Chapter 181 – Natural Awakening

Chapter 181 – Natural Awakening

“This one isn’t on the assigned reading list, is it?” Lilith asked.

Even she didn’t seem to have read it.

“No, but it’s still a book from the First-Year Reading Room,” Mo Lan said. “It’s quite interesting, worth a read.”

A terrible thought rose in Lilith’s mind.

Before she could speak, Vasida beat her to it: “Moira, don’t tell me you’ve read every book in the First-Year Reading Room!”

“No, I haven’t.”

Lilith felt a wave of relief.

“There’s still one book left—《A Collection of Bedtime Stories: The Witch’s Perspective》. I haven’t finished it yet, still one last story to go. I should be able to finish it tonight.”

The heart Lilith had just set down leapt right back up.

This time it was the upper-year young witches’ turn to feel sheepish.

As they chatted idly, the number of new black holes appearing above the Magic Waterbed grew fewer and fewer, until finally they stopped altogether.

New students lay scattered across the Magic Waterbed.

Iris announced: “Thirty-two!”

“That already matches the highest number of new students in Witch Academy history,” Mo Lan said.

The largest incoming class in Witch Academy history had also been thirty-two students.

The last time thirty-two new students enrolled was three years ago.

“No more black holes are appearing. What a shame—it looks like we won’t be breaking the record this time either,” Lilith said. “The new students have clearly come to their senses already. Why hasn’t the Headmistress dismissed the Magic Waterbed?”

Lady Amisha still held the 《Witch Clan Book》’s avatar in one hand while controlling the great Wand with the other, maintaining the Magic Waterbed. She seemed to be waiting for something.

The young witches didn’t understand what she was waiting for, and their chatter gradually quieted down.

The new students who couldn’t resist the Magic Waterbed’s allure and had been lying down eavesdropping on the upperclassmen now felt as though thorns were pricking their backs. One after another, they got off the waterbed and stood to the side.

Just then, another black hole appeared above the waterbed.

This black hole was larger than any of the ones before it.

It spat out two tall new students at once, their clothes in tatters and their bodies covered in wounds.

The young witches in the Great Hall couldn’t help but cry out in surprise:

“Wait! Are those…”

“Natural awakeners!” Mo Lan murmured.

This was her first time seeing natural awakeners in person.

Compared to witches like them who were born of witch bloodlines, natural awakeners were those who had truly endured suffering and adversity yet never fallen, who held fast to their true hearts. Their souls shone so brilliantly that the will of Valen itself took notice and awakened them as witches!

The two were clearly in terrible condition, with faint traces of whipping visible on their bodies, reminding the witches of the persecuted witch ancestors of the Divine Descent Era.

Many young witches who knew Healing Magic drew their Wands on the spot.

The glow of Healing Magic streaked toward the two new students on the waterbed.

Combined with the Magic Waterbed’s own healing properties, every wound on the two barely-alive newcomers vanished in an instant.

Mo Lan noticed their tattered School Robes and cast a Repair spell on each of them.

But by the time her spell reached the second girl, someone else had already mended her clothes a step ahead.

Mo Lan turned her head and shared a smile with Vasida, who was also holding up her Wand.

Fortunately, they were wearing the basic model of the School Robe—otherwise, even the two of them might not have been able to repair them successfully.

At the same time, the blood and grime on the two newcomers had been cleaned away by someone unknown.

All of this happened in the span of a single moment.

The two new students were extremely vigilant. They hadn’t succumbed to the comfort of the waterbed at all—the moment they landed, they sat up and searched for each other. When each saw the other’s clean face and mysteriously vanished wounds, their worry and unease turned to shock.

They simultaneously reached for their own faces and bodies.

Their clothes had somehow become completely intact!

The fresh wounds, the old scars—all gone without a trace.

It was as if everything before had been nothing but a nightmare, and all their suffering had simply departed from them.

But their memories told them otherwise. So why… Right—the black hole! That black hole that had appeared out of nowhere!

They looked up at the same time. The large black hole above them had only just disappeared.

They looked around—a bright hall, young girls wearing the same black robes.

Was this the “Witch Academy” mentioned in that letter?

It was then that the other young witches noticed their identical faces.

Gasps of surprise rang out once more.

“Twins?” Mo Lan exclaimed in surprise.

Twins awakening as witches together—how incredibly rare!

“…Thirty-three, thirty-four. That’s everyone!”

Lady Amisha snapped her fingers. The waterbed vanished, and the remaining new students were gently set down on the ground.

“Dear young witches, welcome to the Witch Academy.”

The twin newcomers stood hand in hand, maintaining about a meter’s distance from the other new students, silently observing their surroundings. Only when they heard the words “Witch Academy” did they relax ever so slightly.

It really was the Witch Academy from the letter! They had truly escaped that hellish place.

Even if these were the legendary evil witches, they’d still be better than that person!

“Without further ado, let the enrollment ceremony begin!”

Lady Amisha waved her hand, floating the 《Witch Clan Book》 at a height that even the shortest young witch could reach.

Perhaps because the two natural awakeners had drawn the new students’ attention, none of them cast curious glances at the book in her hand for the moment.

Everyone was doing their best to offer the friendliest smile they could muster whenever the twin natural awakeners looked their way, trying to help them feel more at ease.

Nonetheless, Lady Amisha proceeded with her introduction:

“This is an avatar of the 《Witch Clan Book》, projecting the contents of the Newcomer’s Chapter, the Chapter of Talents, and the Academy Chapter…”

Mo Lan had an excellent memory, and the procedure was exactly the same as last year!

Lady Amisha’s opening remarks hadn’t changed by a single word.

The only difference was that after finishing her first sentence, she paused for a brief moment.

Giving the two natural awakeners among the new students a moment to process.

Soon enough, it was time for the talent testing segment.

“First up—Anna!”

Lady Amisha’s gaze fell upon the pair of twins.

“So her name is Anna!” the young witches thought.

Anna gripped her younger sister’s hand tightly. This so-called talent test—could it be a trap?

A trick to separate her from her sister, and then torment them?

No, that didn’t make sense. That black hole had been powerful enough to rescue them from the Duke’s bunker. If someone wanted to harm them, there would be no need for such elaborate measures.

Still, these witch schoolmates who looked several years younger than them were being so obviously friendly that it felt almost unsettling.

The Headmistress, on the other hand, wore a stern expression. She didn’t seem like the type to smile sweetly while hiding a knife. But letting go of her sister’s hand in an unfamiliar place? Absolutely out of the question!

Amisha saw her hesitation and wariness. Without any hint of pressing her, she simply said: “Second—Annie. You two can come up together!”