**Chapter 412: Preparations Before Returning to the Small World**
Because the thought came too suddenly, it wasn’t until I had bid farewell to the Academy Head and had run for a bit that I realized I could just teleport away from the Academy Head’s office.
With this newfound impulse and inspiration, I didn’t take the time to do other things, like visiting Teacher Ji or checking on my dorm mates. Those thoughts just got shelved, even asking if Sister Bai had returned or not… I had meant to ask the Academy Head, but that slipped my mind.
But given Sister Bai’s situation, she probably wouldn’t be back so soon. Right, maybe I should just say something to Teacher Ji or the Academy Head before I leave, so that Sister Bai doesn’t end up in the Witch Academy, crying and making a scene. That would be embarrassing!
Still, imagining a whiny Sister Bai… somehow it’s amusing! I can’t even picture that face of hers properly.
After chasing these thoughts away, it was time to get down to business.
Teleporting, I arrived at the teleportation landmark in the Witch Academy’s grand library. If you want to know where the most references are, well, it’s obviously the library.
However, most books in the library have a price tag, and for someone like me, preparing to download massive amounts of information, the cost would be astronomical.
But at this moment, money and knowledge were no longer on the same scale for me. Money could be earned back, but time and knowledge wait for no one.
I wasn’t even sure when Qiu Ruxin would conduct her ritual. I didn’t want to waste time. My plan was to stay there once I arrived. After all, I had confirmed that this world was just a small world colliding with the Main World. Knowing the background would certainly help my mindset.
I could also prepare to meet the extraordinary instructors and the Academy Heads who would be arriving in about a month.
I had no idea how many Academy Heads there really were at the Witch Academy. As a student, I should know this basic info! Talk about slacking!
Still, I didn’t make an effort to look up this information. Honestly, understanding the number of Academy Heads wasn’t nearly as enticing as the books in the library. Besides, I didn’t often interact with those Academy Heads. Even if I did in the future, that was a matter for another day.
Once inside the grand library, I used my privileges to enter the deeper sections.
On my way here, I had roughly planned what I needed to do: mostly gathering knowledge, which fell into two categories.
One category was voluminous yet not crucial information, which I could download and store using the Earth Vein Operating System.
The other category consisted of essential yet less extensive content, which required consulting my Memory Shelf.
Content accessed through the Memory Shelf can thread into my memory, allowing me to practically apply the spells I learned.
Using the Earth Vein System was merely a compromise; I couldn’t just haul the entire Witch Academy library to that little world, could I?
Besides, I would eventually go through all the knowledge present here and store it in my Memory Shelf, after all, on some level, the Memory Shelf belonged to me.
I paid with Aoqin at the library to conveniently purchase e-books for downloading. The part-time senior at the front desk looked at me in astonishment, as if I’d lost my mind, using Aoqin in a library?
What? Am I planning to pass down my assets through three generations?
Oh wait, for students who haven’t become Extraordinary Witches, the next generation doesn’t exist at all…
But I pressed on. This reckless spending behavior seemed to have developed in that small world. Sigh… I’d gotten used to spending money like it was water…
Yet I couldn’t say my spending wasn’t worthwhile; paying for knowledge was just an investment in myself—rather profitable!
What followed was a long, tedious process of waiting for downloads and endlessly reading, learning, and understanding…
This time, I wasn’t just reading detailed explanations of runic rituals, but also lots of other things, like axioms, theorems, conjectures, and formulas relevant to the extraordinary realm.
Similarly, I began to pay attention to subjects like mathematics, physics, and chemistry. The more I learned about the extraordinary, the more I realized the importance of the basics. Math is a fantastic tool for expression, and studying physics and chemistry also cultivates thinking skills. Even if they don’t directly apply to the extraordinary, the thought processes are invaluable.
Don’t underestimate this; it’s truly necessary.
Even among physical laws, the same principles may not apply in different contexts—just think about the differences between macroscopic and microscopic levels. Not to mention the contrast between surface physics and the extraordinary.
Some laws or concepts are simply known. Not knowing them is something you wouldn’t even imagine.
For me at this moment, foundational knowledge is not just about accumulating information; it’s about nurturing thought processes and elevating ideas. The more universally applicable the basics are, the more they need to be valued. They contain ideas and philosophies that span both the ordinary and the extraordinary.
