Chapter 60: Benevolent Teacher, Filial Student

“Huh? Is this teacher maybe mentally ill?”

Dorothy stared at the spider teacher, who had suddenly become cautious and even slightly respectful in front of her, utterly baffled by what was going on in her mind.

“Teacher, so did I pass the exam?”

She pressed further.

“You did pass—perfect score, actually—but are you really not some undercover agent sent by the school to monitor the departments?”

Noerolos still wasn’t convinced; she checked dryly.

This had happened more than once before. The committee and student council always had some genius kid coming up with bizarre ideas to stir trouble—even the dean himself sometimes got bored and went incognito, wandering the campus pretending to be a student, sitting in on lectures. That kind of thing was genuinely terrifying.

If this troublemaker really was an undercover agent from above, then her previous flippant attitude would almost certainly cost her salary, and her research funding for the next few months might get slashed too—no wonder she was nervous.

Dorothy: “......”

If you’ve done nothing wrong, you won’t fear ghosts knocking at your door. Teacher, what exactly have you done to be so afraid of being investigated?

“I really am not.”

She explained patiently.

“But this isn’t scientific. Let me check your file—name: Dorothy, age: 16......”

Noerolos pulled out the applicant list the school had sent her, found Dorothy’s file, but the more she read, the more she suspected the data was fake.

You’re telling me you’re sixteen with this level of knowledge? Impossible. Absolutely impossible...

Normally, even a genius with perfect memory and instant comprehension would need over thirty years of study to accumulate such knowledge.

“But isn’t that magic, Teacher? For witches, anything is possible. Besides, your exam was pretty basic. I expected something much harder—it was all foundational questions, just covering a wide range of subjects. Luckily, I read widely, so I’ve got a bit of familiarity with all nine schools.”

Seeing the spider teacher’s stunned expression, Dorothy spoke directly.

“Magic? Uh... do you have a talent for accelerated learning?”

Prompted, Noerolos finally realized it; she asked in shock.

For research witches, what talent is most precious? Every research witch would give the same answer: the ability to accelerate learning or enhance intelligence.

After all, most research witches walk the Path of Omniscience, and for scholars, mastering more knowledge faster and better is their eternal pursuit.

Unfortunately, these two types of talents are extremely rare—even rarer than the universally acknowledged Space-Time Talent—and most are high-grade, starting at SR, with immense evolution difficulty. Without serious luck, you’re unlikely to obtain them.

Thus, a witch who happens to acquire such a talent is essentially a favorite of the Path of Omniscience—a born genius with a learning cheat. Her progress outpaces her peers by a huge margin; the most extreme cases advance several times faster.

Oh my god, did I just find a treasure?

The spider witch suddenly felt the blissful sensation of being struck by a mountain of gold falling from the sky.

Normally, such genius witches are pre-emptively claimed by big names on the Path of Omniscience before enrollment, fought over as disciples. Very few ever slip through.

Even if a wild genius does appear, they usually enroll in popular majors like Divination, Alchemy, or Potionry—those departments have strong faculty, better learning environments, and more support for growth.

But what major am I teaching again? Automated Mechanical Civil Engineering. Sure, experts know it’s a high-difficulty composite field, but in the end, it’s still a major that teaches people how to mix concrete and build houses. Graduates still end up on construction sites—solid, unglamorous labor class. Saying it out loud sounds kinda lame.

In terms of prestige, my major can’t possibly compete with those hot fields where graduates immediately enter high-end labs, earn high salaries, enjoy high social status, and are surrounded by big names with endless learning opportunities.

For years, I’ve struggled to recruit students—not just because my exams are too hard, but also because there’s simply no good talent. Those who apply to me are leftovers from other majors, rejects and misfits. Who in their right mind would voluntarily come here to learn how to mix concrete?

Well, it’s probably the same reason I’ve never gotten married—those who like me don’t like me back, and those I like don’t like me. Tough luck.

But now it seems fate still favors me. I’d already given up, resigned to being a lazy fish, and yet here comes this treasure right to my door.

Am I finally turning my luck around?

Noerolos thought happily inside.

Dorothy merely nodded, confirming the spider teacher’s guess, but said nothing more. They weren’t close yet, and talents are always private secrets among witches—never revealed unless the relationship is deep enough.

She did possess accelerated learning ability—but not as an innate talent. It was a postnatal specialization she evolved herself.

【Multithinking (SSR): You were born with the ability to multitask. Through training, this talent has been enhanced—you can now handle multiple distinct tasks simultaneously.】

How to put it? This talent was like upgrading Dorothy’s thought process from single-threaded to multithreaded. Now she could focus on three things at once—doing three tasks in the same time. If combined with Transformation magic, she could manifest three heads and six arms, holding three books, each head studying a different subject simultaneously.

This wasn’t just about improved learning efficiency—it was also an extremely powerful combat talent. While others cast one spell at a time, she could cast three.

And three wasn’t even the limit. Recently, as her mana increased, Dorothy felt her fourth thought pathway was nearly ready to form—her learning efficiency would rise again.

Undoubtedly, this was an absurdly powerful ability. Normally, evolving such a talent required spending tens of thousands of mana—unthinkable without massive investment.

But the cost of evolving talents and specializations always correlates with the witch’s innate aptitude—the stronger your natural affinity in that area, the less mana you spend, and the bigger the discount.

Dorothy, perhaps because her soul was split upon reincarnation, somehow evolved this talent without effort, spending barely over a thousand mana total.

Hmm, round it off—it was basically free.

And because of this talent, she had an innate advantage in mana precision control, and later effortlessly acquired the specialization Mana Control (SSR) as well.

Basically, buy one, get one free—insanely worth it.

But thinking of this, Dorothy glanced at the seemingly unreliable spider teacher before her and began to worry whether she could withstand Dorothy’s exploitation.

Noerolos, unaware of the future awaiting her, was simply overjoyed as she placed her hand firmly on the troublemaker’s shoulder.

“Student Dorothy, you’re accepted. Don’t worry—I, Noerolos, dual master of Puppetry and Architecture, swear to mold you into a valuable asset to the witch world.”

“Mm-hmm, okay, then I’m counting on you, Teacher.”

Dorothy was also delighted—she felt she’d found a treasure too.

Wow, don’t judge a witch by her appearance. This witch academy is truly full of hidden dragons. Who’d have thought a random major would have a dual master? Perfect. Brilliant. No need to consider changing teachers anytime soon.

Don’t worry, Teacher Noerolos—I’ll drain your knowledge at four times speed.

Thus, for a moment, the teacher was benevolent, the student filial—heartwarming indeed.

Only the forgotten Audrey stood helplessly watching the two hand-in-hand, feeling utterly out of place.

Waaah, Auntie, so I’m the extra one after all.

...... The little fox shut herself in again......