Chapter 194 – Crocodile-Bull Back Leather

If you asked Mo Lan what her first flight felt like, it was truly a mix of nervousness, caution, sweaty palms, a sore backside, and numb legs—everything except the thrill she had imagined.

The broomstick was obedient enough, but right now it was just a long stick—no invisible cushion, no windshield, and no autopilot.

On top of that, she was a beginner with clumsy technique, her nerves stretched taut the entire time.

You could say her ass was suffering, and her mind was exhausted.

During the break, Mo Lan hurried to stretch and move around.

Soon the second round of ultra-low-altitude, low-speed flight practice began.

This time they flew three consecutive laps before being told to stop—one lap clockwise, one counterclockwise, then one more at increased speed.

No young witch fell behind because she couldn’t control her broomstick’s direction, but one young witch couldn’t endure the soreness on her backside any longer, shifted her weight, lost her balance, and tumbled onto the lawn.

Falling from a height of three meters onto the grass—Lady Amisha glanced over without even bothering to catch her.

Iris let out a loud “Ow!” and lay on the ground without moving.

Amisha shook her head with an amused smile. “Alright, alright! Land and rest for a bit before we practice again!”

Mo Lan and the others felt as if they’d been granted a reprieve and all landed near where Iris had fallen. “How are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” said Iris, lying spread-eagled with her eyes half-closed. “I’m not hurt at all. It’s just that the soft grass is cushioning my backside so perfectly—it’s absolutely heavenly. You all have to try it!”

The young witches clutched their broomsticks and flopped down one after another.

Across the lawn, twenty-seven neat spread-eagle shapes appeared.

“Sigh,” said Iris. “I used to watch the upperclassmen fly on their broomsticks and think it looked so impressive, so free. I never imagined that once I actually got on one myself, I’d discover riding a broomstick isn’t comfortable at all.”

“From dream broom to ass destroyer—all it takes is one ride,” said Vasida.

“It’s because our broomsticks are too basic,” said Mo Lan. “I’ve ridden Lady Amisha’s two-person broomstick before, and it perfectly matched everything we imagined flying would be like. Super comfortable!”

“Will there be a broomstick crafting class?” asked Sylph.

“That should fall under Alchemy. There’s an introductory Alchemy course this year, so they’ll probably teach it then!” said Vasida.

But Mo Lan had already given up hope. “I’ve read the textbook for the introductory Alchemy course 《An Overview of Runes, Magic Circles, and Alchemy》. Most of it is basic Alchemy content, and there isn’t much of it. The only complete Alchemy blueprint included is for golden bird stationery. I doubt they’ll teach broomstick modifications in class. Functional modifications to broomsticks involve Advanced-level Alchemy runes—not something that can be accomplished with Apprentice-level Alchemy Magic.”

“What?” The young witches suddenly felt their backsides begin to ache again.

In their year, aside from the three Sorceresses, not a single young witch had Advanced-level or higher talent in Alchemy Magic.

“Moira, Vasida, Sylph—you three absolutely must study Alchemy seriously! We’ll save up our Magic Gold Coins, Gem Coins, and Energy Storage Cards!”

At the Academy, broomsticks were just for riding to and from classes, but after graduation it would be different.

If they could prepare a comfortable broomstick by the time they graduated, their post-graduation journeys would be much more pleasant.

Mo Lan nodded. She had already been planning to do exactly that.

Studying Alchemy wasn’t just good for her backside—it would also benefit her card-making.

As for Sylph and Vasida, they could only say they’d do their best.

They had talent in so many areas that they might not be able to keep up with everything.

They hadn’t been lying down for long before Lady Amisha urged them to get up and continue practicing.

By the end of the lesson, the young witches’ flying skills had improved dramatically, but at the same time, that didn’t stop their legs from trembling.

Not a single young witch suggested skipping lunch break to keep practicing anymore.

Seeing this, Amisha reminded them, “There are ways to deal with the soreness from a basic broomstick besides Alchemy modifications—there are also specialized witch flight suits! You can find them in 《Practical Witch Apparel Design》 in the Second-Year Reading Room. You’ve all learned Sewing Magic already, so just make one yourselves.”

The moment Lady Amisha left, the young witches immediately flipped open their Grimoires.

“《Practical Witch Apparel Design》? I copied down all this year’s required and optional reading lists. How could I not have it?” Vasida said as she searched.

“《Practical Witch Apparel Design》 isn’t on this year’s reading list!” Mo Lan flipped to the page where she had transcribed this book and began searching the table of contents for information about the flight suit. “Found it!”

“Read it, read it!” The young witches all looked eagerly toward Mo Lan.

“Chapter Three: Witch Flight Suit. Let me see… there are flight gloves, a flight cap, a flight robe, a flight skirt-pants, flight leggings, a flight vest, flight shorts… It should be these flight shorts—they use a small piece of crocodile-bull back leather!” Mo Lan quickly identified the component that would be most useful right now.

“What’s crocodile-bull leather?” the young witches asked.

“The crocodile-bull is a magical beast that’s soft against the gentle but hard against the forceful. When its back leather faces sharp piercing attacks, heavy blunt strikes, or high-damage Magic, it becomes impossibly hard and even reflects a portion of the damage back—the stronger the force, the stronger it becomes. But when you touch it gently, the hide is soft and smooth,” Mo Lan said, recalling what she’d read.

《The Valen Complete Bestiary》 contained a Mo-Pic of the crocodile-bull along with related records. In the Mo-Pic, Lady Traci was petting the crocodile-bull’s back while showing off what it looked like.

“So if you make shorts from this hide, does that mean it’s soft to sit on, but also has enough support to hold up your backside?” asked Vasida.

“Exactly!” said Mo Lan. “I’m going to check the Castle’s fabric warehouse to see if they have crocodile-bull back leather. Do you all want to come?”

“Yes, yes, yes! Of course! We still have another flying lesson this afternoon!”

The young witches rubbed their backsides and climbed onto their broomsticks once more.

Low-to-mid altitude flight at a slower, steadier pace without frequent changes in direction—they could manage that now.

Maintaining formation, they flew together toward the Castle.

Though the broomstick handle was murder on the backside, riding was genuinely fast! Even without speeding up, it was much faster than walking.

When they arrived at the Castle, they parked their broomsticks in the broomstick shed and then split up.

Mo Lan went to the fabric warehouse to look for crocodile-bull back leather, while the other young witches headed to the Second-Year Reading Room to find and transcribe 《Practical Witch Apparel Design》.

Second-years were no longer provided ready-made clothing, but fabrics were still supplied—all sorts of fabrics were available, though only ordinary ones. Precious magical fabrics were not among them.

Mo Lan had been here several times when making her own clothes, but she had never seen any magical fabrics.

Crocodile-bulls were classified as magical beasts, and Mo Lan hadn’t seen crocodile-bull back leather before either.

However, since Lady Amisha had mentioned this book, there had to be a way to obtain crocodile-bull back leather.

“They actually have it! Was this just recently stocked?” She really did find some, but: “Limited supply? Each young witch may only take one piece.”