Chapter 973: The Wizard's Rule of Equivalent Exchange
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 973: The Wizard's Rule of Equivalent Exchange
"I'm sorry, I... I think I overstepped. A war of this scale... it's not something you can control, Xiao Han. This is the Academy's decision, isn't it?" After calming down, the Shopkeeper quickly reflected on her words.
"Shopkeeper, there’s no need for that. It doesn't matter whose idea this war was anymore. This is an irreconcilable conflict between Transcendent Academies and transcendent races. Transcendent power dictates that struggle will always be settled through blood and violence. Since the current trend is unstoppable... it’s better to think about what role you want to play in a war that will engulf the entire Academy."
"Cannon fodder? The backbone? A bystander drifting with the tide? Or the trump card that decides the outcome?"
War isn't something just anyone can critique—not until it has been written into history. Those caught in the middle are merely reduced to being its cruel witnesses.
I didn't press the issue further with the Shopkeeper. The sensibilities ingrained by a past education can sometimes hinder progress in this world, primarily because the Shopkeeper hadn't yet realized what a Transcendent Academy truly represented.
It represented an irreconcilable struggle for survival between races.
No one was innocent. They wanted to kill me, and I wanted to kill them.
The only pity was that while I had indeed killed many from other races, they hadn't managed to kill me even once.
I didn't blame the Shopkeeper for asking. Everyone present had the same doubts, but only she had the courage to voice them.
As they watched my clone depart, the group fell into a heavy silence.
"Well... since we can't stop what's coming, should we prepare something for self-defense?" Tan Han was the first to break the atmosphere, offering a constructive suggestion.
"What would you even buy? Once this break is over, Tan Han, you'll still be a second-year, right?" Shi Ruizhi spoke up. "Aren't junior students supposed to go to the Expansion Realm branches? I suspect that's the Academy's way of preventing underclassmen, who haven't mastered much combat power yet, from dying pointlessly on the battlefield."
"I wonder how the Academy will organize the students for combat when the time comes..." the Shopkeeper sighed. "From what I know of Academy Wars started by smaller Transcendent Academies, basically everyone is put on combat alert. Desertion or evading the draft are considered severe violations..."
"Huh? Wait... Shopkeeper, how do you know about that?" Shi Ruizhi looked at her in shock. "Did an Academy War happen while you were a student? Or did you hear it from the senior sisters in your year?"
"How could that be? Top-tier academies, including large-scale ones like the Witch Academy, almost never have Academy Wars—at least, none that I've heard of," the Shopkeeper said, shaking her head. "But many small Transcendent Academies and affiliated academies around the world start wars for all sorts of reasons... Whenever you see a massive drop in enrollment applications for a particular academy, it usually means that academy fought until its students were wiped out, and then the school was struck from the records entirely."
"Ah? That actually happens? How come I didn't know anything about this?"
"They're small academies... it's natural you wouldn't know. If I hadn't been short on money back then and accidentally taken the wrong mission—a war mercenary contract—I never would have imagined there were regions in our world constantly at war," the Shopkeeper explained.
Of course, that was her polished version of the story. Back then, she had taken the mission out of pure curiosity. For a hot-blooded Witch student, words like "war" and "mercenary" were incredibly exciting.
And the final result...
"Precisely because I participated—even if only once—I understand the cruelty of an Academy War. If it's like that for small academies, it will be a literal river of blood for a large-scale one."
"Um... why didn't you explain it like that to Sister Xiao Han just now? I feel like she might have misunderstood you."
"It's fine... I can't exactly try to talk her out of it now, can I? Besides, it's not really a misunderstanding... Compared to Xiao Han, I really am quite powerless."
* * *
After leaving the Baking House, I planned to find Dean Mei.
The Glacial Throne Secret Realm was merely an event triggered by a single luck node. When the Dean stepped back and let me handle it, she granted me immense autonomy.
In essence... it didn't matter how much of a mess I made.
After all, the Dean herself had set the upper limit at an "Academy War." What could be worse than total war?
Furthermore, the Dean and the others were actually looking forward to such a battle to serve as a warm-up for the coming changes in the Main World.
