"I Became a Witch, but Now Everyone's in Love with Me!"

Chapter 36: Silly Child, this is a book list!

 
The witch’s master-disciple relationship is quite different from the traditional ones found on Earth.
It’s not a lifelong, filial bond where “a teacher is like a father.” In the witch world, betrayal of one’s teacher or elders—even outright bullying—isn’t all that rare.
There are also masters who raise their apprentices like child brides, only to have them dump them later.

In essence, the witch’s master-disciple bond is a mutual investment—both sides choosing each other.
The master tests their theories and validates their path through the apprentice, while the apprentice gains knowledge and instruction.
It’s less like raising a child and more like traveling companions on the path of truth—part experimental assistant, part experiment.
After drinking the sobering soup her proud daughter prepared, Myrtle began explaining to Jiang Cha the theory she was trying to verify.

“Do you know about the witch’s path to becoming a god?”
“…Judging from your face, no, you don’t. I can’t blame you. It’s something you only start to consider once you reach the level of a great witch.”
Myrtle sighed and began carefully explaining the origins of her philosophy.

The so-called “path to godhood”—what witches think about day and night—is how to make the will of the world their own. Plucking dragon scales, roasting angel wings... Obviously, they’re not trying to become gods of just a single world or universe.
That kind of godhood is meaningless to them. Such beings are seen more as high-quality materials or rare prey.
“The paradox of becoming a god: Can a god create a stone so heavy even they can’t lift it?”

“Yes, because magic is omnipotent.”
“Can they lift that stone?”
“Yes, because magic is omnipotent.”

“This is the typical answer from witches. There’s no point in becoming a limited god. What we strive for is to become truly omniscient and omnipotent.”
The goal was clear—but the way forward remained hotly debated in the witch world.
One sage argued: If I achieve omniscience, I’ll naturally gain omnipotence.

For example, while most people—even if they understand nuclear theory—can’t build a bomb, a witch on the path to omniscience would master every process: refining uranium ore, smelting steel, building the delivery systems…
Given enough time, they could reconstruct an entire industrial chain and rebuild a tech tree by themselves.
“But that’s just omniscience, not true omnipotence—it takes time. I can’t get what I want immediately.”
Recognizing this flaw, another great sage—now the third seat of the Witch Council—developed the magic of creation.

“You’ve learned creation magic, right? At its core, it uses mana to construct matter. So it fills the final gap in the omniscience path: if I know everything, I can create anything.”
“But isn’t that still a problem?” Jiang Cha frowned. “The more complex or advanced the creation, the more mana it drains… doesn’t that still fall short of omnipotence?”
Exactly. The path to omnipotence—put simply—is one of brute force: if magic is the power of miracles, and it can distort reality, then the solution is just to pour in more power until the impossible becomes possible.

It’s a crude but tempting philosophy.
But the second seat of the Sage Council—the most magically powerful being among all races—is still far from omnipotence.
“Right… That’s why there’s a class beyond sages. We call them ‘partial omniscience and omnipotence.’”

Myrtle went on, her tone a little heavier now.
“There’s no real line separating sages from great sages, just as there’s no strict barrier between ordinary witches and great witches. A witch becomes a great sage only when they’ve reached the peak of their magical path—when their power vastly surpasses their peers.”
Partial omnipotence means reaching the pinnacle in one school of magic. Within that domain, they are truly omnipotent—their will becomes reality.

“What about the Creation school?” Jiang Cha asked.
“Oh, Creation magic only forms matter. That alone doesn’t meet the standard for omnipotence in the multiverse.”
“The six major schools of witch magic are essentially six steps toward omniscience and omnipotence,” Myrtle explained.

“Shaping represents energy, Transfiguration represents randomness, Mystery represents the unknown, Spirit represents soul and will, Creation represents matter, and Necromancy represents death. They are the six foundations of the universe—and the six rungs on the path to godhood.”
“Then what’s your research philosophy?” Jiang Cha asked.
Myrtle paused and looked at her apprentice with a glimmer of anticipation.
She hoped the girl would understand. That she’d walk this road with her. That someone might finally see the logic behind her madness.

