Chapter 600: Dream Traces Left in the Expansion Realm
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 600: Dream Traces Left in the Expansion Realm
"Whoa... crystals formed from such pure energy precipitation? Do these things really exist?"
At a mining site located nearest to the marked boundaries of Ninglan New City, the two teaching assistants who had partnered up for the trip stared at the expanse of pale blue crystal clusters, unable to suppress their awe.
Even as a terrifying wave of energy radiation washed over them, they simply cast protective spells and charged right in.
"What’s there to be so surprised about? Let’s get to work."
"You don't study alchemy, so you wouldn't understand. The energy crystals we use in alchemy usually require Natural White Crystal as a medium to carry transcendent energy. But this? This is transcendent energy itself! Just how terrifyingly high must the energy density be for transcendent crystals to precipitate naturally like this..." the girl marveled.
"I don't have time to listen to your rhapsodizing," the other girl replied dismissively, waving a hand to incinerate the tangled plants blocking their path.
The closer they got to the crystal mine, the more twisted and deformed the surrounding flora became. These plants were likely absorbing the transcendent energy and undergoing some form of mutation.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't use fire! We haven't even tested the energy properties of this mine yet. Are you trying to get us killed by using explosive fire elements? If you trigger a chain reaction, we're both dead!" Seeing her companion resort to spells just to save a bit of effort left the alchemist speechless.
"Tch. Nothing’s happened yet, has it? If you're going to test it, hurry up. You're wasting time."
"How did I end up on a team with you? If you don't have common sense, can't you at least have a brain?" the girl grumbled as she pulled out a set of equipment and began taking samples on the spot.
After a series of complex operations, she looked at the data she had recorded, cross-referencing it with the charts she had long since memorized. Finally, she reached a conclusion.
"The purity is staggering. It’s nearly at the theoretical limit of a laboratory setting..."
"Just give me the results. What do I need to watch out for?"
"This is a composite element crystal mine. The primary transcendent element is Water. Be grateful—the Fire element presence here is negligible."
"If the primary element is Water, how can there be any Fire elements at all?"
"It’s Water-Fire Element, not 'water and fire'! The material plane and the elemental energy plane are different, okay? In a stable state, Water-Fire elements can coexist! But once the balance is disrupted, an elemental clash occurs. This is common sense for anyone who’s touched energy alchemy."
"Why are you yelling at me? I’ve never touched alchemy. That hair-thinning hobby? I’m not touching it as long as I live."
"Suit yourself. If you want to be a magic artillery girl for the rest of your life, no one’s stopping you," the girl sighed. "Here are the mining rules: stop using those fire-based evocation spells. Try to use Water-based evocation for water-cutting, or use professional water-cutting alchemy equipment."
"Water-cutting? That sounds like a pain. What about you?"
"I’m going to take more samples to see the distribution of elemental energy across the mine. In an area this large, you can't expect the elements to be uniform everywhere. You stay in this area and stick to water-cutting. Don't touch anything I haven't marked—think about our safety for once."
"Got it, got it. Jeez..." The girl extended her hand, and a sphere of water manifested. She looked at the nearby crystal clusters, eager to start.
Meanwhile, the girl proficient in alchemy packed her things and stood up, heading excitedly toward another section.
To an alchemist, this place was paradise!
She could hardly fathom having access to so much transcendent energy of laboratory-grade purity. She immediately began conducting spot tests across the entire region, leaving the other girl to do the heavy lifting.
A crystal mine like this was destined to be impossible to harvest on a large scale using magic. The uneven energy density and elemental distribution meant that mass-produced, repetitive operations were out of the question; it required the guidance of a professional.
If some hothead tried to just start digging, they probably wouldn't even know how they died. Even using the wrong protective spell could cause physical damage.
This issue had been discussed during the teaching assistant meetings: one had to use a homologous energy protective spell to absorb the corresponding transcendent radiation. This requirement effectively disqualified lower-year students from even performing the manual labor of mining. They were still too weak; their mental strength wasn't enough to interfere with mana, meaning their protective spellbooks couldn't autonomously adjust their energy properties.
