Chapter 877: The Glacial Throne Witch Secret Realm
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 877: The Glacial Throne Witch Secret Realm
"Sigh... have you heard? About that newly opened Secret Realm."
"Oh, that one? You know about it too? The Glacial Throne. It’s a shame I don't have an entry ticket."
"Yeah... it’s such a pity. That place holds power related to a Great Spellbook. If I could obtain that kind of power, I might actually be able to stand alongside that legendary teaching assistant, Yang Yuehan."
As information spread, the Witch Secret Realm Club began ramping up the hype for this particular realm.
The news didn't just circulate on the Academy Network; it traveled quickly through family networks to other academies and clans.
In the face of such an event—a dream exploration led by families affiliated with the Witch Academy—many family members jokingly referred to this Secret Realm as "the Academy's compensation."
Of course, this was merely banter, a jab at the Academy's previous suppression of family influences.
In reality, the Academy didn't care about these families at all.
However, the fact remained that the Witch Academy had handed over full authority of a Secret Realm to a single club. This gave the other families a lot to consider.
"Full authority" meant that everything—exploration, maintenance, upkeep, operations, and even the secondary design of the realm's modes—was entirely in their hands.
They could even use the exploration of this realm as a gimmick to facilitate exchanges between the Witch Academy and other institutions without any issues.
If this were just an ordinary Secret Realm, the members of the Witch Secret Realm Club would never have shared it with other academies.
But when the Academy informed them that this was an experimental realm shaped by the Great Glacial Throne Technique... their perspective shifted.
Even if the Academy said nothing more, they already understood plenty!
The families represented within the Witch Academy's clubs knew very well that other families would go mad trying to get their hands on a fragment of the Great Glacial Throne Technique. But did they not want it themselves?
The power of a Great Spellbook!
It was a means comparable to that of a Transcendent Witch.
That little witch they could never surpass had reached the very pinnacle of the Academy precisely because she held such power. Even the Transcendent Witches acknowledged her and were willing to be close to her...
This was the narrative they spread to build up the prestige of the Great Spellbook's power, and it was also a "fact" they were more than willing to believe!
However, as the information spread, voices of doubt began to emerge.
For instance... if this was the property of the Witch Academy, why invite people from other academies to carve it up?
Or, why was the realm only accessible to those holding fragments? The Secret Realm itself had no inherent threshold; was the Witch Secret Realm Club simply enforcing a monopoly?
But no matter how much negative information circulated, it couldn't shake the implementation of the plan.
The people in the club only cared about who held the fragments; they weren't running a charity.
Before the collaborative exploration began, the members of the Witch Secret Realm Club took the opportunity to enter early and gather basic intelligence.
After all, the realm now belonged to the club. Cooperation was for later; the urgent priority was to seize the home-field advantage and collect a massive amount of data.
This information would not only give them an early lead but could also serve as a commodity to be traded for profit.
However, the results of the joint exploration between the Witch Secret Realm Club and the Jack-of-all-trades Club were far from ideal.
This Witch Secret Realm was simply too vast, incomparable to the smaller realms the club usually managed.
Upon entering, their first impression was that it was as massive as the Expansion Realm back when they first started pioneering it.
Furthermore, the internal environment was incredibly harsh, covered entirely by a perpetual blizzard.
Through personal experience and information from their mentors, they learned that this environment... was an effect created by a single spell within the Great Glacial Throne Technique.
A blizzard covering the entire Secret Realm was merely one spell effect!
This gave them a much more concrete understanding of the terror of a Great Spellbook.
Even though the spellbook itself was gone, its spell effects persisted... What other power could possibly compare to such a feat?
None!
But sentiment was one thing, and greed was another.
They had to face a very realistic problem: they had to overcome this obstacle to find what they wanted within the realm.
While the power of the blizzard could be blocked by protective spells, no one could maintain such a spell for days or weeks on end.
Moreover, the extreme cold and the obscured vision caused by the snow were major issues.
