Chapter 1093: The New Semester
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1093: The New Semester
"New semester's here~"
"Too bad all those cute little underclassmen headed off to the branch academies this term. We’re going to be missing out on a lot of fun..."
"It’s not like the branch academies are off-limits. If you want to see them, just go~"
As the new semester began, the academy gradually bustled back to life after the quiet of the break.
Talk of the freshmen remained an indispensable topic for every year. After all, engaging in a romantic emotional exchange—or a deep physical one—with a cute junior who had just stepped into the academy was a pleasure not to be missed.
However, as this semester kicked off, a brand-new topic began to dominate the attention of even more students.
Joining the United Club!
During the break, the United Club had undergone a series of reorganizations, shifting toward an elite-focused model.
Beyond the Nine Major Core Combat Sequences, they were expanding a new sequence: the Free Warbands.
Their plan was to forge the Nine Major Core Combat Sequences into "dagger sequences"—precision blades meant for a single, decisive strike—while the mass-scale group warfare accumulated over long periods of conflict would serve as support.
The merit tasks previously posted at the Jack-of-all-trades Club were also optimized, streamlined, and formalized into a system where only registered Free Warbands could accept them.
In other words, the academy wars led by the United Club had drawn a clear line between themselves and the average student. For those who didn't want to participate, those war missions wouldn't even clutter their view on the Jack-of-all-trades Club's task board anymore.
Meanwhile, the students who were originally enthusiastic about merit tasks were integrated by the United Club and granted the formal status of the Free Warband sequence.
Though they were now part of a formal organization, the warbands remained very free in terms of which tasks they chose to accept.
In short, it was a product of formalism, but the vast majority of people absolutely lapped it up.
When the armbands and medals representing the United Club's Free Warband sequence were pinned to their uniforms, the sense of honor and achievement brought by that leap in status surged within them.
"According to the grapevine, there’s a tough battle to be fought this semester. Anyone know the details?"
"You got that news from the Transcendent Dark Web, didn't you? That’s ancient history. It was already making the rounds shortly after the break started."
"What? I paid good money for that intel!"
"Oh, so you're just a sucker. Never mind then."
* * *
Inside the United Club.
This was the first time the representatives of the various Free Warband squads had entered such a formal meeting venue.
While their individual combat power couldn't match the might of the Core Combat Sequences, their presence was still vital for large-scale numerical confrontations.
Furthermore, with the "pioneer" planning for the Emerald Forest underway, the United Club needed to deploy a large number of mobile squads. After all, they couldn't be certain exactly where the Void Rifts between the two worlds would tear open.
They only knew the general vicinity.
"Thank you all for coming. New semester, new opportunities. I know you are all filled with curiosity, and today, I will be the one to provide the answers."
"I'm sure you've all reviewed the combat plans for the new semester. In the coming months, the United Club will focus more of its energy on cooperation and competition with the elves."
"Some of you might wonder: now that we control the Blood Slave Peninsula, why aren't we pushing further from that foundation? Why turn our sights toward the elves instead?"
"And that! That is the secret we are about to reveal to you."
As the speaker on the podium reached this point, everyone’s expression turned serious, waiting for the United Club to provide a rational explanation.
Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Olina, standing on the stage, brought up a past event. "Everyone here should remember the Expansion Realm, right?"
The crowd instantly fell into reminiscence. The pioneering journey into the Expansion Realm flashed before their eyes; it was the first time they had realized there was another world beyond the one they knew.
To most, the Expansion Realm’s primary impression was that of a "money-picking" trip where gold practically lined the streets.
Though they had faced many troubles—such as dream overlap and harassment from dream creatures—it couldn't overshadow the opportunities found there. Many had become overnight millionaires during that windfall.
"Perhaps many of you don't know much about the Expansion Realm. To be honest, even we in the United Club don't know that much about it."
"You can understand it as a world collision orchestrated by the mentors of the Witch Academy, which opened an entrance where the two worlds intersect."
"And now, a second world is about to establish a connection with ours!"
As Olina spoke, the spell-curtain behind her displayed a series of images in coordination. It was a primeval forest, a landscape never before seen in the Main World.
"This! This is the second world we are about to welcome!"
"Its provisional code name is the Emerald Forest."
"According to limited intelligence, the intersection between this world and ours is right here." With a wave of Olina's hand, the flat spell-curtain transformed into a 3D world map.
A nearly circular region was then highlighted.
"This is the spatial weak point where the worlds will collide. As the two worlds overlap, the overlap zone will randomly tear open spatial channels between them."
At this point, Olina paused amidst a wave of murmurs, allowing everyone to digest this bombshell of information.
After a long moment, Olina spoke again. "Many of you have likely noticed that this location overlaps heavily with our upcoming operational area."
"Here, the human trafficking trade of the Dark Elf Academy; here, the 'Black Blood' factories between the Blood Elves and the Vampires; and here, the Holy Moon Evil Cult faith led by the Moon Elves..."
"These are not isolated cases. We lack the power to wipe out these dark industries entirely; we are only highlighting these typical examples because we need such reasons to intervene here."
"Until the spatial rifts to the Emerald Forest tear open, you will carry out these collaborative missions as normal. But once the rifts open, I expect you to be able to distinguish which events take priority."
"We need highly mobile Free Warbands equipped with spatial positioning to open direct spatial channels for the United Club."
"During the mission, you will inevitably clash with local transcendent forces and may even be obstructed by local transcendent academies. Because of the Emerald Forest's existence, other academies will gradually learn of it, but their information on this world is not as extensive as ours..."
Olina spoke at length during the meeting, focusing primarily on introducing the Emerald Forest and providing operational directives.
