Chapter 693: "Disaster Day" for the Teaching Assistants
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 693: "Disaster Day" for the Teaching Assistants
The meeting didn't spend much time detailing the specifics of the final joint exam. Or rather, because this exam adopted a new model, the rules were kept straightforward to ensure the most direct performance results and to avoid unnecessary complications.
In general terms, it was like a PVE mob-grinding game.
It also served as a "money-making" channel for the lower-grade students at the end of the year. In this exam, any prey hunted belonged to the students.
Of course... the meat of those mutant beasts in the Expansion Realm wasn't worth much. Only certain materials tainted by energy could be sold as common alchemy materials, fetching a few dozen credits per pound at most.
As for the meat... most mutant beast flesh was inedible for ordinary people. Even the upper-grade students with their Immortality could try it, but they weren't about to go looking for trouble by eating it.
Still, for students who faced high expenses and had little to no source of income, this money was more than enough. At the very least, it was a faster way to earn cash than working a part-time job on campus.
After explaining the [Transcendent Knowledge] Fragments and the "Power Network" established by those seeds within the Expansion Realm, the meeting reached the stage most teaching assistants were concerned about.
Namely... the question of whether the Expansion Realm would remain open.
The answer was exactly as expected: it was closing.
The vacation period following the final joint exam would be their final window to hand over their affairs to the local forces in the Expansion Realm.
"Teacher Lina, is there really no room for negotiation? We've put so much effort into the Expansion Realm..."
"And you've gained just as much in return," Teacher Lina retorted mercilessly, shutting down the girl who had stood up in her excitement. The girl was left speechless.
Indeed, what they had gained was far more than they had ever expected!
They were the first batch of "pioneers," enjoying the most primitive and easily accessible resources. They had drafted rules and contracts that favored them most, established highly profitable conglomerates, and built their foundations on refugees who only asked for food and shelter, exploiting the most helpless labor force.
Of course, that was the objective view of their actions. In their own eyes, they were saviors acting out of righteousness; they were simply enjoying a freedom unfettered by rules on a desolate land.
Teacher Lina didn't bother arguing. When someone does something, they will always find countless reasons to justify it—whether those reasons are high-sounding, righteous, or a complete inversion of the truth.
"Don't waste my time with nonsense," Teacher Lina said in a low voice. "Every teaching assistant involved in the Expansion Realm must evacuate by the final moment of this semester. This was the Witch Contract you signed at the very beginning; its duration lasts until the end of the term."
"For those willing to participate in the special dispatch mission for this final joint exam, that deadline is extended to the end of the semester break. That will give you ample time to complete the handover with the Expansion Realm forces."
"Sign the contract that was just distributed. Let me emphasize one thing: the Academy is not forcing anyone to sign. However, those who choose not to sign can leave right now, and the Expansion Realm will be closed to you forever. But if you sign and ultimately violate the contract, everything you obtained in the Expansion Realm must be returned in its entirety. The binding force of the contract will ensure you don't walk away with a single copper coin."
Teacher Lina's hardened stance immediately put immense pressure on the room.
Many TAs complained internally, some even cursing under their breath. "Not forcing us," they thought—they didn't have a choice at all...
But nothing could change the established course of events.
Everyone stared at the contracts before them. For the moment, no one stood up to leave. They didn't want to walk away like that, because if they did, they would truly be severed from the Expansion Realm forever.
Yet, if they signed... their lives wouldn't be easy either. It was as if they were standing between two cliffs; neither signing nor refusing offered a good outcome.
While the crowd hesitated, the sound of a contract burning echoed through the room, drawing many eyes.
Someone had signed!
However, when they saw that the first person to sign was that "outlier," Yang Yuehan, the onlookers were disappointed.
In their minds, this person's signature meant nothing. She was fundamentally different from them! They weren't even the same kind of person.
But a moment later, several more people signed—Lin Yi, Lifaeya, and the others.
