Chapter 731: World Fragments and Indigenous People
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 731: World Fragments and Indigenous People
"A World Fragment?!"
Upon hearing that description, even someone like me, who had little grasp of true value, felt my eyes instantly sharpen!
"Yes, a World Fragment. Make no mistake, this is a piece of the former Main World. As the first of the three top transcendent races to fight their way into the Main World, the most valuable things they could seize were its fragments. Even now, these remain legacy-grade items for those transcendent academies."
The Dean carefully introduced the concept of World Fragments to me, revealing the truth behind them. To describe something as a "legacy-grade asset" was enough to prove its immense rarity.
"Then... since the Witch Academy came later..." I quickly followed the logic after listening.
"Naturally, we didn't get to snatch any. However, Witches generally don't fight over those. Remember when I told you that among the Witch race, there is a group of Pioneer Witches who explore the boundaries of the Void?"
"Uh... I think I remember." I nodded tentatively, though the impression wasn't very deep. I hadn't even understood the concept of World Fragments until now. But soon, I connected it to something else. "Um... are the Witch Secret Realms here in the academy also World Fragments?"
"While they may seem like independent spaces, the Witch Secret Realms of the academy are created by directly cutting and shaping space itself. It’s a bit complicated to explain... I’ll just share the information directly with your Tree of Great Knowledge." Dean Mei, finding a verbal explanation too tedious and time-consuming, opted for the most convenient method.
"Okay, thank you, Sister Mei." I nodded, preparing to receive this influx of new information.
Soon, the data flowed into my Tree of Great Knowledge like a rushing stream.
The first set of information to unfold concerned the Witch Secret Realms.
Just as the Dean said, these secret realms were shaped from intercepted space. They were essentially spaces, but far more advanced than storage equipment. One could grow plants, raise creatures, or even create a small-scale biosphere within them. They could be turned into amusement parks or harsh trial grounds.
However, these secret realms required maintenance. Essentials for life—such as oxygen and food—the balance of the ecosystem, and even lighting required regular upkeep.
The most critical aspect was the simulation of light. A secret realm was so small it couldn't even compare to a fraction of a star. Therefore, all secret realms within the Witch Academy shared a single simulated solar system. Even the starry night sky was a product of specialized environmental shaping.
Only a few completely enclosed secret realms, like specific trial spaces, didn't require these day-night cycles, but they still demanded maintenance—sometimes even more complex than the standard ones.
Overall... maintaining a Witch Secret Realm was an incredibly laborious task.
This was how the Witch Secret Realm Club, responsible for overseeing these operations, came to be.
As long as the secret realms functioned normally and the club didn't cross the academy's bottom line, the administration didn't interfere with their operations. This undoubtedly granted them immense latent power.
The recent Teaching Assistant Hunt had swept up several teaching assistants within the Witch Secret Realm Club.
It wasn't just those who personally participated in the plot against me who were targeted; this was a settling of old scores across the board.
Essentially, every influential club or organization within the Witch Academy was implicated. Groups like the Witch Secret Realm Club and the Jack-of-all-trades Club, which had official ties to the academy, were the primary targets—the kind that required school-wide announcements.
Even the Pleasure Street and the Black Market Street associated with the Jack-of-all-trades Club were undergoing "rectification."
Many students were grumbling about this, especially regarding the crackdown on Pleasure Street, which left many senior sisters heartbroken... though none were foolish enough to actually complain on the Academy Network.
Returning to the main topic: after the secret realms, the information moved on to World Fragments.
In Witch terminology, a World Fragment is a product of a shattered world. Through the process of "Stellar Alchemy," it is refined into an independent dungeon space.
Of course, they can be used without refinement, but within the "standardized procedures" of the Witch race, alchemists are employed to perform this process.
Once refined, these dungeon spaces generally fall into three categories.
The first is the most common: the "Round Sky and Square Earth" type of self-contained world.
These small internal worlds have simulated suns and moons. This model is suitable for smaller World Fragments. However, even the smallest ones consist of a flat continent with a simulated sun and moon orbiting it, so these dungeon spaces can only be so small.
