Chapter 315: Extraordinary Mechanical Armament Technology in Ninglan New City
“Are their vital signs still normal?”
“All very stable.”
In the medical room, responsible for caring for the older students afflicted by the sleep curse, each person wore a special alchemical mask.
This alchemical mask is a special alchemical item crafted by extraordinary witches, specifically designed to counter the sleep curse, provided free of charge by the academy to students who need to come into contact with the “patients” affected by the curse.
Additionally, the academy has announced that the transmission routes of the sleep curse have been severed, and some medical rooms at the academy have undergone isolation procedures, while normal classes continue.
Other academies have also taken similar measures, and the source of this curse is currently under investigation.
Such handling has naturally left many unsatisfied, but even if they were unhappy, the academy would take no further action.
However, this does not prevent many students from speculating, as the issue affects a wide range of people, and gradually rumors began to spread that the source of the sleep curse was the dream equipment of the Witch Academy.
After all, curses do not selectively transmit to the academy; why have they not spread to the outside world?
Some older students have even provided evidence indicating that the academies affected by this sleep curse are mostly those participating in the recent dream exchange competition, and all the contestants from the Witch Academy who took part have successively fallen victim to the sleep curse.
Yet, the academy has not offered any explanations and has quietly shut down several dream equipment usage points.
This has further diminished the reputation of the Witch Academy in the outside world.
This is, of course, a tactic by the academy to shift attention.
Indeed, the academy’s upper echelons may not care about these extraordinary students, but after all, the Witch Academy still carries the name of “academy,” which led to this symbolic handling.
As for the various alchemical items aimed at countering the sleep curse, they are merely for show. The extraordinary witches understand that this is not a true curse, and the sleep experienced in other academies is similarly not a contagious curse.
This is another smoke-free struggle, a struggle for fortune.
Equivalent to the continuation of the dream exchange competition, as this dispute over fortune stems from the recent competition and also takes place within dreams.
However, the difference from the previous competition with the Abyss Demon faction is that the cannon fodder was the weaker undead, whereas this time they must face the Abyss Demon’s elite, the Dream Demons.
This is a truly lethal conflict.
Is there any struggle for fortune that does not shed bl**d?
Minor skirmishes hold no significance; the Witch Academy is not a nursery where people engage in make-believe games, and this dispute for fortune undoubtedly represents more than just the allocation of the fortune earned from the last competition. When the script’s nodes are triggered, the last remaining human city at the world’s edge will also accumulate fortune, potentially elevating this struggle for fortune to a higher level.
“This is pitiful, clearly a new student just entering the Extraordinary Academy yet caught up in such matters.”
“Who says it isn’t? They specifically target good students; do you think there is some sort of insider secret here?”
“Maybe… but not all are good students, right?”
The two older students working part-time as nurses in the medical room were gossiping while complaining.
“Wait… is that Xiao Han?”
“It really seems to be! How did such a low-profile person like Xiao Han end up afflicted by the sleep curse? Didn’t she stop showing up after the exchange competition?”
“I told you, the analysis from that older student on the academy’s website was spot on; it must be related to that dream equipment! There hasn’t been a mess like this in previous years, right?”
“That’s true. You don’t know, the dream equipment seems to be restricted from being lent out now, there must be a problem, they have to take it back for repairs.”
“Ah… poor Xiao Han… why did she have to come and go so quickly?”
In the Underground City.
After living here for a few days, I have somewhat adapted to the environment. The extraordinary knowledge regarding rune rituals spreads more smoothly here than I had anticipated. It seems that the more people know, the more open they are to new things, and I have found many “scholars” willing to discuss runes and inscriptions with me.
The people here can be roughly divided into two types: one group is theoretical scholars exploring and developing extraordinary inscriptions, while the other group consists of developers who guide and develop extraordinary techniques using the strength provided by those scholars.
I unhesitatingly chose to become a theoretical scholar here.
