Chapter 1092: Just How Many Rebel Witches Are Outside the Main World?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1092: Just How Many Rebel Witches Are Outside the Main World?
Dean Mei and I spent a short while discussing our views on the Main World. I wasn't particularly invested in the topic, but I was curious to see what kind of analysis she had come up with.
I just hoped she hadn't let her imagination run too wild.
Eventually, we circled back to our original subject.
As for how to resolve the crisis facing the Main World, she had been waiting—as she said—to see how I would handle it.
My Heart Sense told me that Dean Mei wasn't joking. In fact, as she spoke, I could sense a profound feeling of relief emanating from her.
It was the feeling of someone finally setting down a heavy burden and handing it over to me.
"When did you decide I was capable of handling this, Dean Mei?" I asked curiously.
After all, back in the day, she had been extremely strict about limiting my harvesting of the Game Worlds, and I hadn't exactly made a show of my increasing strength since then.
Mastering certain techniques can certainly boost one's power, but such changes are often subtle and difficult for others to perceive.
"A little while ago."
"A little while ago? You mean... when I killed that Vampire Grand Duke in the duel?" That was, after all, the only time I had truly cut loose and shown my combat potential.
Still, I didn't think that single achievement was enough for Dean Mei to conclude I could solve the Main World's problems.
"More or less. I know you're confused, Xiao Han, but I've never truly restricted you..."
"Uh, what about the Game World harvesting?" I interrupted.
"But you went anyway, didn't you? And as it turns out, you were even more exceptional than I imagined." Dean Mei picked up her teacup and took a small sip to mask her momentary embarrassment.
"Fine, I won't press the issue. I'm just curious—why give this to me? Just because I can do it?"
"Is that not reason enough?" she countered.
"I suppose... You know, you seem different than before, Dean Mei. Like you've finally had an epiphany or something."
"You're not wrong."
"You're more candid, too."
"Ahem! Was I not candid before?"
"Before, you always had this 'I have the Main World situation under control, and I'll tell you when you're qualified to know' vibe. Now, Sister Mei, you have a..."
"A what?"
"A sense of composure. It's like... your 'arrangement' is simply me."
"Hmm... Haha, I suppose that's one way to put it. You are my arrangement. Are you willing to accept it?"
"Being entrusted with a heavy responsibility... it's a first for me. Alright then. I am a Teaching Assistant at the Witch Academy, after all. It's time I started pulling my weight." I shrugged, wearing an expression that said I was resigned to my fate but willing to accept it.
"So, at this point, am I supposed to say: 'The Witch Academy needs TAs like you! Keep up the good work, I'm counting on you'?"
"Does the Academy offer a bonus for this?"
"What do you want? I'd give you the entire Witch Academy if you asked for it."
"Never mind, then. I'm not cut out to be a Dean." I shook my head vigorously.
With a few simple jokes, a decision that would determine the future of the Main World was settled as if it were child's play.
Sister Bai remained by our side, a silent witness to the moment.
"What's your next move, Xiao Han? If I recall correctly, that Small World you snatched from the Game World community is about to collide with the Main World, isn't it? Quite a few Transcendent Witches have stepped in to stabilize the Main World and calm the ripples; otherwise, doomsday theories would be flying everywhere out there."
"Oh? Transcendents actually stepped in? I thought the Main World was just a case of 'a dying giant is still a giant,' which is why there weren't any omens," I said, surprised.
"What were you thinking? No matter how high the Main World's Rank is, it's been reduced to a single Core World. How could it possibly remain unaffected?"
"Fair point."
"So, back to the question: do you plan to keep playing this 'Academy War' game?"
"I have to keep playing. The arrow is on the string; it has to fly. But... Sister Mei, do you really not have a single contingency plan I can use for reference? I have zero experience with this!"
