Chapter 167: Memory Blind Box
“Xiao Han? The afternoon competition is over? How did you end up here in the laboratory?”
The 8401 laboratory is not far from Teacher Ji’s office, just a few offices apart. Naturally, when I arrived, Teacher Ji quickly sensed it, especially since I was heading directly to her office.
“Mm, my afternoon competition has already ended. I’m here mainly to ask the teacher for help with something related to the magic source.”
“Oh, I remember now; I forgot your mental power is not enough to interfere with the magic source yet.”
Teacher Ji understood my words and recalled that after she provided me with the resources, she had left without thinking much, forgetting not only about the magic source but also about the Earth Vein Memory. If not used according to the proper methods, it would simply be a waste.
“Does the teacher forget even such things?”
“Haha, I thought you would go to your Sister Bai for help, but I did not expect you to come to me.” Teacher Ji casually found an excuse to brush it off and came to my side. “However, taking in five hundred magic sources at once is a bit terrifying; the feedback you get is significantly more apparent than the previous one or two hundred.”
“Is that related to the witch transformation of the magic source? What exactly is witch transformation?” I asked, wanting clarification on this concept I was still unclear about, as I only associates witch transformation with turning boys into girls and continuously enabling further physical development, changing my race from “human” to “witch.”
“Pretty much, witch transformation refers to a process of completely changing you into a witch. Didn’t I grant you library access? You can check it out yourself; it’s much more thorough than my o*al explanation.”
“Alright…” Since Teacher Ji wouldn’t elaborate, I left it at that and began taking out the magic sources I had packed within my storage equipment. Five hundred of these magic sources piled here was quite a sight.
Then, with a wave of her hand, Teacher Ji opened the packages, gathering the magic sources easily into my body.
The influx of a massive amount of magic source brought me a wonderful sensation, that feeling of being filled; the faint magic dissipated in a way I couldn’t comprehend, promoting my witch transformation. My body also subtly changed at that moment, but it wasn’t an instantaneous process.
“Teacher Ji, how much mental power do I need to use the magic source by myself? About how many strands of mental power?”
The energy of the magic source is definitely tied to one’s mental power. The meditation method has a unit of measurement, which is strands, with one strand of mental power roughly equating to a unit’s worth of mental power.
“It doesn’t relate to how many strands you have. The strand is a way the Witch Meditation Method quantifies mental power, a unit of measure, and a more efficient way to utilize mental power. However, the magic, an extraordinary energy, isn’t about how much mental power you have but rather the quality of your mental power. It’s like the difference between cotton thread and iron wire; they are fundamentally different.”
Teacher Ji first corrected my question, then explained.
“For your mental power to interfere with magic, what matters is not the quantity of mental power but the enhancement brought by witch transformation. Magic is an extraordinary power controlled only by witches, and the closer you are to the essence of being a witch, the more you can interfere with magic. So ultimately, it still comes back to witch transformation.”
“So, we’re back to square one?”
“Exactly, take your time. The more magic sources you have, the higher the efficiency of witch transformation, but you must understand one thing: the efficiency of someone with two magic sources is not double that of someone with one.”
“It will diminish?” I quickly realized the issue.
“Yes, the more there are, the more the diminishing returns until it hovers around a certain limit. If there was no diminishing return, the academy would directly use a million magic sources to create extraordinary witches like a production line. Do you understand? In the early stages, you can indeed strive for more magic sources, but after a certain quantity, any excess magic sources are just numbers.” Teacher Ji returned to her seat while continuing to explain these notes to me.
“But even so, more magic sources should be better, right?” Although I understood that magic sources were essentially a limit on mana, they seemed beneficial for prolonged battles.
“More is better? Not necessarily. Do you really think the magic source in your body belongs to you?” Teacher Ji chuckled at my words and continued to explain.
“Not mine?”
“Of course. Witches control magic, and the magic source is a power exclusive to witches. You are merely on the path to becoming a witch, at best a preparatory witch. Rather than saying you possess the magic source, it would be more accurate to say you carry it. You have never truly owned a magic source, and even now, the way you use it is through a spellbook to draw on magic; without the spellbook, you can do nothing.”
“So as long as I improve my mental power, that is, reach a sufficient level of witch transformation, I will qualify to really possess the magic source?” I tentatively asked.
Currently, the existence of the magic source and spellbook just felt like a pathetic barrier between me and the extraordinary; I was merely a user of extraordinary power, not a master.
“To truly master the magic source, you need to achieve the status of an extraordinary witch. Being able to interfere with magic only indicates that you have the qualification to autonomously use the magic within the magic source. Don’t think too much about it; this is the Witch Academy. Following the path laid out for you by the academy is wise; worrying about things you can’t achieve here is just asking for trouble.”
