Chapter 506: It Should Be Me Thanking You...
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 506: It Should Be Me Thanking You...
"I won't see them out~ If you have the chance next semester, you should try the Body Cultivation Course. Think of it as a way to stay in shape..."
Only after I watched Tan Han and her group depart did Sister Bai speak up beside me.
"You really just gave the spellbooks back like that? Including that Over-consumption Spellbook?" Sister Bai’s tone wasn't particularly doubtful; it was just laced with a hint of curiosity and anticipation for my response.
"Yeah. I never imagined a casual joke back then would cause me this much trouble." I shook my head with a bitter smile, thinking back to when we were in Ninglan New City. I had offhandedly mentioned wanting all her spellbooks, never expecting it to lead to the current situation.
Regardless of whether Tan Han had been serious at the time, my words had certainly provided the catalyst. They made her realize her own over-reliance on the inherent power of spellbooks.
Furthermore, it was that same trip to Ninglan New City that exposed concepts like the Child of Destiny and the Script. It triggered the spontaneous gathering of followers and led to the birth of the Tan Han Fan Club.
On the surface, all of this seemed positive, but the reality was that the club members were a mixed bag of quality. This eventually led to the situation where Tan Han had "a tail too big to wag"—a burden she couldn't easily shake off.
The entire process was a classic, enduring error-correction mechanism: create conflict, discover the problem, make a resolution, and solve the problem.
Had Tan Han failed to notice these issues right away?
No, she had noticed them. But problems don't simply vanish just because you recognize them. If she had tried to solve them back then, she would have ended up "solving" herself as well. She would have been isolated, likely forced into a state similar to the one I was in before.
Not everyone can endure total isolation—especially someone like Tan Han, who had lived under the halo of a genius since childhood, surrounded by people who treated her like the moon among the stars.
"Is that so? Then, does Xiao Han regret it?"
"Regret? What’s that? It’s nothing more than making the 'fun' a bit more convoluted and interesting to watch~" I shifted my position, turning on my side to face Sister Bai. I reached out and took the coconut she had just been drinking from. As the sweet juice flowed into my mouth through the straw, carrying a hint of Sister Bai’s lingering taste, a sense of satisfaction filled my heart.
"And the spellbooks?"
"You’re really hung up on the spellbooks, Sister Bai~" I chuckled. It was easy enough to understand, though. After all, spellbooks represented power, and by extension, resources!
Moreover, they were the kind of resources that remained liquid even among Transcendent Witches!
"It’s not that I’m hung up on them. Once I ascended to become a Transcendent Witch, I basically moved past the urgent need for spellbooks. I told you about this before, remember?"
"You can buy spellbooks from the Primal Witches, right?" I recalled what Sister Bai had told me.
The Primal Witches presided over the Great Library, which was formed from the entire Witch World. That library contained the total heritage of the Witch race, including spellbooks left on consignment. Any Transcendent Witch could purchase spellbooks there—whether they were consigned, gifted, or returned to the library. However, purchases could only be made using Mana Sources.
"Exactly. The spellbooks there—especially the common, low-level ones—are ridiculously cheap, and the stock is massive. A single Mana Source is enough to buy an Evocation spell like the Fireball Spell. Sometimes they even have 'buy one, get one free' deals. High-level spellbooks, on the other hand, are either extremely expensive or simply out of stock, leaving you with nothing but the records of their existence and their cataloged data."
"So that’s how it is?" I chuckled softly. Combining what I knew about the previous scarcity of spellbooks in the Witch Academy with the current uncontrollable flood of low-level ones, the reason seemed clear now.
A single Mana Source for a basic spellbook... that’s a staggering profit margin. No wonder entry and exit from the Main World require such strict auditing and qualifications. Aside from the Main World's own limits on carrying Transcendent lifeforms, considering the value disparity between the Main World's Mana Sources and spellbooks... if any Transcendent Witch wanted to play the arbitrage game, they could probably shatter the balance of the Witch Academy in an instant.
However, there was another major possibility: the Main World was relatively barren, lacking the foundation to support the circulation of things like Mana Sources and spellbooks.
Of course, if a Transcendent Witch tried too hard to profit off Mana Sources and spellbooks in the Main World... if they went too far, they might just face the righteous judgment of the Academy Dean.
