Chapter 368: Tan Han's Entire Collection of Spellbooks?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 368: Tan Han's Entire Collection of Spellbooks?
"Hmm?"
Tan Han was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected to run into a fellow student after turning in her exam early and leaving the hall, especially one with such strikingly long, silver-white hair.
She thought for a moment. The girl was clearly a candidate for the monthly exam, which meant she was a freshman from the same year, yet Tan Han didn't recall seeing her before. With such a distinctive hair color, she should have remembered her after a single glance, but she had no impression of her at all.
Moreover... Tan Han noticed the girl had been staring at her from the start. She instinctively nodded and returned a smile.
She decided to head over and see if she could make an acquaintance. To her, having one more friend never hurt.
From my perspective, I was also a bit surprised to see Tan Han walking toward me.
Did she recognize me?
She shouldn't have seen me in this form before. Regardless, I didn't plan on leaving just yet, and I waited until Tan Han stood right in front of me.
"Hello there. I'm Tan Han. Do you have a moment to chat?"
"Of course. You've already come all this way, haven't you?" I pulled my arms off the railing and looked at her. From that one sentence, I knew she hadn't recognized me. This was getting interesting.
The feeling of knowing someone while they remained oblivious to your identity was quite amusing—it even gave me a slight urge to tease her.
However, the thought only lingered for a second before I dismissed it. After all, this was Tan Han.
"Are you a freshman too? I don't think I've seen you before. Would you mind telling me your name? I feel like we—"
"I'm Yang Yuehan. Tan Han, don't tell me you really didn't recognize me?" I cut her off, getting straight to the point.
I stared into her eyes, watching with satisfaction as the confusion there transformed into shock, and finally, into utter disbelief. Only then did I look away, content.
"Xiao... Xiao Han?!"
"The one and only. Is there a problem?" I asked, looking back at her with a slight smile.
"You... I... I remember that during the monthly exams, students aren't allowed to use spells like Disguise Spells. Besides, your appearance doesn't match your student card. How did you even get into the exam hall?"
"I walked in, obviously."
I held out my right hand. With a nimble flick of my fingers, a student card appeared in my hand like a magic trick. My original card was already void; this was a new one I had processed for my current form.
Tan Han instinctively took the card. She stared blankly at the photo of the elegant, white-haired girl and the three bold characters reading "Yang Yuehan." She had no choice but to accept that the girl standing before her was indeed the Xiao Han she knew.
"How did you... end up like this?" Tan Han asked as she handed the card back. "Is this some kind of... backlash from shattering your Luck Seed?"
"If the backlash for rejecting a Luck Seed was turning into this, I'd wake up laughing from my dreams. But I did have to pay a different price."
As I spoke, I instinctively touched the collar around my neck. This suppressed Bad Luck Curse was the true price I had to bear for breaking away from the Script.
"Then this is..." Tan Han caught my drift. she realized that Xiao Han must have done something else she wasn't aware of.
"My goal was never as simple as just shattering a Luck Seed. Besides, the appearance of that seed was just an interlude to me. Otherwise, why would I have gone to such lengths back then? I accomplished something else. My original body... how should I put it? It was no longer usable? Obsolete? It couldn't keep up with my pace anymore. In short, I became what you see now. Also, for the record, my hair is white simply because I like white hair. No other reason."
"That's... certainly a unique preference..." Tan Han didn't know what expression to make. The sheer amount of information in that explanation was a bit overwhelming.
"Then... would you mind telling me what exactly you accomplished?" Hearing this, Tan Han felt a sudden, sharp sense of urgency—a panic that the gap between them was widening.
"It's not a secret. I severed my Ley Line Shackles ahead of time. If you don't understand the concept of Ley Line Shackles, a teacher will explain it to you once you promote to a Transcendent Witch."
"What are Ley Line Shackles?"
"You can ask your teacher. To be honest, I only have a superficial understanding of them myself." I checked the time on my phone; it was getting late. "I have some things to take care of, so I'll take my leave now."
