Chapter 409: A New Residence and the Attempt to Return
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 409: A New Residence and the Attempt to Return
"Honored listeners, we bring you an emergency news bulletin."
"A sudden disaster struck our city this afternoon. According to preliminary statistics, the number of casualties is currently incalculable, and the situation is extremely grave. It is understood that the disaster was triggered by a violent internal conflict between Explorers. This clash ultimately led to the appearance of an entity known as the 'Calamity Witch,' who brought about a devastating natural catastrophe. At present, the Calamity Witch has vanished without a trace; whether she will appear again remains unknown."
"We would like to remind the public: if you witness a dispute between Explorers, please evacuate immediately to designated safe zones. Do not take any chances. Safety is always the first priority, and we hope for the well-being of every citizen."
"Meanwhile, the government and relevant departments are responding to this disaster with full force and will release the latest safety guidelines and rescue information in a timely manner. Please stay tuned..."
"...We will continue to monitor the development of this incident and provide you with the latest updates. Thank you for listening. Let us pray together for the affected citizens, hoping they receive aid quickly and that peace is restored."
As the news broadcast on the television ended, I idly toyed with the remote, eventually switching to another channel.
It had been nearly a day since I leveled that city district, and I hadn't exactly been idle during that time.
First, I should mention this sprawling villa I was currently occupying.
This villa was an asset of the Real Protection Association in this world, but they had been generous enough to simply give it to me.
It was a welcoming gift from the President—a move to get on my good side, as it happened to resolve my aimless wandering after leaving the hotel.
After all, that crummy hotel’s service was mediocre at best while their rates were daylight robbery. I had no desire to stay there and continue being a sucker.
Besides, this villa was quite nice, even if the location was a bit remote. How remote? Remote enough that food delivery apps didn't even bother sending anyone out here.
I didn't mind, though. Once I had the keys, this villa became my temporary residence.
Thinking back to the moment I slaughtered those Secret Diggers in one blow, I realized I had momentarily forgotten about Qiu Ruxin.
Once I snapped out of it, I didn't care to learn more from the President. As long as we stayed in contact, there would be plenty of opportunities to gather information later. But if something happened to Qiu Ruxin, that would be a real disaster!
The President seemed to realize I had urgent business, so he ended up giving me an anonymous card and the keycard to this villa.
He also had a lot of cleaning up to do. His recklessness had indeed caused significant losses for the Real Protection Association. After all, there was no telling how many of his own people were caught in the "collateral damage" of my strike. He needed to go back and pacify the survivors.
When I finally found Qiu Ruxin, she was submerged in a bathtub with all the surrounding showers running cold water to lower the ambient temperature. It was clear just how dire her situation had been.
Fortunately, I hadn't targeted the surrounding buildings directly. However, even without being targeted, that hotel was finished. The entire structure had become a "condemned building." Even if they were unscrupulous enough to try and keep it open, it would require a total renovation from top to bottom. Either way, the costs would be astronomical.
And they wouldn't even know who to sue for damages. Seek compensation from the "Calamity Witch"?
They didn't have the guts to cross her. They could only swallow their bad luck.
I brought Qiu Ruxin, who had nearly fainted from the heat, here to the villa, and we managed to settle in.
I had to admit, Qiu Ruxin’s reflexes were quite fast. Even with my protection spell, the scorching heat had inevitably affected her. Her split-second decision to hide in the bathtub proved to be the right choice. After the protection spell absorbed the first wave of the heat's impact, she understood exactly what she was up against.
Now, after some rest and my healing spells, her body was fine.
She was even relaxed enough to sit here with me and watch the news.
"This... Sister Xiao Han did this, didn't she?" Qiu Ruxin asked, looking at the constant news reports and the blurry footage on the screen.
"Yeah. What do you think? Do you think I'm cold-blooded?" I shrugged and admitted it freely.
"No." Qiu Ruxin shook her head.
She was a witness to the event, but she understood clearly that the weak have no right to complain. For the strong to allow the weak to criticize them for being cold-blooded was, in itself, the greatest mercy.
"But, I really didn't expect you to be so powerful, Sister Xiao Han..."
