Chapter 1047: Lonafu's Success, Planning in Sight
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1047: Lonafu's Success, Planning in Sight
"In an ideal scenario, the Emerald Forest community world will fall somewhere within the Main World. The exact location is uncontrollable, but it doesn't really matter. If anything changes, I'll let you know immediately. If the plan fails, we'll just act as if this never happened."
I emphasized this to Cleveland one last time, and the matter was settled.
However... this Life clone of mine was now effectively idle.
I could find things to do, but there was no need to force it if the tasks weren't important.
For instance, I could go find Ning and teach her the Hexagonal Crystal Amber Preparation Technique to facilitate a partnership with the academy.
She didn't have many friends. Ever since she obtained the Great Knowledge Seed, she would occasionally chat with me. Everything about the Witch Academy fascinated her, but... most of those fascinating things required money.
And as it happened, Ning was broke.
This would be the perfect time to talk her into preparing Hexagonal Crystal Amber—essentially tricking her into working a part-time job to earn some cash.
But there was no rush. Besides, Ning hadn't reached the point where she needed to work to survive yet; approaching her directly might trigger some resistance.
It was better to leave things as they were for now.
Currently, my main body was still undergoing soul essence repair, and my Primal Clone was in another world plotting the opening of a brand-new battlefield. This Life clone was simply waiting for the summons from the Emerald Forest world.
Unfortunately, teaching Lonafu how to inscribe the summoning ritual runes wasn't something that could be accomplished in a day or two.
So, during this few-day gap, I planned to study something else.
Preset Creation Spells.
I had first learned of this concept from Mentor Belica.
Since my main body would get bored during the repetitive soul essence repair process, I would occasionally chat with her once I became proficient in the repair techniques.
Mentor Belica was a highly experienced senior in Real Editing Technology—a fact certified by Sister Bai herself!
Naturally, I had asked her some related questions.
Initially, I asked if there was a spell that could directly summon a Witch Warship.
The answer I received was: "There is no such ready-made spell."
The subtext was that such a spell could exist, but it wouldn't be something you could just find off the shelf.
A Witch Warship Summoning Spell.
This was different from racial summoning spells like Spirit Cat Summoning or Dragon Summoning. A Witch Warship wasn't a race, so it couldn't be derived from a racial concept.
Essentially, it would be a variant of another type of spell; after all, the name of a spell can change based on its effect.
Preset Creation Spells involve pre-configuring the object to be summoned and then creating it out of thin air.
There's another type of spell that involves deconstructing an existing object and inscribing it into the spell's preset to be summoned later. My Change of Clothes Spellbook works similarly; I have to deconstruct and consume a garment before I can use the spell to wear it.
Then there's the Space Sealing Spell, where you unseal the object when needed. An example is my Book in the Box; the internal Space Sealing Spell seals a blade inside, and I can choose to unseal either a projection or the original body for combat.
The United Club's Witch Warship project was taking far too long—months just to produce one ship. I certainly couldn't wait at that pace.
That's why I wondered if I could use a spell to take a shortcut. But after looking into it, I realized that spells weren't shortcuts at all; they required even more meticulous attention to every single detail!
The United Club wouldn't let me mess around with the newly built Witch Warship, the Bloodbath. Its existence was a symbol within the academy; otherwise, the club wouldn't have used a public vote on the academy network to name it.
"Whatever, I'll head over to the shipbuilding base and take a look first."
Having made my decision, I headed straight toward the battleship.
Although Cleveland hadn't reported much regarding the ship, I knew it required a corresponding docking port. Currently, the Witch Academy had only designated one mooring area. The academy simply didn't have enough space for such massive facilities, especially since they had to ensure the construction wouldn't disturb the residents.
Consequently, the United Club planned to build future mooring areas outside the Witch Academy—or even outside the Magic Capital—and then establish stable spatial teleportation channels back to the academy.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the game world.
The "death" of the Calamity Witch in the public eye had brought a period of trembling peace to the Supreme Council.
During this time, aside from some noise made by the Real Protection Association in Igesuo Surface City, things had been mostly quiet.
Even the incident involving the collapse of the Underground District near the Beriounis Rift Settlement was fading from memory day by day. Human life had proven, through cold hard facts, to no longer be worth anything.
The high-ranking officials remained immersed in luxury, even neglecting important affairs.
Yet, the day-to-day extravagance only made them feel more gloomy, as if a massive weight was pressing down on their chests, forcing them to face reality.
And what was that reality?
It was the question of where this game world was headed!
After the game world had recklessly invaded this godforsaken Main World, bad news had arrived one after another.
First, there were the Calamity Witches, who could easily wipe out a civilization. Encountering them meant the game civilization was essentially in its end-stages.
Then came the Transcendent Wizards and Transcendent Elves. They had sweet-talked the game world, claiming they could offer protection. They painted grand pictures, saying that cooperation would allow the game world to join the embrace of the Transcendent Races of the Void, enjoying protection and never having to fear the threat of witches again.
But then things stalled. Those wizards started eyeing their Terminal of Myriad Worlds. Even under the Rule of Equivalent Exchange, the game world ended up with nothing, while the wizards tried to get something for free.
Then came the talk of the "Transcendent Non-Interference Principle," telling them to wait for further notice...
They had been stood up in this void for a long time. Even though wizard apprentices had entered their world to "strengthen communication," a flood of other invaders had followed. Now, these wizard apprentices were secretly plotting to take over their entire world!
With such a string of events, how could they possibly maintain a good temperament?
But their strength didn't allow them to flip the table—because they were the ones being served on it!
They were toys for these so-called Transcendent Races to play with.
The current leaders of the game world faced a choice: on one side was a life of decadent luxury, and on the other was the survival of their world.
