Ch. 101 - Bai Yu’s Punishment Spell

The scale of freshman enrollment still exceeded my expectations.

The event would last three full days—after all, every School of Transcendence recruited students globally.

Because of that, it was actually quite difficult for one academy to steal freshmen from another. Distance mattered, and traveling back and forth took time. It wasn’t something you could just pull off on a whim.

Compared to when I’d arrived early, things were completely different now.

Back then, the station for picking up the witch uniform, the so-called four-piece set, had been hidden away in some nameless warehouse. Talent awakening had also required going to a specific, isolated location.

Now, everything has been moved here for convenience.

The most eye-catching spot was, without question, the distribution area for the witch uniform set. It was packed with people. For most freshmen, this was their first real contact with so-called alchemical items.

Sure, the academy-issued phone also counted as one—but that detail could be ignored for now.

I even spotted a free self-service charging area, dedicated specifically to charging those academy-issued phones.

Since freshmen hadn’t yet learned how to manipulate mana, charging required external assistance.

So I naturally stepped forward and shamelessly took advantage of it, topping my phone off completely. A fully charged mana phone would last me a long time.

“Yuehan, I could’ve helped you with that,” Bai Yu said. “You didn’t need to stand there charging it for so long.”

“Aww, come on~ Free stuff is always tempting,” I replied with a grin as I put my phone away. “No need to trouble you, Bai Yu~”

For some reason, Bai Yu’s tone earlier almost sounded… faintly resentful.

Like she was asking why I hadn’t asked her instead.

Like she’d somehow lost to a charging station.

“Well, fine,” she said. “So, where to next? During freshman enrollment, there are events all over campus. If we stay here, aside from crowds of new students, there’s honestly not much to see.”

“That’s true,” I said, looping my arm through hers. “I mainly came to see if there were any guys enrolling on their own. So far, nothing.”

Then I tilted my head slightly.

“So, any recommendations? You are my senior, after all. You must know plenty of interesting places. Can you take me somewhere freshmen aren’t allowed to go?”

“There are definitely a lot of interesting places,” Bai Yu replied. “But picking one on the spot is harder than it sounds. As for places freshmen can’t go...”

She looked at me.

“Yuehan, you’re not allowed to go to those.”

“Oh?” I asked, a sly smile creeping onto my face. “So there really are places like that?”

“Wait, are you trying to trick me into saying more?” Bai Yu narrowed her eyes. “Careful. I could punish you right now, you know.”

“Punish me?” I said lightly. “Wow, I’m sooo scared~”

My words said fear, but my tone and my posture said the exact opposite. If anything, I was openly provoking her.

“Are you testing my limits, Yuehan?” Bai Yu sighed, shaking her head. “Just because you’re a girl now doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you.”

She didn’t bother hiding the faint smile that followed.

A ripple of mana spread outward.

And then she cast a spell.

“Huh, wait... are you serious—ngh?!”

I didn’t even finish my sentence.

The effect hit instantly.

Heat surged through my body as my muscles tensed on their own, like invisible currents running beneath my skin. The sensation built rapidly, chaotic and overwhelming, until a sharp jolt struck straight through my thoughts.

By the time I recovered, my face had flushed an unmistakable shade of red.

“Well?” Bai Yu asked calmly. “Not very comfortable, was it? Feeling less naughty now?”

She looked thoroughly satisfied with herself.

This was something she’d developed recently, a technique that broke away from the rigid constraints of spell slots. Instead, it relied purely on the practical application of transcendence theory.

After the recent incident, after encountering that strange energy even healing spells couldn’t neutralize, she’d come to understand one crucial truth:

Spells didn’t have to rely on a spellbook.

It was a vast path, unclear and difficult. Compared to using a spellbook, it was far more demanding and far less efficient.

But it was also freer. Unrestricted.

Perhaps she should consult her mentor about it someday. But there was no rush. She had time. Plenty of it.

For now, though, this little experimental trick worked perfectly as a punishment for Yuehan.

After all, without a spellbook, the power ceiling still seemed limited, which was exactly why she planned to ask her mentor about it later.

“I won’t be naughty anymore… really… I won’t…”

It took me a long while before I gradually regained control of my body.

What I’d felt earlier was hard to describe—like my whole system had been forcefully overloaded.

It wasn’t just physical discomfort, but a twisted sensation where pain overwhelmed everything else, leaving my nerves completely out of sync.

I honestly had no idea Bai Yu could do something like that.

She’d never shown anything remotely like this before.

“Sorry,” Bai Yu said quickly. “I acted on impulse and wanted to try something out. Are you okay? Do you want me to take you back to rest?”

She had already realized that she’d gone too far.

Even though she’d tested the spell herself and deliberately kept the output at its lowest, Yuehan was still only a newly witchified trainee.

There was no way my body could handle that kind of stress.

“Ugh… it hurts… it really hurts…” I whimpered. “Without a Bai Yu hug-and-lift, I’m not recovering…”

“Huh?” Bai Yu blinked. “Since when did you become so...”

She stopped herself almost immediately, then sighed in relief when she realized I was joking.

“Well, no lifting. How about a spanking instead?”

“Absolutely not.”

I rejected that instantly.

There were way too many people around. Something like that would be unbearably embarrassing. No way.

“That was a very decisive refusal,” Bai Yu said, amused. “Alright, then. Earlier, you asked me to recommend some fun places on campus, didn’t you? Shall we go now?”

“Huh? You’ve thought of one already?” I looked at her expectantly—just as she took out her broom.

“Not really,” Bai Yu said. “But you see this broom, right? Yuehan, didn’t you already get your flight license?”

“I did… but why?”

“Then this time, you fly me,” she said lightly. “Wherever we end up is where we’ll go. How about it?”

She held the broom out toward me, smiling, clearly looking forward to it.

“Huh?”

I stared at her, completely caught off guard.

I had gotten my license, sure, but carrying someone else was a first for me.

Instinctively, I hesitated.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Yu asked. “I’ve flown you around plenty of times. You won’t fly Bai Yu even once?”

Her smile drooped instantly.

“Wait, no, that’s not it!” I said quickly. “Of course I want to! It’s just... Well, this is my first time, okay? Don’t laugh at me!”

In the end, I took the broom from her.

The moment I held it, I could tell it was completely different from the training brooms I’d used before. There was a restless responsiveness to it, like it was eager to take off on its own.

Compared to this, the practice broom felt like an outdated mobility scooter.

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