Chapter 435: Meeting Tan Han Once More
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 435: Meeting Tan Han Once More
Inside a Dream Pod, within the Primal Dream.
"They’re really treating me like nothing more than a testing tool, aren't they?"
After effortlessly pinning the versions of myself from the first four stages to the ground and thrashing them, I stood up and lightly brushed off my hands. I looked forward to the final stage with anticipation.
It was obvious that the first four stages had been "nerfed," likely to accommodate the new students. In the dream, one could choose their own spellbooks, and a freshman's combat effectiveness improves rapidly once they're properly armed.
However, the final stage had no time limit. This meant that the "other me" in the dream at this moment was me at my absolute strongest from our previous encounter.
That day, I had fought her for a long time, and it eventually ended in a draw—or rather, a forced draw, because the Mentor didn't want to wait any longer.
It was a bit of a pity. That opponent, whose data was synchronized with mine, was terrifying. Even though I had the Tree of Knowledge as my ultimate trump card and used Derived Spells to fight, she could do exactly what I did at zero cost just by syncing with me, dragging me into a war of attrition.
I had poured everything into the various derivations and variants of spells from the Tree of Knowledge, the refinement of my Body Arts, and the cultivation of my combat mindset. Yet, with a single sync, she became my equal. Every bit of my improvement was a practice of my combat philosophy—to crush the opponent through any means necessary.
But she only allowed me to enjoy that satisfying sense of overwhelming power for a fleeting moment; the rest was nothing but endless stalling.
It was a stifling feeling.
Still, I had to admit that that single battle had transformed my accumulated inspiration into combat techniques and strategies I truly mastered. I was... becoming stronger at a visible rate.
However, I knew this growth wasn't limitless. This kind of extreme combat stimulates potential, but without sufficient accumulation, a deathmatch yields no further improvement.
It was because the Mentor saw my state that she made me stop. Continuing would have been pointless.
But now, I was meeting this "fellow" in the dream again. To say I wasn't excited would be a lie.
I watched as the figure with my exact face slowly stood up. This time, she lacked that spark of inspiration from the other day.
In the next instant, several spells detonated around us. Nearly invisible spell trajectories struck at me from the most cunning angles, only to be met and intercepted by my own counter-explosions.
The sensation was very similar to the previous battle, but a subsequent collision of Internal Energy swept away the elemental saturation zone kicked up by the magical blasts.
This was a combat style centered on Body Arts, with spell attacks serving as auxiliary interference. In the rapid-fire rhythm of close-quarters combat, high-consumption, long-cast spells became a liability. Even with a spellbook, casting wasn't instantaneous, and that split second was the difference between victory and defeat in a melee.
However, after several more physical exchanges, she gradually fell into a disadvantage. She clearly realized this and quickly pulled back to create distance. She knew I was stronger than her now; I was progressing, but she was static.
Her only remaining option was to overwhelm me with magic.
"But... it's too late! Those who don't improve are phased out faster than you can imagine!"
I didn't choose to trade spells with her. I knew it wouldn't be long before my spell derivations left her in the dust. As long as she lacked a countermeasure or the same means to match me, she could only be crushed.
I have no interest in wasting time on something without variables once I've foreseen the outcome. After all, this was just a Monthly Exam.
Once the exam was over, I still had to go to the plantation to find Sofiri.
"Using teleportation to pull away? That's the best you can come up with?" Seeing her resort to such tactics to stall the fight, I knew she was finished.
"Die," I said flatly.
Even though I knew she wouldn't respond, I still gave her a final end.
With a violent roar of magic, the final period was drawn on this moment.
I turned around. Not looking at the explosion was my final bit of persistence—a true powerhouse never looks back at an explosion.
Then, I cast a purification spell to dispel the minor negative status effects I hadn't had time to deal with during the fight.
The Primal Dream practical test information surfaced at that moment.
"4 minutes and 28 seconds. Not bad. Last time, I was deadlocked with you for hours, wasn't I?" Looking at the time taken for the final stage, I wasn't surprised.
Even a minute improvement can result in an absolute landslide victory.
In this Monthly Exam, even I only just managed to finish her off within the five-minute mark—barely enough for a perfect base score in the fifth stage. According to the time-limit kill rules, I should have a perfect total score, right?
It felt a bit easy, but it might not be the same for others.
At that moment, the dream's built-in system prompted that I had completed the practical assessment. I didn't linger in the dream and exited immediately.
