Chapter 246: Planning Fortune and the Path Ahead
“Don’t just say ‘ah,’ I’m only using it as an example. It’s naturally outrageous, but you do possess such charisma now, do you understand?”
“But first, I advise you not to rush, because there are just too many things you can work with in this situation, and you can gain more benefits from it. You need to plan it out well, or perhaps you want to leave it all to the academy to help you?” Teacher Ji said to me.
“I…”
Faced with such a choice, I didn’t know how to respond. In fact, I didn’t really like trouble. However, if getting rid of trouble required first experiencing it, I generally preferred to keep things as they were.
Let the so-called fortune remain with me; since others can always find ways to take it, let them do so. Worst case, I could just lie flat and do nothing, right?
But it was clear the academy wanted everything to be handled by them. After all, I was just a minor character, a new student who had just stepped into the extraordinary world. It’s important for one to have self-awareness.
Rather than spending time thinking about these matters, I would rather learn the tedious subject of rune literature right now.
“Feeling hesitant? But that’s fine; you don’t need to give me an answer right away. The academy won’t pressure you. You should trust the Witch Academy’s style; all the teachers, being extraordinary witches, love good students dearly.”
At that moment, Teacher Ji’s words eased my earlier worries.
But before I could respond, I suddenly felt a peculiar vision occupy my sight. The effect of spirit vision was plunging deeply, and golden threads of fortune began to converge from all directions, forming a dazzling strong light in front of me.
Clearly, under the perspective of spirit vision, the fortune was not merely radiating light but was emitting high-density, undeclared information and messages that I couldn’t comprehend.
“Is fortune already beginning to gather?” Teacher Ji also stood up and looked through the teaching building towards the sky above the Witch Academy. Not just here, but the fortune belonging to the Witch Academy was also beginning to condense.
“It seems the exchange competition has completely come to an end at this moment. Quite the coincidence, isn’t it?”
“Mm…”
I softly agreed, but all my attention was focused on the fortune before me. It was no longer the few threads of fortune I had before; it had already coalesced into a substantial form!
I couldn’t ignore its presence; the information it continuously emitted was painful to my mind, even under the limited reception of my spirit vision.
“Don’t look at things with dense information through spirit vision too much; at least you’re not yet extraordinary. The level of life cannot understand or even withstand this degree of information influx,” Teacher Ji said as she stretched out her hand to cover my eyes and pulled me back, while also speaking to me.
“Mm.”
I nodded, not resisting, although I hadn’t told Teacher Ji that I could still “see” even with my eyes closed, just like when I practiced the Witch Meditation Method.
“Ordinary people cannot see fortunes, but this is different for you. It might bring you a lot of trouble, so you should pay close attention to it,” Teacher Ji sighed and ultimately advised me this way.
“I understand.”
As I extended my hand to lightly touch this mass of fortune, following the principle that the fortune belonged to me, I saw it as a form of touching. This mass of fortune was easily grasped in my hand.
It had no temperature, no collision, and wouldn’t emit a single ray of light in reality.
What it radiated was unknown informational messages, entangling with the strong light I recognized, resulting in this situation.
If the image of fortune in my understanding was evil, then at this moment it could be a disgusting mass of dark matter, perhaps even radiating black light, even though such things as black light didn’t exist in this world.
I shoved it into my body; after all, it would follow me wherever I went. Out of sight, out of mind, using my body as its temporary vessel.
“You have quite the guts, willing to shove anything into your body? But that’s not a bad idea. Though we say fortune’s power, it isn’t energy in essence, nor is it some kind of extraordinary energy, so it won’t overly interfere with the magic source or spellbook. The existence of fortune is somewhat like energy, an almost independent system that generally does not interfere with one another. As for the rest, I don’t know much about it; after all, I’m not a witch who studies fortune.”
“Can fortune’s power be utilized?” I asked curiously. “For example, as a drive for certain special spells?”
“Fortune isn’t energy, so it can’t drive spells that are powered by extraordinary energy. However, it can reinforce spells in another manner, but don’t think too much; you can’t accomplish that.”
“Okay…”
Teacher Ji’s straightforward response that I couldn’t do it made it seem truly impossible. Generally speaking, what she said was pretty rigorous; at least until now, she wouldn’t lie to me.
It seemed I had gained an eye-catching effect that only I and the teachers could see.
“Since you haven’t yet made the decision on handling fortune, let it stay with you for now. If there’s a problem, contact me in time, or contact Lina or any teacher from the Witch Academy.”