"Wait! Hold on!"
"Is there something else?" I turned back to look at her.
"The... spellbooks."
"What spellbooks?" I asked, confused. Why was she bringing that up now?
"I promised I would give you all of my spellbooks."
"Hmm?" That sounded familiar. I think I did say something like that once, but I had almost forgotten. "I told you I was just joking."
"But I'm serious."
Tan Han's words made me stop in my tracks. Her tone was solemn and filled with a sincerity that gave me a bit of a headache.
"Do you even understand what you're saying?"
I looked into her eyes. My blood-red pupils felt cold in that moment, but Tan Han met my gaze without flinching.
"I know exactly what it means."
"You'll be left with nothing."
"Trading everything for the chance to throw away those burdens is worth it to me," Tan Han said firmly.
Her resolve was somewhat shocking.
If someone asked me to throw away all my spellbooks, I absolutely wouldn't be able to bring myself to do it. You can't expect a hoarder to throw away their stash unless... there was something truly worth it.
For example... trading all my spellbooks for Sister Bai. Or... actually, that's the only thing I can think of.
"You should think this through. Without your spellbooks, you won't even be able to maintain the achievements you've already gained."
"Those are all superficial. You have many spellbooks too, but aren't you still best at those Evocative Spells? Since I've said this, I'm prepared to start over. I'll earn my spellbooks back through my own hard work."
"Suit yourself. Do whatever you want." I waved her off and turned to leave. It felt like no matter what identity I used to talk to Tan Han, we always ended up parting on a sour note.
Maybe we just didn't have any common ground.
Or maybe, from the very beginning, I never saw Tan Han as one of my own kind. Whether in my past life or this one, someone as brilliant as Tan Han was a being that existed in a different sphere from mine.
And everything happening now was likely just the result of the Script's machinations.
"Wait, Xiao Han! Wait!"
Tan Han wanted to say more, but I had already walked away. Just as she prepared to chase after me, a spatial portal appeared before me. A moment later, I vanished into it.
Tan Han lunged forward, only to grab empty air.
"In your eyes... am I really that childish?"
Tan Han lowered her head, hands resting on her knees. A flash of dejection crossed her eyes, but the resolve she had set wouldn't be undone by such small matters.
Eventually, she straightened up. She knew she couldn't make a scene in the exam area, so she left dejectedly.
* * *
Near the Witch Academy library, a teleportation channel manifested, and I stepped out.
Teleportation Spells were incredibly convenient. As long as you left a teleportation mark in advance, you could travel directly.
Technically, a Teleportation Spell can target any location within your line of sight. However, for places you can't see, you need a specific mark to anchor the spatial coordinates to ensure you don't end up somewhere unexpected.
Over the past few days, while I was relaxing, I had wandered around the academy and left my teleportation marks in various spots.
Actually, once I had the idea, I noticed that many places in the Witch Academy already had such marks. Most were left by senior sisters who had mastered spatial magic.
There were even Public Teleportation Landmarks in many areas—structures built through alchemy that could interact with any teleportation mark.
I hadn't paid them much attention before, but now that I had mastered teleportation, it all clicked.
I suppose they exist to prevent the academy from being cluttered with individual teleportation marks. While those marks don't affect passersby and are usually invisible, they can still cause accidents. No one wants to be walking down the street and suddenly collide with a stranger appearing out of thin air.
You could call such a collision a "beautiful encounter," but that really depends on the situation.
Hence, the academy provided Public Teleportation Landmarks.
My only complaint was that if the academy went through the trouble of building these things, why didn't they post an instruction manual?
I looked at the massive sculpture in front of the library. This was the teleportation landmark for the library entrance. At the time, I thought it was just a decoration. I had wondered why a mere statue had traces and fluctuations of Transcendent Rituals and energy.
Now I knew.
Realizing all this made the Witch Academy feel more and more like a massive open-world game.
When I first enrolled, I joked about "uncovering the map" when visiting new places. I didn't expect the map to actually have teleportation waypoints.
