Chapter 66

The layout and atmosphere of this club square made Dorothy feel nostalgic, reminding her of childhood memories from her past life, when she attended village markets in her rural hometown.

Just like then, the streets were packed with people, a sea of dark heads stretching as far as the eye could see; on both sides stood countless small stalls, each displaying bizarre and wondrous goods—food, drink, toys, everything imaginable.

Thus, strolling through this lively atmosphere, Dorothy’s heart gradually grew calm; she no longer rushed toward her destination, but slowed her pace, accompanying her curious junior who gawked at every stall.

Clearly, these clubs had spared no expense in recruiting new members, pulling out all the stops and unveiling their most prized tricks.

Some clubs centered on armed witches began performing flashy combat demonstrations, their dazzling magic and stylish martial techniques drawing large crowds of new students.

Others, focused on research witches, displayed their latest findings—magic devices of varied functions, all dazzlingly impressive, making one wish to own them all.

Beyond these, oddball clubs also joined in, offering everything from magical zoos and necromantic haunted houses to water dragon amusement parks—anything you could imagine, these idle witch clubs could pull off.

Not only was the little fox beside her utterly mesmerized, but even Dorothy found herself silently amazed; these witches truly knew how to have fun—her past life’s clubs paled in comparison.

And this was only the front half of the square, where smaller clubs were stationed; the layout of the club square was deliberate—the smaller the club, the closer to the entrance, giving new students immediate visibility and first dibs on recruitment, though whether they could seize the opportunity depended entirely on themselves.

Larger and mid-sized clubs had their recruitment booths further back, and their demonstrations were a step up from the smaller ones.

It was like upgrading from roadside stalls to supermarkets, from street-side performances to grand theater productions—both scale and quality far surpassed those of the small clubs.

Yet, personally, Dorothy found these mid-to-large clubs less novel or entertaining than the smaller ones; it was like someone preferring street food over a neighboring fine-dining restaurant—purely a matter of personal taste.

If pressed for a reason, it was because after eating too many meals at restaurants, the flavors felt homogenized and dull; and this wasn’t even top-tier cuisine—just decently tasty, offering less sensory thrill than those uniquely flavored street stalls.

Most of these mid-to-large clubs’ performances were safe, predictable, and error-free—decent enough, passable, but ultimately still student-level.

Dorothy, having spent years on the magic web, had seen countless master-level performances online; compared to true masters, these student acts were nothing special.

She personally preferred the boundless creativity and youthful energy displayed by the small clubs.

Of course, liking something was one thing; making a real choice was another. As previously mentioned, choosing a witch club heavily influenced post-graduation employment, and only mid-to-large clubs could offer the kind of career support small ones couldn’t.

Do you want fun but unstable, or stable but dull? That was up to each witch student to decide.

As for Dorothy’s choice...

She chose none.

Only the powerless, those unable to control their own fate, passively accept choices; true masters create their own choices.

Working for others? Impossible. Not in this life. She was too used to freedom and laziness, too intolerant of constraints; even inheriting her mother’s billions was too much effort—she’d rather refuse the status of second only to the Empress, let alone become someone’s employee.

Dorothy planned to start her own club soon, as a step toward realizing her dream by seeking companions; whether she’d find any didn’t much matter—worst case, she’d go solo.

Just charge ahead. If you fail after charging, deal with it later; if you never charge because you fear failure, that’s when you’ll truly regret it.

“Senior, it’s getting late—let’s hurry to the exam. Which department are you signing up for?”

The little fox, Audrey, had finally calmed down from her first shopping spree excitement; after touring the fun small clubs, she grew visibly bored at the mid-to-large ones.

To an ordinary witch, these grand venues might seem impressive, but Audrey was utterly accustomed to them.

Every time her family took her out to eat, it was to the most luxurious private rooms; every outing was booked in advance, entire venues reserved; as for theaters and operas, the best performers in the entire witch world worked for her family.

She was bored. Truly bored.

And she was supposed to be guiding her senior, yet now her senior was escorting her shopping; the sun was setting, and the little fox felt ashamed.

So she had her puppet ask, inquiring about her senior’s exam choices.

“Which one? All of them, of course.”

Dorothy paused, startled by her junior’s question, then answered as if it were obvious.

“I’m taking all nine departments—I need to rack up points and climb the ranks. You know about witch ranks, right?”

Though she didn’t know her junior’s background, the fact she was a demon witch, radiated terrifying magical power, and had a dual-master aunt meant her origins were certainly extraordinary—she must know about witch ranks.

Besides, if she were truly ordinary, she’d never dare walk around with that face—a face that could topple nations; such visibility would’ve drawn kidnappers long ago.

In a world where extraordinary power resides within the individual, law enforcement isn’t as easy as in her past life; even though witch society overall favored order and peace, bound by laws, strange crimes still occurred annually—especially romantic ones.

So it was wiser to stay low-key when out in public.

That was one reason Dorothy still hid her true face.

Even now, with connections, her mother’s power wasn’t hers; until she grew strong enough to protect herself, she wouldn’t drop her disguise—wasn’t stealthy growth delicious?

But stealthy growth meant growth, not just stealth—don’t confuse priorities.

After her previous “pig-in-disguise” act went too well and her family actually thought she was a fool—even withholding information about witch ranks—Dorothy had learned her lesson: she could stay low-key in appearance, but in other areas, she could afford to be slightly more conspicuous—like academic knowledge.

A student’s duty is studying; isn’t excelling at it natural? How could anyone target me just because I’m too good?

Hmm, surely those evil people aren’t that bored?

Dorothy wasn’t entirely sure, but she thought it anyway.

Whatever. Forget it. Today, no one stops me from grinding points—I’m taking every exam I can today.

Audrey: “......”

All of them?

The little fox doubted her four-ear hearing had malfunctioned; she widened her eyes, staring blankly at her senior.

“What? Is there a problem? I’ve just studied a little more than others—what’s so strange about that?”

Dorothy was displeased by her junior’s overreaction, frowning as she asked.

“Oh, no, no, Senior, as long as you’re happy! But since you’re taking so many exams, ordinary clubs won’t suffice—we should go to the Eye of Truth Club. Only there can satisfy a scholar as erudite as you.”

The little fox, now terrified, used honorifics; she thought for a moment, then pointed to a grand building resembling a library.

Dorothy nodded in satisfaction.

Then she grabbed Audrey’s hand and headed straight for the building.

But before entering, Dorothy paused, glanced at her current black-skinned, punk look, and deemed it unwise; with a snap of her fingers—

The black-skinned punk vanished, replaced by her old self: long bangs, black-rimmed glasses, scarf wrapped, plain braided hair.

Hmm, this look was already famous on campus; with lice piled up, you stop worrying about raising more—why not make her reputation even louder? From now on, she’d use this appearance for any attention-grabbing acts.

“Ah—Senior, you’re... aren’t you the one from the campus forum...?”

Audrey was stunned by her senior’s transformation, speechless—she recognized the image instantly: the most popular figure on campus forums.

But Dorothy ignored her stunned junior; she simply nodded, then strode forward and pushed open the library-style building’s doors.

Hmm, ahead lay the exam hall; and since everyone already thought she was the Student Council President’s possession, she had nothing left to fear.

“I’m here to take the exam. Nine subjects.”

As she entered, staff inside looked up, startled, then quickly recognized her identity; chaos began to stir—but before it could spread, every person in the room heard her voice: sweet, yet shockingly arrogant.

.....Little witch makes a bold declaration.....