Chapter 751: An Uninvited Guest in Sister Bai’s Villa
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 751: An Uninvited Guest in Sister Bai’s Villa
"Sister Bai, are you home? Are you there? Hellooo?"
Upon returning to the villa, my first instinct was naturally to call out for Sister Bai, but there was no response from inside.
"Looks like she’s out. Sigh..."
I let out a small sigh, though it wasn't exactly surprising. Sister Bai had been quite busy lately; within the Witch Academy, the Body Cultivation circle was experiencing something of a second spring.
There were many Transcendent Witches in the academy, even if they made up a small percentage of the total population. The few dozen Body Cultivation witches who had come over with Sister Bai back then certainly weren't all of them—those were just the ones she happened to be close with.
In the Main World, the number of Body Cultivation witches was actually quite significant, even if... most of them were the type who simply practiced body arts as a secondary discipline.
However, these witches found it hard to resist a completely new approach to body arts and the groundbreaking Mana Source Body cultivation method. Moreover, this kind of transcendent technique was a perfect match for the witch race.
Sister Bai had been occupied with these matters recently. She and I had even discussed the topic at night.
Even Sister Bai was attempting to apply for a brand-new course for the upcoming semester.
So, it was perfectly normal not to see her at the villa during the day.
But just as I was wondering where I might run into her, the space behind me suddenly tore open.
"Hm?"
Such obvious spatial fluctuations naturally put me on high alert. When I saw the rift forming, my first instinct was to interfere with the teleportation space.
After all, teleportation spells were a branch of spatial magic I was very proficient in. With the help of the Tree of Great Knowledge, my application of them far exceeded the scope of an average user.
I had a few tricks up my sleeve when it came to smoothing over a torn spatial channel.
But as I worked to stabilize it, I was also wondering what was going on.
I didn't think there was anyone—or any witch—besides myself who could just tear open a spatial channel and waltz into Sister Bai’s villa.
This was an uninvited guest. This villa was a private sanctuary shared by Sister Bai and me, so I naturally felt the need to defend it.
Furthermore, the hand reaching out was clearly not Sister Bai’s, nor did it belong to anyone I knew well.
However, the opponent’s methods were far beyond my derived teleportation skills.
In other words, the owner of this hand was a Transcendent Witch whose life essence had touched Real Time—someone who could tear through space with her bare hands!
"Huh? Which 'familiar' sister did Sister Bai meet now? How come I didn't know about this?"
Realizing that the process was irreversible, I had no choice but to let go. The spatial channel swung wide, and a head popped out.
Looking at her face... she seemed a bit familiar. I felt like I’d seen her somewhere...
"Hi~ Xiao Han? Long time no see~"
"You... uh... let me think. Mentor Sheryl?" I recognized her! She was the witch who had suddenly struck up a conversation with me before I went to the Expansion Realm!
The one who had asked me a few strange questions and then excused herself, saying she had business to attend to.
"I’m glad you actually remember me. It would be even better if you were willing to call me Sister Sheryl, Xiao Han," Sheryl said with a smile. By now, half of her body had emerged. She instinctively scanned the surroundings, looking a bit surprised. "Is this where you live, Xiao Han?"
"No, this is where my Sister Bai lives. Did you have business with her, Sister Sheryl?" I asked curiously.
"Is that so? Well... it seems I’ve arrived rather unceremoniously." Regardless, Sheryl stepped fully through the spatial channel.
"You certainly have..." I thought. She said it was unceremonious, yet she did it anyway. I kept the snarky comment to myself, though.
"I’m truly sorry. I should have stopped you back at the Experimental Zone, but I got delayed by the spatial labyrinth over there. I had no choice but to take the liberty of tracking the spatial fluctuations to this location."
"You can reverse-track a teleportation?" I was stunned to hear how she’d found me.
"Of course~ Perhaps once you promote to Transcendent, you’ll be able to see it clearly from the perspective of Real Time..."
"I see..." I didn't explain further; I was just genuinely surprised.
My Floating World level Spirit Vision could indeed see the traces of teleportation, but I hadn't researched space much yet. My knowledge was limited to derivatives of teleportation spells; I hadn't mastered the ability to reverse-engineer teleportation coordinates.