At that moment, the alchemy-specialist assistant finished analyzing another area and turned her gaze toward the very center of the mine.
The central area was undoubtedly the core where the mine had formed. In her mind, it would contain crystals that were infinitely close to theoretical purity.
And indeed, it was so. A massive crystal stood at the center like a blooming flower, with surrounding clusters radiating outward like petals. Such a crystal was the ultimate prize in her eyes.
"Hm? What’s this...?" She noticed a different-colored "impurity" in the center. Her intuition told her this was no ordinary flaw.
She carefully leaned against the crystal surface, peering at the fist-sized object embedded within. Finally, she connected it to something Teacher Lina had shown them.
"Is this... a Soul Crystal? Hey! Stop mining and get over here! I found a Soul Crystal!"
"What?!" Hearing her partner's call, the girl performing the water-cutting immediately stopped. "Are you sure it’s a Soul Crystal?"
After all, the value of an Unstable Soul Essence Condensate Crystal was far higher than these energy crystals. Moreover, it could provide a substantial boost, helping one elevate their life level!
Though they had asked their mentors and confirmed that Soul Crystals could indeed raise one's life level, they couldn't brainlessly catapult someone straight to the transcendent level. Even so, their value was unimaginable.
The two girls stood before the massive transcendent crystal at the heart of the mine, staring blankly at the fist-sized Soul Crystal inside.
"It’s only that big?"
"Yeah."
"Should I break it down? Still using water-cutting?"
"No, wait... fine, use water-cutting, but don't cut it out directly. Leave at least a thirty-centimeter buffer. I’ll use energy alchemy methods to..."
"Why so much trouble? Why not just cut it out?"
"Did you forget? The full name for a Soul Crystal is an 'Unstable Soul Essence Condensate Crystal.' If you use your crude methods, do you even want this thing anymore?"
"Fine." The girl huffed, suppressing her annoyance. Profit came first.
After a considerable effort, the two managed to remove the Soul Crystal along with its surrounding energy crystals. Only then did they begin to dissolve the outer shell of energy crystals protecting the soul essence.
"Wait... do you feel that? Something’s wrong."
The alchemist, who was using alchemy to dissolve the shell, suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.
"What’s wrong? Don't mess up at the finish line. If you're feeling sick, we'll take it back and finish there."
"Maybe... let’s take it back... I don't know why, but I feel lightheaded." The girl nodded, not daring to push further.
"Maybe your energy shield calibration is off? Did the radiation scramble your brains?"
"I’m more of a professional at energy analysis than you are. You're the one who’s been talking without a brain since we got here..." She stood up, one hand clutching her forehead, her vision still swimming.
"Say what you want, you're the one who dropped the ball first." The girl snorted, reaching out to sweep the Soul Crystal and the surrounding fragments into her storage equipment.
But just as she was about to store it, a pitch-black shadow emerged from the exposed soul essence!
"Holy—! What is that?!"
The sudden appearance startled her so much she jerked her hand back. She nearly unleashed an explosive spell out of reflex but forced herself to hold it back, remembering where they were. She valued her life, after all.
Then, both of them watched as the black, formless monster dove back into the Soul Crystal, devouring the soul essence like a parasite!
"Damn it! What kind of thing dares to eat my Soul Crystal!"
"Don't! Watch out!"
But before the angry strike could land, the black entity surged out again. Its formless body passed directly through both of them before vanishing into thin air. Both girls collapsed, their bodies falling uncontrollably to the ground.
As they fell, the space where the soul essence had been suddenly began to ripple. It was as if a drop of ink had fallen into water, staining the space and rapidly expanding. The original Soul Crystal gradually diminished, as if being gnawed away by an invisible mouth.
"What is going on?"
Two voices spoke, even though their bodies lay motionless on the ground.
"That... that’s my body! What’s happening? Am I dead? How is that possible?!"
As the rippling space enveloped the entire mining area, two transparent "bodies" appeared above the physical ones. They stood over themselves, watching their own forms lying on the dirt.
"This... I remember now. This is probably that."
"Which that? Just say it!"
"A Dream Space! We've been dragged into a Dream Space! Haven't you used a Primal Dream pod? This state is exactly how it feels to enter a dream!" The girl forced herself to stay calm and analyze the situation.
