Chapter 716: Ideas for Self-Generated Mana
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 716: Ideas for Self-Generated Mana
After some polite small talk, I headed over to Mentor Belica’s side.
At the moment, Mentor Belica and her team were busy crafting a spellbook—specifically, the "Incubation Rebirth" resurrection spell we had left behind earlier.
According to Sister Belica, it would likely take a few more days to complete the spellbook.
After all, this was essentially a brand-new derivative of a resurrection spell, though it paled in comparison to the actual Reincarnation spell.
"Xiao Han~" Belica spoke up during a break in the crafting process, seizing the opportunity to ask, "Since your laboratory is so large, I assume you wouldn't mind if we ran a few small experiments of our own here?"
"Eh? You want to use our lab, Sister Belica? May I ask what kind of experiments?"
"Oh, just some minor projects. They won't cause you much trouble. Just some subject research. I noticed your utilization rate for this lab is quite low, so I thought it’d be a waste to let the space sit idle."
"Ah? Is it because making the spellbook is going to take so long that you’re forced to choose this option?"
"You're overthinking it. I simply failed to get a lab of my own approved, so I wanted to mooch off yours. In the words of Dean Mei, I’m just a 'lowly spellbook crafter.' She even said my research subjects have no value and that others have already studied them, suggesting I’d be better off just borrowing a video tape to watch... I just want to replicate it once with my own hands, is that so wrong?"
"Uh... alright then. Feel free, Sister Belica, as long as you aren't afraid of us disturbing you," I agreed awkwardly.
When Yi Rui mentioned earlier that they couldn't get a lab even with a mentor, I thought she was joking. It turned out to be true...
"This is your laboratory to begin with; how could you be 'disturbing' us? Don't worry—I won't take advantage of you during this time. I am a Transcendent Witch with a wealth of knowledge, after all. If you run into anything you don't understand, you can ask me directly. If you have a spell you want turned into a spellbook, you can come to me too. When it comes to making spellbooks, I’m a pro!"
"Mhm, then I’ll be in your care, Sister Belica," I said quickly.
Internally, however, I couldn't help but snark a bit. Didn't you just call yourself a 'lowly spellbook crafter' a second ago?
But there was no need to dwell on such details.
After briefly partitioning the laboratory into zones to ensure we wouldn't interfere with each other, the research into Self-Generated Mana finally resumed now that I had arrived.
At this moment, everyone was brimming with motivation.
Even so, we spent a significant amount of time organizing our current research data.
Our progress was still at the starting point of the "Incubation Rebirth" spell.
Deriving the Incubation Rebirth spell was intended to make the process of body reshaping easier and more convenient.
However, Self-Generated Mana was clearly more complex than mere body reshaping. Back then, I had achieved my metamorphosis through Molting Incubation because I had awakened as a Body Cultivator. The body reshaping from Self-Awakened Body Cultivation reaches deep into the very essence of life; I had accomplished that feat almost by accident.
Therefore, even if I replicated the methods to simulate the Molting Incubation process, it would be nothing more than a hollow imitation if I didn't have a way to let the subject reach their own life essence.
Furthermore, there was another noteworthy point—a key focus I had always viewed as a potential breakthrough.
When I first developed the ability of Self-Generated Mana, the amount of mana I could produce was... a single thread.
But now, my body produced mana every second of every day, which was then absorbed and assimilated by my Mana Source.
If that freely radiating mana were allowed to overflow, it would lead to severe consequences.
As for what those consequences were...
I vaguely recalled Dean Mei telling me that before the subject of Mana Sources existed, witches relied entirely on Self-Generated Mana to control their power. This often led to mana leakage, which in turn caused constant calamities. This was why witches were generally regarded as the source of disaster.
Leaking mana was inherently dangerous.
It was as troublesome as leaking fire elements causing a blaze.
And what was mana?
Mana was the highest energy level of transcendent energy that a void lifeform could control. The consequences of it going out of control were unimaginable.
"Xiao Han, not to meddle, but you're researching Self-Generated Mana, right?"
At this point, Mentor Belica, seeing me lost in thought, couldn't help but interject.
"Hmm? Yes. Do you have some insights, Mentor Belica?" I was a bit surprised that she chose this moment to strike up a conversation.
