Chapter 927: Prospective Witch… Ian Garland?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 927: Prospective Witch… Ian Garland?
Several days passed in a flash, and the Qi Observation Art instrument reached its phase-testing stage. After all, "debugging" meant a cycle of constant adjustment and continuous testing.
If it were still the simple Qi Observation Art spell from before, it certainly wouldn't be this much trouble.
However, because the Dean and the others had added more and more components to the instrument, making its functions increasingly comprehensive and its classifications more granular, the difficulty of testing had risen exponentially.
"Let's start the test directly. We'll examine the interference relationship between the Main World's Expansion Realm and the Core World. If the data falls within our macro-observation error range, we'll consider this phase of testing a success."
"Hmm? We're only testing one set of data for the Expansion Realm?" I asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Not exactly," a Witch Sister beside me explained meticulously. "The relationship between the Expansion Realm and the Core World is complex. The test data doesn't represent the realms as a whole; instead, we compare data from localized observation points with the Qi Observation Art readings. Theoretically, the number of data sets depends on how many observation points we've set up."
Then, another Witch Sister chimed in, "The Luck interference between the Expansion Realm and the Core World is currently the largest observable natural experimental site in the Main World. Once the observation is over, if there are no issues with the data, it has to be sent to the World Repair Laboratory as a reference."
"The World Repair Laboratory?" I was curious, though not entirely surprised. After all, World Repair Technique was hardly child's play.
"It's a massive laboratory researching Main World Ley Line repair techniques. They are dedicated to the great art of fully restoring the Main World."
"Understood, understood," I nodded quickly.
"By the way, Xiao Han, is there anything you want to observe? The Qi Observation Art instrument has a massive range. Even if it encompasses the entire Core World and Expansion Realm, it still has a huge remaining capacity. If you're interested in something, let us know. For instance, the Glacial Throne Secret Realm that's been so popular lately, or the Luck trends in the Expansion Realm, or even the movements of the Main World's Children of Destiny—it can see them all very clearly~"
"Is that so!" Hearing this, a few ideas immediately popped into my head.
For example... the Luck Summoning Spell, or observing how the Misfortune Coin operates from a Luck perspective.
Ultimately, I chose the Luck Summoning Spell. Using the Misfortune Coin still carried a bit too much risk.
"Have you decided? You need to be quick~"
"Yes." I nodded, not wanting to waste time. Testing the Luck Summoning Spell was actually quite simple: use the directly interfering Luck threads as a medium to perform a reverse summons.
I would observe the results the moment it succeeded.
As for the experimental carrier, I could just use my Clone Technique.
As I continued to optimize my clones, the technique had gradually matured. It was essentially a systematic, structured integration of various skills.
The core of the clone was the Great Knowledge Seed acting as the central carrier, while its behavior was managed by the Wisdom Shadow within the seed.
This had given birth to a brand-new clone concept: the Incorporeal Clone.
Its core consisted of the Great Knowledge Seed and my consciousness projection.
It was similar to when Tan Han used her Wisdom Shadow; after she granted me authorization, my consciousness would replace the Wisdom Shadow to speak with her.
This kind of incorporeal, carrier-less clone consciousness couldn't exist for long, but it was sufficient for experimenting with the Luck Summoning Spell and verifying my hypothesis.
If it weren't for this debugging session bringing it up, I could have performed even more delicate operations with this clone consciousness.
But it didn't matter. There would be another chance next time, wouldn't there?
"Ready?"
"Ready." I nodded, holding a Consciousness Crystal—a temporary carrier for the clone consciousness. I didn't want it to break before the experiment even began.
Once I gave the word, they began to start the instrument in an orderly fashion.
Although the machine was gargantuan, most of its structure was actually for support and anti-interference. Its primary operational effect was concentrated in the core area.
At that moment, I completed the ritual for the Luck Summoning Spell, using the Luck on my own body as the carrier.
