Chapter 410: Return, Conversation with the Academy Head
When I felt the sudden guiding presence through Reverse Summoning Spell, the biggest burden in my heart finally lifted.
It was a feeling of finding “home.”
Strange as it was, before leaving the Main World, I had vowed that I no longer felt a sense of belonging to this world; my deepest sense of belonging was to my past life. However, as time passed, my memories of that past life gradually faded.
Now, I had completely severed the Earth Vein Shackles and detached myself from it. This feeling was truly complex.
Perhaps that place wasn’t home, or maybe simply being there allowed me to wait for the person I wanted to see?
As these thoughts lingered, the ritual beneath my feet began to operate. The spell was successfully released, and a force enveloped my entire body. I once again felt the oppressive sensation of traveling between worlds, but my not-so-weak physical strength allowed me to barely withstand it.
At this moment, Qiu Ruxin looked at the scene before her. Sister Xiao Han, wrapped in white light, suddenly disappeared from her sight, and immediately, she felt an emptiness in her heart.
A fleeting look of loneliness crossed her face, and one hand instinctively tightened around the pendant around her neck.
She was very clear about her current positioning.
Because of this, she needed to avoid any accidents as much as possible. She also understood well that those self-proclaimed members of the Real Protection Association were equally untrustworthy, as they were also Excavators—those individuals were merely deterred by Sister Xiao Han’s strength.
At this moment, I, once again crossing the Void, felt unprecedented pressure and resisted the unusual sensation of being summoned. After all, I had the Academy Head’s shield to dissipate the pressure when I came, but now it was gone, and I had to rely solely on myself until I reached the other side of the summoning array.
“Here I come…”
At this moment, I felt an unparalleled sense of relaxation as my figure slowly emerged from the summoning ceremony.
When I opened my eyes, I was taken aback by the scene in front of me. This place was strangely familiar; wasn’t this the Academy Head’s office?
The last time I came here was when Teacher Ji brought me.
“It seems you weren’t injured.”
“Yeah, I broke the shield myself.” I turned to the voice and just caught a glimpse of the Academy Head intently staring at me.
Seeing this familiar figure of the Academy Head again, I was at a loss on how to face her.
Should I question her? Or pretend to be confused? Neither seemed appropriate. After all, we were both adults, and there was no need for such circumlocution.
In the end, I chose the most straightforward approach. She knew the truth, so asking her again wouldn’t change anything. Besides, I couldn’t beat the Academy Head, so there wasn’t much choice left.
“Indeed, I also believe a small world wouldn’t have something capable of severely injuring you.” The Academy Head’s gaze unconsciously swept over my peculiar attire and the damaged spot on my side, where there were no injuries. “So, how was that world? Fun?”
“It wasn’t that fun… Academy Head, is that world the small one you mentioned before that is about to merge with the Main World?” I shook my head and brought up the question I had at that moment.
“If nothing unexpected happens, yes.” The Academy Head nodded. “Did you meet any Abyss Demons in there? If you did, that world is indeed the one I mentioned.”
Mei Linde was well aware of the peculiarities regarding the “Void Area” where the Main World was located; therefore, it wasn’t surprising that Sister Xiao Han had not made a mistake in her destination.
“Oh, that should confirm it. That world indeed has been invaded by Abyss Demons, but unfortunately, I didn’t witness it firsthand.” With the Academy Head’s response, I had a rough idea.
Although I wasn’t entirely clear why the Academy Head stated that the presence of Abyss Demons represented that I had gone to that small world, it seemed akin to Qiu Ruxin not knowing why I could return, indicating that their world would collide with mine. The Academy Head must know some matters unknown to me, leading her to such conclusions.
At that moment, the Academy Head didn’t just stand there but led me deeper into her office, finding a place to sit down.
“Is that so? What a pity. But it sounds like those Abyss Demons seemed to have encountered considerable resistance in that world?”
“Probably…” I didn’t know much about it and only had a vague understanding of that segment of war history, courtesy of Qiu Ruxin. Those Abyss Demons were indeed targeted by the people of this world and the Excavators working together.
Excluding what I heard from Qiu Ruxin, I had also slightly searched for relevant information, but it was evident that various countries were intentionally covering up the contributions of the Excavators. For the demons not to continue invading, they only casually mentioned that they were repelled with the help of the Excavators, meaning that in some respects, the strength of the Excavators shouldn’t be underestimated.
