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

Chapter 23: The Three Living Treasures Make Trouble in the Trial Forest
 

“These things look more like monsters than magical creatures, don’t you think?”
After taking down another mutated beast, its brain entirely dissolved by corrosion, Jiang Cha casually glanced at it. Its body was 80% transformed, and she tossed the question out just to make conversation.
“In our terms, ‘monsters’ have a different meaning. Technically, these poor things are magical creatures suffering from advanced witch disease—overexposure to magic pollution and uncontrolled mutation.”

He Qin looked saddened as she gazed at the familiar mutated creature, but quickly pulled herself together and resumed her calm, gentle explanations for Jiang Cha.
“Eh—so this world really is dangerous.”
“Yeah…”

“It’s really dangerous.”
Though both girls echoed the same thought, their expressions couldn’t have been more different.
He Qin’s sorrow lingered in her eyes, while Jiang Cha remained calm, unaffected. Lacking memories and empathy, her only thoughts upon seeing the grotesque scene were: what magic did this, and how dangerous is it?

Behind He Qin’s back, the blonde loli sidled up to Jiang Cha and winked conspiratorially.
Jiang Cha caught the signal. A bit of magical energy gathered at her feet, flowing quietly into the ground through her leather shoes. But outwardly, she just gave a sweet, innocent smile.
“Lina~”

“Hmm?”
“Fly high~!”
“…I’m not a kid, you know.”

Lina looked confused. Cha Bao’s deflection skills are seriously lacking, she thought.
And then—
She really did fly high!

“LINA-CHAN!?”
The melancholic He Qin was shocked as Lina suddenly launched into the air in a wild, involuntary aerial flip.
“WHAT THE HELL, CHABAO?! You’re actually insane?!”
The sky above the forest was far from safe. In that instant, Lina realized she had become a beacon. Hundreds of magical creatures had locked onto her, and in the distance, a dense swarm of black dots was fast approaching.

“Oops, sorry~!”
The grinning girl below clasped her hands, shut her eyes, and offered a mock apology.
Then she grabbed He Qin’s hand—

“Don’t just stand there! Run!”
“W-Wait! Shouldn’t we help Lina-chan?!”
He Qin stumbled as Jiang Cha pulled her into a sprint, trying to keep up. She felt the girl’s warm grip in her palm—unexpectedly comforting.

“Lina will catch up. Trust me. Let her burn some extra calories for the team~!”
Jiang Cha giggled, tongue playfully sticking out. It was adorable, but carried the smug air of a gremlin.
“…Jiang Cha-chan, this is revenge, isn’t it?”

He Qin narrowed her eyes. She could see where this plotline was going.
“JIAAAAANG CHAAAAAA—!!”
A furious roar echoed from the sky behind them.

He Qin turned and saw a blonde girl, wrapped in flames, rocketing through the air like a heat-seeking missile—right on their tail.
“Oh no—Lina-chan, I haven’t wronged you!!”
Jiang Cha tightened her grip and channeled magic into her legs. A burst of blue light accelerated their escape. She noticed He Qin felt unexpectedly light in her grasp. Maybe it was just the adrenaline—or the boosted mana.

“No grudges?! You’ve got some nerve, Chabao!”
Lina was so furious she nearly laughed. She flared her dragon wings and led a swarm of magical creatures in hot pursuit.
“He Qin, deploy the shield! If I blow up, you’re going down with me!”

“…So you dragged me along just for that?”
But something felt off.
She turned to look—and realized the person Jiang Cha was dragging… wasn’t her.

It was a puppet.
Not just any puppet. One wrapped head-to-toe in hyper-realistic bionic skin. A talking puppet.
“…She’s seriously insane.”

“HAHAHAHAHA! DIE, CHABAO!!”
Lina descended with wild laughter, fire magic gathered in both hands—
BOOM!

“What are those three up to now?”
Vladimir sensed the magical disturbance from afar, glanced at the dragon-breath explosion, then looked away with a shrug.
With Jiang Cha and her ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) group's strength, the second-stage trial zone posed no real danger. The real problem was how entertainingly chaotic they were. Other, weaker groups deserved more attention.

“Honestly, Lina…”
After the explosion, Jiang Cha stood inside a nearly shattered magic shield, watching with lifeless eyes as Lina now stood back-to-back with her, facing down a swarm of tens of thousands of bats.
“You brought this on yourself, Chabao…”

Lina growled between gritted teeth. But with twenty thousand bats coming their way, she had no choice but to team up.
Stage 2 Magical Creatures: Pegasus Galaxy Origin. Classification: Level 3, Medieval World. Species: Vampire Bats.
That’s how they were listed in the Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures.

These bats were social monsters, often numbering in the tens of thousands, even millions. Highly reproductive. And their magic? A linked group shield—strengthening in proportion to their numbers.
That was also why they hadn’t mutated much. They still looked like regular bats.
But they were far from harmless.

“Lina-chan, Jiang Cha-chan! Over here, over here~!”
Outside the bat horde, He Qin had deployed the puppet’s shield. The third puppet, Bomber, fired nonstop, carving out a narrow foothold.
“Can you handle it?”

Jiang Cha asked softly, eyes flickering with magic.
“Who do you think I am?”
Lina flashed a confident grin. Flames erupted around her. With dragon wings and claws out, she flung blazing fireballs, vaporizing dozens of bats in a single sweep.

It was just a dent in the swarm, but enough for a breakthrough.
“Then let’s charge!”
Jiang Cha summoned a barrage of lightning arrows. They chained into a glowing electric net, severing the bats’ retreat path. Lina burned through the front lines, clearing the way.

From betrayal to cooperation in seconds—the two witches fought with flawless synergy.
Because really…
No matter how many Stage 2 monsters there were, they were just an inconvenience.

Not a threat.
They were avoiding the fight earlier not out of fear, but to save time.
“Don’t do that again!”

He Qin scolded as the two girls dashed through the puppet’s magic shield. She commanded the guardian forward while thumping them both lightly on the head.
“Chabao started it!”
“Hehe~”

Lina tried to pass the blame, but Jiang Cha confessed with zero hesitation.
Then they both burst into laughter.
“Hahahahaha~!”

“Pfft—Chabao, that stealth casting move was so dumb.”
“I used it earlier at the start of Stage 2, remember? You just weren’t paying attention, Lina.”
“You’re still blaming me!”

He Qin watched them start bickering again and sighed.
She used to have her hands full with just Lina. Now that Jiang Cha’s true self had emerged…
She could already feel the headache building.

“Qinbao, Qinbao, let’s head straight to the Stage 3 zone!”
Eventually, Lina made the suggestion.
He Qin glanced around at the endless bat swarm. She sighed. “Fine, we have no choice.”

But she gave Jiang Cha a worried look.
“The sooner we finish, the sooner I can get back to studying.”
Jiang Cha caught the look and answered with a cheerful nod.

Adapting to combat hadn’t been hard. In fact, she had taken to it surprisingly well—too well.
Even surrounded by tens of thousands of monsters, she felt nothing.
Maybe it was her witch nature. Or maybe… she hadn’t been a good person before she lost her memories.

Either way, it worked to her advantage. She’d have no problem with this “battlefield course.”
“Alright, let’s move. Jiang Cha-chan, don’t push yourself.”
“No worries. I’m fine.”

“Yes, yes, He Qin’s acting like a mom again~”
“I told you not to call me Mom!”
The morning sun blazed overhead, cutting through the dense forest, filtering between the fluttering bats and glowing blue shields.

This was the beginning of something new for each of them.
Every ray of sunlight carried their laughter, their chaos, and their unshakable youth—capturing the moment like a warm photograph.