Free Web NovelChapter 800: Returning to the Witch Academy
“It’s fine, let’s go first.”
Academy Head Mei split off an avatar and walked toward us.
It was just returning to the academy; a single teleportation spell was enough to get back.
What’s more, for this return trip, there were two Transcendent Witches guarding one lesser witch, plus the Academy Head’s avatar; the probability of an accident occurring was very low.
But even though the risk was low, the Academy Head’s avatar still did not choose to directly tear through space to open a teleportation channel leading to the Witch Academy.
Instead, she chose to use a fixed-point teleportation that was even more stable than a teleportation spell.
According to the description from the Academy Head’s avatar, this spell was a method that was difficult for external forces to interfere with, belonging to a high-level sequence derivation spell of teleportation channels.
But regardless, we safely appeared in Academy Head Mei’s office just like that.
Just when the sudden accident happened earlier, I truly hadn't expected the Anti-Witch’s “reputation” to be so terrifying that it scared the Wizard Academy into directly joining forces with the Academy Head to invite her away!
Clearly, that witch who called herself Cheryl looked very ordinary, and she wasn't even very conspicuous when mixed into a crowd of witches.
Perhaps this was a case of not judging a witch by her cover…
Although some accidents occurred in the final ending, the matter was considered “successfully resolved.”
“Phew alright, finally back.”
Academy Head Mei’s avatar let out a long sigh, then came to my side.
“Xiao Han, how did this trip feel? Your gains should be quite large, right?”
“Yeah… the gains were quite large.”
I nodded and admitted it directly.
Although they weren't as large as I had expected, I had optimized two out of the three rituals for Self-generating Magic Power, and I had also found the final piece of the puzzle for the Soul Depiction technique.
As long as I was given time, I could perfect all of them!
“It looks like the gains we’re talking about aren't the same thing. I was referring to personally experiencing targeting and assassination from Transcendents; a rare experience, right? It was far more intuitive than the last final exam hunt… It’s good to experience it more, lest you lose your sense of proportion and think that the Main World is so vast that there’s nowhere you can't go.”
“Ugh… sorry! I’ve caused trouble for the Academy Head again…”
I apologized sincerely.
Regarding this incident, I belonged to the category of intentional violation.
I had foreseen the possible results yet turned a blind eye to the final development and consequences.
Sure enough, my head was entirely full of my own affairs…
“I don't mean to blame you. A child like you will always have some of her own little ideas. They might be a bit out of line, but there’s no need to mind it; at least for now, there are still us witches to back you up.”
“What’s more, we’ve added a new sister.”
As Academy Head Mei spoke, her gaze turned toward April on the side.
“Is it finally my turn? Is nobody going to explain to me exactly what happened?”
April asked somewhat helplessly, but her gaze was fixed on me.
“However, I have some guesses… Let me think, my advancement to Transcendent should have been your plan, right? They call you Xiao Han; may I as well?”
“Mhm, naturally you may. And your guess is correct; your advancement to Transcendent was indeed one of my plans, though I didn't help much.”
Regarding this point, I admitted it too.
After all, such a thing was very easy to check.
“Then, I suppose I should thank you for giving me a new life? Looking at it this way… those things I encountered after returning to the Hawthorne Family must have also been single-handedly orchestrated by you, right? How ridiculous… the me of that time actually didn't see through it.”
“Perhaps you of that time was willing to believe it?”
I supplemented.
“You’re right, I was willing to believe it, so at that time…”
Speaking to this point, April suddenly thought of something.
“Mentor… Chris… She was also fake?”
“You should have the answer in your heart already, shouldn't you? By the way, after your soul was reshaped, are you still troubled by such things?”
I asked in confusion.
“You know it was just reshaping. But some hardships cannot be dissolved by the enlightenment brought by a blissful life… At that time, I truly thought Mentor Chris was willing to come and redeem me…”
April’s words gradually trailed off, her tone filled with an indescribable regret and disappointment.
“You care that much? Just because she didn't come? But she has always been in your heart, hasn't she? The fact that she gave you the spiritual strength to pick yourself up so many times shows her weight in your heart. Why don't you think about how you were the one who failed her first? Why can't you be the proactive one to go find Mentor Chris and seek reconciliation within your own heart?”