As I left the testing area, I sensed a massive crowd gathered outside. This didn't feel like the crowd waiting to enter when I first arrived; it felt like they were intentionally lurking to intercept someone.
"Tsk... did those guys from the first batch recognize me after they got out?"
As the thought flashed through my mind, I immediately used a Disguise Spell to change my appearance—and most importantly, my hair color.
Then, I lowered my head and walked out from the side.
"Hey, classmate, can I ask what everyone is doing here?" I pulled someone aside and asked curiously after getting out.
"No idea. I heard someone spotted the person whose data was used for this practical test. Apparently, the people in the first batch were brutally crushed by the virtual opponent generated from that person's data."
"Ah? I see. Sorry to bother you."
I ended the conversation quickly and prepared to leave immediately. It seemed my choice to disguise myself before running was the right one.
Just as I was about to leave, I spotted a familiar face in the vast crowd.
Tan Han, along with Minian and the others. They were surrounded by quite a few people. I froze for a moment before realizing—these must be Tan Han's supporters. Tan Han could be considered the most orthodox Child of Destiny in the Witch Academy. Since the start of school, she had possessed formidable strength, a dazzling halo, and a massive base of followers.
Has even Tan Han reached this stage?
Perhaps Tan Han hadn't even done anything specific; she simply had people who genuinely liked her because of her abilities, while the rest just followed the trend and chose her side.
"Is Tan Han waiting for me too?" I murmured to myself, my gaze fixed on her. I hadn't seen her in a while, and she seemed to have changed quite a bit—perhaps more confident than before?
But she had certainly presented me with a difficult problem. I'm not good at dealing with large crowds. Facing so many people, the only phrase that came to mind was "a mindless rabble."
I shook my head with a light chuckle and turned to leave. However, before I left, I used a small trick.
* * *
Meanwhile, on Tan Han's side.
"Hmm?" Tan Han suddenly felt as if something had locked onto her. It was very faint, almost like an illusion.
But just as she was about to return her gaze to the main exit of the testing grounds, she caught a glimpse of a white figure standing quietly amidst the bustling crowd, watching her.
"Xiao Han?"
"What? Is Sister Xiao Han out?" Minian, who was beside Tan Han, naturally heard her whisper.
"Didn't you see... oh, I must have been mistaken."
"Sister Tan Han, Sister Xiao Han has such conspicuous white hair; it's hard to mistake her, right?" Minian instinctively looked in the direction of Tan Han's gaze but didn't see that striking feature.
"You guys keep watch for a bit. I need to go use the restroom. I'll go alone." Tan Han used a clumsy excuse to leave, and the others were tactful enough not to follow.
Once she was away from the followers crowding her, Tan Han was certain that the figure was Xiao Han. It likely wasn't a physical body but an Illusion Clone. She quickly thought of that spell; after all, she had suffered quite a bit because of it and had witnessed its terrifying power.
But she remembered that the requirements for being caught in that spell weren't low. She had actually fallen for it so silently.
She couldn't help but quicken her pace, chasing after the figure, but she found she couldn't catch up. The other party was simply leading her somewhere.
However, this also proved one thing: Xiao Han was out!
Isn't this speed... a bit too fast?
According to the intelligence she had gathered, this practical assessment usually took about half an hour. While average students might not be able to defeat the Xiao Han of the earlier stages, they could still get points by surviving for five minutes to reach the next stage.
And there was no way Xiao Han would be eliminated early like those ordinary students. This meant she had finished the battle with extreme speed, including the preparation time, entering the dream, and all the other procedures.
How many minutes had it been?
When Tan Han reached a deserted corner, the figure she had been seeing vanished completely. She didn't even have time to see how it disappeared.
"Long time no see, Tan Han. How have you been lately?" A familiar voice reached Tan Han's ears, coming from behind her.
"Xiao Han?!"
"Yep. You really gave me quite the 'gift.' I was quite overwhelmed to see such a huge commotion the moment I finished my test," I said with a smile.
"Sorry, I didn't want it to be like this either."
"It's fine, I'm just joking. I know how those people love a good spectacle. That's why I used this method to get you over here for a chat. I saw you 'squatting' on me just now—is something up?"
"Squatting..." Tan Han was momentarily at a loss for how to respond to my choice of words, but their behavior just now had indeed been exactly that.
"Actually, it's like this: I learned from the first batch of students that the opponent for this test might be you."
"That's true. Is that why I was surrounded by so many people?"
