**Chapter 409: New Digs and the Attempt to Return**
“Esteemed listeners, we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for an urgent news bulletin!”
“This afternoon, our city faced an unexpected disaster. Preliminary reports indicate the casualty numbers are staggering, and the situation is dire. It appears the disaster was triggered by intense conflicts among explorers, which ultimately summoned a being known as the ‘Catastrophe Witch,’ unleashing a wave of destruction. Currently, the Catastrophe Witch has vanished, leaving us to wonder if she will make a return.”
“We urge everyone to promptly seek shelter in designated safe zones should you witness disputes between explorers. Do not take any chances; safety should always be your priority. We hope every citizen remains unharmed.”
“Meanwhile, government and related departments are doing everything in their power to manage the disaster and will provide updated safety guidelines and rescue information promptly. Please stay tuned…”
“…We will continue to monitor developments in this situation and keep you informed. Thank you for listening, and let us all pray for the citizens affected by this catastrophe, hoping they receive aid soon and peace is restored.”
As the news broadcast concluded, I boredly toyed with the remote, eventually switching to another channel.
It had nearly been a day since I leveled that part of the city, and believe it or not, I had been quite productive in that time.
First, let’s talk about my current residence—a massive villa.
This villa is technically an asset of the Real Protection Association in this world, but they charitably handed it over to me as a welcome gift from their president. It’s like they knew I wanted to bolt from the hotel but had no clue where to go next!
After all, the hotel offered lackluster service at extortionate rates, and I’d prefer not to play the fool there.
Besides, this villa is rather splendid, even if it’s a bit out of the way—so far out that ordering takeout feels like sending a message in a bottle!
But hey, I’m not picky! After snagging the key, this villa has become my temporary abode.
Reflecting on the previous chaos, I realized I had forgotten about Qiu Ruxin’s situation amidst my little massacre of those Excavators. Shocking, I know!
Once I snapped back to reality, I rushed to find out more about Qiu Ruxin, but the president just handed me a nameless card and the villa’s keycard as if sensing my urgency.
He also had a lot on his plate; his reckless behavior had inflicted significant losses on the Real Protection Association. My little incident may have “accidentally” harmed quite a few of their members. He definitely needed to get back to appease the crowd.
When I finally located Qiu Ruxin, she was fully submerged in the bathtub with all the showers blasting cold water like some kind of post-apocalyptic ice spa. You could tell she was in dire straits!
Thankfully, I hadn’t taken my destructive tendencies out on the surrounding buildings… but that hotel was definitely a goner! The whole structure was a safety hazard now, whether they like it or not. They’d have to renovate it from the ground up because no one would want to stay in a “haunted hotel.”
Poor them, they weren’t even brave enough to come after me, their “Catastrophe Witch.” Just bad luck for them, I suppose.
I scooped up a barely conscious Qiu Ruxin from that chaotic bathroom scene and somehow managed to settle her in here. She definitely had quick reflexes; even wrapped in my protective magic, the intense heat still took its toll, prompting her to dive into the cooling tub. Wise choice!
Thanks to some rest and my Flesh Healing magic, she was recovering just fine. We even sat back and enjoyed the latest news together.
“Is that… something Xiao Han did?” Qiu Ruxin pointed at the TV, her brow furrowing at the constant broadcasts and grainy footage.
“Yep! What do you think? Am I looking like a heartless villain?” I shrugged, acknowledging the dark humor in a moment of chaos.
“Nope.” She shook her head.
Despite being a part of the entire mess, she understood that the weak have no ground for complaints. Letting the weak criticize them is the strongest display of mercy from the strong.
“But I really didn’t expect you to be so powerful, Xiao Han…”
“Eh, it’s not a big deal. Most of the seniors at the Witch Academy could do the same.”
“Wow, so the world you come from is that strong? Then… about this collision of worlds you mentioned… does that mean you could conquer this place in no time?”
“Conquer? I honestly have no clue.” With Qiu Ruxin saying it like that, I wondered how the academy head planned to handle this world.
Oh, right… the academy head only represents the Witch Academy’s side of things! Let’s not forget about the other three extraordinary academies in the Main World.
It had been a while since I’d even thought about those academies. They were like forgotten ghosts in my mind; I almost imagined this Main World was solely ruled by extraordinary witches!
After chatting a bit more with Qiu Ruxin, I handed her the nameless card the president gave me. Gotta keep my bases covered, you know—she might need access to some funds with all the craziness going on.
Right now, I was trying to make sure I had everything planned out in case I needed to hightail it back. Good thing I had a stable place to crash and some extra cash to secure a stockpile of snacks in this villa so she could live here comfortably for a while.
Qiu Ruxin was too special to let wander off and get tangled up in more trouble. Just thinking of all the potential mishaps made me want to arm her with something for self-defense.
At that moment, Qiu Ruxin could see right through my behavior; I was like a parent passing down last-minute instructions. But I wasn’t about to change my plans just because she had thoughts on the matter.
Days passed, and I spent them busy dealing with Qiu Ruxin’s affairs. If anyone had seen me the whole time, they’d probably think I was overly doting on her.
But I knew it wasn’t that—she was simply the outcome of my successful Reverse Summoning Spell.
Plus, she was the person I trusted the most in this world; the Real Protection Association? Trust? Never!
In those days, representatives from the association did come by to check on me, but it wasn’t always the president—he was too frazzled to bother often! He’d only swung by once, hurried and all that jazz. The rest were other association folks curious about what was up.
