Chapter 693: The “Disaster Day” of Teaching Assistants
During the meeting, there wasn’t much discussion about the upcoming Final Unified Exam. Or rather, because this exam adopted a new format, in order to gain the most direct performance and avoid unnecessary troubles, the rules didn’t have too many twists and turns.
Overall, it can be described as a monster-hunting game in PVE.
It also provides a “money-making” channel for lower-grade students throughout the year.
Because the hunted prey during this exam belongs to the students.
Although… the meat of mutated beasts from the Expanding Realm can’t sell for much, and only some special materials infected with energy can be used as general alchemical materials, topping out at several dozen per pound.
As for the meat… most of it is not edible for ordinary people. Even though higher-grade students with undying abilities can try it, they wouldn’t go out of their way to attempt it.
However, this money is quite significant for students who lack economic sources during their school days, already enough for them.
At least, the speed of making money is faster than part-time jobs at school.
After explaining the Knowledge Seed and the “Power Network” established in the Expanding Realm, the meeting reached a stage that concerned most teaching assistants the most.
That is… the question of whether to continue opening the Expanding Realm.
And the answer, as expected… is to close it.
The period after the Final Unified Exam is the last opportunity for them to hand over their dealings with the forces of the Expanding Realm.
“Teacher Lina, isn’t there any room for negotiation on this matter? We’ve put in so much effort in the Expanding Realm…”
“You’ve also gained a lot,” Teacher Lina retorted unkindly to the young girl who stood up in excitement, leaving her speechless.
What they gained far exceeded their expectations!
They were the first batch of “pioneers,” enjoying the most primitive and easily acquired resources, establishing regulations and contracts that were most favorable to themselves, and forming the most profitable groups, all built on the foundations of refugees who only needed food and shelter, oppressing the most helpless workforce.
Of course, this is seeing their actions from an objective perspective; in their eyes, they are the saviors who came to rescue them, enjoying the freedom without rules on desolate lands.
Teacher Lina did not argue with them too much, for whatever an individual does, there are countless reasons supporting their actions, whether they are noble or twisted.
“Stop wasting your breath with me. All teaching assistants involved in the Expanding Realm will withdraw at the last moment of this semester, as stipulated in the Witch Contract we signed from the beginning. The duration lasts until the end of the semester,” Teacher Lina said solemnly.
“And those willing to participate in this special dispatch task for the Final Unified Exam will have their time extended until the end of this semester’s holiday, giving you ample time for a handover with the forces of the Expanding Realm.”
“Now, sign the contract just issued. One point to emphasize, the academy does not force each of you to sign the contract, but those who choose not to sign can leave now, and the Expanding Realm will forever have no connection with you. However, if you sign, but ultimately violate the contract, everything obtained in the Expanding Realm will be returned intact, and the binding power of the contract will ensure you will not take away a single red copper coin.”
Lina’s firm attitude immediately put a lot of pressure on many.
Many quietly complained and even cursed under their breath, saying things like “not forced”—they really had no choice…
But none of this could change the established course of events.
Everyone looked at the contract in front of them. No one got up to leave first; they didn’t want to leave like this, because if they did, they would completely lose their connection to the Expanding Realm.
But if they signed this contract… then they would not have it easy either; one could say they were faced with two cliffs, and the outcome of signing or not signing was both undesirable.
At that moment of hesitation, a sound of burning contract attracted many people’s attention.
Someone had signed the contract!
But seeing that the first person to sign the contract was the one already called an outlier, “Yang Yuelan,” everyone who turned to look was disappointed.
After all, in their view, this person signing had no representative significance at all, as she was totally different from them!
She was not one of their kind.
However, in the next moment, a few more people signed, including Lin Yi and Li Feiya.
Lin Yi was very perceptive, knowing she had no choice, so if there was no choice, why be so conflicted?
