Chapter 542: Explanations and Conversations
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 542: Explanations and Conversations
"Does Xiao Han know those people?" Seeing my expression, Xia Li didn't know how to broach the subject. In the end, it was Tan Han who broke the silence.
"I wouldn't say I 'know' them. For now, it just seems like they know me."
"Then how did you meet? Is it... convenient to talk about?"
"In another world," I replied simply.
"Another world?" Xia Li finally spoke up. She was clearly startled and confused by my answer, her voice tinged with bewilderment.
"You don't believe me, Shopkeeper?" I wasn't surprised by her reaction; I was just calculating how to explain it.
"It’s not that I don’t believe you, but objectively speaking, it’s impossible for us to leave our world before becoming Transcendent Witches."
"Whether or not we can leave our world doesn't depend on becoming a Transcendent Witch, but on the Ley Line Shackles. You should be familiar with that concept, right, Shopkeeper?" I asked with a small smile. After all, she was a senior Graduated Witch. Even if she hadn't reached the Transcendent level, she likely knew the requirements and the precautions involved.
"...I know." Xia Li seemed to recall something. Her gaze grew complicated, and she didn't press the issue further.
The atmosphere lapsed into a heavy silence.
Looking at the three of us—me, Tan Han, and the Shopkeeper—the relationship was delicate. It was so delicate that almost any topic felt inappropriate, leaving us with nothing but the objective facts of the situation to mask the subtle awkwardness.
"Then, Xiao Han... what did you mean when you called them 'Players'?" Tan Han asked, breaking the silence once more.
"Players... exactly what the name implies. People who play games. Those guys are a bunch of madmen who treat the real world like a game, playing through it without any restraint."
"Treating reality... as a game?" Tan Han still couldn't fathom why such people existed. "They aren't from our world, are they?"
"No, they aren't. They are a highly aggressive lot, notorious even outside our world. They enjoy invading different worlds and plundering their resources."
"Then we have to notify the Academy's higher-ups immediately! Something this important—"
"Do you really think the Academy's leadership doesn't know? If I can encounter them at my level, how could the Deans possibly be in the dark?" I countered, cutting through Tan Han's naive outburst.
This incident was too widespread; it had paralyzed an entire city in the Main World. There was no way the high-ranking officials of the Transcendent Academy could overlook it. If they didn't take action, the Main World wouldn't survive much more of this chaos.
However, I certainly wasn't going to tell Tan Han and the others that the Deans were likely using this for their own schemes.
"Then why haven't they done anything if they know? These people are too dangerous! If they secretly planted those 'nuclear bombs' all over the world, they could wipe out our entire civilization in the blink of an eye!"
"I know, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The enemy isn't a wooden target standing still for us to hit. This isn't a problem that can be solved with just anger and wishful thinking," I said, my tone slightly soothing.
"Then are we... I mean, are we just going to let those people run wild in our world?" Tan Han started excitedly, but she quickly realized she was losing her composure. She reined in her emotions before continuing.
"Individually, those people aren't very strong. Their personal power is weak. Their high lethality comes from a very specific type of weapon—you saw that, right? To use a metaphor, they are like insects carrying a lethal virus. They get into every crack and crevice, and... they have never been fully eradicated. That is the dilemma we face. If a Transcendent Mentor steps in, they could certainly slaughter them all, but at what cost?"
"The cost..."
Hearing my words, both of them fell silent.
"The cost is that we reveal our trump cards, while those insects continue to gnaw at our world from the shadows. And there's another issue." Having said that, I posed another question, but before they could wrap their heads around it, I began to explain—or rather, to mislead them.
"None of you have ever seen a Mentor truly go all-out, have you? Even if you have, it was likely just a spar. You've never even heard of a real battle between Transcendents. That's because our world cannot withstand the full power of a Transcendent. That is why the Transcendent Academy's conflicts are always fought through the students."
"..."
"Remember our trip to Ninglan New City?" Seeing their silence, I took the initiative to bring up a topic.
"Ninglan New City..." Tan Han remembered it vividly; it was an unforgettable experience. "Was that another world?!"