I hadn't cleared the Luck clinging to me in a long time, so I had accumulated quite a bit of influence. Much of it had attached itself to me because I interfered with the Glacial Throne Secret Realm's script; now, it was conveniently being used for the experiment.
As I crushed the Consciousness Crystal, the clone consciousness completely vanished from my hand under the power of the Luck Summoning Spell.
"Huh? It succeeded?"
I was a bit surprised. Since it had been summoned away, it meant the spell worked. If it had failed, the summons would have been interrupted—a phenomenon seen in previous experimental data.
But if it was summoned away... where was my clone consciousness?
Without the Consciousness Crystal as a carrier, this clone consciousness couldn't survive for long. Yet, in reality, I wasn't receiving any feedback from the other side.
Because there was no carrier and no physical sensory channels, I only had the most instinctive, macro-level perception of the consciousness. A strange sensation gradually drifted back to me.
It wasn't showing signs of slowly dissipating. It had actually been hosted in some unknown way!
When I received this feedback, my first reaction was... disbelief!
The only thing that could host a consciousness was a Consciousness Crystal, right?
Had it been teleported into another unsealed Consciousness Crystal, or into someone's head?
Even if it was teleported into someone's head, wouldn't that be like a Player Possession?
But I hadn't given this clone consciousness the ability to possess anyone...
I watched the Witch Sisters as they busily compiled the data. I would have to wait until they were finished to ask questions.
After a while, one of the witches—the one who had asked if I was ready—walked over.
"Xiao Han, did you do something just now?"
"Uh... I used a Luck Summoning Spell to teleport something. I hope it didn't cause any serious issues?" I scratched my head, asking sheepishly.
"Teleported something? Is it convenient to say what? My side didn't observe any follow-up actions in the anomalous data."
"Eh? You didn't observe it?"
"We only observed a slight Luck anomaly caused by what you were doing, but the impact plummeted almost immediately. There was no follow-up."
"Ah? No follow-up... Does that mean... the experiment failed?" I asked dubiously, then walked over to the Luck data observation station myself.
After interfacing the data with the Tree of Great Knowledge, I began my own analysis.
"Failed? It's fine. Every experiment has the possibility of failure. Why not try again during the next debugging session?~"
"I guess I'll try again next time then," I shrugged, having no other choice but to agree.
After asking them for the observation point data to perform an exclusion search, I began filtering through it on my own.
I didn't believe my experiment had no follow-up.
That clone consciousness was still maintaining a communication link with me. It wasn't a typical clone; it had no physical form and could only rely on Mimicry Soul Technique to build a very flimsy sensory channel.
At the very least, I needed to know where it was.
Had it been teleported to some laboratory and sealed away?
It was a long shot, but not impossible. If it were out in the wilderness or on a main road, it would have dissipated long ago.
I carefully identified the Luck data on the display, but just as the Witch Sister said, there were no anomalies.
However, during my observation, one cluster was exceptionally brilliant.
That was the Luck node of the Glacial Throne Secret Realm. It covered almost the vast majority of Luck convergence points in the entire Main World Core World.
In other words, every move within the Glacial Throne Secret Realm affected every aspect of this world, from secular families to transcendent academies.
Once I filtered out the Luck node of the Glacial Throne Secret Realm, the world seemed to fall silent.
Only a few scattered traces of Luck remained. These were likely the transcendents who possessed the skills to manipulate Luck, creating such a scene.
I was certain of this because I saw the Luck Alchemist Witch, Teryx Destiny, in the area of the Witch Academy.
I had learned some basic Luck Alchemy from her, so I was naturally very familiar with these techniques.
"Xiao Han, haven't given up yet? By the way, what exactly did you teleport over there?" another Witch Sister walked over and asked with a smile.
"Ah... I couldn't find it. It looks like the experiment really did fail... As for what I sent, it was a derivative of my consciousness, similar to a clone consciousness without a body."
