Chapter 374: The Body Training Hall
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 374: The Body Training Hall
"No, I'm not ordering you to do anything. I'm asking if you're interested in going to that world to have some fun."
"Eh?"
I was a bit surprised by the Academy Dean's words. Was she actually giving me the choice?
"Then... if I'm not interested, I really don't have to go?" I asked tentatively.
"What? Do I strike you as the type who enjoys bossing people around? If you're not interested, you naturally don't have to go. I only approached you because I consider you a suitable candidate."
"Suitable? Why?" I asked.
I didn't push the point about whether I truly didn't have to go. Doing so would have made me seem socially inept, and besides, in matters like this, I didn't really have the final say anyway.
Still, I was curious why the Academy Dean thought I was a good fit. Had she already scouted the details of that small world?
"It's simple. Small worlds are actually quite fragile; they cannot bear power above the Transcendent level. That is something only large worlds can do. Therefore, if any of the mentors from our Transcendent Academy were to go, they would be forced to suppress their strength below the Transcendent level just to enter."
"Uh... if the mentors can't go, what about the powerful students? There must be plenty of students in the academy who are on the verge of advancing but haven't reached the Transcendent level yet, right?" I asked.
"There are indeed many, but have you forgotten the Ley Line Shackles? Students who haven't severed their Ley Line Shackles cannot leave the Main World to enter the Void, let alone enter other worlds."
"Oh, right. I almost forgot." I slapped my forehead as the realization hit me.
Looking at it that way, as someone who wasn't Transcendent but had severed my Ley Line Shackles, I did seem like a perfect fit for this mission.
However, I knew full well that I wasn't the only choice; I was just the only choice among the students. For an expedition into an unknown world, there would always be Transcendent Witches leading the charge.
"Um... Academy Dean, just a quick question. I'm basically an optional addition, right? I won't be a burden to the mentors if I go?" I asked cautiously.
What I really wanted to ask was: I'm not the main carry for this, right? You'll be pulling the strings from behind the scenes, won't you? But I decided to phrase it more tactfully.
On second thought, this was another world. Could the Academy Dean's control over the Main World's Script even extend that far? Thinking of this eased my concerns slightly.
"A burden? What kind of trouble could you possibly cause? Even if you went there and turned that world upside down, it wouldn't matter. It's not the Main World, so you're free to run wild. Just don't go and get yourself killed."
"Right, right." I nodded quickly. With that assurance from the Academy Dean, I felt much more at ease.
"So, since you're so concerned about the details, does that mean you want to go?"
"Uh... I'm a bit tempted, but I haven't made up my mind yet. I wanted to ask, roughly when would we be heading out?"
"For Transcendent Witches, we can go whenever we want—even right now. However, that would require traversing the Void between worlds to reach that small world. Since its coordinates in the Void haven't been fixed yet, we can't just open a teleportation channel and go straight there. Quite a few meddlesome witches have already headed over to take a look."
"So, you're saying I actually can't go yet?" Hearing this, I felt a strange sense of relief. Perhaps deep down, I didn't want to go—at least not anytime soon. I needed some time to rest, didn't I?
"Yes, don't expect to go anytime soon. For that first batch of Transcendent Witches, it will take at least a month, by conservative estimates, before any information is sent back."
"A month just to send back information?"
"Yes."
"Then there's actually quite a long time before this really happens, right?" That should be enough time for me to rest until I was bored enough to go looking for fun.
Thinking about it... even if the Academy Dean had a task for me, I'd probably end up doing it. Besides... Sister Bai should be back by then. I wondered if she would go with me.
"Correct. A month is a conservative estimate. We've budgeted two months to establish a stable teleportation channel between the two worlds, and six months to manage public opinion in the outside world to prepare for the world collision..."
"Wait, what? What do you mean? Public opinion? World collision?" I interrupted the Academy Dean, my voice rising in confusion.
"Yes. A world collision is an inevitable issue. If the Main World wants to annex that small world, the Main World Consciousness needs to exert its power. Even we are merely assisting the Main World Consciousness in completing the world assimilation. When two worlds first collide, the resulting phenomena will naturally affect the entire world. Furthermore, this is a collision between two worlds on the level of the Void—it refers to the interaction and overlapping of world spaces. Do you know what happens then?"