"How? We didn't enter a pod!"
"It must have been that monster..." The girl knelt down, looking at the Soul Crystal. It was now empty, leaving only the outer shell of energy crystals. "Feeding on soul essence... and dragging consciousness into a dream. It’s that! I read about it in a book—a dream life! No... this has happened before! The sleeping curse the new students went through... it’s a Nightmare. We’ve encountered a Nightmare."
"Nightmare or not, what do we do?!"
"We're cooked..."
"So there's no way? If those freshmen could find a way when they were trapped, why are we just waiting to die?"
"Among the freshmen affected back then was Yang Yuehan. You know who she is, right?"
"Tch... if a freshman could find a way, why can't we?"
"There must be a way, we just don't know it yet... We have to do something, or we really will just wait for death. Death... wait! This is a dream! If we die in a dream, maybe our consciousness can return to our bodies!"
"And what if dying in the dream means dying for real?!"
"Then we wait for someone to find our corpses and take them back for resurrection."
"F*ck! Why? We just wanted some materials! Why did we have to run into this!" the magic artillery girl shouted in frustration.
"This Dream Space... it’s different from the Primal Dream we use. We can still see reality. The dream is expanding... maybe if it spreads far enough, we'll run into someone else."
"Are we really just going to wait for rescue? We're teaching assistants!"
"Then calm down and help me test a few things. It’s just a dream. Are you going to back down just because things got difficult?"
"Who’s backing down! Tell me what to test, and hurry up. I don't want my body lying there using its undying nature to resist transcendent radiation forever!"
* * *
At the Omni-Link Main Network Tree.
After a long process of information integration, I had finally completed the data sharing within the Omni-Link Main Network Tree via the Tree of Great Knowledge.
However, the current state of the Omni-Link Main Network Tree... is hard to describe. It is in a vigorous growth phase, experiencing a second spring of sorts. But having lost the human-imposed order, the Plant Network System can no longer be structured through the tree in its current form.
To use an analogy, it’s as if the previous civilization was training the Omni-Link Main Network Tree to be an art student, but now that it’s broken free of their control, it’s chosen to be an athlete. Asking it to pick up a paintbrush now is impossible; it can't go back to the old path.
That said, the fundamental essence of the Omni-Link Main Network Tree has undergone a leap in quality. If I were to build a framework now, I could achieve a foundation of order far more terrifying than the previous Plant Network System. But... that would also take much more of my time.
Looking at this massive tree... another spark of inspiration flashed through my mind!
Since I can't reconstruct the old Plant Network System, then... I’ll just apply the system of my Tree of Great Knowledge!
Isn't this exactly what I had envisioned before—incorporating the Omni-Link Main Network Tree into my own Tree of Great Knowledge system? Moreover, this tree exists physically, making it perfect for what I’m currently experimenting with. I can simulate the link between the Tree of Great Knowledge and the Great Knowledge Seed, using the Omni-Link Main Network Tree to rebuild a "Plant Network."
This reconstructed "Plant Network" would simply inherit the name of its predecessor; its architecture and foundation would be entirely different.
I sighed and let the primitive rune dissipate. Next, I needed to expand my domain and use the order of Power of Knowledge to attempt to assimilate and transform the Omni-Link Main Network Tree.
I looked down at the people below. Though they were hiding far away from me, they were still watching my every move.
"You all should move even further back. I’m about to make a big move. If you get caught in the crossfire, don't blame me for not warning you. You have thirty minutes."
Standing in the air, I glanced at the gaze still fixed on me and spoke. My voice, amplified by magic, was piercing enough for everyone to hear. As for why I gave them thirty minutes, it was naturally because there were wounded, pregnant women, and others with limited mobility.
This was my final act of mercy toward them.
If my plan goes smoothly and succeeds, and if I’m in a good mood... I wouldn't mind completely perfecting this sanctuary for these people, allowing them to settle here permanently. After all, the Omni-Link Main Network Tree needs guardians, and there is no better form of protection than having people live here. I wouldn't mind giving them a hand—perhaps even providing them with powerful weapons and means to defend themselves.