Chapter 380: The Laboratory for Researching [Transcendent Knowledge]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 380: The Laboratory for Researching [Transcendent Knowledge]
After I finished registering, the Witch sister at the desk handed me a "permission."
As I took it, I realized that rather than a simple permission, it felt more like... a spellbook?
"Xiao Han, don't go getting any ideas about taking it apart. This permission was actually constructed using the same techniques as a spellbook. It has high-level security tech built-in; if it's tampered with, the permission will be voided."
"Is... is that so? Then I won't touch it..." Caught off guard by the sudden explanation, I awkwardly pulled my hand back. I really had been curious about what was inside, since it felt exactly like a miniature spellbook.
Who would have thought it had anti-tamper technology?
I’m really learning something new every day.
"Let's go, Xiao Han." Teacher Ji Niang gave me a nudge and led me away. She felt that Xiao Han should spend less time around Witches like that, lest she be led astray.
As I passed through a semi-transparent doorway, the permission acted like a pass, allowing me through without any resistance.
At that moment, I didn't even feel a shift in space, yet I suddenly found myself in an entirely different area.
Unlike the nearly empty hall from before, this place was bustling with Witches coming and going.
Some were in a great hurry, while others strolled leisurely as if they were just out for a walk.
The place felt like a complex maze. The walls were covered with inlaid metal plates shimmering with rune rituals. Based on my rudimentary understanding of runes, these had effects like reinforcement, perception, and data storage.
To put it in layman's terms: the walls were reinforced and thickened for durability, and they came equipped with the magical equivalent of cameras and sensors.
The laboratories along the corridor were the fully transparent glass type, allowing me to see the Witches inside busy with their work. Other labs were completely sealed off, with their internal space partitioned so that no information could leak to the outside world.
With just a quick glance, I saw some of the most "high-end" equipment here. The Witches in the labs were mostly wearing a standardized lab coat. Those coats bore traces of alchemy and enchantment; if taken outside, they would likely be considered powerful armor—impervious to blades and resistant to fire and water. But here, such technology was merely used for standard-issue uniforms.
Teacher Ji Niang continued to lead the way, and I silently memorized the route to ensure I wouldn't get lost next time. This place felt like a labyrinth, though the main thoroughfare was a straight shot. A lot of effort must have gone into the initial design of this massive laboratory; the gap in design quality compared to the research base in the Ninglan New City underground district was immediately apparent.
Along the way, the Witches in a hurry would show a hint of surprise upon seeing me, while the leisurely ones would intentionally approach from a distance, ignore Teacher Ji Niang, and tease me for a bit.
It was safe to say that since arriving here, the number of "incidents where I don't know them, but they know me" had increased significantly.
I even ran into the Witch who had previously asked me for the primitive rune rituals of those nightmare spells.
"It's Xiao Han~! You actually came here! Want to come take a look at my lab? We've almost finished refining that nightmare spell you created. Want to come by when we're making the spellbook?"
"Uh... that, I have some things to do, I'm really sorry..."
"No worries, it's fine if you can't make it. When the spellbook is finished, we'll send you a copy."
"Mhm, thank you, sister... but you really don't have to go to the trouble."
I hurriedly brushed her off. In truth, I didn't have much need for that kind of spell. Even though I was the one who created it, it was impossible to say I didn't want the spellbook version. Since they were offering it for free, I might as well collect it as a souvenir.
At least this Witch's attitude toward me was somewhat restrained. I finally understood what the Witch at the front desk meant when she told Ji Niang not to let me get kidnapped...
"We're here. This is it."
Teacher Ji Niang suddenly spoke up, startling me; I had almost expected another Witch to come over and strike up a conversation.
Snapping back to reality, I looked at the door in front of us. It was completely opaque, a far cry from the semi-open glass labs I had seen earlier. It looked like it had a very high security clearance.
Ji Niang reached out and pushed the door open as if she didn't need a key.
However, I noticed the permission I was holding flicker for a moment. That must have been the key.
I hurried to follow her, placing my hand on the door handle as I went. I felt the permission flicker again. It seemed this permission really was a key, and a universal one at that.
