Chapter 388: Explaining the Situation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 388: Explaining the Situation
"Still nothing..."
When I woke from my meditation again, I could only let out a helpless sigh.
I had been trying to replicate that contact with the girl, but no matter how I meditated, I couldn't succeed.
Even with this wisp of Luck acting as a guide, it was impossible. After my failure, I tried to summarize the reasons. Perhaps the previous time had been a fluke; perhaps the power of Luck had been exhausted by that last burst of effort; perhaps the rune was no longer sufficient to serve as a medium for communication; or perhaps... maybe the other party had simply woken up?
After all, this was happening in a dream.
But one thing was certain: that rune was the linchpin of this entire event.
Perhaps I should complete it as soon as possible, forming a systematic spell. Only then could I use it to find the answers I sought.
Once I had figured that out, I ended my meditation and resumed my body tempering. I didn't go straight back to Teacher Ji Niang. A goal was a goal, but persistence was persistence. If I couldn't distinguish between the urgent and the important, my mind would become cluttered.
Of course, the main reason was... I didn't think things could get any worse.
After burning off my excess energy, the drowsiness from staying up all night finally vanished.
The time consumed by this routine of meditation and body tempering had pushed the day toward noon. I instinctively glanced at the thread of Luck floating over my hand and the bow tied around my arm. After confirming there was nothing unusual, I felt relieved. It seemed my hypothesis was correct.
I then headed toward the cafeteria to pack two meals to go.
Although Teacher Ji Niang, as a Transcendent Witch, didn't technically need to eat, I did.
Besides, I couldn't exactly let Teacher Ji Niang watch me eat, or eat right in front of her while she sat there. How awkward would that be?
Once I had the food ready, I headed back with the boxed lunches. I could eat with Teacher Ji Niang while discussing what had just happened. I felt this was a golden opportunity to investigate that rune!
My intuition told me that girl was anything but simple. The language barrier, combined with the fact that this was a "Summoning Spell" rune, naturally made me think of summoning a girl from another world!
What a strange spell. Seriously, do spells for summoning beautiful girls from other worlds actually exist? If a spell like that started spreading through the Witch Academy... the thought alone was terrifying.
Witches are going to conquer all the beautiful girls in the Myriad Worlds of the Void!
Wait, aren't witches already everywhere in the Void? Oh, never mind then.
I couldn't help but feel that any spell generated from this rune looked like the setup for a doujinshi plot. Since the rune involved other worlds, I naturally had to seek help from Teacher Ji Niang.
Besides... this rune was part of the [Transcendent Knowledge] she possessed. How could she not be interested?
With those thoughts in mind, I returned to the laboratory.
When I pushed the door open, a figure inside made me freeze in my tracks.
"De... Dean? What are you doing here?"
My eyes widened as I looked at the extra witch in the lab. It was none other than Dean Mei Lind.
"Oh? Xiao Han is back. Xi Lan mentioned you went off to meditate and do some body tempering."
"Right..." I silently stuffed the boxed lunches I had just taken out back into my storage equipment.
Entering the lab, I shot a furtive glance at the Dean, my eyes practically screaming the question of why she was here.
"Meditation and body tempering—a fine habit. From the look on your face, are you curious why I've come?"
"Mhm, mhm!" I nodded vigorously.
"I happened to be passing by, so I thought I'd drop in."
"Is that so?" My gaze instinctively drifted toward Teacher Ji Niang. If she hadn't just made that strange expression, I might have actually believed it.
But I knew better than to call her out. If the Dean was here, she had her reasons. I just didn't know what they were.
"By the way, I saw you holding something just now, Xiao Han?"
"Uh... it was lunch... I packed it in advance... Sorry, I really didn't expect you to be here, Dean, so I didn't get a portion for you..."
I spoke with a hint of embarrassment. This was like those workplace blunders from my previous life where you pour water for the bosses but run out before you get to the big leader. I'd forgotten all the "high EQ" responses, so I decided to just be honest and stick with the "low EQ" truth.
"That is a pity, though missing one meal won't hurt me." Mei Lind studied me, her gaze eventually landing on my right hand. "Did something happen to you on the way back, Xiao Han?"
"Oh, something quite significant did happen. I was just about to report it." Since the Dean had pointed it out and I'd seen where her eyes were lingering, I knew the matter of the Luck hadn't escaped her. Besides, I hadn't planned on hiding it anyway.
At this point, even Teacher Ji Niang stopped what she was doing and came over to my side.
"Tell us then. Let's see what you've managed to get up to in just one morning," Teacher Ji Niang said. After all... she knew very well that the Dean had performed a divination suggesting Xiao Han was about to cause trouble again. If "causing trouble" just meant prying a single rune off a piece of [Transcendent Knowledge], it would be a bit underwhelming.
"Alright. First, I want to ask: when we use the Witch Meditation Method, do we enter a dream?" I asked.
To explain the girl's existence, I needed to explain when, how, and where I had made contact with her.
I remembered that during my meditation, I had seemingly used Spirit Vision to "cheat." I didn't want to make any false assumptions, so I wanted to clear things up now.
"Strictly speaking, the Witch Meditation Method isn't about entering a dream. Rather, it borrows the unique power of dreams to hone one's mental power and will. Furthermore, this is a meditation method that only witches can use."
"Eh? Why? Other races can't use it? I remember... other transcendent races have done research into dreams, haven't they?" I asked curiously.
"They have, of course. However, the dream used by the Witch Meditation Method is the Primal Dream. That area of the dreamscape was anchored by the Primal Witch and thoroughly refined into the Primal Dream. The Primal Dream is the foundation upon which the Witch Meditation Method functions. As long as a region of the Void is covered by the Primal Dream, the Witch Meditation Method can be used."