"Actually, regarding this research, there have been groups of witches who studied it before. At least, before I came to the Main World, I saw some sisters who took a sudden whim to research Self-Generated Mana."
"Eh?! Really?" My eyes widened. I hadn't expected other witches to have researched this! This seemed different from what Dean Mei had told me. "Were there any results?"
"None~ If there had been results, the news would have spread throughout the void long ago. You might even be using them right now."
"I see..." To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. "I suppose that makes sense."
"I was curious and participated back then, so I learned a few things. But they disbanded later. It really was a pity."
"May I ask why they suddenly disbanded? Witches have eternal lifespans; they wouldn't just give up halfway, would they? And they were doing such a great thing—if they succeeded, it would be a supreme honor." I asked, puzzled.
"That's true..." Belica scratched her head, seemingly lost in memory. "Sorry, it’s been a long time. The reason they disbanded... it seemed to be related to their own abilities. They simply had no way to start their research on the existence of Self-Generated Mana."
"Self-Generated Mana is like a talent that automatically generates after one promotes to a Transcendent Witch. Trying to research it is like trying to take apart a box with no seams. They concluded that unless they could acquire the ability of Self-Generated Mana through a method other than automatic generation, they would never be qualified to study it."
"So that's how they thought?" After hearing Mentor Belica's words, I suddenly understood why Dean Mei said she believed I might actually pull it off. It was because I had acquired it through means other than automatic generation. Could Dean Mei have researched Self-Generated Mana alongside those witches in the past?
But it made sense. Self-Generated Mana was a foundational ability of the witch race, and it was universal across the entire species. Trying to research it was like an ordinary person trying to study a nation's greatest secret weapon.
With that analogy... the difficulty suddenly felt much higher.
"Yes, that is indeed what they said. I hope it gives you some inspiration. After all, I know that your Self-Generated Mana didn't come from the physical talent automatically granted upon becoming a Transcendent Witch, but through other means. Perhaps you really can create a miracle."
"Thank you for the encouragement, Sister Belica. I believe we can succeed too."
"It's nothing~ just something I witnessed once. I hope it helps. Oh! I remember a few more things. Just listen and use them as a reference; don't take them too seriously. After all, the experiences I’m sharing are all summaries from failures."
"It's fine, Sister. Please, go ahead," I said.
"Even though they couldn't find a way to start researching Self-Generated Mana, they could still perform tests on the ability itself. From the beginning, their hypothesis was that if Self-Generated Mana were to be born, the process must be gradual, rather than the type that suddenly appears upon promotion."
"Gradual?" I repeated the word several times. I had to admit, they were likely right. I felt the same way.
Witches were a race born with Self-Generated Mana. Their starting point was so high that researching the lower levels was exceptionally difficult. It wasn't that they lacked ability, but rather that they lacked the process and the experience; they couldn't imagine how it worked.
Thus, they were left with no way to begin.
But my existence lowered that threshold once again. I had experienced the entire process from the very first state of possessing Self-Generated Mana all the way to the point before promoting to Transcendent.
I could say with certainty that it was a gradual process.
From that single thread of mana back then to the continuous stream I had now.
This was indeed the completion of the process of the Self-Generated Mana ability going from "existing" to "complete."
Transcendent Witches went from "complete" to "higher."
But what trapped me now was the process of going from "nothing" to "something."
Like those Transcendent Witches, I was stuck before a threshold I hadn't consciously experienced.
Transcendent Witches promoted to Transcendent and arrived at the platform of initial "complete" Self-Generated Mana, while I had relied on Self-Awakened Body Cultivation to arrive at the platform of "possessing" Self-Generated Mana.
Therefore, the process of "from nothing to something" must be hidden within the power of Self-Awakened Body Cultivation.
So... if I were to make a bold hypothesis, could the process of going from nothing to something also be considered a gradual one?
Though "something" and "nothing" are distinct stages, there must be a process of accumulation between them before a stage-like change occurs.
So, what was that change?
This was the question I had been pondering, but my thoughts were currently a mess. I had been looking for the cause and inspiration within myself, but that was the wrong approach!
If I were treated as an isolated case, how would a normal person obtain Self-Generated Mana?
Accumulating a Mana Source and promoting to Transcendent would be enough!
And that would leap across all the intermediate steps in one go!
