Chapter 561: The Arrival of the Afuhemi Academy Students
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 561: The Arrival of the Afuhemi Academy Students
The bathwater was warm, bordering on hot, submerging me to the shoulders as it gently lapped against my neck.
While the bathroom here featured a bathtub rather than a sprawling luxury pool, its ergonomic design allowed me to feel completely relaxed once I reclined.
The water was dyed a faint blue by bath salts. Although the intended effects of such salts were essentially useless on me, I used them simply for the sake of novelty.
With no one daring to disturb me now, I grew bored enough to start checking the data from my Qi Observation Art and the real-time status of the Player I had marked earlier.
Truthfully, from the moment I first traded blows with Liliana, I had expected to cause a stir, but I hadn't anticipated such a massive commotion. Even so, those Players hadn't made a single move. They really were useless, even when handed a golden opportunity.
My battle with Liliana had drawn almost every eye in the vicinity and even tied up a significant portion of the auction preview's security forces. To not strike under such circumstances made me feel like those Players were holding out for something much bigger.
Or perhaps their target wasn't just the Heart of the Cold Wave. If that was the case, what else was there?
There were also… the Children of Destiny!
How many Children of Destiny would this auction gather?
I estimated that the Jack-of-all-trades Club would definitely invite the three from the Witch Academy. They wouldn't sacrifice the reputation they had spent so long building for the sake of petty interests. Regarding the invitation criteria for this auction, aside from the usual annual attendees, there was the current batch of freshmen. These invitations served as a form of recognition for those new students, but wasn't their perspective equally important?
Furthermore… there were the other academies.
Based on the simplified data provided by the Qi Observation Art, the Players had already locked onto their primary targets. From the current information, I could infer that their target was likely among the invitees and was using that status as a springboard to enter this invitation-only auction.
That was the gist of the macro-level information from the Qi Observation Art. The more I learned, the more detailed my interpretations became. As for the rest, it was naturally a matter of waiting. I wasn't in any hurry, anyway.
After closing my eyes to enjoy the warmth for a final moment, I rose from the tub and stepped into the shower to rinse off the bath salts.
With a snap of my fingers, the excess moisture vanished, and a thin nightgown draped itself over my body. I had to admit, Transformation Magic was incredibly convenient.
Once dressed, I flopped onto the soft, oversized bed. My wonderful night was just beginning.
However, the night was far from wonderful for others.
Tonight, any club with even a modicum of resources had managed to obtain recordings of the battle.
The members of the two major clubs never expected that a casual attempt at testing someone would bring them such a massive headache.
Currently, the ones most stressed were likely the members of the Witch Secret Realm Club. After all, the person who had fought the newcomer was, in name, one of theirs—and a Teaching Assistant level figure at that.
In the past, they would have been extremely cautious when testing someone of the Teaching Assistant rank. Furthermore, since everyone usually developed step-by-step, their growth trajectories at the Witch Academy were easy to verify. They generally knew exactly who they were dealing with.
But this time, they had to admit they had been reckless. Seeing that the opponent was merely a freshman who had been enrolled for half a year, they had impulsively set a violent trap. The opponent had responded by flipping the table and delivering a resounding slap to their faces, which was a far cry from what they had anticipated.
A person like this was destined to become a Transcendent Witch and stand far above them.
However… that didn't mean they lacked the qualifications to become Transcendent Witches themselves. In terms of probability, their group was among the most likely to achieve that rank.
Yet, many were hesitating to take that final step: the simple choice of promoting to Transcendent and leaving the Main World.
Humans cannot live without attachments. Those destined for success were almost always those with excellent family backgrounds and harmonious home lives; otherwise, how could they have been raised to be so healthy, outstanding, confident, and spiritual?
To ask such children to abandon everything they possessed to become so-called Transcendents—to discard their families and companions for the sake of power and strength—was a level of cold-heartedness they couldn't manage.
As for those families who treated their children as gambling chips or investments, those children had no advantages from the start. Hard work? Everyone worked hard.
But personality truly determined too much. Those who managed to struggle to the top from such backgrounds were destined to abandon their original families without hesitation the moment an opportunity arose.