"So that's how it is... but Dean, what did you mean when you said it's not 'entering a dream'?" Was the space my consciousness occupied not actually a dream?
"You likely used Spirit Vision in conjunction with the Witch Meditation Method to probe into the deeper layers of the Primal Dream, didn't you? Generally speaking, that is a technique one only masters after ascending to become a Transcendent Witch. Before that, one lacks the capacity to set foot in that realm. That is why I said you aren't 'entering' a dream; what you perceive as entering a dream is actually just a consciousness space formed between the Primal Dream and your own mind."
"I see..." I nodded. This confirmed my earlier suspicions.
"Why are you asking all this, Xiao Han?" the Dean asked after finishing her explanation.
"Oh, the thing I wanted to talk about actually happened while I was meditating."
"During meditation? Let's hear it." A look of curiosity appeared on the Dean's face. Witches always displayed an intense curiosity toward the unknown.
With a wave of her hand, several chairs appeared. Even Teacher Ji Niang got one. She sat down without ceremony, looking just as ready for a story as the Dean.
Fine, fine... Chair Summoning Spell, is it?
I rested a hand on the back of a chair before finally taking a seat myself.
"Well... it was like this. I went to the meditation room as usual and entered a meditative state—into that consciousness space. While I was in that state, I found that the rune would also manifest there. Oh, by 'the rune,' I mean the one from the [Transcendent Knowledge]..." I paused, feeling my explanation was a bit unclear. Since the Dean had just arrived, she might not know which rune I was talking about. But before I could explain further, she interrupted me.
"Xi Lan already told me about the rune. I heard you had a bit of a scare? It's fine. It's understandable to feel fear when facing the unknown."
"She told you? Good... back to the point. That rune appeared directly in my consciousness space while I was meditating."
"A rune manifesting within a consciousness space... interesting. And then?"
"And then... I sensed a slight anomaly within that rune. I managed to capture it. It's this..." I raised my hand, showing the golden thread on my right wrist. Ordinary people might not be able to see this Luck, but as Transcendent Witches, they certainly could.
"Oh, a Luck Thread. That is the most withered thread of Luck I have ever seen," the Dean remarked. "So, you believe this Luck is the key to maintaining the connection between you and the rune?"
"Yes, that's what I think," I nodded.
"Interesting. Luck doesn't do such things for no reason. Luck intertwined with a rune... Wait, is that all that happened?" the Dean asked. She felt that if it was only this much, it didn't quite match the scale of her divination.
"No, there's more."
"Continue."
"In that consciousness space, this thread of Luck suddenly shattered the space entirely. After a sensation of weightlessness, I arrived in another consciousness space. No, it might not have been a consciousness space—it felt more like a dream. It was vast, like an entire world, and everything around me was quite surreal."
"Oh? The Luck pulled your consciousness into another dreamscape?"
"No, I think the rune was what pulled me there. When my consciousness space shattered, the rune underwent a mutation. The Luck... its role seemed to be guidance. After I arrived in that dream, the Luck led me to a girl. That Luck belongs to her. Because of that, I believe the space I was in was that girl's dream."
"I see."
After hearing my description, the Dean clearly had a grasp of the situation. Combined with her knowledge of Transcendence and runes, she seemed to have pieced together the cause and effect.
"Do you know the reason, Dean?"
"Based on what you've said, I have a few ideas. Is there anything else to add? Since you met this girl, did you say anything to her?" the Dean continued.
"I tried to talk to her. She ignored me at first, but when she finally spoke, I realized we didn't speak the same language."
"A language barrier? Where in the Main World could..." Teacher Ji Niang started to protest, but she seemed to think of something and immediately shut her mouth.
"Xiao Han, are you suggesting that girl isn't from the Main World?" the Dean asked.
"Yes, that's my guess. Even in Ninglan New City, the language is unified with the Main World. There's no reason I shouldn't understand her. Furthermore..." I thought back to the scene. "The style of her clothes was different from what I know. Not drastically, but enough... Her style suggested that if it really is another world, its development is likely similar to ours."
"Now, that is very interesting."
The Dean was the first to speak, her voice tinged with excitement.
"A single rune, yet it crossed the Void between worlds to create a connection with a world outside the Main World. She possesses Luck, so she is likely a Child of Destiny... To think that world's Luck would actively reach across worlds to introduce a variable."
"Introduce a variable?"
"Yes—you, Xiao Han. Perhaps that world is in dire straits, and you might just become its savior. Truly miraculous. To think a mere rune copied from [Transcendent Knowledge] could achieve this through such a series of coincidences... And it found you, a little one who has already severed her Ley Line Shackles. If it had tried to find one of us, it likely would have been snuffed out instantly."
"Uh..."
For a moment, I was speechless. Even I didn't know why this was happening, but as the Dean said, it was a result of pure coincidence.
"So, what should I do?"
"Let nature take its course, obviously. What else can you do? You can't do anything right now anyway, can you?" the Dean said with a smile.
"..."
I remained silent. The phrase "you can't do anything" stung a little. It made me think of the girl I had seen. If that world was a reflection of her heart... then she must be a very introverted, lonely person.
A world in ruins, with constant rain...
But I also felt a sense of relief. I hated the feeling of being coerced into doing something. Maybe I'd read too many novels in my past life, but this kind of development felt... really cliché.
Yet, thinking back for a moment... I thought of myself. Seeing her felt like looking in a mirror. It reminded me of my past life. Though I was a boy then, the ideals drilled into me from birth meant I didn't even have the right to cry like that girl. So, I learned to be cold.
"Is there really... nothing I can do?" I asked instinctively.
"Of course... not. We can try to complete this rune into a full spellbook. Who knows? There might be a miracle."