Especially those firearms; each Excavator was a mobile armory!
Maybe during large-scale wars, they tossed tactical nuclear bombs like grenades for fun?
Therefore, those Excavators I previously encountered didn’t necessarily represent the overall strength of the Excavators.
“So… Would you mind telling me about your experiences there? Or any historical accounts would be fine too.”
“Of course! But… before that, may I ask a question?” I readily agreed to the Academy Head’s request because, even if she didn’t mention it, I would look for opportunities to address those exceedingly peculiar Excavators, naturally needing her input to understand the situation.
However… now that the Academy Head brought it up, I wouldn’t hold back.
“It’s fine, go ahead and ask.” The Academy Head indicated that it was no problem; after all, this matter was part of her plan. Since she was seen through, she was essentially at fault, but who asked the Academy Head to be so thick-skinned? This was merely special “care” for a student she valued.
“Academy Head, from Teacher Ji’s Extraordinary Knowledge to those runes, then to Fortune, and finally to this Reverse Summoning Spell, as well as so many others like the Mind Communication Magic and the Protection Spell… were these all planned out by you from the start?” I looked up at the Academy Head with anticipation, as if waiting for her answer.
If all of this was arranged by the Academy Head, it would mean that my understanding of Extraordinary Witches was rather superficial.
“Oh, so you were curious about that? Xiao Han, you really overthink things. Do you think I secretly planned all of this?”
“Isn’t that so?”
“Alright, alright, you’ve deified me too much. Even if I’m an Extraordinary Witch, I’m not omnipotent. I just happened to have enough time; how about I briefly outline it for you? Interested?”
“Yeah! I’d like to hear.” I nodded.
Since the Academy Head said so, I naturally wanted to understand this process. However, since she insisted not to overrate herself, it meant that “luck” and “coincidences” played a significant part as well.
“First, regarding the Extraordinary Knowledge that intrigued you about Xi Lan, I indeed know roughly what that Extraordinary Knowledge leans towards. I won’t deny that her acquiring that Extraordinary Knowledge is related to me, or rather, because I was involved, I invited Xi Lan to the Main World. When she first arrived at the Main World, she didn’t have the foundation or confidence to study Extraordinary Knowledge, so she temporarily set that aside. During that time, she worked as an assistant in other research groups or laboratories focusing on Extraordinary Knowledge to gain experience, and she had a part-time teaching requirement at the Academy. At that time, she was not a head teacher but merely a counselor.”
“By the way, this also relates to you; she discovered you, the special Innate Spirit Vision User, from the intercepted information of the Inferior Demon Academy. At that time, she had ideas about you, and after accepting you through special channels, she actively proposed to be your counselor. She is also the only counselor this year who only has one class.”
“Speaking of which, you made an impression on me. When you copied that rune of the Extraordinary Knowledge, you met me afterward mainly because I randomly used occult divination that day and discovered a favorable possibility and came over.”
“Additionally, I am very aware that Xi Lan’s Extraordinary Knowledge is likely related to space, coincidentally hitting on the matter of that small world. I connected that information and came over to see what the surprise was all about.”
“Oh, Xi Lan could suddenly have a separate laboratory there to study Extraordinary Knowledge was also approved by me; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to pass the application to have a small laboratory there. Then… I saw her indeed took you to her laboratory.”
“Well…” I sighed helplessly, feeling like the Academy Head’s tone was somewhat akin to Teacher Ji hiring child labor.
However… what Teacher Ji did also seemed quite outrageous?
Who would have thought among those witch scholars, there might actually be someone like Teacher Ji, bringing new students she took in to assist her in researching Extraordinary Knowledge?
Just listening to this feels like a tall tale, but Teacher Ji actually did it.
“Then you directly copied a near self-contained rune through Spirit Vision, triggering that strand of Fortune resonance. To be honest, I don’t quite understand where that strand of Fortune came from; perhaps it was some information you picked up during your Ninglan New City trip. After all, you were the only non-extraordinary person among that batch of students who physically came down, as well as someone who severed the Earth Vein Shackles. In short, there were various conditions, and many coincidences… but the outcome was that you qualified.”
“Is it really just a coincidence?”
“What? Do you have paranoia?” The Academy Head looked at me with a smile and asked.