Although the Witch Academy never stated it explicitly, among the students who chose to "graduate" rather than simply "complete their studies," those from poor family backgrounds were indeed the majority. Conversely, among those who could choose to promote to Transcendent but chose not to, children from happy families with living parents were the most numerous.
This spoke volumes.
The various Transcendent academies were well aware of this phenomenon, but none chose to intervene aggressively. It was impossible to interfere with, and overbearing intervention often led to rebellion. There was no need to do something so thankless.
This conclusion was the result of many Transcendent academies stubbornly trying and failing to change things.
This phenomenon stemmed from the dominant guidance and consciousness shaping of native life by the World Consciousness and the Ley Line Shackles. It was also known as "Shackle-type World Sense of Belonging."
This was also one of the reasons why Transcendent academies were generally hands-off with their students. There was no need to invest excessively in a specific student. When a student became outstanding, they were easily noticed by the World Consciousness, which would then designate them as a "resource-type talent." They would likely shine brilliantly within the Main World, and subsequently, the student would be guided to form various inseparable bonds with others to strengthen their sense of belonging to the Main World.
The World Consciousness used this method to forcefully interfere with individual will to combat the loss of talent.
During the stages when the World Script was not active, these people carried the flow of the World Luck.
Once the Script began, they still carried a portion of that Luck, but they would also become aids to the Children of Destiny. They were the invisible hands pushing the flow of Luck—or even the consumable resources that fueled the rise of a Child of Destiny.
* * *
Too many people lost sleep that night, and too many were driven to frenzy.
A new day arrived.
The hotel had been restored to its original state, exactly as promised. One could only wonder how many people had been worked to exhaustion during the night.
Still, one had to admire their efficiency.
On this new day, even more people arrived for the auction preview. Many had come specifically because of the news reports published the previous night.
When I went down for breakfast in the morning, I noticed that the way people looked at me had changed.
Their gazes were filled with awe and admiration, or they simply didn't dare to meet my eyes at all.
Perhaps this was the "fame effect" that followed a display of dominance.
If I had previously been a piece of cotton that anyone felt they could squeeze, I was now a powerhouse who could squeeze them into cotton at any moment.
The last person to provoke me had already been carried away. No one wanted to be the next unlucky guy ground into the dirt by a book.
I found this shift a bit difficult to accept at first. Being the center of attention wherever I went wasn't ideal. In short… there were gains and losses. At least no one would look for trouble in front of me anymore.
After enjoying a breakfast that suited my palate quite well, I ran into Jiao Xiaoshuang again.
Her arrival was not only to continue her duties as my exclusive receptionist but also to deliver an apology and compensation from the Jack-of-all-trades Club. They admitted that the incident was partly due to their negligence, which had ultimately led to such a disaster. However, they didn't breathe a word about "reparations."
Since the compensation was adequate, I naturally wouldn't pursue the matter. To my surprise, however, Jiao Xiaoshuang also brought another apology and compensation on behalf of someone else: a formal apology from the Witch Secret Realm Club.
The one who had written the apology letter was Tracy.
She was the Senior Sister who had taken the written and interview portions of the Teaching Assistant test in the same batch as me. She had become a Teaching Assistant just like I had, and I still remembered her.
In the letter, she explained the shared responsibility between the incident and their club, and she also apologized on Liliana's behalf for her recklessness.
Looking at the letter and the compensation… I had to admit, they knew how to handle social graces.
At the very least, my impression of that club improved slightly.
However, the moment they had conceived the idea of testing my strength, I knew we weren't the same kind of people. I wouldn't develop a genuine fondness for them just because of these petty favors.
Perhaps I would greet them with a smile the next time we met, but that was merely my own upbringing. If they wanted to use me, they wouldn't stand a chance.
Having experienced that provocation, I suddenly understood a truth: not falling into someone else's trap is also a manifestation of one's ability.
However, forced by circumstances, I would naturally enter the "trap" of the auction they had facilitated. That was because I had my own reasons. It remained to be seen who stood on a higher level; in the end, it was uncertain who would be using whom.
Moreover, I had come here with the mindset of an amusement seeker.
After handling these trivial matters, I returned to the quiet Book Gallery to resume my studies.
