Chapter 579: New Semester
This auction ultimately did not proceed smoothly.
After such a terrible incident, there was naturally no need to continue.
Following the implications of this incident, it is uncertain whether this type of auction can continue to be held in the future. Moreover, the loss of such a large hotel along with the surrounding buildings has had a significant impact on the Magic Capital.
Amidst this chaotic environment, various Extraordinary Academies began their new semesters one after another.
The tragedy caused by the players was undoubtedly severe.
The students of various Extraordinary Academies personally experienced the existence of such villains in this world.
However, the truth of this matter is destined not to be revealed to the public.
They will not know that the one responsible for such severe destruction comes from beyond this world, nor will they know that they are called players.
As for how to handle this matter afterward… that is the job for professionals responsible for such issues.
And I need not worry about it.
At this moment, I am busy with many things related to the new semester, such as preparing to assist Sister Bai in conducting her first class.
After all, I am also a teaching assistant.
Initially, Sister Bai did not plan for us to help with this task, as the reason for me becoming a teaching assistant was to reduce unnecessary troubles as a student.
However, since this is Sister Bai’s first class, which holds significant commemorative meaning, she could not persuade me otherwise.
Moreover… teaching others is also a process of learning for oneself.
Yet, on the day of the class, the number of students attending was unexpectedly high.
Body Cultivation is generally a rather niche course at the Witch Academy, with only a handful of people usually studying it.
Furthermore, there are many instructors teaching a series of courses like Body Cultivation and Body Techniques, so regardless of how many students there are, as long as someone is willing to learn, there will naturally be an instructor willing to teach.
The fact that so many people attended Sister Bai’s first class was indeed surprising, and upon seeing the number of registrations, Sister Bai quickly switched to a larger venue for teaching.
In my opinion, most of these attendees did not come with the attitude of genuinely wanting to learn Body Cultivation.
After seeing many familiar faces among them, I realized they were merely there to show support.
Of course, there were also some, like Liv and Tao Ling, who genuinely wanted to learn Body Cultivation; I remembered them as two seniors I met at the Body Techniques training center, one of whom is a part-time coach, and the other is a talent who has cultivated Body Cultivation energy. For the rest, only the Earth Vein Identification Technique could give a general idea of their situations.
However, it is certain that a considerable portion of the attendees had seen me demonstrate my skills and were drawn here by that.
Of course… if they are simply seeking to gain strength through Body Cultivation to become like me, I can only say that such a shortcut is entirely unnecessary.
But I will not refuse them entry to the class. Regardless of their reasons for coming, since they are here, Sister Bai cannot let them feel they wasted their course fees, right?
Moreover, I am just a teaching assistant—what is a teaching assistant? Naturally, I am here to assist with teaching!
I mostly observed Sister Bai sharing her practical experiences related to Body Cultivation while merely offering trivial help myself.
The class lasted for half a day and, nearing noon, came to an end. After the students gradually left, only Sister Bai and I remained.
“How do you feel? Did you find it boring?”
“Not really, I think you explained everything in great detail, even those who were clearly not interested in Body Cultivation went through so much effort.”
“After all, I’ve become a teacher. Regardless of their mindset, I treat everyone equally. I am not responsible for them; I am only responsible for myself.”
“Well, you are quite dedicated. You didn’t seem nervous at all for your first class, Sister Bai~”
“Yeah, since advancing to Extraordinary Witch, I no longer feel nervous facing either familiar or unfamiliar students.” Bai Yu directly admitted, sharing her thoughts.
“Oh, I know about that. I heard after advancing to Witch, that kind of leap from one level of life to a non-extraordinary level seems like stepping on ants… is that true?” I asked curiously, having heard about it before but wanting to confirm with Sister Bai.
“Um… yes,” Sister Bai paused slightly upon hearing my question, but ultimately gave a very honest answer. “However, Xiao Han, you are special to me.”