But Jiang Cha didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she asked, “Has any great sage mastered multiple schools to their peak?”
“Yes. The First Sage. No one knows how she did it, but she’s the only one who has. She reached the pinnacle of both Creation and Spirit—and can create life freely.”

Myrtle’s expression softened with emotion. She envied the First Sage—for holding the real key to omnipotence.
“So… what’s stopping others from mastering a second magic at that level?”
“Time,” Myrtle said quietly. “Or more precisely—contamination.”

Her anticipation grew.
“…You’re trying to create a new magic discipline?”
“Clever girl.”

Finally, someone understood her madness.
So far, all attempts to develop magic beyond the six schools—things like fate, time, and space—had failed.
Other civilizations might call them advanced, but witches dismissed them.
They weren’t essential to omniscience or omnipotence.
Many brilliant witches tried. All gave up.

But not Myrtle.
She was insane—and proud of it.
“Wisdom magic?” Jiang Cha asked. “You’re hoping it can resist contamination and reduce the difficulty of reaching omniscience?”

She even guessed the discipline Myrtle was developing.
Jiang Cha had come across vague mentions of it in a book. Myrtle barely touched on it—so without her guidance, Jiang Cha never would’ve guessed.
“The magic of information gathering... it connects to the god called Wisdom, doesn’t it?”

Jiang Cha gave a sly smile.
She now had a source for intermediate-level magic.
“This’ll cost extra.”

“I’m broke.”
Myrtle sighed and threw up her hands.
From the moment she met this girl, she knew she wasn’t easy to deal with. Her silly niece thought Jiang Cha was a good girl.

Well, now her true nature was showing.
“Ten practical spells from each school.”
“Deal.”

She really didn’t have money—but Jiang Cha only wanted magic. That, Myrtle had plenty of.
She’d studied all six schools and created over a hundred spells herself.
“You little brat! Blackmailing your own master?”

Despite giving in, Myrtle couldn’t help but grumble.
Seeing her sulk, Jiang Cha turned on the charm, clinging to her master with a sugary smile.
She “accidentally” brushed her chest against her, rubbed her arm softly, and cooed:
“Hehe~ Master is the best~ A few spells won’t hurt, right? I need resources to help you, after all~”

“Master’s strong enough to visit the red-light district seven times and still walk out healthy—surely you’re not stingy with your dear apprentice~?”
“…”
Honestly, how could Myrtle not see through Jiang Cha’s little tricks?

But did she mind?
Not at all.
The girl was gorgeous, even by witch standards. She was a master of reading people and clearly knew Myrtle couldn’t resist this kind of affection.

“Damn! Mom, you actually pulled it off!?”
Jasmine had just come out of the alchemy room when she caught sight of the scene and cursed on the spot.
“Huh?”

Jiang Cha blinked innocently, no embarrassment at all.
“What’re you talking about? If I could land a cute schoolgirl that easily, why would I waste money in the red-light district?”
“…True.”

This mother-daughter pair were a trip.
Honestly, Myrtle’s cool older-sister energy could really appeal to young witches.
In witch society, good partners were rare. But Myrtle wasn’t the maternal type.
Mature witches disliked her unrestrained style, so she’d remained single all this time.

Even accepting Jiang Cha as a disciple had been a gamble—one sparked by a friend’s recommendation.
She was perfect. If Myrtle passed her up, she’d have to wait another decade to find someone else.
She’d moved to Witch Island not just for Jasmine’s schooling, but to find a worthy apprentice.

After spending some time bonding, Myrtle finally got down to business.
She activated a magic printer and transmitted spell data directly from her mind. A4 paper shot out so fast it overwhelmed the machine, spilling like snowflakes across the floor.
“Master, what is this?”

Jiang Cha knelt down to help gather the pages, careful not to read too closely—afraid she’d glimpse something too profound to handle.
“Oh, just the materials you’ll need to study this year. I’ll check your progress monthly.”
“…That’s all?”

Seeing the stack nearly 30 centimeters thick, Jiang Cha exhaled with relief.
It was a lot, but doable—maybe even finishable in a month with effort.
But Myrtle gave her a strange look… then burst into laughter.

“What are you thinking, silly child? That’s just your reading list!”
Jiang Cha: “…”