Chapter 18: Backstab +1

Monday, another diligent week of school begins.

But compared to past resistance, Witch Miss can now face school quite calmly.

Not only because she contracted Cat and has 1000 MP, but also because of a certain mental composure.

Because she finally has the ability and skill to fight back when bullied.

Next time… if someone still bullies me and carelessly splashes dirty water on me, can I just give them a punch!

Or… if someone mocks me in magic class, can I perfectly unleash the spell the teacher taught and leave them speechless!

It just feels so good!

(✧◡✧)!

Excitedly daydreaming about the face‑slapping scenes from the novel she only read because of the Daily Task, Witch Miss imagines herself finishing morning training and breakfast.

Though she's only kept up this lifestyle for a week, and the change started this week, Witch Miss always feels as if it were another lifetime.

In the early morning after a light rain, walking on the stone path in the courtyard feels fresh;

Riding in the car, watching the crowds passing by the street and the passing High Tower and buildings feels fresh;

When the car reaches the school gate, seeing students pairing up, chatting and laughing as they walk through feels fresh.

Although she still sits in the car silently waiting, the fear and unease in her heart no longer appear.

She…

She just isn't used to it, unaccustomed to acting as if nothing had happened, rashly joining those people.

Some resentment: why, at this point, do I still have to join them.

And also… a subtle inferiority.

Deep inside, a voice constantly asks her:

What do you have to be proud of?

Isn't all this power just relying on luck?

Can you really use that luck as capital to swagger among the crowd?

The lingering unease makes her lower her head, hugging Cat's two arms and involuntarily tightening her grip.

This feeling is like a chronically poor‑performing student who, before a mock exam, happens to learn the exam material, and through lucky, accidental chance, quickly masters every question.

When the results are announced, unsurprisingly he gets a perfect score.

He receives praise and commendation from teachers and parents.

But…

At that moment, his conscience aches faintly, filled with self‑questioning and self‑condemnation.

That's how Witch Miss feels now.

She thinks,

If there were no Cat, no serendipitous signing of a Symbiotic Contract, her life wouldn't have changed at all.

If not for the skill obtained from the Symbiotic Contract, she wouldn't have the chance to, by merely completing simple training, obtain a Magic Capacity Expansion worth more than a fortune.

She… can she really take the luck she stole from Cat and use it for her own benefit?

Can she truly enjoy those people's admiration and envy?

Can she truly claim this ability as her own?

She has her own pride, and likewise her own inferiority.

The dense, conflicting emotions leave Witch Miss now utterly unsure how to regulate her mood, which swings between elation and withdrawal.

Because of pride, she wants her strength not to stem from chance;

Because of pride, she doesn't want to use that chance to wash away past humiliation;

Because of inferiority, she deeply doubts whether she deserves that luck;

Because of inferiority, she harshly condemns her own proud thoughts.

Though Cat doesn't know what Witch Miss is thinking, the choking sensation around his neck makes him realize that Witch Miss has accumulated a lot of pressure he doesn't understand.

ﾉ)ﾟДﾟ(

Let… let go of me!!!

Cat's subtlety toward Witch Miss often stems from empathy.

He puts himself into Witch Miss's role, using his own past experiences to simulate her emotions and needs.

But… now…

Her demand is to choke me to death!!

っﾟДﾟ)っ

【HP-1】

The dropping health bar reminder makes Cat realize that continuing to watch Witch Miss grow naturally and think things through is no longer possible.

What she now needs is guidance as an elder.

So,

【Growth Guard System detects your intense emotional fluctuation】

【Protecting individual emotions and spirit is also within the Growth Guard System's scope】

【Please fully input your question, contradiction, or a brief summary of your feelings or thoughts】

【The Growth Guard System will, from your past actions, social circles, and books, provide you with swift ability assistance or propose reliable solutions】

【Also, please treat your Cat kindly】

Cat?

(*ﾟﾛﾟ)!!

Cat!!

At this moment, the Witch Miss belatedly realized that the Cat she was holding in her arms had been strangled by herself for a long time.

"Little Cat!! Are you okay!! Let Mom take a look!!!"