Since the Dean was willing to place an early bet and reserve a portion of hope for Fool's Dream—hoping to use it to observe the movements of the World Will and the anomalies of the World Navel—I naturally wouldn't let her down.
The Ancient Remnant Ice was a front. The revelation of life born from that ice was merely the groundwork I was laying for Fool's Dream to achieve true life.
Using Qi Observation to locate the World Navel, and a Dreamscape Calamity to hard-control the Core World transcendents.
The Witches' strategy for the Main World was destined to be a blitzkrieg.
I was going to see Dean Mei to discuss the finer details of the plan. After all, a plan is just a plan; execution is everything.
More importantly, the Dean had tacitly allowed me to engage Transcendent-level enemies while assuming the form of the Ancient Remnant Ice.
By the time I reached Dean Mei's office, she had already left a clone waiting for me, as I had contacted her in advance.
As for her main body, she was busy with research related to the Qi Observation Art.
However, to my surprise...
This time, the office wasn't filled with the Witches I usually saw. The Qi Observation instruments had been moved out, leaving the room feeling empty.
But besides Dean Mei's clone, there was someone else... a Rebel Witch?
"Hi~ Xiao Han, it's been a few days~"
"Hmm? Why are you here?" I straightened my posture, my head instinctively leaning back slightly before I spoke.
"Xiao Han, that's a bit hurtful. Weren't you looking forward to seeing me?" Sheryl said, feigning a heartbroken expression.
"I've seen quite enough of you. I don't think any Witch looks forward to seeing you," Dean Mei interjected from the side, twisting the knife.
"Fine... it looks like Xiao Han didn't have a good time in the game world? Otherwise, she wouldn't be acting like this..." Sheryl sighed, bringing up the topic first.
"It wasn't exactly 'fun'... but that's not the main reason I'm here," I said, shaking my head to end that line of conversation.
"Yes, Xiao Han came to see me. You're just an accident," Mei Lind said, standing up and shooing the figure sitting on the corner of her desk.
"Alright, alright~ I'm an accident~ You two talk~"
Pushed off her perch by Mei Lind, Sheryl spun around and plopped herself directly into Mei Lind's office chair, gesturing for us to proceed.
"You... fine. I'm a clone anyway, do as you like."
Mei Lind didn't press the issue. Even if she weren't a clone, she found this Rebel Witch difficult to handle.
Sheryl settled in, clearly intending to watch the show.
Dean Mei led me to a more comfortable sofa nearby.
"Is this a clone as well, Xiao Han?"
"Yes. My main body is quite busy."
"Still busy? Not taking a break?" Dean Mei asked with a touch of concern, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she was usually just as busy.
"It's the kind of 'busy' that counts as a break."
"She's busy spending time with her partner~ Old Lady Mei, surely you didn't miss the subtext just because you're single?" Sheryl chimed in with a grin.
"No one asked for your input." Mei Lind looked up and glared at Sheryl, though she seemed mostly annoyed by the nickname.
It seemed she needed to stop that name from spreading.
Fortunately, Xiao Han would never call her that—Xiao Han was much more sensible!
"Did you have something specific in mind for this visit, Xiao Han? Your message didn't give many details, so I just had my clone wait here."
"It's nothing major, just something regarding the Glacial Throne Secret Realm." As I spoke, I pulled out a palm-sized crystal and began toying with it in my hand.
"Ready to make a move?" Hearing me mention it, Dean Mei's interest was piqued. "Did the clubs finally do something to upset you?"
"No, they're actually being too sensible. They don't dare move against me, but I can't wait any longer," I said, shaking my head. "The Glacial Throne Secret Realm is currently obstructing the implementation of three of my plans. If I delay further... well, it wouldn't be a disaster, but I'm looking for something to do."
Hearing this, Dean Mei opened her Great Knowledge Seed. She had grown accustomed to using it to gather information on various Academy affairs; it was simply more convenient.
"Hmm... the clubs actually decided to let go of the Secret Realm Core?" The Dean was somewhat surprised.
As the Dean, she had a good idea of what that would trigger. "Are you planning to turn your sights outward?"
"Exactly. Doing so might cause friction between the Witch Academy and other academies. It'll probably cause the school quite a bit of trouble, won't it?"