“Hahaha~ Don’t clarify so quickly. Am I the type to challenge you with tricky questions? I’m just genuinely curious about this topic.” I replied nonchalantly.
After helping Sister Bai tidy up the equipment in the Body Cultivation Room, I went with her for lunch.
We chatted about many interesting things during the meal, including the recent auction and its effects.
The disturbance caused by that auction in the Magic Capital hasn’t subsided, and even though I haven’t deliberately sought information, I’m aware that the matter hasn’t been forgotten.
After all, the repercussions of the incident have terrifyingly spread within both the outside world and the Extraordinary Academies.
This has directly or indirectly fostered a sense of crisis in many people.
However, from chatting with Sister Bai, this matter seems to be widely spread among the Extraordinary Witches, but does not appear urgent—most witches are just watching the show.
“By the way, Sister Bai, aside from your opening courses each semester, what else do you usually do?”
It seemed the atmosphere might turn heavy if we continued discussing the auction, so I took the initiative to change the subject.
Besides, I’m genuinely interested in what the teachers in the Main World do most of the time; they can’t spend all their time on teaching.
Thinking of Teacher Ji, although I do not know much about her, this is her first time as a counselor. Before becoming a counselor, she probably had a similar situation to Sister Bai’s now.
But now she has started researching Extraordinary Knowledge, and is so busy that I hardly see her.
“I usually… prepare lessons and plan for this semester’s Body Cultivation course.”
“That shouldn’t take too much time, right?”
“Of course. Honestly, I’ve almost completed the course planning for this semester, and I’ll just adjust it based on actual conditions later. The remaining time is mine to allocate. You should know I’ve been studying real editing technology, right?”
“Uh-huh! So, have you succeeded, Sister Bai?”
“Not yet, but I have recently received invitations from interest groups studying real editing to communicate with them. It’s definitely better than just a witch like me pondering over books.”
“Oh, I see.” Hearing that Sister Bai has her own interests and like-minded witches… I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of longing.
“Speaking of which, Xiao Han, I’ve heard you’re planning some major action again recently? It’s already well-known among witches.”
“Ah~ it’s just about a plan to improve the Great Knowledge Tree. Whether it succeeds or not is another story. Originally, it wasn’t a big deal, but now I’m forced to report it…”
“Alright~ Xiao Han, why are you complaining? If this isn’t a big deal, then there aren’t many things that are a big deal in the Witch Academy.”
“I’m just being modest~” I explained.
I naturally know that researching the Great Spellbook is quite significant at the Witch Academy; I just want to give myself a subtle hint in a different way.
A different mindset leads to different approaches to the same task. If I consider perfecting the Great Knowledge Tree to be a very important task, even with a good mindset, there will still be a faint pressure waiting for me.
If I think of it as a commonplace matter, then everything I do will feel effortless, and without pressure, I can be more relaxed.
As long as I can relax while working, it will be easier to have a burst of inspiration.
After sharing a pleasant lunch with Sister Bai, we parted ways for the time being, but this separation did not bring too much reluctance, as we both understood that as long as we have each other in mind, meeting is merely a matter of convenience.
Moreover, Sister Bai had also arranged an afternoon tea with her friends.
Of course, this tea party was proposed by the witch in the mutual help group studying real editing, mainly to gather and discuss recent insights and share their questions to see if anyone could help solve them.
And I had my own matters to attend to in the afternoon, which involved going to find Sister Natalie to debug my Box of Books.
After all, the Box of Books is not truly finished; what I currently have is just in the adjustment phase.
If there are any issues during this period, I can go to Sister Natalie for debugging, and if I have any inspirations, I can also make improvements based on its current state.
After several days of use, I must say the Box of Books is indeed very handy, though I can sense some mismatches that need slight improvements.
Of course, my primary reason for making the trip is related to new inspirations concerning the Box of Books.
Previously, for compatibility with the Box of Books, Natalie added functionality for “annotations.”
