Chapter 532: Shopkeeper Xia Li's [Transcendent Knowledge]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 532: Shopkeeper Xia Li's [Transcendent Knowledge]
A long time passed.
"I'm so sorry for taking up so much of your time, Sister Natalie. We'll be heading back now."
"No worries, no worries! That was a fantastic clash of ideas. Don't you worry—as soon as I've perfected the 'Book in the Box' concept you came up with, I'll notify you immediately. I can't give you an exact timeframe for the completion, but I'll try my best to have it in your hands before the end of this break!"
"Then I'll be in your debt, Sister Natalie."
"It’s nothing! Let's keep in touch. If there are any issues or major breakthroughs, I'll let you know right away~"
"Mm!"
After bidding Natalie farewell, the customization for my book was more or less settled.
According to Natalie's original design, the Book in the Box was exactly what it sounded like: a book encased in a specialized weapon box. The original intent was for the outer casing to protect the book itself.
The focus of that design had been entirely on the book.
As Laura Lucy had said, the two biggest highlights of this book were "Spell Resonance" and the "Sealing Art."
Spell Resonance was one of its core functions as a magic tool to amplify spellcasting. With this as the foundation, many other amplification effects could be derived.
As for the Sealing Art, it had been dismissed as a mere storage function... which wasn't entirely wrong. According to Natalie, "cataloging" was essentially using the pages of the book as a medium for seals. Its initial purpose was to seal powerful spells or physical entities.
However, as her research into the Sealing Art progressed, she had begun to play with this ability in creative new ways.
Using the Sealing Art as the magical core allowed for the sealing of various spell effects. What did that imply?
From the perspective of spell sealing, it could seal a single-shot spell that far exceeded the user's own power limit. As long as a powerful expert cooperated to seal the spell, one could release the seal when facing an enemy. The opponent would then be forced to face the full might of that high-level attack.
Unfortunately, this was a one-time use, and there was some loss of power during the sealing process. However, that didn't matter much when you had so many pages available for sealing!
Of course, without the right connections and network, one really couldn't make the most of a weapon like this.
But what did that matter to me, someone who had already started mingling in the circles of Transcendent Witches?
In a way, the Book in the Box was similar to an alchemical item with solidified spells. While it offered more flexibility in casting, it was also more cumbersome.
However, this ability also gave rise to a method that wasn't too troublesome: sealing elemental energy. By using the Sealing Art to harness elements, one could trigger an absolute deluge of energy—a truly terrifying tactic.
In short, as long as one's thinking didn't stagnate, there were countless ways to use it.
This sealing process was what Natalie called "cataloging." The so-called multi-functional integration of the Book in the Box was built upon a foundation of immense depth. It was an existence with an incredibly high ceiling and a very low floor.
From the perspective of physical sealing—that is, the cataloging of weapons—a cataloged weapon could be unsealed to manifest its true form. This acted as a specialized form of "storage," which was exactly what Laura Lucy had criticized. What was the difference between this and just carrying a bunch of weapons in standard storage equipment?
The reason Natalie had been so confident in her rebuttal was that her application of cataloging techniques had already transcended the framework of the Sealing Art itself.
Once a weapon was stored, she could choose to manifest a "weapon copy" rather than the original body.
Weapon copies had their own share of issues, such as being weaker than the original or failing to perfectly replicate special effects.
But at the very least, the original wouldn't be damaged. It even allowed for the ideal scenario of multiple copies providing simultaneous saturation fire.
For weapons whose special effects couldn't be perfectly replicated, they could be returned to her for targeted cataloging. This allowed the copies to possess special effects nearly identical to the original. It was a bit more work, but it was worth it—after all, they weren't one-time use.
Furthermore, weapon copies could be buffed with over-limit weapon enhancement spells. She could pile on strengthening spells that would normally damage the weapon itself. This allowed for a burst of extreme damage in a short time without harming the original. It was a trade-off with clear pros and cons.
Based on the suggestions I made next, a large portion of the Book in the Box's design would likely undergo a massive overhaul. However, from my brief interaction with Natalie, her professional pride would likely drive her to find a way to preserve all the original design elements while incorporating the new ones.
My requirements were simple, just two: When the book is drawn from the box, I can talk sense to people. When the book is kept in the box, I can talk physics with my enemies.
