Chapter 1081: A Crash Course in Void Common Sense~
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1081: A Crash Course in Void Common Sense~
"That’s wonderful!" Greta exclaimed, her face lighting up with joy upon hearing me say I didn't harbor much prejudice.
Before I could even ask what was so wonderful, several figures streaked across the distant sky of the Emerald Forest. Exuding a transcendent aura, they wove through the colossal, falling carcasses of the monsters and descended toward the surface.
"Oh~ looks like the sisters have found us," Greta said with a smile, looking up at the approaching figures.
"Uh... sisters?"
"That’s right~ they’re all Rebel Witches!"
"All of them?!" I stared wide-eyed at the figures flying rapidly toward us. It seemed that the mental sweep that had covered the entire world earlier hadn't been an illusion after all. "Why does it feel like they’re all heading straight for me?"
"Of course they are. They’re all here for you~ Didn't I say I came here because of your reputation?" Greta stepped behind me. "The reputation in question being the 'Main World genius' a certain sister mentioned. That would be you, wouldn't it... Xiao Han?"
"Uh... so, why did you all suddenly show up at this specific time? And... what’s the deal with these giant monsters?" I turned around, somewhat dazed, and met Greta’s gaze.
"You don't know, Xiao Han?"
"Should I?"
"Well, it looks like you really don't." Greta looked into my sincere yet bewildered eyes and confirmed that I was indeed clueless. "We didn't originally plan on contacting you so soon, but this small world you’re in was attacked by Void Beasts, so we rushed over to check on things."
"Void Beasts? An attack? Why? Nothing like this happened a while ago."
"This world has been marked. The marker is a special substance that attracts Void Beasts. It can't persist in the Void; it gets naturally decomposed and then absorbed by nearby worlds. That’s the problem. After this small world absorbed those substances, it drew the Void Beasts to it."
"So, it was intentional?" I reacted quickly.
"Exactly. If you think of the Void as an ocean and the Void Beasts as big fish, then someone just 'chummed the waters' using this world as the bait," Greta explained using a very vivid metaphor. "It’s a common method for large-scale hunting of Void Beasts, but it’s quite cruel to the world itself."
"I see... Thank you, Sister Greta."
"Hehe~ Xiao Han, you have such a sweet tongue." Greta was clearly pleased by being called "Sister." After all, not many witches were willing to address her that way under normal circumstances. "If there’s anything you want to know, you can just ask Sister Greta!"
"I do have a lot of questions." After all, what was happening right now was far too bizarre, and much of it was beyond my current knowledge.
The only time I had ever really encountered beings from outside the world was when Dean Mei was shaping the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art spellbook, but those hadn't been nearly as massive as these monsters.
"For instance... these giant monsters are called Void Beasts?" I asked, following the thread. My Tree of Great Knowledge didn't contain much information on this subject. I only knew that the Void was dangerous to any life form, not just because of the environment itself, but because of the Void life forms wandering within it.
"Correct. Void Beasts, or Void nomadic life forms—either name works. Not every type of Void life is classified as an 'alien' species. The ones attacking this world are clearly a small pack of Void Beasts." Greta introduced them to me, then pointed to the carcass of the beast she had killed. "Want to take a closer look? I’ve heard some Void Beast meat is actually quite good."
"Let’s go." I nodded and followed the Rebel Witch to the massive corpse that had fallen from the sky.
They had ignited like meteors as they burned through the atmosphere, yet even after crashing into the ground and creating a massive crater, the body remained perfectly intact.
It was clear just how terrifyingly durable the bodies of these Void Beasts were.
As we arrived, the other figures from the distance landed right behind us.
"Greta, I didn't expect you to be the first to find Xiao Han."
The witches who followed were clearly acquaintances of Greta, though they didn't seem particularly close.
And all of them, without exception, recognized me.
After greeting each of the "witch sisters" one by one, we set up a campfire camp right there, using the Void Beast’s carcass as a backdrop.
Through some brief conversation, I finally learned where their information had come from.