"That’s the way it is. Once I understood that, my perspective on spellbooks changed quietly. There’s really no need to scramble for them within the Witch Academy."
"Once you become a Transcendent Witch, any spellbook you once desired can be bought from the Primal Witches. A spellbook that can circulate freely in the Witch Academy isn't going to be so extravagant that it can't be found in the Great Library. If it were that rare, even a Transcendent Witch would feel a twinge of greed—especially toward a student who isn't Transcendent yet. That’s a true case of 'an ordinary man's trouble starts with the treasure he carries.'"
"So, Sister Bai, did you say all that just to give me a lecture?~" I listened intently to everything she said. I truly was interested in these matters.
"Of course... You have too many secrets, Xiao Han. I can't help but start lecturing you."
"It’s fine. I love listening to your lectures, Sister Bai~" Whether I’d actually take them to heart, however, was a different story.
After some playful banter with Sister Bai, I pulled out my phone and logged onto the Academy Network. The Joint Exam was over, and this area was connected again.
What I was doing now was looking for "fun." What kind of fun?
Just some fun at Tan Han's expense. Although this series of events had been quite a hassle, it was ultimately just a self-important blunder. Without knowing the full picture, it was best to just view everything as a bit of entertainment.
For instance, if I worked backward from the result to the process, I could even conclude that Tan Han had planned the whole thing herself. After all, she was the biggest beneficiary in the end. With the help of the Script, she had completed a layout she wasn't even fully aware of and solved her own problems.
But from a student's perspective, my own calculations in this matter were numerous—scheming against a former genius, suppressing all the Children of Destiny...
But!
How could there be that many schemes in the world?
I was just looking for a bit of fun~
Once that was clear, many things became easier to accept.
I looked at the information Tan Han had just posted on the Academy Network. She announced that she was severing ties with the Tan Han Fan Club, expressed her determination to recover those spellbooks, and demanded apologies from those who had followed the crowd in insulting others... It could be said that Tan Han was showing a great deal of sincerity on the network. To do something like this, she had to endure immense pressure; a significant portion of the Tan Han Fan Club had already turned on her.
But the Joint Exam had only just ended, and their actions only served to further disillusion her. Anyone with eyes could see that Tan Han's decision was the right one. The only ones having a breakdown were the "fence-sitters" who had gained nothing.
Looking at these posts, it was predictable that a storm of public opinion would sweep through the Witch Academy during this break—the final fury of the incompetent.
However, among the noise, I saw traces of the Witch Secret Realm Club and the Jack-of-all-trades Club.
This reminded me of those two Senior Sisters I met during the written exam, Fu Xinglan and Tracy. Especially Tracy; before she left, she told me that the Witch Secret Realm would help out at the critical moment. I had thought it was just polite small talk at the time.
But... it made sense. After all, I was a Teaching Assistant now. It was well worth their while to show me some goodwill in advance.
When I finally grew bored of scrolling, I turned off my phone and looked at Sister Bai. "This is getting dull... Sister Bai, what are your plans now?"
"Finally bored of playing?" Hearing this, Sister Bai stood up with a smile and walked over to me. Then, she reached out and snatched off my sunglasses.
"Eh? Hey!! Sister Bai, what are you doing?!" Under my bewildered gaze, Sister Bai reached out and scooped me up—in the most embarrassing princess carry imaginable!
"Put... put me down! There are so many people here..." I let out a suitable amount of fluster, then caught a glimpse of a Knowledge Shadow flickering nearby... Right, right, so it was you who gave Sister Bai this idea, huh?
I was kind enough not to pry into what Sister Bai was doing, and this guy repays me by conspiring with her to pull a stunt like this?
"Shh~ Don't shout too loud~ You wouldn't want people to notice that a Teaching Assistant like you is being carried in such a shameful way, would you?"
"Ugh..."
Sister Bai’s words shut me up instantly. I stopped struggling and simply wrapped my arms around her neck. At this moment, Sister Bai’s outfit was nearly skin-to-skin with mine. The contact between our bodies, combined with the slight swaying and friction as she walked, gave me a peculiar sort of enjoyment...
Realizing I was losing my composure, I quickly adjusted my mindset and cursed myself inwardly. Hey, Body Cultivation touch sense isn't meant to be used like this!