As for Li Feiya, she saw that I signed so quickly, so she followed suit and signed, and she was even a step ahead of Lin Yi, making her the second teaching assistant to sign the contract in the entire conference hall.
After signing, she showed a proud expression, leaning back on her chair as if mocking everyone for being cowards.
Lina on stage was not bothered by Li Feiya’s flamboyance; one might even say she somewhat liked these quirky kids at that moment.
Next, a few others, seemingly resolute, also signed the contract, and among this small number… was Liliana.
However, even with these people acting as early examples, a large portion of others still hesitated.
Because the “special dispatch” task described in this contract for the Final Unified Exam was far too troubling for them.
It was just like what Teacher Lina had “mocked” at the beginning of the meeting; some of the teaching assistants could hardly defeat a lower-grade student who also had a Fireball Spellbook.
They had become enamored with the “false might” fabricated by powerful spells.
And their dispatch task meant participating in this Final Unified Exam as teaching assistants, becoming “hunting targets.”
They would become rare extra scoring targets in this exam.
Furthermore, they would also sign a binding contract after the exam began, unable to use their own powers, and would only use the uniform Power Network with lower-grade students!
This undoubtedly added immense pressure on them!
If they were allowed to retain their original powers, they could face anyone without fear, even if everyone was hunting just her; most of them would feel they could handle everyone.
But the problem is they cannot use their own powers.
The Power Network… that was like a game qualification for players; they understood very well that this kind of power was far too weak.
If they used such powers, they might not even be able to protect themselves; if they were surrounded, there would be nowhere to escape.
Even though the scope of this Final Unified Exam encompasses the entire Expanding Realm, limited by their current situation, at most they’d only wander within the Ninglan Realm. Leaving the Ninglan Realm essentially meant leaving the “safe zone”—mutated beasts from the outside world swarm!
Going outside was actually more dangerous, unless they reached a refuge outside the Ninglan Realm, but those refuges not included in the rules they formulated were fraught with unknown dangers. Those people are all “players” with Power Networks, not something one could handle alone.
Moreover… this wasn’t a game where one could just quit.
So, because there were so many considerations, many people found it hard to make a decision.
To leave in disgrace, or to face the unknown that they dared not confront…
But no matter how many excuses there were, fundamentally, there was only one reason!
That is, they lacked the confidence to maintain their superiority under equal powers.
They put on the long robes representing their identity as teaching assistants, and now they lacked the courage to take them off.
At that moment, I had already signed the contract.
I felt the binding force of this contract attaching itself to me, a near-irrepressible terrifying power originating from some “source” I couldn’t quite grasp, a form of restriction, not a “forceful” action, but a “voluntary” mode of the contract; if this “voluntary” compliance isn’t met, then the contract cannot be signed.
After all, due to the content and agreements, the Witch Contract is not just about signing a name so easily.
If there is no “voluntariness,” then it is no longer as simple as a “contract.”
I could feel that after signing this contract, the power of restriction began to “define” the scope of power being limited, starting with the Magic Source, then the Spellbook, and then… the Great Spellbook.
That’s right, the Great Spellbook was also restricted, even the Great Knowledge Tree that had already become part of my own abilities was included as well.
But this was far from the end; it even encompassed my body cultivation powers.
Of course, body cultivation powers refer to the powers at the extraordinary level; physical attributes, life levels, and undying abilities are not included.
Thus, all powers, including domains, were “prohibited.”
All that was left of my body cultivation abilities were the most basic physical attributes along with the rudimentary forms of the five senses, heart sense, and sense of time.
Because these abilities are not powers, but channels of perception.
This contract prohibits all forms of any “extraordinary-level” powers one possesses, holds, acquires, enhances, etc., leaving everyone with only the most basic “self.”
This isn’t surprising; witches possess Spellbooks and Magic Sources, elves have natural powers and elven magic inheritances, wizards wield knowledge and witch weapons to tap extraordinary power, holy angels are empowered by holy light and angel rings, the guys from the Beast Academy have practiced body cultivation with bl**d Qi… this contract naturally had to consider many academies.
