Chapter 814: The Potential Dangers of Self-Generated Mana
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 814: The Potential Dangers of Self-Generated Mana
Once a section of the academy's training grounds was temporarily converted into an experimental site, the news quickly caused a stir on the academy network.
After all, the project had taken over an indoor training hall, forcing many lower-year classes to relocate. Naturally, those students were curious about what was actually happening in their former training space.
On the internet, information always travels faster than expected. Combined with the unintentional gossip spread by freshmen who had taken on part-time jobs at the site, the news reached a fever pitch.
Of course, the primary reason was simply the nature of the Witch Academy itself—any sign of activity was bound to pique curiosity. Even so, the academy network was still just an internal system.
The ones who truly noticed and prioritized this news were the student organizations with the deepest roots in the academy.
Not long ago, they had seen the celebratory announcements and news regarding Self-Generated Mana posted by the academy system. They had been desperate for a way to gather more intelligence on the subject.
Because the notice had mentioned "Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan," Millian’s communication device had been nearly ringing off the hook that day.
As for contacting Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan directly?
They didn't have that kind of clout. Or rather, even if they did reach out, she likely wouldn't give them the time of day.
Now that they knew a specific location had suddenly been turned into a lab—and those with connections could confirm the registration info was for experiments related to Self-Generated Mana—they immediately sent people to investigate.
This was one of the reasons there were constantly people "scouting" the area.
Meanwhile, the recruitment for the site had also attracted many upper-year students.
We accepted them all without hesitation. We didn't mind people poking around the site or learning the basic situation.
Furthermore, anyone taking on a task had to sign a Witch Contract. Critical experimental data would never be lost or stolen.
As for anything else... they could ask all they wanted.
If they could actually figure it all out, I’d respect them as legitimate academic researchers. The last thing I feared was sharing my results with people like that.
"Oh? Busy as a beehive already, I see." While the site was in the middle of the hustle and bustle, a figure appeared.
She stood out like a brilliant landscape in the middle of the crowd; her temperament and style alone made it clear she wasn't a student.
"Hello, Mentor!"
"Hello, student~ You look quite busy. Are you a student working for this lab?"
"Uh... no... I actually just took a job to help out here... wait?" Facing this unfamiliar mentor, the girl scratched her head sheepishly, but when she looked up again, the woman had already walked away. "Hiss... that mentor is so cold..."
"Maybe she just looks down on us. We can't compare to seniors like that. Working stiffs should just accept their fate as working stiffs~ Let's go." Another girl passed by, casually patting her bestie on the shoulder. "There's more stuff to move over there. I heard they're lab-grade drinks, mass-produced using alchemy potion techniques. I heard we might get a few bottles for ourselves. I've been dying to try them~"
"Wait... it's just a drink, why is there so much hype? Hey, hey! Wait for me! Grab one for me too!"
After the two girls left, the newly arrived mentor found the laboratory team members.
"You must be the team members for that little witch, Yang Yuehan?"
"Yes, we are. You must be a mentor? May I ask what brings you here..."
"Oh, I'm the accompanying mentor for this experiment. It's my first time doing this, and I heard you were doing something incredible, so I decided to come over." The witch mentor explained warmly. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Mentor Danielle, or Sister Danielle if you like. By the way, which one of you is Xiao Han?"
"Hello, Sister Danielle~"
"As for Sister Xiao Han... well, she's quite busy. We're mostly in charge of the site... Oh! I think Sister Xiao Han is over there!"
"Oh? Is that so? Then I won't bother you further." Danielle looked in the direction the girl pointed, surprised, and then bid them a crisp farewell.
She left the two girls standing there, completely ignored.
"As expected, Sister Xiao Han really is the favorite of the mentors in this academy," the girl said, sighing as she watched the retreating figure.
"That mentor has quite the personality too. It's hard for us to even get a word in. I guess I really am better suited for doing experiments quietly on my own."