"How should I put it... yes and no. Ninglan New City is part of our world, but it exists in... a different space, I suppose. It's a different concept from the world those Players come from. But that's not my point. My point is... didn't you feel something was off during that trip? Specifically, the power of your spells?"
"Now that you mention it... even though we didn't have physical bodies there, we could still cast spells. And the power was... terrifyingly strong." Tan Han recalled the experience. At the time, she had assumed it was because they were in a dream.
But even with that greater power, they had encountered enemies that couldn't be defeated by strength alone.
"I can tell you the truth: that experience showed you the true strength of magic. Our current world is actually shrouded in a terrifying spell effect."
"The power of the spells we use is being suppressed. Even the Transcendent Mentors are suppressed. The difference is that we are being forcibly weakened without our knowledge, while the Mentors... they knowingly and actively accept it."
"And all of this is to... prevent accidental Transcendent-level power from causing more irreparable damage to our world."
"So... Xiao Han, after all that explanation... what you're saying is... the Mentors are going to stand by and watch this time as well... right?" After listening to my long-winded explanation, Tan Han quickly grasped the underlying meaning.
"Tan Han, do you want to be... a savior?" I dodged her question and asked something seemingly unrelated.
Tan Han froze. This wasn't the first time I had asked her this.
The last time... when was the last time?
Back then, she had been green and impulsive. But now... she had learned to think calmly. She questioned why she cared so much, why she was so invested. If the sky fell, the tall people would hold it up—but was she willing to become one of those "tall people"?
"I don't want to be a savior... but this is happening right in front of me... and so many people are being affected..."
"You haven't changed, Tan Han," I said flatly. It wasn't exactly praise, but it wasn't an insult either. She hadn't changed, but she had improved—it was visible to the naked eye. At least this time she was much calmer and hadn't shouted at me.
Wait... did she shout at me last time?
I forgot. I usually forget unimportant things very quickly.
"Then, will you do what you did last time..."
"Who knows? But I'm very busy right now. You might not have a clear concept of what I mean by 'busy,' but it's the kind of busy where I can't just walk away." I didn't make any promises. Although I intended to be actively involved in this incident, I wouldn't tell them outright. Having someone to rely on versus not knowing if you have backup are two very different states of mind.
If I was participating for profit, then Tan Han and the others were merely being dragged into it. As expected of a Child of Destiny—so driven by emotion. I wondered if Tan Han would end up screaming something about the "power of friendship" at the final boss before driving the Players out of this world.
Speaking of which, I remembered something.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Did I miss you two when I was updating my contact info? Well, it's just a small thing..." I took out two business cards and handed them over.
Because I had met so many Witch Sisters lately, one of them—I don't even remember who started it—found out I had a card that could summon me, and suddenly they were in high demand. I had to stay up all night refining a bunch of them just to have a stockpile for emergencies.
I made a mark on these two so that if they ever summoned me, I would know exactly who it was.
"This is... a business card?" Xia Li took the card hesitantly. Looking at the exquisite design and the clear traces of refinement, she looked up at me in confusion.
"Yes, it's a business card. It has a Reverse Summoning Spell ritual on it, similar to the little trinket Tan Han used before. This is the updated version. I'll know who's calling. If I'm busy and see an unknown summoning ritual, I might ignore it. If you guys run into another crisis like this, I'm afraid I might not respond, so take these for now." I explained.
"Thank you..."
"Thanks, Xiao Han."
"It's fine. Just stay safe. Do you have any other questions? If not, I have quite a few of my own."
"What do you want to know, Xiao Han?"
"Well, first, I'm naturally curious..." As I spoke, my gaze shifted to Shopkeeper Xia Li. She looked uncomfortable under my stare, her eyes darting away. "Shopkeeper~ what exactly do you have that those mad dogs are so desperate for?"
"It's... uh..." Xia Li didn't know how to start.
Should she just say "Transcendent Knowledge"?
But she had already decided to give it to Tan Han and had already told her so.
And the old Xiao Han had once expressed interest in it... Although it was her property and she could give it to whoever she wanted, the complexity of the situation went far beyond that. As a seasoned veteran, she knew all too well how difficult social obligations and interpersonal relationships could be.
