The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

Chapter 10 Core Area
This news was like a bolt from the blue for Vasita.

This is definitely not good news for the other little witches either.

As far as Moran knew, among the first-year students, only she and Ais were the two little witches who could cook.

Vasita still couldn't believe the bad news, so she turned to Lilith for confirmation.

"That's right. The headmaster's gourmet feast magic is only used once, on the night of the entrance ceremony."

The teaching at the Witch Academy has always emphasized both survival and combat.

The primary survival goal for first graders is to solve the basic problem of eating.

There's no need to worry about starving; there are no restrictions on the amount of food first-year students can receive.

Many fruits and vegetables can be eaten raw, but they are not very filling.

The college also has a grove of breadfruit trees that bear fruit year-round with an extremely high yield; it's just that the taste... well, you'll have to try it to find out.

Lilith's face scrunched up when she talked about breadfruit.

Judging from her appearance, she definitely doesn't look delicious.

The first-year little witches: "..."

No wonder the dinner was so lavish; I never imagined it would be the last supper.

Now everyone understands why the upperclassmen were so eager at the start of the banquet, and why they are now trying to eat, even though their bellies are bulging.

The little witches' eyes changed when they looked at the food on the table. They picked out some foods that could be preserved and prepared to store them for later consumption.

"The banquet was created using a super-peak level magical delicacy, so it cannot be taken out of this hall, and it only lasts for two hours."

An hour and a half has passed so far.

As soon as Senior Trish finished speaking, the little witches returned to their seats like swallows returning to their nests and continued to eat heartily.

Since we can't take it with us, this is the only way to decorate it more.

The one who ate the most voraciously was Vasita.

Other little witches can eat less and skip a meal or two without any problem, it's just a bit tough, but Vasita risks fainting or dying from hunger.

Moran then opened "The Freshman's Guide".

The dinner menu was so good, with many novel dishes that she had never seen before, and she was already stuffed.

More than eating more, she was curious about the teaching methods at the witch academy.

The Freshman Guide is a slightly heavy hardcover booklet, with each page made of thick cardboard.

Aside from the cover, there are only three inner pages.

The first page is a map of the college.

The simple and clear floor plan shows the auditorium where she is now.

Moran glanced at the map's instructions and quickly mastered how to use it.

Similar to the mobile phone maps of my previous life, it can be zoomed in and out, has multiple embedded layers, and each building has its own small map.

Moran zoomed out the map to its smallest size.

At the very center is the Academy Castle, and the Great Hall is located on the first floor of the castle.

When the map is zoomed out to its smallest size, only the "core area of ​​the academy" where the academy castle is located is clearly visible.

The rest of the area was all gray, as if shrouded in a gray fog, and nothing could be seen clearly.

The map instructions do indeed state that, apart from the core area of ​​the academy, other areas need to be explored on your own before they will appear on the map.

Just looking at this map, the Witch Academy is unbelievably large.

After all, such a large auditorium is just one hall in the academy castle. And when the map is zoomed out to its smallest size, the entire core area of ​​the academy is only the size of a fingernail, and the name of the academy castle is not even visible.

Moran zoomed in on the map again, and the situation in the core area of ​​the academy became clear.

The Academy Castle has an exit in each of the four cardinal directions, which connect to a winding path.

To the east is the dormitory area, with rows of small, neatly arranged, square-shaped houses.

Each one has a number, from dormitory number 1 to dormitory number 100.

The number is followed by the name.

Moran guessed this was where they would be assigned accommodation.

She looked around and, sure enough, found her name at dormitory number 69.

The row in front of her is dormitory number 59, where Lilith, the senior student, lives.

Sylph and Vasita lived at number 68 and number 70 respectively; they were both her neighbors.

Unfortunately, even when the dormitory area map is zoomed out to its maximum size, you can only see small squares, and you can't tell what the dormitories actually look like.

To the south of the dormitory area is the breadfruit grove that Senior Lilith mentioned.

Next to the breadfruit grove, south of the Academy Castle, is the planting area, where farmland, herb gardens, greenhouses, and food distribution points are all located.

To the west of the academy castle is the magic training ground, and nearby are alchemy and potion laboratories.

To the north lies a large, crescent-shaped lake.

(Map of the core area of ​​the Witch Academy attached)
After glancing at the map of the core area, Moran turned to the second page of the "Freshman Handbook".

This page contains the course schedule.

The course schedule for the following week will be updated every Friday at 8 PM.

Today is Thursday, and the schedule won't be updated until tomorrow night. The schedule is still blank for now.

The last page contains instructions for new students.

The first point is about food.

"First, after the entrance banquet, the academy will not provide three meals a day. First-year witches can collect any ingredients for free from the food collection point in the planting area to cook for themselves or eat breadfruit. Second-year witches can only collect meat for free. For third-year and above, no free ingredients will be provided, and they can consider planting, gathering, or hunting on their own."

Not only are meals not provided, but second graders can no longer freely collect ingredients, and third graders are no longer provided with any free ingredients.

If the food is like this, the accommodations are no less impressive.

The second point states that the academy only provides free dormitories to first, second, and third-year witches. They can find their dormitory number on the map and move in on their own.

Students in fourth and fifth grade will need to find their own accommodation.

The third point states: "The first-year students' school robes for all four seasons and their daily necessities for the academic year have been delivered to their respective dormitories. If there is any damage, students can apply for replacements free of charge from the dormitory area administrator. Little witches in other grades can collect materials to make their own."

School uniforms and daily necessities are only provided to first-year students.

From food and lodging to daily necessities, everything was more demanding than the last. The academy's intention was crystal clear: to gradually enable the witches to become self-sufficient.

It is indeed feasible in theory.

While witches, unlike sorceresses, don't have unlimited potential in all magical talents, they can at least reach the beginner level and learn to meet their basic needs.

Having learned these skills, the little witches, with their magical abilities, could at least have food, clothing, and shelter, thus solving their basic survival needs.

Following these three points are descriptions of the functions of the various buildings within the core area of ​​the college, as well as regulations reminding them that they cannot leave the core area of ​​the college before their third year.

Moran only glanced at these contents briefly, and half an hour passed by.

Just as Senior Trish had said, the food on the table disappeared as soon as the time was up.

(End of this chapter)