Chapter 235: The Underground Space Beneath the Wizard Tower
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 235: The Underground Space Beneath the Wizard Tower
The atmosphere outside the arena was a roar of cheers.
The stands were packed to capacity. Even though the event was being broadcast live, a massive number of senior sisters had shown up to watch in person.
The highlight of the moment was frozen on the image of the Wizard Tower, which had been cleaved in two by a single sword strike.
The tower’s silhouette was still visible through the resilient shaping materials, but a sky-piercing giant sword had split it straight down the middle, causing the two halves to collapse outward.
The terrifying residual power had obliterated everything in the vicinity. Whether it was the terrain or the vegetation, everything had been flattened, radiating outward from the Wizard Tower at the center.
Such a spectacle truly deserved to be called "sublime."
Of course, that was according to the aesthetic standards of a witch.
In the center of the arena, amidst the neatly arranged rows of dream capsules, a sound rang out. This wasn't the first dream capsule to open; throughout the match, several contestants from smaller academies had already been eliminated, much to their regret.
The most formidable among them had suffered a stroke of terrible luck the day before, exhausting all three lives and getting knocked out of the competition.
This time, it was Archie of the Holy Angel Academy who chose to take the initiative and withdraw, despite having all three lives intact. He knew he had lost the right to continue. Though he had earned a significant number of points—even after killing the wizards inside the tower—he hadn't reached the top of the leaderboard. As the exchange competition continued, he was destined to be pushed further down the rankings.
Whether it was regret or any other emotion, it no longer mattered to him.
Archie opened the dream capsule. The noise from the arena's periphery was intense, but it wasn't the disappointment or booing he had expected.
On second thought, this was a witch academy. The majority of the audience were witches; they wouldn't feel disappointed on his behalf.
Their cheers were built upon his failure. While it wasn't mockery or jeering, at this moment, it stung even more than those sounds would have.
His withdrawal caused quite a stir, but perhaps it was for the best. At least in this environment, he wouldn't have to endure too much external pressure.
Archie made his way to the Holy Angel Academy's seating area, where he was met by his fellow students and teachers.
The expressions of his classmates were filled with disappointment and sighs. Especially in this setting, being mocked on the home turf of the Witch Academy meant their dignity had been utterly trampled.
Only his mentor’s expression remained gentle, as if nothing had happened.
"I'm sorry... Mentor Gunnar..."
"There is no need to apologize to me, child. You did a wonderful job."
Gunnar McIntosh spoke softly, patting Archie’s head. Archie had already fulfilled a mission he wasn't even aware of for this exchange competition. Gunnar couldn't tell him that, so he could only offer encouragement.
"However, child, as the team leader, you also made a mistake this time. Do you know what it was?"
"This... it was my failure as a leader. I made a reckless decision without properly assessing the situation."
"You think it was a tactical error? No. It was your compromise, child. When facing adversity and threats, you must never compromise. Whether you are facing a threat to your interests, a threat from your companions, or even a threat to your life, your only choice is to refuse to compromise."
"Regardless of those... but my companions..."
"I am merely expressing my viewpoint. You have your own choices to make. I am simply sharing my experience with you. If you have a different perspective on my views, then use your future choices and the facts they produce to stand before me and prove me wrong."
"No... Mentor cannot be wrong... I understand..."
Watching Archie walk away, Gunnar McIntosh fell into silence. One couldn't rush the education of a student, especially not a Child of Destiny.
He wanted to say that he, too, could make mistakes, but he bet that Archie would eventually figure it out for himself. Only by overcoming this hurdle would Archie reach a higher spiritual realm.
Similarly, only after suffering a loss and feeling the sting of pain would he understand what things he truly couldn't let go of.
As a leader, he had immersed himself in the role and refused to abandon his companions. But there are too many roles to play in life; if one tries to hold onto everything, life becomes an unbearable burden. One must learn to let go.
Following Archie's withdrawal, the other students of the Holy Angel Academy followed suit one after another. They had lost the strength to compete for the final victory in the exchange competition.