Therefore, the parts that needed the most change were the book cover and the weapon box. The overall design needed to be easy to grab and swing. The outer box's design shifted from the original concept of "protecting the book" to "dealing massive physical damage to the enemy while also protecting the book."
The spell amplification of the book also received an upgrade. After all, the original design was from quite a while ago. Even Natalie herself found some of her old ideas a bit naive now. So, even if I hadn't mentioned it, she would have updated it anyway.
Of course, the reason she was so proactive in further perfecting it was... to fleece Dean Mei Lind.
Looking at the material consumption required for the overall design—even before it was fully finalized—she felt a momentary pang of guilt about milking the Dean. But who told Mei Lind to say she wanted to give Xiao Han the best?
She was just following orders!
Besides, it wasn't her own stuff she was using. She was just using those materials to craft a weapon.
Even if the final product wouldn't belong to her, she would still gain knowledge of the materials' properties and characteristics, collect data, broaden her horizons, and get a chance to practice her craft. Seeing a brand-new masterpiece take shape in her hands brought an unparalleled sense of achievement.
To that end, she was willing to pour in all her energy just to perfect a work that had once been unfinished and unacknowledged.
Even with her current perspective as an Alchemy Master, she could see how riddled with loopholes her past designs were, but she didn't care. Some things had a value far beyond their objective worth—like this Book in the Box.
Because she wasn't just building a weapon; she was building her once-naive fantasies.
* * *
After leaving Natalie's alchemy lab, I felt a lot lighter. Looking back, some of those decisions might have seemed impulsive, and I felt like I could have done even better, but so what?
How do you even compare the cost of doing "better" with the final reward?
Perhaps only perfectionists would bother calculating such gains and losses.
"Xiao Han, are you really planning to hit people with a book?" Sister Bai chuckled softly beside me.
"Yeah~ wouldn't it be fun to let the enemy feel exactly how much 'knowledge' weighs? I wonder what kind of surprise Natalie will have for me." I rubbed my hands together in anticipation.
"Xiao Han, you're like a little kid waiting for a new toy."
"It's called staying true to one's original intentions, okay?"
Of course, the main reason was that I truly possessed a form of "Power of Knowledge" now. The way that energy manifested really did pair well with a book-type weapon.
"Right, right~ staying true to your intentions~"
……
The Baking House.
"Don't you think you people from the Jack-of-all-trades Club are being too greedy?" Xia Li looked at the group in front of her, her expression grim.
"We don't think so at all, Xia Li. Those words shouldn't be coming out of your mouth. You know better than we do how you obtained that Crown of Absolute Zero. It's an old tradition of your Bakery, isn't it?" The people standing opposite Xia Li were, naturally, members of the Jack-of-all-trades Club she had mentioned.
Their purpose for coming today was exactly what she had just said: that crown.
This was a negotiation, but so far, it was not going smoothly. The moment the Jack-of-all-trades members mentioned the crown, Xia Li's face had darkened.
As a result, the exchange had dragged on for over half an hour without any progress. It was even starting to affect the Baking House's business, though there weren't many customers during the break anyway.
"I won that through my own strength. That is an honor the Academy itself must recognize. What right do you have to reach for it?" Xia Li didn't back down an inch, her tone forceful. She even brought up the Academy to bolster her stance. She naturally had her own confidence; otherwise, how could a mere Baking House owner hold onto a piece of [Transcendent Knowledge]?
Or... to be precise, it was a fragment of Transcendent Knowledge, but its value was far beyond anything a spellbook could offer.
"Xia Li, I know your selfish motives. That crown is useless in your hands, so you want to entrust it to someone worthy. Now, the world's great tide is rising, and the Academy is no longer hiding the matter of the struggle for Luck..."
"Can we skip the useless nonsense?"
"I know who your chosen candidate is. Tan Han, right? How about a fair competition?"
"Is that fair? And when did I ever say I was giving it to Tan Han?" Xia Li asked through gritted teeth. She hated it when others tried to make decisions for her!
"If not Tan Han, then who? That Xiao Han who gave up on being a Child of Destiny? I admit she's a genius, but so what?"
"You have no right to talk about Xiao Han like that. She's already a Teaching Assistant!"
"I'll say it again: so what? No matter how powerful she is, she's someone without the right qualifications. The struggle for Luck is about the destined path, not about who has the most strength."
