Chapter 770: Betrayer Witch, Academy Head, and Truth Witch
On the way to the experimental area.
“Um… no, it should indeed involve the mechanism of this self-sealing technique into my consciousness firewall,” I was pondering this key issue when I was interrupted again by that thought regarding Sister Bai.
This made me realize that my control over memory and cognition was still somewhat lagging behind.
Although I could always keep myself in that “sage” mode of suppressing desires, this bodily state also disrupted the divergence of specific thoughts.
So I thought of the improvement of the consciousness firewall within the Great Knowledge Tree.
Originally, this consciousness firewall was designed to guard against those contaminated pieces of information and knowledge, as well as the massive impact of information on my cognition.
However, this firewall hadn’t been used many times up until now, so I was planning to expand on it.
After experiencing a few days of “amnesia” state living, I discovered that the presence or absence of specific memories greatly influences a person’s cognition, state, mood, and emotions.
Thus, I was wondering if the firewall of the Great Knowledge Tree could help filter specific memories, to further refine the state I wish to achieve.
I thought this idea was quite good, especially since the firewall of the Great Knowledge Tree itself was a derivative application built upon the self-memory sealing technique.
“I’ll note this idea down in my memo—let’s talk about it again when the Great Knowledge Tree continues to develop next time.”
Life is always like this; it can have wonderful ideas and inspirations at any moment, yet life requires planning.
Just like now, I had arranged to meet Tan Han in the experimental area, and I had arrived here early.
“It seems I came a bit too early… I hope Tan Han is the type to arrive early as well.” I checked the time and found that even walking here on two legs, I was still significantly earlier than our scheduled time.
“Should I leave a teleport mark and head to the laboratory first?” I glanced around and noticed that there seemed to be no sign of anyone. It looked like Tan Han might not appear for a while.
Just when I was about to enter, I spotted a figure under a nearby tree, and I inadvertently locked gazes with her.
In the next moment, she disappeared from her spot and appeared right in front of me.
“Um…”
Faced with this suddenly appearing figure, I instinctively prepared to greet her out of courtesy, but upon seeing her appearance, my eyes instantly widened!
Because this witch, who looked like a mentor, matched my understanding of witches perfectly!
Principal Serena Palizel… the Academy Head!
“Y-You are Principal Serena?!”
This witch, whom I recognized as the third Academy Head, did not immediately answer my question but instead extended her hand towards me, presenting a very exquisite accessory.
“This is your instance realm; keep it well.”
“This…” I stared wide-eyed as Principal Serena presented me with a small pendant.
If she hadn’t explicitly stated that this was the so-called instance realm, I would never have been able to connect it with the previous world fragment.
That previous sealed fragment of the witchcraft world was at least much larger than a human, but this one was only as big as a bead, and it was even thoughtfully crafted into a pendant!
The central structure looked like a celestial chaos pendulum, surrounded by several circles of rings of varying sizes, moving in a regular motion along different axial angles, and at the core, it resembled a miniaturized continent.
“Take it; this is the instance realm that Mei asked me to refine for you. It’s been a while since I’ve made such a refined little thing; I only thought to give it to you when school starts.”
“Th-Thank you, Sister Serena!” I quickly expressed my gratitude as I accepted the instance realm.
“Call me sister… if you wish,” Serena mused slightly, then smiled, though it didn’t seem to be out of joy, but rather a casual accord.
“You are going to the laboratory… to conduct research on self-generated magic?”
“Yes, are you interested in this too, Sister Serena?” I quickly nodded and asked.
“This is not my area of expertise,” Serena shook her head and said. “How’s your progress so far? Any leads?”
“Progress… I would say we’re in the late stages. What we currently lack is the first successful case aside from myself, but I believe the chances of success are still quite high.” Of course, I was being modest; saying it was a sure thing wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
“Is it already at this stage?” Serena’s voice sounded almost like she was talking to herself, not actually asking me. Then she looked at me seriously and asked another question, “Why are you so determined to promote this ability? You could easily have this advantage for yourself and spend more time on self-improvement.”
