Chapter 463: Jealous Sister Bai
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 463: Jealous Sister Bai
"Mmm..."
Sensing my current state, I felt weightless. My back and legs were supported by arms, and my entire body was nestled in the embrace of someone with a familiar scent.
Realizing the posture I was in, a faint blush involuntarily crept across my face. Within a split second, I confirmed it was Sister Bai.
After all... if it were anyone else, I probably would have struggled to get up immediately.
Feeling the rhythmic, slight swaying of Sister Bai’s footsteps, I peeked through one eye, secretly observing her profile.
"If Xiao Han likes it, I can keep holding you like this. No need to pretend to be asleep, you know?"
Before I could admire her for more than a few seconds, Sister Bai’s words suddenly punctured my little scheme.
"Then keep holding me. It’s a brand-new experience I’ve never had before," I said, thick-skinned. I opened my eyes wide and even adjusted my position slightly, reaching out to drape my arms around Sister Bai’s neck.
"So Xiao Han likes this? You’re developing more and more of a young girl’s temperament."
"Am I? I’m just trying it out~" I lightly swung my legs. Being held by Sister Bai like this filled my heart with an unprecedented sense of security. It was a feeling I had never experienced before, one so comforting it almost made me feel a bit apprehensive. Thus, I could only keep my tone light.
"Is it fun, then? Would you be embarrassed if someone you knew saw you?"
"Eek—actually, a little... Um, maybe you should put me down." At Sister Bai’s mention of that, I felt a sudden urge to shiver. Ultimately, shame overrode my sentimentality, and I spoke up.
"You think I’ll just let go because you said so? Wouldn't that make me lose face?" Sister Bai shifted her hold on me slightly, as if adjusting for the most comfortable posture, and ignored my request.
"No—Sister Bai, why are you being like this? Where are you taking me?"
"Back to the Main World Witch Academy, of course. And while we're at it, I’m taking Qiu Ruxin to register her student information. If she wants to keep up with this year’s freshmen, she’ll be under quite a bit of pressure. After all, that’s an entire semester’s worth of knowledge points."
"Eh? We’re going to see Qiu Ruxin? Sister Bai, put me down already~"
"What? Still trying to keep your distance from Qiu Ruxin? Or do you just not want me holding you in front of her?"
"Eek—Sister Bai, tone it down. The jealousy is getting a bit thick, don't you think? Though, I suppose it’s fine." Since Sister Bai had made her stance so obvious and I wasn't in the wrong, I might as well be open about it~
As for Qiu Ruxin... I was truly grateful to her for giving me the [Transcendent Knowledge], but it was for the best to cut off any unfortunate feelings before they could develop. I didn't want to accidentally lead someone on without realizing it; that kind of situation is awkward for everyone.
Just then, Sister Bai arrived at the place where Qiu Ruxin was waiting.
"Mentor Bai... hello."
Seeing Bai Yu arrive, Qiu Ruxin hurried forward to greet her. She had just learned the identity of this tall, elegant woman—a mentor at the Witch Academy. When she saw the figure cradled in the other woman's arms, her body swayed slightly, and a flash of disbelief crossed her eyes. Perhaps she had never seen Sister Xiao Han like this before.
"Um, Sister Bai, put me down~" I whispered, turning my head.
Soon enough, Sister Bai leaned down slightly, loosened her grip on my legs, and let my feet touch the ground.
I quickly stood up, smoothed out my slightly messy clothes, and looked at Qiu Ruxin.
"Qiu Ruxin, sorry about that. I was unconscious just now. Anyway, I’m heading back too. I heard you’re coming with us, right?"
"Yes... Sister Xiao Han, I’m sorry..." Qiu Ruxin nodded slightly, her mood seemingly low. Then, prompted by that emotion, she suddenly began to apologize to me.
"Eh? Why the sudden apology? It’s fine, it’s fine. What are you apologizing for?"
"It’s all my fault. If it weren't for me, Sister Xiao Han wouldn't have encountered such a dangerous situation..."
"Dangerous?" I blinked, then realized she was referring to the [Transcendent Knowledge] incident. I had almost overlooked that bit of danger.
Even during the most perilous moment when I was shoved into the void rift, I at least had the Resurrection Spell. Moreover, with the Academy Dean present, it was impossible for me to actually die. After all, that Dean literally caught a void rift with her bare hands... Though there were no flashy visuals, she had demonstrated exactly how powerful she was through the most primitive of methods.
