Chapter 907: Meeting the Rebel Witch Again
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 907: Meeting the Rebel Witch Again
"Sometimes, watching others scramble in a panic really does brighten one's mood~"
At this moment, my clone was watching the members of the Witch Secret Realm Club, joined by the Jack-of-all-trades Club, as they systematically evacuated the surrounding area.
The Secret Realm they controlled was on the verge of "exploding."
Originally, when they reported the matter, they assumed the Academy wouldn't care whether they lived or died. To their surprise, the Academy actually responded.
Furthermore, they dispatched a mentor to reinforce the Secret Realm. To prevent any uncontrollable accidents, this mentor still suggested evacuating the nearby students.
They even issued a temporary announcement.
That was the reason for the current scene.
As of now, neither the Witch Secret Realm Club nor the Jack-of-all-trades Club had publicly disclosed why the Secret Realm was malfunctioning.
But I knew exactly why.
And I knew that these two clubs knew the reason as well.
The ice crystal monsters within the Secret Realm had obtained fragments of the Great Glacial Throne Technique lost by those unlucky guys, causing their strength to skyrocket.
Anyone currently inside the Secret Realm could only retreat to avoid their wrath. However, there was one fatal catch: anyone holding a fragment was easily sensed by the "mobs" of the Ancient Remnant Ice race.
Once sensed, they would be locked onto, and it wouldn't be long before the royalty of the Ancient Remnant Ice arrived.
The Ancient Remnant Ice was, after all, an ancient race of living beings, so they naturally had a social hierarchy.
The highest rank was the royalty, followed by the guards, and finally the mobs. Currently, only these three ranks existed.
According to the information sent by Tan Han, it seemed the Ancient Remnant Ice once had a King who ruled the entire race—a being transcending the three tiers. However, this King had vanished. It wasn't that he hadn't awakened, but rather that no Ancient Remnant Ice with that level of power had been born yet.
Based on my speculation, if all the fragments of the Great Glacial Throne Technique could be gathered, it might be possible to mold such a King of the Ancient Remnant Ice.
But these were ultimately just guesses. Perhaps the records within the Secret Realm would have more information.
However… Tan Han still hadn't found the specific location of the laboratory.
After all… the Secret Realm was simply too vast, and the Ancient Remnant Ice had been dormant for too long. They had no way of knowing where the Witch laboratory that had recreated them was located. They only had a general direction, and with the thick blanket of ice and snow covering everything, it was truly a needle in a haystack.
I could only sigh at the pity of it all.
"What a coincidence~ to run into you here~"
"Hmm?" I turned around and saw a familiar figure. "It's you… fine, meeting you makes me feel like it's anything but a coincidence."
"Always saying such heartless things. Honestly, shouldn't we be friends by now?" Sheryl said with a look of mock hurt.
"Hmm… I don't think we quite count as friends. Friends don't plot against each other."
"I came here with total sincerity. You should be able to feel my genuineness. Exactly what kind of stereotype is making you so resistant to me, Xiao Han?" As Sheryl spoke, she walked up to my side, acting just like a friend.
Right. A "friend" whose age difference compared to mine required several digits to describe?
However, Sheryl's words did make me reflect. I had to admit that most of the time, when I dealt with this Rebel Witch, she was almost unnervingly sincere.
But sincerity backed by any kind of scheme is a lethal move. This Rebel Witch clearly wasn't like those petty, insidious villains who used low-handed tricks.
Of course, to reach that conclusion, one had to ignore a few things she’d done—like the Heart of the Cold Wave she "stole," or that time she took the opportunity to ambush the Wizard Academy.
"Maybe it's because you don't give me the kind of security a friend should."
"A friend's security… oh, you mean the kind where they won't betray you at any moment or stab you in the back? I didn't realize that was the impression you had of me. It makes me so sad~"
"Hiss… could you please not use that aggrieved tone to try and get close to me? If you want something, just say it. I don't mind a collaboration if it benefits me," I said, shivering slightly.
It was mostly her tone of voice; I really couldn't stand it. It gave me goosebumps!