Some understood Archie, while others were confused or even felt that Archie had dragged them down.
Regardless of their mindsets, no one cared about their thoughts at this moment.
The person most delighted to see the Holy Angel Academy withdraw en masse was, naturally, Shopkeeper Xia Li!
"Hahaha! Good, good, good! Let all those birdmen withdraw! Fantastic! Xiao Han and Tan Han did a beautiful job! That was so satisfying to watch!"
Inside the shop, Xia Li was watching the live broadcast projection, so happy she was practically jumping for joy.
"Oh! I should have gone to the scene! Whatever, I'm happy today. Everything in the bakery is 50% off! Quick, quick, Ying Shiqian, organize a free cookie giveaway! I want more people to know about this!"
"Alright, Shopkeeper. You're probably the only one this happy about the Holy Angel Academy being eliminated. Did you intentionally tell Xiao Han and Xiao Tan to target them like that?"
"Exactly, Shopkeeper. Why interfere with their decisions? Isn't it a bit selfish to do that just for your own satisfaction?" Ying Shiqian chimed in from the side.
"Sel... selfish? How could that be? I—I put up my private stash as a guarantee!" Being called out by her two employees, Xia Li’s face flushed with embarrassment.
"Huh? You were actually willing to part with that, Shopkeeper?" Hearing about the private stash, Ying Shiqian and the other girl were genuinely surprised. That was the Shopkeeper's treasure. Even though it was technically the club's, the club had been built entirely by her.
"Of course... anyway, I'm very happy right now. How about... let's contact the new students in the club and go out for a big celebration meal?"
"Yay! A big meal!" That was Ying Shiqian.
"Huh? Another big meal?" That was Tang Yihan.
After all, Xia Li’s habit of going out for a "big meal" whenever she was happy was... hard to describe. Not everyone enjoyed constant group dinners.
* * *
Inside the Dream Exchange Competition.
At the ruins of the cleaved Wizard Tower.
The earth-shattering commotion here had naturally scared off anyone in the vicinity. This was a battle between titans; getting caught in the crossfire meant instant deletion.
Even the abnormal zones formed by the Heterogeneous Lightning had completely vanished, neutralized by the massive influx of Holy Light power.
The person who had transformed into a troll earlier was nowhere to be seen. It was a bit of a pity; they might have been sent packing as soon as the wizards unleashed that Heterogeneous Lightning Great Witchcraft.
Even if they hadn't died then, Archie’s sword strike was more than enough to finish them off. The aftershocks of that blow had been devastating.
Even arriving in person, I could feel the terror of such an attack.
Fortunately, we reached an agreement and let him leave early.
As for resources... that was hard to say. Since they were all dead, they hadn't left much behind in terms of loot.
Archie’s plan had backfired on him instead.
Looking at the split Wizard Tower, we could see the vast and complex internal structure. However, because the destruction had been so violent, many areas were unrecognizable.
Some precision instruments and wizard tools were still visible, but they were completely destroyed—the kind of damage where you couldn't even piece them back together.
"What's this?"
I kicked one of the few intact objects in front of me. Anything that could survive such an attack was bound to be something good.
"Did you find something?" Tan Han walked over, looking at the large objects with some surprise. But after opening them, they were just filled with various strange materials and half-finished wizard tools—useless to us.
"By the way, it looks like we're already in an underground area, right? Is there space beneath the Wizard Tower?"
"I'm not sure, but it's very likely." I shook my head.
But I didn't stop moving. My Spirit Vision had detected information about a hollow space below. In other words, there was a room down there.
It was a miracle that there was still space beneath such a massive structure without it collapsing. I had to admire the quality of the materials used for this Wizard Tower.
Eventually, we found an area leading underground.
"There really is one."
I lifted a heavy stone slab, revealing a passage leading down. The further we went, the more I could feel the solidity of the foundation. The entire underground space was shaped from the same material as the main tower. No wonder it hadn't collapsed.