Seeing the limp, lifeless Cat slumped on her lap, the flustered Witch Miss gave the little cat a vigorous rubbing,

"Oh oh oh~ No pain, no pain, Mom kisses, Mom kisses, be good, Cat."

……

【HP-1】

What does it mean to serve a ruler like serving a tiger? Cat now understands.

He was relieved that this witch had never raised a real small animal.

Otherwise, she might be the next……

"Waaah! My little dog, he's dead!!"

"Waaah! Why did my hamster become flat!!"

"Waaah! Cat!! Why is your arm broken!!"

The images in his mind grew clearer and clearer; thinking about it, Cat felt another chill.

"Meow~~~"

In his fright, Cat decided to meow twice, rubbing against that terrifying witch to let her know his body was in great shape.

Sure enough, under the rubbing of the furball, the Witch Miss stopped her chaotic movements.

They locked eyes, fell silent for a moment,

"Mew~ Little Cat likes Mommy~~ Mommy also likes you~~~~"

"……"

You damn, let me go!!

I don't like you! I don't like you! Go away! Go away! Don't kiss me!!

The system received no feedback from the Witch Miss, even though she had gotten off the car and was still rubbing the Cat, her motion did not stop.

Cat knew, the Witch Miss was avoiding the problem, choosing this way to distract herself and regulate her mood.

And the Witch Miss herself knew these things.

Her guilt toward Cat increased again.

Thus, she decided to kiss Cat more at night to make up for it.

Backstab +1

Even before the Witch Miss had changed class to assassin, she already excelled, starting to practice skill proficiency on Cat.

……

Today, the Witch Miss was again the last to arrive at the classroom.

As the Witch Miss pushed open the back door of the class, the noisy chatter inside instantly diminished greatly.

Nobody spoke to her in a mocking tone as before, nobody intentionally bumped into her side and knocked something over, and nobody secretly tampered with her desk and chair before she arrived.

Everything seemed to be heading in a good direction, yet it seemed not.

In their world, Bai Yan in the class was just like air.

Cold violence, too, is violence.

"Gong Xianjing, do we really not need to give that clueless waste a lesson?"

At the center of the class, as before, the female group centered on Gong Xianjing.

"Exactly, exactly! After the summoning ritual is done, this guy is full of himself! Isn't he just a variant familiar? He's not even Zero Rank!"

And Gong Xianjing, who used to be the most arrogant, did not respond as she used to.

She narrowed her eyes and glared fiercely at the Witch Miss; although her heart was filled with resentment and hatred, the words from her mouth were,

"She, is not worth such effort."

"Also, after signing the contract, trash is still trash, hahaha lately she hasn't even come to the elective combat class; I wonder how she'll fare in the exam!"

"Hey right, I heard the test is about to start, Gong Xianjing, do you have any news?"

……

Idle talk shifted from the initial mockery to this kind of painless complaint.

Especially as the class monitor, Gong Xianjing seemed to be under some restriction; her behavior and performance were very out of place.

The next day when going to school, Cat keenly noticed this.

He increased the training load of the daily task, trying to make the Witch Miss ignore this discomfort, while he himself silently paid attention to these extremely dangerous classmates.

Sometimes, pure evil at its extreme is all the more chilling, and the things that come out are all the more awe-inspiring.

As the Witch Miss's father, he cannot afford to neglect his duty here.

'So…… is the problem here?'

Because of the sudden change in the class atmosphere, did she realize she was still being bullied?

Or did she notice the strange atmosphere in the class and thus feel uneasy?

No, that's not right…… some of it doesn't make sense……

Cat watched her excitedly reading novels this week, the way she incorporated pretentious lines from everyday novel reading; it didn't look like someone who wouldn't dare to resist.

Could it be…… she's just a mental king?

No way……

Cat doesn't understand.

Rather than wild guessing, it's better to just ask directly.

Cat is now patiently waiting for Witch Miss's answer.

Because in their view, if this kind of matter is not resisted by Witch Miss with her own power, it would be completely meaningless.

The one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it.

Cat believes that such resistance is like personally conquering one's own nightmare.

Only cultivators who have overcome their inner demons can walk farther on the Great Dao without fear.