They needed heat-retention spells or alchemical equipment to stay warm, and they had to maintain detection spells at all times to avoid losing their way.
Even ordinary spell effects seemed to be faintly suppressed within the realm...
If that were all, it wouldn't be an insurmountable barrier to exploration. The main issue was the ice creations within the realm... every single one of them could turn into a living creature and attack intruders!
In other words, one had to remain vigilant at all times, as battle could break out at any moment.
To explore this realm, one needed sufficient strength and a coordinated team.
Consequently, during this period, students who had participated in the self-generated mana experiments received olive branches from various clubs seeking cooperation.
After all, with enough mana, those minor environmental issues wouldn't be much of a hindrance.
* * *
While the clubs were busy with exploration and promotion, the Witch Academy had its own set of problems to solve.
First was the recent departure of several witches, which had created a gap in the dynamic equilibrium of the Main World's transcendent population.
This meant the Main World could attempt to recruit new witches outside of the usual rotation period.
Following Bai Yu's successful preliminary mastery of the Dream Domain prototype, a craze for practicing martial arts and pursuing the path of Body Cultivation had emerged among the transcendent levels of the Witch Academy.
This trend was spearheaded by the Academic Witches researching the Primitive Dream Realm. After all, they had witnessed Bai Yu's success! They were naturally envious. As for the other witches who were in the dark, they were simply following the trend.
With Dean Mei Lind pushing things along, Body Cultivation was gradually gaining traction among the witch community.
Although many witches didn't know exactly what was happening, if a large group of witches was studying it, then following suit was the right move.
Having an extra source of power was never a bad thing for a witch, was it?
Thus, for this round of recruitment, the Witch Academy intended to focus on hiring witches who specialized in Body Cultivation—specifically those who focused on Five Senses Body Cultivation or had awakened a Body Cultivation Sixth Sense.
The reason for all this was self-evident.
They needed a large number of successful cases to pave the way for the Dream Domain power system!
Actually, Dean Mei had considered taking Xiao Han directly to see the Primal Witch.
But a certain little witch was unwilling.
Later, Mei Lind went to see Bai Yu, but Bai Yu didn't want to leave either. She stated that she wanted to wait until the moment Xiao Han promoted to Transcendent so they could go together.
Ultimately, Mei could only report the situation to the Primal Witch in a different format.
As for herself, she planned to continuously replicate this miracle. After all, this power was sufficient to serve as a trump card for the Main World Witch Academy; the more of it, the better.
While it was difficult to find Body Cultivation witches with a Sixth Sense in the Main World, finding them outside the Main World was relatively easy. Whether they could make it here or were willing to come was another matter entirely.
* * *
"I finally found you. You certainly made me look~"
"Hmm?" I turned to look at the witch named Sheryl, a hint of wariness rising in my heart.
But then I remembered I was currently in my clone form, "Moon," and quickly relaxed.
I'm just a clone, what is there to fear?
No matter how many schemes this Rebel Witch had, could she really plot against me if I just self-destructed on the spot?
My main body was over in the Experimental Zone.
The barrier there was something even this Rebel Witch couldn't handle.
After all, even if her strength made even the Dean wary, it didn't mean she could do whatever she wanted in the Witch Academy.
Not everything can be destroyed by violence—like a math problem, for instance.
In the transcendent realm, there are too many "unsolvable" methods comparable to math problems. If you don't understand it, you simply don't understand it.
That barrier, if struck with force, would trap the attacker in a spatial labyrinth. Using transcendent means to construct properties that acted like rules—that was high-end transcendent technique.
Even if you broke out of the labyrinth, any attempt to shatter the barrier would just send you right back in.
Although the barrier had many flaws—it couldn't move, couldn't actively attack, and couldn't be constructed quickly—it was virtually "invincible" when used in specific locations.
"Does Sister Sheryl need something?"
After the journey to the Primitive Dream Realm, the mystique surrounding this Rebel Witch had gradually faded for me.
I acknowledged her strength, but she could no longer suppress me with her aura, status, or mystery as she once had.