Before Dean Mei could respond, the voice from the desk rang out again: "What trouble? Don't listen to that Old Lady Mei's nonsense. Take it from me—this Academy has plenty of Witches who would love to settle your troubles for you! Any trouble at all! If they can't handle it, I'll step in personally!"
"Cough... ahem! That won't be necessary." Dean Mei cleared her throat and shot Sheryl a look before speaking to me. "I haven't even said anything yet. Why are you assuming my decision? And did I say it was trouble? The Witch Academy doesn't fear friction, and we certainly don't fear conflict."
"Fine, fine~ I'll just watch from the sidelines then~" Sheryl said with a smile, not at all embarrassed by the rebuff. In fact, she seemed eager to see this play out.
"Let's get back to the point, Xiao Han." With Sheryl quiet for the moment, Dean Mei continued our conversation.
"Right. I wanted to ask—given the current situation, using Wizards as an example, would their Transcendent Wizards intervene in this matter? Based solely on those fragments in the Secret Realm?"
"No. They won't even touch those fragments. For now, they'll only use those items to trade directly with the people in the game world for Terminal of Myriad Worlds," Dean Mei explained.
"They're that honorable? I thought those fragments were bait to lure the players in so they could take everything."
"While Wizards don't exactly have the best reputation among Witches, some things are different. The Wizard power system is built on the Rule of Equivalent Exchange. This rule holds a status and conceptual weight nearly identical to a Witch's contract. Therefore, once a Wizard invokes the Rule of Equivalent Exchange to trade for a Terminal, they absolutely will not take a single thing more than agreed upon."
"Of course, if the game world fails to follow the rules, the Wizards can use the rule to force compliance. Because the Rule of Equivalent Exchange is enforced under the Wizard Will, its enforcement power is strong enough to clash with the binding force of the Transcendent Non-Interference Treaty we signed with them."
"Huh?"
I let out a confused sound. These concepts were eye-opening. A clash between enforcement power and binding force... it was incredibly abstract.
"So if a conflict arises between the two... who do they listen to? Whoever is stronger?" I asked.
"In most cases, there's mediation. Otherwise, favoring either side would shake the very foundations of the opposing race, which would trigger a racial war. Generally, rules that are in absolute conflict cannot coexist. Those Wizard fellows found a loophole by using the Rule of Equivalent Exchange; after all, 'Transcendent Non-Interference' is only a partial restriction with some leeway. But as for how it's ultimately executed... that mostly depends on how the conflicting party—in this case, our Witch Academy—responds."
"Uh... wait a minute!" Hearing the Dean's explanation, I realized something was off. "This 'Equivalent Exchange' affects the two parties involved in the trade. But Witches are a third party. So... as long as we don't disrupt the balance of the exchange, even if we disrupt the trade itself, Witches technically don't have to worry about starting a racial war, right?"
"Smart! You understood how to handle it just from the name and the concept," Dean Mei said with a smile.
While this wasn't the most critical piece of information, since it had come up, Mei Lind felt it was necessary to mention it.
After all, Xiao Han's clones were all over the game world. There were certain things she should know to avoid.
"Let's move on. It's enough to have a basic understanding of the Wizards' Rule of Equivalent Exchange; there's no need to study it specifically." Dean Mei forcibly steered the conversation back on track. "Back to what we were saying. Your question was about what it would take for Transcendent Wizards to intervene in this matter, right?"
"Yes." I gave a simple nod.
Mei Lind naturally knew what I was planning—the fuse for the start of an Academy War.
It wasn't a sudden idea; the notion had already become a consensus among many Witches. Many were itching for a fight, but as the Dean, she couldn't simply ignore the big picture.
What they were discussing now was the weight of that fuse and the radius of the explosion.
"You mentioned earlier that the Glacial Throne Secret Realm was blocking at least three of your plans. Is this the bargaining chip you've prepared to drag the Transcendent Wizards onto the field?" Dean Mei threw the question back to me.
To the Dean, as long as it wasn't a Transcendent War, even an Academy War was essentially child's play. It was no wonder she seemed so indifferent.
Perhaps only a Witch could remain so nonchalant about such things.