She also gave a detailed explanation of the subsequent logistics, resource supply, and rewards. After all, these were the fundamental factors that determined whether the members of the Free Warbands would put in their full effort.
Though they were ostensibly external members of the United Club, they were essentially people gathered for profit.
Among them were many who had been "optimized" out of the Core Combat Sequences. They formed their own squads within the Free Warbands, and the United Club provided extra subsidies for their missions.
Those who wanted money got money; those who wanted other things were accommodated as much as possible.
One could say that when it came to funding, there was no holding back. After all, it concerned the very foundation of their combat power.
As the meeting concluded, news regarding the Emerald Forest spread through the "grapevine."
A bombshell like this couldn't be kept secret, and it gave the returning students a bit of an "opening day shock."
Those students who were still wavering, unsure if they should risk joining a Free Warband, immediately made up their minds upon hearing this "insider info."
A surge of interest in joining the warbands swept through the academy.
The freshmen might not have understood what was happening yet, but the seniors were already pulling strings to get into the major warbands to greet their impending fortunes.
* * *
Baking House Headquarters.
Every time I arrived, it was a major event for the Baking House. In their minds, I wouldn't come unless there was something important.
All of my spare time was poured into transcendent research.
No socializing, no daily routines, and certainly no leisure or entertainment.
In the Witch Academy, I was the sole outlier among all students and teaching assistants. Some confused students might wonder: if she doesn't spend time building a network in the academy, isn't she afraid of finding it impossible to get anything done?
To that, someone would tell her: this Teaching Assistant Xiao Han is the greatest connection you can possibly encounter in the Witch Academy!
"Sister Xiao Han, since the Emerald Forest is already nearing our Main World, can we just open a spatial teleportation array between the two places to enter early?" After learning the latest news, Cleveland couldn't help but ask about her own little idea. "Your Life Clone is currently in that Emerald Forest, so you should be able to provide precise positioning, right?"
"I can indeed do that, but it would face two problems," I said, shaking my head.
"First, even if I set the spatial coordinates, the two worlds are essentially separated by the Void. Currently, any spatial spells mastered by students can only teleport within the material space of the same world. So, it won't work," I explained.
Methods to cross the Void were rare; even I only mastered one: the "Reverse Summoning Spell." If I were to ask the Academy Dean, I could certainly learn a Void Teleportation spell for short distances, and my Infinite Mana would be enough to sustain the cost.
But... why bother?
"The other issue is the Ley Line Shackles. Before that small world merges with the Main World's rules and allows the Ley Lines to mingle, you cannot cross between worlds. I can go there because I severed my Ley Line Shackles in advance, but there's no point in me going over as a lone little witch."
"Sister Xiao Han is right. I was being inconsiderate," Cleveland quickly admitted her mistake.
Even though she didn't know that current spells didn't support Void teleportation, and her understanding of Ley Line Shackles hadn't reached the practical level of world-crossing, her attitude in admitting fault was already there.
"It's fine. Just proceed steadily according to your original plan," I said with a wave of my hand. "My main purpose today is to bring you a detailed map of the Emerald Forest. It includes the terrain distribution, the locations of elf settlements, the division of powers, and even the ruins of the main cities left behind by the Players."
"Sister Xiao Han, you've already consolidated the data for an entire world?" Millian, listening from the side, was incredibly surprised. After all, that was an entire world!
"Yes. I completed the data collection using the Ley Line Identification Art. You can further analyze more information based on the surface data. I didn't need to wait this long to give it to you, but I was delayed by some matters in the Emerald Forest."
The "matters" and "delay" I spoke of were nothing else but the business with Lonafu.
I had taken her through a series of training and actual combat sessions; after all, I didn't need a useless person following me.
Lonafu was indeed very hardworking, and her combat experience had improved steadily. While she wouldn't be a match for the veteran senior sisters of the Witch Academy in such a short time, the prolonged life-and-death struggles had instilled a certain killing intent in her.
After all, if she died in battle, she was truly dead. I would rather resurrect her afterward than step in to save her once.
I have to admit, my education of her was perhaps a bit too harsh.
At this point, Millian took the detailed map of the Emerald Forest from Cleveland.
With this map, they wouldn't be flying blind when they entered the Emerald Forest, and they would be miles ahead of other transcendent academies in terms of information gathering.
"Oh, right. I took in a... well, let's call her a follower, in the Emerald Forest. She was the one who summoned me there. I gave her a Mana Source. When you meet her, help arrange her student status."
I didn't intend to hide Lonafu's existence. Once she enrolled, I'd let Millian and the others show her the ropes. If she had the talent, she might become the next Lin Xian. If not, bringing her to the Main World would still give her a decent life.
"Understood. What is her name?"
"Lonafu. She's an elf, but she's already been witchified, so she's easy to recognize. She's managed to grasp the language of the Main World through a contract, and her strength is decent. After all, she's been with my Life Clone for so long; she's picked up some combat techniques."
"Lonafu? I've got it. We'll keep an eye out," Cleveland said seriously.
"I'm just giving you a heads-up. It's possible that by the time you arrive in the Emerald Forest, my Life Clone will have already brought her over to meet you directly."
"Eh? Sister Xiao Han, do you mean you'll be intervening directly in this war?" Cleveland asked in surprise.
She had always assumed Sister Xiao Han wouldn't participate. Since the United Club's founding, they had gone through conflicts large and small, and Sister Xiao Han had basically never lifted a finger—she didn't even show her face.
Yet, no one dared to criticize her.
Because the few times this Sister Xiao Han did act, she had shocked the entire Main World twice!
The first time resulted in the Earth-Sun Tragedy, and the second time, she achieved a Transcendent Slaying as a mere non-transcendent!