Lin Yi saw things clearly. she knew she had no choice, so why agonize over it?
As for Lifaeya, she saw how quickly I signed and followed suit. She was even a step faster than Lin Yi, making her the second teaching assistant in the entire hall to sign.
After signing, she leaned back in her chair with a smug, leisurely expression, as if mocking everyone else for being cowards.
On the stage, Lina didn't mind Lifaeya's flamboyant display. In fact, at a moment like this, she rather liked these unconventional children.
Soon, a few more people seemed to make up their minds and signed the contract. Among this small group was Liliana.
Even with these people leading the way, the majority remained indecisive.
The "special dispatch" mission for the final joint exam described in the contract was simply too agonizing for them to accept.
It was exactly as Teacher Lina had "mocked" at the start of the meeting: some of the TAs present might not even be able to beat a lower-grade student if both were given nothing but a Fireball Spellbook.
They had become intoxicated by the "false strength" fabricated by powerful spells.
And their dispatch mission was to participate in the final joint exam as teaching assistants and become "hunting targets."
They were to be rare, high-value bonus targets for the exam.
Furthermore, once the exam began, they would sign a restrictive contract. They would be unable to use their own power and would be forced to use the same Power Network as the lower-grade students!
This undoubtedly piled an mountain of pressure onto them!
If they were allowed to keep their original strength, they wouldn't be afraid. Even if every student in the exam hunted them at once, most of them felt they could take on everyone.
But the problem was that they couldn't use their own power.
The Power Network... that game-like qualification for players. They knew all about it; that level of power was incredibly weak.
If they were forced to use that power, they might not even be able to protect themselves. If they were surrounded, there would be nowhere to run.
Although the exam area covered the entire Expansion Realm, given their current situation, they would likely only wander within the Ninglan Territory. Leaving Ninglan was essentially leaving the "safe zone." The mutant beasts outside moved in packs!
Going outside was actually more dangerous. Unless they reached a shelter outside Ninglan, but those shelters weren't under the rules they had established. Heaven knew what dangers they might encounter. Those people were basically "players" with the Power Network; they weren't opponents a single TA could handle.
And... this wasn't a game you could just quit.
Because there was so much to consider, many found it difficult to make a decision.
Would they leave in disgrace, or face the unknown they were too afraid to confront?
But no matter how many excuses they made, there was only one underlying reason!
They lacked the confidence to maintain their superiority under equal power.
They had put on the robes of a teaching assistant, and now they lacked the courage to take them off.
By now, I had already finished signing the contract.
I could feel the binding force of the contract attaching itself to my body. It was a terrifying power, nearly impossible to resist, a restriction originating from some "source" I couldn't quite identify. It wasn't a "forced" restriction, but a "voluntary" one inherent to the contract model. If that volition wasn't present, the contract couldn't be signed.
After all, due to their content and stipulations, Witch Contracts were never as simple as just signing a name. Without "volition," it wouldn't be a "contract" anymore.
I could feel that after signing, the binding force began to "circle" the restricted power ranges. First was the Mana Source, then the Spellbooks, and then... the Great Spellbooks.
That's right, even the Great Spellbooks were restricted. Even the Tree of Great Knowledge, which had already become part of my own ability, was included.
But it didn't stop there; it even included my Body Cultivation power.
Of course, "Body Cultivation power" referred to power at the Transcendent level. My inherent physical fitness, Life Level, and Immortality were not included.
Thus, all powers, including Domains, were "prohibited."
My Body Cultivation abilities were reduced to my original physical fitness, along with my Five Senses, Heart Sense, and the prototype of my Time Sense.
Because these abilities weren't "powers," but "perception channels."
The contract prohibited all forms of "Transcendent level" power—whether owned, held, acquired, or buffed—leaving everyone with only their most basic "self."
