Release that Witch

After Roland woke up, he lazed on bed for a while as usual, before dragging himself very unwillingly out from underneath the warm blankets.

Anna had clearly gotten up a while ago and was already immersed in work. There was a plate of breakfast beside her on the table which she had brought over. Roland sleepily put on his coat, planning to go to the water room outside to wash up first, and then come back to fill his stomach.

To his surprise, a crowd of witches were waiting outside when he opened the door.

“Your Majesty!”

Roland was startled, the scene before him seemed familiar—undeniably something huge must have happened in the Union for all these witches who had not participated in battle yet to gather here. But because he was still in the Dream World, everybody just waited outside the door for him. Remembering that it was currently winter during the Months of the Demons, and seeing the excited expressions on Nightingale and the others, he asked without thinking, “Did someone evolve on their day of entering adulthood?”

“It’s Scroll! She has evolved into a Transcendent!” Nightingale cried.

…

When he followed the chattering witches into his office, Roland saw the ‘Transcendent’ that everybody spoke of. Phyllis and Anna were also there, standing around a stack of paper containing data, as if discussing something. Seeing Scroll’s unperturbed expression, he almost thought that that the Transcendent was one of the ecstatic witches that crowded before him, rather than the Witch Union teacher that was as tranquil and stable as usual.

“So… what exactly happened?” he asked curiously. “Did Scroll really…”

The trio noticed his arrival and Phyllis was the first to speak, “Your Majesty, I’ve already confirmed it several times with a Stone of Measuring. Her Excellency Scroll could be the first non-battle type transcendent in history—all her magical characteristics have changed. Although everybody evolves differently and there are no specific examples that we can compare her too, according to The Union’s customs, she is indeed qualified to be a Transcendent.”

“There’s no need for ‘Her Excellency’…” Scroll chuckled and shook her head.

“That won’t do,” Phyllis said seriously. “Back in the days of The Union, you would be a possible candidate for one of the Three Chiefs, I’m already being very disrespectful…”

“You said it yourself, that was back in the days of The Union,” Scroll interrupted, “In the Witch Union, we are all sisters. Besides, I prefer being called more casually.”

“Okay okay, let’s put these things aside for the moment,” Anna interrupted. “Since Roland is here, let’s talk about Scroll’s ability.”

“I thought you went to the North Slope lab ages ago.” Roland flashed her a smile.

Anna blinked slyly. “That was what I originally planned, but Scroll’s unique ability caused me to change my plans last minute.”

“Unique?”

“Yes.” Anna then emphasized every word as she spoke, “She saw the Dream World.”

…

After hearing Scroll’s recount of her experience, Roland gaped at her in shock.

“Then how did you come back in the end?”

“When I saw those magnificent city buildings, I suddenly thought of your descriptions of the Dream World and calmed down quite a bit,” Scroll said slowly. “Then, I returned to the small room that I first appeared in and tried to focus my mind and imagine myself leaving the enclosed room. When I opened my eyes again, I found that I had indeed returned to your office in Graycastle.”

“Ah… How envious!”

“Was it really the Dream World?”

“I want to see it too!”

The girls around them had given up on suppressing their excitement long ago, so they began jabbering again as soon as Scroll finished speaking.

“Hmm… I thought that I wouldn’t be able to create such a grand world with my powers,” Scroll said with a smile. “As for whether it is the same Dream World as yours, Your Majesty may be able find out the next time you sleep.”

“No… I’m afraid that this might have nothing to do with power.” Roland muttered.

“Nothing to do with power?” Phyllis asked, astonished. “But Her Excellency Scroll’s magic had certainly become condensed…”

“Evolving is only a prerequisite.” The Nightmare Lord Valkries’ words sounded in his mind once more.

Once a person’s knowledge of magic reaches a certain level, they will leave a mark behind in the Realm of Mind and may even carve out their own territory.

This also happened to be consistent with what Lan said. “Scroll, can you enter that sealed room again?”

“But you’re not asleep…” Scroll started.

“It’s okay, just do as I say.” Roland thought for a moment. “If it works, try to open that iron door again, but no matter what you see, don’t step out of the room, don’t even reach your hand out and touch anything, understand?”

“… I understand.” Scroll took a deep breath, sat behind the desk and closed her eyes.

“Could it be that you think that she is—” Phyllis seemed to have noticed what his aim was. She was also there when he met Valkries.

“It’s very likely.” Roland nodded.

About a quarter of an hour later, Scroll opened her eyes with a shocked expression. “Your Majesty, the place outside the door has changed into an empty red void!”

As he expected! He had now gained a basic understanding of the whole situation. “That is the Realm of the Mind, also the true appearance of the Origin of Magic. As for the first room that you saw, that is your personal, one of a kind territory in the Realm of the Mind.”

“Huh?” Mystery Moon said confusedly, “But didn’t you say that the Realm of Mind was the Bloody Moon in the sky?”

“They are just the same thing expressed in different ways. In reality, the Realm of Mind is in the Bottomless Land to the north of the continent.” Roland briefly told them about how a grand demon lord broke into Dream World but then got trapped and discovered by him. He only omitted the news about Lan. “Scroll’s territory doesn’t need to rely on the Dream World in order to exist, it was just coincidentally inside the range of the light beam ‘key’ and so was connected with the Dream World.”

“Wow…” A surprised exclamation rippled through the crowd.

“I want to carve out a territory too!” Mystery Moon exclaimed with clenched fists.

“You wish, didn’t you hear His Majesty? Apart from your own knowledge, this also depends on your strength.” Lily glanced at her from the side of her eyes. “In other words, even if you read all the books His Majesty wrote, the success still depends on your face. I think it will be… very difficult.”

“Traitor!”

Roland looked at Scroll and urged her, “Even though you can interact with the Realm of Mind, in the future, try your best to open it within the range of the light beam key to bond your territory with the Dream World. That place… is filled with a myriad of dangers. If it’s in the Dream World, at least the God’s Punishment Witches and I can protect you.”

Like the god that was full of hostility and the oracle who brought about erosion—even though Scroll had evolved into a Transcendent, she still had zero battle prowess. She would certainly be in grave danger if she encountered an enemy.

“Okay…” Scroll was momentarily confused, and then revealed a soft expression. She lowered her head and gave a bow. “I understand.”

“Then now, we should give this unique new ability a good test,” Roland said with a smile.