Chapter 499: The Erupting Lava Brings an Equal End to Everything
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 499: The Erupting Lava Brings an Equal End to Everything
"What..."
Tan Han looked in shock at the terrifying, long staff of glacial ice. Just following its direction with her eyes made her feel a bone-chilling cold.
The storm egg, formed by the primagnetic force field, found it difficult to move an inch within this frigid domain. The Primagnetic Storm Great Witchcraft, already at the end of its tether, could only let out an unwilling roar as it collided with this strike.
The clash of powerful forces triggered a terrifying wind pressure, carrying gusts of icy air that stung the skin.
Tan Han turned her head to look at the figure she had been protecting behind her. She wasn't the only one; everyone was shocked by this sudden turn of events.
"Xiao You... why?"
Tan Han looked at the figure in disbelief, an inexplicable emotion choking her heart. She only had time to see the girl's face and her slightly apologetic expression before a shard of ice slid from the corner of her eye, and she was completely encased in frost.
An empty mana canister fell from above into an unnoticed corner. Flakes of snow condensed around her and fell away as a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Xiao You.
A massive phantom of the Ancient Remnant Ice took shape amidst the biting wind and snow, as if awakening from ancient times.
The ice staff was gripped firmly in the hands of the gargantuan Ancient Remnant Ice. The tip of the staff, now the sharpest of ice blades, was slowly pushed forward. It pierced into the primagnetic storm, where it was destroyed by the terrifying force field only to be instantly reshaped.
Frost gradually covered Ian Garland's arms, then his face, his hair, and finally his entire body...
Terrifying surges of energy shook the frost away, but they could not shake Ian Garland awake as he began to lose consciousness.
This was the first time Xiao You had used the Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation Spell. Even she was stunned that she had succeeded on her very first try. She remembered how she had failed several times just trying to cast a simple Fireball Spell...
This illusion left her in a daze. The illusory figure beside her felt like the perfect teacher, providing the most extreme hand-holding instruction in a way she could never experience in class. From how her mental power should interfere with the spellbook, countless streams of information appeared before her eyes, even bypassing textual descriptions to manifest knowledge directly in her mind.
Following that sensation, she completed the activation of the transformation spell at the critical moment.
The first thing to condense was that most dazzling of long ice staves.
Subsequently, the feeling of her entire body merging into the hard ice, combined with an unparalleled affinity for snow, gave her the illusion that she could whip up a blizzard with a single thought.
When she finally completed the transformation and gripped the Glacial Remnant Scepter with one hand, she realized it wasn't an illusion!
With a single thought, the clouds shifted and heavy snow drifted down, as if the very air was about to freeze solid.
However, she was quickly jolted awake from her infatuation with this power, and the surrounding snow stalled.
She suddenly realized that this power did not belong to her, nor did this mastery over the spellbook!
She was merely a chip pushed onto the table in this bet, a source of amusement destined to be ridiculed by everyone.
A clown forced to play with spells in front of their original owner while begging for forgiveness...
When Tan Han turned around, Xiao You didn't dare meet her gaze. The frost froze her tears, which fell as shards of ice. The Glacial Remnant encased her body, shielding her vision. The spellbook she once could only look up to was now taking effect through her. Her hearing felt as if it were separated from reality by a barrier; she could only hear the whispers of that illusory figure in her ear.
It was as if she had truly become a puppet, acting according to instructions. Her only freedom at this moment was to slaughter the enemy who had offended Sister Tan Han.
In this moment, the reality she was unwilling to face and everything that had already transpired left her heart both relieved and helpless. It seemed only death could end this farce, only death could appease Xiao Han's anger and quiet her restless heart. Only the end brought by death and the darkness of total nothingness could allow her anxious heartbeat to finally rest.
As for whether she would stay dead or be brought back by a Resurrection Spell... that was a problem for her to face after dying.
She truly hoped that the "her" after death would be total extinction, and the "her" after resurrection would be a new personality. At least then, she wouldn't have to inherit these memories or bear this reality.
Right now, she wanted to scream, but she could only radiate endless cold. The powerful enemy she couldn't stand against moments ago was now pierced through the chest by her outstretched hand. The power he took such pride in vanished along with the light in his dying eyes.
And then... what?
"And then? Then you finish this boring Joint Exam, of course. In the end, you'll get the release you hope for, won't you?"
The voice echoing in her mind immediately pointed the way.
