Chapter 791: A Family Gathering Heavy with Malice
“Sigh~ Sure enough, with more abilities, there are always endless tasks to handle~”
After leaving the Principal’s office, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“This shows that Xiao Han is quite impressive~” Sister Bai echoed from the side.
This time, I learned a lot of truths, and it wasn’t just from chatting with the Principal; my player clone also obtained quite a bit of intelligence.
Logically, my player clone shouldn’t have high game privileges and shouldn’t qualify to participate in this assembly.
Not even the side quest to collect fragments of Extraordinary Knowledge was triggered; this information was shared by players through the few friends they had.
I found that there exists a hierarchy of disdain among game players as well, divided into different categories: some are based on membership levels, while others are based on permissions, roughly equivalent to the class relations between money and power.
My player clone quickly blended into the gathering, as beautiful female players still have an advantage in player communities.
If I wanted, I could even easily modify the appearance of that player clone.
After all, the player clone is just a useful tool for me.
At that gathering.
Due to my limited social abilities, I didn’t meet many people, but I did manage to obtain several friend slots from high-ranking players on the surface.
The gathering lasted a long time; even though I had already left after chatting with the Principal for a while, the meeting was still ongoing.
So, Sister Bai and I weren’t in a hurry to head back.
There was no entertainment to be found in Monopeng City at the moment, so it was better to let the clone record interesting scenes at the venue.
Sister Bai and I found a restaurant at the academy that we both deemed pretty good last time and prepared to enjoy a hearty meal.
“Sister Bai, when do you think I should make time to help the Principal debug the observation equipment?” I asked, flipping through the menu, bored with this somewhat hard choice.
“Didn’t the Principal say? She won’t force you; her meaning is that everything should be focused on your own matters. Even if you don’t have time, she won’t blame you. After all, they are also professional witches who can manage without you.”
“That’s true…” I nodded, not dwelling on the matter any longer.
What I was currently doing was to completely reignite Aipuli, this extinguished damp fire, and see if she was really a rotten wood or mud.
Once this matter is settled, I would channel all my focus and energy into perfecting Self-Generated Magic.
I had talked a lot about Self-Generated Magic with the Principal, and Sister Mei was clearly inquiring if I needed her to call some witches to assist me.
It was evident that the Principal placed great importance on perfecting Self-Generated Magic.
I guess she wants to speed up my progress to free up time for the updates of the observation equipment.
Theoretically, once I perfect Self-Generated Magic, I would be considered free.
However, I had just recently mapped out my life plan, which is to advance to Extraordinary Witch…
Advancing to Extraordinary is certainly not something to rush. Just the elevation of my life level cannot be hastened; the foundation of the topic also relates to the new direction of the Great Knowledge Tree.
Every matter seems to be no easier than the observation equipment situation, and… more importantly, my understanding of the concept of “the Navel of the World” as explained by Principal Mei is rather limited.
I can see that Principal Mei and the other witches have been busy with this concept of the Navel of the World.
But without knowing what it can do, it’s hard for me to establish a standard of value for it in my own heart.
“Sister Bai… after the Self-Generated Magic project concludes, how should I choose? Should I help the Principal complete the observation equipment and find the positioning of the Navel of the World, or dedicate all my time and energy to advancing to Extraordinary?”
“Huh? Advancing to Extraordinary? Xiao Han, are you planning to advance to Extraordinary?!” Sister Bai perked up at my statement!
“I didn’t tell you before?”
“I only remember you mentioned that a witch was going to enjoy some luxury.”
“No… Sister Bai, how could you still remember that?”
“Of course~ I remember~ So Xiao Han, you really plan to advance to Extraordinary?” Sister Bai asked excitedly.
“I have that plan. Besides, wasn’t I just giving the two options? You completely ignored the observation equipment matter!” I helplessly reiterated my earlier words.