So even if Cat really wants to act as a heavenly avenger, they restrain themselves.

They cannot, for their own pleasure, ignore Witch Miss's true thoughts.

During this period of observation, they have already done their utmost to prepare for the possibility that… Witch Miss might choose the option to forgive them.

After all, kindness… the saintly mother who, when capable, sacrifices herself to save all beings, is, in a sense, also a hero.

They admire and respect, yet do not appreciate such a person.

It's just…

If this person were Witch Miss, they would also try to accept.

After all, they are Witch Miss's cat.

After all, this life path belongs to Witch Miss herself.

Witch Miss is their expectation, the second incarnation of their spiritual reliance, but not their puppet.

If it is Witch Miss's expectation, they have truly already prepared an Earthquake Star.

Really.

They even have the HP recovery potion they chew ready and hidden in the shadows!

Although the rating of 【Earthquake Star】 is a horrendous E.

Although the rating of 【Obsessive-Compulsive Ecstasy's Precise MP Consumption Calculation, HP‑Draining HP Recovery Potion, Ultra‑Fast Recovery Version】 is an even more absurd F.

￥￥￥￥￥￥

Cat's rubbing his fists, Witch Miss's pretended solemn reading—didn't expect that I was actually reading the novel stipulated in the Daily Task, which was terminated after Teacher Liu Ge entered the classroom.

Today Teacher Liu Ge did not give any lessons on magical theory, history, or any knowledge; instead, he announced an arrangement that shocked both Cat and Witch Miss.

"Two weeks later, the school will organize your first round of assessment.

The assessment scores will be counted toward your graduation grades, accounting for 15%, so please pay close attention."

15% weight!

A terrifying, deceptive, percentage‑based exam has appeared again!

While Cat was complaining, Teacher Liu Ge continued,

"You have probably already heard about the exam content."

No... not at all.

Because Witch Miss has no friends, and because Cat is busy training together with Witch Miss and never engages in despicable eavesdropping at any time, the two of them are the only bewildered ones in the class after hearing Teacher Liu Ge's announcement.

"Clear Dungeon Instance Floor 1."

(ΩДΩ)!

"The dungeon is a G-Level Dungeon built and overseen by the school."

(╯°Д°)╯

Could you stop panting like that when you speak!

The school‑run G-Level Dungeon and the naturally formed G-Level Dungeon Instance differ by more than a hair's breadth, okay!

The current Cat is no longer Wu Xia's little brother of a week ago; through the diligent, round‑the‑clock efforts of his clones, he has become a learned magical cat!

The so‑called naturally formed dungeon instance is a phenomenon that descended upon this world after Magic Power Revival.

Based on the fluctuations detected by the magic sensors at the underground entrance, the dungeon is divided into eight S-G Level grades.

The highest level of instance that has been fully cleared so far is only B Level.

For G-Level instances, the officially published data recommends a minimum clearing level of 20.

This is why Cat was surprised when he heard Teacher Liu Ge's big gasp just now.

He thought the school was suddenly going to hold a 'Student Selection Ceremony', only to find it was a false alarm.

While clicking his tongue, Cat felt it lacked a bit of excitement.

After all, the dungeon instances overseen by the high school… the so‑called BOSS probably aren't even level 10.

These are merely educational facilities built to teach, let fresh rookies train their courage, familiarize themselves with dungeon structures, and better adapt to university practicum courses and future instance clears.

When Cat was about to wash up and go to sleep, Teacher Liu Ge continued,

"You will team up with students from other classes of the same grade, forming groups of up to six to complete the assignment.

Who you team with and the composition of the team are up to you.

"Although this is a test, participation will not be forced.

But you must submit the registration form before school ends this afternoon.

The school will schedule interviews and tests next Wednesday to ensure you all possess the basic ability to survive in the underground layers.

After all, even a school‑built dungeon can still be dangerous if taken lightly.

The detailed information will be explained in the afternoon auditorium by the Grade Director.

Now is the time for you to freely find teammates.

…

The moment Teacher Liu Ge said "Dismiss", the students in the class scattered, and groups of two or three began to chat.

Soon after, only Witch Miss sitting at her seat and Cat, who remained on the desk, were left in the class.