This proved that the Sheryl standing before me wasn't just a witch who knew how to use a spellbook. She was a rigorous witch with her own insights and research into transcendence—at the very least, she had attained a high level of mastery in spatial studies.
"I’m so sorry~ To visit so abruptly... I hope this small meeting gift will prevent any misunderstandings." Sheryl looked apologetic as she produced an item.
"Oh? That’s really not necessary... wait? Huh?" I was about to decline, but the words died in my throat when I saw what she was holding. It was something very familiar.
A Heart of the Cold Wave!
It was a bead, not particularly large, but radiating a chilling frost!
"You seem to know what this is, Xiao Han?"
Sheryl didn't seem surprised by my reaction and asked casually.
"Yes, I have one too." I’d snatched one from some Players at that hotel during the break. "You have one of these too, Sister Sheryl?"
"Regardless, take this as a gift. Consider it my apology for barging in." As she spoke, Sheryl handed it directly to me, giving me no chance to refuse.
"This..."
"Go on, take it~"
"Do you know that this is actually a [Transcendent Knowledge] Fragment, Sister Sheryl?" I inquired.
"I know~ What of it?" Sheryl said with total indifference.
"I see... Alright then." Seeing how little she cared, I accepted it.
I’d treat it as an apology for tracking me all the way to Sister Bai’s villa. Besides, she clearly wanted something from me. If I ended up declining whatever she was after, I could always return it then. It wasn't like I was desperate for another Heart of the Cold Wave anyway.
"Did you have something specific in mind, coming to find me so urgently?" I asked, taking a container for the Heart of the Cold Wave from my storage equipment and placing it next to the one I already had.
"Do I need a reason to come see you?"
"Well... I have things to do, so I might not have much free time," I explained.
"Fine. Actually, I came because I wanted to learn more about what you’re working on right now," Sheryl said, her expression turning serious.
"What I’m working on? You mean... picking up my dinner later?"
"I mean your research into the Perfect Human body talent and Self-Generated Mana!" Sheryl corrected me. She suddenly realized she was having trouble staying on the same wavelength as this little witch. Was the girl naturally ditzy, or was she doing it on purpose?
Earlier, it seemed even she had been fooled by this little witch. At that time, she had genuinely thought the girl had died.
"Oh~ Are you interested in that too, Sister Sheryl?" I was a bit surprised. I’d been working on the Self-Generated Mana experiments for a while now, dedicating most of my break to it, yet Mentor Sheryl was only just now showing up.
"Every witch has a bit of curiosity regarding Self-Generated Mana, but every witch finds it impossible to start." Sheryl gave a soft laugh, not denying her interest.
However, I could tell from her tone that she was interested in the concept, but definitely not the experiment itself. She wouldn't be able to contribute a single bit of progress to my work.
"So... what did you want to ask?"
"I’m actually very curious, Xiao Han... what capital do you have to research such a topic?" Sheryl asked with a smile.
"Hm?"
"You don't understand?"
"No, I don't. If I want to research it, I just do it."
"Alright, it seems you really don't get it. Let me rephrase: many witches have researched Self-Generated Mana. Every witch I know who tried has failed, and that includes some incredibly powerful witches and famous Scholar witches. Compared to them, where do you think your advantage lies?"
"Hmm... now that you put it that way... I don't seem to have any advantage at all," I said after a moment of thought.
"You’re just going to admit it?"
"Yeah~" After all, I firmly believed there would always be people in this world more powerful, smarter, and more creative than me. Why should I waste energy comparing myself to them?
"So... that’s truly fascinating. What is the drive that keeps you going?" Sheryl could feel her avoiding the core of the question, but she remained exceptionally patient.
"Curiosity, I suppose. I was curious, so I did it."
"Even if you fail?" Sheryl pressed.
"What else is there? Between success and failure, you have to pick one, right?" I looked at Sheryl and smiled.
She’d pushed the questioning this far; I wasn't so dense that I couldn't sense her intent.
"Then... have you considered this: if you succeed, do you think you can bear the weight of the honor it represents?"