"Uh... what happens?" I looked at the Academy Dean with a gaze that was ignorant yet eager for knowledge, waiting for the answer.
"The worlds and spaces represented by the two worlds are two different concepts. The overlapping and interaction of spaces will naturally open spatial rifts, and those rifts will become the channels for communication between the two worlds."
"So this is actually a disaster that affects the entire world, because spatial rifts will appear randomly wherever the two world spaces overlap?" I tried to process the information, offering a tentative guess.
"Correct. You're clever; that's exactly it."
"So, we'll need the whole world to cooperate to seal those spatial rifts as quickly as possible? To prevent ordinary people from seeking death by crossing over, or to stop the other side's experts from coming here and damaging our world?"
"Not exactly. You've forgotten the Ley Line Shackles again. Even if the worlds collide and spatial rifts open, the Ley Line Shackles will keep them firmly locked down. Ordinary people won't be able to cross, and the same applies to the other side."
"Uh... if that's the case... then is the only point of sealing them just to keep ordinary people from finding out about this?" I asked.
"Of course not. Did you forget what I just said? The Main World wants to annex that small world as a rich resource world. This process of annexation is actually the process of the Main World Consciousness swallowing and assimilating the other world's will, turning the other world's ley lines into the Main World's ley lines."
"It's similar to a ley line graft. Once they share the same source, the power of the Ley Line Shackles will weaken. Over time, ordinary people from both worlds will be able to pass through freely, because they will essentially be part of the same Main World, even if they are still separated by spatial layers."
"Then... how long will this process take?"
"We aren't entirely sure. Currently, there are no recorded cases of our Main World annexing a small world, so we don't know the rate of assimilation. But a conservative estimate... would probably be several years. However, we can manually accelerate the process."
"Several years!" This time span was indeed a bit shocking, but then I remembered that it took ten years to graduate from the Witch Academy. In that context, it didn't seem so long.
"Exactly. So, there's no need to rush these things."
"Uh... then why did you tell me so early, Academy Dean?" I couldn't help but complain slightly.
"I just happened to run into you, so I figured I'd mention it. I was worried you'd have nothing to do and get bored. I'm giving you a few months of buffer time to think it over properly."
"I see. Thank you for being so considerate, Academy Dean."
"It's nothing. After all, I'm telling you this because I hope you'll go. And there's one more thing... if too many Transcendent-level experts go over, the world will of that small world might not be able to bear it."
"It can't bear it? Then the Main World..." I thought about how many Transcendent Academies there were in the Main World, and how many Transcendent experts they held. The Witch Academy alone had countless, and some Transcendent Witches were even non-teaching scholars. I'd never seen the Main World struggle to support them.
"The Main World also has a bearing limit. Otherwise, why do you think your Sister Bai needed a specific qualification to return to the Main World? That qualification is used to maintain the dynamic balance of the number of Transcendents in the Main World."
"Uh... okay..." I recalled Sister Bai's special guest teacher qualification. That had been thanks to the Academy Dean's help.
"Once this small world merges into the Main World, I expect the upper limit of Transcendents the Main World can support will increase once again."
Though the Academy Dean said this, she was currently wondering if she should use this small world's invasion as a starting point. If other Transcendent races wanted to move in later, perhaps they could send a few small worlds as "tickets" first?
After all, the Main World was still in a trough. It needed a massive amount of resources to restore its former glory. The ruins of the Main World were far more vast than they appeared. If the Main World were fully restored, the number of Transcendent races it could support would theoretically... have no upper limit. This was one of the reasons the Main World was worth fighting for.
"So... Academy Dean, am I supposed to do nothing during this time?" I asked tentatively.
"Don't you have your own plans? You can do whatever you want during this period," the Academy Dean said, glancing at me.
"Got it, got it." I nodded quickly. If there was nothing to do, then all was well. The weight on my heart finally lifted.
"Then I won't disturb you any longer. I can tell that when you're alone with me, you feel a bit uneasy, even just walking down the street."
"Have some confidence. Given time, you can reach my height, or even surpass me. After all, the Primal Witch never said anything like 'I have high hopes for you' to me. She only ever told me things like 'think about something practical.'"