Though... only those who master teleportation can unlock them. The barrier to entry is quite high.
Ignoring the strange looks from the senior sisters passing by, I stood before the library.
There was a reason I came here to dodge Tan Han. Because of the Memory Bookshelf spellbook, I could read very quickly. I was using a very specific method to build up my foundation.
I wasn't worried about not understanding the material. My "Practical Learning" wasn't just for show. Even if I wasn't familiar with the content, once I accumulated enough knowledge, I would start practicing and gradually integrate it all. Everything has to be done step by step; there's no rushing it.
The books I wanted to borrow recently were all related to runes.
However, they were different from the rune books I had read before. Those were like dictionaries, meant to give me a general recognition of a vast number of runes so I wouldn't be lost when I saw them.
Now, I was picking up books that provided deep analysis of specific runes. One book might only cover two or three runes, and some runes required two or three volumes just to explain their depth.
I admit the content was dry and utterly devoid of entertainment. However, "Unity of Knowledge and Action" allowed me to govern my own emotions. I was the master of my feelings, including the boredom and dullness I felt while reading.
You could say I had already constructed my own learning cycle.
I knew this wasn't necessarily the most efficient way to learn. People who were naturally gifted or knew better techniques didn't have to go through all this trouble.
But there was no point in comparing myself to others. There would always be someone better. If you spend all your energy on comparisons, you'll never reach your true goal. Your eyes would only see the competition, and that wasn't what I wanted.
Entering the library, I first returned the books I had finished and then checked out new ones.
Among these was a book titled Introduction to Body Cultivation: Detailed Analysis of Primary Ritual War Dance. This was the material I needed to study to complement my Body Refining Alchemical Ring.
I had already memorized the contents, including the diagrams. While reading, I had even tried a few moves. For someone with total control over their body, every movement was effortless.
The only problem was that practicing the war dance was a bit of a hassle. It required a fair amount of space—certainly more than I had available at the villa.
In truth, the Ritual War Dance felt less like a dance and more like a ritual. If the movements were any more flamboyant, it would look like a shamanic ritual.
Fortunately, that concept didn't exist in this world. People who wanted to practice body arts might find the movements strange, but since they were categorized as a form of cultivation, they didn't draw any weird looks.
After returning the books, I checked out more rune-related texts and one on alchemy to serve as a change of pace.
Once finished, I left the library. My goals were clear, and I was in and out quickly—peak efficiency.
I planned to use my remaining time to pick out a few sets of clothes and dresses. Since today was an exam day, my current outfit wasn't particularly eye-catching.
Sister Bai was leaving in a couple of days. Tonight might be her last night at the academy.
After splurging a bit, I put together several high-quality outfits for myself.
By the time I left the Witch Plaza, I had completely changed my look.
I wore a white sundress with a hem that reached my mid-thigh. A semi-transparent shawl draped over my shoulders, letting my fair skin peek through, giving off a vibe of sophisticated allure.
The fitted bodice traced the curves of my figure, and beneath the translucent hem of the skirt, my leg rings were faintly visible.
My slender legs ended in a pair of cool, elegant high heels.
Since I wasn't quite used to heels yet, I chose a shorter pair. Still, the crisp click-clack they made on the ground felt quite nice.
"I wonder how Sister Bai is doing. She's been busy for days... she should have some free time by now, right?"
I murmured to myself as I pulled out my phone and dialed Sister Bai's number.
When the call connected, I heard her voice for the first time in what felt like forever.
"Xiao Han? Why the sudden call? Did something happen?"
"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to check on your progress. Are you almost finished?"
"Yeah, almost. Wait, don't you have your monthly exams?"
"Look at the time. The exams ended ages ago. Today was the last one."
"And how do you think you did?"
"So-so. Sister Bai, how about I come find you? Where are you?"
"You're coming over now?"
"Is that not allowed?" I asked, my voice tinged with a playful pout.
"Of course it is. It's the final stretch anyway. I'll send you my location."
"Great~ I'll be there in a flash~"