Chapter 805: The Conclusion of the Self-Generated Mana Project
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 805: The Conclusion of the Self-Generated Mana Project
"Let's call it a day, Tan Han. Go back and get some good rest."
"Hmm? So soon?" Tan Han asked, a hint of confusion in her voice. "Didn't you say earlier that this might last for several days and that I’d need to keep my focus sharp the entire time?"
"I did say might," I replied with a shrug, offering a casual excuse. "Experiments are full of variables. Any plan has to be adjusted according to actual needs."
In reality, things had progressed unexpectedly smoothly. Now that the periodic data collection was complete, a buffer period was necessary.
Each interval served as a phase of self-perfection for Tan Han, significantly shortening the time required to refine her Self-Generated Mana.
After this session, the time she needed to perfect her Self-Generated Mana had dropped to less than a year. This duration would continue to decrease as we progressed, eventually shrinking to less than a month.
It was a massive leap forward.
"Alright then..." Tan Han didn't have much else to say. "By the way, is it convenient to tell me what that 'adventurous attempt' you mentioned is? What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Of course. Since your safety is the prerequisite, I believe you have the right to know." I looked at Tan Han, knowing she would eventually ask. "I’m researching Prototype Self-Generated Mana. It’s a special concept I’ve proposed. Are you familiar with Prototype Spells?"
"I know about Prototype Spells." Tan Han nodded. It was basic knowledge, and after interacting with Yi Rui and the others, she had a more intuitive understanding of the relationship between Prototype Spells and Derived Spells. "But Prototype Self-Generated Mana... I’ve truly never heard of that."
"That’s to be expected. Self-Generated Mana hasn't even appeared as a research topic in the Witch Academy, let alone a concept like 'Prototype.' But understanding Prototype Spells is enough. You can think of our current Self-Generated Mana as a Prototype Spell. 'Prototype' represents the foundation. Once you understand its operating principles, you can expand upon it or even create derivatives. That’s essentially what I’m trying to do. However, it’s extremely difficult—perhaps even impossible to generalize. I hope you can understand that."
"I understand," Tan Han nodded.
"No, you probably don't," I said, contradicting her.
"Eh?"
"You don't realize how dangerous what I just did was. It was like the first time I dismantled a spellbook; everything was unknown. Back then, I completely destroyed a spellbook because of a single mistake. If I had been careless just now, the thing destroyed would have been you—and the Self-Generated Mana inside you."
"But I’m fine, aren't I?" Tan Han shook her head with a light smile, accepting the lucky outcome with equanimity.
It’s true that there’s no need to get anxious over disasters that didn't happen. Sometimes, while foresight helps one avoid danger, it can also bring a great deal of unnecessary worry.
"You’re bearing a massive risk without enjoying the benefits that should come with it. I don't think such behavior is conducive to our current stage of cooperation."
"That sounds like..." Tan Han hesitated.
"Don't doubt it. I’m giving you a bonus. Here, take this." As I spoke, I produced an ice-blue crystal.
"Wait, this is...?"
Tan Han was surprised by my bluntness, but the moment she saw the object, she lost her composure.
Because this was the Ice Sealed World!
"Looks familiar, doesn't it? The Ice Sealed World. It’s useless to me, but I think it’ll make an excellent self-defense tool for you." I handed the crystal over.
This thing was a hot potato. When April ascended to the Transcendent realm, it had slipped from her hand. To prevent her family from getting it, I had recovered it.
Giving this to Tan Han wasn't just a random act of kindness.
Aside from the fact that I had no use for it and its connection to Luck, I primarily wanted to use Tan Han to draw the attention of those in the Academy who were coveting [Transcendent Knowledge] fragments.
If the item stayed with me, they likely wouldn't dare move. But if it was on Tan Han... combined with her original Staff of Absolute Cold, she would effectively be holding two of the largest fragments by herself!
The temptation would be staggering.
Though I had said that touching Tan Han was the same as targeting me, that was ultimately just a verbal guarantee.
Rather than provoking me directly, they would likely prefer to test my bottom line—and Tan Han was the perfect avenue for that.
