Chapter 1017: Infinite Mana!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1017: Infinite Mana!
"What is that? What’s happening?"
"School’s only been in session for a week or two, right? How is there another hole in the curtain wall?"
Dean Mei Lind’s figure tore directly through the curtain wall enveloping the academy, leaving a massive, gaping void in the sky. No one knew exactly what had occurred. A few curious students hopped onto their brooms to investigate, only to be intercepted mid-air by the Discipline Squad.
Lately, the academy’s Discipline Squad had become exceptionally well-known.
Ever since the Witch United Club declared war on the Sun Rock Elf Academy and the school entered a temporary wartime state, the squad members had been strictly patrolling and controlling the curtain wall. However, they hadn't caught any provocations from rival academies; instead, they had mostly been busting students for high-altitude broom-speeding.
In the end... a war of total annihilation had been concluded in just a few short days.
Recently, whether on the Academy Network or the Plant Network, photos of the burning World Tree taken from various angles had been going viral. Some news clubs ran these photos as front-page headlines, and even some publishing magazines were rushing to use them as covers to ride the wave of hype.
In such a charged atmosphere, the shattering of the curtain wall led many to believe that another Transcendent Academy was launching an assault.
Excited students rushed forward, only to be held back by the Discipline Squad.
The squad members immediately pinpointed the source of the disturbance, only to realize with dismay that the origin was an experimental zone they lacked the clearance to enter. Even approaching it from the air resulted in them being blocked by barriers.
Had it not been for the crowd gathering and a few mentors emerging from the site to offer reassurances, they truly wouldn't have known what was going on. Once they confirmed that the one who broke the curtain wall was Dean Mei Lind herself, they instantly lost the nerve to investigate further.
It was a joke—that was the Dean! Even if the Dean decided to tear down half the academy, they would have to walk up with a smile and offer her a towel to wipe her brow.
Soon, the various clubs received word as well.
The clubs felt a twinge of disappointment; they had assumed this was a chain reaction of retaliatory strikes following the destruction of the Sun Rock Elf Academy. They had been ready to show the enemy the true might of the Witch United Club!
After all, the Witch United Club possessed numerous combat sequences. The Eight Core Guardian Clubs each essentially represented a combat sequence, while the hundreds of smaller guardian clubs and unaffiliated members were organized into sequences as needed.
But unfortunately, this wasn't a war.
While the students were just there for the spectacle, the Transcendent Witches could not afford to be so casual.
First, the incident occurred in the "Experimental Zone," an area not just anyone was qualified to enter. Furthermore, a massive and complex fluctuation was leaving the witches deeply perplexed.
The first thing they sensed was the resonant vibration characteristic of a void rift, but it felt different from the one produced by the Great Spellbook. Moreover, this void rift disturbance was laced with a terrifying amount of mana!
Yes, mana.
In the perception of the Transcendent Witches, that mana was rising like a sun.
Mana of this energy level was not something that could be achieved through the mere stacking of mana sources. It hadn't been amplified by any technique, sublimated through any ritual, or converted by any spell. To reach such a level with pure, raw mana was something even Transcendent Witches had to look up to in awe.
After all, transcendence was a rank, while methods were the application. Transcendence was a level that guaranteed a being's strength and baseline, but methods reflected a being's understanding of that transcendence.
Many Transcendent Witches took the opportunity to set aside their work and follow along to see what was happening.
At this moment, it wasn't just the Witch Academy watching; other Transcendent Academies were also staring intently at their every move!
They were truly traumatized by the witches. A previous "Qi Observation Art" project had turned them into paranoid wrecks, even prompting the three top academies to jointly activate the "World-Destroying Embers" plan. Now that the Witch Academy was making another massive scene, they were reaching their breaking point.
The transcendents who followed—whether they were Transcendent Witches, Wizards, or Elves—all flew at a "safe distance" that everyone could agree upon. They followed until Mei Lind stepped directly into the Life Forbidden Zone of the Core World.
