Chapter 455: The Buffoon
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 455: The Buffoon
"Sister Xiao Han, did something good happen? You seem to be in a great mood."
As soon as I returned, I ran into Guan Qiuling, who had already made her way back to the villa.
"You could say that. I watched a good show, though the 'tickets' were a bit pricey," I said with a shrug.
After all, watching that little drama had cost me quite a few spellbooks.
Still... everything taken from me comes with a hidden price tag. They are the ones who should be panicking.
Before meeting them, I had assumed that any student capable of testing into the Witch Academy wouldn't be a fool. I was wrong. There is no shortage of people with malfunctioning brains here.
"A show? Is there a theater in the academy?"
"Hmm... isn't there? I think wherever there are people, there’s entertainment. By the way, it’s almost the end of the semester. Don't you have a study plan or something?"
"It’s break time right now, but I’m already drafting a revision schedule. I don't want to fail any courses in my first semester. I heard that failing grades can affect your choice of mentor in the fourth year." Guan Qiuling was being uncharacteristically serious about her studies.
"I see. That is quite important then. Well, I’m heading upstairs. It’s getting late." I glanced at the time. After leaving the Witch Cat Cafe, I hadn't rushed back to the villa. Instead, I had wandered around to experience the Witch Academy's nightlife. Many unique places in the academy only open their doors at night, and before I knew it, the hour had grown late.
"Wait... Sister Xiao Han..."
"What is it?" I looked at Guan Qiuling, who was scrolling through her phone with the TV on, feeling a bit curious.
"Um... I don't know how to put this, but I think I should tell you. Sister Xiao Han, do you usually not check the forums or watch videos?"
"Yeah, I guess I don't." I thought about it and realized I really had become a 'normie' who rarely touched the internet.
Once I realized this, a sudden wave of horror washed over me, but I quickly suppressed it. After all, this was just proof of my improved self-control, wasn't it?
Faced with temptations I once couldn't quit if my life depended on it, I could now easily say they were optional.
"Someone posted this not long ago. It hasn't gained much traction yet, but those people calling themselves the Tan Han Fan Club are frantically boosting it and reposting it everywhere."
"Tan Han Fan Club... Oh, those buffoons. What did they do?" Hearing that name, I reacted instantly.
While I acknowledged that there might be some rational people within the Tan Han Fan Club, I was under no obligation to sift through them. Based on my interactions so far, they had behaved like nothing more than clowns—and dim-witted ones at that. They felt even less competent than the members of the Xiao Han Fan Club.
"They’re saying... that you used despicable means to steal all of Tan Han's spellbooks... and the rest is just a bunch of nasty insults..."
"Is that all?" I was a bit surprised by Guan Qiuling's words. What about the fact that they got the spellbooks back?
They couldn't possibly make me out to be the sole villain... wait, I hadn't even done anything wrong.
"Well... what else? They’re also rehashing the stuff from the previous monthly exam. It’s really disgusting. I tried to speak up for you, but they just flamed me."
"Guan Qiuling, I appreciate the sentiment, but there’s no need for you to get involved. There are always corners of the Academy Network that serve as trash bins. You don't need to go there and get yourself covered in filth."
"I just couldn't stand it. I said a few words, and they actually threatened me with an 'offline' confrontation..."
"That’s exactly why you shouldn't care. Everyone in this academy wields transcendent power. When one holds a sharp blade, the urge to kill arises naturally. There’s no need to waste your breath on them."
"So... we’re just going to let this ferment?" Guan Qiuling asked, still sounding indignant.
"I’m not the one who should be worried about this. Tan Han is."
"Tan Han? Why bring up Tan—oh, I see. This is her supporters' doing, but... why would Tan Han ever speak up for you?"
"Because she gave those spellbooks to me."
"Eh? But no matter how you look at it, Tan Han doesn't seem like the type to go against her own supporters for the sake of one person..."
"Then we’ll just have to see what Tan Han chooses, won't we? Regardless, I’m not worried." After all, this wouldn't stop me from becoming a teaching assistant. The academy wouldn't interfere in student squabbles; if they did, they would have stepped in long ago for other incidents.