"Isn't Sister Xiao Han doing experiments too? It just means your level isn't high enough yet~" the other girl teased. "I heard Sister Xiao Han doesn't plan to participate in the entire experiment this time. She's leaving the opportunity to us. This is our big chance to show what we can do!"
"Really? I have to say, being around Sister Xiao Han is actually a bit stressful. That... that feeling of being unable to help is just suffocating!"
"You feel it too? What a coincidence. Me too. I bet only Sister Yi Rui can communicate with Sister Xiao Han without any barriers. Sigh~ I'm so jealous."
"Who isn't?"
After chatting for a bit, the girls went back to work.
They had the whole day free today, which was enough time to get everything set up. They could start the preliminary experiments tomorrow. Their speed and efficiency were remarkable; as they put it, they had learned it all from Sister Xiao Han.
Let those who find meaning in meaningless things do them; one only needs to do their own job well. This was a great trick for time management, and they fully agreed with it.
With that in mind, they went back to bossing around the underclassmen who had taken the recruitment tasks.
They were paying them, after all. If the pay wasn't enough, they'd just add more.
As part of the same team, they didn't have to worry about expenses at the level of ordinary currency.
Meanwhile, the witch calling herself Danielle walked toward me, following the girls' directions.
"Hm? Hello, Witch Sister. Is there something I can help you with?"
I looked at the unfamiliar witch before me. Confirming I had no memory of her, I refrained from rashly using Ley Line Identification Art on her.
"You're Xiao Han, right? You really are different from the other students. Let me introduce myself: I'm Danielle. You can just call me Sister Danielle~"
"Hello, Sister Danielle~"
I responded politely. "May I ask why you were looking for me?"
"I'm here to serve as the safety mentor for the Self-Generated Mana promotion test. Basically, I've been called in as manual labor~ If anything uncontrollable happens during the experiment, just come to me," Danielle said seriously.
"I see. Then I'll be in your care, Sister Danielle!" After getting the gist of it, I thanked her quickly.
Though I knew it was unlikely for any major accidents to happen at this stage of the experiment, having insurance made everyone feel more at ease.
"Of course I'll look after you~ I've heard quite a bit about your exploits, Xiao Han. I must say, you're a genius to the point of being a little enviable."
"I've only done what I felt I should do," I said modestly.
"Excessive modesty can attract more hate than bragging, you know? You should work on that, Xiao Han~" Danielle said with a smile.
"Is... is that so? I'll be more careful in the future." I quickly adjusted my attitude. This wasn't the first time a witch had told me this, but I hadn't really changed.
Perhaps I was fundamentally more conceited than I was proud? And that conceit, filtered through my values, manifested as modesty.
Regardless, there was nothing wrong with being a humble person, even if one was aggressive in their work.
"What a good girl, actually willing to listen to advice. By the way, what were you doing just now?"
"Just now? Oh... I was applying for access permissions to the root network and power network of this area. Managing so many people for an experiment requires some special administrative tools."
"Couldn't you just have someone else do a small thing like that? Did you need to go personally?"
"Well~ I was free anyway~" I said casually.
The Soul Depiction I wanted to work on couldn't be rushed, so I found a task to keep myself busy while relaxing and organizing the information recently collected by the Tree of Great Knowledge.
The information within the tree was chaotic and massive. It made me realize that my Tree of Great Knowledge truly needed to be further refined.
"So that means you're quite free right now, Xiao Han~"
"Yes. Did you have something you wanted to discuss, Sister Danielle?" Hearing her say that, I instinctively assumed she had a favor to ask.
"Of course not~" Danielle chuckled. "I just wanted to chat with you~ After all, the topic of Self-Generated Mana is very hot among us Transcendent Witches right now. Because of you, many witches have become interested in it. Some have even formed temporary research groups to see if they can achieve something else, but..."
"They came up empty-handed?" I ventured.