The Life Forbidden Zone of the Core World was a total vacuum. There was nothing there, as if the Core World existed in absolute loneliness.
But this was merely a peculiarity of the Main World.
Above the Main World lay the Expansion Realm, and beyond that was the Void Frontline World. Only through that domain could one truly touch the void. If this were a small world growing wildly in the void, the Life Forbidden Zone would be the foundation for it to become a large world. Once it developed into a world community, these forbidden zones would carry even more worlds.
However, the Main World’s Core World had no world community, hence the emptiness.
Mei Lind entered the Life Forbidden Zone and finally looked at the figure she was carrying beside her.
In this forbidden zone devoid of matter, the mana surrounding me became even more unrestrained. Except for a tiny portion of mana radiating as light and heat to form a massive orb, all the rest was erupting in its most primitive form.
This was my first time in the so-called Life Forbidden Zone, and I hadn't expected Dean Mei Lind to bring me here. The environment and the sensation of weightlessness were very similar to my understanding of outer space—at least in terms of the absolute nothingness.
But my current troubles far exceeded mere weightlessness, lack of oxygen, or decompression. Under the combined pressure of the void rift and the mana riot, those issues were pushed to the very back of my mind.
"What exactly is the situation?" At that moment, a mana fluctuation rippled out indiscriminately. In the Life Forbidden Zone, the mana carried information across the level of Real Time, transmitting it into Mei Lind’s ears.
Whether in the Life Forbidden Zone or the void, the transmission of speech and sound between living beings was blocked by the lack of a medium. However, this did not hinder transcendents from communicating. The simplest method was to use one's own power to bridge Real Time and transmit information.
Thus, in the void, the threshold for even speaking was being a Transcendent. To make survival in the void as natural as being inside a world, the "Real Five Senses" were the first technique any transcendent lifeform had to master.
Without ascending to transcendence, the world was a lifeform's eternal nursery. Beyond the world was a place only transcendents were qualified to tread.
"Sigh..."
In response to the questioning and the curiosity of the crowd, there was only Mei Lind’s heavy sigh.
All the transcendents stared at the massive orb of light. The terrifying mana was indiscriminately crushing all space and even the information being transmitted. Even with Real Vision, it was difficult for transcendents to see what was inside. Even with mental perception, the massive mana acted as a shield; forcing an entry risked a mental backlash.
"What on earth has your Witch Academy cooked up now?!"
At this point, a Transcendent Wizard pointed toward the witches from a safe distance and demanded an answer.
So far, they couldn't see any connection to the World Navel; it seemed to be nothing more than a massive mana generator. However, the unstable physical space around it made them clearly feel that a void rift was involved.
Many Wizards, Elves, and Holy Angels were inwardly cursing the witches as lunatics, yet they didn't dare leave. Leaving was easy, but they wanted to understand what the witches were doing. They prayed fervently in their hearts that this was just an experimental failure. They would rather have made the trip for nothing than have the witches create something that could kill them—and they especially hoped it had nothing to do with the World Navel.
"Do you really think I’m going to tell you?" Mei Lind glanced at the speakers, her tone not the least bit polite.
For a moment, the atmosphere became tense. The main reason was that the number of witches who had come to "watch the fun" was quite large; if a conflict broke out, it would be no joke. More importantly, no one knew what that dazzling orb of light actually was.
But they had the time to wait for the witches to give an explanation. Of course... the biggest factor was the presence of one of the Witch Academy's Deans. The Deans of other academies weren't as "leisurely" as Mei Lind, personally involving themselves in everything. The absence of a transcendent of equivalent Dean-level rank was the primary reason the others didn't dare move.
However, they could still manage a few shouts at the Witch Academy’s transcendents.
Ultimately, no witch bothered to acknowledge them.
As time passed, the orb of light, which had been incessantly radiating massive amounts of mana, finally began to change.
