Chapter 443: The Academy Doesn't Encourage Teacher-Student Romance, Do You Understand?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 443: The Academy Doesn't Encourage Teacher-Student Romance, Do You Understand?
"I'm back! Why is there no one here?"
I pushed open the door, only to find the room empty. It couldn't be that they all had classes at this hour, could it? We had just finished the monthly exams, so things shouldn't be that busy.
But since they weren't around, I decided to let it be. I had plenty of things to do myself. Even without those tedious courses, my daily study intensity wasn't any lower than those attending classes.
Besides, while regular classes might have issues with "listening efficiency," my self-directed learning and research were driven by my own will. When the starting point is different, the efficiency is naturally on another level.
Now that I was back, I planned to work on derivations of the Reverse Summoning Spell. Once I mastered this technique, I would be able to accomplish so much more.
I had been mulling over ideas on the way back, and occasionally, sparks of inspiration would flash through my mind.
When it comes to spells, it doesn't matter how cumbersome they are to use; as long as they are powerful enough, they are worth the effort of finding workarounds.
Take the Reverse Summoning Spell I mastered, for example. Looking at its effects alone, it’s quite niche and comes with many restrictions. But who cares when it’s so powerful? This is a spell capable of traversing between worlds within the Void. With a foundation like that, its utility is destined to be more durable than any ordinary teleportation or summoning spell.
That’s why it’s worth spending more time on its derivations. For instance... I was wondering if the summoning ritual I provide could be set to trigger on a timer. If it could, the gap between this Reverse Summoning Spell and a standard teleportation spell would shrink significantly.
Even better... what if this summoning ritual could be attached to someone silently, like a curse?
That kind of smooth combo... anyone who saw it coming would be terrified.
I silently gathered all these thoughts and ideas into the conceptual memo on the Tree of Knowledge so I wouldn't forget them.
For the next few days, I devoted myself to researching the derivative applications of the Reverse Summoning Spell. Teacher Ji Niang had already sent me the research materials. It was essentially like having a meal served right to my mouth; if I didn't eat it, I’d have to be a bit slow in the head.
* * *
Several days passed.
The buzz surrounding the monthly exams gradually died down. As the semester drew to a close, the students weren't looking forward to another monthly exam, but the final joint exam.
After the finals, students would have a vacation of their own. During the break, leaving the academy was at its most convenient. All one needed was to sign a temporary contract. In fact, a contract might not even be necessary, as every student had already signed one upon enrollment that covered the necessary bases.
There was no need to doubt the Transcendent Academy's control over students once they left. The fact that the outside world could maintain a relatively peaceful, ordinary society was proof enough of many things.
Of course, I spent these few days very productively. It was quite pleasant, actually, as I poured all my energy into the research of the Reverse Summoning Spell. The results were gratifying.
With the help of the Tree of Knowledge, I felt like a genius, completely outclassing my former self.
However, as my knowledge grew, I also consciously began to streamline it. The Tree of Knowledge couldn't hold an infinite amount of information at its current stage, so I was studying feverishly to master these concepts completely. Once I truly understood them, I could perform a massive "memory cleanup" to save space.
"Xiao Han, time really flies... It feels like the monthly exams were just a few days ago, and now everyone's already gossiping about the finals."
"The finals are still a month away. We finally managed to get together; why are we talking about that?"
"Just curious. Don't tell me you've spent a whole semester at school and don't want to... uh, never mind... haha..." Hong Chenyi suddenly remembered my situation and cut herself off with an awkward laugh, trying to change the subject.
"It's fine. My family situation is unique. Barring any surprises, I don't plan on going back," I said with a wave of my hand, shifting the focus to them. "But what about you guys? Your situations aren't much better than mine, are they?"
Lest we forget, everyone in this dormitory used to be a boy.
"Haha... I guess that's true. Looking at it that way, Xiao Han, you're actually the one with the least to worry about. What about the rest of you?" Hong Chenyi asked, looking toward the others.
"My whole family are Ascetics," Yu Yuetian spoke up about her own background. "I... I was 'kidnapped' into the Witch Academy. To be honest, I don't know if they can even accept what I've become."
"Aww, Xiao Tian. Your whole family are Ascetics? Isn't there anyone who graduated from the Holy Angel Academy and went home?"
"There is. My grandmother was a student at the Holy Angel Academy. She says my parents were disappointments because they didn't get in. They weren't even allowed to apply to other Transcendent Academies and had to go to ordinary ones instead. Then they had me. I'm afraid if I go back like this, I'll give my grandmother a heart attack."
"Wait, hold on," Hong Chenyi interjected. "I thought students from the Holy Angel Academy didn't have genders anymore? How is there a next generation?"
