Chapter 99: A-grade Talent
As a spellcasting apprentice of both the Summoning and Plant departments, Jia Na had not learned any Witchcraft related to bloodlines, strength, or agility.
Precisely because of this, compared to Bell-Moonshadow who possessed the 【Dark Elf】 bloodline, and even Richard-Eva who possessed the 【Vampire Bat】 bloodline and Suo Luo-Lie Yan who possessed the 【Lava Lizard】 bloodline, Jia Na's physique could be said to be incredibly fragile.
Of course, compared to Frost apprentice Vivian, or Flame apprentice Andre-Green, who are also spellcasting apprentices, Jia Na's physique might be considerably stronger due to the system's reward.
Precisely because of this, Jia Na's Witchcraft cultivation approach during her first-year apprentice period was centered around the escape-proficient 【Deformation Art】,
the Guardian-type Witchcraft 【Floral Guardian】, and the crowd-controlling Witchcraft 【Siren's Chant】 which delays enemies.
Although in terms of output, there was still 【Beginner Transformation】 to hold the line, the three-minute time limit meant Jia Na could only use it as a final trump card and couldn't cast it frequently.
"My current weakness is still insufficient spell power. Even with two Contract Summoning creatures, they aren't very capable fighters. I can only think of a solution when choosing new Contract Summoning creatures later."
Besides the weakness of insufficient damage, what Jia Na lacked even more was stealth ability like Bell-Moonshadow.
The reason Jia Na was able to repeatedly defeat Bell-Moonshadow during the apprentice duels these past few times, besides her dazzling Witchcraft techniques, was because the apprentice duels in Black Magic Defense Class had a twenty-minute time limit.
Therefore, Shadow apprentice Bell-Moonshadow, who was skilled in stealth, surprise attacks, and instant kills, had to abandon her professional advantage and could only resort to strong attacks to initiate, giving Jia Na an opening.
Even with the terrain bonus of the swamp wetland during the mid-match, it was still not enough to fully display Bell-Moonshadow's true combat strength.
"So, if it were truly in the wilderness, a fight with Bell would likely still put me in a passive defensive position. Without preparation for a protracted battle, it's hard to say who would achieve the final victory in the end."
"Whoosh—"
After a morning of effort, Bell-Moonshadow, who was sitting beside Jia Na, finally successfully cast 【Reading Magic】.
Although not very proficient yet, among the apprentices in the classroom who had successfully completed Witchcraft casting, Bell-
Moonshadow was considered to be ranked quite high.
"Alright, I see quite a few people have successfully cast 【Reading Magic】, and the progress is quite good. For those who haven't succeeded yet, I will specifically check on you next class—of course, don't forget 【Wizard's Hand】 either—."
Hearing that Mary-Margaret would be doing spot checks next class, several apprentices whose mental strength was clearly insufficient couldn't help but show worried expressions, and some even considered taking leave next class.
"Class dismissed."
"Goodbye, Professor Margaret—" Until Mary-Margaret left the classroom, there were still many apprentices inside sighing constantly and looking worried.
"Miss Jia Na, do you have time? I have a question about Witchcraft that I'd like to ask you about, and of course, I will pay a consultation fee."
"Sorry, I have something very urgent to deal with right now. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them for you after class tomorrow."
"Ah— okay, okay, Miss Jia Na, please go ahead with your urgent matter, then I'll consult you tomorrow—"
Looking at Jia Na's polite smile, Andy, the slightly overweight male apprentice who had also paid to consult Jia Na about 【Wizard's Hand】
after the Basic Spells class last time, although he felt it was a pity, when he heard that he would still have a chance to continue paying for consultation after class tomorrow, the slightest regret in his heart vanished.
"Andy, since you're so rich, why don't you just consult Professor Margaret directly?"
Seeing Jia Na gradually walk away, several apprentices familiar with Andy couldn't help but step forward and ask with slight confusion.
"What do you know? Professor Margaret's consultation fee is five credits per session, and if the questions I ask are too basic, I even get scolded—it's not as good as going to Miss Jia Na—"
"Not only does she explain well, but she's also very patient. She won't put you down, and her fees are very fair, not at all rip-offs. If I don't use such a good resource, isn't there something wrong with my head? I also advise you, next time you have questions, you can just take money and go directly to Miss Jia Na. There's no need to bother finding a Professor, or those senior apprentices who charge exorbitant fees."
Hearing Andy, a returning customer, give such high praise, several apprentices around, who weren't from Wizard families but had accumulated quite a few credits recently, couldn't help but be tempted.
After all, the academy's final exams were in a few months, and if they didn't pass, there would be a risk of being held back.
By that time, it wouldn't just be a matter of losing face; the retake fees alone would be a large sum of money.
"But... isn't Miss Jia Na also just a first-year apprentice? Can she possibly know more than a Professor?"
"Nonsense, if Miss Jia Na knew more than a Professor, would she still need to stay here? But precisely because she's like us, also a first-year apprentice, she can explain problems better from our perspective!"
"That's true."
Under Andy's almost eloquent persuasion, the apprentices who had only heard about Jia Na's academic prowess but had never paid her for consultation, unconsciously began to waver.
"Then after class tomorrow, I'll also consult Miss Jia Na with you—after all, I really don't want to fail."
"Then don't forget to prepare the consultation fee in advance."
"Of course, I understand that—"
After saying hello to Bell-Moonshadow, Jia Na, who was eager to return, didn't even go to the cafeteria for a bite to eat and went straight back to her dormitory.
"Door Spirit, if anyone comes looking for me, just say I'm in seclusion and ask them to leave a message."
"Alright, Miss Jia Na."
After instructing the Door Spirit, Jia Na closed her dormitory door, neatly took off her wizard robe, and sat down beside the experimental table.
She exhaled, took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. After confirming that everything was ready, Jia Na quickly summoned the system panel.
"system, add all 100 points of talent experience to 【Soul Projection】."
"Buzz—"
As the talent experience was allocated, the progress bar attached to 【Soul Projection】 rapidly turned 100% amidst a golden light.
In an instant, colorful patches quickly covered Jia Na's eyes. As time seemed to shift, it was as if her soul had left her body, and the surrounding dormitory scene continuously fell away in Jia Na's vision. Until she broke through White Coral Academy, broke through Turin Wizard Gathering Place, broke through the Magic Tower Barrier...