"It's alright, I guess. Most of the Senior Sisters at my Witch Academy could probably do something similar."
"Is the world you come from really that powerful? Then... the world collision you mentioned... wouldn't that mean this world could be conquered in minutes?"
"Conquered... I'm not really sure about that." Hearing Qiu Ruxin put it that way, I wasn't sure how the Academy Dean would handle this world.
Actually, no... the Academy Dean only represented the stance of the Witch Academy. I shouldn't forget that the Main World had three other Transcendent Academies established by the other Transcendent Races.
It had been so long since I’d encountered any news regarding those academies that their sense of existence in my mind had almost vanished. I had subconsciously started to think that the Transcendent Witches were the only ones calling the shots in the Main World.
After chatting with Qiu Ruxin for a bit, I gave her the anonymous card the President had given me.
I had my own business to attend to, and giving the money to Qiu Ruxin would make it easier for her to handle various situations.
At this moment, while I wasn't entirely sure if the Academy Dean had left a back door for me this way, I naturally had to prepare for the possibility of returning.
Now that I had a stable place to live and plenty of money, I would help Qiu Ruxin stock up on food in the villa so she could stay here for a long time without issue.
Qiu Ruxin was far too unique. It was better for her to stay here and not wander around, lest all sorts of bad luck find her.
However, thinking about the various accidents she might encounter, I wondered if I should give her something for self-defense.
Qiu Ruxin could clearly see that I was acting as if I were settling my affairs, but I wasn't going to change my plans just because of her thoughts.
Two more days passed. I spent these days busy with Qiu Ruxin’s affairs. If anyone had seen the whole process, they would surely think I was "spoiling" her too much.
But I knew better. It wasn't that; it was simply because Qiu Ruxin was the foundation for me to return again after successfully using the Reverse Summoning Spell.
Moreover, she was the person I "trusted" most in this world. As for the Real Protection Association... I hadn't trusted them from the very beginning.
Over the past two days, they had sent people to check on me. It wasn't always the President; he had been overwhelmed with work and only managed to visit once. Even then, he came and went in a hurry. The rest of the time, other members of the association came to gather information.
They were extremely curious about me, but I didn't reveal anything. If they wanted to get information out of me, they first had to fulfill the President's promise and tell me about their world.
Through several interactions, they only gained a slight understanding of Qiu Ruxin, while they still knew very little about me. Furthermore, I didn't explain Qiu Ruxin’s status as a Child of Destiny to them.
I only briefly mentioned her trait of having terrible luck and expressed that I was simply interested in that characteristic.
Then, I asked them to look after her a bit.
As for actually letting them take care of her? I couldn't leave that to chance. So, after they left, I spoke with Qiu Ruxin privately to explain the situation so she wouldn't be deceived by those guys.
Now, most things were settled. I had notified the people from the Real Protection Association that I might be leaving for a while and that they could reach me through Qiu Ruxin if there was an emergency.
Through the contacts over the last few days, the information I gathered from the Real Protection Association about their world wasn't much. Although the President had been very decisive with his promise at the time, it was clear that now that the situation had calmed down, they were starting to test my bottom line. They didn't reveal much each time, and the person they sent to talk to me was very skilled at wordplay, talking for hours without hitting the main point.
It was truly irritating.
I deliberately told them I was leaving for that very reason. I didn't feel like haggling with them. They knew very well that revealing information about their own world to such a powerful entity was inherently dangerous. Moreover, these people were the ones who most firmly believed that "this so-called game world is a real world," so they had to be on guard.
As for my attitude, rather than falling out with them all at once, it was better to take it slow.
After all, I had realized over the last two days that there was no need to overthink things. Why should I care so much?
Was this world important to me?
Were the Secret Diggers important to me?
None of them were. As long as I was clear about what I wanted, everything else was just a side dish.
Lest I forget, I only came here because of an "accident." The reason I was tracing the secrets of this world was simply to find something to do during the initial period of confusion. But now that I had come to my senses, I was no longer obsessed with it.
"Is Sister Xiao Han preparing to leave?"
"I'm going to try to leave," I corrected.
