Chapter 284 : Ice Sorceress Vivian
Chapter 284: Ice Sorceress Vivian
The place where Richard-Eva hosted the gathering this time was a newly opened tavern named the "Never-Fall Inn."
The tavern’s cherry pies and honey-roasted meats were quite popular.
However, the overly sweet flavor of the honey-roasted meat didn't suit Janna's taste. So after just a few bites, she focused entirely on sipping the peach wine in her cup.
After parting ways, Janna, who had sobered up a bit, activated the 【Well of Vortex】 and arrived at the designated coordinates to begin her assigned tasks for the day. By the time she finished healing three trees and returned to the dormitory, it was already well past midnight.
So, after a full day of exhaustion, Janna didn’t wake from deep meditation until 7:30 the next morning.
She didn’t even have breakfast, hurriedly grabbed her Intermediate Spells textbook, and rushed to the general lecture hall on the sixth floor of the magic tower.
"Good thing this morning’s class was switched to Intermediate Spells, otherwise there’s no way I’d have made it to the combat training ground in time."
Still seated in the second row, Janna watched Mary-Margaret on the podium as she taught the 【Blessing Spell】 ritual chant in standard Dragon Tongue. While rapidly committing it to memory, Janna also diligently jotted down key points in her textbook.
"I’ve missed so many classes. When Vivian returns from seclusion, she’s in for a rough time—"
Second-year Intermediate Spells classes, aside from teaching a small number of general-use witchcraft spells (like the not-yet-covered 【Sheep Transformation Spell】), focused mainly on 【Ritual Witchcraft】.
And with 【Ritual Witchcraft】, beyond memorizing all the various ritual material types, the hardest part was reciting the incantations in the extremely convoluted 【Dragon Tongue】.
Because of that, a new 【Dragon Tongue】 class had also been added to the second-year language curriculum, currently taught by Professor Uta.
"Alright, that concludes everything on the 【Blessing Spell】. When you get back, be sure to practice.
Next class, I’ll randomly select a few of you to cast it on the spot. Dismissed."
"Goodbye, Professor Margaret—"
As Mary-Margaret left the classroom, the apprentices finally couldn't hold back their complaints any longer.
Their main gripes, apart from the tongue-twisting difficulty of the 【Blessing Spell】 chants, were about how nearly every professor this semester seemed to love impromptu assessments.
"Janna, are you going to the library this afternoon?"
After putting away her Intermediate Spells textbook, Bell-Moonshadow, who sat beside Janna, stood and asked her.
"I have other plans this afternoon, so I’m not going."
"Alright then, I’ll head out first."
Seeing Janna turn down the library invitation, Bell-Moonshadow’s face showed barely concealed disappointment as she turned away.
"It’s you?"
Just as Bell-Moonshadow reached the classroom door, a familiar face she hadn’t seen in a long time suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Mhm."
To Bell-Moonshadow’s surprise, the person merely gave a slight nod.
Then, a pair of icy blue eyes, seemingly emanating frost, looked past the bustling crowd straight toward that slender, emerald figure in the second row.
"Janna—"
The cold, clear voice carried an unmistakable tremble.
Upon hearing it, Janna, still organizing her class notes, froze mid-motion. She quickly set down her quill and turned toward the door.
"Janna!"
Before she could fully see who it was, a flash of white blur streaked toward her like lightning, carrying the scent of snow.
"Vivian?"
"It’s me!"
Recognizing Vivian, who had charged in for a bear hug, Janna’s initial shock melted into a radiant smile as she returned the embrace of an excited Vivian.
"If you hadn’t come out of seclusion soon, I would’ve started suspecting you’d dropped out."
Breaking free from Vivian’s hug, Janna looked at her thinner-than-before face, a tinge of pain flickering in her eyes.
"You’ve been through a lot during this time, haven’t you?"
"It wasn’t too bad———"
For some reason, though she had intended to sound strong, the moment Vivian saw those gentle eyes, a surge of unspoken grievance and hardship rose in her chest.
"Actually, it was a little tough."
Snow-white hair, ocean-deep icy blue eyes, and a face as delicate as blank parchment yet overly gaunt—
From appearance alone, Vivian seemed not only colder than the last time Janna saw her during the Black Magic Defense class, but also exuded a wild, untamed aura.
It was the kind of wildness that reminded one of a beast lurking on a frozen tundra, always poised to strike, radiating intense pressure.
"I can tell—you’ve gotten much stronger than before."
Besides the obvious changes in appearance, Janna could also sense that the ice-elemental particles around Vivian had become far more active.
They were like those powerful magical beasts that dwelled in frozen lands—naturally beloved by frost.
Wait a minute—
Thanks to her high 【Perception】 attribute, Janna quickly noticed something unusual. Vivian’s frost particles were overly active, and even her body was unusually cold.
"What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Seeing Janna’s smile suddenly vanish, a puzzled look appeared in Vivian’s icy blue eyes.
Though they were now alone in the classroom, Janna still cast a 【Soundproof Barrier】 around them.
"What’s with the secrecy—"
Seeing Janna’s serious expression, Vivian quieted down as well.
"Are you planning to abandon the witch’s path and switch to the warlock path?"
"How did you know?"
Startled by Janna’s precise deduction, Vivian’s eyes widened in surprise.
"Janna, you really are sharp——"
"Why would you do that? You could’ve followed both paths, like Richard."
"Alright, Janna, let’s not talk about that right now. I’ll explain it to you later."
Vivian, caught completely off guard by Janna’s insight, didn’t answer right away. Instead, she hugged Janna’s arm and changed the subject with a smile.
"I heard you recently became the face of Necromancy Jewelry again. So, do you have the latest catalog?"
"Vivian, the warlock path is an incredibly dangerous one. One misstep, and you’ll turn into a beast that knows only how to kill—"
"I know."
Vivian’s previously lighthearted tone faded, and the smile on her face slowly disappeared, replaced by an expression that was both lost and incredibly resolute.
"I know everything you’re saying—"