Chapter 73

If a few days ago, Dorothy had still been that carefree, happy, stress-free Zhaimonv , she might well have considered accepting the upperclasswomen’s invitation to join the True Eye Society.

After all, she herself had always enjoyed studying, and the thought of daily swimming through the ocean of knowledge alongside a group of upperclasswomen equally passionate about learning sounded quite appealing.

Hmm, mainly because every single one of these upperclasswomen was truly amazing—white stockings, cat ears, long legs, loli, tsundere, long black hair, the variety was endless, and most of them possessed the glasses-wearing trait Dorothy adored, which was perfect; moreover, they now seemed to revere her, each starting with Haogandu above the baseline—wasn’t this the dream opening of a harem anime protagonist she’d envied, coveted, and resented in her past life?

All she had to do now was nod, and her future college life would surely bloom like peach blossoms, pink and radiant, every day fragrant with the sweetness of oranges.

But reality offered no “what ifs”—though Dorothy possessed a talent for spacetime, if she wished to reverse time and return to the timeline where her mother had never found her, she’d likely have to wait until she attained Witch King-level magic.

After all, the hierarchy of the witch world had grown far too high; its spacetime laws were now immensely stable and perfected. Controlling the river of time in the witch world was nowhere near as easy as manipulating timelines in low-tier world planes.

The difference between the two was as vast as the ocean versus a trickle flowing from a water bottle—you could freely control the speed of a small stream, easily halt it, and even, if strong enough, temporarily reverse its flow—but what of ocean currents?

Merely maintaining temporary stability within those ceaseless currents was already difficult; to imagine using personal strength to alter the entire current’s direction? Only a Witch King, nearly omniscient and omnipotent within the witch world, could achieve such a miracle.

Clearly, Dorothy still had an immense distance to go before possessing such power, so she could only passively drift with the current, striving to adapt to the changes around her.

Since she could not return to that tranquil past, she could only push forward with all her might toward the future she envisioned.

Her mother’s deadline still hung above Dorothy’s head; facing the pressure of at least five full-strength witch fleets, she had already developed the habit of asking herself before any action: Will this help me grow better and ease my passage through this crisis?

So now is not the time to indulge in the pleasures of a fulfilling life. Dorothy, Dorothy, stay focused: Do you want to enjoy fleeting comfort now and lose your freedom without resistance, returning home obediently to inherit billions in wealth, or endure temporary hardship now to gain lasting freedom in the future?

The answer is obvious.

It’s........

Hmm, I want it all.

Only the weak passively choose; as a strong one, you must create choices out of nothing.

“Upperclasswomen, I’m sorry, but I won’t be joining the society—I plan to establish my own society in the future to realize my ideals.”

Facing the upperclasswomen who had blocked the door behind her, Dorothy turned and sincerely addressed Dana, the society president.

But before Dana could show disappointment, Dorothy added:

“However, if you upperclasswomen don’t mind my intrusion as an outsider, I hope I may frequently exchange study insights with you in the future—I still have many questions I’d greatly appreciate your guidance on.”

Though she had just scored a perfect pass in eight and a half academic disciplines, Dorothy dared not feel the slightest arrogance; in terms of overall mastery and breadth of knowledge, she might far surpass these True Eye upperclasswomen, but in depth of expertise within any single discipline, she held no real advantage.

If academic knowledge were measured on a progress bar with 100% as full, the passing threshold for the basic qualification exam was around 30%, and Dorothy’s overall progress across all disciplines was roughly 45%—yet many of these upperclasswomen likely reached around 50% in their most specialized disciplines.

The combined knowledge of all True Eye upperclasswomen would surely obliterate Dorothy’s.

Moreover, learning was never a solitary endeavor; in her past self-study, Dorothy had learned that self-study had its limits—why had she come to the Witch Academy if not to find a teacher and activate a learning acceleration cheat?

Though she’d already found a dual-master teacher, who said you could only have one learning acceleration cheat? Besides the teacher version, the classmate version and upperclasswoman version were also excellent.

Why were there so many elites in the Witch Academy? Precisely because the learning atmosphere was strong and there were many peers to exchange and study with—clearly, having a friend to share insights with was a wonderful thing.

So what reason did Dorothy have to ignore an entire society of peer upperclasswomen?

Hmm, so whether teacher or upperclasswoman—I want them all.

Dorothy reached out her hand inside her mind and clenched it tightly.

Please, all of you, become my wings—I need you to aid my cultivation, to help me transform from fish into Peng, to break through this long-stalled bottleneck in my learning speed; swimming through the ocean of knowledge is far too slow—I want to take off from Wuhu, soaring straight up ninety thousand li.

After all, if my learning speed doesn’t improve, my next attempt at the intermediate discipline qualification exam will take at least twenty years—this is far too slow.

Originally, given Dorothy’s aversion to social hassle, she’d been unsure how to approach these top-tier scholar upperclasswomen—but now that they’d washed themselves clean and come knocking, she’d no longer play the upright gentleman today.

Come on, upperclasswomen, don’t spare me—next time, unleash your full arsenal without hesitation.

Dorothy looked earnestly at Dana, whose head had lifted in excitement upon hearing her reply.

Dana, still bowing but now raising her head, stared in astonishment at the younger student—she couldn’t believe the girl had genuinely agreed; she’d assumed it was merely polite flattery—but now, in the depths of the girl’s dark pupils, she saw nothing but sincerity.

In that moment, the intellectual beauty understood.

Ah, how selfless is this young lady! For us to shamelessly beg her to share her study techniques was already an unreasonable demand; even if she were angry now, it would be entirely justified—yet she not only wasn’t angry, but freely forgave our impertinence and sincerely offered to guide our foolish selves through the endless ocean of knowledge...

What an exalted realm, what a benevolent heart, what a grand vision!

In that instant, the faintest trace of jealousy Dana had once harbored toward the young lady—over her effortless surpassing of Dana, achieving what Dana had never dared dream of—vanished silently.

The intellectual beauty now saw only sacred, exalted radiance emanating from this seemingly unremarkable, almost rustic girl; even her gaze through thick black-rimmed glasses carried boundless, divine compassion for all beings.

Ah, no wonder—you are truly the God of Scholars!!

Dana was moved to tears by the sacred light, feeling utterly blissful in that moment.

To have met this young lady in this life—my entire existence is worth it.

Dorothy: “......”

She stared again, baffled, at Dana, who was now weeping with joy—she simply couldn’t understand how they thought this way. I’m just after your learning acceleration cheat, trying to use you—why are you so happy?

Uh-oh, my glasses are crooked—bad, my inexplicable charm might’ve leaked out just now.

Dorothy adjusted her black-rimmed glasses and reactivated the “Witch’s Superman Concealment Shu ” engraved on them, then sighed in relief.

“Well then, upperclasswomen, it’s getting late—you’ve worked hard. Let’s meet again next time.”

She politely took her leave again, then walked away along the path the blocking upperclasswomen had unwittingly cleared—on either side, the scholar elite bowed their heads as she passed.

Hmm, honestly, being treated like a big shot feels pretty good.

Dorothy felt a small, pleasant satisfaction—until she saw the angelic witch waiting for her in the lobby.

Dorothy: “.....”

Oh no...

So Sophieelia saw all of that just now?

In that moment, the petty witch felt a bizarre, cringe-worthy embarrassment—like her otaku moment had been witnessed by someone she knew.

.......the petty witch blushes shyly.......