Chapter 284: Meeting the Headmaster
“Um, okay.”
After hanging up the phone, the leisure in my gaze completely retracted. I packed my things and planned to sneak out of here.
“Xiao Han, what’s wrong?” At this moment, Bai Yu beside me asked.
“I’m leaving; the headmaster is looking for me.” I sighed, glancing at the extraordinary mentor in front of us who was explaining alchemy knowledge, and then at Sister Bai, feeling somewhat helpless.
What I was attending was not an ordinary class, but a lecture conducted by an extraordinary witch.
I knew very well that simply working in isolation wouldn’t help me learn anything, especially in the field of alchemy. That’s why I came here accompanied by Sister Bai.
This was not part of the academy’s scheduled classes; attending this lecture had prerequisites, which naturally required payment. Cheaper courses started with Red Copper, while expensive ones began with Aoqin.
The proceeds would go directly into the pockets of the extraordinary witches conducting the lectures.
This also represented that even materials like Aoqin had very high value, despite reaching the level of extraordinary witches.
“Then hurry up; I’ll help you take notes on what comes next, and I’ll share my notes with you later.” Sister Bai didn’t seem to care much about it, just a bit surprised that Xiao Han would be valued so highly by the headmaster and asked to meet her personally.
“Thank you, Sister Bai. I’ll leave now. By the way… if the lecture covers the alchemy ritual part… could you please record it? I’m very interested in this aspect.”
“Mm.” Bai Yu nodded without refusing.
My departure didn’t attract anyone’s attention, including that of the teacher giving the lecture. Leaving early was seen as irresponsible, and the fees wouldn’t be refunded.
After leaving, I took out my broom and headed straight to Teacher Ji’s office.
I also felt a bit nervous, after all, I was about to meet the real headmaster. The earlier meeting was merely with one of her clones, and I hoped the headmaster herself would be just as warm and approachable.
“Xiao Han, you finally made it. You’ve been dawdling for so long.” Pushing open Teacher Ji’s office door, she began to scold me.
It appeared that even Teacher Ji had many concerns when facing the headmaster.
“Um… Teacher, I was just attending the alchemy lecture, and I rushed over as soon as I got your call. I ended up spending several Aoqin.”
“Alchemy? Why are you studying alchemy again?”
“Uh… it’s not a bad thing to master another skill… right?”
“Suit yourself. If you’re interested in alchemy, go ahead and learn it. At the Witch Academy, you can study whatever you want. Just don’t bite off more than you can chew.” Teacher Ji waved her hand as she stood up, indicating she wanted to take me immediately.
However, she didn’t pull out a flying broomstick but instead grabbed me directly. In the next moment, the world spun around me, and I felt like I was floating, until my feet finally landed on solid ground, and I felt a bit relieved.
“This… is spatial teleportation?!” I was somewhat surprised. With this ability, who needs a flying broomstick?
“Just a teleportation method. Space is synonymous with fragility; there are many ways to break space. In fact, even powers or skills that don’t have a spatial attribute can achieve this easily, so don’t be too surprised; just come with me.”
“Okay… okay.” I followed closely behind Teacher Ji, my gaze sweeping around.
This was the most distinctive corridor I had seen in the Witch Academy, with vintage patterns, unfamiliar plants decorating it, and a strong sense of an old-fashioned era.
At the end of the corridor was a grand hall. Even before reaching there, I saw a massive stone statue in the center, which held a long staff, its gesture frozen in time. From the flowing details of its gown and the exquisitely carved face, it was undoubtedly Headmaster Mei Linde.
“I’m taking you to Headmaster Mei Linde’s office. You must have met this headmaster before, right?” Teacher Ji suddenly asked.
“Um… I guess? I’ve only met one of her clones.” I explained.
“Is that so? Then since it was a clone, she must have communicated with you, right? What did the headmaster say to you?”
“Uh… about that, did the headmaster allow me to talk?”
“It’s just about the Great Spellbook; this isn’t a secret among us teachers. You’re safe to say what you need to say. You must have helped the headmaster solve some sort of problem, or else she wouldn’t specifically ask to meet a student like you.”
“Uh… that seems about right…”
“That’s good enough.” Teacher Ji felt slightly relieved by my answer but didn’t show it. “By the way, if you had two choices in front of you, one being a reward you can’t refuse and the other helping you escape from the script, which would you choose?”
“Escape from the script.” I answered without hesitation.
“Good! Just do that then.” Teacher Ji nodded, feeling relieved, as her efforts hadn’t been in vain.
“Um… but the headmaster has already agreed to help me escape from the script… should be…” although this required me to accept a trial task as a price.
“What! She agreed directly?”
Upon hearing this, even Teacher Ji was somewhat surprised, but quickly she reacted, realizing the headmaster’s request to meet with me seemed to indicate the matter of escaping from the script wasn’t the main issue…
At this moment, Teacher Ji and I had reached the grand hall, standing under the gigantic statue, as though an inexplicable force was cleansing my mind.
