Chapter 200 – You Call This a Smattering?

Mo Lan’s Status Card magic column now showed eighteen additional spells, every single one at the Apprentice level.

All eighteen spells—she had learned every last one of them.

It was all thanks to the accumulation from reading Mo-Pic books beforehand, combined with the various Mo-Pic images of spells she had memorized.

It seemed incredible, but in reality, there was a world of difference between having learned something and having mastered it!

If any other young witch could clarify the casting instructions, she could also cast successfully in a matter of minutes.

Compared to simply learning a spell, raising one’s magic level was far more important and far more difficult.

As for Mo Lan and Mo-Pic Practical Apprentice Witch Magic Mo-Pic, she couldn’t even claim to have reached “beginner” level with this book—at best, she had picked up a mere smattering.

The next day, while flying to the Castle, she ran into her senior, who said the same thing.

“A smattering? You call this a smattering?”

Lilith sat astride her broom, mouth full of wind, yet still managed to speak through gritted teeth:

“Do you have any idea how shocked and helpless I felt last night before bed, when I checked my Status Card and saw the words ‘no data available’ disappearing behind a new red progress bar every few minutes? Eighteen spells! A full eighteen spells’ worth of data, going from nothing to something within a single hour.”

“But the progress bars are still red, aren’t they? Compared to you, I’m still far behind!” Mo Lan said.

Her senior had actually reminded her of something—the appearance and disappearance of the “no data available” label behind the Status Card progress bars had leaked information about which spells she’d learned.

It was fine for the young witches within the Academy, but for Status Cards sold to others, she would need to remove that indicator.

Regardless of whether she had learned a spell or not, as long as the proficiency was insufficient, it should just show red—no need for the extra label.

“Right now you’re still far behind, but that might not be the case forever,” Lilith said. “What if one night I take another look and all eighteen progress bars have turned green?”

“How could that possibly happen! Learning and mastering are two completely different concepts!” Mo Lan said. “Last night I only attempted to cast each spell once. My casting speed, focus, mana consumption, spell effectiveness, and magic level—none of them are anywhere near beginner level.

Once you all clarify the casting instructions, you’ll be able to do the same.”

Lilith turned to ask Sylph and Vasida, “Can you two clarify the casting instructions for all eighteen spells at once?”

Sylph and Vasida both shook their heads.

At this point, they felt much the same as Senior Lilith—Mo Lan was simply terrifying! Eighteen spells in one night!

An entire course’s worth of spells, and she’d learned them all in one evening—no, one hour.

“If you could see the final effect a spell produces, your instructions would become clear very quickly too,” Mo Lan said.

Three pairs of reproachful Sorceress eyes fixed on her. “Moira, not every witch has eyes like yours that can rival a Mo-Pic Recorder! Even with a demonstration of the effects, it still takes time to memorize and refine the details.”

Mo Lan gave an awkward little cough. “Don’t just stare at me, everyone—watch where you’re going! Don’t veer off course and cause a flying accident. We don’t want to be late for class!”

Once again, thank you, Earth! Her memories from Earth were the most precious gift that world had given her.

Speaking of class, Lilith grew even more irritated. “Have you all started mathematics this year?”

“Yes!” Sylph said. “Basic Mathematics I—Wednesday mornings, the entire block is devoted to it!”

“Unbelievable—our math course load is actually double yours! One block on Monday and one on Wednesday, and our textbook covers 《Basic Mathematics》 volumes one and two!”

Lilith recalled Monday morning’s math class and the workbook exercises assigned afterward, her glare slicing toward Mo Lan like invisible daggers.

“Is math hard?” Vasida asked. “Is the homework easy?”

Two more arrows struck Lilith straight in the heart. “Best of luck, my dear juniors!” Mathematics from Earth—even the cleverest witch couldn’t handle it. It all made sense during the lesson, but the moment you tried the problems, you fell apart.

Still, she would let her juniors experience that for themselves. No need to spoil the surprise.

Sylph and Vasida were seniors themselves now, and they could read a senior’s psychology perfectly well.

Vasida: “Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?”

Sylph: “Me too! Have you previewed the math textbook yet?”

Vasida: “I tried, but I fell asleep and still didn’t understand it.”

Sylph: “Same here… Oh, let’s ask Moira!”

They turned to look—Mo Lan, who had been barely two meters away just moments ago, had somehow vanished from their side.

Up ahead, a small dark figure had appeared in the distance. Even Senior Lilith hadn’t flown that far ahead!

“What’s Moira running for? Riding that fast—the wind must be awful!”

“Math can’t really be that hard, can it?”

The two of them picked up speed as well.

Having flown at full tilt to sneakily shake off her companions, Mo Lan wanted to make it clear—she really wasn’t feeling guilty.

She simply wanted to avoid the young witches who were just beginning mathematics and hadn’t quite adjusted yet.

Young witches who were used to counting on their fingers needed time to shift their thinking and learn the addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, shortcuts, and percentages in the math textbook.

She planned to attend the first class today to observe, and then apply to the Headmistress to be excused from it going forward.

She had written the textbooks herself—there truly was nothing in the class she needed to learn.

That time would be better spent reading other books and practicing her magic.

With more and more spells under her belt, she needed ever more practice time to ensure her magic levels kept climbing steadily.

She also had to keep reading Mo-Pic books. For her, Mo-Pic books were several times more effective than ordinary texts.

Mo-Pic books couldn’t be copied and taken away, so her only option was to read as many as possible and carry them away in her memory.

In the ground-floor theory classroom, Mo Lan took her usual seat in the center of the first row.

She had barely sat down when Sylph and Vasida chased in after her.

The two flanked her on either side, blocking any escape. “Moira, why did you fly so fast? Is math class really that hard?”

“It’s not hard! 《Basic Mathematics》 is only three volumes total. The first volume covers material that human children on Earth between six and nine years old can learn. The second is aimed at nine- to twelve-year-olds, and the third at twelve- to fifteen-year-olds. Adapted into a witch edition with quite a bit of content trimmed and the difficulty reduced—you’ll be absolutely fine!”

Mo Lan said earnestly, “It might be a little tough at first, but once you get the hang of it, things will be much easier!”

After all, it was purely applied mathematics.

“Really?” Sylph and Vasida still looked somewhat skeptical.

“Of course! Don’t let temporary difficulties defeat you. By the time you graduate, you’ll definitely be grateful for this course!” Mo Lan said. “At the very least, you won’t get cheated so easily when buying things! And earning money will be easier too.”

She had even incorporated marketing case studies into the workbook’s application problems, after all!

Sylph and Vasida, half-convinced at best, let her off the hook for the time being.

Mainly because Lady Amisha had arrived, and math class was about to begin.