"Wake up. The only ones who can't produce offspring are those from the Witch Academy. Other academies can. Besides... Witch Academy students are the ones you see the least in the outside world. Most graduated Senior Sisters choose to stay at the school for the rest of their lives."
"Wait, Yiren, how do you know so much?"
"Is it a crime to do a little research?" Dongli Yiren said, her eyes instinctively flickering toward me.
It was obvious her interest in these things was somewhat related to me. After all, when she was first brought to the Witch Academy, she had quite a temper, and I was the one who had comforted her.
But the more she learned about the Transcendent Academy, the less angry she became. Back then, she had even entertained the thought that she should have just graduated and gone to work a factory job. Now, that thought seemed more ridiculous by the day. She realized she was subconsciously accepting the fact that she had become a Witch.
"Alright, alright, let's drop that. Qiuling, what about you?" Hong Chenyi quickly pivoted, asking Guan Qiuling.
Guan Qiuling had the second-lowest sense of existence in the dorm. The lowest was, of course, me, since I spent a significant portion of the semester away from the dorm and was rarely even seen in class.
"Me?" Guan Qiuling, suddenly called upon, put down her utensils. She was clearly a bit dazed by the question. "I... I don't plan on leaving the academy."
"Oh? Do you have a promise with some beautiful Senior Sister?" Hong Chenyi leaned in and lowered her voice, looking like a total gossip.
"Mhm..." Guan Qiuling gave a soft hum of affirmation.
"I'm so jealous! So jealous..."
"Hong Chenyi, don't you have Shi Huiyu? Why are you jealous? How are things progressing between you two?" Yu Yuetian asked, seeing Hong Chenyi's dramatic display.
"Ugh... don't even get me started. She treats me like a bestie. She won't give me a chance at all. I kind of miss the days before school started," Hong Chenyi sighed, sounding helpless.
"The days before school started?"
"Oh, never mind that. Let's... let's change the subject. Xiao Han, what do you think?"
"Why are you asking me? You all know I'm not good at chatting or coming up with topics."
"Gosh... I'm seriously at my wit's end. I'm the only lively, cheerful girl in this dorm, and I still can't carry the rest of you! You guys are impossible!" Hong Chenyi complained.
"A little girl? Hong Chenyi, you're not exactly small anymore. Stop acting innocent," I said, my gaze sweeping over her chest.
"Eek! Xiao Han, you don't have a partner, so you're starting to get ideas about me, aren't you?" Hong Chenyi quickly crossed her arms over her chest.
"I have a partner. Who would go after you?" I rolled my eyes.
"WHAT?!"
The moment I said that, the others were visibly shocked.
"Xiao Han, you actually have a partner? Who is it? Who? Don't tell me... it's not that Yao Beijuan, is it? No way, right?"
"We're in two different academies. What are you thinking? She's the last person you should guess. That was ages ago."
"True... Back then, that girl Yao Beijuan was bullied so hard by you she was practically in tears. But if it's not her, then who?" Hong Chenyi asked curiously.
"Forget it, you wouldn't guess anyway. I'll just tell you. Her name is Bai Yu, and... she's already graduated."
"Graduated? If she graduated, shouldn't she have left the school? I heard every Senior Sister who graduates leaves the academy forever and goes to some unknown place. Do you think there's some kind of conspiracy involved?"
"Graduation does involve a mandatory departure. As for conspiracy theories, I think that's nonsense," I said with a shrug.
"Xiao Han, do you know something? You started dating a graduated Senior Sister without saying a word. You must know some inside info, right?"
"Dating? Not quite. We only just made the relationship official."
"Huh? Then isn't it a long-distance relationship? Xiao Han, how can you be so relaxed about it? What if she meets someone better out there?"
"She'll come back," I said firmly, then changed the subject. "By the way, do you guys still not know much about graduation? Want me to tell you?"
"Fine, let's talk about that. I really want to know!" Hong Chenyi didn't press the previous matter and followed my lead, eager for answers.
It wasn't just Hong Chenyi; the other three were also intensely curious. After all, this kind of information wasn't usually taught in class. If you wanted to know, you had to rely on your own connections.
"You should know what counts as graduation, right?" I asked, gathering my thoughts.
"I know this one. You have to promote to a Transcendent Witch, right?" Guan Qiuling said.
"Correct." I looked at Guan Qiuling, a bit surprised she knew. But then I remembered she was on good terms with several Senior Sisters, so it made sense. "Promoting to a Transcendent Witch is considered graduation. In a ten-year academic career, no matter what year you're in, the moment you become Transcendent, you graduate on the spot."
"Then what about the classes you missed?"
