Chapter 891: Real Time and World Consciousness
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 891: Real Time and World Consciousness
"What do you mean?" Mei Lind asked, looking puzzled by my question. "Why would you think that?"
"Because, well... how should I put this? Didn't you say, Sister Mei, that the birth of a brand-new life form requires the recognition of the Void or the world itself?"
"I did tell you that. Are you thinking that when the Fool's Dream is recognized by the world, it can draw the attention of the World Consciousness?"
"Yes, that’s more or less it," I said, nodding quickly.
"I didn't expect you to think that far ahead. I'll be straight with you, then." Mei Lind’s gaze lingered on me for a few seconds before she let out a sigh. "Your idea is indeed feasible. Creating a brand-new race and gaining the world's recognition is a valid way to stir the World Consciousness. Through that connection, one could indeed trace back information related to the World Navel."
"So... was the Fool's Dream part of your plan all along, Sister Mei?"
"No," Mei Lind denied flatly.
"To me, the Fool's Dream was merely an accident. Turning dream creatures into true life is something that has no precedent in the entire Void. Achieving that is many times harder than simply creating a new race within the Void." Furthermore, as more new races were born, the difficulty of creating even more would likely increase exponentially.
Although no one in the Void could prove that the number of possible new races was finite, an individual's definition and perception of life certainly were.
As for why she had dumped this difficult problem on Xiao Han back then, it was naturally because, to the Xiao Han of that time, repaying a Great Spellbook was just as "impossible" as creating an impossible dream life.
Since the Fool's Dream was inherently tied to the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art, she had simply included it as a bonus.
At the very least, during one's young and reckless years, an unknown challenge would serve as a constant whip, driving them to keep striving.
But looking at the results, this so-called "whip" had been a bit too effective.
"Uh... was I just flattering myself?" I scratched my head awkwardly.
"At the end of the day, I am merely a Transcendent Witch. We can only predict future events to a certain extent. So, don't go blaming every coincidence on the Academy Dean and asking if it's part of some grand plan."
"I understand." I nodded seriously. "But... even if it wasn't part of the plan, the method seems viable, right? I have a premonition—I'm confident I can make the Fool's Dream into true life!"
"I know."
"Uh... Sister Mei, don't you have anything to say to that? I can't give an exact timeframe for when they'll become true life, but if we coordinate well, we might be able to use the opportunity to find the World Navel..."
"I am well aware," Mei Lind spoke again. "I truly didn't include the Fool's Dream in my plans because there were too many uncertainties. We had no starting point for a concept like dream life... but that doesn't mean we didn't have other contingencies."
"Huh? What?" I looked up at Dean Mei in disbelief, waiting for her to explain.
"How could we not have a method for nurturing new life? It's just that the cycle for that plan is too long, the results are unstable, and the costs are enormous. Even so, we still have the 'New Race Nurturing Plan' as a backup, just in case. After all, no one can account for luck."
"So... while the Fool's Dream isn't part of the plan, the plan itself still exists?"
"Yes. A significant number of witches in the Academy use their own Dungeon spaces as testing grounds to breed new races. But this method is very slow to show results, and..."
"And you haven't successfully bred a new race yet?" I tried to finish her sentence.
"I'm not afraid of you laughing at us, but yes, that is the case." Dean Mei shook her head with a wry smile. "However, these experiments aren't entirely fruitless. While we haven't created a new race, we can replicate races that once existed in the history of the Void but have since gone extinct. But these recreated races will never give birth to a 'Primal' of their kind again. The Main World Consciousness merely catalogs such races without taking any further action."
"They won't produce a Primal? Does a Primal only appear once?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, exactly. A Primal is a life form recognized by the Void, acting as the prototype for the race."
"Then where is that prototype imprinted in the Void? Since the prototype is unique, there must be a record of it somewhere, right?" I asked, puzzled.
"I don't know. I can't research concepts at that level. Many witches speculate that they might be imprinted within the World Ley Lines."
"Imprinted in the Ley Lines? Is there a reason for that theory?"
"You've heard of Ley Line Life, haven't you? I remember telling you about them," Mei Lind said.
"Yes, of course I remember." I nodded.
Back when I was busy with Ley Line energy, I had looked into life forms that could harness that power. I even recalled there being a Transformation Magic for Ley Line Life...
Through that transformation, one could temporarily bypass the regional limitations of the Ley Lines and command their energy.
"Ley Line Life... is a very broad term. To put it another way, a Ley Line Life can be any life form that has ever appeared in the history of the Void. Even extinct species might descend upon the Void again in the form of Ley Line Life."
"Descend? That's an interesting word..."
"Strange, isn't it? Ley Line Life has no parents—or rather, their parent is the Ley Line itself, or perhaps the Void. But these claims can't be verified. Even the Ley Line Life forms themselves don't know how they were born."
"I see. Because of that characteristic, people lean toward the idea that the imprints of Primal life are within the Ley Lines, right? Has... anyone ever confirmed this in the River of Ley Lines?"
"I don't know. Perhaps someone has, but people at that level would never speak of it."
"Why not?"
"Because not everyone is as selfless as you, Xiao Han," Mei Lind said with a light chuckle.
"Uh... right..."
I rubbed my nose awkwardly. I really was taking too many things for granted.
In the past, if I had a question, I could just ask and someone would easily give me the answer. But as I reached higher levels, those unknown concepts were no longer so easily revealed.
Such intelligence wouldn't be made public for free, nor could it be discovered through casual inquiry.
"Let's end this topic here. Xiao Han, did you come all this way just to ask about this? If it was just for this... there shouldn't have been a need for your clone to make the trip."
"Originally, it wasn't necessary..." I said hesitantly.