I realized that if it had been the old me facing such a major event, I likely would have found it difficult to focus on my books. It was just like during the competition, when I couldn't bring myself to read about Runology while sitting in the spectator stands.
But now, I found I was gradually becoming capable of it. Internal urgency was no longer an excuse, and I no longer feared the anxiety of reaching a critical point in my reading just as a scheduled time arrived.
Because I knew that as long as I wanted to keep reading, time would set aside a suitable window for me.
Not long into the morning, the hotel welcomed another group of guests.
A uniform motorcade pulled into the hotel grounds. The waiters outside were waiting as if they had been prepared for this.
Dozens of elegant figures stepped out of the cars as the waiters opened the doors. The morning sun spilled over them as they adjusted their light robes, which were cinched with exquisite belts embroidered with their academy's crest.
Upon disembarking, they instinctively centered themselves around the few individuals at the front. These guests from afar were the Forest Elves of Afuhemi Academy.
Afuhemi Academy had also been invited to this auction.
Under the guidance of the waiters and receptionists, they entered the hotel in an orderly fashion, presenting their invitations as they went.
Their steps were light and graceful, like elves who had accidentally wandered into a city, yet they still carried that unique elven aura.
The people around them cast curious glances, wondering what kind of guests warranted such a display.
The elves seemed accustomed to such attention, maintaining their composed expressions. Only a few of the younger boys and girls in the back seemed slightly uncomfortable, though they didn't appear too constrained under the leadership of their seniors.
The elves at the front were clearly familiar with the subsequent arrangements. They stepped into the lobby with grace, politely nodding to the receptionists and passersby. Both the guests and the staff were captivated by their elegance upon this first meeting.
The receptionists quickly processed their paperwork. As guests from afar, they naturally needed to be settled into their accommodations before the auction concluded.
The elves didn't feel the need to maintain a cold, aloof elegance among themselves; they gathered in groups, chatting and laughing. They discussed the upcoming auction, recent hot topics, and guided the freshmen who were visiting for the first time to help them get used to the atmosphere.
After completing the necessary procedures, many of the elves dispersed into smaller groups.
Faced with elves of such temperament, many people felt the urge to approach them. Whether it was the noble-looking male elves or the poised and elegant female elves, their appearances hit every mark of human beauty.
It wasn't until several people plucked up the courage to approach and were rebuffed that they realized elves were also a proud race.
But proud as they were, they would still come to an auction hosted on the Witches' home turf for the sake of high-quality goods.
"Beibei, are you still worried?" At that moment, a tall elven girl approached another girl with a look of concern. The girl called Beibei was Yao Beijuan, a freshman from Afuhemi Academy.
As one of the few Children of Destiny at Afuhemi Academy, she was destined to become a powerhouse at the very least, so she naturally received more attention from the upperclassmen.
The source of Yao Beijuan's worry was her parents. Just as the school term was about to begin, they had been involved in a sudden "accident"—a traffic collision that had landed them in the hospital.
It wasn't an accident; it was premeditated!
Both of her parents were in the hospital. If they hadn't been lucky, she might never have seen them again.
When the matter was reported to Afuhemi Academy, it was immediately issued as an investigation task. However, several days had passed without any news. For now, her parents were under the protection of the academy's sphere of influence, which allowed her to feel somewhat relieved for the time being.
"Yeah… but let's not talk about that. I believe in the academy's strength."
"Then stop wearing such a long face. Try to be happy," the elven Senior Sister comforted her, her gaze then shifting toward the approaching representatives from the Witch Academy.
There was a reason why Afuhemi Academy had come in such a large, organized group this time. Usually, they would come individually or not at all, as traveling here was quite a hassle.
The reason so many had come this time was to confirm something.
A few days ago, they had received a partial information leak from the Witch Academy's Jack-of-all-trades Club.
The club seemed to have information regarding the desperadoes currently active outside the Transcendent academies. They suspected these people were the same ones who had attacked Yao Beijuan's family, which was why they had brought her along.
"How about we go grab some breakfast first? We arrived so early and had to take a car here; we haven't eaten yet. Afterward, I'll walk with you through the auction preview. How does that sound?"
"Mm, okay…" Yao Beijuan nodded, but she looked distracted, clearly preoccupied with other thoughts.