“I got it. I won’t joke with my life.” I nodded.
“That’s good to know. Don’t think that just because this exchange competition has ended, everything will return to peace. You should understand that scripts are like novels; blandness is a big taboo. The Witch Academy will start operations next, distributing fortunes, so don’t expect it to be quiet.”
“You mean for Tan Han, right? I’ll be obedient and won’t interfere.” I nodded again.
“Not interfering? I never said that. Right now, you’re entangled with fortune and involved in the script, so we won’t force you. When did I say that the Child of Fortune from the Witch Academy is only Tan Han?”
“What? The Witch Academy has other Children of Fortune besides Tan Han? Isn’t she the only one?” I asked in shock.
“Originally, there was indeed only Tan Han. We placed so much emphasis on cultivating her and providing resources precisely because she was unique. But now, Tan Han is not alone, though she has the greatest opportunity. We cannot erase others’ chances just because of Tan Han. Investing in a Child of Fortune is most taboo if it’s a singular bet, a lonely gamble.”
“I know this…” I nodded. After all, these plots are common in novels where the protagonist grows in adversity, and the higher-ups only value the most promising one, unaware that the more elevated stepping stones are also worthy of being stepped on by the true protagonist.
It seems that many of the witch teachers in the Witch Academy are quite knowledgeable, living up to being long-lived extraordinary witches. They likely enjoy reading novels to pass the time, just as I did in my previous life.
“But… where would the academy get other Children of Fortune? Is there a new discovery?”
“Our Witch Academy indeed has only Tan Han, but this exchange competition, didn’t other academies send us so many? Isn’t that for us to choose from?”
“Ah?” I widened my eyes, unable to believe the answer I was receiving from Teacher Ji.
“Isn’t luring people our Witch Academy’s specialty? Who says you can’t become a witch after entering another academy? I think it’s very fitting. Xiao Han, outside this world in the Void, numerous races exist, and there are countless types of witches. Don’t be too narrow-minded.”
“Uh… okay…” Hearing Teacher Ji’s statement, I realized my ignorance. Indeed, witches were even more terrifying than I had imagined… this was racial assimilation!
Back when Tan Han entered the Witch Academy, it was a done deal. The Holy Angel Academy had directly retreated, and it seemed she wouldn’t become a Holy Angel. But I didn’t expect other races could enter and become witches!
But thinking about… elf witches… beast-eared witches, bl**d clan witches… it seemed… pretty good?
“Wait, won’t other academies fight desperately against the Witch Academy?”
“Fighting desperately assumes they can win. Don’t underestimate our Witch Academy. How can their students, who lost in our Witch Academy, dare to come back and look for us in our territory?” Teacher Ji said this with an air of disdain.
And I could only swallow hard nearby. I wondered if the Witch Academy was being too bold; luring their Children of Fortune, and even if they weren’t, the ones who came over were elites from other academies.
Are those academies not going crazy?
Or did they already anticipate that the Witch Academy would pull such a move, so those who came were actually fake elites, and the true ones were protected well in their respective academies?
Recalling the people I faced during the exchange competition… it didn’t seem impossible.
“Just kidding, Xiao Han. Don’t take it seriously, and don’t spread it around. Our Witch Academy won’t do such things.” Teacher Ji made a gesture for silence towards me and smiled, reinforcing her point.
“Okay… okay, I got it. I won’t say anything foolish.”
“Alright, the serious topic should come to an end. Let’s talk about something else.” After Teacher Ji finished speaking, she lifted the spell’s effect.
“Your performance in this exchange competition was quite good, but I hope you won’t show any excessive arrogance. Arrogance will lead you to lose your judgment, and you need to recognize yourself; you’re still just a new student who just entered the academy.”
“Mm, I understand.”
“I don’t care whether you really understand or not; just don’t show it. I saw you hurrying to exit the exchange competition, looking as if you wanted to do something. What? Are you already eager to proceed with further research on the spellbook?”
“Uh… actually…”
“Don’t be too ambitious. I think you can set aside studying the spellbook. You must have felt it too, right? The higher the level of the spellbook, the less you can rely on attempts and simple brute force for magical modifications; even when facing high-consumption spellbooks, you might not know how to proceed.”
“This was one of the reasons why I had you stop studying high-consumption spellbooks, but I didn’t expect you to generate a derivative spell.”