"Oh? You're actually willing to call me 'Sister' now? I'm so happy~" Sheryl seemed genuinely delighted by the address. I had called her "Sister" back in the beginning, but I hadn't used the term much since then.
"So... did Sister Sheryl find me for a reason?" I repeated my question.
"Don't be in such a rush to get to the point~ How about a casual chat? I'll walk with you. This is just your clone anyway, so you shouldn't be busy, right?"
"Fine..."
To be honest, this clone of mine really wasn't busy.
The clone's role was more about playing the part of an ordinary person, enrolling in the Witch Academy to experience a mundane life. Occasionally, I'd even head to the teaching area to crash a public lecture and experience being taught.
Ultimately, I found that I struggled with normal course instruction.
That teaching style didn't suit me. Classroom education felt more like injecting one person's perspective into another's brain. I had to translate their viewpoints into a format I could understand for the learning to be effective.
As expected... my choice to test out of the courses was correct. Spontaneous, self-directed learning and active thinking—that was the optimal state for study.
Now, I walked and talked with Sheryl, exchanging idle remarks.
With my Heart Sense, I could faintly feel Sheryl's desire to close the distance between us through this interaction.
I have to say, I don't really fall for that, and I don't particularly enjoy socializing.
Other people's communication focuses on emotional and cognitive resonance, while mine is more about weighing the correctness or negligence of words.
Therefore, prolonged communication doesn't bring me closer to someone; it only leads to annoyance and boredom.
No one can build derivative emotions or resonance upon something they dislike doing.
"Xiao Han really doesn't like me, does she?" Sheryl naturally realized that our walk hadn't closed the gap between us, and she seemed a bit dejected once she realized it.
Sometimes, Rebel Witches are like that. They are more honest than any other witch because, on the path they are forced to walk, they have no friends other than fellow Rebel Witches.
"I suppose so. But I don't really like chatting with people in general, and I'm not very good at socializing."
"Is that so? You feel a lot like me. I think I told you once... you're very suited to being a Rebel Witch, aren't you?"
"But I don't want to be one right now."
"I was just joking. Even if you wanted to, and even if you called yourself a Rebel Witch, you wouldn't actually be one."
"That's good to hear."
"Hehe~ I can feel that your speech is a bit more natural now than it was a moment ago. Has anyone ever told you that your replies are full of quirkiness and humor?"
"Maybe. If you've really run out of topics... we could always just part ways."
"We haven't even gotten to the main topic yet, and you're already thinking about ending this?"
"Oh, we haven't reached the main topic yet?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"I'll just assume you're joking." Sheryl chuckled, not taking offense. "We've arrived at the Witch Cat Café again. Want to go in for a drink? I remember those cute Fool's Dream spirits... they seem to be closely related to you~ I wonder if you get a discount?"
"No discount, but... Sister Dinah did give me a Gold Cat Card."
"You have a Gold Cat Card too?"
"Too?"
"Ahem~ Never mind. A friend of mine also has a Gold Cat Card from Dinah. Do you mind treating me to a drink?"
"Fine... I don't mind."
"Then let's go~ The Witch Cat Café. Did you know? Places like this exist wherever witches gather. Not just in the Main World, but in any world where witches are stationed. It has become a symbol for witches, a concrete manifestation of their love for the concept of cats."
"Of course... the Witch Cat Café has another meaning for witches."
"What meaning?" I asked curiously.
"It's an expression of the witches' open-mindedness. Once you come here and press the cat stamp, the unknown, the anticipation, the surprise, and the exoticism take over. Every hostess cat-girl carries an open mindset: 'If there's a spark, we'll get down to business; if not, we'll just stay for a visit'..."
"Stop..."
"Alright, alright~ Actually, I've only heard those rumors. I know Xiao Han has a girlfriend~ The one we're going to is a legitimate Witch Cat Café, so we're just here to sit. I heard that those special Witch Cat Cafés... are actually located on your Academy's Pleasure Street~"