Chapter 402 – Witch Titles

Chapter 402 – Witch Titles

Though there were no magic books, there were still quite a few books about the customs and culture of the Mage Empire.

They were all written in the local language, which made them more authentic compared to the witch-edited versions Mo Lan had read before.

On the human side, each region had its own dialect, but the written script remained unified.

Both the Mage Empire and the Yala Empire had their own unified scripts and official languages.

The Witch Academy had offered elective courses in the corresponding Imperial Languages. Mo Lan had not only completed the foundational portion of the elective, learning proper pronunciation, but had also read numerous dictionaries and language books in both Mage Empire and Yala Empire languages. Now when she read these books, she essentially had no language barriers whatsoever.

Mo Lan filled all the remaining slots in her Grimoire with transcriptions of human books. Estimating that it was nearly the time she had agreed to meet Lilith and the others, she transformed her magic carpet back into a broom — whose flying movements were more agile — and flew to the front gate of the main keep.

“Lilith!” Her senior had arrived even earlier than she had.

“How did it go? Did you finish transcribing all the books you wanted?” Lilith asked her.

“My Grimoire can’t fit a single new book anymore,” Mo Lan said with a smile. “These books should keep me reading for quite a long time.”

“Good.” Lilith said, “Once Vasida and Sylph get here, we’ll make one more trip to the South Tower.”

“The South Tower?” Mo Lan recalled what Lilith had previously mentioned about the layout of the Witch Council castle. “The Witch Title Evaluation Office?”

“Are we going to apply for witch titles?” Vasida and Sylph had arrived as well.

“That’s right! Who knows when we’ll next visit the Witch Council, so we might as well apply while we’re here!” Lilith said. “We probably won’t need them for the trip to the Kingdom of Lance, but you never know when they might come in handy!”

Mo Lan nodded in agreement. “《The Valen Complete Travel Guide》 mentions it too — witch title badges serve as proof of our abilities outside the Wilds. They’re useful whether you’re looking for work or starting your own business! And we won’t always be disguised as mages — sometimes we can pose as ordinary witches too!”

Witch title badges actually carried considerable authority and recognition outside the Wilds.

“Let’s do it!”

The four Sorceresses were in instant agreement and flew toward the Witch Title Evaluation Office in the South Tower.

While witches could still be seen occasionally flying in and out of the main keep on their brooms, the South Tower was far quieter.

In the dark space of the Witch Council, the aged South Tower held not a single glimmer of light.

If not for the South Tower’s only entrance being slightly ajar, one might have assumed the Witch Title Evaluation Office had no witch on duty today.

Mo Lan and the other three pushed open the door and cautiously walked inside. Within was a very small hall containing only a single wooden desk.

On the desk sat a wooden nameplate reading “Witch Title Evaluation Office — Duty Witch Tiffany.”

The duty witch, clad entirely in black robes, was sprawled across the desk, sound asleep.

Nighttime was supposed to be working hours for the Witch Council!

Lilith shook her head at Mo Lan and the others, then stepped forward herself. She even employed the Amplification Spell to shout at full volume: “TIF! FA! NY! MA’AM!”

“!!!” Tiffany shot bolt upright. “Who?!”

Mo Lan, Vasida, and Sylph were still reeling from the shock of their senior’s sudden outburst and didn’t know how to respond.

But Lilith shook her head disapprovingly at the duty witch. “Ms. Tiffany, slacking off during work hours is not acceptable!”

“Oh, it’s Lady Lilith!” Tiffany let out a sigh of relief. “It’s not like you don’t know — I barely get any witches coming here all year round. This is about the most idle posting there is. What brings you here? Didn’t you just get evaluated a few months ago? Have you already improved again?”

Before Lilith could answer, Tiffany noticed the three behind her and exclaimed in realization: “The Elder Sorceresses are all here to apply for titles? You’ve already reached Advanced magic level right after graduating?”

The three of them nodded.

“As expected of Sorceresses!” Tiffany exclaimed in admiration. “Please follow me, everyone!”

Following Tiffany through a door, they entered a large room. In the center of the room stood an enormous iron bear.

It was several times larger than the Training Dummies at the Academy’s Magic Training Grounds.

The moment they entered the room, their eyes were irresistibly drawn to the massive iron bear.

“Whoa! What is that?” Vasida exclaimed.

“It should be a testing magic bear!”

Mo Lan had seen the Alchemy blueprints for testing magic bear puppets — the finished product did look like an iron bear. But something seemed a bit odd: “Does a testing magic bear need to be this big?”

A testing magic bear was a type of magic puppet more refined and advanced than a Training Dummy, but its function was solely to test a witch’s magic level — bigger didn’t mean more powerful.

“It is indeed a testing magic bear, but this one is an upgraded version made from otherworldly star iron!”

“The star iron magic bear can store the tester’s magic and use it to attack enemies. The more magic stored, the larger the bear grows.”

“The Wilds have been at peace for hundreds of years, so the star iron magic bear has only taken in magic without ever releasing any — and that’s how it ended up this big.”

“They’ve already torn out three floors of the South Tower to accommodate it. If it gets any bigger, they’ll have to move it outside!”

“But fortunately, we don’t use the star iron magic bear for testing anymore.”

Tiffany walked to a corner of the hall where a treasure chest sat. “Do you all have your Status Cards? Please present them.”

Lilith wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

Mo Lan, Vasida, and Sylph handed over their Status Cards in bewilderment.

Mo Lan even changed the text on her Status Card to Witch Script before handing it to Tiffany.

Without so much as a glance, Tiffany placed all three Status Cards on top of the treasure chest and gave it a pat. “Get to work!”

The treasure chest suddenly opened its gaping maw and took a deep breath: “Haaah — ptoo!”

It spat out a huge pile of badges of every variety.

“This many?” Tiffany exclaimed in surprise as she floated the badges over for distribution.

“These are Lady Vasida’s Green Witch, Blue Witch, and Orange Witch title badges.”

“These are Lady Sylph’s Green Witch, Planting Witch, and Potion Witch title badges.”

After distributing Vasida’s and Sylph’s badges, Tiffany still had sixteen badges remaining in her hands.

“Then these must all be Lady Moira’s.”

She looked at Mo Lan and swallowed hard. “Culinary Witch, Sewing Witch, Spatial Witch, Alchemy Witch, Potion Witch, Metal Witch, Green Witch, Blue Witch, Red Witch, Orange Witch, Cyan Witch, Purple Witch, Snow Witch, White Witch, Black Witch, and… Elemental Witch?”

Tiffany asked in disbelief, “Lady Moira, you did just graduate, correct?”

“That’s correct,” Mo Lan said.

It took Tiffany a long moment before she managed to squeeze out a dry remark: “As expected of a Sorceress!”

Vasida and Sylph, who were equally Sorceresses: “…”

With their badges in hand, Mo Lan and the others bid farewell and left.

They walked all the way to the edge of the Witch Council’s space before Lilith, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly stopped in her tracks. “Moira, I can’t believe you’ve reached Advanced level in this many types of magic?”