When that time came, I could naturally push Tan Han to the forefront to showcase the advantages of Self-Generated Mana and the shock of "becoming the spell."
Of course, the plan was just a plan—rough and simple.
But it cost me nothing. As for the Ice Sealed World?
The thing itself was a magnet for trouble, and since that Rebel Witch gave it to me, I naturally had to find a way to deal with it.
If she was trying to scheme against me, I could consider this a way of playing her right back.
Under my strong insistence, Tan Han eventually gave in and accepted it.
"Fine. I’ll hold onto it for now. But this thing is just too precious..."
"You’re only looking at its surface value. By taking this, you’ll become the center of attention and attract even more trouble. Looking at it that way, how do you think its value changes for you?"
"Valuable things are always coveted. That’s not surprising, is it?"
"Fair enough. Just take it as me rambling." I didn't dwell on it and switched topics. "By the way, Tan Han, have you mastered Mana Source condensation techniques? You have Self-Generated Mana now. While your current progress might not be enough to condense a Mana Source yet, it won't be long before you can do it independently."
"Not yet," Tan Han said, shaking her head.
"Then you should get a head start on that technique. Want me to give it to you? It’s no trouble."
"Really? Then thank you in advance. I’ve been eyeing that technique for a long time." Tan Han was being sincere; after all, who doesn't love a Mana Source?
Especially for someone like her, who had already broken the ten-thousand-unit limit, the value of such a technique was immense.
"I’ll send the data for the technique to you via the Tree of Great Knowledge. Just keep an eye out for it." I accessed the memories and data regarding Mana Source condensation from the Tree of Great Knowledge, bundling in my own insights and notes as a bonus. "Alright, sent. By the way, are you leaving now?"
"Yeah. You said I could go. Or did you change your mind?"
"No, I just wanted to say safe travels. I won't see you out... Oh, I almost forgot. Let’s set a time for our next meeting so you can plan your schedule. Let’s say... a two-day interval. You don't need to come tomorrow or the day after. Just come the day after that. Around eight or nine in the morning."
"A two-day gap? That long?" Tan Han asked, puzzled.
"It’s buffer time. Just in case you have something important to do."
"I don't think anything is more important than Self-Generated Mana right now. I can avoid most things that waste my time."
"Such high dedication? Then I guess I’ll change it to a one-day interval."
"So, what’s the final word? A one-day gap is fine with me."
"Let’s make it one day then. It’s all the same to me." I looked at Tan Han and withdrew my previous suggestion.
I had been trying to slow down the pace of my life, only to find that others were just as much of a "grinder" as I was...
After seeing Tan Han off, I began some basic attempts regarding Infinite Mana. However, these attempts weren't very successful; the difficulties remained numerous.
Regardless, the experiments related to Self-Generated Mana were now on the right track and no longer required my constant supervision.
I just had to wait for Yi Rui and the others to perfect the Shaping Ritual, and then I would proceed with the Perfecting Ritual as planned.
Once the hurdle of the Structuring Ritual was overcome, the problem of generalizing the process would be completely solved.
As expected, once an experiment has a predetermined outcome and only requires time to complete, I quickly lose interest.
I’m still the type who needs constant curiosity to keep digging deeper.
In other words, I lack focus.
Even now, I can't understand the kind of resolve it takes to research a Great Spellbook, repeating the same tasks day after day for a hundred years.
Even if I try to convince myself to accept it, my inner self rejects the idea. It’s an instinctual aversion; without experiencing it personally, I can't talk myself into it.
But since Self-Generated Mana had reached a silent conclusion in my heart, I needed to find something else to do.
And that was perfecting the "Soul Depiction" technique!
This was one of the two most important gains from my "fun-seeking" journey!
Also, I hadn't interacted with Fool's Dream and the others for a while. Although I kept track of Fool's Dream’s daily life in the Academy through the Great Knowledge Seed, I had essentially ignored them for a long time.
I rarely even visited the Witch Cat Café anymore. The "Fool's Dreams" I interacted with most were the three little ones: Yulan, Yu Yun, and Yu Guo.