"Is that so? Then I'll just pick a topic at random~ For instance… what do you think of this Glacial Throne Secret Realm?"
"I'm watching it standing up."
"Pfft—hahaha! Xiao Han, you can be quite the deadpan humorist sometimes, can't you?" Sheryl said with a laugh. "So, besides watching it while standing, sitting, or lying down, how do you view this farce?"
"You called it a farce yourself… In my eyes, it's not much different from playing house." I deadpanned.
"Playing house… what a lovely description~ Even though the people inside are struggling desperately, needing immense courage just to take a single step, with death around every corner and danger everywhere… to think it's just 'playing house' in your mouth, Xiao Han?"
"It's not true death, so what's there to fear?"
"Is that the confidence that comes from being able to toy with death? How fascinating. Just out of curiosity, does what's happening in the Secret Realm have anything to do with you~?" Sheryl asked with a light laugh, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"Don't slander me. It has nothing to do with me. It couldn't be me. My main body is in the experimental zone, and my clone is just wandering around. I haven't even entered the Secret Realm, so how could it be related to me?"
I fired off a triple denial, scrubbing away any connection between myself and the incident.
"Fine, fine~ It wasn't you~ But I'm curious. If it has nothing to do with you, why did you come here?"
"For fun, of course. To see the show. After all, a grand event like a Secret Realm exploding—it would be such a shame not to be here in person, wouldn't it?"
"Well said. I like a good show too. So, Xiao Han, when do you think this Secret Realm will blow?"
"Hmm… I'm not sure. Maybe… whenever I'm free?" I said with a shrug.
As for the Ancient Remnant Ice race and the Great Glacial Throne Technique, they were actually just a card I was betting on to get in touch with the World Consciousness.
If Fool's Dream's life experiment went smoothly, I might not need that card. But if it didn't, I might use this method to force contact with the World Consciousness. And if that wasn't enough… I still had the Misfortune Coin.
Of course, I wasn't going to voice those thoughts.
"It looks like you have your own ideas, Xiao Han?"
"Don't you?" I countered.
"I don't have much interest in this~"
"Then why did you give me those fragments back then?" I was referring to the pieces she had gifted me.
"Originally, I did have some ideas, but I eventually set them aside. Plans change, after all~"
"So what are you planning this time?"
"Well… last time, we had quite a pleasant conversation. I wonder if you've considered the proposal I made then?"
"Last time's proposal? Which one?"
"Eh? Did you forget so quickly? It was… the Game World~" Sheryl said, smiling.
"That… I don't have time." I was momentarily stunned to hear her bring it up again, but I ultimately replied with a helpless sigh.
I truly didn't have the time. I had too much on my plate: the Dream Domain experiments, Fool's Dream's dream life experiments, the large-scale preparation techniques for Dream State Soul Essence…
I had no time for a Game World. If I had to choose between that "Terminal of Myriad Worlds" and what I was doing now, I'd drop the Terminal in a heartbeat.
"How could you not have time? Your clone is quite idle, isn't it~"
"My clone?" I blinked, and even my main body in the laboratory paused for a moment.
"Your clone… controlled subconsciously through the Great Knowledge Seed and the Wisdom Shadow, it should definitely be able to handle the interface for the Great Knowledge Sharing Spell, right? In that case… your clone should be able to operate across worlds, shouldn't it?"
"It could…" I knew Sheryl was right; I could indeed do that. "I didn't expect you to be so familiar with my abilities."
"Of course~ So, what do you think of my proposal? I know your concerns. Being 'too busy' is just a facade. What you're really worried about is the hurdle that is Mei Lind, right? Don't bother denying it. If you go to the Game World with a clone, your actual self is in no danger. That reason… should be enough for you to handle her, shouldn't it? She has no reason to stop you now. You'd just be descending into that world the same way those players do."
"……"
Hearing Sheryl's words, I have to admit, I was tempted. If I had the capability, why play a game of "choose one"?
An adult little witch obviously chooses both!
"You're tempted~ aren't you?"
