"I Became a Witch, but Now Everyone's in Love with Me!"

Chapter 2: In the Witch World, Let’s Temporarily Throw “Common Sense” into the Trash~
 

“I’ve been forced to stop being human.”
That was the first thought that popped into Jiang Cha’s mind as she landed gracefully on her feet without even bending her knees—like a gymnast sticking a perfect dismount.
But still… not bad.

This feeling of being ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) all-powerful? Kind of awesome.
“Could you give me a brief explanation of what’s going on, senpai…?”
Jiang Cha had already gathered a lot from the brief exchange between Sinan and Helen earlier.

First off, in her understanding, the term “school junior” was something senior students used to refer to younger classmates. That meant—this place was probably a school of some sort.
If that’s the case, then although she still couldn’t be totally at ease, the two people she’d encountered so far were likely some kind of teaching assistants responsible for guiding new students.
If they’re useful, I need to squeeze every drop of value out of them.

Not finding anything wrong with that logic, Jiang Cha turned toward Sinan with a sweet, innocent smile and asked softly.
Based on Helen’s reaction earlier, she could infer that she must be fairly attractive. And if that was the case, there was no harm in making good use of it. It felt instinctive—an embedded survival strategy she didn’t intend to delete.
“Ahhh~~ It’s a bit complicated to explain. Let’s talk while we walk. It’ll save time.”

Sinan’s pale cheeks flushed slightly as she turned around shyly and went to pick up the security door she had previously kicked open. A delicate little footprint was stamped dead center on the back of it.
What kind of monster girl is this…
Jiang Cha glanced at the imprint, then looked away, pretending she hadn’t seen anything.

“Well, anyway—welcome to Aislyn Witch Academy, Junior Jiang Cha.”
Sinan walked out ahead on her own. Jiang Cha quickly followed behind, nodding slightly, a warm and polite smile still playing on her lips.
Even if Sinan hadn’t looked back, in this kind of surreal setting, who’s to say she didn’t have eyes in the back of her head? Better to play it safe.

—Jiang Cha, after all, could now gather data from every angle—360 degrees, no blind spots.
“I don’t know anything about your background, so don’t ask me. You can check the academy’s database later or talk to your assigned advisor.”
“My name is Qu Sinan. I’m from Hua Country, and I’m a fifth-year here—your senior.”
Sinan’s explanation was disorganized, as if she wasn’t used to guiding newcomers. She seemed to be speaking whatever came to mind.

But that wasn’t a problem for Jiang Cha—who, ever since awakening, had a vastly improved ability to process and categorize information. She quickly filtered out the useful bits and stored them neatly in the mental archive she’d already started building.
Aislyn Witch Academy was founded on May 21, 1978 by the first great witch, Merlin, and had developed ever since.
Its goal was to train combat witches who could deal with calamities and to contain rogue witches.

While Jiang Cha was quite curious about what exactly a calamity was, Sinan didn’t elaborate. So Jiang Cha simply made a mental note to ask later. According to her senior, these things would be covered in class anyway.
“We’re heading to the academy’s testing center now. You’ll have your innate magic ability tested, and we’ll measure your total magic power. That’ll help us decide which class to place you in.”
Sinan spoke as they walked down a fully transparent glass corridor.

“Innate magic? Does that mean witches can only use one type of magic?”
Jiang Cha asked with genuine curiosity.
“Not exactly,” Sinan said, shaking her head. “Witches can learn many kinds of magic. But most of it is learned to support their innate ability. For example, my innate magic is body enhancement—so I’ve also learned ranged spells and various support techniques.”

“Innate magic has far greater magic efficiency than ordinary spells. According to the Research Department, the average magic utilization rate for innate abilities is between 80% and 98%. For ordinary spells, the max is only about 50%. That’s nearly double.”
Jiang Cha silently recorded the term magic utilization rate in her mental notes.
There was no need to overexplain—anyone could tell just how important innate magic was based on that number alone.

Even as someone with no experience in magic, Jiang Cha could see it clearly.
“Alright, let’s get your test done first.”
Sinan pushed open an old door etched with intricate blue-glowing runes and walked inside without hesitation.

Jiang Cha followed closely behind.
As she stepped through the doorway, she was hit by a sudden wave of spatial disorientation. The world around her twisted. It was like being thrown into a completely different dimension. Her brain’s information-gathering ability instantly hit full throttle—so much so that she nearly blacked out.
Thankfully, the teleportation only lasted about a second. She hadn’t managed to absorb much before she was “spit out” into a new space. Her head spun for a brief moment—but it quickly passed.

“Looks like you’ve got good spatial adaptability. At least we don’t have to worry about you getting teleportation sickness.”
Sinan, completely unfazed, smiled as she spoke.
“Still… it didn’t feel very pleasant.”

Jiang Cha shook her head to dispel the lingering dizziness. Once steady, she finally turned her attention to the so-called testing facility.
…Wait, what!?
“Senior, may I ask… what year is it?”

Jiang Cha froze for a moment and sighed before asking her question.
“May 30th, 2121.”
Sinan gave her an odd look—but then quickly remembered the amnesia and let it go.

“…”
Jiang Cha’s remaining common sense told her that yesterday had been May 29, 2021.
Yeah… okay. Maybe my common sense isn’t all that trustworthy anymore.

She shoved the fact that she had apparently jumped a whole century into the back of her mind—something to deal with later. She didn’t have the means to chase that answer down right now, and dwelling on it was pointless.
Instead, she focused her attention on the “magic research lab” in front of her.
Yes. That was the actual name: Magic Research Institute.

The name alone sounded like magical realism taken to the extreme. From her old worldview, this was basically spitting on the face of scientific materialism. It was like using a physics textbook as toilet paper.
But now, after personally experiencing magic?
She found she couldn’t argue.

After all, materialism is about describing reality. And if magic is real, then… it’s still within materialism’s domain.
Despite its name, the facility wasn’t “cyberpunk” at all. There were no bubbling cauldrons, no elaborate magic circles. Instead, the room was filled with silver-toned machinery that emitted faint blue light, precision beakers, and crystal measuring instruments.
In one corner, a young woman in a white lab coat was busy working. She boiled slices of glowing, blue-tinged green herbs in a beaker.

That must be some kind of magical plant…
“Maureen! You’re drinking tea on the job again!”
“Oh~! My sweet little Sinan~ I swear I’m not slacking off! It’s lunchtime right now, you know—lunch break~!”

Yeah…
Jiang Cha had already taken her mental file labeled “Common Sense” and tossed it into the trash.