Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

After a good night's sleep, the next day a group of travelers arrived at the shore of Lake Naqushi and boarded a local, native-style yellow rock carved boat. With the rower pushing the oars slowly, they set sail towards the center of the lake.

The boat under them was crafted from the local shimmering rock, rugged in style with numerous tiny, honeycomb-like holes on its surface, rough to the touch yet slightly warm. As for why a boat made of shimmering rock could float on the lake, that's because the lake was filled, not with water, but with a dense liquid as black as asphalt.

This black liquid was quite viscous. The surface of the lake was colder and harder to push through, while the liquid beneath was much warmer with better fluidity, allowing the boat to glide across the lake.

Sailing in the vast expanse of the black lake, the boat rose and fell slowly with the waves, everything moving as if in slow motion, swaying with the rhythm of the water as if the earth itself was in constant flow. Occasionally, the boat drifted towards a 'mountain', ascending slowly with the wave's peak, allowing those inside to overlook the black lake from high above, before descending gently, much like riding in a decelerated surfboat.

The world was like a giant pot of porridge, bubbling and emitting a warm breath.

Two hours later, the group's boat reached the opposite shore, concluding this rare and novel experience.

At night, Tilan and classmates dined in a local specialty restaurant with thick rocky walls inset with large clear glass, and floors made from the locally distinctive red granite, polished and etched with patterns.

The table was laden with local specialties like 'Stone Shrimp Pot Soup' 'Red Herb Roasted Chicken' 'Emerald Thornball Meat' 'Lily Honey Wine', all delectable and worth mentioning that the restaurant even had resident singers.

A few young women dressed in crop tops with split-tie sleeves and loose trousers sang and danced simultaneously. Their outfits were not revealing, and their stunning flexibility and coordination displayed in their dance moves occasionally drew gasps of admiration from the spectators.

"Thank you~"

After finishing their song and dance, the women held hands and stepped down from the stage, offering to sell four-cornered stone ornaments to the customers. Pressing a button on these small ornaments would project the dancers' figures, intricately delicate and not too expensive, roughly 200 Federation Coins, with a bonus of one dancer's handwritten signature or a group photo.

'Feels a bit like underground idols, yet it seems simpler.' Some students compared it to familiar figures in the big city.

"Do you want to buy one?"

"I'll buy one, rare to travel like this, and besides, it's not expensive."

"Then I'll get one too." When the female sellers approached Tilan's table, they were curious about this group of young students of similar age.

'Are you students?'

...

'Are you out traveling now?'

...

'Where do you go to school?'

...

'You're about our age, aren't you?'

...

'Thanks for the compliment, actually, you're quite good-looking too.'

...

'This one's on us.'

After making their way around the restaurant, these young women gathered around Tilan's table and chatted for quite some time. Clearly curious about their peers who were traveling, they also asked about various details concerning the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain.

Afterward, a few students gave them a small gift they were carrying, which were small black crystal balls for calming the mind, produced by enterprises in cooperation with Edith Academy.

"Place this beside the pillow, and it will help you sleep well, is it really so magical?" one curious and happy girl played with it. She wore a thick chestnut-colored hair tie, walked barefoot, and had a crisp bell on her ankle.

"That's right, it's that simple. Of course, the effect isn't particularly strong, otherwise, it would turn into forced hypnosis, guffaw."

"I heard some personal terminals also have similar effects. Unfortunately, at the time, I chose one with a strong sound system and had to give up this feature. Can't spend money recklessly, otherwise, Mom would say something."

"Now that's a saving, thank you."

...

Elsewhere, a girl with black twin ponytails leaned on the back of her chair, talking to Efnie in front of her.

"Do you also study dance? The problem you mentioned just now was so professional."

"Yes, because I've practiced a lot, it's easy to make connections to other areas," Efnie replied.

"Wow, that's amazing. Actually, my sisters and I haven't practiced for long, we're not very professional. There are some details about exertion and movement effects that I don't know how to express." She kneeled on the chair, leaning forward to look at Efnie, her legs playfully rising and falling behind her.

"It's fine, you've already done quite well. If you're not specifically studying dance, you actually don't need to spend too much energy on the details. If you have time, get the costumes and dance music style right, and the performance will be even better."

"When it comes to dancing, clothes are our weapons and blades. It's essential to choose outfits that match the theme of the music and suit personal style—that's also how you perfectly showcase your charm," Efnie shared her insights with the other girl.

"Mhm, I've learned something. I'll discuss it with my sister later~" She nodded repeatedly, and her twin ponytails swayed cutely behind her head.

While everyone was happily chatting with the singing and dancing girls, Tilan was not joining in at that moment, but sitting in a corner, her figure shrouded in dim shadows.

It wasn't that she disliked them, but at that time she didn't want to draw attention and thought it better to keep a low profile.

Besides Tilan, the only other person who hadn't mingled was Wei Ke. This solitary genius from Tri-Phase Moon Academy was quite aloof, speaking little, except for occasionally feeling flustered and constrained in front of Tilan.

As they gradually became familiar with the students from Edith Academy, a girl looked up and saw Tilan, who was quietly dining by herself, and curiously asked the student in front of her,

"Is she also your classmate? She seems not to talk much."

"Well... our president is more reserved, unlike us who are frivolous." The student wiped his forehead, trying to find a way to explain without speaking ill of Tilan.

Seeing his demeanor, the girl conversing with him understood and didn't ask further, but she thought to herself that although the girl was beautiful, she was probably quite fierce, and nobody dared to provoke her.

An hour later, the lively gathering came to an end, and everyone said goodbye to the resident singers, then returned to the hotel.

The next day, the group went to another classic attraction of 'Antahe,' the 'Crushed Crystal Mud River.' The river wasn't flowing with water but a special type of rock mud, which occasionally churned out small gems. The dull white river snaked and undulated across the rocky earth, like ribbons stretching towards the sky.

After another day of novel and joyful travel, everyone finally set off for the competition site of 'Inverted Star Lake Sword Fighting,' the 'Redstone Valley' space station.

The spacecraft for intrasystem travel had just landed when the passengers saw the golden stage set in outer space, composed of rotating gears. The stage surface was a precise clock face, with orbits like celestial spheres rotating around the perimeter. In the middle, bronze-colored ancient mechanical animals moved slowly. Some sections of these mechanical creatures were exposed, revealing intricate inner workings. Moreover, the gold and copper metal constructs were studded with locally produced 'Red Marrow Crystals,' exuding a steampunk vintage beauty.

"Arriving at the destination space station, dear passengers, the 'Inverted Star Lake Sword Fighting' competition will be held in two days. Please take note and enjoy the event," an announcement chimed in.

Accompanied by a series of alert tones, everyone stepped onto this gravityless space station, where glass-bottomed plant terrariums, people swimming through the air, low-speed flying and landing passenger disks, and upside-down restaurants and shops were everywhere, all highlighting the vastly different lifestyles of the children of stars from those on Earth.