Chapter 402: The Ritual Sense of a Underage Girl
“There are probably just this many commonly used characters. The next will be rare characters and the current popular phrases and memes from the Plant Network…”
“We can skip those for now.” I interjected as Qiu Ruxin was racking her brain thinking about what else she needed to teach.
Since these are rare characters, they are not urgently needed. Instead of taking time to learn them deliberately, it’s better to understand them when they’re needed. The same goes for popular phrases and memes; if they can become popular, it shows that they are easy to learn and understand, no need for deliberate study.
Moreover, at this stage, I don’t need to search too much on the Plant Network. I should say I don’t have that much time to waste on chatting, posting, and watching videos.
“Alright…” Qiu Ruxin nodded obediently, indicating that she didn’t need to continue teaching these things at this moment. Unbeknownst to her, she felt somewhat empty inside.
Seeing Qiu Ruxin looking a bit down, I recalled our interactions over the past few days. After I “returned” her fortune that time, she indeed hadn’t been as straightforward as before, so it is highly likely that her odd behavior is due to the influence of fortune.
In general… it means she is instinctively seeking assistance, or that fortune is urging her to establish a connection with me. Even though I am an outsider, the world’s will still gives me misfortune and curses, yet she still tries to curry favor.
That’s my guess. The curse of misfortune objectively exists, but it won’t affect the development direction of the world’s will or the script favoring me.
“Eh? Wait… why did it freeze again…” At this moment, Qiu Ruxin was operating the computer, which inexplicably froze.
Even she was accustomed to it by now.
This is not just because of her bad luck; the computer itself has issues. When I said it was barely enough for our purposes, it really was just that. Qiu Ruxin must have been ripped off during assembly; otherwise, this device wouldn’t freeze even when we aren’t playing games or downloading strange videos.
Seeing this, I instinctively touched the collar around my neck. Without it, Qiu Ruxin’s daily life would become mine, possibly even worse.
Living in a world that constantly marginalizes the everyday, Qiu Ruxin still manages to keep her inner calm, which is quite remarkable.
If I encountered a string of bad luck, I would have a bundle of unnamed anger inside. If such things were to continue for a lifetime, I might end up irritable and self-doubting.
How Qiu Ruxin manages to do this, I don’t know, nor am I prepared to actively explore. Perhaps… she understands that being angry is pointless, leading to eventual numbness?
Emotional numbness can breed many dark things.
After Qiu Ruxin used a restart method to fix the computer, I was also ready to tell her about my plans.
Because I know very well that I won’t have many opportunities to try, I need to seize every chance, so I have to inform Qiu Ruxin about some things in advance.
Otherwise, if Qiu Ruxin suddenly can’t find me later, even though with her strength and tenacity she wouldn’t struggle to live here, the sense of disparity might shatter her.
Maybe I am overthinking it, or being overly sentimental, but some things are just like this; living always needs something to lean on.
“Qiu Ruxin, there’s something I need to tell you.” I said softly.
“Mm? What is it?” Qiu Ruxin tilted her head to look at me, seemingly not fully processing my words.
“It’s about… me.”
“Your matter…” The slightly bewildered expression on Qiu Ruxin’s face quickly shifted to clarity, then sadness. “Sister Xiao Han, are you… leaving?”
“Well, after all, I have my own world and my own life. I can’t completely disregard my life in a strange world for too long.” I nodded, ultimately voicing the words Qiu Ruxin was most unwilling to face.
It’s not that I don’t want to convey it gently, but a direct approach makes it easier for her to understand that I cannot always be her support.
“Can… can you leave a bit later?” Receiving such news suddenly hit Qiu Ruxin hard. It’s evident that her life had just started to settle down, and according to developments, learning the language… shouldn’t it mean she was planning to stay long term?
“Of course, I can.” I smiled and patted Qiu Ruxin’s head.
At that moment, however, Qiu Ruxin had already rushed over to hug my waist, holding on tightly.
“What?” For a moment, Qiu Ruxin was stunned, brewing feelings of sadness, hurt, and grievance seemingly began to crack at that moment.
