Shortly after Astoria asked him, Vaan glanced back at her without answering her question immediately.
“Have you ever been to Gehenna, Headmaster Astoria?” Vaan asked.
“Of course,” Astoria nodded.
“I was there when we slaughtered the demons and pushed them back to Gehenna. I was also there when Her Majesty led the Great Expeditions to raid a number of demon strongholds in Gehenna.”
“Why do you ask, Teacher Raphna?” Astoria asked shortly after.
“Did Gehenna give you any special impression of it when you were there? Anything you found strange or different about Gehenna compared to the human world?” Vaan casually inquired.
Astoria furrowed her brows.
She wasn’t sure where Vaan was getting at with his questions in regards to the solution to advance to Mid-stage High Witch, but she did her best to answer..
“Naturally, there were many strange things in Gehenna, Teacher Raphna. Everything in that realm is fundamentally different compared to this world. Their denizen, environment, sky, and even laws are different.”
“Did you feel empowered when you were in Gehenna, Headmaster Astoria?” Vaan continued to inquire.
“No, not really,” Astoria shook her head.
“Our equipment, on the other hand, did feel stronger. Unfortunately, it didn’t give us as much of an advantage as we had hoped. After all, the demons themselves were also stronger—much stronger by an entire rank at least.”
“A normal Rank 2 Two-Horned Demon in the human world would be at least Low-level Rank 3 in Gehenna,” Astoria stated.
After listening to that, Vaan became more certain of his suspicion.
“Considering all these factors, I think everyone would assume Gehenna is a…”
“Lower realm, right?” Vaan mentioned before Astoria could finish speaking.
Nevertheless, she quickly nodded in agreement, “That’s right! A lower realm. But does that even make sense?”
“How can a realm with beings comparable to gods be lower than a realm without any?” Astoria wondered before she added, “Our world didn’t have any mana until we learned the existence of Gehenna…”
“Hold on, is it possibly easier for witches to advance their rank in Gehenna than in our world? Is that why Teacher Raphna brought up Gehenna?” Astoria guessed after a sudden realization.
“As expected of Headmaster Astoria, you catch on quickly. That’s right—or at the very least, that is what I suspect,” Vaan nodded.
“My best bet is that Gehenna isn’t just a lower realm but also on a different plane of existence. Because this world is much more stable, demons from Gehenna are suppressed like how we would feel if we were to enter a place with higher gravity. On the other hand, nothing happens to us when we go to Gehenna.”
“That said, no one has ever tried to advance their magic in Gehenna?” Vaan asked shortly after.
“That’s an interesting question, Teacher Raphna,” Astoria wryly smiled and said, “Gehenna is thriving with demons. How can anyone have the luxury to cultivate there?”
“We’ve tried building outposts in Gehenna in the past, but they were easily overrun by demons when we least expected them,” Astoria mentioned.
“I see…” Vaan rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he said, “So, there will be some risk involved, regardless of the method you choose to advance to Mid-stage High Witch.”
“Which will you pick, Headmaster Astoria?” Vaan asked.
Astoria contemplated for a while before she made her choice, “I will find a chance to visit Gehenna and attempt to form the fourth magic circle around my heart.”
“Even though we aren’t sure whether it will be easier to cultivate in Gehenna yet?” Vaan raised an eyebrow.
“If it’s coming from Teacher Raphna, it’s likely to be true,” Astoria calmly smiled.
“Of course, I will see if I can bring a few low-talented witches with me and check whether they can break through their bottlenecks first before I consider making my attempt.”
“That said, this is something later in the future. For now, I still have to accompany you to the Thousand Fog Mountains and make sure you find Wise Scholar Eniwse safely, Teacher Raphna,” Astoria mentioned.
“That’s true,” Vaan calmly nodded before he glanced at the academy entrance ahead and said, “Speaking of which, it looks like we’ve arrived.”
As they strolled through the academy grounds, students made way for them—or rather, they made way for Astoria.
While Vaan had become popular recently, his fame and authority couldn’t compare to a public figure like Astoria.
Nevertheless, they made a quick stop at the wasteyard for a few minutes before they went to the fifth tower’s top floor.
“Lady Sacha, Headmaster Astoria and I have come to see you,” Vaan announced their visit.
In the next moment, they heard several dropped items and hurried movements before the door was opened from the inside.
“Vahn! I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again!” Sacha welcomed him enthusiastically before she quickly turned to Astoria awkwardly, realizing she should have greeted her first. “To what I do owe the pleasure of receiving your visit, Headmaster Astoria?”
“To be honest, I don’t know myself. I am just following Sir Vahn,” Astoria replied with a calm yet wry smile as they entered the workshop.
After Sacha heard that, she turned her gaze back to Vaan with a questioning yet exciting look.
“I have a favor to ask of you, Lady Sacha. I was hoping you could help me create a new set of armor for Headmaster,” Vaan requested before he added, “You see, her Rank 3 armor was broken recently, so…”
“You want to make a set of Rank 4 armor for her? Of course, I’ll be willing to help,” Sacha replied with excitement before her eyes suddenly dimmed the next moment.
“However, we won’t have enough materials for a whole set of Rank 4 armor. I’ve already used up all the salvageable mineral to create these two Rank 4 purple metal ingots…” Sacha showed her work in Vaan’s absence.
After Vaan glanced at the two purple ingots, he casually said, “That’s alright. We’ll just use different mineral compositions to create other types of Rank 4 metal.”
Sacha’s eyes quickly lit up with anticipation again.
At the same, Astoria was both stunned and pleasantly surprised by what she heard.
Ignoring whether Rank 4 metal could be casually made, she was slightly touched by Vaan’s intention.