"I heard those guys call it a 'Tech Core.' For them to want it that badly, it can't be anything simple, right?" Seeing the Shopkeeper's hesitation, I prompted her again.
"Yes... a Tech Core... but in the Witch Academy, it has another name... [Transcendent Knowledge]."
"Oh, I see." I wasn't particularly surprised by the answer. My reaction was so calm that the Shopkeeper looked at me as if I weren't real.
Actually, this had been more or less cleared up during my chat with Senior Sister Ying Shiqian.
I hadn't expected the Players to already be eyeing the Shopkeeper's piece of Transcendent Knowledge.
"No wonder you've been guarding it so fiercely, Shopkeeper. You definitely can't give it to them. I remember you used to value that thing more than your own life~ By the way, why were you running around outside with something so important? It's quite chaotic out there right now. It's easy to get into big trouble, just like today."
After I said that, the Shopkeeper fell silent again.
Even though I could guess the reason, I asked anyway. I suppose I really am a conversation killer... After the words left my mouth, I felt they were a bit inappropriate, but I was genuinely curious to hear her answer.
When the Shopkeeper first took me into her private stash, she had guarded that [Transcendent Knowledge] like a hawk, refusing to part with it for anything. Back then, she was already planning to give it to Tan Han. I had managed to steer her away from the macro-influence of Luck at the time, but in the end, she still couldn't escape the fate of handing it over to her.
Luck... it really is a persistent thing. Those caught in the game are truly not their own masters.
If I were someone who knew nothing of the truth, I would probably blame the Shopkeeper for not giving it to me, wouldn't I? Even if I didn't say it, I would feel a sense of imbalance in my heart.
But now, I was someone who possessed two Great Spellbooks. I was even planning to turn a third piece of [Transcendent Knowledge] into my third Great Spellbook. Looking back at the one in the Shopkeeper's hand... it seemed optional at best.
Moreover, it was an incomplete fragment. As for the other "fragments" of that Transcendent Knowledge, they were likely tied to the Script. It looked like a massive headache.
"I... I had decided to give this... to Tan Han..." After saying this, Xia Li seemed to lose most of her strength. But there was no helping it; this was the decision she had made.
"I never said I would take it," Tan Han suddenly interjected. "It should belong to someone more suited for it."
Watching the two of them play off each other so perfectly, I suddenly felt like laughing for some reason. "Then, Tan Han, who do you think is 'more suited' for it?"
"Someone more..." Tan Han was momentarily speechless. She seemed to reach a sudden resolution, but just as she was about to speak, I cut her off.
"Think carefully before you speak. What decision did you make the last time you faced a similar situation? And who did those spellbooks you didn't want end up with in the end?"
"This... this is different!" Reminded by me, Tan Han's pupils shrank as she realized what I meant. She tried to explain immediately.
"It's the same. It's all... the same. Why don't you ask Shopkeeper Xia Li?" I looked at Xia Li with a hint of a smile. Xia Li was at a loss, but I spoke for her. "Some concepts have already been made public, yet some people choose to turn a blind eye. Luck is the invisible hand, and the Script is the summary of the process... The saying on the Academy Network isn't wrong: those with Luck Seeds are the ones who will compete for everything in the end."
"That... again..."
Hearing my words, Tan Han's hands clenched instinctively.
With my reminder, she suddenly found that many things finally had an explanation.
At this moment, Tan Han was like a commoner who had known nothing, suddenly learning about "conspiracy theories." Every irrationality in the world could now be perfectly explained.
"Is it Fate again..." Tan Han murmured, her voice full of resentment.
"Fate? Perhaps you've misunderstood something, Tan Han. Fate has never been your enemy, and no one has predetermined your life."
"If you are willing to look forward, all you see are infinite possibilities. But if you look backward, you can only see a single, fixed path. That path is what we call Fate. When we say Fate cannot be changed, it means the past cannot be changed."
"If you've been tricked into believing that resisting Fate means resisting a predetermined future forced upon you by others, then that is the true tragedy. Because in that case, what you are resisting is actually your past self. When you think you've succeeded, that is when the real tragedy begins. You have negated everything about yourself. Without the support of your past, you are nothing but a castle in the air. You won't even have the right to move forward anymore."