"I have a few, but they're mostly concepts based on my original line of thinking. I think it would be more direct for you to implement them. For instance... your Dreamscape Calamity ability could be deployed at a critical node of their Staff of World Destruction Plan. Even if the Calamity takes time to spread, giving them a window to react, they wouldn't be able to continue their execution."
"That's a bit too 'brute force,' isn't it?"
"That should be my line," Dean Mei remarked. "It is indeed a method, but its success hinges on one premise: your Dreamscape Calamity must be absolutely invincible. You will be facing Transcendent experts who stand at the peak of the Void. Regardless of which academy they lead, every Dean has made significant achievements in the field of dreams."
"Huh? Are they really that bored?"
"The Primitive Dream Realm is an untapped blue ocean. The ceiling for advancement in the Void is the Saint Realm. The longer those old fogies live, the more they delve into ethereal concepts, hoping to carve out a path beyond the Saint Realm."
"Alright, I get it."
"So, while the Dreamscape Calamity plan is ideal on paper, you cannot underestimate any old monster who has lived that long. If even the slightest thing goes wrong and there's no backup measure, the final result will be the total ruin of the Main World."
"So, Sister Mei, you brought this up to tell me I can't rely solely on the Dreamscape Calamity, right?"
"Yes." Dean Mei nodded. "So, have you thought of a solution?"
"Not yet." I shook my head, then a thought occurred to me. "Wait, since they want to transfer their Sparks, and those Sparks have to leave the world to enter the Void... can't we just hijack them and use them as leverage?"
"Leverage..." Dean Mei looked at me. "That's too idealistic. The Void is a place of absolute nothingness, especially the area surrounding the Main World Void Domain; there isn't a single world in sight. To use a metaphor: if you throw a person into the Void, the environment itself will instantly strip away all their senses. They won't see anything, hear anything, or perceive anything at all."
"So my idea isn't realistic? If the Void is like that, how do they even navigate?"
"Real Time. Precisely because the Void lacks any concepts of the material world, Real Time exists there in its purest form. All perception, communication, navigation, and everything else you do is performed within Real Time."
"I see... But even then, is it impossible to spot their Void carriers?"
"When exploring the Void, unless someone has literally attached a world to themselves, you wouldn't even know a material world was right in front of you. That's the level of 'visibility' in the Void. Do you understand now?"
"Uh... I think so. But if visibility is that low, how do they determine direction?" After gaining a bit of understanding, I found myself with even more questions.
"By the Void Ley Lines. The Ley Lines of the Void are like an intersecting network. Through Real Time, one can vaguely discern recognizable Ley Line anchors," Dean Mei explained.
"Ugh... Void navigation sounds like a massive pain..." I lamented.
"It is. That's why sailing through the Void isn't the preferred method for crossing it. Instead, people use a series of short-range Void teleportations. The nodes for these teleportations are the anchors left behind by previous Void explorations."
"Think of the Void as a city with a complex transit system. You don't need to memorize every street; you just need to know the bus stops. The stops are the fixed-point short-range teleportation anchors. The process of teleporting is like getting on the bus—you don't need to direct the driver on how to move."
"When you put it that way... I'm starting to feel a lot of respect for the seniors who mapped out the Void." I sighed again.
"It is perfectly right to feel awe toward the Void. And the witches hold deep respect for the Vanguard Pioneers of any race who push the boundaries of the Void."
Once Dean Mei finished her explanation, she suddenly realized something. "Wait, haven't we drifted off-topic?"
"Oh, come on—I'm just taking the chance to learn more about the Void!" I waved her off. "Where were we? Right, hijacking their Sparks as hostages. Is that path really a dead end?"
"You still haven't given up on that?"
"Well, it's just irritating to watch them ferry people away right under our noses... Sister Mei, what do you think would happen if the Rebel Witch sisters outside the Main World were the ones to find those Sparks?"
"Hmm... I suspect the other side would explode with rage."
"My thoughts exactly~" I said, opening the contact panel for the Tree of Great Knowledge.