But what I wanted to do was refine that distinction, allowing someone to possess this ability ahead of time.
So, what was the fundamental driver of this entire process?
It was Witchification.
Witchification is a Body Cultivation system, so Self-Generated Mana cannot be separated from the path of Body Cultivation.
In the Witchification Body Cultivation system, Self-Awakened Body Cultivation isn't a hard requirement to obtain Self-Generated Mana, so the threshold for obtaining it jumps all the way to the Transcendent level.
By acquiring Self-Awakened Body Cultivation, I had lowered that threshold.
The "Truth Witch" who integrated the ability of Self-Awakened Body Cultivation into the witch race's system must have also looked at it from a higher perspective and made it downward compatible.
Perhaps Transcendent wasn't the only threshold, but it was certainly the most cost-effective one. You get Self-Generated Mana as a bonus for becoming a witch, and since the baseline for a witch is Transcendent, researching anything below that level would be a thankless task for a Truth Witch.
No wonder Dean Mei said that trying to convince a Truth Witch to research Self-Generated Mana below the Transcendent level would get me killed; she likely had this in mind.
But as I followed this line of thought, I felt as though I was getting closer and closer to the correct answer.
I just needed to find the right logic and method, and everything would fall into place.
Furthermore... there was one thing I hadn't touched yet.
That was the thing born from my life essence, from the combination of Self-Awakened Body Cultivation and Self-Generated Mana... the Totem!
Yes, that Totem was currently only half-finished.
One half belonged to Self-Awakened Body Cultivation, and the other half belonged to Self-Generated Mana.
I had every reason to suspect that these two interconnected abilities were the root of the Totem's birth.
Unfortunately, no one could teach me how to study or understand a Totem.
However, if I could manifest the complete Totem, perhaps I could discover some clues.
"By the way, Sister Belica, your experiments haven't started yet, have they?" I asked suddenly after figuring things out.
After all, the commotion caused by a Totem was far too great. If I accidentally tore a Void Rift, who could handle that?
"Of course not. We're still helping you perfect this spellbook~ Besides, we haven't even prepared the equipment and materials for our experiments. We wouldn't prepare everything before even getting your permission, would we?" Belica said.
"That's good. Um, I’m going to experiment with something in a bit. it might help push our upcoming experiments forward, but the commotion might be quite large—similar to when I was in the Expansion Realm."
"Like in the Expansion Realm?"
Belica asked in confusion. She hadn't gone to the Expansion Realm back then, so she wasn't clear on the details.
But Yi Rui and the others were different.
They remembered Xiao Han saying something very similar back then.
And then... she had caused such a massive scene that it even triggered a standoff between multiple schools!
They would never forget that sight.
"What I mean is, I might trigger a Void Rift in a moment. It’ll be a bit loud."
"A Void Rift? Xiao Han, what are you planning... wait, you're going to use the Totem again. Oh, you mean that incident!" Belica reacted quickly. Although she didn't know exactly what happened in the Expansion Realm, she knew that Xiao Han had mastered a Totem and caused a disturbance there.
"Right. It seems Sister Belica knows a thing or two after all."
"Of course. That's a Totem!" Speaking of the Totem, a hint of envy appeared in Belica's eyes. "But Xiao Han... does that Totem have anything to do with the research on Self-Generated Mana? Do you have to experiment with it?"
"Oh, my Totem is likely related to both Self-Awakened Body Cultivation and Self-Generated Mana. I suspect this Totem was birthed by those two abilities, so I want to try a different approach and look for a breakthrough there."
"Well then, alright. Do you need me to help you? A Void Rift is no joke; one mistake and it could mean permanent death."
"It's fine~ I won't die that easily," I said with a wave of my hand and a smile. After all, I had the Soul Dream. Even if my body couldn't be saved, my soul could hide within the Soul Dream.
But... mentioning the Soul Dream made me think of something else.
The two abilities carried by my life essence and the Totem... I wondered if I could experiment with them inside the Soul Dream?
However, I wasn't about to mindlessly attempt such a dangerous and unknown action. That would be irresponsible to myself.
"Forget it, I’ll keep watch nearby. After all, if something happens to you, Xiao Han, I won't be able to mooch off this lab anymore," she said, finally staying behind under a casual excuse.
"Then... thanks, Sister~"