from hunger.

Mo Lan, meanwhile, opened her 《Newcomer’s Guide》.

The banquet’s dishes had been so exquisite, with so many novel foods she’d never seen before, that she was already stuffed.

Rather than forcing down another bite, she was more curious about the Witch Academy’s teaching model.

The 《Newcomer’s Guide》 was a hardcover booklet with a slightly heavy feel, each page made of thick, sturdy paper.

Aside from the cover, there were only three pages inside.

The first page was a map of the academy.

A clean, straightforward flat map showing the Great Hall where she currently sat.

Mo Lan quickly skimmed the map’s instructions and mastered its usage in no time.

It was quite similar to smartphone maps from her previous life—zoomable, with multiple embedded layers and individual mini-maps inside each building.

Mo Lan zoomed the map out to its smallest scale.

At the very center was the academy castle, with the Great Hall on the castle’s ground floor.

At minimum zoom, only the “Academy Core Area” where the castle stood was clearly visible.

Everything else was a field of gray, as though shrouded in fog, completely indiscernible.

The map instructions did indeed state that aside from the Academy Core Area, all other regions would only appear on the map after being personally explored.

Judging by the map alone, the Witch Academy was unbelievably vast.

After all, a Great Hall this enormous was merely one room within the academy castle. And at minimum zoom, the entire Academy Core Area was only the size of a thumbnail, with the castle itself too small to even display its name.

Mo Lan zoomed in a bit, and the details of the Academy Core Area finally became clear.

The academy castle had one exit on each of its four sides—north, south, east, and west—each connected to a winding path.

To the east was the dormitory district, with neat rows of small houses arranged in orderly squares.

Each one was numbered, from Dormitory No. 1 all the way to Dormitory No. 100.

After each number was a name.

Mo Lan guessed these were the assigned living quarters.

She searched through them and, sure enough, found her own name at Dormitory No. 69.

The row right in front of hers held Dormitory No. 59, where Senior Lilith lived.

Sylph was in No. 68 and Vasida in No. 70—both right next door to her.

Unfortunately, even at maximum zoom, the dormitory district map only showed small squares, revealing nothing about what the dormitories actually looked like inside.

South of the dormitory district lay the breadfruit grove that Senior Lilith had mentioned.

Beside the breadfruit grove, on the south side of the academy castle, was the planting district—farmland, herb gardens, greenhouses, and the ingredient collection station were all located here.

To the west of the academy castle was the magic training grounds, and nearby stood the alchemy and potion laboratories.

To the north was a large, crescent-shaped lake.

(Map of the Witch Academy Core Area attached)

After getting a general sense of the Core Area’s layout, Mo Lan turned to the second page of the 《Newcomer’s Guide》.

This page contained the class schedule.

The schedule updated every Friday evening at eight o’clock with the following week’s classes.

Today was Thursday, so the update wouldn’t come until tomorrow evening. For now, the schedule was blank.

The final page listed important notices for new students.

The very first item addressed the matter of meals.

“1. After the enrollment banquet, the academy will no longer provide daily meals. First-year witches may collect any ingredients free of charge from the ingredient collection station in the planting district and cook for themselves, or consume breadfruit. Second-year witches may only collect meat ingredients for free. Third-years and above will receive no free ingredients and are advised to consider growing, foraging, or hunting their own food.”

It was bad enough that meals weren’t provided, but second-years couldn’t even collect ingredients freely, and third-years received no free ingredients at all.

The housing situation was no better.

The second item stated that the academy only provided free dormitory assignments for first through third-year witches. Students could check their dormitory number on the map and move in on their own.

Fourth and fifth-years would need to solve their housing situation independently.

Then came the third item: “First-year students’ four-season School Robes and this academic year’s daily necessities have been delivered to their respective dormitories. If any items are damaged or depleted, replacements may be requested free of charge from the dormitory district administrator. Witches of other years may collect materials and craft their own.”

School Robes and daily necessities were only supplied to first-years.

From food to housing to supplies, each was more demanding than the last. The academy’s intent was abundantly clear: to push the witches toward complete self-sufficiency, one step at a time.

In theory, it was entirely feasible.

Unlike sorceresses, who had unlimited potential in all schools of magic, witches could at least learn the basics—reaching Apprentice level—which was more than enough to handle fundamental needs.

Once they mastered these skills, the young witches could rely on their magic to secure food, clothing, and shelter, covering all the essentials of survival.

After these three items came descriptions of the various buildings within the Academy Core Area and their functions, along with a regulation reminding them that they were not permitted to leave the Academy Core Area before their third year.

Mo Lan only skimmed through this content, and half an hour slipped by.

Just as Senior Tracey had warned, the moment time was up, the feast vanished from the tables without a trace.

(End of Chapter)