Just as we–that is to say Abigail, Olivia, and me–reached the outside gates of the church, more of our classmates and students from other grades started appearing as well. Some of them we knew and liked, others... so-so. And as you would expect; yes, this was a strictly all girls school. On one hand it was great! We wouldn't have to deal with any of the nasty boys in town... but on the other hand it sucked, because it meant dealing with the nasty girls in town. You just can't win in Whelsing.
All of us made an orderly line as we entered school grounds like we had practiced years prior, viewed as regal and modest by outsiders. Which was mostly true, sure, but just wait until we're actually inside. The chapel was pretty big from an outside perspective, easily the biggest building in town. It was surrounded on all sides by greenish gates far too thin and smooth to properly climb over– trust me, I tried. The back of the building stretched out into the actual school where classes took place, taking a decent chunk of space but not enough to earn the ire of any annoying person that lived nearby.
Finally, we got inside the sanctuary. And just like everything else in this abhorrent settlement, it was old. In every sense of the word. Seriously; it looked old, feltold, even smelledold, eugh. It probably looked grand to anyone else who didn't attend to church often if not at all. But when you come here every single day, including weekends... you tend to get tired of it. The benches looked smooth but had hidden splinters you wouldn't notice until you get pricked by one, the walls and floor were slightly cracked from age, and the ceiling looked like it would collapse at any given moment. At least the windows looked nice, they never disappointed.
As we started heading down to our respective classrooms in lines, I kept hearing my classmates talking about today's test. Something about how hard the potion recipes were to memorize, another regarding the theories of the arts we were taught... but most importantly, about the mock battles that would come as the final part of the test. It was making my head spin. Don't get me wrong, I'm smart– easily top 5 in the whole school. But you don't just do these willy-nilly! You need to approach the situation with the mindset of knowing you're having a test today, which I totally didn't have... my entire mojo was ruined already.
Once we entered our classroom the orderly line we followed broke completely as we scattered into groups to our seats. The gals and I belonged to the middle area of the room, with me sitting behind Abigail, and Olivia sitting behind me in a row. We still had a few minutes before classes started, so we took this chance to chat a little.
"Your pigtails look fluffier than usual, Beatrice. Did you do something to your hair?"
Olivia suddenly pointed out, lifting one of my pigtails and letting it brush over her fingers as it fell. My hair was pretty long, almost reaching down my lower back. I turned my body alongside my chair to answer her.
"Sure did! Mrs. Robes hooked me up with this essential oil she got from a family member abroad. I even got the recipe and all."
"Whaaat? Oh now you gotta hook us up also! Sharing is caring."
Abigail piped up with that troublemaker smirk. I snorted out of instinct, flipping my hair backwards to show off its lusciousness.
"If you want it, then you better start paying. With how difficult hair maintenance is nowadays, I can't afford to share my secrets just like that."
"Speaking of hair, what happened with yours Abigail? Did you forget to prepare it?"
Olivia added, which I'm glad she did, because I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. Normally, Abigail sported a ponytail... but today she was just letting it loose for whatever reason.
"Yeah... what's up with that?"
"O-Oh, uh. I just... y'know, wanted to try something new."
"Uh huh. I'm soooo not buying that– something happened. Come on, spill."
I rested my head against my hand, pressuring her into confessing her sudden change of hairstyle. While Olivia herself didn't really say it, I could feel the curiosity permeating off of her just like mine did. We both watched as Abigail struggled to come up with an excuse, but eventually caved.
"Uugghhh, okay fine... a jagoff at the bar complimented my hair during my shift and now I feel all gross about it."
She revealed to us while she deflated like a balloon and holding her head like she was suddenly attacked with a migraine. And I agreed with the sentiment– I would have cut mine short in a heartbeat... I mean, not really; I love my hair too much for that but like, I get it.
"Oooh, yeah that oughta do it... who was it?"
"Mr. Jerald..."
Both Olivia and I winced in sync, our brows burrowing in disgust; Mr. Jerald was a notorious creep, where it was a rule of thumb that every girl's hair he complimented meant they would get bothered by him for the rest of the week... or the month in the worst of cases. Olivia shivered, picturing herself in Abigail's shoes.
"Brrr... it's like your curse got passed on to me for a second."
"Yeah, no kidding. He's the worst."
"It's fine... maybe. If worse comes to worst I'm more than willing to lose my job just to beat the snot outta him."
"Haha! Promise? Seriously, we would love to see that."
Our shared laughter only added to the chatter from everyone else busy in their own groups and their conversations. Unfortunately, just like every other day, the sound of the door opening got all of us shutting up almost at once. We fixed ourselves in our seats and faced forward, being greeted by the first teacher of the day who would be in charge of the written part of the test...
"Good. You're becoming faster at committing to silence as soon as I arrive."
Said the woman walking up to the front of the class, staring down at us with that sharp gaze we've grown to either fear or hate, sometimes both. This was Mrs. Charlotte, also commonly known among students as "Mrs. Hardass". She was a woman in her mid-fifties or so, being the tallest teacher at 5'11. She had greying brown hair bundled up in a twisted bun, with bright red lipstick and eyeliner that made some of us jealous. Her most notorious trait were her eyes, always looking down on students and even her peers at times with constant disappointment... like she didn't expect much from them.
"As you know, your test is today. I hope you have studied as you were told multiple times these the past few days... though I'm sure some of you will surprise me with the exact opposite."