They chose to enjoy these final moments of beauty while remaining perpetually anxious.
They wouldn't even tell the bottom-layer people the truth about the world's fate, calling this behavior "mercy."
Let the ignorant masses live in their lack of knowledge, enjoying the fake beauty of the game—that was their final destination!
The leaders, meanwhile, would go to their deaths carrying the heavy burden of the truth.
As for resistance?
One needs hope to even think of resisting. The game world had never encountered true setbacks—at least not since entering the Game Era.
And now that they finally met one, it was the moment of their total annihilation!
* * *
While the Supreme Senators were openly rotting away, something was nearing completion within the Emerald Forest community world.
One day to adapt to the Power of Nature.
One day to achieve crude control over mental power.
One day to understand what a rune was.
One day to learn the summoning ritual for the Reverse Summoning Spell.
In four days, an underage loli elf had mastered the first rune of her life. This efficiency...
I could just barely accept it.
"Yes, yes~ exactly like that. You really are a buried genius!"
As my praise reached her ears, Lonafu, who had gradually adapted over these past few days, subconsciously let a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth. She didn't even notice the change herself.
As for whether she was actually a genius... how could that be?
By my standards, this level of performance indicated only the most mediocre talent. However, appropriate encouragement could give her a better mindset to face the unknown challenges ahead.
After all, all I cared about was efficiency. Teaching, manipulation, encouragement, and praise were merely means to achieve my own ends.
"How is your mental power consumption? Eat something and take a rest. Once you're well-rested and in peak condition, we'll move on to practical training."
"...Okay."
Lonafu nodded. Though her voice was still a bit raspy, it was much better than when I had first bought her.
We went to the bar counter extending from the kitchen, where two automated meal services were already waiting.
I casually gave a five-star rating plus a tip before taking my seat.
Lonafu followed. The chairs at the bar were quite high, but her small loli frame scrambled up in a few quick motions.
Only after she saw me pick up my utensils and start eating did she subconsciously begin to enjoy the food.
Indeed, for Lonafu, the meals delivered over the past few days were a rare daily treat.
She had been terrified for the first two days, and even now, she hadn't completely let her guard down.
But the food was undeniably a delight. Even if she had to endure a whipping afterward, it would have been worth it.
Most of the delicacies in the Emerald Forest were sourced locally.
Aside from the elf trade, the world's other major export was its unique cuisine—the draw was the novelty!
Using an elven body, sharing elven taste buds, and trying elven food was a luxury the bottom-layer people in reality could never experience.
Even though the vast majority of the food in the Emerald Forest consisted of vegetables and fruits, with just a bit of simple seasoning, it became a delicacy that players had never tasted in the real world.
To me, however, it was just average. Tasting it with elven senses meant I at least wouldn't get sick of it.
Still, the more I ate, the more it felt like I was consuming fodder.
After a simple meal, I sent Lonafu to rest while I prepared the extraordinary materials.
The players in this world didn't care at all about the world's native extraordinary materials.
Since they couldn't bring them back to their original world, and using them required specialized transcendent systems of study, they couldn't be bothered unless it was a ready-made skill they could seize.
Thus, the Emerald Forest was a world where extraordinary materials were neglected.
As a result, there weren't many materials rich in transcendent power for sale.
Well, perhaps a few. For example... "milk" containing elven natural power, which even had its own advertised brands.
As for where it came from, don't ask.
Regardless, it was one of the few "high-end" products one could "buy"—nutritious and healthy.
Then there were bones—bones imbued with the Power of Nature.
Gracefully curved collarbones, toe bones with an artificial patina, complete hand bones in a dark decorative style, and skulls that looked like works of art...
In my view, these weren't great choices.
Instead, I went to a place that collected exotic stones and selected extraordinary ores as my materials.
Grinding the stones into powder, filtering out impurities, preserving the transcendent power... these were all first-time attempts for me. The nature of the materials meant I would likely need many tries to succeed.
Through the player's perspective, I experienced the hardships an ordinary person faced when trying to touch transcendent power.
It was incredibly difficult.
I spent so much time processing these materials that Lonafu eventually woke up on her own.
She quietly approached me, looking at what I was busy with, unsure of what to do.
"Perfect timing. Help me sense these materials. Pick out anything where you don't feel that 'extra power aura,'" I said, waving her over.
Lonafu immediately stepped forward and began to distinguish them carefully.
After a while, she identified which ones held extraordinary power.
I then mixed them and had her sense them again—which mixtures made the aura violent, and which made it vanish.
Finally, based on my theoretical calculations, I completed the final mixture.
"Alright, Lonafu. Use these materials as the base for drawing the rune. Use your blood to blend it. Just a light prick with this; you don't need much, just a few drops."
I handed her a tool that looked like an awl.
Lonafu nodded, showing no fear at the prospect of pricking her finger to draw blood.
"Prick your left hand. Don't let it affect your dominant right hand," I reminded her.
"Mm," Lonafu nodded obediently.
As a few drops of blood mixed into the final materials, the elf's Power of Nature harmonized the last bit of conflict.
"Begin drawing. Guide the power to complete the structure of the summoning ritual, just like that successful attempt earlier," I commanded.
As I spoke, Lonafu began to move.
At the same time.
Back in the Main World, I was also carefully sensing the call of the Reverse Summoning Spell.
The power of the Reverse Summoning Spell originated from the purest [Transcendent Knowledge]. It was a spell constructed with unique runes at its core, created before Teacher Ji Niang had turned it into a Great Spellbook.
Furthermore, it was a non-transferable spell.
The nature of the Reverse Summoning Spell I now possessed was somewhat similar to my Great Knowledge Seed, but only similar.
The source of the Reverse Summoning Spell's power would always reside within my main body.
"Heh... it's a success."