“This…”
“Because Xiao Han is voluntarily treading the path of a witch’s truth contribution, a realm that you old stubborn ones will never reach.”
Just as Principal Serena Palizel was about to wait for my response, another voice suddenly interrupted.
And upon hearing that voice, Serena Palizel’s gaze slightly narrowed.
But I recognized who the voice belonged to; it was that Betrayer Witch—Sheril!
“You walk the path opened for you by the Truth Witch, while selfishly advising others not to be such fools. This is why you will never reach, or even touch, the realm of the Truth Witch!”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Unexpectedly, Serena Palizel didn’t get angry but instead defended herself against the most “insignificant” accusation during the discussion.
“What else could it mean? The fact that you can even ask such a question proves that you don’t have the answer to it yourself. Otherwise, why would an Academy Head personally come to ask a little witch in person?” Sheril continued, relentlessly seemingly unafraid of the Academy Head.
“Um… well… actually, this isn’t such a serious issue. I just want to understand more deeply what self-generated magic really is…” At this moment, I hurriedly explained.
While I wasn’t quite clear why this Betrayer Witch dared to confront an Academy Head like this, I felt that if this continued… the atmosphere would indeed become extremely stifling!
“Look—what a simple answer, ‘I just want to understand more deeply what self-generated magic is.’ That reckless spirit of inquiry is also a trait you all lack.” Sheril repeated my words in a mocking tone and then jabbed at Principal Serena.
I stood by bewildered…
Was Principal Serena this easygoing?
This made me reassess this self-proclaimed Betrayer Witch; her existence seemed to be more terrifying than I had anticipated!
However, considering the typical behavior of those Betrayer Witches, it didn’t seem too outrageous. After all, a witch capable of becoming a Betrayer Witch… at least in terms of ability, was beyond dispute.
“I guess this should be our first meeting? I didn’t expect you to be a homebody witch as well. You aren’t intentionally hiding from me, right?” Sheril’s tone shifted at this point, no longer sounding as confrontational as before.
“I suppose…” Serena Palizel replied, though her words were rather ambiguous, leaving it unclear if she was confirming being a homebody witch or whether she was intentionally avoiding Sheril.
But none of this mattered.
It was clear that Principal Serena had no desire to continue chatting with Sheril.
“Let’s exchange contact information—I’m visiting this Main World for the first time, and I’m quite interested in you.”
“No need for that. I don’t want to be kept in mind by a Betrayer Witch.”
“If you don’t give me your contact, I’ll really think about you every moment, you know?”
“……”
Once Sheril finished her remark, Serena didn’t respond anymore, seemingly at a loss for words, but that was most likely the case.
Then she tossed a card-like object, as a form of compromise.
I hadn’t even seen what form of contact she left on the card before Sheril caught it in one swift motion. But before she could even express her thanks, Serena Palizel’s figure vanished.
“Huh? Can’t play like this?” Sheril complained, then reached her hand out toward where the other had just been, “Tsk… she smoothed out the space, she left way too clean!”
I stood by, speechless. This was the first time I had seen even the Academy Head of the Witch Academy rendered speechless to the point of leaving without saying goodbye.
I hoped Principal Serena Palizel wouldn’t pin her frustration about encountering this Betrayer Witch on me… after all, she encountered that Betrayer Witch while delivering me this instance realm.
Thinking this, I instinctively looked at the instance realm in my hand. I naturally remembered that this item couldn’t be placed in storage equipment, so I had no choice but to tie it onto myself, additionally marking it with a spell, just in case I accidentally dropped it without realizing.
“Xiao Han—long time no see~” With the person gone, Sheril turned her attention back to me.
“Hi… hi, Sister Sheril.” At this moment, I awkwardly greeted her and then struggled with whether to call Sister Bai over.
