Vasida followed Lyra to the backyard, confusion plastered across her sleepy face. She watched with growing curiosity as Lyra climbed the rickety ladder up to the top of the water tower.
"What is she doing?" Vasida muttered under her breath, rubbing her eyes.
Lyra pulled the cover off the water tower, balancing carefully as she stuck the tip of her wand into the opening.
Before Vasida could even blink, the sound of water surging through the tower roared to life. It was 'deafening.'
Vasida's sleepiness vanished instantly. Her eyes shot wide open, and she gasped in disbelief. "Water—?" She clapped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from shouting, afraid she might disrupt whatever magic Lyra was casting.
But inside, her thoughts were running wild. 'Is that spring magic? Did Lyra seriously learn the Clear Spring Technique?'
She watched in awe as water gushed steadily from Lyra's wand, the flow thick and powerful, far stronger than anything Vasida had seen, even from second-year witches.
'How did she manage to learn this so fast?' Vasida wondered, her heart racing. 'And how is she casting it so smoothly?'
Up on the tower, Lyra kept a calm rhythm, releasing just enough magic to feel comfortable. She channeled half of her mana, watching as the water flowed down into the tower in a steady stream as thick as her thigh. In just a few minutes, the water tank was completely filled.
Satisfied, Lyra cut off the magic and felt the flow stop almost instantly. She secured the cover of the water tower, climbed down the ladder, and dusted off her hands, looking pleased with herself.
The moment Lyra's feet hit the ground, Vasida grabbed her by the arm.
"Lyra! When did you learn the Clear Spring Technique?" Vasida demanded, her voice full of disbelief.
"Last night," Lyra said matter-of-factly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Vasida gawked. "You learned it 'last night'? Before the dean even got around to teaching it? And you can already use it this well?" She could hardly contain the admiration in her voice.
Lyra shrugged. "Spring magic is a lot simpler than cooking magic. If you just follow the book, it's easy enough to learn."
Vasida leaned closer, her eyes glinting with curiosity. "What book? I want to learn it too!"
Lyra smiled. "I found two. The first is 'Ignition, Lighting, and Water Making,' a basic introductory book. And the other is 'The Ding Dong of Clear Springs,' which goes into more advanced theory and techniques. Both are really interesting."
She leaned in, lowering her voice slightly, as if sharing a secret. "Just make sure you keep your emotions in check when you first cast the spell. If you get too excited, the magic can get out of control, and you'll waste a ton of mana."
Vasida furrowed her brow. "'The Witch Magic Catalog'... That sounds familiar."
Lyra gave her a knowing smile. "It's on the optional reading list for our 'Basic Theory of Magic' class. The one for the paper we were assigned yesterday."
"Oh!" Vasida's eyes lit up as the realization hit her. Then she squinted suspiciously at Lyra. "Wait a minute… You read the reference book 'last night'?"
"Well," Lyra said casually, "I didn't finish the whole thing. I just skimmed it enough to write the paper."
"Wait, wait, 'what?'" Vasida's jaw dropped. "You're telling me you wrote your paper last night?"
"Yup. Two, actually," Lyra admitted with a shrug.
"Two papers?" Vasida stared at her, stunned. "And you're saying you don't have any more to write?"
Lyra shook her head.
Vasida groaned, running a hand through her already-messy hair. "You've got to be kidding me. Some of us haven't even started writing those four papers, and here you are, 'done' with everything; and you've already learned a whole new magic technique?"
Before Lyra could respond, Sylph appeared from the front yard, holding an empty bucket in one hand and looking a little groggy. "Hey, Vasida! Do you have any water left in your tower? There's none in mine, and I need to water my bellflowers."
Lyra perked up, her eyes gleaming with excitement. This was her chance to practice again! "I'll help you fill it!" she offered eagerly, gripping her wand with renewed enthusiasm.
Sylph blinked, a little taken aback by Lyra's sudden excitement. "Uh… It's okay, really. I just need a little water for the flowers. I was going to grab the rest from the well when I get back at noon."
"No need! I've got it covered!" Lyra declared, already heading toward Sylph's water tower with the same eager energy that had left Vasida speechless moments ago.
Sylph exchanged a confused glance with Vasida. "What's gotten into her?" she whispered.
Vasida gave an exaggerated shrug. "I have no idea. She didn't even take a bucket."
They both stared as Lyra sprinted off toward the backyard, practically glowing with excitement, her wand at the ready.
Sylph tilted her head. "Wait... 'how' exactly is she planning to get the water?"
Vasida sighed, still trying to wrap her head around the whirlwind that was Lyra. "Just watch. You won't believe it."
With a flick of her wand and a grin full of confidence, Lyra climbed onto Sylph's water tower, ready to summon another flood.
"Hey! Let her add the water for you!" Vasida grabbed Sylph's arm, pulling her back. "She learned the Clear Spring Technique! She's faster than you at filling a water tower!"
