The little witches stepped out of the castle through the east gate, excitement buzzing in the air. The sky above the central mountain range, where the castle stood, was alive with activity. Witches on brooms filled the sky, swooping, diving, and spinning in the air. Some hovered gracefully, while others zipped by at breakneck speed, performing daring flips and twirls, drawing gasps of awe from the onlookers.
"Look at that!" Amy pointed excitedly toward a witch sitting sideways on her broom, her posture calm and confident. "That's Senior Quilin!"
Quilin was easy to spot. Not only did she live close to Amy, but she also shared an interest in cooking and food magic, making her a familiar face. Her relaxed form as she drifted through the air on her broom was a sharp contrast to the wild stunts of some of the others.
Lyra and the others scanned the sky, spotting another familiar figure. "There's Senior Lilith!" Lyra exclaimed. Lilith was in the midst of a dizzying series of dives and loops, twisting her broom with an ease that made the crowd below gasp. She was clearly having the time of her life.
"Do the seniors really learn to fly so fast?" Sylph asked, her voice tinged with wonder.
"Oh, we'll be the only ones still walking to class from now on," Vasida sighed wistfully, her eyes following the seniors above. "I can't wait until we can fly too."
As if hearing their conversation, Lilith swooped down, her broom slowing just above the ground. "Hey, class is over!" she called out, flashing them a wide grin. "Check out my broom! Isn't it cool?"
The little witches nodded enthusiastically, their heads bobbing like eager chicks. Though Lilith's broom looked rough, more like a stick tied with some wild weeds than a sleek flying instrument, it didn't matter. It flew, and that made it undeniably cool.
Lilith let out a hearty laugh. "I'm off for a few more laps!" she said, kicking off the ground and soaring back into the sky, her wild laughter echoing behind her.
Before long, the third-year students joined in the fun, the sky buzzing with their energetic flight. Meanwhile, the first-year witches could only watch from the ground, their feet planted firmly on the earth while their eyes followed the excitement in the sky above. It felt like they were participating in the thrill; if only with their imaginations.
Lyra, however, wasn't as absorbed in the spectacle as her friends. She frowned slightly, recalling how her card sales to second-years hadn't gone as well as she'd hoped earlier that day. It was a small disappointment in an otherwise exciting afternoon.
After descending the mountain, Lyra took a detour to the food collection point, gathering fresh ingredients. She had been planning to make breadcake and bread juice for dinner, but something had shifted when she saw all those books in the library. Her mind was brimming with inspiration, and she decided to make something a little more special: breadfruit cake. It was a hearty dish, something that would last a while and could be cut into small portions, perfect for a quick meal when studying late into the night.
With her basket heavy with ingredients, Lyra trudged back to the dormitory, stopping every few steps to catch her breath. Each time she paused, she daydreamed about the levitation spells and space items she had read about. 'If only I had those now,' she thought. 'I wouldn't have to carry all of this by hand.' The weight of the basket sparked an idea. 'Maybe I could design a card that would make carrying things easier...'
Her thoughts quickened with excitement, and she quickened her pace, eager to get back and start designing. Once back at the dorm, she dropped off her ingredients, only to head right back out again; this time to the breadfruit forest, where she gathered even more breadfruits, enough to fill the storage room.
With everything prepared, Lyra summoned her 'Book of Cards'. She flipped it open, admiring her handiwork. The first page displayed the card {Card Book}, with a small number "1" in the corner, showing how many she had made. The second page was her {Character Card - Apprentice}, which had a number "60" next to it, a sign of her progress. Both her Chinese version of the cards and the Witch version were stored here, each card carefully organized.
The cover of the card book stored energy and allowed her to create new cards, while the pages inside acted as an illustrated guide, storing and recording the details of every card she made. Only the first two pages were active, though; the rest of the book was still locked, the pages feeling as heavy and solid as bricks in her hands.
Undeterred, Lyra took out the {Book of Cards} card and activated its "Card Design" function. Her fingers tingled with excitement as she focused on her new idea. She began designing the card.
