I Became a Witch in a World Full of Urban Legends

In the early morning, the lanky man took out a drink from the fridge and passed by the cat girl, who was studying for the upcoming review. He accidentally caught a glimpse of who she was reviewing and was stunned.

“Excuse me?” he said, surprised. “Levi? The one you sent to the Slaughterhouse? Is this a mistake?”

“Right, I haven’t informed you yet,” the cat-girl glanced at him. “Didn’t you tell me that Levi was killed as soon as he entered the Slaughterhouse? Any idea why he’s suddenly inside my review group chat again?”

“Ah,” the lanky man put a finger to his mouth and looked away. “I did say he was killed, but I wasn’t sure. I later found out that he survived. Did the boss make a mistake in their judgment? He shouldn’t be added back to the group chat if anything.”

“Tsk,” the cat-girl scoffed. “Boss isn’t like you, making that many mistakes at work.”

The lanky man simply looked away and changed the topic: “By the way, are you sure you want [Genius Mahjong Girl] and [VACCARIA] to team up together? I feel that something bad might happen if you put them together.”

“Can’t you be more optimistic? They both have something they’re eager to know, so I think it’s good for them to work together.”

“Plus,” the cat purred and continued. “The Slaughterhouse has been on our blacklist for a while; if the two of them work together, get through their review, and deal with the Slaughterhouse at the same time, wouldn’t that be great?”

“I wouldn’t be that optimistic. What do you think is the chance that they’ll work together?”

“At least 70%.”

“I’m thinking 30%…”

“Hmph!” the cat snorted. “Let’s just wait and see!”

…

Early in the morning, Yibei experienced the life of a wealthy person and strolled over to the swimming pool to bathe under the morning sun.

However, upon returning to his boyhood, he soon became worried.

He sat on a bench by the pool, holding a tall glass in his hand as he looked into its pitiful contents.

“Why is it so little today?”

He sighed and cursed to himself; it was as if his money had put on wings and flew away from him, waving its little hand towards him as it flew away.

…

When it was bright, Bai Kai drove to the villa.

With a call, Yibei came out of the villa, and when he saw Bai Kai’s state, he was shocked.

He had a thick layer of sweat and thick, dark circles under his eyes. He looked as if he had aged ten years overnight.

He couldn’t help but feel bad for his godfather, who was busy all night dealing with his problems. He stepped forward and patted his shoulder, saying, “Shui, thank you for your hard work last night.”

Bai Kai leaned one hand on the wall and the other on his waist as he glared playfully at Yibei, saying, “I don’t know how Aunt Zhang knew that I brought a girl over, so I owed her a favour. Don’t mention it.”

But it’s not a loss on my part. At least Bei is safe now, Bai Kai thought.

“I thought…” Yibei murmured and stopped talking. I thought he went back to the Night Division last night. I didn’t expect him to expend more effort…

And! He drove his own car all night last night and came back with a Beetle! Where did he get this from?

Soon, they found themselves driving towards the Night Division, and Bai Kai began a short lecture regarding psychic powers.

“You’re going to enter the Night Division later, and they’ll be checking up on your body.”

“Stop. Just to be sure, we’re going to the Night Division, right? Not a Shady Health Examination Division, I hope.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Before drawing upon your runes, we check your body to verify whether you’re an urban legend; after drawing upon your runes, we check your body to determine how you adapted to the runes.”

“Okay, are you the one checking up on me, or…”

“That damned cripple is the one who is checking you out,” he grumbled, knowing his godson wouldn’t want him to check up on him. “From today onwards, you will officially be her subordinate, and whatever happens to you in the Night Division has nothing to do with me.”

“Got it.”

Jiangli may be cold, but at least she’s beautiful. I don’t think I’d be comfortable having Shui touch me.

“…Bei?”

“What is it?” Yibei felt cold.

“It makes me sad when you do this.”

Goosebumps erupted all over Yibei’s body as Bai Kai suddenly turned around, tears streaming down his face. Yibei hurriedly pressed him into the backseat and yelled, “Okay! Okay! I’m sorry! I’ll cook for you… or treat you to dinner sometime, okay?”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“At your house?”

“Well, uh, maybe not there, and not the apartment either,” Yibei said. “Plus, I rarely cook ever since I attended university, and I don’t have a complete set of utensils.”

“I see. Well, when the time comes, I’ll call a few friends over.”

“…”

“…”

The air was filled with a pregnant silence as the car drove over a bumpy road. It was awkward, and you could cut the tension with a magical knife.

Something isn’t right. I’m trying to tell him something, but I feel like 

Looking at each other through the rearview mirror, the two of them said in unison, “You first!”

“Okay, me first,” the two said in unison again.

It was awkward again.

After a short silence, Yibei spoke up, “I want to find out if dad’s death was just an accident. Ever since I got to know that urban legends exist, I felt that a car accident wasn’t actually the case.”

Hearing this, Bai Kai smiled and asked his own question: “Well, I want to know where you got the Witch’s Egg from.”

“I was pursued by Mr. Rabbit back then and stumbled upon the egg.”