There was no further corridor here, only a tall bookshelf along one side of the hall, from the floor to the ceiling, densely packed with books that seemed to contain strange extraordinary energy within, while some books gave me a strong sense of danger.
It seemed I couldn’t just browse through these books casually.
“Um, Teacher Ji, where are we headed next?” I curiously asked.
“Waiting for the elevator.”
“Ah? Waiting for the elevator?” I was looking for the entrance to the elevator based on Teacher Ji’s plain answer but found nothing.
Until… a platform slowly descended from above. I watched Teacher Ji step onto it, and I followed suit.
Is this what they call an elevator?
A platform?
I glanced at Teacher Ji, but she didn’t seem inclined to explain, as there were no rules stating elevators had to be a box pulled by a rope, right?
Looking down at the platform beneath my feet, the simple and clear runes were exactly the kind I was familiar with, meaning that achieving this level only required the simplest of runes.
The platform slowly ascended, taking me to the top floor.
Even before reaching the headmaster’s office, I caught a whiff of a scent that instantly sharpened my senses; it felt somewhat similar to incense. Was this the incense used by the headmaster?
I wondered how expensive it was.
As we emerged, I finally caught a glimpse of what the headmaster’s office was like.
If this was truly an office, I would rather believe it was a blend of everything I recognized about witches… an experimental laboratory.
In the center stood a massive experimental table, with Earth Vein Energy surging, bearing many familiar yet strange spell structures.
On one side of the office, there were numerous materials and items sealed in special ways.
Some looked like dragon skulls hanging from the ceiling like decorations, and a plume burned with crimson flames, sealed within a translucent crystal.
There were also many windows, resembling decorative paintings on the walls, but inside, they seemed to encapsulate small fragments of time.
The floor of the office shimmered with a combination of runes, and as I observed this, it looked increasingly familiar; it indeed resembled an alchemical ritual—an entire office solidified into a refining ritual!
It seemed the headmaster was also conducting some alchemical method here.
The crystalline energy embedded in the floor’s ritual nodes surged with a magic power unique to witches.
“Headmaster, I’ve brought Xiao Han to you.” At this moment, Teacher Ji’s voice pulled me back from my curiosity about everything here.
I quickly composed myself, directing my gaze toward the figure busily working ahead; this was the headmaster herself, not a clone.
“Oh? Xiao Han is here? Come here, come to me.” Hearing Teacher Ji’s words, Mei Linde halted her actions and looked our way. Then, she greeted me with a warm smile, gesturing me to come over.
“Go on.” Teacher Ji gave me a gentle push from behind. “Headmaster, if there’s nothing else for me, I’ll take my leave.”
“Alright, Xi Lan, I know you’re curious. Don’t leak out what I’m about to say. You can stay and listen.” Mei Linde, looking at Teacher Ji with a smile, spoke.
“I understand.” Teacher Ji nodded, with no intentions of leaving now. She was indeed quite curious. After all, finding entertainment is of utmost importance to witches; what could be more enjoyable than gossip?
At this moment, with Teacher Ji’s push, I slowly walked toward the headmaster.
Today, the headmaster wasn’t wearing her previous attire but instead donned a deep purple robe that resembled the starry sky, with a thin-fitting top wrapped around her curvaceous form.
“So, have you decided what kind of vessel you want to tailor for those Fool Dreams?” Mei Linde asked as she approached a beautifully framed painting on the side wall. Upon closer inspection, I was astonished.
Forget the fact that the painting was alive; it truly felt like a small world!
And those floating formless entities, were they not the Fool Dreams?
“I… think I’ve almost made up my mind…”
“Almost decided? What is it? If you haven’t thought it through, I can give you a bit more time. It’s just a vessel; you don’t need to worry about what it is. It doesn’t even have to be a material vessel, as they are not even true lives; they just need a carrier that exists in reality.”
As Mei Linde spoke, she showcased that “painting” in front of me.
“Look… isn’t it amazing? This is the dream creature, the Fool Dream you are familiar with.”
Looking at these entities, they no longer resembled the Fool Dreams I knew. Nightmares and Fool Dreams merged together; they were now indeed dream creatures.
“When you decide, I will extract the nightmare part from them, and you, you understand what you need to do, right?”
“Mm… but afterward, how should the nightmares be handled?”
“The nightmare is part of the Fool Dream; handling it can indeed be tricky. But it’s doable; you might find something useful.”
“Um?” I looked at the headmaster with a puzzled expression, as my thoughts couldn’t keep pace with her words. What was there for me to utilize?
“The script, of course! The script is an unreasonable driving force. If this creation of the Great Spellbook didn’t involve you, according to the normal flow, I might have borrowed the script’s power to create the Great Spellbook directly.”