They were fascinated by me, but I didn’t spill any beans, especially since they wanted to gather intel from me without honoring the president’s promise to share info about their world!
A few interactions later, they knew minimally about Qiu Ruxin and didn’t get the slightest hint about her being the Child of Destiny.
I merely mentioned her unfortunate luck, claiming I was very interested in that trait of hers. I even had them keep an eye on her.
But really letting them look after her? No way—couldn’t trust them for a second! After they left, I called Qiu Ruxin over to give her the lowdown, just to make sure she didn’t get tricked by those guys.
Now, everything was almost set. I informed the Real Protection Association that I’d be taking off soon; if anything urgent came up, they should contact Qiu Ruxin.
From these few days of contact, I learned that their intel about their world was rather scant. The president had promised information emphatically, but it seemed that as things cooled down, they started to test my limits. The info they shared was insufficient, and the guy who chatted with me could talk for ages without getting to the point.
Really infuriating!
I hinted that I might leave for this very reason. I just couldn’t be bothered to spend time on their nonsense. They knew very well that sharing details about their world with someone as powerful as me was risky, especially since they were the type to believe the “game world” is definitely real. They needed to be cautious.
As for my attitude, rather than causing a ruckus, I opted for a slow, strategic approach.
After pondering this for a couple of days, it hit me—I didn’t need to worry too much! Why should I?
Is this world really that important to me?
Do Excavators matter to me?
Not at all! I only needed to figure out what I wanted. The rest? Just minor details.
Let’s keep in mind that I got here due to a wild “accident.” My pursuit of this world’s secrets was merely a means to distract myself from the initial confusion. Now that I was over that phase, I wasn’t going to obsess over it anymore.
“Are you really getting ready to leave, Xiao Han?”
“More like trying to leave.” I corrected her.
“I’ll be waiting for you to come back.” Qiu Ruxin bit her lip; her eyes expressed all the reluctance, although she didn’t voice it.
“But don’t just wait! Unless it’s a special case, I recommend we perform a ceremony for contact every few days. We’re separated by an entire world here, so there’s no guarantee I won’t run into some bizarre situation that’ll delay my return. If things get urgent, we might have to do a double summon real quick!”
“I’ll remember that,” Qiu Ruxin nodded, gripping onto a pendant even though she knew it had once brought her nightmares—it now represented her hope.
After emphasizing my instructions to Qiu Ruxin, I began my attempts in earnest.
This attempt relied on my hypotheses and guesses, based on what I currently understood about this world—which I suspected was the miniature world the academy head had previously mentioned, one that would soon collide with the Main World.
By ducks and dodges, I deduced that my sudden arrival here was an arrangement by the academy head, supported by my understanding of this wacky Reverse Summoning Spell.
I was pretty sure the academy head had kept the summoning runes for this spell, given that I had the spellbook she created; she wouldn’t be more clueless than me, right?
Add in her mysterious gift of a spellbook for mental communication, and the shield spell still holding strong around me—not a scratch!
This protective spell likely came from her too.
Now, all I needed was to break this spell, and many mysteries would unravel.
At that moment, what seemed like a trivial action started to make me jittery; if I couldn’t get a reaction after this step, I’d be out of options.
Ignoring all unnecessary thoughts, I extended my hand and unleashed a Fireball Spell.
I then concentrated, compressing it into a powerful attack aimed directly at my body.
Earlier, I noticed that this protective shield was remarkably sturdy, so I decided to kick it up a notch right from the start.
Almost like sensing impending doom, the shield activated just as my attack arrived.
Sizzle—!
As the shield clashed with my spell, a massive surge of extraordinary energy erupted in a chaotic explosion!
The powerful fire element seemed to finally meet its match, and my strongest armor-piercing technique found itself in a standoff!
“Wow, this shield the academy head slapped on me is ridiculously strong!” I exclaimed, frowning at the surprising realization.
Considering the protective spells I knew—the kind requiring layers upon layers or those that hit my current theoretical limit—comparing them to the academy head’s was laughable!
Back when the Dream Exchange competition concluded, I thought I’d seek out some protective spells that truly resonated with me, but that thought slipped away.
After all, I hadn’t encountered situations needing them lately—preempting and dodging worked far better.
But now, looking at the academy head’s powerful shield… I was so envious!
This spell had been protecting me for days, yet it remained unyieldingly formidable. That just showed how relentless this protective magic was.
Of course, the academy head was an extraordinary witch; it could simply be that she was the real powerhouse rather than the spellbook itself.
But with my persistent push and enhanced input, I finally hit that breaking point.
Cracks appeared across the surface, and a sharp, shattering noise rang as the shield erupted!
My spell pierced right through my body.
Even as the shield shattered, I swiftly pulled back, but I still sustained grievous injuries.
“Ugh… my control over power is… still too weak.” I gasped, surprised that my spell’s potency was so terrifying. I could see why those unfortunate souls fell to it.
“Xiao Han!” Qiu Ruxin rushed forward, her concern palpable as she wanted to do something.
“Stay back!” I gritted my teeth, halting her advance, “You’re fine. Just a minor injury.”
While I spoke, I launched into my Flesh Healing spell. The only reason I was so reckless was because I had this magic to fall back on—still, the pain was very real!
Now that the academy head’s protective spell crumbled, all that was left was to wait.
The waiting time seemed brief, but it felt like an eternity for me.
At this moment, my injuries began to mend under the influence of the healing spell, and suddenly, I felt a faint guidance tugging at me.
I closed my eyes; in the void, that weak summoning coordinate shone like the brightest star in an inky night!
“Found it! I guessed right!”