"Will people really not notice?" I asked tentatively, glancing around. Indeed, there were no curious or staring eyes directed our way.
"They can see us, but they won't consciously pay attention. If your movements are too violent, though, they might~"
"Is this... lowering presence?"
"Just a means of cognitive correction," Sister Bai said with a smile.
Under the Great Soul Subject, the Ordinary branch’s life essence had a natural advantage over Soul Essence. For those whose life essence was still just Soul Essence, the power derived from this subject was an absolute dimensional strike.
Arguably, once the Witch race mastered the life essence of the soul, they should have kept it hidden. That way, they could maintain an absolute suppression over the life essences of the Void.
But the Witch race didn't do that. Both the Soul Truth Witches and the Primal Witches firmly believed that by promoting this concept throughout the Void, the application and development of the soul by Void lifeforms would see an explosive leap in both quality and breadth. Pressure creates motivation; competition leads to improvement.
And the Witch race was so confident that they firmly believed they would not lose in such a competition!
This decision made all the races of the Void feel the arrogance of the Witches. But only the Primal Witches felt it was true confidence—the kind of vision a Transcendent race leading the Void ought to have.
"Sister Bai, where are you taking me..." I watched as she carried me toward the shore, feeling a bit curious. I didn't try to pull information from her Knowledge Shadow; I wanted this sense of anticipation to be fulfilled by Sister Bai herself!
"To play in the water~ How boring would it be to come to the beach and not play in the water?"
"Play in the water?" I blinked, surprised the answer was so simple.
By now, Sister Bai had already carried me to the water's edge. Small waves lapped against her calves, and the splashing spray dampened one side of my skirt.
"Wait... um, I don't know how to swim yet..." I said softly.
After all, I hadn't known how to swim in either of my two lives, nor had I ever tried. Given my current physical stats, I probably wouldn't drown, but I just hadn't mastered the technique yet.
"Hmm? Xiao Han doesn't know how to swim? Then you definitely need to get in the water~ It’s embarrassing to be this old and not know how to swim. You know, this bikini you’re wearing is a swimsuit~" As she spoke, Sister Bai carried me further out. The lapping waves had already soaked my rear and my toes, and the ends of my loose silver hair were getting wet.
"Eh? Wait! Mmph... glug glug... gah!~"
Before I was ready, Sister Bai suddenly let go. I was dropped straight into the seawater. After a bit of splashing, I "struggled" to poke my head above the surface. When I stood up, the water only came up to my waist. But as a wave rolled in, my unsteady feet slipped, and I tumbled back into the water.
"How does it feel?" Sister Bai reached out to catch me as I fell.
"Mmph... not bad..." Caught by her, I leaned my entire weight against her. My face was pressed firmly against her abdomen. It really did feel quite nice.
"Is that so?" Sister Bai quickly caught the odd tone in my voice. She lifted me up and gave me a face-full of her chest. "How about this?"
"Mmph... mmmph...!"
With such happiness suddenly thrust upon me, I nearly suffocated from the sheer overwhelming sensation... If Sister Bai hadn't shown mercy, I might have met my end right here today.
"I surrender... um... let's just learn to swim... I'll learn. Sister Bai, will you teach me?" I immediately threw in the towel.
"Sure~ Come on, I'll take you into the deep water. Once you learn to swim and dive, you'll see a much more beautiful world."
* * *
"Here, take this." Tan Han pulled a spellbook from her storage equipment and handed it to Xiao You.
"This..." Xiao You looked at the spellbook. Although spellbooks generally looked like similar orbs of light from the outside, she recognized it instantly. This was the Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation!
"Since I’m giving it to you, take it. And these remaining spellbooks... divide them among yourselves. As for the ones we haven't recovered yet... I’ll find a way to get them back with you."
"But... Sister Tan Han, these were your spellbooks. Why give them all to us? We clearly..."
"These spellbooks aren't mine. They are private rewards given to us by Teaching Assistant Xiao Han in recognition of our outstanding contribution to the Joint Exam. Take them," Tan Han said, her voice firm.
"But... Sister Tan Han, I really don't deserve something this good..."
"You saved me at the final moment of this exam, and you turned the tide to end the exam early. You earned this." As Tan Han spoke, everyone fell silent.
"Take them. It should be me thanking you... for still being willing to follow me."