Library!

"Wait!" Lyra's voice rang out sharply as she called after Vasida and Sylph. Both girls turned around just in time to see her rummaging through her supplies. "I'm going to make something."

Without further explanation, Lyra quickly grabbed a large sheet of parchment from her desk, her movements precise and practiced. She sliced it cleanly with a flick of her wrist. Her two friends exchanged curious glances, but before they could ask what she was doing, Lyra had already dipped her quill into a jar of vibrant, colored ink and began writing, her hand flying across the parchment.

As she worked, Vasida leaned in, her curiosity getting the better of her. She squinted at the large, bold letters forming on the parchment and began to read aloud. "Do you want to know how much magic power you have left? Do you want to know how far you are from leveling up? The Little Witch Lyra's character card can answer all your questions! For just 50 mana, one-time payment, you can track your magic progress, and the best part? You won't need another card until you reach the peak level!"

Sylph, intrigued by the words, stepped closer. "Wait; what? If you don't have enough mana, you can pay in installments? One mana interest? Lyra, is this seriously how you sell cards to other witches?"

Lyra beamed with pride, her eyes sparkling. "Of course! I want every little witch to be able to afford it. No one should be left in the dark about their magical progress. I'm doing everyone a favor here! Hold on, let me add a diagram of the card, and my dorm number so they can find me easily."

She bent over the parchment again, sketching a colorful, eye-catching diagram of her card. Each stroke of her quill brought the advertisement to life, and by the time she finished, the poster was a vibrant masterpiece, complete with bold fonts and an illustration of the character card. Satisfied with her work, she smiled, brushing a stray hair from her face.

"We need to get this out where everyone can see it." Lyra rolled up the parchment and motioned for her friends to follow her. They headed straight to Warehouse No. 3, where she grabbed a pot of glue, then marched to the entrance of Warehouse No. 1. With a quick flick of her wrist, she spread the glue evenly on the back of the poster and pressed it firmly onto the wall, right next to the door.

Vasida and Sylph watched in stunned silence as Lyra took a step back, admiring her handiwork. "Perfect!" she declared, crossing her arms in satisfaction. "Now every little witch who comes by to pick up school supplies will see this. We're bound to get customers."

As they waited to see if anyone would immediately react, Lyra noticed an upperclassman passing by. "Oh, there's Tracy, one of the seniors!" she said, waving. "That reminds me, this place is where all the witches from different years come for supplies. It's the perfect spot for advertising."

Sylph's eyes widened. "You really thought this through! Even the seniors will see this. And that price... it's affordable for everyone."

Vasida nodded enthusiastically. "Senior Lilith is going to be so impressed when she sees this. You're practically a hero for making it so cheap!"

Lyra puffed out her chest. "See? And yet some people still call me a money hungry goblin! Can you believe that? If I sold these cards outside of the witch community, I'd charge double, maybe even triple!"

With the advertisement posted and her mission accomplished, Lyra led her friends back to the alchemy classroom. The other little witches were already busy, cutting parchment for their own projects. But Lyra had something different in mind. As she watched them work, an idea struck her. "Infecting one sheet of parchment at a time seems so inefficient," she mused aloud. "I wonder if I could do the whole roll at once, like I did with the animal skin book."

Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed a full roll of parchment, laid her hands on it, and began channeling her magic into the paper. As the magic flowed, she could feel the infection process spreading from the outer layers of the parchment to the inner ones, just as she had envisioned. It was slower than infecting a single sheet, but the results were promising.

"This works!" Lyra exclaimed, excitement bubbling in her voice. "Instead of doing one sheet at a time, I can infect the whole roll. When I need more parchment, I'll just cut it off, and it'll already be infused with magic!"

Vasida and Sylph, who had been watching in awe, immediately began copying her method. Soon, the three of them were infecting parchment rolls together, their laughter filling the room as they compared notes on their progress.

Other little witches in the class, noticing what Lyra and her friends were doing, started adjusting their own methods. Instead of infecting one sheet at a time, they spread out several sheets across the table and infected them all at once, speeding up the process. Lyra smiled to herself; she had sparked an innovation.

With just ten minutes left before the afternoon class, Lyra cut out thirty sheets from the infected roll, each perfectly sized to match her witch's book. She added the new pages with a satisfied sigh, her mind already spinning with new ideas for her next project.

The thin animal leather booklet finally resembled a book, and Amisha couldn't help but smile at the sight. "You always manage to surprise me!" she exclaimed, glancing at the tables cluttered with rolls of parchment. The little witches had clearly been busy again this afternoon.

"Dean! Please, can you tell us how to include our new books in the witch's book?" Amy's voice was tinged with urgency, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

The little witches buzzed with excitement, their curiosity palpable.

"Alright! You'll find out soon enough. Grab your witch's book and follow me!" Amisha instructed, waving for them to join her.

They left the west tower and made their way to the main building's library.

"Are we finally getting access to the library?" one witch whispered to another, hope brightening her expression.

Amisha smiled faintly but said nothing, leading them through the grand library doors and into a hidden corridor.

"Wait, there's a corridor here?" Many little witches exchanged bewildered glances, realizing they had overlooked this part of the castle.

They passed two small doors, each labeled "Third Grade Library" and "Second Grade Library." The little witches felt a thrill of intrigue as they approached the end of the corridor.

"No way!" a voice gasped when they saw Amisha stop before a door marked "First Grade Library."

At first glance, the library didn't appear grand like they had imagined.

"You still have much to learn about the magical world," Amisha said gently, her tone serious. "If you're not careful, danger could lurk in the pages of some books. It's not yet the right time for you to dive into extensive reading."

She continued, "The books here are specially selected for first-grade witches; they're basic and safe. The libraries for second and third grades will open to you later. This time is all about laying your foundation."

The little witches nodded, their expressions a mix of understanding and impatience.

"After you reach fourth grade and have solidified your knowledge, the full library will be available to you. However," Amisha added with a hint of excitement, "if any of you manage to learn all the required magic for this year ahead of time, you can come to me for an advanced pass to the next stage of the library."

With that, she pushed open the door to the first-grade library, and the little witches filed in behind her.

To their surprise, the library was much larger than they expected, about the size of the auditorium used for the matriculation dinner. Bright magic lights illuminated the space, revealing comfortable tables and chairs perfect for reading.

The bookshelves were relatively low, standing at about 1.6 meters high. Even Vasida, the shortest of the group, could easily reach the books on the top shelf by simply standing on her tiptoes.

"The books in this academy have all been specially processed," Amisha said, pulling a book from the first shelf. She pointed to a glowing rune on its spine. "Do you see this?"

The little witches nodded, eyes wide with curiosity.

"This is a magic rune created using witch Tracy's transcription technique. It works in tandem with your witch's book," Amisha explained. "Simply place the spine of a desired book against a blank page in your witch's book, and the transcription will be completed quickly."

"What if the rune is dim?" one witch asked, her brow furrowed.

"Great question! If the rune is dim, it means someone has just copied that book and it cannot be copied again right away," Amisha replied. "But don't worry; there's a charging spell on the bookshelf. A book can be recharged in under a minute. Once the runes light up again, you can copy it."

She paused, gauging their reactions before adding, "As for the art of copying itself, I recommend learning that when you have enough magic power. It will be invaluable after graduation since only the college library books come with copying runes."

Amisha concluded, "The methods for learning this art can be found in 'The Magic of Books.'" The little witches exchanged excited glances, the thrill of knowledge ahead igniting their imaginations.