"Okay. I'll wait for you to come back here." Qiu Ruxin pursed her lips. Even though the reluctance in her eyes was obvious, she didn't say it out loud.
"Don't just wait. Unless there's a special circumstance, I suggest you perform a ritual every few days if conditions allow. Since we're separated by an entire world, we can't communicate directly. No one can be sure if I'll run into something special that makes me return early or late. If it's an emergency, perform two summons in a short period."
"I understand." Qiu Ruxin nodded, one hand tightly gripping the pendant. Even though she knew this pendant had been her nightmare before, it was now her hope.
After giving Qiu Ruxin her instructions, I began the formal attempt.
This attempt was built upon my hypotheses and conjectures. The premise of it all was based on my current understanding of this world—I suspected this world was the small world the Academy Dean had mentioned, the one about to collide with the Main World.
Based on that coincidence, I deduced that my accidental arrival here was the Academy Dean's arrangement. Now, combined with my understanding of this unreliable Reverse Summoning Spell...
I was now even more certain that the Academy Dean likely possessed the summoning rune for this spell. After all, the spellbook I mastered was a derivation created by her; it was impossible for her to be less capable than someone like me who had to figure it out on my own.
Add to that the fact that the Academy Dean had inexplicably given me the consciousness communication spellbook, and the protection spell that was still active on me without breaking...
This spell was very likely a safeguard the Academy Dean had placed on me.
And now, I only needed to break this spell, and the answers to many things would be revealed.
At this moment, even though it was a seemingly trivial act, I felt strangely nervous. If I did this and there was still no reaction, then I truly had no other options.
Pushing aside those useless thoughts, I reached out and released a Fireball Spell.
Then, using the Focusing Derivation Technique, I compressed it into a powerful attack and fired it toward my own body.
I had sensed before that the defensive power of this shield was beyond my expectations, so I used this method right from the start.
The shield seemed to sense a lethal attack and activated the moment the strike reached my body.
Sizzle—!
As the protection clashed with the attack, a massive amount of transcendent energy collided, creating a terrifying surge of energy opposition and dissipation.
The powerful fire elements seemed to have met their match. Even my strongest armor-piercing method was currently at a standstill.
"The shield the Academy Dean gave me is this strong?" I frowned, yet I couldn't help but marvel.
Thinking back to the protection spells I currently knew—either shields that required constant layering or modified versions that were at the limit of my current theoretical knowledge—they really didn't compare to this one from the Academy Dean.
I remembered that after the Dream Exchange Competition ended, I had intended to find some protection spells that suited me, but I gradually forgot.
After all, there hadn't been many situations where I needed them. Rather than tanking hits, it was better to use prediction, evasion, and positioning.
But seeing the Academy Dean's protection spell now... I was truly envious!
This spell had been protecting me for many days and was still this robust. That was enough to prove its power.
Of course, the Academy Dean was a Transcendent Witch. It was possible that it wasn't the spellbook that was amazing, but simply that the Dean herself was incredibly powerful.
However, as I continued to exert force and increase my output, the protection spell finally reached its limit.
Cracks appeared on its surface. With a piercing sound of shattering followed by a sudden burst, my Focused Fireball Spell pierced straight through my body.
Even though I had pulled back the moment the protection spell broke, the spell still inflicted an extremely severe injury on me.
"Tsk... my control over power is still... too weak," I hissed, sucking in cold air. I hadn't expected the power of my own spell to be this terrifying. Those who had died by this spell certainly hadn't died in vain.
"Sister Xiao Han!" Qiu Ruxin rushed forward in a panic, wanting to help.
"Don't touch me." I gritted my teeth and stopped her from coming closer. "Just go back. It's just a minor injury."
As I spoke, I immediately began treating myself with the Flesh Healing spell. The reason I was so reckless was that I had this spell to fall back on. That didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell, though!
Now that the Academy Dean's protection spell was broken, all that was left... was to wait.
The wait was short, but to me, it felt like an eternity.
As the wounds on my body began to close under the Flesh Healing spell, I suddenly felt a faint guidance.
I closed my eyes. In the midst of the void, a faint summoning coordinate appeared, shining like the brightest star in a pitch-black sky!
"Found it! My gamble paid off!"