"Oh, that wasn't really dangerous. Once you step into the Transcendent realm, that’s just a minor scuf—ow! What was that for? Why did you hit me?" Before I could finish, Sister Bai’s hand-knife chopped down on my head. I immediately clutched my head and turned to look at her with a resentful gaze.
"If a void rift that could even kill me isn't considered dangerous, then what is? Xiao Han, are you being too irresponsible with your own life?"
"I... I get it~ I get it~ I was just trying to comfort Qiu Ruxin. Besides... with the Academy Dean there, the whole thing was mostly within controllable limits," I argued back. Then, I looked at Qiu Ruxin again. "Don't take it to heart. If you feel indebted, then just study hard at the Witch Academy. Strive to grow to the point where you can help me~"
"Yes!" Qiu Ruxin nodded heavily, though I wasn't sure how much of it she actually took in.
"Then let’s leave. Coming here has indeed cost me quite a bit of time. By the way, Qiu Ruxin, since you’re leaving your world, is there nothing you want to take with you?"
Qiu Ruxin shook her head. "No. The Academy Dean said the academy would give me a subsidy after enrollment, and I can buy whatever I need. I have nothing left to miss in this world..."
"I see..." I didn't press further on other matters, like her former family or whether she wanted to visit them. I didn't know if she had forgotten or if she had already visited them before preparing to leave, but clearly, this wasn't the right time to bring it up.
In the end, Qiu Ruxin only brought some clothes she had prepared long ago and some daily necessities she often used before leaving with us.
The method of departure was, naturally, the solidified teleportation ritual established with the Witch Academy.
This was my first time seeing such a thing, especially a large-scale teleportation channel. Every time it opened, the mana consumption was immense.
In comparison, this highlighted the superiority of the Reverse Summoning Spell I had mastered. At the very least, its consumption was far lower than this thing. However, it had its drawbacks—many usage restrictions, and it could only reverse-summon me alone.
The mana consumed for this teleportation was, of course, provided by Sister Bai.
I have to say, the sensation of this teleportation was excellent—even better than the feeling of being summoned. It felt as if we had crossed a very short distance and arrived at the Main World in an instant.
I could feel the sense of suppression brought by the Main World Great Weakening Spell; such an instantaneous change was very easy to distinguish.
"This is... the Witch Academy?"
"That’s right~ This is the Witch Academy! So, let me say it to you officially once more: Welcome to the Witch Academy!"
Speaking of which... for some reason, I suddenly thought of when I first enrolled. The mentors and senior sisters seemed to never tire of telling the freshman me, "Welcome to the Witch Academy."
Back then, they probably shared this same sentiment.
"Um..." I was about to say something, but Sister Bai interrupted me.
"I’ll take Qiu Ruxin to register first. Xiao Han, you just went through all that, so go back and rest well. Don't perform poorly in the upcoming interview because you're out of shape."
"Mmm... alright."
I didn't argue. Perhaps Sister Bai’s jealousy hadn't faded yet, so I’d just have to indulge her for now~
After a brief farewell to Sister Bai, I left the area.
Sister Bai was right about one thing: after the reshaping of the Tree of Great Knowledge, I really did need to settle down and reflect.
I wasn't proud of the fact that I had successfully created a Great Spellbook through this stroke of luck. It was brought about by countless coincidences; it was more luck than strength. At the very least, I felt that luck played the dominant role in the birth of this Great Spellbook.
Furthermore, the Great Spellbook had only attracted one void rift, and many things within it were still unrefined.
Moreover, my application of [Transcendent Knowledge] was still stuck at the macro level. If the Great Spellbook was a magnificent palace, then right now, I had merely used exquisite white jade bricks to pile up a cave. The crudeness of my construction was something even I found hard to look at.
But this kind of refinement wasn't something that could be done overnight. Without the accumulation of relevant knowledge, I was like I was now—stuck in a predicament where I didn't even know where to start, even if I wanted to make changes.
Fortunately, with the metamorphosis of the Tree of Knowledge, although I hadn't had time to learn what new functions it had, it was definitely more powerful than before.
And with the help of the Tree of Knowledge, it could assist me in refining itself. Was there anything better than that?
I didn't think so.
This experience also allowed me to understand many characteristics of [Transcendent Knowledge]. For instance, a Great Spellbook shaped by [Transcendent Knowledge] didn't necessarily have to have spell effects that perfectly matched its original nature.