“I should go find her proactively? And what’s with this lecturing tone of yours, Xiao Han? I admit my earlier life was a bit miserable, but the life I wove based on my project, when all added up, counts as having rich life experience, alright!”
“But what you have to admit is that the life that thoroughly influenced the latter half of your current existence did not escape the framework of your original cognition. You merely lived in the world you expected, causing your personality to change—becoming confident and optimistic—but your cognition hasn't been elevated.”
“I say, you two… what are you arguing about?”
At this time, Academy Head Mei’s avatar walked between the two of us.
The witches in the office who were fixing the Destiny Gazing instrument also stopped their movements and started watching the fun.
“We aren't arguing, we were just discussing personal insights regarding projects, that’s all.”
After realizing I was being a bit too serious, I hurriedly waved my hands and said.
“Mhm, Xiao Han’s last point wasn't wrong either. April, you’ve also just advanced to Transcendent. A project isn't a one-time tool to be discarded after use. Don't let yourself become blindly confident and thus forget to elevate your own cognition. Perhaps… you really should go see your mentor, even if it’s just a farewell before you leave.”
“Academy Head… uh, Big Sis Mei also thinks I should go see her?”
Seeing Academy Head Mei also speaking up for Xiao Han, April revealed her own difficulty.
“Actually, it’s not that I don't want to, I just haven't thought of an excuse. Looking like this…”
“If you really don't have an excuse, you can just buy a bouquet of flowers and confess. If it succeeds, everyone is happy; if it fails, just say you were joking.”
I fanned the flames from the side with a bad idea.
Mentor Chris had done so much for her; if she couldn't repay the kindness, couldn't she just give herself to her?
Learning that the other party hadn't truly forgotten her mentor’s kindness meant that her thinking was still quite normal.
If she didn't acknowledge Chris as her mentor just because of a lame reason like not showing up in the end, then I would have to consider April an ungrateful white-eyed wolf.
Having understood April’s past from a bystander’s perspective, I was very clear on exactly how much Mentor Chris had sacrificed for April.
She was even willing to accompany April to search for the truth of her past years.
And that was just a corner of the past I had unearthed.
One had to know that back then, there were no Seeds of Great Knowledge or Earth Vein Appraisal Spells.
The equipment needed and the energy required to precisely acquire memories of the earth vein’s past were not as simple as what I had now.
“What kind of devilish idea is that!”
Hearing my words, April froze instinctively, and then her face instantly turned beet red.
“Blushing? Exactly what kind of R-rated scenes are you imagining? Do you really have those kinds of thoughts about Mentor Chris?”
I added another blow from the side.
At this point, I finally saw the traits belonging to an ordinary, average person on April.
I knew it… even a project couldn't thoroughly change a person in such a short period of time.
April hadn't been swapped for someone else; April was still April.
She had just returned to the posture she could have had if she were better.
“Alright, Xiao Han, stop teasing April.”
Academy Head Mei stepped in again to interrupt my words.
Mei Linde also hadn't expected Xiao Han to have such a side.
Perhaps… she felt this might be Xiao Han’s true side?
But the fact that the other party was willing to show a side different from the past in front of her also represented trust…
Mei Linde recalled how every time Xiao Han saw her in the past, she was very reserved and spoke with caution.
Now she could tease another Transcendent Witch in front of her; this was indeed a certain kind of progress.
“Let April choose for herself.”
“I have no objection, of course.”
I spoke from the side.
“Can you call me when you meet? I'll just watch from the side and won't speak.”
“Absolutely not!”
April rejected my proposal.
It looked like… maybe she really was considering the feasibility of a confession.
Otherwise, I truly couldn't think of any other matter that required a private meeting.
But because Academy Head Mei told me to stop teasing her, I didn't say it out loud.
I shrank my body and stood closer to Big Sis Bai to avoid being hit by "dog food," while Big Sis Bai also placed a hand on my shoulder, her body inching closer to my back.
“Fine then.”
I looked up as Big Sis Bai’s other hand patted my head, incidentally scattering a handful of dog food, before I looked at April with satisfaction.
“Speaking of which, when do you plan to summon the descent of the Primal Witch’s avatar? You probably don't have much time left in the Witch Academy, do you?”
“This… if I don't summon the avatar of that Primal Witch Lord, can I stay here forever?”