At this moment, due to the terrifying aura of the Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation Spell, everyone retreated. Feeling the extreme cold of the ice domain, no one wanted to touch the terrifying ice being radiated unintentionally.
The low temperature froze the moisture in the air, turning it into falling snow. The egg-like cocoons formed by the demons killed by the primagnetic storm were either covered in snow or frozen solid before they could hatch.
"Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation Spell? Why does Xiao You have it?"
After putting enough distance between themselves and the center, the girls finally couldn't help but ask.
Not long ago, the Academy Network had been flooded with smear campaigns claiming Yang Yuehan had used dirty tricks to plunder all of Tan Han's spellbooks, including that over-consumption spellbook.
And now... that very spellbook had dramatically appeared in the hands of a girl from the Tan Han Fan Club...
Not only was Tan Han bewildered, but even the senior sisters watching the live stream were completely stunned.
Seeing such a shocking reversal, everyone cheered for the girl as if reaching a climax, but the rational ones quickly realized something was wrong.
This was Tan Han's most famous spell, the Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation Spell!
In the Witch Academy, over-consumption spellbooks were generally famous and nearly unique. This led most people to subconsciously assume this was Tan Han's spellbook, and the facts supported that.
At this moment, many senior sisters recalled the smears they had followed and felt a pang of shameful resentment. However, that shame was quickly redirected toward the culprit.
From this moment on, and for a long time to follow, the reputation of the Tan Han Fan Club would suffer a major Waterloo on the Academy Network.
Back on the Bobapus Archipelago, confusion was written all over the girls' faces. They didn't understand what was happening.
Only the girls standing near Tan Han lowered their heads in silence. It wasn't that they knew the truth, but rather that they had realized something.
Almost everyone present from the Tan Han Fan Club had benefited from those spellbooks, and they recalled their previous conversation with Xiao You.
She had claimed she got the spellbooks belonging to Sister Tan Han back. She said it was better for their own people to benefit than to let others have them. At that time, they had even fought over the distribution of the books. Everyone had received several satisfactory spellbooks, and it had become their shared secret.
They could see that Sister Tan Han's determination to give those spellbooks away far exceeded their imagination. They couldn't predict what would happen if this secret were leaked.
No one had asked Xiao You how she got the spellbooks, nor if she had taken the over-consumption spellbook back, because such a thing was beyond their capacity to use.
All of this was to ensure they had a "shield of ignorance" for the day this was inevitably exposed.
Now, many were making wild guesses. Lucianne and Ninglan Qiuyue, in particular, had seen Xiao Han's abilities. Perhaps... this was all part of her plan.
At this moment, Tan Han was also considering that possibility, but in her heart, there was another possibility—one she was afraid of and unwilling to face.
She could tolerate those who called themselves followers using her name. During this Joint Exam, she had seen the true faces of too many people—some were cowards, some were in it for profit, some for themselves... None of this had ever been a burden to her. She even felt it was a screening process, a heaven-sent reduction of her load, a chance to finally make up her mind.
And on this trip, she had also gained friends. Those who could follow her this far were the ones she had decided to treat with sincerity and respond to... friends.
She had never felt the word "friend" was so heavy, yet so fragile. She felt lost, yet she seemed to understand why Xiao Han was so serious about the concept of friendship.
She used to self-righteously teach the other girl what a friend was, thinking she took it all too seriously. But now... she realized that for a moment, she had failed to the point of having no right to lecture anyone.
Tan Han turned slightly to look at the people behind her. Seeing the difference between their expressions and the others, she felt a flicker of realization. A simple exchange of glances was enough; nothing needed to be said.
Subconsciously, she looked toward the phantom that only she could see, as if seeking help...
Xiao Han hadn't dominated this Knowledge Shadow. When Tan Han looked at this "Xiao Han," the figure looked back. In Tan Han's perception, the current Xiao Han was looking at her with a beaming smile, as if watching a great play.
Finally, it was that "Xiao Han" who spoke first.
"Why are you looking at me? Seeking an answer?"
"Yes..."
"Then, are they still your friends?"
"Yes... but..."
"And what do you think a mistake is?"
"It's..."
"It is a foolish thing... an inevitable thing... that everyone does."
Tan Han looked at the figure bit by bit. The other party knew her perfectly because the figure was merely herself in a different form. Weren't the questions being asked the very ones she was asking herself?
"If friendship cannot tolerate a single mistake, does friendship even exist in this world?"
"..."
"Whether they are still your friends is not their decision; it is yours. If you want an answer, why not ask yourself: are you willing to shoulder your friends' mistakes and make amends for them?"