Sheryl.
While Rebel Witches didn't interact very closely, they shared a special information network unknown to ordinary witches. This network allowed for highly efficient communication between Rebel Witches scattered across the Void.
As for its purpose, it was naturally used to hunt down "Betrayer Rebel Witches"—those who had broken the Witch Contract or murdered their own kind.
For such a massive "information network" spanning the entire Void, the only thing capable of carrying such a flow of data was, naturally, the "Primal Dream."
In other words, even Greta and the other Rebel Witches might be meeting each other in reality for the very first time.
According to the sisters, they had come to the Void domain where the Main World was located simply because they wanted to spend some time in the Void. This domain was very peculiar; there were no other worlds nearby.
The only world close to being a world community was bound by the power of a Witch Contract, which prevented Transcendents from interfering. They couldn't even use that world as a temporary resting stop.
Entering the Main World was also extremely difficult. The witch leaders in charge of the Main World were very strict about auditing any witch who wanted to enter, and they flat-out barred Rebel Witches. It really left them with a bitterness they couldn't voice.
"Wait... since you all knew there was a small world here, why didn't you use this place as a temporary stop?" I asked curiously.
"Once we learned that this small world was part of a plan you proposed to eventually collide with the Main World, we decided not to contact you prematurely."
"That’s right. I originally suggested we come in early to see if we could smuggle ourselves into the Main World, but given the situation there... sigh... it can't support us, so we had to give up~"
I sat on a dried log, tossing dehydrated twigs into the campfire.
The more we talked at this campfire gathering, the more awkward I felt.
I knew nothing about them, yet they knew everything about me. It felt like... like Sheryl was livestreaming my life to them every second, showing them exactly what I was doing in the Main World.
They even knew about me slaying a Transcendent a few days ago!
"Here~ Xiao Han, eat this piece of tenderloin. The rest of the meat is too tough; even a Meat Softening Spell couldn't save it."
Greta, sitting beside me, handed over a piece of roasted meat on a stick. Then, she pulled a delicate little jar from her storage equipment.
"And then, we sprinkle a bit of my secret delicious BBQ powder~"
"Thank you, Sister Greta." I took a sniff and found that the scent of this so-called BBQ powder was unlike anything I had ever experienced.
I had to admit, this "out-of-this-world" delicacy really had me looking forward to it.
"Xiao Han, why don't you try mine? My seasonings are high-end goods bought from the Spice World in the Divine Kingdom Grand Market~"
Seeing Greta get a sweet "Sister" from Xiao Han just by handing over a piece of meat and some homemade powder, another witch immediately started competing in the strangest way.
"Wait... sister, did you really go all the way to the Divine Kingdom just to buy that stuff?"
"I felt like it~"
The other sisters were about to show off as well, but this witch had effectively ended the competition before it even started.
However, even so, I had no idea what this "Divine Kingdom Grand Market" she mentioned actually was.
Amidst the sisters' banter, I asked weakly, "Can I ask what the Divine Kingdom Grand Market is?"
After I asked, the witches all froze reflexively for a moment before one of them realized.
"Haha, I remember now. Xiao Han doesn't know about that place yet."
"It’s fine. Just think of it as a massive shopping mall in the Void. But regular spices can't compare to the kick of my small-batch stuff~" Greta said, shaking her little jar with a laugh.
"A... supermarket in the Void? That’s a strange metaphor."
"Once you promote to Transcendent and step into the Void, you’ll learn about it. In short, it’s a market recognized by the Void. You can buy almost any common Void goods there."
"I really don't know much about these things. Could you sisters give me a little crash course?"
"That’s strange... doesn't anyone in the Main World teach you this?"
"The Witch Academy doesn't teach everything," I replied.
"True enough. Back when I was in the Witch Academy, they only taught me how to survive," one of the Rebel Witch sisters said casually, mentioning something quite horrifying.
"Then let’s give Xiao Han a lesson on Void common sense!"
