Chapter 758: This Is Simple—I’ll Just Break the Deadlock
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 758: This Is Simple—I’ll Just Break the Deadlock
"Xiao Han, I appreciate you saying that, but there are too many strings attached to this. Dragging you into it so recklessly..."
"The matter will be resolved quickly," I said, cutting through the Shopkeeper’s words. "Shopkeeper, tell me—how many challenges from others have you and Tan Han fought off in the Arena by now?"
Seeing the Shopkeeper struggle to find an answer, I redirected the topic toward Tan Han. "Tan Han, let me ask you: do you truly believe this string of endless battles is a continuous tempering of your skills?"
"...I believe it is. I am constantly growing stronger. My combat experience is stacking and accumulating. These battles have made me realize how weak I once was and helped me understand my inner thirst for power."
"I see... I see. So you want to become even stronger?" I looked at Tan Han with a smile.
"Yes. I need to become stronger—just like you. Strong enough that no one dares to point fingers at me or tell me what to do," Tan Han said firmly.
"I see. So you’re still using me as the goal you’re chasing... Do you need my help?"
"If it means using your power to settle this... I think I’ll pass for now. But I still appreciate the sentiment." Tan Han hesitated for a moment before ultimately shaking her head in refusal.
"Then do you have a solution? Or do you think today’s challenger is the last Teaching Assistant you’ll have to face?" I continued to pelt her with questions. Though Tan Han seemed to answer them one by one, such questions were endless. Eventually, the one who would run out of words wouldn't be me, the questioner, but Tan Han, who was struggling to keep up.
"I don’t think I can solve this immediately, and I know today won't be the last Teaching Assistant I encounter. But I won't back down." At this, Tan Han’s eyes reignited with battle intent. Her declaration of not backing down further steeled her will. "Because I’ve realized... Teaching Assistants aren't actually that unreachable."
"I like that last sentence. It’s rare for our opinions to align so suddenly. Those Teaching Assistants who like to lower themselves just to stir up trouble are indeed not unreachable. So... I have high hopes for you in this challenge. You won't mind if I cheer for you from the spectator area, right?"
"That... of course I don't mind." Tan Han was a bit surprised, but she nodded.
Her surprise stemmed mainly from the flow of our conversation. Just moments ago, I seemed to be laying the groundwork to prove these battles were meaningless, implying I was looking for an excuse to step in and help. But with a single turn of phrase, I seemed to give up on the idea, leaving her unable to read my intentions.
However, Tan Han hadn't expected help in the first place. As the Shopkeeper had said, this was a stage she and the Shopkeeper had to go through.
Enemies would eventually run out, and her opponents were, after all, Teaching Assistants of the Witch Academy!
She didn't need to defeat every single Teaching Assistant. The moment she defeated the first one, her reputation would reach its absolute peak. When she defeated the second, it would prove her victory wasn't a fluke. And once she won the third...
She would have the right to stand on equal footing with them and tell them that their schemes were utterly pointless.
Three. Three Teaching Assistants was the limit she had calculated. For a Teaching Assistant to fight someone like her, losing wasn't without cost. Not all Teaching Assistants were idiots willing to gamble their futures on something so ephemeral.
A Teaching Assistant who lost to a second-year student who had just started the term would likely never be able to hold their head up again for the rest of their life.
"As long as you don't mind." I smiled and found a place to sit nearby.
The preparation area wasn't small, but aside from myself and Senior Sister Ying Shiqian, there were only Tan Han, the Shopkeeper, and Xiao You.
Outside, there were some staff members providing necessary services and guiding contestants to the stage.
"My apologies. It seems my arrival has made the atmosphere even more stifling." I looked around. There were five of us, yet no one was speaking. The silence in the contestant prep area was almost eerie. "Actually, I mainly came out this time to relax. I suddenly heard the news about you two and decided to drop by to see how you were doing. I thought I might be able to bring some good news."
"It’s fine, Xiao Han. We’re very grateful you could come at a time like this. But Tan Han is ultimately facing powerful Teaching Assistants; it’s normal to feel some pressure. She just needs more time to adjust her mindset," the Shopkeeper explained from the side.