Without a doubt, this learning process is painful. A lot of things in life can be mastered with enough pushing, but without some aptitude, math and science… well, you might just end up staring blankly.
And let’s be honest—I’m one of those who just stares blankly. With the Memory Shelf, you could say I’m the chosen “liberal arts prodigy,” able to remember anything, but that doesn’t help with the sciences.
Only my practical spellbook offers some help, but this particular spell isn’t as instant as the Memory Shelf. If I’m dull, I’m just dull; an active mind needs training, too.
I maintained this state for several days. Overall, I would say I made significant gains, but it’s still not enough.
But today, I encountered a familiar face in the library.
“Xiao Han? Oh! It really is you!”
At that moment, I lifted my head at the sound and saw Betty’s figure.
“Betty? What brings you to the library?” I adjusted my glasses in surprise.
“Oh, I made my instructor mad again, so I came to the library to avoid the storm,” Betty sighed and plopped down across from me. “By the way, I haven’t seen you for several days! What have you been up to?”
“Me? Oh, I’ve been very busy with something important. Sorry, I didn’t mean to forget to tell you,” I said, apologetically.
“Well, you didn’t respond to any of my messages. I had no idea what you were up to! But I have to say, your social circle is really small. I tried to find you, but other than using your phone, I had no idea where to look for news about you,” she began unloading her feelings.
“Sorry about that! I’m just not great at socializing. Too many interpersonal relationships disrupt my rhythm, so I don’t have many friends,” I shrugged.
“So should I feel honored to be your friend?” she replied playfully.
“Absolutely! Don’t forget to pay the friend fee every month. Thanks!” I joked.
“Huh? Friend fee? Let’s just say I owe you, okay? As friends, can you waive the interest? If we stop being friends, I’ll settle it properly,” Betty said without hesitation, laughing.
“Of course.” I managed a rare smile. This kind of joking around wasn’t too bad!
“I’m just saying—hey, wait?” Just as Betty was about to chat more, she suddenly noticed the book I was reading seemed a bit off. “Math?! Wait, what are you doing with the Earth Vein System? Downloading… books?”
“Yeah, brushing up on the basics. Some of this is really frustrating! I regret not studying more seriously before. Now, backtracking is tough.”
“Um… maybe you should stop reading that stuff. How about we check out alchemy? Runes are cool too! Why are we learning this? Learning how one fireball plus another fireball equals two fireballs?” Betty said with a hint of “fear.”
“Close enough! One fireball plus another fireball is essentially the rapid-fire spell derived from the Fireball Spell, while two fireballs launched together represent a dual-fireball launch. They have the same effect but differ fundamentally…”
“Wait! Are you still Xiao Han? Can you swap me back to the old Xiao Han? Are you getting magic-fevered or something?” Listening to my convoluted explanation, she shook my shoulders in disbelief.
“How could that be? I’m just expressing the calculation process and the differences on either side of the equal sign in the simplest way. Okay, okay, I see you don’t get it, I won’t bore you with this. I won’t do pointless stuff. If you’re confused, it’s just that you haven’t seen through the essence of things,” I shrugged.
“Okay, okay! Our Xiao Han is just too awesome! I won’t bother you with these professional topics then. So, um, can you tell me what else you’ve been up to?”
“How to put it? Just expanding my horizons in a special place. Oh, and in a few days, I might disappear again, unreachable by phone. This is pretty much my normal routine,” I replied.
“Normal routine? What do you mean? You can apply for off-campus visits?”
“Well… to some degree, yes, that’s probably accurate?” I pondered slightly before speaking.
Because going to another world should count as going off-campus, right?
“Wow… that’s impressive! Generally, it’s quite hard for new students to get off-campus applications approved in the first semester.” While saying this, Betty seemed to remember something. “By the way, since you can go off-campus, you must have heard about the rumors, right?”
“Rumor? What rumor?” I looked up, puzzled by what riddle she was trying to lay down.
“The one floating around! I heard that seniors who went out and came back said that there’s a big change coming for our world! The news is coming from various extraordinary academies!”
“What does it mean? The extraordinary academies have spread it? Shouldn’t we know more than the outside world? Why mention the outside world?”
“Uh… Well, sigh, overall, it seems like our world is about to collide with another world! This is just a bit of insider info.”
