Moments later, Herta, clutching the address, arrived at the "home" Great Britain had arranged for her. It was an aging apartment complex, its buildings no taller than six stories and without elevators.
Unfortunately, Herta's apartment was on the top floor. With her trademark deadpan expression, she trudged up the stairs, pulled out her key, and unlocked the door.
The interior was surprisingly clean and well-furnished, equipped with all the essentials. The bedding, toothbrush, mug, and other personal items were all brand new.
This modest accommodation wasn't a deliberate slight from Great Britain, but simply reflected the reality that most Britons lived in such buildings.
Unlike the densely populated Dragon Nation, there was no need for twenty- or thirty-story high-rises. Moreover, the rise of magic had stalled technological progress, leaving the architecture frozen in a mid-20th-century style.
And it wasn't just the buildings. Herta took out the "state-of-the-art" smartphone Lily had just bought for her—the most expensive model available. Yet it was sluggish beyond belief. If White Eagle phones were at the Apple 20 level, this British device barely matched the performance of an Apple 5.
The phone was barely functional for basic tasks like making calls, taking photos, and chatting on WhatsApp. Forget about playing mobile games—Herta feared the device might spontaneously combust from the strain of loading.
Truthfully, even the "convenient" technology considered standard in Great Britain was laughably outdated by global standards.
So, if their technology was so backward and their phones so cumbersome, why didn't people just buy foreign models?
There were several reasons. First, foreign imports were subject to exorbitant tariffs. Great Britain knew all too well that allowing foreign products to flood their market would inevitably bankrupt all domestic companies.
Given the choice between an Apple 20 and an Apple 5 for the same price, the answer seemed obvious.
If all domestic companies collapsed and foreign goods flooded the market, wouldn't that amount to economic colonization? This was utterly unacceptable. To protect domestic industries, all foreign products faced unimaginably high tariffs.
Secondly, national circumstances differed greatly. The British weren't particularly reliant on smartphones, and hardly anyone played mobile games. They much preferred physical books; Herta had passed at least three bookstores on her way home.
After entering the house, Herta casually placed her belongings on the coffee table in the living room and stretched languidly. Lily, her eyes shining with anticipation, exclaimed, "Teacher Herta, when will you start teaching me magic?"
It was worth noting that Lily consistently used the term "teach me magic," rather than "help me with my studies."
Lily was currently attending Cambridge, a name that immediately revealed it as one of Great Britain's most prestigious magic academies. Her admission there proved she was far from the "foolish" girl she often claimed to be.
Still, she wasn't a prodigy either. To secure her spot at Cambridge, she had worked herself to the bone throughout middle and high school, neglecting everything else. Before university, she had been a top student, consistently at the top of her class. But after entering Cambridge, Lily discovered that everyone around her seemed smarter and more talented.
As Lily progressed through her studies and the academic challenges grew, she realized that even if she devoted all her time to learning, as she had in the past, she still couldn't keep up with the rest of the class. It seemed her natural talent for magic had reached its limit.
Just when Lily was at her wit's end, she happened to meet a wild "Witch"—Herta—in a bookstore.
In Great Britain, all magic was developed for military applications, making practical combat a crucial component of their education, even more important than written exams.
A student could pass with a perfect score in combat but a zero on the written test. Unfortunately, as a petite girl, Lily's combat abilities were naturally weak, which was precisely why she sought out Herta as a teacher, hoping to learn magic to compensate.
If I could learn some super powerful magic from Herta—something unheard of in this world—I could crush my opponents in the combat exams and finally pass!
However, Herta said, "Hold on. Do you have your exam paper? Let me see it."
"Here... here!" Lily turned and rummaged through her backpack, pulling out a heavily marked-up exam paper. The score: 59 out of 150.
Herta glanced casually at the paper. She understood some of the questions, but others were beyond her grasp. After all, she was missing the equivalent of middle school, high school, and university education. The fact that she, with only a primary school diploma, could comprehend nearly half the questions was already quite remarkable.
Some might wonder why Herta couldn't simply deduce university-level knowledge from her elementary school foundation. Given enough time, she probably could. However, the resulting system of knowledge would likely contradict Great Britain's standard curriculum from middle school through university, forming an entirely new framework.
For instance, her theoretical framework might cover topics like "Efficiently Harnessing Ambient Magic Power for Spellcasting."
Herta pointed to a question she understood and said, "Isn't this straightforward? How did you get it wrong?"
Lily blinked in surprise. "Ah... huh? But this was the final, most challenging problem! S-straightforward?"
"It's just..." Herta began, then trailed off. She realized she couldn't explain the details of the problem, or rather, she didn't believe there were any details to explain.
It was like 1+1—obviously equals 2. What intermediate steps or processes could there possibly be? Clearly, there were none!
Herta was undeniably a genius, but that didn't make her a good teacher. Stroking her smooth chin, she pondered for a moment and then abandoned the idea of tutoring Lily.
By the same logic, if she were to pick up a university textbook, casually learn some powerful magic, and try to teach it to Lily, wouldn't the situation be exactly the same?
As Herta mused, her gaze fell on the five magic wands hanging from Lily's waist. "Oh, right! Were there any restrictions on what you could bring to the practical exam?"