I couldn’t be an exception.
On this contract, I felt a trace of the “self-sealing technique” that Sister Natalie taught me.
Those powers that are about to be bound by the contract could belong to me; as long as I don’t sign the contract, as long as I don’t “voluntarily” agree, they will not be restricted. Perhaps this is the subtlety of the “contract.”
And the binding power of this contract will take full effect the moment the exam begins. For now, I can use my powers normally.
If we talk about this “fair competition” model, it is indeed a challenge for me.
If we talk about who is most restricted in this challenge, it should be me, right?
I glanced at Teacher Lina, meeting her gaze, and she smiled slightly at me.
From that smile, I could see a lot.
Perhaps that smile also contained a warning for me.
I was the one with the shortest enrollment time among the attendees, also the one with the most “fragile” accumulation; at least in battle, that was how I performed.
Recalling the time I fought with Tan Han, I had established my battle tone then—”crushing.”
I experimented with many methods, from initial combat force crushing, to combat skill crushing, and then tactical crushing, ultimately shifting to my current form, which was the crushing of researched mastering of extraordinary techniques.
I admit I lack experience, but I accept this challenge.
This test encompasses tactical ability, reaction, planning, anticipation, and more… just thinking about it feels troublesome.
I don’t know why, but this “care” from Teacher Lina feels oddly like an overbearing “your mom thinks you’re cold” kind of concern.
But I don’t mind; after all, it’s a rare experience – isn’t the most precious thing in life experiencing?
Perhaps Teacher Lina simply wants me to make up for the regret I’ve missed in facing off against classmates of the same level?
At this moment, the perspective shifts to the other teaching assistants.
The longer the time drags on, the more pressure the atmosphere here exerts on them.
This overt targeting by the academy towards them, the teaching assistants, has already shown the academy’s “discontent” with the group of “student teaching assistants.”
This inevitably made them connect their current situation with the actions of the teaching assistants, external families, and those small maneuvers; they firmly believed this was a “warning.”
Perhaps it was a “final ultimatum”?
But no matter what, they had to bear the consequences of their actions, and those who finally figured it out signed the contract in silence.
As for those who didn’t figure it out, still caught up in their assistance to the Expanding Realm, ultimately finding themselves being unfairly dealt with by the academy, would not only have to hand over the “foundation” they worked hard to build but also embarrass themselves in the Final Unified Exam, and even serve as stepping stones for lower-grade students.
But… whose foundation is it really? Or is it an unfulfillable desire? Perhaps they themselves couldn’t see clearly.
However, extraordinary witches would not argue with them over this; most races that have taken the extraordinary witches seriously have disappeared into the void; in the Main World… it’s really no different.
Yet… for now, there are still many powerful weakening spells and numerous academy heads, along with nameless witch scholars, suppressing things.
However, the repair of the Expanding Realm is both an opportunity for the Main World and a sign of cracks appearing in the suppressive force of the weakening spells.
In the end, once the last person topped off with the pressure of everyone completed signing the contract, this meeting finally came to a complete close.
No one chose to withdraw, and the witch mentors weren’t afraid of their resentment.
This step effectively tore away the veil that the identity of “teaching assistant” had hidden within the Witch Academy, destroying the “mindless myth” of the teaching assistant role among numerous students, and allowed the powers of the Magic Source and Spellbook to be viewed merely as concepts of “outside objects,” subtly helping students accept it.
Of course, it mostly provided a “fair” environment and platform rather than privileges.
As long as the current contradictions and opposition are guided, many things would be mutually beneficial.
And the achievements shown by truly capable teaching assistants, if they can be considered remarkable, would also earn the recognition of students.
The Witch Academy had indulged in reckless and barbaric development for too long; now, the Witch Academy also needed to conform to the trend and weave the order of its own educational endeavors.