After completing their Mimicry Soul Technique modifications, I hadn't checked on them much, aside from coordinating their Dream Delivery abilities.
Now, it was finally time to fulfill my promise to Fool's Dream.
After all, I had promised to make the Fool's Dream clan into true life forms recognized by the Void!
Furthermore, I had to repay Dean Mei’s earlier investment—the two Primal Spell sequences.
Though even now, I didn't quite understand why the Primal Fool's Dream Summoning Spell and the Primal Fool's Dream Transformation Spell were considered so important.
The Fool's Dream clan wasn't particularly powerful. Even if they evolved into life forms, they wouldn't inherently become stronger; they couldn't compare to Flame Fairies or Sirens.
So, the significance likely lay in the "Primal" prefix, much like the "Prototype" prefix.
Primal... that concept was truly...
It made me think of the Primal Witches. Surely, a Primal Witch would have her own Primal Witch Transformation and Summoning spells... I wondered if there was any connection between those and the concept of the Witch race or the clones born when one ascends to become a Transcendent Witch.
* * *
The Wizard Academy.
The atmosphere within the Wizard Academy was currently extremely oppressive. Of course, for the bottom-tier Wizard Apprentices, the environment was oppressive every day—a result of the Academy’s teaching system and the hierarchical structure of the Wizard Towers.
The Wizard Towers were a place of pure social Darwinism: the capable rose, the weak fell. Here, even sympathy was a luxury.
But for the high-level Transcendent Wizards who governed it all, the pressure they faced was also immense.
And that pressure came entirely from that terrifying race: the Witches.
Everyone was a Transcendent race; no one had the right to be naive.
The peace of the Main World was hard-won. Although it was originally brokered by the Witches, it was now the other Transcendent races who sought to maintain it.
Not just the Transcendent Wizards, but the Forest Elves and the Holy Angels as well.
They knew exactly what the Witches wanted. From the moment the Witches forced their way into the Main World, the other races had foreseen their designs on it.
The exposure of the World Repair Technique was a blunt declaration of their ambition.
The other races were simply playing dumb, refusing to face the worst-case scenario: that they would be completely driven out of the Main World, leaving it to be occupied entirely by Witches.
Their only card—one they could never actually play—was the "World Navel," which had become their sole means of survival.
They were like people desperately trying to save face, unwilling to admit their weakness yet powerless to stop the harassment and probing from the Witches.
The Witches had only deployed a single Rebel Witch, and it had been enough to send them into a panic.
And the bad news didn't stop there.
After that Rebel Witch left, they had managed to confirm the extent of the Wizard Academy's losses. Their most important Teleportation Tower had been severely damaged.
This was a spatial teleportation Wizard Tower established by a Transcendent Wizard specializing in spatial techniques.
It was the Wizard Academy's most vital teleportation hub.
It was capable of short-range spatial teleportation across the Void!
Don't be fooled by the "short-range" label; using worlds as relay nodes, this was a physical spatial-linking project on a Void-wide scale!
However, using this method for teleportation required a staggering amount of Transcendent materials and energy. Under normal circumstances, it was only used for the routine exchange of physical information.
To put it simply, it was the vital hub through which the Wizard Academy currently communicated with the Game World!
Thanks to that Rebel Witch’s rampage, the tower was now out of commission.
Even restoring basic information exchange would take a long time, let alone using it to transport the physical carriers of [Transcendent Knowledge]!
This led the Wizards of the Academy to believe that this was a calculated, planned strike by the Witches.
It was proof of the Witches' determination to keep that [Transcendent Knowledge] for themselves, preventing the Wizards from sending it out of the Main World.
It might even have been a warning!
But regardless, they had to deal with these troubles.
The Game World could be ignored for now. After all, they had only been causing trouble there to distract the Witches. Even the [Transcendent Knowledge] in the Game World was just a secondary goal; if they got it, it would just be another bargaining chip.
The most important thing was how to survive the great upheaval being stirred up by the Witches in the Main World.
As the saying goes: the more insecure one feels, the more one acts out. That was likely the case here...