"..."
"Are you willing to wait for the bloody wound on your friendship to slowly scab over?"
"..."
"So, is your choice to constantly tear open the scab and look back at the pain in the future, or to let go of the scar, wait for the scab to fall off, and let that faint mark become proof between friends—an acknowledgment that this was an indispensable turbulence in your friendship?"
"Then..." Tan Han, who had been silenced by the Knowledge Shadow's words, finally plucked up the courage to speak. She understood everything said before; once her subconscious voiced it, her own answer surfaced. Now, she only had one last question...
"What about Xiao Han? Xiao Han... you... what will you do?"
* * *
While Tan Han was lost in thought, Xiao You had already found her final choice: to end this Joint Exam and embrace her fate.
She would take over this power. She would continue the task the Wizard Academy had failed to complete. Once everything was finished, she would throw herself into the lava and complete her self-destruction.
"What should I do... that restriction..."
"Do as I say. If it's a restriction, there's naturally a way to break it. Don't think too much. I'll clear all the obstacles for you. If you can't even succeed at this, then you're a waste who can't even bring about your own end. Because you wouldn't deserve it."
As the voice faded, markers appeared in Xiao You's vision that only she could see. Countless pieces of information and instructions pointed out the path and method in the simplest, clearest way.
The positioning and analysis of the restriction, the dismantling and definition of its structure, the flow and function of the runes...
This was the first time she had seen an analysis of a problem made so easy. It allowed her, someone with zero knowledge of restrictions, to handle it with ease.
But none of this belonged to her. She was like someone who had been given the answers and was looking at the solution steps. Once she lost the answers, she would lose the ability to solve the problem again.
In this moment, she glimpsed the massive gap between herself and the other party. Even a tiny portion of the iceberg revealed by a slight effort was a vast chasm between them!
Under the shocked gazes of everyone, she charged toward the Bobapus Volcano, which had been nearly destroyed by the Primagnetic Storm Great Witchcraft.
Runes flowed over the solid restriction; just looking at them was dizzying. But amidst this chaos, the markers created by the Knowledge Shadow unraveled the threads, pointing out every issue. She swung the ice spear of the Ancient Remnant Ice, bringing with it a violent blizzard to give the shattered volcano its final baptism.
The snow washed away the constant volcanic ash. With one strike, the flowing restriction was suppressed.
It was as if this strike pierced the lifeblood. The ice tip stabbed into the runes, and a massive force erupted from within the restriction. The violent movement of magma caused the entire Bobapus Archipelago plate to shake once more. The volcano, which had been dormant for a hundred years, seemed to awaken at this moment, manifesting the great power of nature within the False World!
I was also watching the scene from not far away. My use and development of the Knowledge Shadow seemed to have reached a new level. As expected, Luck always provides the most terrifying momentum at these critical moments. This trip was not in vain.
Under the Qi Observation Art, the Luck had reached the end of its climax. Everything seemed to be calming down, and the gamble of luck was returning to peace. It looked like a full stop had already been drawn early for this Joint Exam.
However... the form of Luck on Tan Han's side was quite interesting...
When I took over the Knowledge Shadow on Tan Han, her questions and thoughts became known to me. Her enlightenment was also an inspiration to me.
How interesting... so that's what Tan Han chose?
My gains from this Joint Exam have been immense, but every bit is reflected in the fine details.
Now... let me temporarily close the pages of this script that has already reached its conclusion.
Once I made that decision, Tan Han, amidst her internal conflict, asked her final question. Once this was resolved, she would no longer hesitate or feel lost.
But clearly, this question exceeded the knowledge of her subconscious, for it was a dilemma of seeking forgiveness, not a matter of self-redemption.
"Me? Taking my things requires a price. Even if they are returned in full, it must be accompanied by the most sincere apology."
"However... I recall my previous self saying... Hmm~ if you all cleared out these demons, I would personally give you some rewards... It's quite a dilemma. Do you think... giving the things you gave me back to you counts as making up for the 'bouncing check' I wrote earlier?"
Tan Han suddenly looked up at the Knowledge Shadow, whose tone was completely different from before. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes, but before she could ask anything else, the Knowledge Shadow completely dissipated. No matter how she called, the previously ever-present shadow did not reappear.
Because... the Joint Exam was over.
With a tremor of the earth, the restriction on the volcano vanished completely. The icy figure merged into the magma. The erupting lava was like the grandest fireworks, bringing an equal end to all life within the False World.