But since it involved the Fool's Dream, I had wanted to use the topic to learn more about them. If it really had been part of Dean Mei's plan, she might have possessed some key method.
Unfortunately... she didn't.
"So... has something gone wrong with the Fool's Dream again? Otherwise, I don't think there's anything else that would make you so insistent on coming in person."
"Sister Mei, you're amazing. You guessed it in one go."
"Ask away. If I know the answer, I'll tell you. Though, in the field of dream life... I really don't have much to say. Besides... you've discovered Dream State Soul Essence recently, haven't you?"
"Yes, I've been busy lately and didn't tell you directly. I didn't expect you to know already, Sister Mei."
"It's about to appear at the Academic Tea Party. If I didn't know as the Academy Dean, wouldn't that be embarrassing? Let's not talk about that. Tell me your question."
Mei Lind spoke to me. In her view, since Xiao Han had already completed the purification and refinement of Dream State Soul Essence, it meant she had taken a massive step forward in the field of dream life. Encountering problems was only natural and logical.
"Well..." I organized my thoughts for a moment, but in the end, I didn't ask directly why the Fool's Dream had fallen into a "slumber."
After all, Dean Mei had said herself that she didn't have much experience in creating new Progenitors, so she wouldn't be able to solve my confusion.
It was better to ask questions she might actually know the answers to. That way, combined with my own theories, I might reach a different conclusion.
"Sister Mei, what kind of existence is the World Consciousness, exactly?"
"Oh? You're asking me that?" Mei Lind looked at me with surprise. "If you put it that way, it's actually quite hard to answer. 'World Consciousness' is a collective term for the subjective intervention a mature world performs upon itself. That's why it's often personified and referred to as a 'consciousness.'"
"But is it an actual consciousness? Or is it just a label?" I followed up.
"I'm inclined to believe it is indeed a consciousness. After all, for a concept so widely recognized in the Void, it's unlikely to have been misnamed."
"Inclined to?" I caught the keyword.
"Yes. I have encountered many worlds, but those worlds possessed a 'World Will.' Only the Main World is called the 'World Consciousness.' If there were no difference between the two, there would be no need to distinguish them. But ultimately... I can't give you a definitive answer. Sometimes, experience is a better reference than a direct answer."
"Thank you for telling me this, Sister Mei. I... uh, let me think." I had originally wanted to ask how to meet the World Consciousness, but then I realized that if Mei Lind had such a method, she wouldn't be unable to locate the World Navel.
So, I decided to rephrase. "Does Sister Mei know where the World Consciousness is? Or how one might see it? Does it exist... in the depths of Real Time?"
"Where the World Consciousness is... that's an abstract question. It's like asking where a person's consciousness is. Consciousness doesn't exist in a specific physical location on the body, and the same applies to the World Consciousness. It doesn't exist in a specific 'place' in the world. Seeing it requires luck and the right opportunity. As for your guess about it existing in the depths of Real Time..."
"Is that theory wrong?" I asked hesitantly.
If the path through the depths of Real Time was a dead end, then even if I fully adapted to and mastered my Floating World Level Spirit Vision, I wouldn't be able to solve the problem Yu Yun was facing.
Because my initial premise would be wrong.
"I didn't say it was wrong," Mei Lind said, shaking her head. "For ordinary small worlds, or worlds that haven't fully formed, the world's will is quite shallow. A life form that has ascended to the Transcendent level is qualified to 'speak' with it. So, theoretically, no one can disprove the idea that the World Consciousness exists in the depths of Real Time."
"I understand. Thank you..." I said with heartfelt gratitude.
If ascending to Transcendent gave one the right to "speak" with a world's will, then that "right" was Real Time. Therefore... the path of Real Time wasn't wrong.
At the very least, it was a path worth trying.
"Why are you thanking me? There's no need for that. I'm not even sure how much help my words actually gave you, but as long as you feel you've gained something, that's enough."
"Don't worry—I've gained a lot."
"Then I'll just have to take your word for it. Honestly, if you ever run into trouble, you can just ask me through the Tree of Great Knowledge. There's no need to come all this way to ask in person."
"It's fine. Coming in person is my way of showing respect for the answers and the knowledge I receive."
"I always feel like you have these strange, inexplicable insistences, Xiao Han. But... have it your way. As long as you don't bring some massive trouble with you every time you visit, you're always welcome."
"That's a bit too blunt, isn't it!"
"Why can't you just be a bit more restrained?" Mei Lind replied with a teasing smile. "Alright, jokes aside, let's get to the main point—the matter regarding those three Body Cultivation Witches."
"Oh, that. There's no rush." When she mentioned the three Body Cultivation Witches, I knew what Dean Mei wanted to talk about.
It was about the experimental arrangements for the dream domain.
"Before we get to that... I have one more question for the Dean."
"What else?"
"It's... about the Game World. Sister Mei, what do you think..."
"What? You still have the spare time to worry about that?" Mei Lind's hands stiffened slightly when I brought it up, before she spoke.
"I'm just curious. Didn't you say before that you wanted me to harvest that world? Now, I don't even see those players running around in the Main World anymore. If we don't act soon, I feel like that world might just run away."
"Don't worry. it won't run, and it can't. It's still a bit too early to discuss that."
"Still too early? I feel like if we wait any longer, I'll already be a Transcendent Witch," I joked. But... in a way, that wasn't entirely wrong.
"If you really ascended to Transcendent that quickly, I'd wake up laughing in my sleep. Let's not talk about that. It's not time for the Game World yet. Let's focus on the business at hand."
"Al-right..."
I nodded and didn't press the issue. After all, bringing it up suddenly was just to gauge the Dean's attitude.
As expected, it was the same as before...