At this moment, Teacher Ji waved her hand, urging me not to overthink, even though she was the one who initiated this discussion.
I could only suppress my curiosity for the time being. Just as Teacher Ji said, I now had special access to the library. If she wouldn’t tell me, I could just go look it up myself.
“By the way, you haven’t misused that crystal-like object from the resources I gave you, have you?” Teacher Ji timely asked.
“That? Not yet. I didn’t know what it was, so I didn’t dare use it. Is it related to the earth vein?” I asked curiously, having planned to ask about it but surprised that the teacher brought it up first.
“It is indeed related to the earth vein. I remember you saw the data on earth vein sedimentation before, right? Yes, that’s one of the rewards from the new student competition, Earth Vein Memory. It has many names: Earth Memory, Memory Crystal, etc. They are all effective memories refined after extraction, and they won’t interfere with personal cognition.”
“In other words, after using it, I can learn the knowledge from the corresponding memory?” My eyes lit up, and I quickly inquired.
I really needed this foolproof learning method, so please give me more!
“Not that impressive. Having that part of memory doesn’t mean you can perform it; you still need to learn. It simply helps you skip the learning and understanding process, but you need to digest it to be your own.”
“That’s still impressive. Since this thing is a product of the earth vein, there should be quite a bit of it, right? Are there other ways to obtain it?”
“What? Did you get enchanted by the benefits of this object? Indeed, the earth vein can produce many memories of the earth, but most of the memories are useless, even fragmented and chaotic. Only after refining them can useful ones be properly utilized, and the related memory content is uncontrollable, depending on luck; I trust you understand?”
“I see…” I took out a piece of Earth Vein Memory. “Then, Teacher, what exactly is the memory you managed to secure for me related to?”
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask the witch who refines the memories. However, memory is inherently hard to define, so it’s sort of like opening a blind box.” Teacher Ji shook her head, indicating she didn’t know, but since it could be used as a reward, it meant the memory inside was at least not useless.
The new student competition aimed to help students understand related memories, potentially providing them an advantage on this path.
Even if there’s no help, it’s still an additional understanding, and broadening horizons is beneficial.
“Open a blind box?” I twitched at hearing this term; isn’t that purely a matter of luck?
My luck… in short, it’s hard to express; it seems I should prepare appropriately before using it?
“Yes, do you want to try it now? I can teach you how to use it, and you’ll be able to use it yourself at home.” Teacher Ji took the Earth Vein Memory from my hand and asked me.
“Of course.”
“Alright then, let me explain; this memory is carried by earth vein energy, so you need to use your mental power to guide this memory, ensuring that it enters your mind intact. Like this, you should use spirit vision to observe it more closely.”
“Okay.” I nodded. Even without Teacher Ji’s reminder, I instinctively used spirit vision. I had developed the habit of using it to observe various things, seamlessly integrating the perspective of spirit vision into my daily life.
In the past, I avoided it like the plague to live normally, but now, it’s my greatest reliance in the extraordinary world.
At this moment, I could see the crystalline structure extending its branches of earth vein energy, and under Teacher Ji’s guidance of mental power, the memories flowed into my mind along the earth vein energy.
At this moment, it felt like watching a lantern show, revisiting unfamiliar memories.
I could feel the silhouettes of senior students; while their appearances were indistinct, it seemed there were countless overlapping images.
They repeatedly engaged in unknown training, and simultaneously, a kind of narrating “voice” echoed in my mind as if telling me what this was.
This was a strengthening technique, an exercise that could stretch all parts of the body, enhancing physique and flexibility, serving as training to pair with transformation spells for close combat.
“How does it feel?”
“Um… a bit dizzy… but indeed a vivid memory… very profound…” I replied while holding my head.
“Dizziness is normal since it’s an imposed unfamiliar memory. So, what does this memory bring you?” Teacher Ji asked curiously.
“It seems to be a set of strengthening technique exercises,” I replied honestly.
“Strengthening technique… Oh, I remember, the academy does have this course. I didn’t expect this memory. It’s barely manageable.” Teacher Ji nodded at my description and commented, “Then you shouldn’t need to ask for help with the rest, right?”
“No, thank you, teacher.” I still held my forehead and said that digesting and adapting to this memory would take time; it was clear I hadn’t quite recovered yet.
“Quite a strong aftereffect, right? So this thing can’t be used frequently. If overused, those memories might mix up. Just pay attention; ideally, don’t use more than three a day, around three or four at most.”
“Understood.” I nodded. I had a total of more than ten of these in my storage equipment, so even if I maximized use every day, it would take several days; it should last until the end of the new student competition.
After the competition, I would also receive more rewards like this, so it seemed that the next few days would inevitably involve living a life of opening blind boxes.
I just hoped I wouldn’t get anything too outrageous from them.
