The next morning everyone was refreshed and ready for the exam while Wolfe was preparing for the evening’s festivities. Not that he needed to do much, only make sure that he was awake and actively channelling mana, but it was an important task.
Stephanie was looking a little forlorn, being the only one in the group left out of the exams, and Wolfe couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Her current status also meant that she would miss the party, as no Familiars were allowed inside the room, and Wolfe wasn’t sure if he could get her close enough to the auditorium to gain the benefit of the spell.
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So, once the others were safely in their exam, he went searching for the perfect spot, which turned out to be incredibly easy to find. The auditorium was on the main floor and had a very high ceiling, but there was still a level of classrooms above it. They weren’t usually used these days, with the reduced number of students, but they were practice rooms for the dance groups and musicians during special events, as well as spare study rooms for students who wanted to be further away from the usual spots.
Due to the limitation on the range of many First Year students bond with their Familiars, there was a space set up above the auditorium reserved for the participating Familiars. Only intelligent ones could participate in the event, but there would still be a lot of them, with every student in the Academy attending.
A group of staff was currently guarding it, but they were happy to inform Wolfe that it was a sitting room for him and the others and that the Familiars were welcome to relax here, or he could stay in his dorm if he had the ability to channel mana from that far away.
“Thanks. I think I might drop by and see who is here. Pup and Flame might come as well since they can push mana as well.” Wolfe explained, and the staff’s mood immediately improved.
The fluffy dog was popular everywhere he went, and he didn’t mind who he slept on as long as they were warm and soft.
After finding the sitting room for Familiars, Wolfe had returned to his room to wait for the Witches to finish, knowing that the first round of examinees would have plenty of time to prepare before tonight’s party, which didn’t start until the moon came up.
Unlike Alchemy, the Practical Exam could be completed as fast as you could cast the spells at full output, and the rotation assigned to your lane could get cleared to start the next spell by the attendant observing your exam in the training hall.
The Class A students got to go first. It was a small privilege granted to the most powerful, so the four of them were all back in only a few hours.
The draw from their spell casting had been enough that Wolfe had to sit down and meditate for a while to keep up with the usage, but he had managed to prevent his Focus from running dry, so all their spells were cast with stored mana, which took a lot of strain off them, as well as increasing their power and casting speed.
When the Witches came back from their exams, giddy with joy, cheering and celebrating the end of their midterms, Wolfe was stretched out on the second bed, petting Stephanie with Pup draped across his stomach.
“Congratulations, ladies. I’m assuming you all passed the exams with ease.” He greeted them with a smile.
“The refreshing Charms were amazing. If the first-year Class A girls weren’t all assigned to the same lane, we could have just cast through the entire rotation one after another. Even Reiko didn’t have any issues, and you know how she struggles with water magic.” Ella informed him.
“We should go get party dresses while the others are finishing their testing,” Cassie suggested.
The Witches were eager to leave, but Wolfe stopped them with a ball of fire floating in front of the door. He knew what was happening tonight, and they wouldn’t actually have any need for a fancy gown since the ceremony had to be performed in the nude.
“I have a better idea. Why don’t we work on shaping your Elemental Armor instead? None of you need an armour talisman at this point, but according to the Adventurers Handbook, they can be used for outfits because they create the exact same design every time they are activated.
With some creativity, you can have the perfect, physics-defying ball gown you have dreamed of without spending a cent. We can make them with just the amulet blanks and a special paint pen that Cassie has. I am sure many seniors will do the same, and you will look absolutely fantastic.”
Cassie pulled a library book from her school bag and opened it to a bookmark. The book was in fashion design, and the one she marked was an elegant black cocktail dress that used magic to stay up and hold everything in place. But an armour spell always stayed exactly where you wanted it to since it was entirely made of magic and shaped by your willpower.
“Do you think I can do something like this?” She asked.
“I don’t see why not. You’ve got the design right in front of you. You won’t be able to create it with your uniform on, though.” Ella reminded her.
Without hesitation, Cassie stripped down and activated [Flame Armor], creating a rough facsimile of the gown design in deep red.
“That’s not right. The red is too bright. Wolfe, make me black armour the same colour as yours, and I will guide the process.” She demanded.
Elemental Armor took on shades related to its element, and only Unholy could make pure black, though water could make very dark blue, and earth made a nearly black soil colour.
Wolfe took a moment to memorize the gown design and then pictured how it would look on Cassie as he cast the spell.
“Oh, you’re good. You even gave me the same shoes. Maybe you should become a fashion designer.” Cassie congratulated him, taking a twirl in the mirror.
“What needs to be changed?”
Cassie looked herself over closely, requesting a bit more push-up in the chest, and underwear, which he had neglected to create at all since it wasn’t visible in the picture. The dress didn’t work with a bra, but Cassie wasn’t going to the party commando, and she didn’t own anything that wouldn’t show lines under the thin magical fabric.
None of them knew the outfits would be abandoned early in the evening, but she could use the amulet many times in the future if she wanted.
Logically, Wolfe knew he was going to have to stock up on amulets and blood-infused metallic ink before every special event. The looks of envy that her dress was getting from Ella had already ruled out them ever actually buying a gown again if it wasn’t absolutely necessary to have a non-magical outfit.
When the critics all agreed it was perfect, Wolfe drew the amulet and transferred the spell into it, then deactivated the spell.
Cassie took the disk from him and activated it, bringing back the perfected Armor.
“I wonder how many formal outfits are actually Armor? If I didn’t know, I would think this was the finest silk.” Ella gushed.
Reiko smiled and shook her head. “Not as many as you think. The spell takes a bit of mana to upkeep when active, and not every witch has a living battery like Wolfe. Plus, fine fabric and bright colours are status symbols.
Unless you layered multiple spells, only a gown like this would look normal in monotone.”
“You have a point, but I still want one. Maybe one like this?” Ella requested, turning the page to a similar but less revealing dress.
Wolfe spent ten minutes getting it just right before stopping to get one last round of input on the design.
“You’re getting better at this. But the thong is giving me a wedgie. I don’t know how anyone wears these. Forget what’s recommended in the book. Can’t I have something normal?”
Wolfe ignored Mary’s laughter while he fixed the issues and finalized the amulet, then handed it over for Ella to double-check it.
“You know what I need.” Mary giggled, and Wolfe clothed her with a frilly, puffy, pink and white Lolita dress, complete with puffy bloomers and pink Mary Janes using [Lightning Armor]. The Pink was a bit more purple than he had hoped, but it was as close as he could get it with his current skill level, and Mary seemed happy enough with what he had created.
“Oh my. She looks like a doll. Give her a hair ribbon.” Reiko demanded.
That was an easy addition, so Wolfe finished the amulet and looked to Reiko.
“Go on, strip. You’re the only one left.”