[Card Design: Hand-cranked Juicer]
[Estimated Mana Consumption: 0.01]
[Expected Appearance: Template 1]
[Expected Function: A hand-cranked machine that separates juice from pulp]
Her mind raced with possibilities as she envisioned the juicer; simple, but effective. As she worked, Lyra couldn't help but smile. Inspiration really did come from everyday life, she mused. The more she experienced, the more ideas seemed to pour in. The thought of what she could design next; perhaps even a card to help with transportation, drove her creativity further.
With her design complete, Lyra turned her attention back to the breadfruit cake, ready to bake and eager to see what the next day's lessons would bring.
The idea had come to Lyra the night before, and it worked just as she had remembered the hand-cranked juicers from Earth. What truly surprised her was how little energy it required, only 0.01 mana.
"For the first time, magic feels endless!" she thought, grinning at the realization. With just 1 mana, she could create 100 hand-cranked juicers. The thought emboldened her. Why stop at a manual juicer? Surely, an automatic version would be even better!
Without hesitation, she began redesigning it.
[Card Design: Automatic Juicer - 1 Mana Rechargeable Version]
[Estimated Mana Consumption: 0.4 Mana]
[Appearance: Template 1]
[Function: Automatically extracts juice, separating the pulp. Once used, it can be returned to the card for recharge. The card can store up to 1 mana or an equivalent energy source for future use.]
This idea of recharging came from a book she'd read in the library, inspiring her to push the design even further. Though it consumed forty times more mana than the manual version, it was still a trivial amount for Lyra. But she didn't stop there. She tried various versions: a direct-charging juicer, ones that stored 1, 2, or even 5 mana, and versions that could be retrieved or used only once.
The simplest model, an automatic juicer that could be charged directly and stored 1 mana, cost just 0.2 mana to make. That was practically nothing in terms of energy.
Excited, Lyra didn't waste time. She quickly crafted two {Automatic Juicer - Card Storage and Charging 2 Mana Energy Version} cards. Each juicer consumed 0.5 mana, which perfectly used up the last bit of energy stored in her purple gem.
With two juicers ready to go, she decided to test one out. The results were astounding. What used to take hours; pounding and squeezing breadfruit into juice, was now done in minutes. The speed and efficiency left her beaming. There was no way she could keep something this useful to herself. Her friends needed to see this.
Lyra threw open the door to her dormitory and called out, "Senior Lilith! Sylph! Vasida!"
From the rooms on either side, Sylph and Vasida stepped out, curious. Across the way, Lilith's window creaked open, and her bright red hair peeked through.
Once they had all gathered, Lyra grinned, "I've got plenty of juice! Want some?"
Her friends exchanged knowing looks. They all understood what kind of "juice" she was talking about.
Lilith, whose magic reserves barely scraped the double digits, didn't waste a second. She climbed out her window and darted toward Lyra, eager for the offer. Vasida and Sylph followed quickly behind.
"You made juice already?!" Vasida asked, incredulous. She had only just started preparing her breadfruit, and here was Lyra, already done.
"Of course! Thanks to my new cards," Lyra replied, unable to hide her pride.
Sylph's eyes lit up at the mention of new cards. "A new card that can make juice fast? Are you selling it?" she asked, excitement in her voice. Sylph also needed breadfruit juice, but she despised the time-consuming process of making it. The thought of skipping all that work and getting straight to the juice was too tempting to resist.
"Absolutely!" Lyra said, already sensing the growing interest.
Vasida was clearly intrigued too, but before she could say anything, Lilith; who had been gunning for the juice, froze at the mention of cards for sale. She awkwardly turned on her heel, half stepping back into the dormitory yard. "Oh, I just remembered, I left my flying broom out. I should go check on it."
Lyra saw through her ploy immediately. "Super low price, starting at just 0.05 mana!" she called out.
Lilith's retreat came to an abrupt halt. She sheepishly stepped back toward the group, a grin spreading across her face. "Oh, I remembered wrong. My broom's perfectly fine where it is."
Lyra chuckled. "I thought so."