One had to realize that the Wizard Tower hadn't crumbled into a pile of rubble even after taking such a hit; it had merely been split open. That alone proved how terrifying this material was.
As soon as we opened the way and headed down, a scent of blood and a strange odor wafted toward us.
"Looks like we've stumbled into somewhere significant."
Upon reaching the bottom, it was no surprise that we were ambushed. However, the witchcraft the attackers used was subpar. Only one wizard tool was a bit troublesome, but they were facing the elite of the Witch Academy. They were subdued in a few moves. Both Tan Han and I tacitly chose not to kill them.
"One, two, three... I didn't expect three wizard apprentices to be hiding here. Your strength is pathetic, but you're certainly good at hiding," I said with a smile, kicking one of the guys who had been disarmed and bound on the floor.
Even though they were caught, their mouths weren't clean. They started cursing like sailors. To gather information, we ultimately decided not to use a Silence Spell on them.
Instead, we used a more direct method. Tan Han didn't hesitate; she stepped up and delivered a swift kick between the legs of one of them. He went silent instantly, and the display effectively intimidated the other two.
"Tan Han... that move..." My eyelid twitched as I watched her. Her movements were so practiced that I started worrying for any perverts who might try to harass her in the future.
"Can any boy resist that move?" Tan Han didn't seem to care. At this moment, the intimidation she radiated reached its peak. She looked like she really would stomp them flat.
"I suppose there's nothing wrong with that." Anyway, I wasn't the one getting hit... wait, I'm a girl now, why am I worried about this?
"Are there any other hiding spots around the Wizard Tower?"
Tan Han didn't waste words and went straight into the interrogation. Seeing her enter that state, even I was a bit surprised. Wasn't she being a bit too professional?
Since Tan Han had taken over the interrogation duties, I decided to wander around the basement. It was quite large, after all.
Mainly, there was still that smell of blood. A scent of blood implied many things. it meant people had died here, and... if they had been killed instantly, there wouldn't be this much blood. Usually, once death is determined, the participant respawns immediately.
Only when all lives are exhausted and they can no longer respawn does a "corpse" remain.
I hadn't noticed earlier, perhaps because it was too dark. When I lit up an alchemical lamp, I discovered there really were "corpses" here!
And these clearly weren't NPCs from the exchange competition; they were left behind by contestants.
So someone had been eliminated this early?
It was a pity I couldn't tell which academy they were from anymore. I could only barely identify one as an unlucky guy from the Beast Academy.
However, my attention was soon drawn to another very conspicuous object. It was a glass vessel as thick as a person, and most importantly, there was an actual "person" inside!
A human specimen?
That was my first thought. This was a wizard academy, after all; I wasn't surprised they would have such things.
When the light hit it, I realized the glass vessel was filled with a green liquid, and the "human specimen" inside was revealed.
That wasn't a human; it was a mermaid!
Her lower half was a long mermaid tail. Good grief, the Wizard Academy even managed to get their hands on a Sea Clan contestant?
But after looking closer, I was shocked by the familiar face. It was Yvette!
That unlucky mermaid who had left the sea to find the Elf Alliance! I hadn't paid her any attention after I killed her once.
I didn't expect to run into her here.
But why was she here?
Had she lost all her lives and left behind this dream body shell?
I quickly dismissed that thought because she was still alive.
CRACK!
With a sharp sound of breaking glass echoing through the basement, the pale green liquid splashed all over the floor. Yvette collapsed along with the flow. Ignoring the various tubes connected to the vessel, I destroyed them all.
"Xiao Han, did something happen?" The commotion immediately drew Tan Han’s attention.
"Oh, nothing. I just found something interesting in here and broke it to take a look," I replied quickly, though I didn't stop what I was doing.
From the outside, Yvette didn't seem to have any serious injuries, just some minor external wounds.
And after soaking in that liquid for so long, her wounds hadn't worsened at all. As expected of a mermaid...
Just as I was marveling at her, her fish tail underwent a violent transformation.
The layer of scales shriveled up as if she were shedding skin, and then two legs replaced the tail.