"It started that way. As for the crowd, it's probably because the students from the first batch saw you walking in."
"Oh~ so it's my fault after all. I should have used a disguise before going in." Upon learning the truth, I let out a sigh. "By the way, I hope calling you over doesn't interfere with your test?"
"It's fine. I'm in one of the later batches. It probably won't be my turn until the afternoon." Tan Han waved it off.
Then, Tan Han took the initiative to start the conversation.
"I wanted to ask... since this test is based on you, is the data you left behind your strongest combat power?"
"Hmm... how should I put this? That data was updated a couple of days ago. For the 'me' of that time, it was my full power. But for the 'me' of now, not necessarily. Because every meaningful battle makes me stronger."
"Is that so?" Hearing this answer, Tan Han instinctively let out a relaxed smile.
But at the same time, she silently offered a second of silence for her fellow students.
"You look like you're itching for a try? Then I'll wish you luck in advance." As I said this, I remembered something and took out an item—it was the set of spellbooks belonging to Tan Han that she had sent me. "And these. You actually had Senior Sister Ying Shiqian deliver them to me without a word. It really wasn't necessary. It was just a joke back then; why take it so seriously?"
"To me, it wasn't just a joke, nor was it just a childish whim. It was my way of saying goodbye to the past."
"There's no need to say goodbye to the past... well, fine, it looks like I'm just wasting my breath. Are you sure you don't want them? You're putting a lot of pressure on me by giving them to me. To be honest, I really don't want them."
"So even you feel pressure, Xiao Han? I thought someone as free-spirited as you wouldn't care at all." Tan Han chuckled instinctively at my words.
"How could I not? I'm scared to death of these troublesome things, which is why I try so hard to avoid them. But... if you ask me, if you don't have these spells for the upcoming practical test, I think you're going to lose quite miserably."
"Are you that confident?"
"Of course."
"Then how about a wager?" Tan Han said upon seeing my confidence.
"A wager? What kind?"
"A wager on whether I can defeat you at your peak strength using these spellbooks. If I win, I'll take the books back. If I lose, you keep them."
"Wait, didn't you get that backwards?" I looked at Tan Han with a strange expression.
"I didn't. I will give it my all. If I still lose even then, it proves these spellbooks are essentially useless to me, and I won't take them back. I'll continue to grow stronger in my own way."
"And if you win?"
"If I win, it means I probably shouldn't have entrusted these books to you. I admit they're more of a burden to you... and besides, you're the one who said you didn't want them. What do you say?"
"There's actually a bit of logic in that. You're actually betting that you can't beat me? Since when did you become so pessimistic?"
"No, this is a manifestation of my confidence. It also represents that I won't lose my true heart or become conceited because of power. Although I don't know what you were doing during the time you disappeared, I know you wouldn't do anything meaningless."
"Fine then... I'll add one more insurance. If you happen to win, I can tell you what I went off to do. How about it? I guarantee you'll be interested."
"Hehe... are you that worried I'll go easy on you? But since you put it that way, I'll have to give it my all."
"So you weren't planning to give it your all before?" I countered with a smile.
"No, I've just added another reason to do so. That thing you 'can't say'—it probably has something to do with a Script, doesn't it?"
"I didn't say anything, okay?" I threw up my hands, feigning ignorance.
I honestly didn't know if it was related to a Script, but given that a small world had slammed directly into the Main World with that kind of mass, there was a high probability the Academy Deans would design it as a Script Node.
"I'll be going now. My excuse for leaving was to use the restroom; I need to get back."
"Leaving already? It takes time to touch up your makeup after using the restroom. I have one more thing to give you," I said, smiling as I stopped her.
"What else?"
"This." I handed her an item—a positioning summoning ritual for a Reverse Summoning Spell that I had crafted using Alchemy. I had given them to several people before and had a few left over; it was perfect for Tan Han.
"What is this?"
"It's a summoning ritual for a Reverse Summoning Spell. Once you activate it, if I have time, I'll respond to the summons and appear before you."
"A Reverse Summoning Spell?" Tan Han looked at the small prop with great surprise. "What a wondrous thing."
"A word of advice: don't activate it just for fun. If there's an emergency, you can activate it twice in a row. Also, don't prank me by using it in crowded places."
"Oh... okay." Holding the small alchemical item, Tan Han quickly realized the intent behind my requirements. "Thank you for the good stuff. I should head back now."
"Mm, I won't see you out." I waved my hand with no intention of lingering. Then, my figure vanished from the spot.