Chapter 1325: Territory

Roland woke as usual, and as usual he lay in bed for a while before reluctantly dragging himself out from under the warm blankets.

Anna had clearly been up for some time; she sat absorbed in work, a plate of breakfast she’d brought over resting beside her on the table. Roland pulled on his coat half-asleep, intending to go to the washroom first and then come back for his meal.

He opened the door. A crowd of witches was waiting outside.

“Your Majesty!”

The scene jolted him properly awake. It was familiar — not this particular gathering, but the shape of it. Something significant had happened in the Witch Union. All the witches who had not been deployed to the front lines were here. And because it was the Dream World, everyone had waited outside the door rather than entering.

They were still in the Months of the Demons. The faces around him were bright and excited.

“Did someone achieve adulthood? Did someone evolve?” he asked.

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

The office was full. When Roland followed the chattering witches inside, he found the ‘Transcendent’ everyone was talking about exactly where he expected: calm, composed, standing near a stack of data papers with Phyllis and Anna, apparently mid-discussion.

Scroll looked so exactly like herself — unruffled, steady, the same as always — that Roland almost glanced past her, half-expecting the Transcendent to be somewhere else in the crowd.

“So what exactly happened?” he asked. “Scroll really —”

The three of them turned at his arrival. Phyllis spoke first. “Your Majesty, I’ve confirmed it several times with a Stone of Measuring. Her Excellency Scroll may be the first non-combat-type Transcendent in history — all her magical characteristics have changed. Every individual evolves differently and we have no direct precedents to compare against, but by The Union’s standards, she fully qualifies.”

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

“I must insist,” Phyllis said, without a trace of give. “In the days of The Union, you would have been a candidate for one of the Three Chiefs. Addressing you this way is already too casual —”

“That was the days of The Union,” Scroll said. “In the Witch Union, we’re all sisters. Besides — I prefer the informal address.”

“All right, all right — we can sort the titles out later,” Anna said, cutting across them both. “Now that Roland is here, let’s talk about Scroll’s ability.”

“I thought you’d gone to the North Slope lab ages ago,” Roland said with a smile.

Anna’s eyes glinted. “That was the plan. Scroll’s new ability changed it.”

“New ability?”

“Yes.” Anna pronounced each word deliberately. “She saw the Dream World.”

After he heard Scroll’s full account, Roland stared at her for a long moment.

“How did you come back in the end?”

“When I saw those enormous buildings, I thought of your descriptions of the Dream World and I managed to calm down.” Scroll paused, choosing her words. “Then I went back to the small room where I first appeared and tried to focus — to imagine myself leaving it. When I opened my eyes, I was back in your office in Graycastle.”

“How envious —”

“Was it really the Dream World?”

“I want to see it too!”

The witches had long since given up pretending to wait quietly. They erupted back into noise the moment Scroll stopped speaking.

“Hmm.” Scroll smiled. “I did think my power would be too limited to create something so vast. As for whether it’s the same Dream World as yours, Your Majesty, you would probably need to sleep and find out.”

“No — I don’t think it has anything to do with power.” Roland said it half to himself.

“Nothing to do with power?” Phyllis looked sharply at him. “But Her Excellency’s magical capacity has clearly condensed —”

‘Evolving is only a prerequisite.’ Valkries’ voice surfaced again in his memory, unhurried. Once a person’s understanding of magic reaches a certain level, they leave a mark in the Realm of Mind — and may even carve out their own territory.

That aligned with what Lan had told him as well.

“Scroll — can you enter that sealed room again?”

“But you’re not asleep…” she began.

“It’s fine. Just try.” He thought for a moment. “If it works — try opening that iron door again. But whatever you see on the other side, don’t step out. Don’t even reach through the opening. Understand?”

”…I understand.” Scroll drew a slow breath, settled into the chair behind the desk, and closed her eyes.

“Could it be that you think she is —” Phyllis had caught his drift; she had been there when he met Valkries.

“Very likely,” Roland said.

About a quarter of an hour passed.

Scroll opened her eyes with a startled expression. “Your Majesty — the space outside the door has changed. It’s an empty red void now.”

Exactly as he’d expected. The picture was becoming clear.

“That is the Realm of Mind — the true form of the Origin of Magic. The first room you found yourself in is your own territory there. Unique to you.”

“But — ” Mystery Moon’s forehead creased. “Didn’t you say the Realm of Mind was the Bloody Moon in the sky?”

“Different descriptions of the same thing. The Realm of Mind is physically located in the Bottomless Land, north of the continent.”

Roland gave a brief account of how a powerful demon lord had broken into the Dream World, become trapped, and been discovered — omitting the details about Lan. “Scroll’s territory doesn’t depend on the Dream World to exist. It happened to lie within the range of the light-beam key, which is what connected them.”

“Wow…” A ripple of amazement through the room.

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

“You wish.” Lily leveled a sidelong look at her. “Didn’t you hear His Majesty? It’s not just about studying hard. It depends on your raw strength as well. In other words — even if you read every book he’s ever written, success still depends on your ability. Which I think will be… very difficult.”

“Traitor!”

Roland looked at Scroll. “Even though you can access the Realm of Mind now — in the future, try to enter it within the range of the light-beam key whenever possible, so your territory stays connected to the Dream World. The Realm of Mind itself is full of dangers.” His voice settled, quieter. “Inside the Dream World, at least, the God’s Punishment Witches and I can protect you.”

He thought of the god full of hostility, and the oracle whose presence brought erosion. Even as a Transcendent, Scroll had no combat ability whatsoever. A chance encounter with the wrong entity would put her in grave danger.

“Okay…” Scroll’s expression shifted — a small, soft uncertainty that resolved into something like warmth. She lowered her head and bowed. “I understand.”

“Then for now — let’s give this new ability a proper test,” Roland said, and smiled.

Chapter 1325 - Territory

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations 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.