"So, relax. I’m the one involved and even I’m not anxious. Just focus on your own business. If you have trouble with your revision, let me know. I don't mind helping you guys out, just like last time."
"Alright then. Thanks, Sister Xiao Han," Guan Qiuling finally said, nodding obediently.
Back in my bedroom, I took out my phone to keep a casual eye on the situation, but I didn't leave any comments.
As the person at the center of the storm, anything I said would only be twisted further. Getting into a flame war with them would be an unwise move.
However, once I logged onto the Academy Network, I realized that something that had only happened a few hours ago had fermented with incredible speed. I didn't even have to search for it; the algorithm was already pushing related posts to me.
After getting a basic grasp of their tactics, I logged out. There was no point in arguing with people whose values were fundamentally incompatible with mine.
Just as I was about to turn off my phone and rest, I noticed someone specific stirring the pot. They were claiming I was "involved" with a certain Transcendent Mentor, and that Tan Han had been forced to hand over the spellbooks under pressure from that mentor.
I checked the user's profile. She was a senior sister of considerable seniority, only a year away from being a graduated witch.
I thought about it. The only people who would use this kind of narrative... were likely other senior sisters who also wanted to become teaching assistants. I couldn't think of anyone else who would take such a calculated and targeted angle.
Moreover... given Tan Han's status, if a single Transcendent Mentor tried to pressure her, they would likely be crushed by the several mentors who protected her.
"Boring. Time for sleep."
I turned off my phone and wrapped myself in my blanket. I had to admit, reading blood-pressure-raising comments was actually helpful for my emotional management to some extent.
But even while I slept, the matter continued to boil on the Academy Network.
I, however, acted as if nothing was wrong. I woke up the next day and continued my meditation and body tempering.
Because I was confident in the written exam, I didn't waste too much time on further revision.
I also avoided doing anything too mentally taxing, like updating the Tree of Knowledge or working on the Identification Art.
Instead, I spent time on the little chores I usually didn't prioritize—like creating business cards centered around a Reverse Summoning Ritual.
As I encountered more and more people and received numerous business cards myself, I felt it was time to have my own.
For ordinary business cards, I could just commission someone to make them. But for special friends, I needed to craft them myself.
Those who received a card with a Reverse Summoning Ritual function would be people I cared about or who were very important—like the Transcendent Mentors I knew.
Time flew by, and soon it was the day of the teaching assistant assessment's written exam.
"This should be the place."
I arrived at the location specified in the academy's notice. This was the venue for the teaching assistant written exam. Because it was an examination, the area was under special control. The mentors at the entrance had to verify every student's identity before letting them through.
Once I was inside, I saw quite a few senior sisters gathered, waiting for the exam to begin.
Some were brimming with confidence, chatting with acquaintances; others had furrowed brows, clutching small notebooks for last-minute cramming. Most only spared me a brief glance as I arrived.
A quick scan revealed several dozen senior sisters present—not even enough to fill a single class.
But it made sense. After the initial screening of personal data, those remaining were essentially the most capable. Even if they hadn't made unique personal contributions, the most common way to pass the audit was through sheer effort, such as earning various certifications.
The chasm between a Witch Academy mentor and a student was so vast that students rarely had the opportunity to make significant contributions. Even when they did, it was only a tiny elite.
Coincidentally, the people gathered here were the best of that tiny elite.
"Hmph. You really do run into all sorts at the teaching assistant exam. Even a first-year freshman is here to meddle. What an eyesore."
Just as I was about to head to a corner to kill time, a voice—not loud, but enough to draw everyone's attention—drifted over.
Many people turned to look, but no one stepped forward. Most were content to just watch the drama unfold.
"If a first-year like me can pass the screening to take this exam, shouldn't you reflect on whether you've spent all your years at this school living like a dog?"
I turned my head toward the senior sister looking for trouble. I didn't recognize her, so I certainly wasn't going to be polite.
If it had been that senior sister who mocked me before, I could understand it. But this one... was she pushed forward by someone to annoy me because she knew she wouldn't pass anyway?