"Back then, I had a Great Spellbook just like you, and I was already a Transcendent Witch. Perhaps that's the difference. I was far more impetuous back then than you are now. You're so mature now that you're like a... how should I put it? A burnt-out salaryman who has seen through all desire? Something like that. Your eyes hold nothing but numbness toward the world, yet I can see that you have a paranoid passion for the Transcendent."
Listening to the Academy Dean's evaluation of me... I had to admit, it sounded incredibly accurate. It struck right at my core, so much so that it made my skin crawl.
It felt like she was one step away from calling me a Transmigrator.
Just as I was about to say something, the Academy Dean's figure completely vanished. I was left standing alone by the roadside.
"Sigh~"
I let out a sigh and patted my cheeks to pull my emotions together.
The Academy Dean was gone, so it was time to start my own schedule. First, I'd follow the plan and do some meditation.
Looking toward the meditation rooms, I hopped onto my broom and pulled out my phone to book a high-level meditation room. Since I was feeling a bit flush with cash lately, I wasn't going to skimp on my own treatment.
Time flew by. By the time the incense burned out, nearly two hours had passed.
Though meditation was mentally taxing, it was the best way to calm my mind. After all, if you can endure sitting still for an hour or two, anyone's heart will settle down.
Feeling a slight increase in my mental power, I ended the meditation session with satisfaction.
After leaving the meditation room, I planned to head to the Body Training Hall for some physical cultivation.
The existence of the Body Training Hall was part of the common knowledge Sister Bai had shared with me after giving me the Body Tempering Ring.
It was a semi-open physical cultivation area. Anyone practicing body arts could go there; it was somewhat similar to a commercial gym.
Naturally, you had to pay to get in. It was membership-based—the kind where you pay for a card.
The Body Training Hall was founded by the Body Arts Exchange Club, and its nature was similar to the flight license training club from before.
The membership criteria for that club required a certain level of attainment in body arts. Club members enjoyed many conveniences and could even work part-time or full-time as coaches for body arts instruction—similar to personal trainers at a gym. Of course, students had to pay extra for that.
I was only going there to perform my daily routine of the Ritual War Dance that complemented the Body Tempering Ring, which improved my physical fitness across the board.
As for specific combat techniques, I wasn't in a huge rush. My straight punch was already quite powerful, so I didn't urgently need specialized fighting arts for now.
I had never actually been to the Body Training Hall. Sister Bai had only mentioned it in passing and told me I could find it on my phone's map.
I checked, and sure enough, I could. Moreover... there wasn't just one Body Training Hall within the Witch Academy's grounds.
According to the map descriptions, they all seemed to belong to the Body Arts Exchange Club.
I wasn't picky and chose the closest one. As for navigation?
Totally unnecessary. Once I confirmed the direction, my flying broom took me there in a straight line. I didn't need to worry about roads.
When I arrived, the words "Body Training Hall" were prominently displayed on a unique building.
Upon reaching the entrance, I instinctively started looking for a public teleportation landmark. I had already interacted with the one near the meditation rooms, but since I was close by when I parted with the Academy Dean, I hadn't used it.
Since this was my first time here, I looked for one out of habit.
After scanning with Spirit Vision for a while, I finally found one a bit further away. It seemed the location of this Body Training Hall wasn't the most convenient.
After a brief internal complaint, I stowed my broom and walked inside.
The moment I stepped in, a wave of vibrant energy hit me. The air was thick with the scent of sweat and feminine passion.
The front area seemed to be the reception. Even the lobby was designed with plenty of fitness equipment and motivational slogans, urging everyone who chose the path of body arts to keep striving.
As I walked to the front desk and watched the senior sisters passing by in their light, airy athletic wear, I suddenly felt very out of place.
My current outfit... didn't seem very suitable for body tempering. Sigh... a tactical error...
I should have worn form-fitting athletic clothes underneath.
However, the senior sisters at the front desk noticed my unfamiliar face and greeted me warmly.
Seeing the cool, refreshing postures of the senior sisters who had just finished their training, it seemed the atmosphere here was quite lively. This session of body arts cultivation promised some interesting surprises and expectations.
But I quickly reined in that mindset. No, no, no. I have Sister Bai now. I can't keep acting like this...
"Hello there, little junior sister! Are you interested in body arts cultivation? If you just want to get in shape, we have professional senior sisters available for one-on-one coaching and form correction~"