April pursed her lips, merely averting her gaze from my act of serving dog food.
After all, unintentional interactions between a couple always give the most profound critical hit to a single dog.
But she was also thinking about the question I raised, though the answer she gave was quite outrageous.
“I’m afraid not. The number of Transcendents in the Main World is maintained at a constant. If you don't want to leave, another witch will have to leave. Moreover, only a witch who has been recognized and registered by the Primal Witch can be considered as truly integrating into the big witch family. Though I would quite welcome you to return to the Main World again.”
“Then how much longer can I linger in this Main World?”
April asked.
“Normally speaking, staying for two or three days is no problem. During this period, there are quite a few things you need to be busy with. Although you are already considered a student who has left the academy and was previously a TA, the Witch Academy doesn't mind holding an extra graduation ceremony or something for you, as well as taking graduation art photos and so on. The most important thing is severing the Earth Vein Chains; only then can you completely leave this Main World that gestated you to see the vastness beyond the world.”
Academy Head Mei gave a brief explanation for April.
This was also what Big Sis Bai had experienced back then.
I still remembered that when the art photos were taken, I was in them too.
“It seems there are indeed many things to be busy with…”
“It’s fine. I’ll register it for you, then you just wait for the process. Then… you use this free time to do the things you feel are important.”
“Mhm… thank you…”
April finally nodded, her gaze seeming somewhat melancholy.
“Also, I have to say this 'thank you' to you as well.”
April looked at me and spoke solemnly.
“Thank you for giving me another chance to choose for myself… If it weren't for you, I……”
“It’s nothing your advancement also gave me great inspiration, so neither of us owes the other anything.”
I waved my hand casually.
After all, the one who worked hard in the end was still her.
If she hadn't worked hard herself and didn't have the accumulation from the past, she would have been nothing more than a bit of fun in my eyes.
Just as April was about to leave, I suddenly thought of something and hurriedly pulled her back.
“Eh! Wait a moment, I thought of something.”
“Is there something else?” April asked in confusion. “If you’re still going to urge me to confess to Mentor Chris, pretend I didn't ask.”
“Pfft… haha, what? You still remember that joke?”
I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Sure enough, that matter was still lingering in April’s mind.
But I had serious business to do now.
So I pulled out a seed and handed it to April.
“This is a Seed of Great Knowledge. Compared to an average Seed of Knowledge, its functions and permissions are higher and more complete. I hope it can help you… As for how to use it… you can ask your Mentor Chris. I hope she will teach you hand-in-hand.”
“Thanks.”
April looked at the seed in my hand, a hint of wonder in her gaze.
She had also seen Seeds of Great Knowledge before.
This was something circulated among Transcendent Witches.
Only a very few TAs who were good talkers could beg one from their own mentors, and she happened to be the type who didn't really know how to beg her mentor.
Recalling the past, she seemed to remember being asked by Chris if she wanted one… but she had refused.
Back then, she was afraid her mentor would use it as a bargaining chip to make her betray her family.
After going in a huge circle, she had still betrayed that suffocating family, and she had received this Seed of Great Knowledge once again.
After seeing April off, only the familiar combination remained in Academy Head Mei’s office.
“Xiao Han, what are you two still staying here for? Expecting me to prepare breakfast for you here?”
“Ugh… is it already morning? I didn't feel it much. I thought the Academy Head would keep us to tell us some other things.”
“Other things? Are you interested in that Anti-Witch?”
“Yeah… I’m a bit concerned about how things are going now.”
I nodded.
“The Anti-Witch acted very abruptly this time. There’s a high probability she took advantage of your situation this time on a whim. She’s likely plotting something again.”
Academy Head Mei could only summarize this reason.
Whatever an Anti-Witch was plotting, she wouldn't tell anyone directly.
And plans people aren't willing to talk about are, in most cases, things not recognized by the majority of witches.
“The matter isn't over yet, so it’s hard to say. Why don’t you two head back first? Xiao Han, didn't you gain a lot? You also need time to digest what you’ve obtained recently, right?”
“Alright…”
I said with some regret.
However, the two techniques of Self-generating Magic Power and Soul Depiction were indeed very important.
After making the decision, I held Big Sis Bai’s hand and said, “Then we’ll be going now?”
“Mhm safe travels. I’m looking forward to your results.”
