Chapter 262: The Path to Truth

One question after another came from Gawain, a relentless barrage of “whys” that, after several rounds, cooled the excitement and joy Hetty had felt moments before. She had believed she was touching on a realm of magic previously unexplored, grasping knowledge never before imagined. But by the time Gawain finished his string of questions, she realized she understood even less than before.

Far from uncovering any universal truth, she was now painfully aware of her own ignorance.

Though this wasn’t the first time Gawain had unleashed such a volley of inquiries, Hetty still felt the full weight of the pressure.

Yet Kamail, standing nearby, showed no sign of disappointment—indeed, no expression at all. The ancient archmage had fallen into deep thought upon hearing Gawain’s questions. Each one echoed in his mind, stirring a passion long dormant for centuries. He recalled a time long ago, when he was but a magic apprentice, and first learned of the countless mysteries hidden in this world. His mentor had once said:

“Humanity always moves from the unknown to the known, then from the known to another unknown. As long as your mind can still find new puzzles in this world, your journey will never end.”

Kamail hadn’t expected that a knight lord like Gawain would ignite such fresh motivation within him. He sincerely remarked, “My lord, your pursuit of truth is admirable—surpassing many of the conservative magic scholars.”

“I’m just naturally curious,” Gawain smiled, shaking his head as he looked at the arcane obelisk in the center of the room. “Long ago, I began wondering—what exactly is this ‘mana’ that permeates the world? Why can only a few humans sense it innately? How does mana influence all things? I tried searching ancient texts for answers but found nothing. People seem obsessed with using mana, but rarely consider its true nature.”

Kamail sighed deeply. “I believe many have asked these questions throughout history, but sadly, our civilization has yet to take a decisive step toward understanding its essence.”

Gawain pondered. The appearance of the arcane obelisk had sparked a connection in his mind, aligning cleverly with an old theory he once had about mana:

Could mana be a kind of “wave”? Or something wave-like? Perhaps magic itself is a form of oscillation?

But in this world of strange physical laws, do these ubiquitous “waves” follow the rules Gawain knew? Tossing a stone into water creates ripples easily understood, but in the invisible realm of mana, does everything operate the same way?

Even a legendary knight’s mana perception could only sense a vague, chaotic magical environment. There was currently no technology capable of precise observation or measurement of mana… but maybe Kamail could?

With that thought, Gawain looked at Kamail and Hetty, tentatively sparking their inspiration: “Have you ever considered what medium mana uses to propagate when the arcane obelisk is active?”

“A medium?” Hetty frowned, thoughtful. “Mana transmission requires a carrier… but if there’s no medium, how does it spread?”

Kamail also fell into contemplation. “Ancient communication spells first broke this barrier. They use mana as a carrier to send messages instantly over great distances. But their discovery was accidental—ancient mages stumbled upon it and found it useful. Even now, no one truly understands how it works. Those old rune combinations haven’t changed in thousands of years.”

Gawain felt a spark of hope. He seemed to glimpse a thread that might unravel mana’s mystery, linking ancient communication magic and the arcane obelisk—a faint dawn for solving the problem of magical transmission. “Though their effects differ, both involve mana spreading ‘out of thin air.’ I believe there’s a common principle.”

Hetty looked down at the small “receiver” in her hand. The hom crystal embedded in its center had dimmed as the “transmitter” powered down, yet her mind was more active than before.

What secrets could this tiny device be hiding?

“I have a guess,” Gawain said cautiously, seeing both Kamail and Hetty deep in thought. “Do you know about ripples on water?”

“Ripples on water?” Hetty couldn’t immediately connect the dots. “What do ripples have to do with mana?”

“Ripples spread outward!” Kamail’s arcane aura flared briefly, then he hesitated, puzzled. “Could it be that simple? Mana stirs ripples, and something travels along them? Is it information… or energy? What is the ‘medium’ carrying these ripples? Water ripples because there’s water, but what in empty space? Is mana itself the medium?”

“Or maybe no medium is needed?” Gawain ventured, then quickly retracted. “Just a thought—don’t let my words mislead you.”

“We’re all just guessing,” Kamail said seriously. “Lord, every word you say is valuable. If you have more theories, please share them. I can tell you’ve thought deeply about this and probably have some hypotheses.”

Gawain hadn’t expected Kamail’s sharpness. He hesitated briefly—not because he didn’t want to speak, but because he knew this world’s rules differed greatly from Earth’s. He worried that presenting a near-complete theory based on Earth’s experience might mislead local researchers. But Kamail’s words gave him resolve: true scholars must dare to hypothesize boldly and verify carefully.

As long as he stressed these were mere guesses and didn’t interfere with Hetty or Kamail’s research, there was no harm.

So he roughly explained the concepts of waves and fields—deliberately keeping it simple and straightforward, both to aid understanding and to make it seem like his own rough musings, lending authenticity.

“To be honest, these are just guesses based on everyday experience and a shallow understanding of magic,” Gawain emphasized after speaking. “But I believe that’s how we seek knowledge and truth, especially in realms we cannot observe directly. We must hypothesize the unknown from the known, boldly propose ideas—and then seek to confirm or refute them.”

“Hypothesize… then verify,” Kamail mused. “That’s how we did it in the old days.”

Gawain smiled faintly, a pang of regret tugging at him: this “B” didn’t quite land…

But Kamail quickly added, “Few understand it as deeply as you do, especially a knight lord with a warrior’s background. Your insight surpasses many mediocre so-called ‘scholars.’”

Gawain was about to respond when Hetty interjected with a serious look: “Master Kamail, knights compared to mages…”

Gawain broke out in a cold sweat at the first few words and hastily coughed to cut her off. “Ahem! Curiosity is human nature. Once the drive to explore is sparked, knights and mages are no different.”

Kamail was curious what Hetty wanted to say, but the low-pressure aura radiating from Gawain made him wisely ignore the question and nod solemnly. “I used to disagree, but now I must agree with your view.”

Gawain didn’t push the topic further—he’d already given enough clues. With Kamail’s intellect and his own innate talents, he was confident the ancient scholar could carve a path toward understanding mana’s essence. Further lecturing might only constrain or bias Kamail’s thinking.

Kamail took the arcane obelisk’s transmitter and receiver and left, eager to dive into a new round of research. In this strange new era, he had rediscovered his direction. But first, he planned to hand over the technical data to Nicholas at the Mechanical Research Institute, so their current findings could quickly be turned into practical technology for the realm.

There were simply too few talents in the territory. If he could recruit a few apprentices as assistants, he could delegate errands and spend all his time in the lab. Kamail soared swiftly, his plastic-energy hands carrying the “prototype” as he pondered how to increase the number of mages in this land.

Hetty remained in Gawain’s office, standing quietly by his desk. Softly, she said, “Ancestor, I actually think your ancestral teachings are quite…”

Her elegance was a façade, but her mind was becoming more like Rebecca’s.

“Stop spreading the drunken nonsense from back then,” Gawain groaned, feeling he needed to correct his two granddaughters’ worldview soon. “Did you finish investigating what I asked?”

“Yes, just as you suspected,” Hetty replied. “Among the refugees who arrived after the first snowfall, a significant number have questionable identities. And these suspicious individuals come from nearly every part of the southern region—except for the Leslie and Kant territories.”

(End of chapter)