The Witch's Anatomical Notes

Chapter 5

Undercurrent

The silver-haired apprentice witch's action had almost drawn the attention of everyone in the hall.

Beside her, Lann glanced at Lucy with great interest, his gaze seemingly trying to see through the gray witch's cloak to the girl inside.

"Looks like this year Anatomy finally won’t have to rely entirely on automatic assignment."

Karen, a Tier-3 apprentice from the Anatomy Laboratory, did not even lift his eyelids and responded in a low voice.

"Just a fool trying to attract attention through petty tricks. When her uterus is made into a new petri dish, I hope she won’t regret today’s choice..."

The two Tier-3 apprentices did not bother to lower their voices deliberately, so most people in the hall heard their conversation loud and clear.

Even though Lucy had mentally prepared herself long ago.

Hearing such bloody words spill out from Karen’s mouth, one by one, still sent a chill down her spine.

If she had any other choice, Lucy would not have chosen to join the Anatomy Laboratory either.

However, since her system’s Academic Points were already locked into Anatomy, even if she had been assigned to another laboratory, she would have found a way to come here. Taking the initiative to join might at least leave a better impression.

But now it seemed that the impression she had left was nothing but foolishness.

Soon, the one hundred apprentice witches in the hall began choosing their faction laboratories one after another.

Just as Nure had analyzed at the beginning, nearly half of the two hundred apprentice witches chose Mechanics. Symbiosis and Elemental Studies split the remaining half.

As expected, in the Anatomy queue stood only Lucy, alone.

"Looks like we’ll stick to tradition again this year."

Lann cleared his throat and spoke. The pupil of his left eye transformed into a series of interlocking mechanical gears. As the gears slowly rotated within the socket, blood slid down from the corner of his eye.

Under the hall’s lighting, a layer of multicolored sheen floated on the bright red blood, as though mixed with various lubricating oils.

Yet Lann remained utterly unfazed, his gaze sweeping across everyone in the hall. Each person felt as though they were being seen through.

Then he raised his hand and pointed to twenty people from the queues of the three other laboratories.

Everyone who was pointed at turned pale, already realizing what was happening.

Sure enough, as Lann’s pupil gradually returned to normal.

He drew a silk handkerchief from beneath his black robe and wiped the blood from his face as he spoke. "Those I pointed at, go stand next to Karen... Move quickly. I won’t say it again."

Though unwilling in their hearts, none of them dared to defy this Tier-3 apprentice.

The twenty people quickly left their original queues and stood behind Lucy.

"Three days from now, before sunrise, gather at the west tower gate. I do not like anyone being late."

After coldly saying this, Karen strode quickly out of the hall, leaving behind only the despairing and bewildered apprentice witches.

"Lu... Lucy, what a coincidence, ah haha..."

Hearing the voice, Lucy turned around and saw Nure forcing a smile uglier than a cry.

As expected, with only 3 points of Mental Strength, this useless one had been kicked out of his chosen Mechanics Laboratory.

As for Talia, she had successfully remained in Symbiosis and Mutation Studies.

At this moment, the apprentices from the other three laboratories were following their team leaders and quickly leaving the hall.

When only the twenty-one apprentices of the Anatomy Laboratory were left in the hall, someone finally broke down. Soft sobs and curses kept coming from beneath their gray cloaks.

Joining the Anatomy Laboratory meant that for most of them, their lives were now on a countdown, and they would likely find no peace even in death.

Some of them already wore an expression of longing for death. Rather than end up on the dissection table, it might be better to take their own lives.

Lucy sighed inwardly.

This was no time to be concerned with others. Though she had taken the initiative to join the Anatomy Laboratory with the system’s help, she still had no idea how to use the Academic Points or how much help the system could actually provide. Moreover, she had not forgotten her 55% Contamination Value.

The most urgent task was to first figure out how to use the system, and then find a way to lower the Contamination Value.

Thinking this, Lucy tugged at the edge of her cloak and quickly left the hall, heading toward her room.

...

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

A cool female voice came from behind.

Simone, who had been carefully moving the Crystal Ball, turned around upon hearing this and saw an apprentice witch standing at the doorway.

Though cloaked in a large black robe, it was still easy to tell that the newcomer was a young witch.

He immediately bent down and tried to flatter her as much as possible.

"My lady, I am Simone, a servant of the Tower, and I am cleaning out the items left in this room."

Lucy’s face darkened as she coldly said:

"You say you are cleaning out items left behind?"

"Yes." Simone, unaware of the change in the newcomer's tone, continued explaining, "The owner of this room died last night. We are cleaning it up."

Looking at Simone’s cautious and ingratiating expression, Lucy could easily tell that he was not lying. He absolutely did not have the courage to lie to a witch.

Even though she was only an apprentice, the price of lying to a witch was not something an ordinary person like him could bear.

These servants did not live inside the Tower. They resided in the stone houses surrounding it and would only come inside to clean upon the steward’s orders.

Which meant that someone knew she had seen the Strange Entity last night, and had deduced that she must have died from exceeding her Contamination Value, thus arranging for people to come and clean up her "belongings" the next day.

Thinking of it this way, how could such a powerful Strange Entity, visible to the naked eye, appear inside the Wizard Tower? Had she stumbled upon some conspiracy? And who was that black-robed witch standing beside the Strange Entity was it that person who had ordered the handling of her "belongings"?

If they found out she was not dead, would they try to get rid of her?

Countless thoughts flashed through Lucy’s mind in an instant.

Although it had been dark, and she had not clearly seen the other person’s face, that was not a reason that would convince anyone.

Suppressing her worry, Lucy took a deep breath and coldly said:

"This is my room. Who gave you the order to enter without permission?"

Simone’s head snapped up, and terror and despair gradually filled his eyes.

Entering a powerful witch’s room without permission was enough to get him killed a hundred times over, and even his family would be implicated.

His legs gave out, and he knelt on the floor, repeatedly kowtowing.

"M-my lady, spare me! I was only following orders, I know nothing... It was Steward Camon who ordered me this morning to come clean up. I truly know nothing."

Camon?

Lucy thought for a moment and quickly recalled this person’s information.

He was the steward of the Tower’s lower level servants not an apprentice witch, just an ordinary person responsible for assigning the servants' daily tasks and preparing meals for the apprentice witches.

Could it have been him last night?

Lucy quickly dismissed this thought. Servants were forbidden from entering the Tower at night. Even if he could avoid the eyes of the apprentices, he could not possibly evade the surveillance of the Iron Crows.

This meant that Camon had also been acting under someone else’s orders.

"Put my things back, and then get out. Also, do not speak of today’s matter to anyone."

"Thank you, my lady. I will not say a word."

Simone kowtowed a few more times, quickly placed the Crystal Ball back on the desk, and then hurriedly left, bowing all the way.

After closing the door, Lucy stood at the spot where her predecessor had breathed her last the previous night, her expression dark and uncertain.

She had thought that the current crises she faced were already numerous enough, yet now she found herself entangled in even more trouble.

A witch capable of controlling a Strange Entity could not possibly be an apprentice. It was unlikely even for a junior apprentice at the very least, they had to be a mid-level or even a high-level apprentice.

In front of someone like that, she was probably no different from an ant.

Against such absolute power, she could not even think of any way to resist or protect herself.

In the end, she could only let out a heavy sigh.

"Take it one step at a time. For now, I can only pretend that last night’s incident never happened, and hope that person does not realize I have come back to life."