There was a slight fluctuation—a specific technique was being used to condense mana. Initially, this change was very faint, instantly washed away by the torrent of mana. But even such a minute anomaly caused the expressions of the non-witch transcendents to shift drastically!
There was a consciousness!
In other words, there was at least one person—or rather, one witch—inside who had caused all of this!
If this mana were to explode in the Core World in a specific way, it could destroy any undefended Transcendent Academy in a short time. The aftershocks would sweep across more than half of the Core World’s surface, instantly destroying human society without even leaving behind a wasteland for them to inhabit. The dissipating mana would bridge physical space at the heart of the explosion, leaking from the Core World into the Expansion Realm.
While such a feat was only a theoretical calculation—and if they were being bitter, they could argue that given enough transcendent energy, they could also destroy the Core World's surface—seeing such a method presented right before their eyes... it would be a lie to say they weren't panicking.
"Are you witches insane? You were the ones who proposed that transcendents should not interfere in academy wars! Are you trying to start a War of Transcendents?"
The wizard who had finished the theoretical calculation pointed a trembling hand at Mei Lind, the representative of the Witch Academy, as he looked at the potential consequences.
"That is quite a heavy accusation to pin on me. Which of your eyes saw a transcendent from our Witch Academy interfering in the war?" Mei Lind frowned and countered, but even so, her gaze never left the sun-like orb of mana before her.
As time ticked by, the orb of light continued to spew mana like an abyssal fountain. In terms of sheer quantity—ignoring quality—it absolutely crushed the self-circulation of a hundred million mana sources or a Saint Realm transcendent exerting their full domain.
At this moment, she looked again at the words on the private chat panel opened by the Great Knowledge Seed.
Infinite Mana!
Did such a concept... truly exist?
No! Even if it stopped right here, no witch would deny that this phenomenon deserved the title of Infinite Mana!
The atmosphere in the Life Forbidden Zone grew increasingly strained, yet the conspicuous Abyss of Mana continued to evolve. Soon, not just Mei Lind, but other witches as well, recognized the technique being used to guide the mana.
The Mana Source Condensation Technique!
No wonder it looked so familiar, though it was their first time seeing mana sources condensed in such a manner. The number of mana sources being formed grew larger and larger, scattered throughout the Life Forbidden Zone by the dissipating mana.
Some witches reached out to catch a newly born mana source, while the transcendents among the wizards and elves avoided them like trash, keeping their distance.
The number of mana sources continued to climb.
From hundreds to thousands... ten thousand... twenty thousand...
Hundreds of thousands... a million!
Until it broke the threshold of ten million... Such a terrifying explosion in numbers caused them to subconsciously lose their Time Sense.
Could it be... that some Transcendent Witch had ascended to the Saint Realm?
But they didn't feel the power of Order that would encompass these mana sources. Such scattered mana sources were all ownerless; if it were a Saint Realm ascension, these mana sources would carry the unique aura of that witch, rather than scattering like heavenly sleet.
Then, at a certain moment, the origin point that had been blooming with mana like an abyss suddenly shuddered!
The mana seemed to be seized at its source by a great power, no longer erupting so recklessly. At this point, all the transcendents finally perceived a "figure" within the Abyss of Mana.
But this figure seemed to pose a threat simply by existing. Probing with mental strength felt like touching a void rift, bringing a tearing, agonizing pain.
And when the body emitting mana like an upwelling abyss finally revealed itself to everyone, some people subconsciously "gasped in a lungful of stray mana."
The figure was massive, like a humanoid void rift spanning the Life Forbidden Zone!
Everyone could only vaguely discern that it was... a human shape?
With just a soft, inquisitive hum, the mana she emitted surged across the Life Forbidden Zone like a tidal wave. It was as if this figure was the true source of all mana!
At that moment, the expressions of all the Transcendent Witches shifted slightly. They felt their own "Self-Generated Mana" talent begin to hum with a faint, instinctive resonance!