“Is that so? I didn’t pay much attention earlier, but… as for the observation equipment, the Principal and the others have been looking for the Navel of the World for quite a while, with so many plans laid out. There’s no rush in these years. If you can advance to Extraordinary, then you could also more easily perfect the observation equipment with Extraordinary methods, right?” Sister Bai gave her answer without hesitation.
“Sigh~ It’s really a difference in time perception… But it does sound right; witches aren’t pressed for that little time.” I nodded in agreement with Sister Bai’s statement.
Since Principal Mei gave me a choice, I didn’t need to feel guilty about my decision. If it really came down to an urgent situation, I could still stop to assist the Principal.
Moreover, I must be able to be of help; after all, this is a game at the Extraordinary level.
After realizing all these things, I happily enjoyed the dishes at the restaurant that we both recognized as delicious with Sister Bai.
“Sister Bai, guess what my player clone is currently discussing at that gathering?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s probably still about gathering those fragments, right? However, it seems this matter cannot bypass you, after all, you visibly hold a Heart of Cold Wave.” Sister Bai said.
“Indeed, they are discussing that~ But they’ve started arguing; it’s the players fighting with those family members because this gathering directly announced that they were collecting fragments to offer them to the players. As a result, due to a poor choice of words, a family representative with a bad temper thought this was offering sacrifices to the players. Hilarious… the Teaching Assistant at the Wizard Academy… oh no, the level master said that player combat power isn’t enough for them to exhaust, so why should it be offered.”
“Really? How interesting?” Sister Bai chuckled at my recount. “What a pity I’m not there; but they say such important meetings tend to adopt simpler communication methods; arguing is also an intense expression of demands.”
“Exactly~ A bunch of well-dressed folks throwing shoes at each other’s heads in an official setting; this kind of communication is indeed very direct.” I laughed.
And these people truly opened my eyes, clearly showing me that even those in high positions are still ordinary people; they can be governed by emotions.
“Are they gathering so many people just to argue?”
“Of course not. The two sides have already been pulled apart; the representative of the Wizard Will, the level master of the Wizard Tower, has quite a bit of deterrent power, and now they are discussing how to send those fragments to the Game World.” I explained.
“Currently, the players advocate sending all existing fragments over to avoid future troubles, while the subsequent fragments would be sent one by one. However, the representatives from the wizards, elves, and bird people disagree.”
“That’s definitely not acceptable. Not to mention whether they have so many opportunities for interdimensional item transport, just the cost of making so many separate trips across the void itself is terrifying; they can’t afford to waste resources like that.” Sister Bai analyzed.
“Exactly, so the opinion from the Extraordinary Academy is actually to piece together this batch of Extraordinary Knowledge in the Main World and then conduct a large-scale exchange, but that’s quite difficult.”
“I’m a bit curious how they’re planning to obtain the Heart of Cold Wave from you, Xiao Han?” Sister Bai asked with a smile.
“Well~ currently, the Witch Academy’s stance is not in line with other Extraordinary Academies, and the families following the witches are also swaying. They are again revisiting old issues, wanting to pull powerful families like the All-purpose Association and the Witch Secret Realm over to solve this problem through the internal workings of the Witch Academy.”
“Looks like those foolish people still don’t understand Xiao Han’s status in the Witch Academy~” Sister Bai smiled, finding it amusing. After all, information asymmetry can truly lead people to make seemingly foolish decisions.
“I really wonder if these families legally possess those Extraordinary Knowledge fragments; they probably do, right? So, if I take advantage of the fire and rob them all, no one would dare to shout, right?” I joked.
“If you really do that, you’d definitely provoke them all at once. They might let you see the power of their families in the secular world.”
“Try to smear my name or something?” I scoffed.
“Well… Xiao Han wouldn’t need to fear their harassment, but if they really want to make things tedious for someone, they have plenty of means; after all, one shouldn’t underestimate anyone’s desire for revenge.”