“Hmm?” I frowned, removing my glasses to look at Betty. “It’s already spread?”
“Huh? Wait! Xiao Han, why are you so calm about this? You don’t know anything ahead of time, do you?”
“Roughly, yes.” I replied vaguely.
Otherwise, I can’t just say I’m among the lucky ones who are much quicker to learn about this than those exploring virtual expansions, can I?
But since the extraordinary academies were starting to get the ball rolling, it meant this information would soon leak out. Once the two worlds collide in the void, there would be numerous spatial portals at the overlapping points of the worlds, and there’s no way to prevent it.
“No way! Xiao Han, knowing such explosive news and not thinking of me? This is such an important matter… I’m really hurt!” Betty’s expression turned dramatically sad as if she felt abandoned.
“Shhh! This is still a library, you know?” I pressed my finger to my lips to signal her to keep it down.
“Ugh… I’m just saying, Xiao Han, don’t go quiet on me and keep things to yourself. Isn’t it hard to hide secrets in your heart?” Realizing her loudness, Betty toned down her voice and furtively glanced around. Luckily, we were in a quiet corner.
“Don’t worry, I’m not a blabbermouth, so I can keep secrets.” I replied, but given the current situation, the news about the upcoming small world would probably be disclosed soon, so it’s hardly a secret anymore.
“What you’re holding onto isn’t a secret; it’s incredible gossip! Hurry and tell me, is this news for real?”
“Probably.” I nodded.
“And then what?”
“This incident has caught the attention of several Extraordinary Witches and Academy Heads, who have also gone to investigate.”
“I knew about that; I’m surprised the Academy Head went too! How many went?”
“How would I know? I don’t even know how many Academy Heads there are at the Witch Academy!” I shrugged.
“Okay, is there anything else?”
“Um… this event might continue for several years, maybe…”
“Several years? That’s so long! Wait… Xiao Han, you’re not being honest. The way you’re speaking doesn’t sound like sharing information, but rather weighing what you can disclose! Is there more you’re hiding from me?”
“Do you believe I’m going to the world that’s about to collide with ours for an inspection?”
“No way, do I look like a fool to you?”
“Well, then, it’s good news to just play around with. When things happen, the instructors will take action. We’ll just watch the show then.” I said, quite helplessly. If she didn’t believe me, there’s little I could do about it.
“Okay, okay! Let’s leave it at that.”
“Yup, just like that. You won’t distract me, right? My time is quite precious right now.”
“Sure, sure! Our Xiao Han the genius will study hard. I’ll just hang out here and read, don’t worry. I won’t disturb you. I’ll wait until my instructor cools down before heading back.” With that, Betty took out her phone and switched it off to prevent her instructor from calling her back.
When she returns, she’ll say she was in the library studying, unaware her phone ran out of magic. Perfect!
Betty’s presence added some excitement to my routine, which I didn’t mind.
Days slipped by. The fatigue from such intense mental activity had started to weigh on me a bit, so I decided to take this opportunity to temporarily set down my brainwork and engage in something else—a much-needed break.
As for what I was up to… well, it was about crafting the runic ritual for my Reverse Summoning Spell. I also dabbled in simple alchemical item creation and enchanting techniques from alchemy. While I wasn’t entirely adept yet, I had a solid theoretical foundation to back me up, which was certainly better than being an amateur like before.
I successfully crafted several of these summoning alchemical trinkets, intending to distribute them among my acquaintances, like my dorm buddies, Teacher Ji, Betty, Sofiry, etc.
After all, even though I planned to stay in that small world until the instructors arrived, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.
But I also warned them not to summon me too frequently; otherwise, it would get annoying.
After I finished these tasks, I returned to my usual routine—reading to fill in gaps in my knowledge. I had a feeling that, if all went well… Qiu Ruxin would be conducting her ritual soon.
As I sensed a pull in the summoning direction, I quickly gathered my things, sent out the edited group message for some awareness among my acquaintances, and with that, I let out a deep breath of relief.
“Small world, here I come again!”
With the quickest speed, I teleported away from the library, finding an empty corner. After all, the Reverse Summoning Spell has quite the commotion; I didn’t want to disturb anyone in the library like a teleportation spell would.
In this remote spot, I raised my hand, and with a surge of extraordinary power, I activated the Reverse Summoning Spell!
