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"Respected Miss, this is the land deed," the woman said, handing over the document to Dorothy. "Please take good care of it. From now on, this floating island is yours. We are immensely grateful for your assistance to our academy, and we will never forget your kindness."

Two hours later, a beautiful witch who appeared to be in her thirties handed a file to Dorothy. Her expression conveyed both happiness and genuine gratitude towards Dorothy.

"You are too kind, Lady Tennyson," Dorothy replied courteously.

The homebody witch also showed a smile, and both parties exchanged pleasantries.

Shortly after, the pretty witch left with a bulging purse, leaving Dorothy behind looking somewhat sorrowfully at the number on her identity card, which had been directly halved.

However, this sadness did not last long. Once Lady Tennyson was far enough away, the homebody witch's mood lifted dramatically.

"Yes! I made a killing with this deal. After sixteen years, I've finally become a property owner too."

Her long-standing goal of buying a house had come true so suddenly that Dorothy was almost in disbelief.

The very Lady Tennyson who had just left was the owner of this floating island—the founder of Tennyson Academy and a Great Research Witch.

Typically, once witches advance to Great Witch, they tend to think about establishing some sort of legacy; armed witches might consider creating a domain, while research witches often form witch guilds.

Of course, for those who are neither good at fighting nor business, there is still the so-called iron rice bowl industry to consider—for example, education.

And that was what Lady Tennyson did. She poured all her assets into founding Tennyson Academy, hoping it could be the foundation of her own team.

But harsh reality gave this witch—who isn't considered young—a heavy blow, making her realize how deep a pit the education industry in the Witch World can be.

In any other place, as a Great Witch, she would be highly respected, but at Witch Academy...

Sigh, an ordinary Great Witch without famous accomplishments truly struggled here.

As her school neared closure, Lady Tennyson, determined to cut her losses, tearfully began to sell off the academy's assets, preparing to take the money and run. This laboratory had been one of the more valuable facilities at the academy, and she had hoped to sell it for a good price.

But before the auction house could send someone to appraise it, someone had already bombed it to ruins; it was like a leak springing during a stormy night.

Fortunately, at the height of her despair, the academy's Enforcement Team approached her, inquiring if she still wanted to sell the ruins of the laboratory, as someone was willing to pay half the price of a regular small floating island to purchase it.

Naturally, Lady Tennyson chose to sell. After all, the island ruins were of no use to her, she had no money for repairs, and besides the cost of repairs, the monthly docking fees for keeping the floating island near the academy were still due. If she didn't pay, she would have to pay someone to tow the ruined floating island away, which would be another expense she couldn't afford.

And now, there was someone willing to take this almost worthless wreck off her hands, and even willing to pay a "high" price of half the value of a normal island. There was no reason for Lady Tennyson not to sell.

Of course, she was initially confused and even suspicious, wondering if the buyer had bombed her island to lower the price, then swooped in like a savior to purchase the ruins.

However, her doubts dissipated as soon as she met the buyer. She had never expected the person interested in her island to be the very Miss who was the talk of the academy recently.

Who was this Miss? She was the second true genius after Lord Demon King to pass the Nine Gates Exam. Even if it was uncertain whether she could achieve the great feat of becoming the Witch King like Lord Demon King, reaching Peak Witch was a given, and Sage was within reach. How could such a person covet her tiny, broken-down island?

Once Lady Tennyson learned that the Miss simply appreciated the quiet environment of the land and wanted the floating island as a guild's headquarters, her heart was filled with gratitude.

She even felt that the price offered by the Miss was too high. After seeing the sorry state of the laboratory island, she thought it was essentially just a heap of recyclable waste. If sold as scrap, she would have been happy to get about one-fifth of the price of a normal island.

Furthermore, considering the Miss's boundless future prospects, it was worth taking the opportunity to build a relationship now. Thus, Lady Tennyson even offered to lower the price, willing to sell at one-fifth the value of scrap, but the Miss firmly disagreed, saying she knew about her recent difficulties and refused to be the villain who profits from someone else's misfortune.

After a lengthy negotiation, a tearful Lady Tennyson finally sold the ruins for a third of their normal value. She accepted the Miss's payment with a mix of guilt and gratitude.

Indeed, in this most recent stint of setbacks and bad luck, the Miss was like a ray of light piercing through the dark clouds.

Somehow, just as she was prepared to withdraw the money and run away, she suddenly didn't want to give up so easily anymore.

Speaking of which, the academy had still admitted a few students this year. Before, it was because they were so short on funds they couldn't continue teaching, but now with the lady's money, they could hold on a little longer. She thought perhaps she could send off this last batch of students, wait for their successful graduation, and then close the school.

........

On the other hand, Dorothy, who couldn't buy the floating island with a "generous" bribe to her conscience, touched her chest, attempting to soothe the faint pain of her conscience. However, the thick, upfront buffering armor made her unable to feel her heartbeat.

Well, then, no issue at all.

"Alas, Lady Tennyson, who seems like an honest person, truly didn't know the real value of this floating island. Then my earlier conjecture was probably correct; this thing indeed has some serious issues," Dorothy mused.

Looking at the deed in her hand and then at the ruins of the floating island now completely hers, the homebody witch felt pain but joy.

"Senior sister, my life is in your hands now. You really need to be careful," she said, looking up at Hat Senior Sister with some anxiety.

"Don't worry, you are the person I have chosen. Even if you do die, I will go to the Underworld to haul you back up. I'll cover your resurrection fee, that should be reassuring enough for you," said senior Fanny, speechless at the flattery from her chosen master.

"Okay, with your word, I'm relieved," Dorothy agreed, reassured by the promise from Hat Senior Sister.

The souls of the witches are protected by the Underworld System, indestructible, meaning that until the Witch World's Underworld System is entirely destroyed, it's impossible for the witches to suffer a fate of soul dispersion.

When a witch's soul is damaged to the limit, it is guided away by an Underworld Messenger and then reborn in the Underworld. Afterwards, the witch can live in the Underworld for a while to decide whether she wants to be resurrected.

If she desires resurrection, she can proceed through the resurrection portal; and if she doesn't wish to be resurrected or cannot afford it, then she can take the path of reincarnation.

However, resurrection fees are quite expensive – beyond the means of ordinary witches. Usually, only Great Witches and above can afford them, and even then, resurrection resets them to "factory settings," requiring a complete retraining of their magic power and specialties, which is quite agonizing.

Of course, if you don't want to start over, there's a VIP resurrection package that revives you in full state right where you fell, but that's also something most Great Witches can't afford. Stay tuned for updates on Lokepub.com

As for the Peak Witches, they could certainly afford it, but they usually don't need it, because every witch capable of achieving the Peak has top-notch life-saving skills, a full suite of abilities to avoid death, with second chances, third chances...

Basically, they rarely have the chance to take a tour of the Underworld.

To defeat a Peak Witch might be possible, but to kill one? That's exceptionally difficult.

And as for the Sages above them...

emmmm, who do you think established the Underworld System in the Witch World, and who is maintaining it?

The Underworld System is under the jurisdiction of the Council of Sages, part of the civil service system.

In short, resurrection is possible, but it comes with a fee. Dorothy, at her young age as a little witch, wasn't yet at the stage where she needed to prepare resurrection gold. She truly dared not die; otherwise, she might have to earn a living as a jailer in the Underworld to save for her resurrection.

But from what she'd heard, the working conditions in the Underworld weren't great. Gathering enough money during the resurrection waiting period was no easy task without a unique skill set.

Though Dorothy was quite curious about what the Underworld was like.

....The little witch's mind wandered....