"The Witch Academy only has scheduled courses for the first three years. After that, you're under a Mentor, dummy."
"Oh, right. Almost forgot..."
"Anyway, it's just as you suspected. Students who graduate must leave the Witch Academy. Or rather, they don't just leave the academy; they leave this world entirely and go beyond."
"Is it really beyond the world? What's it like out there?"
"How should I know? I haven't been there." I shrugged, indicating my ignorance, though I had been to another world outside. "But I know the place beyond the world is called the Void."
"The Void? Shouldn't it be a sea of stars beyond the world?"
"That... I'm not sure. But that's what the teacher said." I shook my head.
I didn't understand the exact relationship between the Void and the world either. For example, the ruins where Ninglan New City was located weren't anywhere on the planet of my Main World. The global map of the Main World didn't have any "unknown" regions left.
So, it was clear that Ninglan New City and my planet weren't in the same place, yet it still belonged to the Main World. The relative positioning of this "world" was likely more complex than I had imagined.
"Alright... I'll believe that for now. So, Xiao Han, do you know what's beyond the Void?"
"Hmm... not really. But I suspect there are countless worlds. Large worlds, small worlds, maybe some ruled by Elves, others by Demons."
"Then is there a world ruled entirely by Witches?" Hong Chenyi chimed in.
"There must be. I learned from Sister Bai that the first thing students do after graduating as Transcendent Witches is go to the Witch World to register or something like that."
"There really is one? Then do you think it's possible that our world's Transcendent Academy is actually the result of an invasion from those worlds beyond the Void?" Hong Chenyi suddenly asked, her tone tinged with conspiracy.
"Maybe. But what would they want from you? We can't fight back against something like that anyway. It's just talk. Don't take it too seriously."
"True. Regardless, the Transcendent power we've gained is real. That's enough!"
The meal lasted a long time, and we talked about many things. Much of what I knew was news to them, and they listened with great interest. This meal was my treat, a celebration of my perfect score and first-place rank in the monthly exams.
With my name occupying the top of the leaderboard with an absolute advantage, the nasty comments that had previously plagued the Academy Network vanished instantly.
This phenomenon was a true reflection of the Transcendent world: strength is the foundation of your voice. On the real-name Academy Network, absolute strength meant absolute authority.
The most excited people on the network right now were the members of the Xiao Han Fan Club, who had been bullied for days.
With my theory score tied for first in the entire grade and my absolute dominance in the final stage of the combat test—completing the kill within five minutes—no one dared to nitpick. No one dared to say it was unfair or that "Xiao Han's only opponent was herself."
After all, even if I had "held back" just to get a perfect score, no one could beat me even then. So what did that make everyone else?
Even the Tan Han Fan Club, which had been the loudest before, was suddenly silent. The Tan Han they supported hadn't achieved a perfect score. In fact, some core members of the fan clubs had learned that in the test where she didn't get a perfect score, she hadn't even managed to defeat her opponent...
At this moment, a massive mountain stood clearly before all the freshmen. It made them realize that even the person they championed could not scale this peak. I had eclipsed the brilliance that should have shone upon all the freshmen of the Witch Academy, as if I were no longer on the same level as them.
* * *
Just as I thought this leisurely time would continue, I felt a connection from a summoning ritual. Having mastered the Reverse Summoning Spell, I could perceive it very clearly.
When I responded to the summons, curious as to who in the Main World Academy would be calling me, my body vanished from the spot.
A moment later, I appeared in a familiar place.
"Huh? The Dean's Office?" I looked around with curiosity and a bit of surprise. I hadn't expected the Dean to be the one summoning me.
I looked up at the Dean, who was standing not far in front of me. With a single glance, I could tell this was a clone.
As for the Dean's main body... if I remembered correctly, she had dragged Dinah off to do some "forced labor." I didn't know what they were doing, but it certainly wasn't an easy job.
Could this be what Dinah meant? That after the Dean was done with her, she would come for me?
"Dean, did you need me for something?" I took the initiative to ask.
"Of course. In two days, the Witch Academy will undergo a rotation of mentors. This is a periodic occurrence, though we don't usually inform the students. During this rotation, any Witches who feel they are no longer suited to stay in the Main World can leave. Meanwhile, a group of Transcendent Witches will arrive from beyond the Main World to fill the vacancies and maintain the dynamic balance of the total number of Transcendents here."
"Oh? Does that mean Sister Bai might be in this batch..."
"I can't guarantee that. I'm just giving you a heads-up. Also..." The Dean paused, her expression turning serious. "I must remind you of one thing. In the Witch Academy, we do not encourage teacher-student romance. Do you understand?"
"Huh?!"