…
Within the False World’s Grand Sorcery Space.
“d*mn it… d*mn it! How dare they not give our Hothorn Family any face! I genuinely want to slaughter them one by one just seeing the faces of those folks!”
Aipuli looked at this familiar yet unfamiliar figure in front of her, not yet ready to lament for herself when he already treated her as the release valve for his frustrations.
“What are you standing there silently for? You need to seriously reflect on why we ended up in this situation! Isn’t it all because of you! Do you even realize what you’ve lost? If it weren’t for your mistake, would we be in such disgrace today?”
The man angrily adjusted his collar and slightly fixed his loosened tie while continuously complaining about the meeting.
If it weren’t for Aipuli being his child, he wouldn’t even need to be here to bear this anger.
It could be said that the gathering of various family representatives brought a heavy malice with it.
Of course, this was mainly instigated by the players, leading to opposition between the families and the players.
However, they had to sit together and discuss matters “calmly.”
Aipuli’s situation wasn’t a secret on the family level; every family has its intelligence network, so such important matters would naturally be clarified in advance.
Thus, the Hothorn Family had become a laughingstock in this assembly.
But this meeting should be wrapping up soon.
Representatives from each family were gradually leaving the encompassing area of the False World’s Grand Sorcery.
At this moment, the situation on the Hothorn Family side was also somewhat unusual but distinctly “harmonious.”
The father, afflicted by the Curse of Wisdom, was gradually losing his usual calmness, his speech filled with mindless, intense words.
Meanwhile, the daughter, troubled by dreams, had lost any sense of reality at this moment, completely ignoring all criticisms and accusations.
The accompanying bodyguards and the driver had no say in the matter; the convoy could only rush them back to the family overnight. In a bid to avoid seeing each other, the father and daughter didn’t even get into the same car.
Just then, the man’s phone suddenly rang during the journey.
The man, still agitated, instinctively reached to hang up, but after glancing at it, he hesitated slightly and answered.
“What is it? Why are you calling at this time?”
“I had no choice~ I saw you at the venue just now, but I didn’t expect you to leave so quickly, so I had to reach out by phone~”
“You were also at the venue?”
“Don’t be so angry; after all, we are friends and should look out for each other.”
“I won’t be friends with a player. If there’s nothing important, I’m hanging up!” The man replied coldly, viewing the caller as merely a player with minor ties to the Hothorn Family; he wouldn’t give them much face.
“Sigh~ Although we really don’t have any cooperation, I think… there’s definitely something you’d be interested in – clues related to the Frozen World.”
“What! Frozen World? You actually have leads on it? Impossible! You’re just a fringe player!”
“But that doesn’t stop me from knowing some secrets~ Now, I have to ask your good daughter; did she really lose the Frozen World?”
“You suspect Aipuli never lost the Frozen World?”
“The Witch Academy is a very free academy. A girl who left the family for ten years, do you really think you can still control her? Can family constraints still become the means for you to manipulate her at will?”
“Poorly guided words…”
The man disdainfully retorted, then gradually fell silent, his mind filled with scenes from the short days he had interacted with Aipuli. Perhaps because of the car that separated them at this moment, the more he filled in the blanks, the more he felt something was off.
“She is the Teaching Assistant of the Witch Academy. Even if she strips away this identity now, she is still that assistant. You should be clear… power nurtures ambition. Once, Aipuli was a spike you drove into the Witch Academy. So now, could Aipuli be a gift the Witch Academy returns to you?”
From the other end of the call, the man heard words laden with temptation, with pauses and inflections that left much to the imagination.
“Think back to how your Hothorn Family has been on a losing streak since Aipuli returned, all the while she strides in front of you, pretending to be a deserving victim…”
“Enough! What exactly do you want to say? Don’t think your words can lead me astray. Didn’t you say you had clues on the Frozen World? Stop changing the subject.”
“You’re too hasty; there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Information has its value.”