"If I succeed, I won't view it as an honor. In my eyes, it’s just a technique—a skill I mastered because I was curious. Only others would see it as an 'honor,' but those people have no right to tell me what to do with a skill I mastered myself."
"Mm~ Quite a haughty perspective~" Sheryl remarked.
"So... are you satisfied with my answer this time, Sister Sheryl? Or do you not really care, just like last time?"
"My, my~ Your tone is getting a bit aggressive. It seems even a [Transcendent Knowledge] Fragment isn't enough to buy me this kind of questioning?" Sheryl asked, amused.
"That thing isn't mine yet. If you want it back, I can even throw in a second one as a..."
"I’m joking. You seem to know what that thing represents, Xiao Han." Sheryl’s tone immediately softened, cutting me off.
"Yeah. It’s roughly related to concepts like Luck and Scripts. Regardless, I’m not interested in those things."
"Even if completing it represents a potential Great Spellbook?" Sheryl asked curiously.
"I think I have enough Great Spellbooks."
"...Fair point."
Sheryl looked slightly helpless. After all, in the entire Void, how many witches could say they had "enough Great Spellbooks"?
"By the way, Xiao Han~ would it be convenient to grant me access to your Experimental Zone? I’m quite interested in your Self-Generated Mana project. I am a Transcendent Witch, after all; I should be able to provide quite a bit of help. What do you say?"
"About that..." I looked at Sheryl with a hint of hesitation. "I’m sorry... I have to think about the sisters on my team. Our experiment has entered a brand-new stage, and it wouldn't be right to invite someone else in halfway through. Besides, we already have several mentors acting as advisors in the lab."
"Ah... a rejection?" Sheryl seemed surprised. "Not even if I promise not to cause trouble?"
"I’m sorry. I hate to say it, but the more you act like this, the less comfortable I feel letting you in..." I declined with an apologetic look, essentially telling her there was no way.
"Eh? Why? Can you tell me? Is it because I asked so many weird questions? Or do you just have a bad impression of me?"
"Maybe... both? But mostly it’s intuition. I have the Body Cultivation Sixth Sense, Heart Sense. Even though you’re a Transcendent Witch, I can still feel a slight sense of dissonance."
"Heart Sense... I see~" Hearing that familiar concept, Sheryl sighed and didn't push further. That Bai Yu was the same way... speaking of which, this was Bai Yu’s villa, wasn't it? Something seemed to occur to her, and she spoke again. "Then... Xiao Han, clever as you are, have you guessed what kind of witch I am?"
"Does that question... have anything to do with what we were just talking about?"
"Oh, I just heard a familiar concept and asked on impulse. If you can't guess..."
"You’re a Rebel Witch," I said without hesitation.
"Huh? So decisive! Even you figured it out~ Is it that obvious? What gave me away?" Sheryl instinctively looked at her outfit, as if wondering how I’d arrived at such a seemingly unrelated answer so quickly.
"The Tree of Great Knowledge’s Ley Line Identification Art," I explained.
"Hm?" The unexpected answer left Sheryl stunned for a moment. Then she realized she’d fallen into a mental trap. "Oh, honestly... you really are a witch of the new generation~ You’ve got me spinning in circles."
"Maybe we just have different ways of thinking?" I offered. Personally, I thought my way of thinking was perfectly normal; it had been the same across both my lives.
"I have to say, once a little witch like you promotes to Transcendent, you’d be perfect as a Rebel Witch like me~ At the very least, you’d leave those stodgy old witches completely speechless." Sheryl laughed, as if she could already see the scene unfolding.
"Ugh... do Transcendent Witches just love recruiting people? The last person who said something like that to me was a Luck Alchemist sister. She also told me I was perfect for becoming a Luck Alchemist."
"Oh? A Luck Alchemist? Interesting. So, did you try to become one?"
"I traded for some basic Luck Alchemy knowledge, but I haven't had time to try it yet."
"Well, I think you should look into the philosophy held by Rebel Witches. I think you’ll find that we’d get along quite well."
"If I have time, I’ll look into it..." I replied. The dismissiveness in my tone was plain to hear.