This wasn't surprising. Witches held Spellbooks and Mana Sources; Elves had natural power and inherited Elven Magic; Wizards mastered knowledge and used Wizard Tools to leverage Transcendent power; Holy Angels were buffed by Holy Light and Angel Halos; and the guys from the Beast Academy had blood-qi from their internal Body Cultivation... This contract naturally had to account for many different academies.
I was no exception.
Within this contract, I felt a trace of the "Self-Sealing Art" that Sister Natalie had taught me.
These powers about to be bound by the contract belonged to me. As long as I didn't sign, as long as I didn't "volunteer," they wouldn't be restricted. Perhaps that was the wonder of a "contract."
The binding force of the contract would take full effect the moment the exam began. For now, I could use my power normally.
As for this "fair competition" mode, it was indeed a challenge for me.
If we were talking about who was restricted the most by this challenge, it would probably be me, wouldn't it?
I looked toward Teacher Lina and met her gaze. She actually gave me a slight smile.
I could read a lot into that smile.
Perhaps there was also a warning for me in that smile.
I was the person who had been enrolled for the shortest time, and my "accumulation" was the thinnest—at least, that was how I appeared in terms of combat.
Thinking back to when I fought Tan Han, that was when I established my combat keynote: "Crushing."
I had tried many methods, from initial combat power crushing to combat technique crushing, then tactical crushing, and finally shifting to what I did now: crushing through the research and mastery of Transcendent arts.
I admit I don't have much experience, but I accept this challenge.
A test of tactics, reaction, planning, prediction, and all-around ability... Just thinking about it is quite a hassle.
For some reason, this "care" from Teacher Lina felt like that overbearing concern where "your mother thinks you're cold."
But I didn't mind. After all, it was a rare experience, and isn't experience the most precious thing in life?
Maybe Teacher Lina just wanted me to make up for the regret of missing out on fighting classmates of the same level.
Meanwhile, the perspective shifted back to the other teaching assistants.
The longer the silence dragged on, the more the atmosphere pressured them.
The Academy's blatant targeting of the TAs showed its "dissatisfaction" with the "Student TA" group.
This forced them to connect the current situation to the TAs' outside families and their little schemes. They were fully convinced that this was a "warning."
Perhaps even an "ultimatum"?
But regardless, they were going to have to suffer through this. Those who thought they had figured it out signed the contract silently after coming to terms with it.
Those who hadn't figured it out were still trapped in resentment—resentment that they had contributed labor and resources to help the Expansion Realm, only for the Academy to turn on them. Not only did they have to hand over the "foundation" they had worked for, but they also had to make fools of themselves in the final exam and even serve as stepping stones for lower-grade students.
But... whether that was a foundation they had built or an insatiable desire they couldn't fill, perhaps they couldn't even see clearly themselves anymore.
The Transcendent Witches, however, wouldn't argue with them. Most races that tried to argue with the Transcendent Witches had vanished into the void. In the Main World... things were much the same.
However... for now, the Great Weakening Spell and the various Deans and Nameless Witch Scholars were keeping things suppressed.
But the repair of the Expansion Realm was both an opportunity for the Main World and a sign that cracks were appearing in the suppression of the Great Weakening Spell.
Finally, as the last person completed the signing under the weight of everyone's gaze, the meeting finally came to an end.
No one chose to withdraw, and the Witch Mentors weren't afraid of their resentment.
This step was equivalent to completely tearing away the veil that the "teaching assistant" identity had cast over the Witch Academy. It destroyed the "mindless myth" of the TA status among the students and subtly encouraged them to accept the concept that the power of Mana Sources and Spellbooks was merely an "external tool."
Of course, more than anything, it provided a "fair" environment and platform rather than a place of privilege. By guiding the current conflicts and oppositions, many goals could be achieved at once.
Furthermore, if truly capable TAs performed brilliantly, they would still be recognized by the students.
The Witch Academy had developed in a willful and savage manner for too long. Now, it needed to follow the general trend and weave an order for its own educational enterprise.