“The script… can separate the Fool Dream and the nightmare?” I looked at the headmaster in surprise, still feeling a bit incredulous.
But I still didn’t know how to operate this… the script wasn’t something I could easily handle, especially since I was merely a pawn in the script right now… Oh no, if things continued this way, I might end up becoming the ultimate boss?
“It all depends on how you handle it. This involves the deeper principles of script operation; you just need to understand two words: split.”
“Split; so that means conceptually taking one existing entity and dividing it into two different existences, cutting off their connection. The development of the script is like a rolling wheel; you need to prepare for both sides.”
“What preparations?” I continued to ask. Although it sounded complicated, I would do my best to accomplish it.
“Firstly, make the part of the nightmare you want to discard strongly related to the script while completely separating the Fool Dream part from it. How to separate it will depend on you; after all, didn’t you want to escape from the script? There is a way to sever your connection to the script once and for all, allowing you to experience it in advance…”
“Wait, headmaster, are you telling Xiao Han to sever…”
“Xi Lan.” At this moment, the headmaster directly called out Teacher Ji’s name, interrupting what she was about to say.
“It seems your teacher is quite concerned about you. Let me finish what she hasn’t said yet; you should understand Earth Vein power, right?”
“I only know the name of this power and the basic application of Earth Vein Energy…”
“That’s alright; you just need to know that the Earth Vein is the foundation of a world. The Earth Vein records all information in this world and also governs the rise and fall of a world. Its existence is no longer just the simple Earth Vein Energy or surface streams; it has long become a more abstract existence. Within this abstract existence, there’s a branch… Earth Vein Shackles.”
“Earth Vein Shackles?” I looked at the headmaster in confusion, expecting her to clarify.
“You just need to understand that you are also a part of the main world. Do you know why the Witch Academy has extraordinary advancement as a graduation requirement? Because after graduation, most people choose to leave this world. And why does our Witch Academy enforce the requirement of reaching extraordinary before leaving this world? It’s because they need to have the capability to break the Earth Vein Shackles themselves only after reaching extraordinary; that’s how they can leave this world.”
“Leave… the world?” I stared wide-eyed, longing for the stars and seas, as well as the void described by Teacher Ji. Isn’t that exactly what I’m pursuing?
I didn’t expect that even leaving this world would… come with conditions.
“Yes. Once you sever the Earth Vein Shackles, strictly speaking, you will no longer be recognized by the main world. Naturally, the main world will eliminate you from the script unless you forcibly meddle with the script; otherwise, the world’s consciousness wouldn’t give you any attention.”
“World consciousness?” I seized upon a crucial term.
But I also noted the implication of not being from this world. I didn’t know what consequences there would be for not being from this world, but it would definitely be different. This made me think of Yisha Yuan; she actively chose not to advance to extraordinary. However… that didn’t quite make sense, nor did it say that advancing to extraordinary meant one must leave or break the Earth Vein Shackles.
“Mm, but I won’t explain these to you; they don’t relate much to you right now. If you wish to understand them in the future, you can easily do so.”
“So, you sever the script in this way while enlightening the Fool Dream’s wisdom, causing the spell effects to permanently remain on the Fool Dream, allowing it to take its first step towards becoming a life form. The world will also naturally clear its connection with both the Fool Dream and you. But before that, you need to make the nightmare strongly related to the script.”
“What should I do?”
“Very simple. You have a massive fortune gained from the exchange competition, right? We will operate to transfer that fortune to the nightmare and establish a deep connection, then push it into the script and let it develop itself. However… the method of operation requires your cooperation; this can be seen as a ritual for the transfer of fortune. You should know how to act, right?”
“Act… act?”
“Yes, the script, the script, what needs a script? Acting needs a script. The script itself is a vast filtering ritual; just understand that. I’ve roughly explained the methods to you, and we can discuss the details later. Do you have any questions left?”
“Um… I just wanted to know, is it worth making such a fuss for these Fool Dreams…?” I raised my head to meet the headmaster’s gaze.
“Of course, it’s worth it. You care too much about the opinions of others. You’re now standing before me; why still perceive this matter with the perspective of a small character from before?”
“That… I understand…” I contemplated for a moment. It wasn’t that I couldn’t comprehend, but rather I understood profoundly. I was just considering how to achieve it. The thought of doing and actually doing are different; I couldn’t reach the state of unity of knowledge and action. Even if I had a spell called unity of knowledge and action, it wouldn’t guarantee success.
“Good that you understand. Perhaps you could try the Great Spellbook of unity of knowledge and action. It’s not as simple as it appears on the surface.”
“Mm.” I quickly reacted, nodding heavily. This was clearly an indication from the headmaster.
“Any more questions? If so, I’ll allow one last question. After that, we’ll move on to the next topic.”
“Um… I… I want to know why dream creatures are not considered life? What is the definition of life?”