“Alright, don’t be sad. We can’t be too close!” I reached down to pry her small hands away from my waist. To be honest, she was quite strong, “Sister Xiao Han has a girlfriend; if this gets misunderstood, it wouldn’t be good. Behave yourself.”
“Um… mhm…” Although Qiu Ruxin hummed in response, she didn’t move her hands at all and was eventually pulled away by me.
“Don’t sulk like that. Although technically, I was indeed summoned by you, I also need to find a way back. It’s almost confirmed; I need to verify it. I should stay here for some time.”
“Then… Sister Xiao Han, will you come back again?”
“Of course! If I can find a way back, it means I can also find a way to come again. How could I not come to see you?” I reassured her.
After all… this is an entire world!
This also represents all the resources of a whole world, regardless of whether this world is the small world soon to merge with the Main World.
Even if it’s not, I reckon the Academy Head would also be interested in this world. If not, then I’ll wait until I advance to an Extraordinary Witch before returning. I won’t believe that after achieving the extraordinary, I can’t master a world.
Moreover, there are many secrets within this world; how could a world where Excavators and Abyss Demons have descended be simple?
And this world has also given me issues; I have a good memory for grudges. Even if I don’t annihilate the world, I should at least reshuffle the entire landscape of this world, right?
It’s just a pity that I don’t have the powerful ability to execute this idea yet.
Anyway, if I can go back, I would directly ask… No, there’s no need to ask; if I can return, it can only mean one thing: everything happening now is part of the Academy Head’s plan. This world doesn’t need to be thought about; it’s certainly that world about to merge with the Main World.
“Then… can Sister Xiao Han come to see me often?”
“Of course.” I nodded with a smile, but if it really happens later, this small world will have merged with the Main World, and there won’t be a need for any regular visits.
If this attempt fails, the only thing I can do is wait for the Academy Head to rescue me, which is the worst outcome and also the least likely one.
Looking at Qiu Ruxin’s current state, I felt a bit of a headache; I should limit my interactions with other girls in the future.
Especially those who lack a sense of security and have a strong tendency to rely on others.
“By the way, Qiu Ruxin, I want to ask you a question, and you must answer me honestly, okay?”
“Alright.” Qiu Ruxin nodded.
“If… when you find out that the world you are in is about to collide with another world, what would you do?”
“World? Collision?” Qiu Ruxin didn’t expect me to ask such a question; it had no connection to earlier topics.
And with her understanding, she couldn’t imagine what a collision between worlds would look like, but just thinking about it made her tremble. “Really? Then doesn’t that mean… we will all d*e?”
“Who knows?”
“Sister Xiao Han, are you telling me this… does it mean that this is happening in our world?” She asked worriedly, not being foolish, she understood.
“I’m not sure, but I’m verifying it. Funny enough, if I can return smoothly, then it probably means this event is happening. If I can’t go back, it may not happen. Do you believe it?”
“I believe!”
“Hehe…” I chuckled softly.
The previous words made me sound like a prophet foretelling the apocalypse, with no basis at all.
“So… why can’t it be Sister Xiao Han who stays here, and our world won’t face such things?”
“Mm? Hahaha… your thinking is too beautiful.” Hearing Qiu Ruxin mumble that softly made me laugh too; this is probably what she hoped for?
“One shouldn’t be too short-sighted, you know? My departure and the world collision are not necessarily bad things.” I explained.
“Not bad? How could that be?”
“If I can leave, it means I have greater operating space and opportunities to make more preparations. As for the world collision, perhaps I was too vague. The collision might not be like planets colliding but rather an interaction at a higher level, where eventually the two worlds merge to become a larger world, and that world is where I come from.”
“The world you come from?!” Qiu Ruxin’s eyes widened in disbelief, but after the shock, she seemed to understand something, “So… Sister Xiao Han coming here isn’t a coincidence, right? You are also searching for a way to save your world?”
“Mm… you are really full of ideas. How could I save our world? I’m just a student affected by this incident.”
“Student? Sister Xiao Han, you’re still a student?”
