Chapter 19: Siren Chanting
Just as Janna was about to find Black Cat Bell to exchange for a new witchcraft spell, a line of small text on the magical crystal wall suddenly caught her attention.
【Professor Lilith-McGee has returned. Beginning this afternoon, the Introductory Transfiguration course will resume.】
Upon seeing the message, Janna’s mood was instantly uplifted.
“Lilith-McGee has actually returned? Everyone outside was saying she got trapped in a lost secret realm and couldn’t get out... Looks like that was just a rumor.”
Three months ago, due to Professor Lilith-McGee’s sudden disappearance, the planned transfiguration course was suspended indefinitely.
For Janna, who had just spent one hundred academic credits to exchange for the Introductory Transfiguration course, it was a heavy blow, both emotionally and financially.
After all, in order to save up those hundred credits, Janna had spent nearly a month tirelessly completing quests.
Even then, it was only because she had taken on several high-level apprentices’ purification missions that she barely managed to gather enough credits.
But man proposes and heaven disposes—before the course even began, Janna received news of Lilith-McGee’s disappearance.
To Janna, who couldn’t get her credits refunded, it was no different from being scammed!
“I knew it, how could a dignified First Tier Wizard stoop so low as to covet an apprentice’s credits... No matter how broke she was, she wouldn’t resort to fraud...”
Now overjoyed, Janna even forgot the heartache of having to empty her savings to exchange for a sound-type witchcraft spell.
Right now, she just wanted to rush back to the dormitory, quickly learn the sound-type witchcraft, submit her quest to the System, and then fully focus on preparing for the afternoon’s transfiguration class.
“Lilith-McGee isn’t just a powerful witch—she’s also a renowned master of transfiguration. If I could learn transfiguration under her guidance, my overall strength as a wizard would significantly improve.”
As a summoning wizard who heavily relied on her contracted beasts, Janna would be in serious danger if her summoned creature failed her.
After all, shadow-type apprentices could blend into shadows, wind-type could fly, and space-type could even teleport... When it came to escape abilities, plant-type, which leaned more toward healing and binding, couldn’t allow its caster to flee instantly unless Janna learned bodily element transformation.
So, transfiguration—which was known for its versatility and expertise in stealth and escape—was Janna’s top choice for self-defense and survival.
“However, I’ve heard that transfiguration is notoriously difficult. Just getting started scares off a lot of apprentice witches. At present, only a handful of students at White Coral Academy can even perform partial transformation, let alone full transformation, which is several times harder...”
With her mind made up, Janna quickly took out her pouch, carefully counted forty-two Gold Surrels, and placed them on the magical crystal wall.
“Miss Bell, I’d like to apply to exchange for the spell [Siren Chanting].”
“Hm? So it’s you, the polite little apprentice.”
Stretching lazily and arching her back, Black Cat Bell lazily lifted her eyes.
When she saw that it was Janna, she actually turned upright for once and looked down at her from her high perch.
“Let me tell you, at your level, the worst mistake is trying to bite off more than you can chew. Besides, you’re a summoning-type apprentice. Learning a sound-type spell is twice the effort for half the effect. You’d be better off focusing on your contract summons…”
Maybe the dried silverfish from last time worked their charm, because the usually indifferent Black Cat Bell actually took the time to say a few more words today.
“Thank you for the advice, Miss Bell. I’m exchanging this spell because it aligns well with one of my innate talents.”
“[Siren Chanting] requires the caster to possess the [Silvery Voice] talent, and you…”
Halfway through speaking, Black Cat Bell seemed to realize something, and her tiny cat ears twitched ever so slightly.
“Your vocal talent is quite impressive. In fact, it might even surpass [Silvery Voice] by a few notches... But you should also remember: a first tier apprentice should focus on leveling up quickly, not waste too much effort learning spells.”
With a gentle flick of her black tail, a parchment magic scroll floated out from a spatial rift behind her and landed in front of Janna.
“That’ll be forty academic credits. If you’re paying with Gold Surrels, that’s forty-two Gold Surrels.”
After scanning the Gold Surrels on the magical crystal wall and confirming the amount, Black Cat Bell guided the coins into the spatial rift.
“Thank you, Miss Bell. I’ll take my leave.”
“Go on.”
Watching the black cat settle back down for a nap on the crystal wall, Janna tiptoed out of the nearly empty first-floor hall of the magic tower, trying not to make any noise.
“It’s still early. I’ll grab breakfast at the cafeteria, then head back to the dorm to study the spell.”
Aside from the added transfiguration class in the afternoon, Janna had no other lessons today.
With her morning free, she planned to not only study the sound-type spell but also review the three pieces she had learned from Liji Silks yesterday to prepare thoroughly for next Saturday’s audition.
…
“Good morning, Miss Janna. Have you had breakfast?”
“I have, Door Spirit.”
Just back from breakfast, Janna brushed off the Door Spirit’s greeting and walked straight in, quickly taking a seat beside the lab bench in her dorm.
“Exactly eight o’clock.”
Glancing at the mechanical clock on the wall, Janna estimated her schedule and carefully unfurled the magic scroll on the lab bench.
She then skillfully signed her name on the confidentiality contract with a feather pen.
Once the restriction lifted, the content of the spell [Siren Chanting] appeared before her.
“A siren mimics ultra-hertz frequencies with her singing to resonate with the soul. Then, using a captivating melody to invade the mind, she constructs a magnetic field of allure, corrupting mental waves—this is the core of the spell…”
All the sounds in the world are defined differently depending on their hertz frequency.
Frequencies that match the reception range of a soul resonate more deeply with the mind. Conversely, those outside this range are perceived as noise.
Not only do they fail to enchant—they might even backfire, making the target more alert.
“The siren’s melody mimics the ocean’s waves. Its key feature is to match the setting. If the caster can adjust the frequency according to their surroundings, they can better drag the target into the illusory world created by the melody…”
Compared to the Low-Rank Spirit Summoning Ritual, the Siren Chanting had far less theoretical content. In just over an hour, Janna had memorized all the spell’s components from the scroll.
“This scroll focuses less on theoretical analysis and more on rote memorization of magical notes…”