"Tch. Maybe you're just 'involved' with some teacher."
"Is that so? If you know I have connections, you still dare to come looking for trouble? Aren't you afraid I'll crush you?"
"You... you..." She was suddenly so choked up by my words that she didn't dare to talk back. She knew I really did have connections.
She couldn't possibly risk her life for a bit of profit. I was only a first-year; I would be at the Witch Academy for many years. She, on the other hand, was about to graduate. Once she graduated, she wouldn't just lose the chance to be a teaching assistant; she would no longer be a student of the Witch Academy.
Even if she obtained permanent residency to ensure her safety, if I actually became a teaching assistant, I would have a hundred ways to make her life in the academy a living hell. And outside the academy... her life wouldn't even be her own.
She didn't dare imagine such a fate... If she had known, she wouldn't have forced herself to do this.
Don't think that just because the Transcendent Academy has strict rules, the outside world is peaceful. That’s only on the surface. The Transcendent Academy never upholds 'justice'; they only maintain the stability of the Main World. As a senior student, she had experienced—and even participated in—the darkness that didn't exist in the light of day.
"You... you dare to kill? This is the Witch Academy!"
"I was just joking. I'm only a first-year, how could I kill anyone? I just saw you jumping out like a clown and wanted to give you a little scare. With this kind of psychological fortitude... how do you expect to be a teaching assistant?"
My tone was flat, but my cold gaze and the killing intent I unintentionally leaked made her heart skip a beat.
As for killing... of course I had.
Even excluding the kills in the Virtual Primal Dream, I had killed in reality—in Ninglan New City and the small worlds.
The truth is, there is a world of difference between someone who has killed and someone who hasn't.
One is just putting on a tough front to scare people; the other is the unbridled aura of someone who has already broken the taboo. Once that line is crossed, the predatory nature in one's gaze becomes an offensive, physical discomfort to anyone it lands on.
Under my overbearing stare, the senior sister instinctively took a step back and ended up collapsing onto the floor.
"Hmm?"
I looked down at her, a flash of surprise in my eyes. She shouldn't be that fragile. She was a senior student, after all. Even if she hadn't specifically practiced body tempering, the all-around physical boost from witchification should have prevented her legs from turning to jelly just like that.
But I had no intention of helping her up. If I had been the one provoked, everyone here would have watched me like a piece of entertainment. Now that she was the entertainment, it was just her karma.
I found a corner, leaned against the wall, and closed my eyes to think.
The fact that the farce ended this way was unexpected for many. The senior sisters who had nothing better to do looked at me with shock, and a few even showed a hint of fear.
I didn't see these expressions, and even if I had, I would have found them boring. At most, I might have wondered what exactly made them so shocked; if I were in their shoes, I wouldn't have reacted that way.
Before long, a mentor walked over.
"The written exam begins in half an hour. Everyone, please adjust your state. I hope you can perform at your best during the test... Hmm? Student, you don't look well. If there’s an emergency, communicate with a mentor immediately."
"Okay... okay..."
Seeing that she didn't make any requests, the mentor ignored her. If she wasn't going to take responsibility for herself, did she expect others to help her?
That was obviously impossible.
Led by the mentor, I followed the crowd of senior sisters into the examination hall.
The space inside was vast, expanded by spatial expansion technology. I could also feel a property that suppressed externalized spell effects, likely to prevent cheating. This was present during every monthly exam, but it seemed more high-end this time.
The so-called suppression of externalized spell effects was meant to prevent copying or stealing others' work. However, spells were still considered part of one's own toolkit, so things like my Memory Bookshelf and the Tree of Knowledge spellbook were still usable.
In fact, because there were so many spells in the Witch Academy, it was impossible to ban them all, and small spellbooks were everywhere. The academy's definition of cheating had gone through many revisions, eventually settling on "independent completion" as the bottom line. This meant banning multi-person cooperation through methods like mind reading, telepathy, or vision sharing.
When the exam papers were finally handed out, I took a quick scan of the questions. I couldn't stop my lips from curling upward.
I knew I pretty much had this in the bag.