The second type is for larger World Fragments.
The world within the fragment is a planetary sphere. The entire continent is the largest celestial body, with a simulated sun and moon orbiting it. If the creatures living there proposed a geocentric theory, they would technically be correct.
This is also the simplest module for Stellar Alchemy to refine because its structure is very regular.
The third type consists of custom World Fragments designed for specific purposes—for instance, a world entirely of fire or water, used for raising elemental lifeforms.
When the Dean passed this information to me, she also included a description of the fragment she intended to give me.
The World Fragment I was about to receive originated from a former Expansion Realm of the Main World. It wasn't particularly large and consisted of a naturally flat continent, falling into the first category of fragments.
This fragment came from the Wizard Academy.
As for why it came from them—through their continuous information gathering, the Witch Academy had determined that the Wizard Academy was likely the party that leaked the Void coordinates of the game world. Furthermore, the anomalies within the game world were likely their handiwork as well.
The transcendent witchcraft possessed by the Wizard Academy, along with the reputation and deeds of the Transcendent Wizard Alliance in the Void, wasn't enough to serve as evidence, but it was enough to justify suspicion.
They possessed means of communicating with other worlds that were on par with the Witch race. Looking across the Main World, the Wizard Academy was the prime suspect among the transcendent races capable of easily establishing contact with that world.
Those wizards, who leveraged transcendence through knowledge and mental power to bolster their Witch Power, were a notorious existence in the Void. Starting as humans with no special traits or bloodline legacies, they were a human alliance that touched the transcendent through sheer wisdom.
The Wizard Academy used this World Fragment to quell the current suspicions and the series of events that followed.
The exchange essentially went like this: the Witches told the Wizards, "You're finished. We know it was you. Once we find the evidence and shove it in your face, we're going to destroy you."
The Wizards knew the Witches were currently fuming and sought to quickly pacify their anger. By offering some benefits, they hoped the Witches would ignore their little maneuvers in the game world and stop using the incident as leverage in the future.
In the end, the Witches hesitated for only a moment before agreeing.
Then... shortly after agreeing, the Wizard Academy realized they had been played. The person they wanted dead wasn't dead, and the Witches' "fury" was largely an act.
But the World Fragment they gave away was very real...
One could only imagine how stifled the Wizard Academy felt right now!
Of course, the other transcendent academies weren't having a good time either; they just weren't being targeted as severely as the Wizards.
"Xiao Han, are you familiar with the Power of Faith?"
As I was digesting this new information, Dean Mei spoke up at the appropriate moment.
"I know a little, but not much," I responded promptly.
The concept of the Power of Faith had been mentioned briefly by Dean Mei when she first entrusted the Fool's Dream to me. Later, I had gathered some additional information through the Tree of Great Knowledge, but my understanding remained shallow.
It was mostly information regarding ascending to godhood through faith, but I couldn't guarantee its accuracy.
"Why did you suddenly ask about that, Sister Mei?"
"Just a casual inquiry. After all, it relates to dungeon spaces. If Witches own a dungeon space and don't use it to raise productive flora or fauna, they usually use it as a residence for their believers or to train a slave army. But we'll set the slave army aside for now; I don't think you'd consider that, would you, Xiao Han?"
"Uh... Believers? Slave army?" I could somewhat understand the former, but a slave army... that sounded quite villainous...
"Remember the suggestion I gave you when I entrusted the Fool's Dream to you? Even if those spirits haven't become true lifeforms yet, they can essentially become believers. This dungeon world you're about to receive would be an excellent home for them. However... if you prefer them to integrate into an environment like the Witch Academy, I won't force it."
"Hmm... I think the Fool's Dream spirits are integrating quite well into the academy right now. If I were to move them to a strange environment again... it might be a bit..." I was still hesitant about the Dean's suggestion.
"As I said, it's just a suggestion. If you're unwilling, it's no big deal. The Witch Academy is more than happy to accept such a group of adorable things. Even I occasionally go to the Witch Cat Cafe specifically to order a Fool's Dream drink to relax."
