Chapter 15: The Terror of Transcendent Knowledge
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 15: The Terror of Transcendent Knowledge
Data and information filled the entire phone screen. Seeing this for the first time was a truly novel experience for me.
Especially since my gender was now listed as "Female"—it looked pretty good, no matter how I sliced it.
I scrolled down to the Talent section. I didn't have any issues with Spirit Vision, since I already knew about that ability, but what was this "Floating World" listed after it?
Was it some kind of alternative name for Spirit Vision? I looked up at Sister Bai, feeling a bit puzzled.
"What's wrong? This data is just a summary. Once you can manipulate mana, you can pull this information out and expand it. Most of the finer details are currently omitted."
As she spoke, Bai Yu seemed to remember something and continued.
"By the way, can you see your Talents there? If you have any talents other than Spirit Vision, the Ley Line energy should have recorded them faithfully. If not, it means your talent isn't an ability, but an external object—like dust, or some kind of gas. You just haven't discovered it yet."
"Um... yeah, there's something. But can a Talent really awaken as something that weird? Dust? Gas?"
"Mhm, it's possible. Anything can happen when a Talent awakens. Oh, and if you feel like your Talent isn't something you want to share, you don't have to. There are always lucky ones who get incredibly powerful Talents that they keep as their trump cards."
"I see... Well, my Talent isn't really a big deal, it's just a simple description. It says... Unparsed Transcendent Knowledge. Sister Bai, do you know what that is? It should be similar to memory, right? Mmph—!?"
Before I could finish, Sister Bai’s hand clamped over my mouth. She looked around frantically with a panicked expression, only relaxing once she was sure no one was listening.
"Sorry. Did you just say... Transcendent Knowledge?" Sister Bai whispered urgently into my ear.
"M-mhm." Startled by her reaction, I nodded instinctively.
Was Transcendent Knowledge something terrifying? I didn't know anything about it! I hadn't felt anything unusual myself.
"Listen to me," Sister Bai said, her expression more serious than I had ever seen it. She stared into my eyes with an intensity that gave me goosebumps. "Don't tell anyone about this. Don't even mention it."
"Okay, okay!" I promised immediately. I didn't dare treat something this serious as a joke. I was just a newbie who had barely stepped into the world of the Transcendent; I knew nothing of its taboos.
"Um... is that... what I just said... is it really that serious? Is it something the Transcendent world won't tolerate?" I asked in a small voice, feeling like I had accidentally stumbled into a massive heap of trouble.
"It's not that. It's that it's incredibly precious. If you expose it, you won't be able to keep it, and you'll be hounded by trouble for the rest of your life! Do you want to live like that?"
"No!"
"Then don't say a word. Just keep your head down and enjoy your fortune in silence."
"Understood!"
I spoke with total sincerity. If it really was as precious as Sister Bai said, then "possessing a jade ring brings its own troubles." Even so, the fact that Sister Bai didn't have the slightest intention of taking it for herself moved me deeply.
She truly was the only sister I could trust in this world!
Still, I was confused. What exactly was Transcendent Knowledge?
"Sister Bai, what is that stuff? Is the knowledge taught at the academy not... that kind of knowledge?" I asked curiously in a low voice. I was dying to know.
"It's different. While most people use 'transcendent knowledge' as a catch-all term for anything involving supernatural powers, what you have is different. That is text manifested by Ley Line information; it's naturally not ordinary knowledge."
"Transcendent Knowledge is a resource far more terrifying than the common knowledge used to describe transcendent powers. Of course, its essence is still knowledge—knowledge that can be mastered and utilized. But Transcendent Knowledge expresses the simple truth that to master knowledge is to master power in a brutal, direct way. It puts an equal sign between knowledge and power. I don't know the specifics myself, as I've never had contact with that field."
At this point, Bai Yu looked at me with an envious gaze.
"If you're interested, you can look up related materials in the academy library yourself. But it's best not to let anyone know what you're looking for. It would be bad if someone connected the dots and realized you possessed Transcendent Knowledge."
"Yeah, I'll be careful." I nodded quickly, realizing the gravity of the situation. This was likely a domain I wouldn't be able to touch for a long time. If even a Senior Sister didn't know much about it, I certainly wouldn't.
It seemed like a late-game talent. Besides, this Transcendent Knowledge was "unparsed," meaning I couldn't use it yet anyway.
After the discussion about Talents, I became much more cautious. It seemed I couldn't just open my data in crowded places anymore, or someone might see it.
Sister Bai told me that while this information couldn't be modified, it could be masked. Everyone had their secrets and things they didn't want others to see, so the phone had a built-in function for that.
Looking at it that way, I needed to master that single Mana Source as soon as possible. Masking information on the phone required manually using mana to forcibly modify the display.
Fortunately, the kind Sister Bai had already helped me mask the Talent.
Even so, it didn't change my desire to control my mana source quickly. Being able to manipulate mana meant I had truly mastered transcendent power!
Plus, without the ability to control mana, I couldn't even expand my physical data to take a closer look.
Sister Bai left me with something to look forward to, telling me to open and check it myself once I mastered mana. Although I was anxious, she told me not to rush.
So... I wouldn't rush.
There was also a "Task" section in my information. Sister Bai said these tasks were linked to academy notifications. The academy would send notices to the phones, but since students didn't always see them, any notice relevant to a specific student would appear as a task in their data. You could expand the task to see the details. Unfortunately, I couldn't view them yet, but since I had already finished everything, there was no need to check.
Since the enrollment registration and all the procedures were complete, I shouldn't have anything else to do.
For a moment, both Sister Bai and I felt a bit dazed—that sudden feeling of having nothing left on the to-do list.
So, what now?
I instinctively touched my stomach. I felt... hungry?
"Hungry, aren't you? It's about that time. Let's go get something to eat. Should we go to the main canteen, the snack street, or just some random little restaurant? This time, it's Sister Bai's treat! I'll let you experience how delicious the food is at a Witch Academy!"
"Really? Is it okay for you to spend more money on me, Sister Bai?" Although I was happy to be treated, I felt guilty that Sister Bai had been the one giving all this time. It felt like I owed her a massive favor.
That kind of feeling made me really uncomfortable.
"It's fine! We're friends, aren't we? Why are you being so polite? I know your finances are tight right now, so this one's on me. You can treat me back once you've earned some money~" Bai Yu didn't seem to care at all as she grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.
"We'll go to the canteen first. I'll let you see how the academy's food tastes."