"A clone consciousness? It's fine~ Failure is common in experiments. No need to take it to heart~"
The witches all felt that Xiao Han had risen to prominence too quickly and hadn't tasted much failure, so they offered their comfort.
"Mm-hmm..."
I didn't explain further. The reason I was so persistent was that if the clone consciousness had dissipated, that would be one thing—but it hadn't!
* * *
Meanwhile.
Outside the Glacial Throne Secret Realm.
The space tore open, and several figures suddenly tumbled out. Accompanied by wind and snow, they collapsed onto the ground.
Seeing this, the crowd rushed forward to check on them, particularly students from the Wizard Academy and the Witch Academy.
From their attire, it was clear these figures were from the Wizard Academy.
The severity of their wounds and the ice crystals covering their injuries spoke of a fierce battle.
The students from the Witch Academy stepped forward because they sensed the presence of a witch among them. The mana leaking from a Mana Source was very obvious to upperclassmen.
"Classmate, who are you?" A witch student stepped forward to ask, but her hand was suddenly slapped away.
"Get away! Get away! Don't touch me! Witch! Don't touch me..."
The violent roar, the raspy voice, and the controversial words immediately drew everyone's attention.
The medical personnel responsible for emergency spells were busy sustaining the final threads of life for those who were critically injured and near death.
"Classmate, what happened? Don't be so agitated... You're safe now. May I ask... why were you with the people from the Wizard Academy?"
"I'm not a witch... Get away from me! I'm a wizard! I'm a wizard apprentice... Witches, get lost..."
Following these incoherent words, not only was the Witch Academy side confused, but the Wizard Academy side was as well.
Soon, someone recognized the squad.
These were the very people from the Wizard Academy who had first entered the Glacial Throne Secret Realm! Moreover, they were among the few who held fragments.
On the Witch Academy's side, after casting mental stabilization and sedation spells on this "girl," she finally quieted down.
The only thing that could be confirmed was that this girl had suffered a massive mental shock before leaving the secret realm.
A moment later, the Wizard Academy completed a head count of the squad. Four students had emerged, having torn through three secret realm rifts, and these four included this "girl."
It could be said that the squad's losses were severe.
While the crowd was either bewildered or watching for amusement, the Witch Academy side roughly figured out the cause.
Their senses hadn't been wrong. This girl did indeed have a Mana Source in her body, but there was only one, and it was highly unstable.
The situation was obvious: inside the secret realm, a witch student had stuffed a Mana Source into a wizard apprentice, causing this unfortunate girl to become a preparatory witch.
For a moment, the Witch Academy side felt awkward... They hadn't expected someone to pull such a stunt inside the secret realm.
Wasn't this just making things more chaotic?!
"Now that you've calmed down, can you tell us your name? Which student from the Wizard Academy are you?"
"I... I... I..." Even after being forcibly sedated by magic, the girl still couldn't finish a sentence. But it was more due to her internal struggle...
Because... her name was: "I... I am... Ian Garland."
As she finished the sentence, she seemed to lose all her strength and slumped onto the ground.
"It's actually Ian Garland?"
Hearing this name, the ones with the biggest reaction were the people from the Wizard Academy.
After all, they were very familiar with that name.
Ian Garland... the genius student of the Wizard Academy! A Child of Destiny bearing a Luck Seed!
To see him now, collapsed on the ground in the form of a girl... it was truly a pathetic sight.
However, after the initial shock, not many wizard apprentices expressed grief. Some even turned away to hide their snickers.
It was just like what had happened to Lucianne, a fellow Child of Destiny.
How Ian Garland had mocked Lucianne on the volcano of the Bobapus Archipelago was exactly how these wizard apprentices were mocking Ian Garland now.
However, given the setting, they had to hide it and even act somewhat angry.
But just as the Wizard Academy side was about to demand an explanation from the Witch Academy, the next words made everyone's expression freeze!
"The secret realm... laboratory... the location... found it..."