"So, this isn't going to end peacefully today, is it?" Xia Li narrowed her eyes, ready to strike at any moment.
Nearby, Ying Shiqian and Tang Yihan shielded the younger students working part-time, but they too were prepared for a conflict.
Conflicts were common at the Witch Academy. Sometimes, when a matter was irreconcilable, even the Discipline Squad couldn't intervene. They could only persuade both parties to take it to the Arena to settle it legally.
"No, I think we can still sit down and talk. You're the ones who have been aggressive from the start, making things difficult for us. We're here for a collaboration, not a robbery. Besides, you don't want a fight, do you? Even if you don't care about yourselves, think about the little juniors behind you~"
"Shameless!"
"That's just your fixed impression of the Jack-of-all-trades Club. I won't bother explaining. We came with sincerity. I believe we're only a negotiation table away from a partnership."
With things put that way, Xia Li began to waver. It was the result of her own internal struggle, but she was still unwilling.
"Juliana... she was the mentor you used to follow, right?" Seeing the hesitation in Xia Li's eyes, the girl from the Jack-of-all-trades Club added another chip to the pile.
"Hmph. You certainly did your homework."
"She's leaving." Those two words from the girl caused Xia Li's pupils to shrink instantly!
"Impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible. It's just a normal transfer. It seems you haven't been in contact with your mentor for a long time. What a pity."
"She has no reason to leave on her own!"
"Is that so? Then I might as well tell you something... word on the street is that our world is about to undergo a transformation. The doomsday theories being spread outside? They have the shadow of the Transcendent Academy behind them. That's all I'll say. Believe it or not."
The girl didn't elaborate further, giving Xia Li space to think and cool down.
Without the protection of her former mentor, her possession of [Transcendent Knowledge] would become a glaring vulnerability. Even if she had obtained it "fair and square" back then, she was now "guilty of possessing a treasure."
They were preying on her!
"No... we still have Xiao Han..."
"Don't make me laugh, okay? You keep talking about Xiao Han, but what have you actually done for her? Given her a part-time job paying a few dozen bucks an hour? Or a spellbook for a Cleaning Spell? I heard she visited your bakery not long ago, but she didn't even bother to let you know or meet with you... Please, tell me again, who else do you have?" The opponent spoke coldly, listing each point without hesitation. The final question was like a killing blow piercing Xia Li's heart.
The Jack-of-all-trades Club's intelligence network was incredibly well-informed within the Witch Academy.
This was the final straw that broke Xia Li. She desperately wanted to argue that Xiao Han was just like that... that she just hated trouble and didn't like bothering people... but she knew she had no right to say it.
Even the reward she had promised after the exchange competition... Xiao Han had never come to collect it.
Every sign and every internal doubt felt like a violent strike against her. A sense of guilt slowly began to drown out her reason.
"I think we can sit down and have a proper talk now. We're all part of the Witch Academy, sisters living together. Besides, it's not like this is our first time dealing with each other." The girl smiled, but she was laughing internally. Xia Li bringing up Xiao Han herself was a perfect assist. Her earlier subtle hints about Xiao Han had worked perfectly; the woman had walked right into the trap.
"This isn't the place to talk..."
Ying Shiqian and Tang Yihan looked at the dejected Xia Li, wanting to offer comfort, but she raised a hand to stop them. She was the President of the Baking House, the absolute authority. They had no right to say anything. Even that [Transcendent Knowledge], the root of all this trouble, had nothing to do with them. How could they offer comfort?
Seeing Xia Li like this, the members of the Jack-of-all-trades Club wore faint smiles. Finally, progress.
They stepped forward to follow Xia Li; now it was time for the real battle of wits.
In the end, only Ying Shiqian, Tang Yihan, and the confused juniors remained at the front of the bakery. Even the two older girls didn't fully understand the details, only the general situation.
They looked at each other, seeing only helplessness. Ultimately, they could only sigh and turn to comfort the juniors who were nearly scared out of their wits. After all, this was their first time experiencing "bullying" between seniors at the Witch Academy.
On the television hanging on the bakery wall, the news was playing.
Transcendent terrorists have taken several students returning to the Transcendent Academy hostage. Their actions are heinous, and many Transcendent Academies have declared this a declaration of war...
The world was becoming more chaotic.
But at this moment, no one in the bakery was in the mood to care.