Chapter 930: He Wouldn't Dare Dream of This!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 930: He Wouldn't Dare Dream of This!
"On par with me... and they want to kick me out? They actually believe that?" My lip twitched in a speechless grimace.
If their strength were truly on par with mine, they should have just fought me directly like that Fallen Elf. Now that would have been persuasive. It would have also given them much more leverage with the Association.
Even if the fight ended in a draw, or if they were slightly outmatched, they could have used their superior numbers to force the Association to reconsider whether I was worth offending.
"The people in the Association naturally understand this, but they see no need to expose the lie. Their strength might not equal yours, but as long as they are roughly as strong as that Fallen Elf, it’s enough. The main issue is... their numbers. If more people arrive later making the same demands, the Association might truly need to re-evaluate things."
Tang En was quite invested in this. Ever since he obtained the Great Knowledge Seed, he had never seen through an organization like the Real Protection Association so clearly.
Specifically, the Ley Line Identification Art had allowed him to witness much of the darkness and convoluted schemes within the Association—the pasts people wanted to keep hidden, the truths they covered up, and even the leverage he could use against them.
Tang En realized that if he wanted to climb higher, he only needed to employ a few choice methods.
To him, everything in the Association now seemed trivial. The only person he couldn't see through—and the only one he had to treat with absolute reverence—was the Calamity Witch.
"It doesn't matter..."
After hearing Tang En's report, I had a rough idea of the situation. Given how quickly Dean Mei received the news, it seemed the other transcendent factions had already begun a preliminary campaign to marginalize and pressure me.
They believed I needed to borrow the strength of the Real Protection Association to gradually influence this world, grow my power, and eventually subvert it.
As for why they hadn't come to find trouble with me yet, a significant portion of them likely knew my combat strength and mistook this clone for my main body, so they didn't dare confront me head-on.
"That doesn't matter either...?"
"Yes, it doesn't matter." I nodded, then looked directly at him through the Great Knowledge Seed's visual feed. "By the way... do you feel like your current position is a bit too low? Do you want to go a step higher?"
"High...er? Yes! I do!" Tang En's ambition was laid bare in his voice, his excitement unconcealed.
Though his current title was Vice President, it was just a title. He didn't enjoy the actual power of the office. He hadn't even established the necessary network of connections; trying to exercise authority was an exercise in futility.
At this moment, he was more like a mouthpiece wearing the skin of a Vice President, used to curry favor with the Calamity Witch without actually ceding any real power to her.
"Then find an excuse to come see me. Some things are better discussed in person," I said.
There was no surveillance or monitoring here. There used to be, but I had dismantled it all. Under the Ley Line Identification Art, those things were mere toys. Even eavesdropping methods that transcended local cognition couldn't bypass the indiscriminate interpretation of information.
After asking if there was anything else, I cut the communication.
The remaining matters were basically trivialities. I told him to organize them and send them to me; there was no need to waste my time reporting them face-to-face over the comms.
After I finished catching up on these matters and killed some time, Tang En arrived at my location.
I had to admit, I approved of his efficiency.
As the Vice President of the Real Protection Association, every meeting Tang En had with the Calamity Witch had to be reported. This time was no different.
However, because it was a sudden situation, Tang En left with a secretary immediately after filing his report.
While this secretary was nominally there to assist the Vice President, the reality of the situation was... a different story entirely. But if he didn't bring her, some consultant or elder might try to make a mountain out of a molehill later.
"Greetings. I wonder what the Calamity Witch requires this time..."
After I guided Tang En and the secretary to the sofa opposite me, he hadn't even finished his sentence before the secretary's eyes began to lose focus.
Her voice turned into a meaningless hum, and she eventually slumped back against the sofa.
Hypnosis.
Even without transcendent means, a normal person with professional knowledge could achieve this using specialized equipment and the subject's cooperation. When hypnosis was elevated to the level of a spell, its effect on ordinary people was absolute. Similar methods included mental guidance, illusions, and dreams. Hypnosis was often the opening move for these more advanced techniques.