“Then I’ll tell you what I know,” Bai Kai gripped the steering wheel hard. “After the accident, I went to investigate the scene and found that there were indeed residual psychic fluctuations—as for who the murderer is, I only have a rough guess, and I can’t tell you my guess as of now.”

After a pause, he added, “In the future, when you become strong enough, it won’t be too late to tell you.”

“Okay,” Yibei responded softly before propping his head up and looking out the window.

…

In front of the Night Division, after finishing his night shift, Li Xuan stretched and walked out the front door, eager to enjoy a hot breakfast down Peony Street.

As soon as he walked out, he saw Jiangli limping from the other end of the alley from a distance.

The two acknowledged each other, and the moment they passed by, Jiangli flashed Li Xuan a sinister smile.

Li Xuan was stunned and turned around to see Jiangli limping away.

Again? Are you kidding me?

In the past 24 hours, the two of them walked past each other seven times, and every time, Jiangli would flash that sinister smile at him.

Just once or twice would be fine, but this is too much.

Is she going to slash my tyres again?

When he turned back around, he saw Yibei and Bai Kai walking side by side, and they made provocative hand gestures towards him with both of their hands at exactly the same tempo, which made his heart twitch.

A wonderful day of work ended with Jiangli, Bai Kai, and Yibei.

Crossing through the gate and walking through the courtyard, Yibei remembered the girl who stressed him out and unconsciously glanced towards the flower bed in the courtyard.

Gu Niang was still squatting underneath the big tree, holding a big, black umbrella. The moment he looked over, she raised her head and smiled.

Why is she smiling at me?

He wanted to laugh at his predicament but only nodded back at her.

Meanwhile, Jiangli stood in front of the window of her office, peeking at the current scene like a principal making her rounds across a school.

She seems to like Yibei. I’ve never seen her smile at anyone before.

…

Half an hour later, the inside of the office was labelled with a ‘V’ within the Night Division.

Yibei was shirtless as he walked out of a testing device that eerily looked like an iron maiden. Jiangli glanced at him, her eyes sweeping over the faint mark of Ifrit on his back. After two seconds of pondering, she picked up her pen and filled in some data in the form on the table.

[Rune Adaptability: Good

Psychic Fluctuation Levels: B- to B+]

He watched as she filled out the form, thinking back to what he felt within the test device, feeling a dull pain in his head.

The moment he entered the device, waves of melodious harmonies rang in his ears.

However, the melody continued to echo deep in his mind, bouncing off the walls of his brain as the pitch became higher and distorted, gradually turning into a deafening cacophony.

The gentle whispers soon turned into the malicious secrets of a Devil and murmurs of evil human deeds embedded within the human system.

Ever since Yibei swallowed the Witch’s Egg, he had encountered many similar things, such as the murmurs or visions forced upon her.

This was something he was used to, and he passed the device’s test without any flaws.

“Did I pass?” he asked Jiangli.

“Yes, you did.”

When she saw Gu Niang smiling at Yibei, she had already guessed that he would pass the test. She was just following procedures now.

“Thank god…” he breathed a sigh of relief. From today onwards, I am an official member of the Night Division.

He was secretly delighted until Jiangli broke him out of his delight and said, “However, the test is not completely over yet.”

Bai Kai had already told him the process of the test and nodded: “I know. Now, you’re going to test my special abilities, right? Shui told me.”

“I see,” Jiangli replied softly, and he could see a trace of doubt within her eyes. “You do know that Shui is Bai Kai, right?”

“I figured. It’s very on-the-nose.”

[*t/n: 白开水 (Drinking Water), pinyin is Bai Kai Shui. Yibei calls his godfather Shui, but most people know him as Bai Kai. To Yibei’s credit, it is very on-the-nose.]

Jiangli simply nodded and limped towards the door.

Seeing this, he wanted to help her walk, but she simply phased out of his grip.

“Come. Follow me to the practice room.”

Yibei scratched his cheek awkwardly as he followed behind her.

The two of them walked silently within the dim and endless corridors of the Night Division. Within the infinite stretch of darkness, the only sound that accompanied that was the sound of her heels and her cane striking the ground.

“Jiangli, can I ask you a question?” He said, looking at her through the corner of his eye.

“Speak.”

“Why do you like playing mahjong so much?”

He wouldn’t admit it, but the calico cat’s question statement still lingered in his mind, as did the real cause behind his father’s death.

Jiangli lowered her head in silence but didn’t seem to want to avoid his question.

After a brief silence, she answered with a sigh, “My father was once the most prolific gambler in the city. As his daughter, I was influenced by his actions. It wouldn’t surprise anyone that I came out with a gambling addiction.”

She continued softly, “I know it isn’t a good habit—there is no such thing as a small or big gamble; it is simply gambling regardless. Those who win crave for more, and those who lose crave a win. It is a perpetual cycle with no winners.”

It was rare for his mentor to speak this much to him in such a gentle tone, and he found himself lost in thought for a moment. When he came back to his senses, he found himself in front of the practice grounds of the Night Division.

The size of the grounds is like an indoor football field. The ground was paved with fine sand and gravel, and the surrounding walls were plated with an unknown metal.

