Chapter 255: Wuhu Takes Off

Dorothy had long suffered from firepower deficiency anxiety, but unfortunately, for a witch with only average magical talent, this condition was nearly incurable—until now, the benefits offered by the Inquisition's institutional structure gave her hope for a cure.

Thus, along the way she was exhilarated, so thrilled she even stopped noticing the succulent buttocks of the ghost-faced girl, and now she only cursed the secretary for walking too slowly.

Aren't you in a hurry to get treated? Miss, can't you walk a little faster? Can't we run?

Fortunately, the mission hall wasn't far from the library where spells were claimed, and before Dorothy's patience ran out, they arrived at a massive circular library.

At the center of this library stood a giant light sphere identical to the one in the mission hall.

"Your Excellency, you may..."

The ghost-faced girl was about to explain how to claim spell slots, but she had barely opened her mouth when Dorothy had already passed her, strode forward, and raised her identity token toward the light sphere.

Well, she was an old internet user—basic operations like this didn't need teaching.

The moment she raised the token, a scan of power shot through it from the giant light-core, and a mechanical voice sounded in Dorothy's ear.

【Welcome to the Inquisition Spell Library, esteemed Jester Grand Inquisitor. You currently have thirty free spell slots available for claim: three Tenth-Ring Forbidden Spells, seven High-Rank Spells, ten Mid-Rank Spells, and ten Low-Rank Spells.】

"Uh..."

Upon hearing this system prompt, Dorothy froze for a moment, then burst into ecstatic joy.

Oh my, so unused claim opportunities are still preserved? I thought I'd already missed the freebie chance the moment I joined.

And I can even choose Forbidden Spells? Holy crap, Forbidden Spells with unlimited firepower—this is terrifying.

As she gazed at the three Forbidden Spell slots on her exchange list, Dorothy's heart swelled with joy, her expression turning serene—she felt her firepower deficiency anxiety had been greatly alleviated.

It was a pity these slots could only be used for Tenth-Ring Forbidden Spells—if only she could get a Twelfth-Ring one.

Of course, she knew that was pure fantasy—Twelfth-Ring Forbidden Spells could obliterate an entire world with a single strike; such firepower could never be handed out casually.

Even if they did give her one, she couldn't cast it now—because even without consuming mana, the mental strain required to channel it would drain her completely.

As a transmigrator, Dorothy's mental strength exceeded the average, but it still fell far short of what was needed to cast the highest-tier Forbidden Spells. In fact, even the lowest Tenth-Ring Forbidden Spell was already her mental limit—casting it once might leave her comatose.

Moreover, even the lowest Tenth-Ring Forbidden Spell was still a Forbidden Spell—its power dwarfed ordinary spells beyond comparison.

Among the Tenth-Ring Forbidden Spells she knew, several were world-ending in potency, but they carried extra limitations: demanding casting environments, excessively long incantation times, vulnerability to interruption—hence they were classified as Tenth-Ring.

"Hehehe, let me see which Forbidden Spells I can pick—I've been craving them for ages."

With a blissful, vacant smile, Dorothy rubbed her hands together and began scanning the exchange list.

So far, her spell research had never touched Forbidden Spells—even the Witch Series spells topped out at Ninth-Ring, with no Tenth-Ring or higher.

It wasn't that she didn't want to study them—she simply lacked the ability. Before enrolling, she'd been nothing but a weakling with ten thousand mana—how could someone like that even dream of playing with Forbidden Spells, those mana-guzzling monsters?

In fact, even High-Rank Spells were beyond her reach except for low-mana single-target or support spells; she could only drool over high-damage, high-consumption artillery magic.

Don't think the Forest Witches were pacifists, spending all day researching household support spells—behind that facade lay nothing but tears.

There was no way: if she couldn't cast a spell herself, she couldn't improve or create it. Even the most brilliant witch needed practical testing to develop spells—pure theory on paper was useless.

Still, even if she couldn't afford to use them, she could at least feast her eyes on them—Dorothy had once searched the Magic Web Library for Forbidden Spell data, and a few had been her lifelong desires.

At the top of the list was the Twelfth-Ring Wish Spell—a quasi-omnipotent wish-granting device. Who could resist that?

Cough cough, forget the Twelfth-Ring—I'm not worthy. Let's be realistic.

Tenth-Ring... Tenth-Ring...

Ah, here it is.

Dorothy rapidly scrolled through the Forbidden Spell list until her eyes lit up—she'd found the one she'd coveted for so long.

【Time Stop: Halts time for all entities within a certain radius, except the caster and those with Time Talent. Range and duration depend on the caster's Time Talent and mana invested.】

"Hahahaha, this is unbeatable—I can finally smash Valu!"

Seeing this, Dorothy's smile twisted into something unhinged; her lips curled involuntarily, and she was utterly euphoric.

The power of Time Stop needed no explanation—it was unquestionably comparable to Twelfth-Ring Spells. Unfortunately, it wasn't true time control, and it demanded extreme talent and massive mana, hence its lower rank.

Only those with Time Talent could learn it; only those with deep mana reserves could cast it.

After all, every second of casting consumed mana measured in watts—most Grand Witches couldn't afford it.

But now the Inquisition covers mana costs—heehee, since it's not my mana burning, I'm taking it.

Beaming with joy, Dorothy instantly added this Forbidden Spell to her exchange list, then immediately searched for the second one.

【Space Control: The caster freely manipulates a region of space around them; precision depends on their Space Talent and mana consumed.】

Hmm, now that I've got the Time Forbidden Spell, not taking a Space one would insult my otherworldly soul's innate spatial-temporal talent.

Though the description of Space Control seemed plain, its actual power was undeniable—it could form spatial barriers for defense, slice space into blades for offense, teleport, and store items in the void—a supremely versatile jack-of-all-trades ability.

"Yeah, taken."

Dorothy added this Forbidden Spell to her list too, but the third one left her hesitating.

"With these two, I've got everything I need—so what should I pick for the third?"

.... Dorothy is torn....