“A little… I’ve become wary of being trapped by scripts and fate…”
“Hahaha, that’s right. I can feel that ever since the concepts of scripts and fate got exposed, many people in the Academy have become restless and conflicted. Generally speaking, it has its pros and cons. You don’t need to worry about anything; at least for you in your current stage, the Witch Academy is your most solid backing.”
“Then… what happened next should be arranged by you, right? That thing about intentionally giving me the Mind Communication Magic and such…”
“That counts as well, so consider it a trial for you?” Actually, when she gave the Mind Communication Magic, it was merely to facilitate Sister Xiao Han’s communication with that girl, but she didn’t mention that.
Furthermore, she didn’t expect that this Reverse Summoning Spellbook could actually borrow the Thread of Fortune as a Void beacon to reverse summon Sister Xiao Han. Clearly, that rune had characteristics I hadn’t fully understood yet; fortunately, I left behind a summoning rune for the Reverse Summoning Spell back then, thinking if there was an issue next time, I would directly bring Sister Xiao Han over, rather than having to go through the trouble of finding her myself.
Coincidence is indeed wonderfully unfathomable, isn’t it?
Even Mei Linde, the Academy Head, couldn’t help but sigh like this.
“A trial…”
“Yes, this is a rare experience, isn’t it? By the way, Xiao Han, since you were so eager to return, do you have a backup plan to go back again?”
“A backup plan? Naturally, I have one.” I nodded.
“It seems you did well.” The Academy Head smiled.
“Aren’t you supposed to tell me directly about this before, Academy Head? What if I hadn’t thought of this? Wouldn’t that be…”
“What would that be? Completely severing ties with that world? How could that happen? In a little while, the Extraordinary Witches exploring the Void should soon reach that world. If you forget, it’s merely a matter of waiting a bit longer. I mentioned this to you before, didn’t I? The matter about entering the Void advance party was headed by another one of the Academy Head. I heard several more joined midway; I’m not sure about the specifics, but currently, it’s just me left guarding the Academy. Well, I’ve gotten used to it anyway.”
“Ah… I see.” I awkwardly responded, thinking earlier that I bore a heavy responsibility, only to find out it was merely a coincidence.
“Of course! For such a big matter, how could the Academy put pressure on a student in school?” After saying that, the Academy Head switched the topic to the information about that world.
“Now, you should be able to tell me about that world’s information, right? I’m quite curious about that world~ Too bad I can’t go there in person.”
“Okay….” I nodded, feeling that my inner confusion was mostly resolved. “Then… I’ll slowly talk about it. Although I didn’t stay there for many days, the things I encountered were not few.”
“It’s fine; I can just listen to the story, but you don’t mind if I ask about curious or confusing issues while you speak, right?” The Academy Head, resembling a listener at this moment, sat leisurely, and as she reached for a bit, some snacks and black tea appeared beside her.
“Would you like some?”
She didn’t expect that I would gather all the information from that world comprehensively in these few days; she only needed to listen to what I encountered, and she could analyze many things from it.
“Of course, I don’t mind, and thank you.” I took the snacks. Although she was asking, before I could even respond, she handed them over.
Then, I organized my thoughts and began narrating from the very beginning.
“First, the first person I met after being summoned was the girl I encountered during meditation and dreams…”
“Is the leading role in that world also human?” The Academy Head suddenly asked at that moment.
“Um… Yes, currently no other races have been found to have civilized development in that world.” I explained. However, now that the Academy Head mentioned it, I also felt curious; in that other world, there were indeed humans.
But thinking back to what the Academy Head previously told me about the distinction between World Will and World Intent, indicating that “intent” also includes the birth of life and the evolution of civilization, it made sense that a world birthed from the Earth Vein would likely influence the evolution of biological species significantly based on Earth Vein information.
“Go on, what happened next? Is that girl indeed what you guessed, the Child of Fortune?”
“Yes, she is indeed the Child of Fortune, but strangely, the Fortune Seed of that Child of Fortune is nearly collapsing, and the Fortune isn’t much. It always feels like the Children of Fortune I encounter tend to be plagued with misfortunes.” Yet, I didn’t mention that they lacked the kingly aura typical of those Children of Fortune in novels. Compared to them being Children of Fortune, they felt more like ordinary people possessing a Fortune Seed.