However, my ability regarding annotations has now been optimized to knowledge power-related rune techniques, so this naturally needs modification, and it’s not a minor change; it will deepen with my understanding of knowledge power.
This visit to Sister Natalie is primarily for the initial debugging and communication preparation; after clearly discussing the reasons and needs for modifications, then I’ll begin work.
Following that period, I will improve the Great Knowledge Tree.
It is foreseeable that if the improvement of the Great Knowledge Tree goes smoothly, my understanding of knowledge power will reach a new level.
By then, adapting the Box of Books with such a deep understanding will save me from ongoing debugging, allowing me to get it done in one go.
After all, the weapon that is the Box of Books is merely an auxiliary enhancement to me, and its greatest role is to develop additional uses for knowledge power, so I naturally focus more on adjustments in that area.
After bidding farewell to Sister Bai, I sauntered over to the Alchemy Area.
Since I relaxed my mindset, I’ve been trying to avoid using teleportation spells as much as possible and am spending more time walking and appreciating the scenery I had previously overlooked.
This scenery includes, but is not limited to, the greenery and architecture of the academy, as well as… the students.
Upon reaching Natalie’s alchemy room, I did not see her; the intelligent butler in the alchemy room merely guided me to the reception area.
However, as soon as I entered, I felt an icy chill permeating the room.
“The master is currently in the underground testing area. She is aware of your arrival, and you may head to the testing area,” the intelligent butler timely reminded.
“Oh, so she went to test something… I can already feel a bit cold… Natalie wouldn’t be doing something strange with that Absolute Cold Wand, would she?” I muttered to myself before choosing to go down to the underground testing area to see what was happening.
I tend to be restless; instead of sitting upstairs sipping instant coffee waiting for Natalie to finish testing, I prefer to see what the situation is myself.
After all, Natalie is aware of my visit, so it wouldn’t be presumptuous to go down to find her.
However, the deeper I went, the more terrifying the chill became, and I could see moisture in the air condensing into frost on the walls.
When I finally arrived at the testing area, I was surprised to see Tan Han there as well, with the Store Manager standing beside her.
But thinking about it, it doesn’t seem strange.
“Hi~”
I naturally greeted them, and Natalie warmly greeted me after crossing over to Tan Han and the others.
It seems that compared to interacting with Tan Han and the others, Natalie is more attentive to me.
“Xiao Han, it’s been a few days since we last met. Is the Box of Books easy to use? I heard from Little Tan that you’ve used it in several fights.”
“Of course it’s handy~ so far I’ve only discovered a few minor issues… Sister Natalie, is this a weapon testing for Tan Han?” I casually asked, then shifted my gaze to the staff in Natalie’s hand.
It was a long staff, with the original crown now integrated into the design at the tip of the wand, which didn’t appear out of place at a glance.
“Yeah, it’s the Absolute Cold Wand. I named it that; pretty good, right? You should have felt its power, but releasing some of the seals has caused so much chaos in my alchemy room—my air conditioning couldn’t keep up with its efficiency.”
“Sorry for the trouble, Teacher.” Tan Han quickly chimed in.
“Oh, it’s no problem. It was me who asked you to come here for testing. The power indeed exceeded my expectations; I hope you will like it.” Natalie said while handing the wand to Tan Han. “Of course, if there are any issues with its use later, feel free to come to me for repairs.”
After saying these things, Natalie directly walked past Tan Han and the others, not out of intent to ignore Tan Han, but because she was truly too concerned about the Box of Books.
Due to Natalie’s overwhelming enthusiasm, I didn’t have the chance to exchange a few words with Tan Han. Ever since we came out from that instance, I haven’t seen her much; it seems the players’ actions this time did not cause her too much trouble.
A simple farewell served as a temporary goodbye, and after seeing Tan Han off, I was pulled by Sister Natalie into the reception area to discuss the modifications to the Box of Books.