Because of this, I was able to smoothly integrate into the scholarly circle here; my introduction of the rune literature system as an outsider opened the door to a new world for them. Sometimes breakthroughs in theory require such external force to burst through.
At this point, I had only provided the ritual for the Fireball Spell.
They have accumulated thousands of years of foundation, and at this moment, it feels like the technological explosion of learning how to boil water, sparking new life that even I struggle to respond to.
Think about it: just a simple technique can drive such rapid development in a technological society, with an array of derivative technologies; based on their thousand years of accumulated knowledge, my provision of just one spell technique, the Fireball, seems to have produced a comparable effect.
However… their development seems to differ from what I had expected.
They followed their previous thought process, combining extraordinary techniques with mechanical devices as a way to maximize energy utilization.
The unique power belonging to Ninglan New City had officially undergone a theoretical update in front of me.
Extraordinary mechanical armament is a method developed by these geniuses in Ninglan New City for highly efficient utilization of extraordinary power. The city defense forces’ armor and weapons I saw earlier were part of the initial generation of armaments, which used inscriptions to drive extraordinary power.
Ranked among Class I extraordinary weapons.
Indeed, when not encountering energy tides, the exterior city defense army of Ninglan New City used Class I common lightweight exoskeletons.
There are many models of Class I extraordinary weapons used by the city defense army, the city guard, and even the Ground Patrol Team currently active in the Underground City.
Depending on the level of opposition, they also upgrade to Class II or even tactical Class III extraordinary weapons. The one that heavily injured that Dream Demon earlier was a type of Class III extraordinary weapon used for distant engagements.
Although I feel their manufactured extraordinary weapons lean more toward the category of alchemical items and resemble enchanting techniques, I still requested their results from them, as it is the basis of my sharing rune literature knowledge with them.
After all, I am an outsider. While the technical documentation related to Class III extraordinary techniques is classified, I can disregard this; it is a comprehensive consideration from their side.
Firstly, if I truly want to understand this data, they can’t stop me. Secondly, we are not from their world, at least this is how they feel, and lastly, signing a confidentiality agreement, though it might be waste paper for me, is still a formality.
Now, I have undoubtedly become one of the core figures at this Extraordinary Research Base; the skills you possess are the only standard by which others respect you. Although Ninglan Qiuyue mentioned that these geniuses are highly individualistic and have their quirks, they are genuinely willing to listen in academic matters.
Even now, many are putting aside their ongoing research to come learn about rune literature theories from me.
This phenomenon seems related to the publicity of information by Ninglan Qiuyue, who emphasized my identity as an outsider and hinted at my special status and the possibility of leaving at any time, making them appear so eager.
After all, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities arise right in front of them, and if they don’t seize the moment, they won’t realize how regrettable it can be until it’s gone.
However, this does not deny their emphasis on rune literature.
Moreover, over the past few days, I have greatly benefited from numerous exchanges and discussions with scholars, but as more people came, I couldn’t keep up with the replies myself, so it conveniently turned into a question-and-answer format. I also have my personal life, and during my absence, many scholars would leave notes for me.
This method was quickly imitated within a short period.
Perhaps it is a face-saving endeavor for the older scholars… compared to asking questions in front of a younger girl who is years younger than them, they prefer to communicate through written notes. However, I still prefer to discuss issues face-to-face with them.
As for the task of writing, I entrusted it to the Dream Demons here for assistance. The Dream Demons seem to instinctively understand my current language and script; I speculate this may be due to the witch contracts agreed upon by the academy. This understanding of language is a power of the contract; even if stripped of the memories and cognitions of nightmares, the additional information from the contract remains intact.
After all, I have discussed the common sense of learning languages through contracts with Teacher Ji, but unfortunately, using contracts to acquire knowledge seems unrealistic. The knowledge to be learned must also be progressively inscribed in the contract; the difficulty of creating such a contract is comparable to relearning that knowledge. However, contracts are transferable, commonly used in the field of language, and creating such contracts requires deep proficiency in contract techniques, unlike the ordinary ones we play with.