Sylph blinked, her brow furrowing. "Wait... 'Spring Technique'? Seriously?"
A few moments later, they stood together in the backyard of Sylph's dormitory, watching Lyra at work. Lyra climbed up the water tower, slid the cover open, and effortlessly directed her wand inside. The familiar gurgle of rushing water echoed through the yard as the tank rapidly began to fill.
Vasida leaned close to Sylph, whispering excitedly, "Can you believe it? She learned it from a book 'last night'! And that's not even the crazy part! Not only did she learn spring magic, but she also wrote 'two papers' and read several books. And; get this, she even finished the papers that were assigned earlier this week! I mean, she's practically unstoppable."
Sylph stared, stunned. "That's… outrageous. How does she even have the time to do all that?" She scratched her head in frustration, thinking about her own progress. "I've barely started reading 'The Birth of a Beautiful Cover' this week, and I still haven't decided on a cover design I like!"
Meanwhile, more little witches from the nearby dorms started peeking out, curious about the splashing sounds coming from Sylph's backyard. Whispers spread quickly; Lyra, the first-year witch, had mastered a spell that even second-years struggled with. By the time Lyra finished filling Sylph's water tower, word had already reached half the first-year witches.
As Lyra walked toward class, she found herself surrounded by Vasida, Sylph, and a gaggle of other witches, all demanding answers.
"Tell us right now; how did you do it?" Vasida demanded, arms crossed.
Lyra, caught off guard but too honest to dodge, recounted her week from Monday to Friday. "I just went home, studied a bit, and read through the reference books from class. Then I practiced the Clear Spring Technique after finishing my papers."
The group of witches stared at her, mouths agape. Vasida narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Wait. You don't cook meals every night? You just eat... bread and fruit cake?"
Lyra gave a casual shrug. "Yeah, breadfruit cakes and the jerky Amy gives me! It's pretty convenient."
Vasida groaned dramatically. "Do you mean to tell me you're a top-tier cooking witch, and yet you survive on breadfruit cakes? I've eaten my weight in terrible food just trying to learn magic and you, of all people, are living off bread?"
Lyra shifted uncomfortably under the skeptical stares. "It's not just the cakes!" she added quickly. "The jerky from Amy helps a lot!"
Amy, floating nearby, gave Lyra a deadpan look. "I swear, if you keep eating like that, I'm going to end up having to save your life." With a huff, she reached into her bag and shoved a bundle of extra jerky at Lyra. "Here. Just... take it. I can't have you starving to death in the middle of one of your study sessions."
"Thanks, but there's no chance of that!" Lyra promised, grinning. "I've got everything under control!"
Amy gave her a pointed look. "You 'better' have everything under control. I don't want to wake up one morning and find you passed out from overwork."
Sylph patted Lyra's hand gently. "You should take it easy, Lyra. There's more to life than just studying and practicing magic."
"But I 'am' taking it easy!" Lyra insisted with a bright smile. "Learning magic is incredible; it's so much fun! I love every second of it."
Sylph tilted her head in disbelief. "You love... writing papers?"
"Well, not exactly the papers," Lyra admitted with a laugh. "But everything else! The spells, the books, discovering something new every day; it's all amazing! The more I learn, the more I understand how fascinating this world is. Valen, witches, magic, it's all so incredible. I just can't get enough."
The other witches exchanged bewildered glances.
"...We just don't want to hurt our tongues or stomachs eating all that bread," Vasida muttered, crossing her arms.
Lyra gave an exasperated sigh. "Alright, alright; let me ask you this: do you want to learn the Clear Spring Technique or not? Imagine never having to drag water from the well again. Doesn't that sound 'worth it'?"
The witches, who'd been grumbling just moments ago, suddenly perked up. The idea of filling their water towers in an instant was impossible to resist.
"Yes!" they all shouted in unison. Fetching water was the bane of every witch's existence, and the prospect of skipping that chore was enough to sway even the most reluctant of them.
Lyra smirked, knowing she had them hooked. "Good. Then take my advice: don't wait around for the dean to teach it in class. By the time she gets around to it, we'll still be stuck finishing cooking magic, probably struggling to bake decent bread for weeks."
The witches groaned in unison, knowing how tedious the cooking magic class had already been. Vasida threw her hands up in defeat. "We're going to be stuck with bread forever at this rate."
"Exactly," Lyra said with a grin. "So why wait? The books are all in the library, and I've already shared everything I learned. If you start now, you can master it before class even touches on it."
Sylph sighed, but there was a hint of excitement in her voice. "Well... I suppose there's no harm in getting a head start."
"No harm at all," Lyra said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "And trust me, when you fill up your water tower with a single spell, it'll be worth every second."
The witches exchanged glances, their earlier frustration melting away, replaced by determination. They knew Lyra was right. The sooner they learned the Clear Spring Technique, the sooner they could leave the drudgery of fetching water behind.
And if it meant fewer exhausting trips to the well, they were all in.