She said with that tone of condescension that made my skin crawl with frustration. She was carrying a large stack of neatly prepared papers in her hands. She began walking down each row of seats to hand out the written test. I could feel not just my own, but the anxiety of Olivia and Abigail combined the closer Mrs. Charlotte got to us, which only spiked once we received our papers.
"The written test will consist of five questions regarding each Arts. You may only hand over your test once everyone is finished or when the bell rings."
She explained while I peered over the questions displayed on the surface of the piece of paper before me, not as hyped as I was hoping to be. I smacked my cheeks lightly to get my head in the game, pulling out my pencil case from my school bag and retrieving a pencil, eraser, and pencil sharpener... truly, a timeless trio.
Right as Mrs. Charlotte handed over the last test, she stood at the front of the class once more with her hands now behind her back. And while making her best impression of a statue, her voice boomed across the classroom.
"Begin."
Just like that, we had an hour and a half already counting down. First and foremost, I wrote down today's date and my name– I was convinced that whoever left those for last were total psychopaths who shouldn't be walking the streets. Then, I moved to the five questions of the first subject: "Pain Arts".
"Pain Arts" requires a source of pain, usually physical, of a witch to carry out spells. They were pretty flexible and one of my strong points thanks to my high pain tolerance. The higher the pain, the stronger the spell. They were mostly used for support roles like enhancements, curses, or flat-out unavoidable damage. However, if you tried casting a spell that didn't match the level of pain offered, it could lead to a chain reaction of suffering that could stun you in place or even make you pass out... if you were stupid, that is. The motto of this Arts is: "To bring suffering onto others, you must bear the pain of your actions."
The questions were easy for me, taking me little time to fill them out. I moved on to the next set of the second subject: "Sacrificial Arts".
"Sacrificial Arts", just as the name suggests, requires an offering. It could be a physical object, a body part or fluid, a corpse... it's pretty broad. You could consider it a stronger version of "Pain Arts", since this one allows for more complex spells. But as a result, they also require preparation and longer casting time, so it's recommended to use them for small things during battle. There's no limit to how much you can offer or sacrifice, but the bigger and more substantial the offering, the longer it will take... though make sure you don't use them too often, or you'll end up giving up more than you intended. The motto of this Arts is: "Should you desire something with all of your being, be prepared to sacrifice even yourself to reach your goal."
This one was also my strong point, so these questions were easy as pie to answer. Moving on to the next we had a personal favorite of mine: "Death Arts".
"Death Arts" dealt in all connected to... well, death. Raise and control the dead, deal with souls, see and communicate with spirits, control dying energies– the whole shebang really. It's an Arts with a lot of uses and sometimes underestimated, since most witches tend to forget it's not just about necromancy but also controlling aspects of death you can physically employ; death by age, death by decay, death by corrosion, death by erosion, instant death... you get the gist of it. However, it uses your mental capacity as fuel, draining your sanity with each use which can be either little by little or by a certain amount in a blink. It should be only used by those who are used to or were surrounded by death at a young age, requiring a level of mental fortitude you'd only see in adults... oh right! This is Olivia's forte. Really, she's even better than me. The motto of this Arts is: "Either carry the weight of death on your shoulders, or join those who have succumbed to it."
These weren't as easy for me to answer, but I filled them out after a few minutes. I raised my head to check the time on the clock... still had 40 minutes to go. Wasting no time, I went ahead with the next: "Destruction Arts".
"Destruction Arts" was the offensive staple we were taught. These spells revolved around purely destructive forces such as explosions and fires, and... that was kind of it. The firepower power was dependant on the depth of your emotions; the stronger or more volatile your emotions, the more powerful or effective your spells were. Your body does suffer a tad of backlash, but as long as you didn't overdo it and had your temper in check, you were good. I honestly didn't care much for these, since I literally never found the chance to use this Arts beyond as an intimidation factor. This was Abigail's strong point though, and I don't think I know anyone who can do it better than her. The motto of this Arts is: "Destroy all who oppose you. But should your passion blind you, you will become your own undoing."
I almost decided to just skip these questions– they were just so dull and a bunch of nothing burgers... but I did want to pass, so I pushed through regardless. Finally, I reached the last hurdle of five questions from the remaining subject: "Almighty Arts".
"Almighty Arts" was the pinnacle a witch could reach. These spells could only be casted by connecting your essence to the very gods, taking an iota of their power as fuel. This Arts was the closest thing to "omnipotence" one could get, capable of quite literally breaking the laws of the universe to incorporate a new change in reality. It's said there have only been two instances where the world was changed by this Arts, though the effects remain a mystery. It's heavily recommended to keep its uses as a last resort and for minimal things, like reviving a person or complex spells on a small scale. Overuse of these spells leads to a fate so damning even death wouldn't be able to save you... ugh, it gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. No one can be considered a master at this, zero exceptions. The motto of this Arts is: "To reach godhood, you must shed your humanity. Be sure you do not regret it."
These questions took me the longest by far, to the point I was starting to stress because I thought I wouldn't have enough time... but lo and behold, I managed right as the bell rang. A mixture of reactions erupted from all of us; some sighed with relief much like I did. Others grunted or clicked their tongues in frustration, and very few looked so thoroughly defeated... poor bastards.
Thankfully, Abigail and Olivia seemed in good spirits as we handed over our written test papers, so I assumed the three of us did good enough to pass... I hope.
And so, the next part of the exam awaited us... Alchemy.
[End of Chapter 2]