Chapter 209 – Bloodline Awakening

“I had no idea barbecue had this kind of effect. How about we head to the Magic Training Grounds for some practice after we finish eating?” Mo Lan said with a perfectly straight face.

Vasida froze. “I suddenly feel the fatigue coming back!”

“Ahahahaha!” Mo Lan laughed so hard she clutched her stomach.

“???” Vasida snapped to realization. “Why you! You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

Mo Lan could barely contain herself. “Practice is practice, but you still need to rest properly!”

Lilith shook her head. “You’re the last person qualified to say that. I don’t even need to ask—I know for a fact your sleep schedule is strictly kept to the bare minimum.”

Mo Lan smiled. “Why sleep long while you’re alive? You’ll have plenty of time to rest when you’re dead.”

Lilith, Vasida, and Sylph—none of whom had ever been bombarded by the information overload of the internet age—all said: “That actually sounds pretty reasonable!”

She’d meant it as a joke, but her friends had taken it seriously. Mo Lan felt a pang of guilt and quickly changed the subject. “Why are we just talking? Drink up, eat up!”

The cool night breeze blew gently, accompanied by a sky full of stars and the warm glow of the bonfire. A sip of beer, a bite of meat.

Before long, the bottles were empty.

Mo Lan smacked her lips, feeling like she hadn’t had quite enough. She was about to ask her friends when she saw Vasida pull out a freshly purchased beer card. “Next round’s on me!”

Mo Lan wasn’t the only one who hadn’t had enough.

In her previous life, Mo Lan hadn’t had this kind of tolerance at all. Forget a whole bottle of beer—just one can would leave her feeling dizzy.

And she’d thought the taste of alcohol was unpleasant, interfering with her enjoyment of food.

But now, she’d finished two bottles and only felt a bit bloated.

The same beer that she used to dislike now made her feel relaxed and comfortable all over—a perfect complement to the meal.

All she could say was that a Sorceress’s body was somewhat different from a human’s.

After Vasida, Lilith and Sylph each treated everyone to another round of beer.

Nobody was particularly drunk, and the bloating was easy enough to deal with. Vasida went without saying—she’d never experienced the feeling of being “full” in the first place. Mo Lan and the others had all purchased recovery magic and Dietary Fortification Cards.

When using the Dietary Fortification Card, one’s appetite naturally increased. And whenever they felt bloated, they simply circulated their recovery magic to convert the excess food energy into Mana.

The four young Sorceresses polished off an entire roasted Green Fruit Lamb, a large platter of grilled mushrooms, and downed four bottles of beer each.

If not for the fact that they’d run out of snacks to go with the drinks—and that it was genuinely getting very late—they could have kept going!

“The alcohol content is too low—not enough kick. Next time let’s drink baijiu!” Mo Lan said.

“I want red wine!” Lilith said.

Mo Lan shook her head. “Just use your red wine glass. Red wine doesn’t have the same kick as baijiu either.”

Sylph: “Is the only green option fruit wine?”

Vasida: “What kind of alcohol comes in black?”

This was only their first time drinking, and their bloodlines had already awakened.

Together, they cleaned up the mess on the lawn.

Mo Lan lifted the mud bricks from beneath the fire pit. “Lilith, were these made with the Earth Gathering spell?”

“That’s right,” Lilith said.

“Looking at it this way, it seems like the Earth Gathering spell could be used to build houses?” Mo Lan said.

Lilith: “The Earth Gathering spell is actually one type of Architectural Magic.”

“Come to think of it, Lilith, you’ll have to move out of the Dormitory next year, right? So you’d need to find a new place to live this year? Have you figured anything out yet?” Sylph asked curiously.

At the mention of this, Lilith looked troubled:

“We haven’t even started exploring the inner zones yet. It would be best if we could find a natural cave, but if not, we’d have to build something ourselves with Architectural Magic. But Architectural Magic isn’t easy to master either. With only a half-baked level of skill, even if you build a house, it won’t withstand wild beasts. It would barely serve as shelter from wind and rain, and you’d have to figure out other solutions on top of that.”

Mo Lan silently resolved that she would start learning the Earth Gathering spell and other Architectural Magic ahead of schedule this academic year.

Third year meant exploring the inner zones where wild beasts roamed, building housing for fourth year, and still coming to the Castle for classes and study. The schedule would be far too tight.

Getting a head start on preparations was the best approach.

A safe and comfortable dwelling would let her make better use of her fourth-year time, studying Magic with peace of mind.

Architectural Magic would also prove extremely useful during the fifth-year trials.

The basic necessities of survival—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Culinary Magic and Plant Magic covered food, Sewing Magic covered clothing, the broomstick covered transportation. Now the only remaining unsolved problem was indeed shelter.

There was no way she wanted to end up like her upperclassmen, spending those first few days after advancing to fourth year “stargazing” in the Castle plaza, then scrambling to move into the Academy’s inner zones before classes officially started, living in a sorry state.

Just thinking about it made her worry for her upperclassmen’s reputations.

She floated the mud bricks away, revealing the cushion grass beneath, which had been pressed and scorched half to death.

But it didn’t matter—the roots were still alive.

A Fertile Soil spell and Growth Acceleration spell took care of that, and the grass quickly grew back.

Sylph even nourished it with her Mana. Thanks to her Sorceress Talent, her Mana had an additional nurturing effect on plants.

The grass soon perked right back up, growing even lusher than before. You’d never be able to tell that a bonfire had just been lit here and a barbecue held.

Once everything was tidied up, they mounted their broomsticks and flew off, yawning as they each returned to their Dormitory rooms.

After washing up and changing into her pajamas, Mo Lan climbed into bed. Checking the time, she saw there was still half an hour before her usual bedtime.

Without a second thought, she summoned her Grimoire and opened it to her Magic studies textbook, 《the Apprentice Witch’s Practical Spellbook》, and began reading.

She had already learned the spells in it, but the applications of Magic and techniques for selecting the right spell for the situation—those were still new knowledge to her!

She kept reading until her alarm went off, signaling that it was time to sleep, before she finally put the book down.

“Let’s see, whose lucky turn is it to attend to me tonight?” Mo Lan flipped through her tool cards. “Ah, it’s you, Miss Large Bucket!”

She took the large bucket out of her Cleaning Tool Card.

The assorted small wooden stands beside her bed floated underneath it, clearing a spot where the bucket settled in.

The bucket was just the right height—no need for anything to prop it up.

Once it was steady, it raised its handle upright, leaning against the bedside.

This position was exactly where Mo Lan could reach it with an outstretched hand while lying down.

Her fingers rested on the handle, and Mana slowly extended toward the bucket, Attuning it.

Only then was her entire bedtime preparation routine complete.

By now, her bedroom had undergone a major transformation.

The space around her bed had been cleared out, filled with various shelving units and wooden stands. Even the ceiling beams had ropes hanging from them.

All of it was set up to make it convenient to Attune tools while sleeping.

By sacrificing bedroom space and aesthetics, she had fulfilled her need to make sleep serve multiple purposes, squeezing every last bit of value out of those few hours of rest.