Although Sister Bai and I agreed to contact her when we encountered this Betrayer Witch again, this individual didn’t even fear the Academy Head… could Sister Bai really handle this?
“You seem surprised? Aren’t you going to thank me for rescuing you?”
“Um… thank you?” I reluctantly complied.
Although I didn’t feel this was much of a rescue, I didn’t want to delve deeper into the matter. If I couldn’t provoke her, I might as well concede for now.
And if we wanted to go deeper, this Sheril might even have stalker suspicions; I just didn’t believe she would conveniently appear like that.
“Hahaha—just joking, no need to say thank you. I just wanted to meet with that Academy Head. I’ve been in this Main World for quite a while without seeing her, which is a pity.” Sheril explained with a smile, then her gaze fell on the instance realm in my hand, “So this is the instance realm refined from that world fragment they extorted from the Wizard Academy?”
“Yes.”
“Oh? It seems they treat you quite well—then let me give you something nice too~” While saying this, Sheril pulled out an item.
“This… this is! That!”
I recognized the crystal that Sheril was holding at first glance; it was something that belonged to the assistant named Aipuli, who fought alongside Tan Han—she used the… Frozen World!
“Oh? You recognize it?”
“How… how did this end up in your hands?” I asked instinctively.
“Of course, it had to come to me—the witch named Chris wouldn’t want this thing, and the assistant Aipuli doesn’t have the qualification to possess it either, so it ended up in my hands. Here—it’s yours now.”
“But… Sister Sheril should understand that I don’t need this, right?”
“Really not needed? Or are you just concerned about this item being bound to your fortune?” Sheril asked, smiling.
“…” Of course, I was concerned that this item had a connection to fortune.
Moreover, I still didn’t know what this item was for.
“What if I say this [Extraordinary Knowledge] has already become redundant in the world’s script… oh?” Sheril seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up, “Ah, it seems your appointment has arrived. Forget it—anyway, you might not even believe what I said. Let’s talk next time.”
After saying this, Sheril, disregarding my reaction, tossed the “Frozen World” at me, and she too left like the Academy Head.
“This…”
I looked at the “ice crystal” I held, not knowing what to do with it.
But soon I realized who the person Sheril was referring to was.
The arriving person was none other than Tan Han, and she was currently flying over on her broom from afar.
“Did she sense from that far away?” I was slightly surprised, but ultimately I put away the Frozen World, this [Extraordinary Knowledge] fragment.
After all, I already had two Heart of Cold Waves; getting another couldn’t be a burden.
However, I was still quite concerned about what Sheril hadn’t finished saying earlier; it was really frustrating; she definitely knew something but just wouldn’t say it.
What was Tan Han’s arrival supposed to mean?
Thus, I had plenty of reasons to suspect… Sheril might hope for me to possess a third Great Spellbook again?
After all… she seemed rather obsessed with me achieving the status of a Truth Witch, but speculating without evidence was pointless.
Perhaps one day… I’d just give all these items to Tan Han.
Actually, I was quite looking forward to what would happen once I gathered all these fragments of [Extraordinary Knowledge].
“Tan Han—over here!”
Seeing Tan Han nearly crash into the spatial barrier of the experimental area, I quickly waved to signal her to come over.
If Tan Han accidentally bumped into the Space Maze… that would be amusing…
“I’m here… sorry, am I late? Did I keep you waiting?” Tan Han flew down from the high altitude, hurriedly arranging her clothes and spoke.
“It’s okay, I arrived a bit early, so no worries. But I do want to remind you that this part of the experimental area has overlapping spatial barriers. If you force your way in without permission, you might end up trapped in another layer of Space Maze, so please be careful.”
“Is there such a taboo? Good thing you arrived early, Xiao Han.”
“It’s fine; once I grant you permission, everything will be fine. Let’s go. I’ll take you to the lab to meet some seniors. They are all very pure scholars; I hope you get along well.”