The Dean waved her hand with a smile, indicating it didn't matter. She wasn't forcing anything, merely offering an idea.
"Then I think I'll pass for now. The Fool's Dream spirits have mostly adapted to academy life. While not every single one is perfectly adjusted, tossing them back and forth wouldn't be good for them."
"It's good that you have your own thoughts. However, my mention of faith and believers wasn't actually about the Fool's Dream; it was about another issue," Dean Mei explained.
"Another issue? What issue? Don't tell me I need to start my own religion now? It can't be that I need a foundation of faith to promote to the transcendent level, right?" I said jokingly.
"How could promoting to transcendent require a foundation of faith?" The Dean shook her head with a laugh, dismissing the idea. "Though there is a path to transcendence through faith, it certainly wouldn't suit you. I was referring to that World Fragment—there's a high probability that indigenous life exists within it."
"Huh?"
I was stunned by her final statement. "Indigenous life? There are people in there...? Wait, Sister Mei, didn't you say this fragment was from the Main World's Expansion Realm?"
"Yes, it is indeed an Expansion Realm fragment, but it could still have indigenous people. These could be productive lifeforms driven in by the Wizard Academy to be raised, or slaves dropped in for labor. After all, transcendent wizards also love invading various worlds in the Void; slave legions are the cheapest cannon fodder." At this point, Dean Mei's tone shifted, her voice dropping slightly. "And of course! They could be the original inhabitants of the Main World's Expansion Realm, who have been breeding there until now."
"Hiss!"
Hearing the Dean say that... if it were the former, it would be one thing. Even a slave legion would be somewhat acceptable, as it had nothing to do with me. But remnants of the Main World... even if my soul didn't share the same identity, I was still someone who grew up in the Main World.
Hearing this possibility triggered an instinctive discomfort.
That instinct stemmed from the thought that if those wizards could enslave the people of the former Main World, they were certainly still doing it now!
In fact, the structure of the wizard towers in the Wizard Academy already hinted at that dynamic: transcendent wizards exploiting students, floor-master students exploiting the apprentices within the tower, and the apprentices looking down with contempt at the students outside the tower who were left to fend for themselves.
This class consciousness... layer upon layer... to the transcendent wizards, the students outside the towers were worth even less than slaves.
But thinking about it, the relationship between Transcendent Witches and Prospective Witches was somewhat similar; it just wasn't expressed so overtly.
"So, if that's the case, how do you plan to handle it, Xiao Han?" Dean Mei asked with a smile, as if waiting for an answer. She didn't seem deeply concerned, but she was clearly curious.
"Handle it... if there aren't any, then there's nothing to say. But if there are..." I found it a difficult choice, but I leaned toward analyzing the specific situation once I saw it.
"You don't need to worry about our opinions. Even if you decide to kill them all, it's fine. Do not view every life as equal, and do not attempt to save a life unless they display a breathtaking brilliance that proves they are worth saving."
"Perhaps you should start trying to view those lives from a transcendent perspective. Lowering your status will only give them more leverage to squeeze the greatest benefit from you... and in the end, you'll just end up covered in filth. Consider this a bit of advice from your seniors."
Seeing my indecision, Dean Mei spoke slowly.
Her goal was naturally to tell me not to be too soft-hearted. After all, I was a child who grew up in the Main World; no matter how poor my family environment might have been, I had never experienced a society built on slavery. Naturally, I was unfamiliar with many things.
Some things you truly don't understand until you've lived them, but Mei Lind knew very well that the final decision rested with me.
Even if I chose to save them or even develop them into believers, they wouldn't say anything. In the end, the result would either be success or failure.
But the probability of failure was high. Once I experienced failure, I would likely come to see many things much more clearly and thoroughly.
"I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Sister Mei. But I still plan to take a look first. I need to understand the situation before I can make a final decision."
"You want to give them a chance?" Dean Mei asked with a smile.
"No, I want to see if they'll give me a chance," I said with a grin. "Besides... it's not even certain if there's any life left in there at all."