Back when we met in the Emerald City, I had given those Rebel Witches some Great Knowledge Seeds so we could stay in touch. After all, I was destined to step onto the grand stage of the Void; I figured I might need their help eventually.
They had accepted them gladly—it was the power of a Great Spellbook, after all!
Even after I explained the drawbacks, such as the rules regarding knowledge sharing, they hadn't cared.
"Xiao Han, what are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm going to try my luck. I'll contact a few of the Rebel Witch sisters currently in the Void outside the Main World. There are no worlds to rest at out there, so they must be bored out of their minds. I'll see if they're willing to help out," I said nonchalantly.
They had told me themselves: if I ever needed help, I just had to ask, and they would definitely be there for me.
This is exactly why having connections is so great.
"You're really going to do this?!" Dean Mei's brow furrowed. She truly hadn't expected me to pull a move like this.
"Hmm... I'm thinking about the best way to go about it. If we happen to catch them, where should we put them?" I mused to myself, not directly answering her question.
"Sister Mei, what if we dump them in that Small World, the Emerald Forest? How do you think they'd react then?"
"You're just trying to fan the flames, aren't you?" This time, it was Dean Mei's turn to deadpan.
"Is it that obvious? I really can't think of anything else. We'll take it one step at a time and meet all changes by remaining unchanged."
"Coping with shifting events by sticking to a fundamental principle... I didn't expect you to say something like that, Xiao Han."
"What's wrong with saying that?"
"I just think it's very profound." Dean Mei remarked. Meeting all changes by remaining unchanged... what a deep philosophy.
"To be honest, it's just a fancy way of saying I'm winging it and have no life plan... Besides, I'm just going with the flow of the Main World's situation. Who knows? Maybe a miracle will happen in the end."
"Perhaps. In my eyes, you are the impossible miracle I waited for during my entire tenure as Dean." At this, Dean Mei became quite sentimental.
The conversation effectively ended there.
To an outsider, our conclusion might have seemed far too casual, but Dean Mei didn't feel that way.
She had come to terms with certain things. The Main World had given birth to Xiao Han, whose value was higher than the world itself. If the Main World was ultimately destroyed, it didn't seem like such an unacceptable tragedy anymore.
Meanwhile, I was busy contacting the Rebel Witch sisters. After all, they weren't my subordinates, nor were they followers like Millian who would execute any order I gave.
This was more of a negotiation. Even though I knew they likely wouldn't refuse, I had to maintain the right attitude.
To my surprise, the Rebel Witches outside the Main World seemed to have found out about the Spark Migration Plan even earlier than I had. Even without me reaching out, they were already scouring the Void outside the Main World.
The bad news was... they hadn't found anything yet.
But there was good news: they had obtained some "insider intel." Apparently, the Transcendent races planned to move a massive batch of Sparks during the chaos of the Emerald Forest's collision with the Main World. The witches were already lying in wait and wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity.
This caught me off guard, but after asking around, I realized why they were so well-informed.
It was because a Rebel Witch named "Sheryl" inside the Main World had leaked the intel to them.
Well, well... Sheryl's methods for infiltration and intelligence gathering were certainly impressive.
"I have two pieces of good news."
"Two?" Dean Mei looked at me, unsure of what I meant.
"That's right. First, the Rebel Witches outside the Main World have already started searching for those Sparks." I paused, then added, "The plan was leaked by that Rebel Witch, Sheryl."
"I should have known... And the other piece of good news?"
"The Transcendent races are planning an emergency transfer of a batch of Sparks during the chaos of the collision between the Emerald Forest and the Main World. The Rebel Witch sisters are already in position, waiting for them."
"Just how many Rebel Witches have gathered outside the Main World?" Dean Mei asked, curious after hearing me mention "sisters" multiple times.
"I'm not sure. I know at least a dozen personally—I gave each of them a Great Knowledge Seed to stay in touch. I heard the total number of Rebel Witches who showed up is even higher than that."
Dean Mei: "?"
That many?