"It's fine. She's just been hypnotized by me." I gestured to the slightly shocked Tang En, telling him not to make a fuss. "What we say next will be known only to the two of us. For the time being, there won't be a third person who knows. As for any listening devices, I've already dealt with them in advance."
"I await your orders, Lady Witch!" Tang En moved to stand up and kneel before me, but I pressed him back down.
"There's no need for such formalities." I shook my head and sat back on my sofa. "First, tell me, how do you feel about the Great Knowledge Seed? Do you feel as if everyone's secrets are laid bare before you?"
"Yes... Yes! The power of the Great Knowledge Seed is simply too formidable. I..."
"No need for flattery. I saw that after you left, you were itching to move against the Association, but you restrained yourself every time... Actually, there's no need for that. I won't restrict what you do to others. From the moment I arrived in this world, I was prepared to be the enemy of the entire world. If you can use your own methods to completely seize control of this branch of the Real Protection Association, it doesn't matter to me. In fact, you would be even more valuable in my eyes."
"Yes! I certainly won't disappoint you, Lady Witch!" Tang En's voice trembled as he spoke—trembling with excitement!
His only superior had told him he didn't need to hold back and even encouraged him to do it. What reason did he have to hesitate?
Before he could fully process the excitement of this news, my voice came again.
"The main reason I called you here is to find a way to deal with those outsiders."
"You wish to deal with them as well, Lady Witch? How can I be of assistance..."
"I'll be blunt. I can easily wipe those outsiders out. At the very least, the ones currently in contact with the Real Protection Association fall under what I just said... I can crush them."
"Hiss... Then you plan to personally..." Tang En made a cutting motion across his throat, his meaning obvious.
"Something like that..." I said.
If I really had to kill that many, this clone definitely wouldn't be enough. Setting aside the clone's power limits and the delay in spellcasting, the clone would still be at risk of death if besieged.
However, if it were a strike delivered by my main body, that would be a different story.
"I remember we talked last time about how the armed forces of the Real Protection Association are a serious problem. All the extraordinary power you possess is tied to Banned Accounts, which means your high-end power faces issues with non-repeatability and sustainability, right?"
"Yes." Tang En nodded. We had indeed touched on this before.
The power structure of the Real Protection Association was extremely deformed. Their high-end power was severely restricted, and their low-end power was almost non-existent. They had tried to form armed units using Banned Accounts—splitting one account's power into multiple weapons to arm a squad, giving more people extraordinary power and fire suppression capabilities.
But once the Banned Account was truly banned, the entire squad would lose its combat effectiveness.
Furthermore, this world had no arms factories. All their weapons originated from game accounts—the power of the Terminal of Myriad Worlds. Thus, the Real Protection Association had no lethal weapons of their own to stage a revolt. Even the weapons used by the Order Keepers were mostly for deterrence; they couldn't arm a functional combat organization.
That was why they needed outside help to counter the power of the players in this world.
"Tell me... if I granted you the power to master the extraordinary, could you quickly pull together an armed force that answers only to you?"
"Wh-what?!" Tang En didn't know how many times he had been shocked today.
Granting them the power to master the extraordinary! Did that mean...
In Tang En's moment of excitement, his Great Knowledge Seed suddenly popped up a loading interface of its own accord. His gaze gradually fell upon this loading vision.
"Since you've decided to do great things, don't let your emotions dictate your thoughts, and stop being so jumpy. You should see the interface loaded by the Great Knowledge Seed now, right?"
"I see it." Tang En took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"What's loading is the Power Network. The Power Network will grant you extraordinary strength," I introduced.
Regarding this game world, I had initially worried that the lack of a developed, systematic extraordinary power like magic or spells was due to a low concentration of extraordinary energy in the environment. However, after fighting that Fallen Elf, I had made my own judgment.
The world was indeed like that.
