Ch. 125 - How Much a Witch's Thesis Is Worth (Part 2)

Ji Niang walked over to the workbench and snatched up the Fireball Spell Book. Instead of absorbing it back into her own mana core, she turned toward me with a knowing smile.

"I have to say, Yuehan, you’ve exceeded my expectations today," she said. It was clear she was mostly talking about my Psi-vision, but I took the win. "Consider this Spell Book a bonus for all your overtime."

Before I could even process what she was saying, she pressed the book against me. It didn't hurt. It was more like a warm ripple passing through my chest as the spell integrated into my core.

"Wait... what?" I stammered.

I was stunned. She was just... giving it to me? Even a basic Fireball spell was a high-value asset, especially one with that kind of offensive punch. People spent small fortunes on these.

"Take it and keep it safe. Now you’ve got a Fireball and a shield spell—at least you’ve got the basics of a combat kit," Ji Niang said, looking satisfied. "Anyway, it’s getting late. We’re officially wrapping up today’s research. Clean up this analysis report and bring it to my office."

"Yes, ma'am. On it."

I watched her leave, but a second later, the logistics hit me.  

Wait, how was I supposed to 'bring' a holographic Earthvein log to her office?

But Ji Niang was already gone. I didn't have much choice but to finish the formatting.

By the time I finally hit 'Save,' I realized it was pitch black outside.

My stomach gave an angry growl, reminding me I’d skipped lunch. I just wanted to get this over with, find a massive dinner, and pass out for twelve hours.

I stepped out of Room 8401 with the holographic display hovering steadily in front of me. I was impressed—I was halfway down the hall, and the link to the research station hadn't even flickered.

I made my way to Room 8405. Next to the door was a digital display frame featuring a portrait of a woman who looked exactly like a more mature, refined version of Ji Niang.

Her nameplate didn't just say "Ji Niang," though. It read: Ji Niang (Xi Lan).

"Come in. Or do you just enjoy staring at my bio?" Ji Niang’s voice drifted through the door, making me jump.

I scurried inside, pushing the door open. "Sorry, Ma'am..."

"It’s fine. You were standing out there so long I thought you’d frozen up," she said, a playful smirk dancing on her lips. "So, you were checking out my profile?"

"Uh... yes," I admitted, keeping my head down. I figured it was only natural to want to know more about the advisor who was going to be running my life for the next few years.

"That info is ancient. It dates back to before I even became a Transcendence Witch, so it’s not exactly a great reference for who I am now. See that name in the brackets? Xi Lan? Take a guess which one is my birth name."

"Um... Xi Lan?" I guessed, since it was the one in parentheses.

"Actually, it's Ji Niang. Once I ascended and left this world, 'Xi Lan' became my officially registered name in the Witch World. But for various reasons, I eventually returned to my home world—this place.

The records here still had me down as Ji Niang, so I just stuck with it. I actually carved that 'Xi Lan' bit onto the frame myself just for the hell of it," she chuckled.

She reached out and, with a casual flick of her wrist, "grabbed" the holographic log floating in front of me.

"I’m going to polish this report into a proper thesis and submit it to the Witch School’s Official Research Network," she said, sliding the data onto her own desk terminal with a seamless gesture that made my head spin. "There’s even a chance it’ll be archived by some of the major institutions in the Witch World, though don't get your hopes up—that’s a pretty high bar for a first-year."

"Wait... this is actually getting published?" I asked, my voice trailing off in disbelief.

"Of course. A campus publication is a given," Ji Niang said, not looking up from her screen. "Don't sell yourself short, Yuehan. Technically speaking, you're the person with the highest-level Psi-vision currently on record. Your potential is literally off the charts. Any paper published by the Academy eventually gets uploaded to the global Witch Network. As long as the redundancy rate isn't one hundred percent, it gets archived."

"Wait, what?" I blinked. "As long as it's not a hundred percent? That’s the bar for entry?"

"You sound surprised. That’s only because you haven’t grasped the sheer volume of data in the Witch World or how many witches are out there. If you wrote a random paper right now and ran it through a check, the redundancy would almost certainly be one hundred percent."

She paused, finally meeting my eyes. "And just to be clear—we aren't talking about a simple plagiarism check for words. We’re talking about research results. Do you understand how high that bar actually is? Any paper that isn't a total duplicate represents a sliver of the world that hasn't been fully mapped out yet. That makes it valuable."

"I see..." I nodded slowly. Talk about being out of the loop. I’d been thinking about standard college essays; this was something else entirely.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder: if someone wrote a complete "fluff" paper with no actual data, would it even trigger the redundancy check? I mean, if there’s no research to compare, is there even a rate?

"I’ll be listing myself as the primary advisor," Ji Niang continued. "Your name will follow mine. Any objections? If you want, I can put you first. This was a collaborative effort, and your contribution was the deciding factor."

"No, no! That’s fine! Really!" I waved my hands frantically.

I wasn't being humble; I was being realistic. Ji Niang had provided the materials, the Spell Book, and access to the Dream Realm.

She’d guided my learning and corrected my messy conclusions. If I took the lead credit on my very first paper, the pressure would probably crush me. Better to let her handle the spotlight while I stayed in the "apprentice" lane.

Besides, my initial bar for success was just "don't fail the assignment." Getting published—and having her fix my formatting—was already a massive win.

"You’re a good kid, Yuehan," Ji Niang said with a warm smile. "It’s late. You should get moving. Time is a luxury for someone in your position."

She checked a notification on her desk. "Oh, and don't forget: the first class assembly is tomorrow morning. The Academy system is going to push a mandatory alert, but check your group chat when you get back. Make sure everyone got the memo."

"Will do," I promised. "Is that everything, Ma'am? Can I head out?"

"Wait. One more thing." She held up a hand to stop me.

"Yeah?"

"Take these." She handed over a thick stack of printed papers from the corner of her desk. "I’ve curated some key theses on Spell Book mechanics. There are five papers specifically on Fireball variants and another five covering different spell structures. They’ll give you some much-needed perspective."

"Whoa... thank you, Ma'am!" I took the stack with both hands, feeling the literal weight of the knowledge.

This was gold. I knew I couldn't just lock myself in a room and rely on my Psi-vision alone. I needed to see how other witches perceived the world, to see the Spell Book through their eyes.

Editor’s note: I wish it were this easy to do research. *cries over my thesis*

Translator's note: Hey, stop crying. Get back on your thesis!

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