"True... but I didn't just come here to see Tan Han. I also wanted to see you, Shopkeeper. I didn't expect you to take a special trip to my old residence at the start of this break just to kidnap my cheap brother."
"Ah? That... that matter..." Mentioning this brought the memory back to the Shopkeeper, but it wasn't a pleasant one.
"I didn't realize you were so concerned about my affairs, Shopkeeper. Though, I'm sure my cheap brother made a fool of himself. He’s lacked love since he was a child and missed out on some necessary family education. The things he says naturally don't go through his brain first."
"Yeah, I didn't expect your brother to be... like that. I was truly fuming at the time..." The Shopkeeper seemed to recall the experience, her tone carrying a hint of "resenting iron for not becoming steel."
Perhaps at that time, the Shopkeeper had hoped to see a shadow of Xiao Han in that brother.
After all, in that environment, the Academy Network was flooded with rumors that Xiao Han was completely dead, as if it were an established fact. The only person who could still be linked to Xiao Han seemed to be her relative. Xia Li had gone to find Xiao Han’s brother with that thought in mind, only to hear him say such things. Anyone would have been enraged.
"Well, I’ve already brought him to the Witch Academy. If you’re still angry, Shopkeeper, I wouldn't mind if you went and gave him a 'proper education.'"
"Is that so? If I get the chance... I will." Xia Li was serious. She didn't care if the boy lacked love or education; anyone who could say those things had a seriously warped worldview.
Thus, the topic of my cheap brother slightly eased the tension in the room.
Perhaps it’s just human nature to gossip. Who could refuse to learn about someone else’s family drama, or witness the "biological diversity" among relatives?
Even Tan Han couldn't seem to resist learning about the past of the goal she pursued, witnessing the hardships and resilience of others, and then turning it all into a warning for herself.
If I hadn't told them myself, who could have imagined that such a convoluted and tragic past was a real tragedy that had happened right beside them?
A life swapped at birth, parents with no emotional bond, a home devoid of love and care, and an Innate Spirit Vision that was essentially a "death sentence" from the moment of birth... and those parents had actually raised her for several years before realizing there was a problem and sending her to a mental hospital...
For an ordinary person, encountering even one of these events would likely ruin their entire life.
Suddenly, they felt that the fact that such a person could stand here right now and speak of these facts in such a joking tone... was truly a miracle.
They almost hoped that the person before them was just making up a story, simply to coax a smile out of them in this oppressive atmosphere.
"Well~ that’s pretty much all of it. I have to say, the Witch Academy is truly a magical place that can accommodate all sorts of miraculous people and events," I finally sighed.
Being able to summarize the first half of my life this way was a sign of my own progress. Nothing is too terrible to look at directly, not even a wretched childhood.
"So... the past is officially behind me. There’s no need to dwell on it too much. Even if it brought me a lot of growth and whipped me into shape time and time again, pain and distortion are not worth remembering."
Accepting one's imperfect self meant letting those past events become like any other ordinary memory. Not worth dwelling on didn't mean they had to be intentionally forgotten. Memories are the wealth of a lifetime and should be treated equally. Just as beautiful memories bring joy and hope, unpleasant ones bring calm and reflection. They are all references for the future, the proof that shapes the unique "me" of the present.
As I said this, my gaze instinctively met Tan Han’s.
She wanted to look away for a split second but forced herself to accept it, only to receive a reciprocal smile from me in the end.
By saying this, wasn't I making Tan Han realize that the scars on her body served no purpose other than being ugly?
Not only did it make an outsider like me feel uncomfortable, but as a girl herself, her natural instinct for beauty would make her feel uncomfortable looking at them too.
But this was indeed a good experience for Tan Han. Once she grew tired of it and realized such behavior was meaningless, she would naturally stop.
All that talk about "scars being the medals of the brave" was nothing more than self-consolation born of backward medical technology.
"Tan Han, to be honest, when I heard Senior Sister Ying Shiqian say you were already capable of fighting at the level of a Teaching Assistant, I was quite shocked."
"That... actually, it’s just the power of this Staff of Absolute Cold. I also have to thank you, Xiao Han, for introducing me to Mentor Natalie. I can only barely contend with those Teaching Assistants by relying on this external force."