The [Transcendent Knowledge] Qiu Ruxin originally possessed was initially related to plants. From the fact that it could guide a civilization toward plant technology, one could see that its effects regarding plants were terrifying.
If I had followed the standard path and developed the Great Spellbook using that template, it might have become an incredibly powerful plant-type Great Spellbook.
Instead, I had shaped it into the Tree of Knowledge in an abstract way. Under the influence of the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art, it had even given birth to a Tree of Wisdom Enlightenment that I still didn't fully understand.
But I didn't regret it, because in my heart, this was the optimal solution!
After all, if it had become a powerful Great Spellbook, I would have merely gained a powerful tool. But as the Tree of Knowledge, I myself could become more terrifying than any Great Spellbook. This was a form of self-confidence—confidence that I could be better than any Great Spellbook!
...
The daily routine back at the Witch Academy was even calmer than I had expected.
After two days of rest, I had returned to my peak state. Another piece of good news was that the interview process had been completely finalized.
During these two days, I had also been exploring the characteristics of the Tree of Great Knowledge. Aside from still being at a loss regarding the Tree of Wisdom Enlightenment reflected on the sea's surface, the results of other effect trials were very pleasing.
With the addition of [Transcendent Knowledge] and the nourishment from the void rift, the growth of the Tree of Knowledge now faced a situation I hadn't anticipated: the nutrients of knowledge and memory were insufficient!
Now, it was actually my own learning speed that was holding it back.
The slow growth of the Tree of Knowledge currently relied entirely on absorbing fragmented, unstructured knowledge from the ley lines.
My previous concept for the Tree of Knowledge Expansion Plan seemed to have a rudimentary form now.
After all, given the current upper limit of the Tree of Knowledge's growth rate, relying solely on my own learning speed was definitely not enough. Developing my own "offline workers" would inevitably become my best choice.
And my ambition wasn't just limited to individual tutoring like I did for my roommates. I didn't have that much energy to maintain spell effects.
But things were different now. The Tree of Knowledge had transformed into a Great Spellbook. Although I still hadn't figured out the secret behind how spell effects persisted, the unique characteristic of a Great Spellbook—where its spell effects existed permanently—applied to the derived spells of the Great Spellbook. For example, the Knowledge Clones derived from the Tree of Great Knowledge, and the derived Ley Line Information Identification Art.
If possible, I also wanted to spread this Identification Art. After all, the utility of an Identification Art was terrifying. As long as one established a connection with the ley lines, one could obtain specific information from them, and such information could be fed back into my Tree of Great Knowledge, becoming the nourishment for its growth.
While the idea was good, implementing it required handling too many problems.
It was like a simple transmission and exchange of information that allowed the telephone to be born and develop; the process from nothing to something was the process of creation. If I wanted others to become my workers, in what way would they become my workers?
I didn't know. I didn't even know how to spread all of this. If it were just a simple spell effect, its reach would be very limited.
So, this matter couldn't be rushed.
Compared to that, I was more interested in the Tan Han Spellbook incident, with the interview only a couple of days away.
As time passed, because I hadn't said a word, no one knew the specifics of the situation. Even Tan Han speaking up herself was of little use. Tan Han’s supporters and fan club were a loose, massive group; a significant portion were even "organic" supporters who just wanted to take a stance and join a winning side.
What was clearly a minor matter had now become an event with its own dedicated term on the academy network.
During this period, Tan Han had looked for me several times and called me to communicate. It was obvious that she was more anxious than I, the person actually involved.
However, she had used her own means to barely suppress the negative impact of the incident to a minimum over these past few days.
At least... there were fewer people stirring the pot under the name of the Tan Han Fan Club.
The main reason I ignored the matter on the academy network was that, aside from simply wanting to smear me, they had no greater purpose. This meant that no matter how much they made a fuss, that was all it would be. Before long, I would escape the quagmire of being a freshman and step into the position of a Teaching Assistant.
Even in the face of their skepticism, this fact would not change. After all, those people only hoped to gain some verbal advantage. If I were to seal all their mouths, wouldn't I seem too heartless?
Besides, malice that lacks a clear conflict is easy to redirect. When someone, under pressure, uses that Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation Spell, everyone’s spearhead will turn toward that person.
Some spellbooks require immense courage even to use.
So, I was very much looking forward to that moment.