"I won't deny it. But how do you plan to send my clone there?" I raised a crucial question. If this wasn't solved, everything we just said was a joke.
"Oh? Have you forgotten your Reverse Summoning Spell?" Sheryl reminded me gently.
"Re—that's not easy to pull off, is it? The conditions for that spell are very strict."
"Then what if I told you that the Game World has already mastered the summoning rune for your Reverse Summoning Spell?"
"Hmm… are you referring to what I did in that small world before? But they clearly wouldn't dare summon me, otherwise they would have made a move long ago."
"No. Although I hadn't arrived in the Main World yet at that time, the Game World didn't start valuing your summoning rune because of that incident."
"What do you mean? Where did they get it then?" I asked, frowning.
"Someone gave it to them, of course~ I recall… there was a period when you were quite fond of handing out those special business cards of yours, Xiao Han. Your summoning rune was on them."
"Fine… isn't that just taking the long way around? So everything I did before was for nothing? What kind of logic are these people using?" I said indignantly.
"Perhaps the timing just wasn't right~ Xiao Han, would you like to hear about some plans you've never heard of?" Sheryl's tone suddenly turned mysterious as she asked.
"Hmph~ I'm listening." I walked over to a public bench on the street and sat down to rest for a bit.
"There's a tea room right next to us. Would you like a cup?" Sheryl followed and asked. "My treat this time."
"Sure, whatever. I don't know much about tea. How about… green tea?"
"I thought you'd prefer black tea."
"It's all the same to me."
A moment later, a professional tea master from the tea room arrived, bringing a full set of professional tea tools.
This was the first time I had seen such a complete set of tea equipment. After the tea master gave a polite greeting, Sheryl spoke with her for a bit, likely confirming some details.
Then, she turned her gaze back to me.
"First time?"
"Yeah. I rarely come here for this kind of thing."
"No need to be nervous. Drinking tea is a process of enjoyment. Even if you don't understand anything, you must realize that the customer is the focus. They will tolerate any of your unrefined actions."
"Fine…" I sighed. I had actually already been using Ley Line Identification Art and the Tree of Great Knowledge to look up tea-drinking procedures—things like warming the pot, placing the tea, washing the tea, and so on.
Since it wasn't necessary, I didn't bother playing along.
"Now, we can get back to the topic at hand~ Those are indeed some rather interesting plans."
"Uh…" I glanced at the tea master nearby, hesitating. Was she sure she wanted to talk about this with someone else present?
"Oh? Worried about that? It's fine~" Sheryl sat up straight and waved her hand near the tea master. The woman didn't seem to notice anything unusual and continued her work methodically. "Don't mind her. She won't notice us."
"Cognitive filtering?"
"Something like that. I learned a trick or two from a friend," Sheryl said with a smile, not specifying who.
"So, can you relax now?"
"Yeah. Go ahead then. What exactly is this plan you're talking about? Is it your plan, or someone else's?"
"How should I put it? A plan is only defined by who proposed it, but as for who uses it… that's hard to say. Didn't I just say that the summoning rune for your Reverse Summoning Spell was sent to that Game World?"
"Yes. So, was it your doing, or someone else's?"
"It had nothing to do with me~ Really!" Sheryl said with total sincerity.
"It should be said that… those players found it. When they were collaborating with the Wizard Academy, the players requested that it be sent to their world. After all, the Game World has no means of transporting physical objects across the void."
"Transporting my business card across worlds? They paid that high a price just for that? Are they insane? And analyzing my card to extract the Reverse Summoning rune should be easy for a wizard, right? The cost of sending information versus a physical card is completely different."
"Exactly~ and that's what they did. They transmitted the techniques for reconstructing and drawing that rune. The cost of sending an actual object is too high; they aren't that stupid," Sheryl confirmed.
"Uh… why?" I didn't quite understand why they would do this. Was there some piece of information I was missing?
"Xiao Han, as clever as you are, you haven't guessed it? Forget for a moment that you're the one who holds this spellbook. Go back to the essence of the question: what can a summoning rune do, and what do they need? It should be easy to guess, right?"