"Is that so?" I looked at Tan Han with a smile, my expression somewhat meaningful.
I was interested in Tan Han’s phrasing. She seemed to have developed a dislike for relying on power obtained from external objects—or perhaps that was her definition of strength from the very beginning?
"You’re joking. External objects are also a part of one's own strength. Am I not also criticized because my strength comes from two Great Spellbooks? I don't deny it."
"It’s not the same..." Tan Han instinctively tried to argue.
"Actually, it’s exactly the same. Your Staff of Absolute Cold also belongs to the category of [Transcendent Knowledge], and that stuff is the predecessor that constitutes a Great Spellbook. You should be very clear about this; it’s exactly why those people keep making trouble for you.
"Didn't you want to take me as your goal? When they first heard I held a Great Spellbook, they also questioned what right I had to possess such a thing. Even now... they are still unwilling in their hearts, yet no one dares to question me to my face."
"So don't worry about what they think. The more you try to prove you’re qualified, the more you’ll trigger the greed in their hearts. Don't fall into the self-justification trap. Your string of challenges and victories will have no end, because you know they have no bottom line."
"So... after all that circling around... Xiao Han, are you still trying to persuade me to end this meaningless challenge quickly?" Tan Han seemed to see through the intent behind my words, her tone carrying a hint of suppressed amusement, as if saying, Since when did you start talking in such a roundabout way?
"Those are your words, not mine. Or do you actually think they do have a bottom line?" I shrugged, as if what I had just said was perfectly ordinary.
"They definitely don't have a bottom line."
Tan Han was well aware of this. The moment those people targeted the people around her, she understood just how disgusting they truly were.
"But I can't just choose to escape."
"Escape?"
"Yes. This is a challenge they forced upon me. If I’m the one to end this meaningless challenge first, then in their eyes, it’s an escape." Tan Han understood her current situation clearly. After our exchange, she was now more willing to share her thoughts.
"Escape... that is indeed a troublesome label to wear..." I chuckled softly, though I didn't care. "But... are you really so willing to walk into their trap? Is this meaningless attrition of power truly still useful to you?"
I stared at Tan Han, who no longer dared to meet my eyes, and continued: "I doubt it~ Your heart is already exhausted. Without sufficient accumulation, how can there be a sudden breakthrough? At this point... they are using the simplest method to drag you into the most inefficient path of self-improvement."
My words naturally resonated with Tan Han. The reality was indeed a constant repetition of what I described. As the one experiencing it firsthand, she understood the malicious intent behind it better than anyone.
It was just that this time, someone else had pointed out the truth.
Sometimes the truth is like that—even if it’s the same thing, knowing it in your heart feels different from hearing it with your ears.
She was indeed trapped in a game. Although she was constantly challenging opponents, she didn't even know who her true enemy was.
Was it the Jack-of-all-trades Club?
Or a specific Teaching Assistant?
Tan Han only knew their goal was the Staff of Absolute Cold in her hand.
But the fact that she could persist until now wasn't something she and the Shopkeeper could have achieved alone.
At the very least, the Arena had provided her with a lot of help. Although the Arena might have helped her to balance combat power, create greater conflict, and ensure its own profitability, the help itself was real.
Someone was targeting her, but someone was also helping her.
"I know... but I can't break this deadlock," Tan Han finally said, shaking her head.
"This matter is simple. I’ll just break it, won't I?"
"This..." Tan Han snapped her head up to look at me.
"To know your predicament and be unable to save yourself, yet still refuse to use the help of others—that is called stupidity. Tan Han, are you that kind of person?"
I looked at Tan Han and directly cut off her hesitant words, asking her one syllable at a time.
This kind of forceful cognitive definition—pre-emptively labeling the concept for her—worked because her instinct would be to deny her own stupidity. Under the conflict of concepts, she would gain enough awareness to break her own wishful thinking and make an objective choice.
And when paired with the "misery" I had shared earlier, the effect was even better.
That was merely a tactic to close the distance in our long-neglected relationship, establishing a figure in her heart who was stronger than her, making her more willing to accept my help.
Heart Sense—this method of perceiving and grasping the emotions of others at every moment—is truly useful.