“Um… actually, Teacher,” I interrupted Teacher Ji again.
“What do you want to say? If you really want to stubbornly study the spellbook, I won’t stop you, after all, you still have plenty of time to squander.”
“Actually, I wanted to say that I also want to set aside the study of the spellbook for now and just look more at the theoretical content related to runes.”
“Oh? Have you figured it out? Why?”
Teacher Ji raised an eyebrow in surprise. She thought the other person would stubbornly pursue spellbooks. However, she understood that children at this stage seek exploration of the unknown and might even be guided to do so, but fundamentally, this doesn’t need to be done.
“Um… because of Tan Han, she taught me some very important things… and one more thing, Teacher, I’d like to ask.”
“What do you want to ask? Go ahead.”
“The extraordinary world… is it always filled with conflict and bloodshed?” I sincerely asked Teacher Ji.
This question was really important because the society and environment I had lived in, including my understanding of the Witch Academy, placed me in a relatively peaceful and safe world. Combat and bloodshed, in my perception, only occurred in arenas or other venues.
This involved my perspective on this world and the distribution of development weight.
If it were peaceful, then I wouldn’t need to care about so-called strength. The so-called skills wouldn’t mean much to me, as I wouldn’t be the type to fight with others all the time.
Give me a peaceful environment and time, and I would gradually advance, widening the gap with those around me.
But if the environment I was in was special, unsuited, or even temporary, then the value of combat power, strength, and fully leveraging one’s skills would weigh heavier for me.
This would ensure my pursuit of the extraordinary and the truth.
Strength would no longer be a byproduct of extraordinary research, but one of the necessary means to possess.
“That’s quite a difficult question… You might need to witness and understand it yourself. Strength is equally important, but it cannot be the only thing of significance; life must not become a slave to power.”
“Is that so…” I nodded, but I also had an answer in my heart.
“And by the way, if you plan to prepare now, I don’t mind telling you that the Void is a place where strength reigns supreme. In any place, only hard fists have the right to speak. But witches cannot and will not become such beings because we are witches, not slaves to power.”
“Thank you, this is really important to me.” This time, I sincerely thanked Teacher Ji.
Teacher Ji wouldn’t lie to me about such matters, and I understood the balance of what I sought within this.
“These are nothing.” Teacher Ji smiled. “Let me share some concepts with you, related to our witches; this might help you.”
“Really?”
“Of course it’s true. I think your earlier question was somewhat classic. It’s a common trade-off issue concerning the ultimate dilemma between pursuing truth or power.”
“In the Void, countless lives attempt to prove each other wrong on these two paths, but they also end up lost in the roads they walk. In fact, difficult questions often have simple answers because no problem is absolute.”
“Do they become increasingly extreme because they are so firmly resolved in their paths? Perhaps some do, but most combat their cognition with persistence and faith; denying oneself can lead to confusion. This makes those with formidable strength or terrifying skills dangerous, thus most people are happy to see this polarization happen.”
“But most of us witches won’t be entangled in this, because we witches have that foundation. We witches walk only two paths: principles and skills; researching and uncovering principles leads to eternal truth, while practicing and refining skills comprehends powerful strength.”
“Do you think they are the same but just expressed differently? In essence, they are different. If you don’t understand, it’s because you haven’t reached that level, just like higher-grade students will question why the Witch Academy uses spellbooks to limit the flexibility and use of spells.”
“No one in this world is a fool; existence must have its reasons, Xiao Han. Earlier, did you think you were researching theories to obtain truth, or were you practicing skills to attain strength?”
“I… wanted to study theories to obtain truth…”
“But your actions reflect that you’re practicing skills to gain strength. Modifying spellbooks is also an exploration of skills. You need theoretical support, but you don’t have that foundation.”
“You’re very contradictory; you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s the problem you face. Everything should be done step by step, accumulating little by little. Before, I simply let you be; now you should collect your heart properly.”
“So… what should I do?” At this moment, my gaze was filled with confusion, as Teacher Ji’s words thoroughly shattered my shallow understanding, but I suddenly didn’t know what I should do.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to check out books related to rune literature? And didn’t you learn some things from Tan Han? Don’t be confused; studying rune literature related books is laying a solid foundation for your pursuit of truth, while the things you learned from Tan Han are likely skill-related. They don’t conflict; you just lack a reasonable plan to arrange them.”
“Thank you…”
“No need to thank me; it’s something a teacher should do.” Teacher Ji smiled.