If you ask me, instead of being so troublesome, why not use a Memory Shelf Spellbook?
It’s much more convenient.
“Sister Xiao Han, I have written up the response to this question according to your instructions. Should I deliver it to that grandfather who asked this question?”
“Yes, go ahead, but be careful on your way; don’t let anyone step on you～” I nodded and smiled.
Then this petite Dream Demon carefully folded the written papers and placed them in an envelope, jumping down and landing steadily on the ground. The counter she was perched on was slightly taller than her height, but for a nimble catgirl like her, it was no trouble at all; perhaps these Dream Demons have inherited the agile physiques of catgirls.
Watching them wear the uniforms custom-made for them by the scholarly base, bouncing around like that is truly adorable.
I don’t understand why some residents in the Underground City would reject such cute beings.
Having settled these matters, today’s work can be considered concluded. After all, I also need to strike a balance between work and rest; I can’t let myself become overly fatigued due to such matters.
Moreover, the clothing I wear is also the standard uniform of the Extraordinary Research Base, yet this set was changed for me using the Dream Rewriting Spell, as I couldn’t fit into the outfits here, so this is simpler.
Of course, I could have opted not to wear this outfit at all, but I found that wearing it in the Underground City reduces a lot of trouble. The average resident here dares not provoke scholars, and the Ground Patrol Team is extremely biased in favor of the academicians from the Extraordinary Research Base, providing great deterrence against those petty bullies who intimidate the weak.
Do not be fooled by the seeming prosperity of the Underground City compared to the above-ground Ninglan New City; the quality of people here is quite the opposite. The street thugs and unsavory dealings abound.
It has formed a punk society of high-end extraordinary techniques and low-end living, where the street security maintained by the Ground Patrol Team simply cannot keep up.
In this place, who among the residents does not have ancestors who spent generations in the Extraordinary Research Base? The people here have fully expressed their inherent superiority, especially when facing newcomers from above.
Only the existence of the Ground Patrol Team prevents them from creating greater trouble.
I also have my own motives in leveraging this identity; after all, it can protect some Dream Demons. Fragile bodies and naive personalities like theirs are at the very bottom of the hierarchy here. Even though the Ground Patrol Team has been instructed to take care of the Dream Demons somewhat, many things happening in the shadows remain irreparable.
“Alright, let’s go～ today’s business ends here.” I clapped my hands and said to the Dream Demons here, and then they quickly started packing up their tools and waiting for my next instruction.
Perhaps it’s due to the social hardships these Dream Demons have faced lately that they have yet to fully accept their working identities, appearing somewhat reserved, but given time, they should adapt.
As I stepped out of my laboratory and into the outside world, apprentices passing by greeted me warmly, after all, they are merely helpers and not formal scholars or technical masters, arguably the lowest tier in the base, but even so, they can boast about working at the Extraordinary Research Base, as no one would dare to touch them.
Once I exited the gate of the base, I noticed a group of petite figures peeking timidly from a corner.
When I realized they were Dream Demons, I understood what was happening.
While the Dream Demons were trying to integrate into this place, not all could easily find sustainable jobs to support themselves.
Many even have ill intentions toward these cute beings, and upon realizing some of the Dream Demons were in distress, they instinctively sought help, with the Ground Patrol Team being their first choice. However, the Ground Patrol Team is not their babysitter, and bothering them with trivial or troublesome matters would eventually annoy them.
Hence, seeking warmth in numbers and other assistance became their only option.
“Come here～ little ones, have you run into trouble again?” I approached the group of Dream Demons, and a few who had followed me out quickly stepped forward to comfort them.
After some conversation, I learned that a Dream Demon had encountered issues here, and it was serious enough that they were on the brink of independently approaching the Ground Patrol Team, which they would find cumbersome.
After all, social situations dictate that the Ground Patrol Team is not a straightforward moral force dedicated solely to upholding the safety of the Underground City.
“Ugh… this is really troublesome…”