The suggestion was quickly passed unanimously.
Most of the witches present were Rebel Witches, though a few others had wandered over to join the fun.
They seemed to find a lot of novelty in this "teaching" session, possessed by that desire to share that seniors often have when instructing their juniors.
"How much do you know about the Void, Xiao Han? Just say whatever~ we’ll just listen for fun."
"What kind of talk is that? It’s fine~ speak freely. If there’s something you don't understand or get wrong, we’ll correct you."
"Well... my knowledge of the Void is all from hearsay. Besides the Void Beasts I just learned about, I also know about the Myriad Races... are there really tens of thousands of races in the Void?" I stated my understanding.
Although I had researched Life Sequences, which indirectly proved the existence of the Myriad Races, no one knew the actual truth.
"Tens of thousands? Add eight zeros to that. There are more than tens of trillions."
"Huh? For real?"
"Theoretically. The Void is infinitely vast, so that claim isn't exactly wrong."
"Exactly, exactly~ I’ve personally encountered over ten thousand different races, and I’ve personally exterminated no fewer than a hundred... Oh my~ there are plenty of worlds in the Void that give birth to the same race! When I say exterminated, I just mean I wiped them out in one specific world~" The witch sharing her "wonderful" experiences narrowed her eyes and giggled, covering her lips as if she were talking about something trivial.
"Don't go scaring Xiao Han, you Rebel Witches," said a witch sister sitting on the other side, keeping a slight distance from the Rebel group.
"What’s the big deal? Look, Xiao Han doesn't look scared at all. If she were scared by just this, she’d definitely need more training."
"Let’s get back to the topic. Xiao Han, is there anything else you want to ask?"
The group of witches turned their gaze back to me.
"I really don't know much... how about you sisters tell me about the factions in the Void? For example, that Divine Kingdom Grand Market you mentioned. It sounds to me like the Void isn't actually 'void' at all?"
"That’s a misconception!" a witch sister immediately corrected.
"The Void is vast and empty, without boundaries—a total vacuum. However, the Void factions established by powerful Transcendent races and the short-distance Void teleportation channels link the Myriad Races together, so it doesn't sound very empty. More importantly, the term 'Divine Kingdom Grand Market' is very misleading, but not just anyone has the right to enter that market."
"That’s true. For instance, I’ve never been to the Divine Kingdom Grand Market. Back when I was young and reckless, I went there and outed myself as a Rebel Witch, and I got kicked out."
"Isn't that your own fault? Those birdmen in the Divine Kingdom don't have a great attitude toward us witches, but to maintain an open and inclusive free market, they do accept witch visitors. They just refuse entry to Rebel Witches. You should reflect on what your kind has done."
"What did the Rebel Witches do?" I asked curiously. However, hearing them talk about "birdmen" inevitably made me think of the Holy Angels in the Main World.
"You want to know, Xiao Han?"
When I asked, the witches all seemed to smile without speaking, not looking particularly eager to explain.
"Mhm." I nodded, then hesitated. "If it’s something that shouldn't be mentioned, then let’s move on to the next topic?"
"What’s there to hide? This is one of the glorious achievements of us Rebel Witches!" one of the Rebel Witches spoke up.
"There’s really nothing that can't be said. But before we get into that, I need to give you a crash course on the composition of the Divine Kingdom Grand Market."
"The Divine Kingdom Grand Market is a massive world community spanning the Void. It possesses a complete Core World, Expansion Realms, and Void Frontline Worlds that interface with the Void. It is an ocean of Holy Light, as well as a massive, open market that encompasses the majority of trading channels for Void races."
"It’s a pity the Divine Kingdom is a world full of birdmen. That’s the only flaw," another Rebel Witch lamented.
"Zip it! Honestly... let’s continue. Since the Divine Kingdom is a massive market, it means there are all sorts of goods and trading channels. In the worlds bathed in Holy Light, trades are conducted with fairness and integrity. But in the places where the Holy Light doesn't reach, there are dark and secret black markets."