Only then did I realize that the mermaid tail was a permanent spell effect, and that effect was based on... her mermaid bloodline, it seemed.
Other species truly are fascinating. I shook my head and stood up. Just then, Yvette stirred. She really was the "not quite dead" type.
She coughed a few times, looking like she had choked on water. Wait, can a mermaid choke on water? Mermaids really are mysterious.
"You... damn... wizards... I, Yvette Lau... will definitely..."
Even though Yvette had only just woken up, a string of curses was already spilling from her lips.
I patted her cheek. I had to admit, it felt nice—soft and supple. But... what on earth had this girl been through? She had just woken up and could barely force her eyelids open, yet she was already cursing.
After finally catching her breath, she opened her eyes. Under the light of my small lamp, she saw the face of the person in front of her.
After a moment of dazed confusion, Yvette’s eyes suddenly cleared, and her pupils constricted violently!
"Hi~ we meet again." I looked at her with a playful smile.
"You! You, you, you! Why is it you! Witch!" Her expression shifted so rapidly it was almost comical, but in the end, she only managed to squeeze out those few words.
"Be grateful. Your name is Yvette, right? I didn't get it wrong. I'm the one who saved you~"
"You... impossible! You must be with the wizards... Don't! Don't come over here!"
"Are you that afraid of me? You were cursing so fiercely while you were unconscious, so why the act now?"
"Curs... cursing? You must have heard... so what if I was cursing! It's none of your business!"
Yvette’s mind was still a mess, and her words were incoherent.
After being captured by the wizards, she had been subjected to inhumane treatment. They kept talking about how this was a dream and how researching a mermaid might reveal the secrets of their transcendent power. She had felt utterly despairing.
But inside that glass vessel, she couldn't even commit suicide. Her entire body was weak...
Now that she was rescued, she felt no joy at all. To make matters worse, she had run into the Witch!
Why was her life so miserable!
"Since I saved you, I'll take a little payment."
At the sound of my voice, Yvette instinctively crossed her arms over her chest. Payment?
In the exchange competition, what better payment was there than killing her for points?
"Do with me what you will!" Yvette had already prepared herself to die and respawn.
She only hoped that this time she wouldn't respawn in some ridiculous place. The Afuhemi Forest would be best.
But after waiting a moment, there was no sign of her being killed. She instinctively opened her eyes to check the situation, only to see the other person simply reaching out a hand. There was no weapon or sign of spellcasting.
"Eh?"
"Why are you looking at me like that? You didn't think I was going to kill you, did you? Please, killing you only gets me three points. But this... you only produce one of these per life."
I smiled and reached toward her chest. There, a beautiful scale resided—the Heart Scale of her new life.
With a scream from Yvette, another scale appeared in my hand. I pulled out the previous one I had taken. Under the light, the two scales shimmered with iridescent colors, their patterns identical. They were truly beautiful!
"Aaaaah! What did you do?!"
Yvette could no longer hold back the sense of grievance in her heart. Even if I had killed her, she wouldn't have cried this hard. But when her Heart Scale was plucked out again, she couldn't stop the tears.
Sometimes, grievances cannot be put into words. If they could, there would be no such thing as grievance in the world. Was she crying simply because her Heart Scale was plucked?
Yes, but also no. There were too many factors involved. The accumulated sadness, pain, and frustration finally exploded at this moment.
"Xiao Han, what's going on?" Hearing the commotion and the crying, Tan Han couldn't help but come over to check. This was the scene she walked into.
Tan Han’s arrival immediately scared Yvette into silence. She recognized Tan Han; her teachers had mentioned her, saying she was dangerous and powerful.
One witch was already making her life miserable enough. Now there was another one, and it was the Tan Han she knew...
She felt like her good days were over. Maybe... she should just kill herself...
Tan Han looked at Yvette, then at me. Finally, her gaze landed on my hand.
"A Sea Clan mermaid... Xiao Han, did you pluck her Heart Scale?"
"Is there a problem?"