There were several human-shaped stakes erected in one corner of the grounds and some fitness equipment in the opposite corner.

He wasn’t sure how such a large space could fit into such a small building, let alone such a small door, and was visibly stunned. Under the guidance of his mentor, she brought him over to where the fitness equipment was.

“Try this one,” she said, pointing at the boxing machine. “Although your runes are attuned to energy, it will still strengthen your body.”

He frowned slightly. He was a little worried that he would break the test machine with just a single punch. Regardless, he took a deep breath, gripped his arm, stepped forward, and punched as lightly as he could, as convincingly as he could.

However, the moment he punched, it was as if an otherworldly energy had taken over him and thrust him forward, causing his fist to break through the air as he fell forward.

Before he could fall, his spine, tendons, and ligaments straightened him in an instant, stabilising his form.

Boom!

With a loud, muffled sound, Jiangli glanced at the counter, raised her eyebrows, and said, “217 kilogrammes of force? Not bad, but the most important part is coming up next.”

“Energy-based runes are usually one of three types,” she continued. “Body strengthening, spell amplifications, and attuned-being spells. However, judging by your punch, it shouldn’t be the first one.”

Yibei gulped. His single punch was close to the level of a world-class boxer; if his ability was to strengthen himself, his punch would be much more than this, and whenever he punches, it should also be accompanied by some fire.

In other words, what she’s saying is that I’ll either be a warrior, a mage, or some supernatural being.

He was deathly worried that the Witch’s Egg powers would expose him, and he only used about 20% of his actual strength. He started to doubt whether he was actually a ‘warrior’ type.

At this moment, Jiangli turned around and asked, “Before I forget, did you happen to learn any spells after drawing your runes? Theoretically, the spell should correspond to the runes themselves, which belong to Ifrit.”

I didn’t see anything belonging to Ifrit, but I know I have a lot of spells thanks to Du Sixian, who cursed inwardly. “Uh, no?”

“Then, you should be the second type—the amplification of fire magic. The upper limit of this application is about 20 times, but Ifrit’s runes are powerful, so it may reach about 30 times. On the other hand, the lower limit should be between 0 and 5 times.”

“Zero?” he blurted out. “I’m good enough at math to know that anything times 0 is 0, right?”

“Well, you’re right,” she confirmed. “If you’re unlucky, it is indeed possible that the lower limit is exactly zero, and the runes will interrupt your castings of the spell. However, you don’t have to worry. It’s unlikely that it will happen to you.”

Plus, she thought inwardly. I think you’re thick-skinned enough to not care about not being able to cast spells.

Fuck. If what Jiangli said is true, then I am so… utterly… fucked. My powers, amplified by Ifrit’s runes…

He stepped forward to the next testing device, which resembled a giant bronze koi fish. Holding onto its tail, he infused it with psychic energy according to Jiangli’s instructions, and the koi fish opened its maw to spray out dazzling sprays of fire with varying intensity.

When it was over, he glanced at Jiangli and found that her expression had changed subtly.

She held her chin with one hand as she stared at the form in front of her. Her brows furrowed slightly, which caused Yibei’s heart to tremble.

“Hey, I didn’t actually hit the lower limit of zero, right?” he asked weakly.

“No. No, you didn’t,” he felt relieved hearing her speak, but anxiety came rushing back in the moment she opened her mouth again. “However, your situation is rare; maybe one in a thousand—nobody has ever had an amplification of 53.4 times just after obtaining their runes. This amplifies even the most basic of spells into something very destructive.”

“On the other hand,” she continued, putting down her pen. “It is also the first time that anybody has ever had an amplification of 0.01 times. This causes even the most destructive of spells to drop to something like a splash of water.”

…?

I literally achieved something like [All or Nothing]—I either became god or useless! What the hell?

Seeing his solemn mood, she quickly stepped forward and patted his shoulder, saying, “Don’t be upset; although your amplification levels are indeed unpredictable, you also hold the most potential. Plus, it is not necessarily a bad thing. The consumption of energy corresponds to the power of a spell, so if your amplification backfires when you cast a destructive spell, at least you only expend 0.01 times the normal amount of energy.”

“Oh.”

She has no idea how to comfort people! I’d rather she keep quiet!

He cursed inwardly but felt that he was overreacting. Even if I can’t be a consistent mage, I still have my knife with me! Yes! There is nothing that can’t be solved!

The first step in improving your mental health is to be in a good headspace, and Yibei managed to convince himself and adjust his mentality.

Seeing his depression fade away, she said, “Now, let’s move on to the next step, shall we? According to the procedure, after a recruit’s psychic ability has adapted to their runes, they will begin to perform tasks under the Night Division. However, I decided to go against the procedure.”

As she spoke, she reached into the pocket of her jacket and took out a piece of paper, handing it to him.

“These are the tasks I have selected for you, and you will have no direct contact with any urban legends. Pick one.”

No direct contact! He praised her inwardly and looked over the paper she gave him, only for his eyes to darken almost immediately again.

[Southern Suburbs Slaughterhouse]

Why does this name look so familiar?