“Yeah, I’m attending the Witch Academy. If…” I paused halfway through.
I initially thought about whether to pull Qiu Ruxin into the Witch Academy, but she is not from the Main World. Even if the small world merges with the Main World, whether she can awaken Spirit Vision and receive the blessings endowed by world consciousness is uncertain.
Even if Qiu Ruxin is the Child of Fortune, her identity will be very awkward concerning the Main World script, and nobody knows what will happen then.
I’m not even sure if the Witch Academy will accept this special student.
But given the Witch Academy’s policy of accepting everyone… they probably wouldn’t refuse, right?
“Sister Xiao Han… what’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking how likely you are to enter the Witch Academy. I forgot to ask you, if conditions allow, would you want to join this academy to study?”
“Witch Academy… so Sister Xiao Han, are you a witch?”
“Sort of; I am a preparatory witch, I guess?”
“Then I definitely want to!”
“Don’t you want to ask what kind of academy it is before jumping in?”
“Of course! Sister Xiao Han wouldn’t harm me!”
“Is that so?” Hearing such a decisive response from her made me chuckle again but not knowing what to laugh about; perhaps it’s true that laughing is good for physical and mental health.
As for whether Qiu Ruxin believes I wouldn’t harm her? That’s not necessarily true, you know. Becoming a witch is a big pit.
But… is this what it feels like to be trusted?
This sense of security coming through feels very similar to what I felt from Sister Bai; it’s almost unconditional trust.
“Then let’s stop today’s discussion here. You should go back to your room. Sister Xiao Han has important business that can’t be interrupted at all. So just stay in your room for the next couple of days and don’t cause trouble. For meals, just order delivery.”
“Okay, I know all that. Since Sister Xiao Han has important matters to attend to, I will leave.” Qiu Ruxin stood up obediently and created a bit of distance.
However, Qiu Ruxin still had a lot of curiosity, “Um… Sister Xiao Han, what exactly are you going to do?”
“To create a thing that can summon me back after I go, you know? The first time you summoned me, well, how should I say this? It was just a matter of chance. Such miracles shouldn’t be replicated, so I need a backup.”
“A thing that summons Sister Xiao Han?” Upon hearing this, Qiu Ruxin’s eyes lit up, meaning Sister Xiao Han really didn’t deceive her!
“Then… is it difficult to create this? Will it take a long time? Do you need anything? I could try helping buy it online… it should arrive in a few days at the fastest… if everything goes well…”
“As for the items… I really just need a carrier, something convenient to carry. Anything is fine; no need to order online.” I shook my head.
“How about this? Can it be a carrier for summoning you?” At that moment, Qiu Ruxin reached to the back of her neck and untied a string she had around her neck. It was a pendant that I had noticed she had been hiding inside her clothes.
“This… is this too valuable? I’ve seen you keep it hidden in your clothes.” I looked at this piece of jewelry, it was larger than I expected, a translucent emerald green gem surrounded by hollow decorations, the material seemed similar to hard wooden coins, and the gem was embedded upon it.
“It’s fine… it’s just a family heirloom that happened to come into my hands…” When mentioning this, a hint of melancholy flashed in Qiu Ruxin’s eyes, “So can this work? I heard diamonds and gems seem to resonate with magic, and spells… should be similar?”
“I’ll give it a try. Don’t worry, I’ll use something else first; I won’t let your thing get damaged.” In the end, I took the pendant and promised her.
“It’s fine… even if it breaks, it wouldn’t matter. It’s merely a not-so-good memory for me.”
After saying goodbye to Qiu Ruxin, I looked at the pendant in my hand. Now all the remaining free time belongs to me; I need to create a foolproof anchor point for the Reverse Summoning Spell.
Reliance on Qiu Ruxin to arrange a ritual using the most primitive methods is still too unreliable, so I will rely on myself to create a “summoning device” that is foolproof for her.
As for using this pendant to serve as the anchor point… the moment she heard it could summon me back, she thought of it first; perhaps… this is the ritual sense of an underage girl.