"Xiao Han, that permission you got earlier is also the key to this door. It's very convenient."
"Mhm." I nodded in understanding, but my eyes were already scanning the room. Everything here was new to me; I felt like a country girl seeing the big city for the first time, curious about everything.
The interior of the lab was massive, clearly expanded using spatial magic. The various instruments inside looked incredibly sophisticated, though their strange shapes left me guessing as to their purpose.
The most unique feature was a large apparatus in the center. I could feel a powerful, restrained Ley Line force emanating from it.
It acted like a vessel, with powerful Ley Line energy serving as a carrier, cradling a blurry, mosaic-like object that floated in mid-air.
"This is the highest-end Ley Line operating system in the laboratory. The model we used before naturally can't compare to this," Ji Niang explained, seeing my interest.
"This is also a Ley Line system?" I looked at the ring-shaped apparatus. It was surrounded by light screens displaying gathered Ley Line energy, covered in strings of data I couldn't understand.
"Of course. There are many models of Ley Line systems. A lab of this level is naturally equipped with the best. Curious about what it's holding in the center?"
"Uh... I'm not sure..." I looked at the "mosaic" surrounded and held aloft by a massive number of Ley Line shackles. I shook my head, though I already had a faint idea of the answer.
Just a moment ago, when I had prepared to use Spirit Vision to observe it thoroughly, I felt a surge of palpitations. It was a self-protection mechanism triggered by something beyond my cognition. It seemed even my Spirit Vision was automatically filtering out the information emitted by this unknown object because it was something I absolutely could not comprehend at my current level.
"Well... it seems you have some guesses. I can tell you directly: it is a fragment of... [Transcendent Knowledge]."
"This... is it?" Having my suspicion confirmed by Teacher Ji Niang still surprised me. No wonder this lab was completely sealed.
"Yes, this is [Transcendent Knowledge]. I'm curious—in the eyes of your Floating World level Spirit Vision, what does it look like?" Ji Niang turned to me, asking with curiosity.
"It's... unclear. It's a mass of mosaic-like pixels. It seems to have triggered a stress response in my Spirit Vision, making me subconsciously reject the information it feeds back. So, in my eyes, it can only be a mosaic..."
"A mosaic?" Ji Niang looked slightly surprised, but she quickly seemed to understand. "I see... subconscious self-protection. That might be why you haven't gone mad despite having Innate Spirit Vision and have managed to grow to this point... Have you tried to resist that subconscious urge?"
"I have," I nodded.
After all, back when I was trying to accept the talent of Spirit Vision, I had broken through that self-protection mechanism before, though it was incredibly difficult.
"Good that you have."
"Mhm." I nodded. Actually, I had thought of a more direct method—the Unity of Knowledge and Action spellbook—but I could only test the waters bit by bit. I didn't know how much information this self-protection mechanism was filtering out for me. If I opened the floodgates all at once, my consciousness or cognition might be instantly crushed. That would be seeking death.
Just as I was about to give it a try, Teacher Ji Niang interrupted me.
"Don't be so impatient. I was just making a suggestion. I brought you here today to get you familiar with the environment and atmosphere, not to start researching right away."
"Oh." I nodded silently, realizing I had been reckless.
Next, Teacher Ji Niang handed me a lab coat like the ones I had seen the other Witches wearing. Though called a lab coat, it was more like a white trench coat. It wasn't plain at all; even if worn outside, it would be considered quite stylish.
"Try it on first. This is a formal laboratory, not like the small-scale stuff we did before. From now on, put this on before entering the lab to prevent minute variables from causing errors in the experiments."
"Okay." I took the coat and slipped it on.
It fit surprisingly well.
It seemed to have many solidified spells and enchanted traits integrated into it, such as a dust-free spell, adaptive sizing, durability, self-repair, and a focus buff.
If I were to study just this coat, it would probably take me a significant amount of time.
Next, Teacher Ji Niang placed a stack of paper documents in front of me. It was a thick pile that felt heavy in my hands.