"Exactly! They found nothing! It's truly miraculous!" Danielle laughed with a hint of exaggeration. "I really don't understand how your brain is wired. I almost want to crack it open and take a look~"
"Ah... Sister Danielle, please don't say such terrifying things with such a straight face!" I deadpanned.
"Alright, I'm just teasing. But I did come here because I wanted to discuss the topic of Self-Generated Mana with you."
"Are you interested in it too, Sister Danielle?" I asked, somewhat surprised.
"Oh! No, no, not like that. I don't mean an academic discussion. I mean something else~" Danielle shook her head.
"Um... something else? Like what?"
"Like... the impact and changes brought about by a technique like Self-Generated Mana that can be widely promoted. You should know, Xiao Han, that a brand-new, revolutionary technique always causes a massive upheaval!"
"I... suppose so?"
"Not 'suppose.' It's a certainty! Have you ever considered a certain hypothesis, Xiao Han?" Danielle asked.
"What hypothesis?"
"It's a hypothesis regarding your own kind, humans. If primates learned how to use human tools, do you think that would be a good thing?"
"Probably not..." I shook my head, but I understood Danielle's metaphor.
Wasn't she saying that we, as non-Transcendent Witches, were obtaining the "credentials" of Transcendent Witches?
Self-Generated Mana was the hallmark of a Transcendent Witch.
And I had lowered the threshold to the level of a Prospective Witch. The shockwaves this would send through the ranks of the Transcendent Witches...
"It seems you're very clever, Xiao Han~ You figured it out instantly, didn't you?" Danielle laughed happily.
"So... are there witches in the academy who oppose the spread of this technique?" I asked cautiously.
"How should I put this? The witch race is very inclusive. They can even tolerate the existence of freaks like the Rebel Witches and acknowledge them as kin. Because of that, there are all sorts of strange, twisted, prejudiced, or even insane witches among us. I can't give you any guarantees... It seems Dean Mei has protected you too well~ You even have a little girlfriend who is already a Transcendent Witch willing to protect you?"
"Well... I am... but even the Dean agreed to the matter of Self-Generated Mana..." I said hesitantly.
"But that is merely the will of that specific Dean." Danielle gave a light, smiling hum, seemingly intending to drop the subject. "The topic we're discussing seems a bit too heavy, doesn't it? My apologies, let's not mention it again~"
"It's fine, actually. Thank you, Sister Danielle, for bringing this to my attention. I truly hadn't thought about it before." I felt a sense of gratitude toward her.
This made me think of the Rebel Witches. If there really were stubborn witches trying to stop everything I was doing, I could almost understand the mindset of the Rebel Witches.
Those old fogeys, those prejudiced types... just thinking about them cast a shadow over my good mood.
Come to think of it, the fact that I hadn't encountered such a witch yet, nor had anyone tried to sabotage me in the shadows—did that Rebel Witch deserve some of the credit?
She was a Rebel Witch, after all!
Even Dean Mei frowned when dealing with someone like her.
If some prejudiced witch tried to block me for such a ridiculous reason and got targeted by that Rebel Witch, the cost would far outweigh the gain.
"It seems that even if such witches exist, you don't plan on stopping, do you, Xiao Han?"
"No." I nodded firmly.
"Then what are you worried about? Oh, dear~ I said we wouldn't talk about this. Let's talk about something else. Are you confident in this experiment?"
"I have some confidence. Actually, at this stage, the Structuring Ritual is the final hurdle. But the Structuring Ritual is essentially the same as the Shaping Ritual and..."
"Don't start with that, I won't understand it. Don't expect me to, either. So, Xiao Han, don't show off your professional knowledge in front of me," Danielle interrupted. "Let's talk about something else, something lighter. Like... hm, like your past experiences? I love hearing stories about how geniuses rose to power, adapted for an audience. For you to rise so quickly, you must have your own secrets, right? Why not tell me about it?"
"Well... alright. But my experience might be quite boring. Luck played a huge part in how I got to where I am today."