However... after this game world built an Infinite Energy Perpetual Motion Machine using void rifts, the concentration of extraordinary energy had become quite high. It was just that because of the specific nature of the energy, they still couldn't spontaneously develop a unique extraordinary system of their own. After all, they lacked the environmental and social foundations.
Currently, outsiders from beyond the world also found their powers restricted to a certain extent here. That was normal.
But my Power Network didn't fear this, because the original Power Network relied on a model of utilizing energy through domain orders. In this world, it was simply a matter of switching the method of energy utilization; the overall model of the Power Network could still be applied.
"Once it's finished loading, you can freely choose a power system: Mage, Warrior, Healer, or even other power modes. This is the authority I am granting you."
"Then... can I, can I try it now?"
"Naturally." I nodded.
With my permission, Tang En looked at the dazzling array of power systems with excitement. Finally, his trembling hand clicked on the Mage system.
A Mage!
A Mage who controlled the extraordinary forces of nature! Just like the Calamity Witch, who controlled the elements at will and slaughtered players with a wave of her hand—how could he not yearn for that?
Once he made his choice, he quickly saw the prominent skill tree under that power system. With a few clicks, he found that these spells could be lit up directly... without any restrictions!
But since he was in the Calamity Witch's territory, he didn't dare try spells like "Meteor Shower of Fire" or "Lightning Domain Prison." In the end, he chose the most basic, initial spell: Fireball Spell.
"Where should I fire it? Toward the sky?"
"Try it on me. I'll be responsible for extinguishing the spell you release, otherwise you'll blow this place up."
"Yes." Tang En nodded hurriedly, then reached out his hand and clicked to cast Fireball Spell.
In an instant, a magic ritual formed. The energy surging around him gradually transformed into fire elements, finally condensing into a fireball!
He only saw a spell casting bar in his vision, and the spell was completed in the blink of an eye. At this moment, it felt as if he could launch the head-sized fireball in front of his palm with a single thought!
Feeling the heat before his palm, this was the first time he felt the terrifying nature of extraordinary power! It made him just as ecstatic as the first time he had logged into the game and received his starting weapon!
Then, with a thought, the Fireball Spell flew toward the figure in front of him.
The blazing fireball reached me in an instant, but I extinguished it with a single hand. Only the residual heat that hadn't yet dissipated drifted into the surroundings.
"Test complete. The power of this fireball didn't quite meet my expectations, but even so, it's comparable to the explosive power of a player's Rapid-Fire Missile. I will continue to optimize it."
"Then... then this power can only be relied upon through this seed..."
"More or less. But don't worry, that won't be a problem you need to consider. The one I gave you is called a Great Knowledge Seed; the Power Network is just one part of the functions it can load. If you want to spread it on a large scale and arm a massive force, you can use... another method: Great Knowledge Seeds."
As I spoke, I pulled out a crystal that I could just barely hold in one hand. It was filled with Knowledge Seeds nurtured from the consciousness of the Fallen Elf. There were roughly over a hundred of them.
Then, I pulled out a Storage Card, placed the crystal inside, and handed it over.
"This is a Storage Card. The internal space is only one cubic meter. What I just put inside is the crystal carrying the Knowledge Seeds. For specific instructions on how to use it, you can ask the Knowledge Shadow of your Knowledge Seed. It will tell you in detail how to use the Storage Card, how to take out the Great Knowledge Seeds, and other precautions."
"Additionally, I want to make one thing clear: the authority of a Knowledge Seed is lower than that of a Knowledge Seed in every way. In this world, aside from me, you hold the highest authority within the knowledge system. You understand what I mean, right?"
"I understand! I will certainly not fail your expectations, Lady Calamity Witch!" Tang En took the card with trembling hands.
At this moment, countless surprises bombarded his cognition. It felt as if he had been a nobody in the Association for countless years, only to finally lie down on his bed exhausted and have a dream...
No! He wouldn't dare dream of this!
So, this was no dream!