"This is... um... Laboratory-Grade Ley Line Supercomputer Integrated Operating System User Manual?" I flipped through the pages. It seemed many of them were manuals for various instruments, not just the Ley Line system.
"You should start learning about the instruments in this lab. You didn't have the chance to use them before, so I never went into detail, but things are different now. Since you'll be acting as my assistant, you can't be ignorant. You must memorize the operating standards. The value of every single instrument here is worth more than all the Orichalcum in your pocket combined."
Teacher Ji Niang explained everything to me with tireless patience. She had intended to use the afternoon to walk me through these things anyway. As the saying goes, "sharpening the axe doesn't delay the woodcutting." Since they had prepared for so long, there was no rush to start in these first two days.
Teacher Ji Niang didn't just explain the uses of the instruments using the manuals; she even let me try operating them myself, giving very detailed instructions.
I even felt like Teacher Ji Niang wanted to teach me how to hand-craft the key components of these instruments so I could replace them on the fly, or how to hand-craft a crude version of an instrument for emergency use when none were available.
I had to admit, magic really was convenient. Hand-crafting high-precision equipment from scratch... was every Witch a master artisan?
But there was no helping the natural advantages Witches possessed.
There was no harm in learning. Although it added to my academic pressure, I just needed to memorize it for now. I had the Memory Bookshelf spellbook, after all; I could repeatedly ponder these techniques whenever I had free time.
Time passed quickly. In here, one couldn't see the day or night outside; only cold digits displayed the time. For the busy Witches here, the constraints of a single day could be ignored. From the perspective of the Void, a day and night was merely one rotation of a planet. For Transcendent Witches who had long since transcended the limits of a biological clock, the need for sleep existed, but it wasn't much.
I only realized it was already night when I felt a hint of fatigue and let out a yawn.
"It looks like you're tired."
"Mhm... a little. According to my old biological clock, I'd probably be asleep by now."
"Early to bed, early to rise? What a disciplined lifestyle."
"Teacher Ji Niang, I heard that Witchification can reduce one's dependence on sleep. Is that true?"
"Witchification simply raises your life level; any other benefits are just incidental. The higher your life level, the deeper your internal energy and stamina. If you keep your old habits, it's like being in a low-energy-consumption state for your upgraded self, so naturally, you won't feel too tired."
"Then... should I head back?" I asked tentatively.
"Go ahead. I'll be staying here. Come back tomorrow when you're free; we haven't even finished getting familiar with the instruments yet."
"Mhm, I understand," I said with a nod.
At the same time, I couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental. Once upon a time, Teacher Ji Niang was someone who left work exactly on time. Now, she was truly pouring her heart and soul into this. The change was massive.
But then, I realized a problem.
"Wait, Teacher Ji Niang, if you're here all day... what about the class?"
"The class? I'll just go check on them when I have time. If there's an important announcement, I'll just post it in the group chat," Ji Niang explained as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Oh..." But thinking back to my university days, I really didn't see my counselor more than a few times a semester. Thinking of it that way, it seemed perfectly reasonable.
But when I thought about how the teacher and the Class Monitor were both neglecting their duties... wasn't that a bit irresponsible?
"Um... Teacher Ji Niang, how about we find someone else to be the Class Monitor for Class 14? I feel like I'm not very well-suited for the role."
"The Class Monitor is just a figurehead, and the position comes with benefits... Well, for you, those benefits are indeed negligible. Do you really not want to be the Class Monitor anymore?"
"Mhm... I feel like I haven't done anything productive for the class. Tu Xingyue has been the one managing everything, right? Why don't we hand the position over to her? She's probably put a lot of effort into the class."
"Tu Xingyue? I have some impression of her. A competitive little girl. Are you sure?"
"Yes, let's go with that. It's good to give others a chance. Besides... I'm off-script now. If there are any grade-wide activities in the future where the Class Monitor has to step up, it would be awkward for me."
"True. You'll have to hand things over to her... though it doesn't seem like there's much to hand over. Never mind, I'll take care of it," Ji Niang said casually.