Chapter 312: About Digging the Pit

“A big test?”

Hearing Gawain’s words, Daniel’s first reaction was a moment of stunned silence. Then he looked down at the items materialized on the table.

They seemed to be just ordinary sheets of paper and some simple, cheap books—no gold leaf on the covers, no fine calfskin bindings. Honestly, he’d never seen such casually made books before.

“Let’s get started. All the materials you need are here. Do as much as you can,” Gawain said, glancing at the old mage before shifting into a more comfortable position in his chair. “I’ll judge whether you truly meet my standards based on your performance.”

Suddenly, the old mage realized this was a test. Seeing Gawain’s calm, unruffled demeanor, alarm bells rang loudly in his mind.

He solemnly looked at the papers with the questions, then opened the books marked “Reference Materials”…

Gawain silently watched from the side, while also dividing some of his attention to monitor the surface of the psychic network—both to check if anyone was spying on this hidden space, and to continue analyzing the Sleeper’s network architecture, learning their mysterious knowledge.

He wasn’t in any hurry. He was certain that time flowed slower here, in this mid-layer of the network, even slower than in the City of Dreams. He had already arranged for Amber to watch over things in the real world, so spending days and nights here with the old mage working through these problems was no issue.

Daniel found himself completely unable to guess what this “Outsider Wanderer” was thinking. But for self-preservation, he chose to comply with the request. Still, as he focused on these so-called “big questions,” an absurd, inexplicable feeling kept creeping up inside him.

He had expected the Outsider Wanderer’s “test” to be something far more terrifying, far stranger—perhaps the papers would contain forbidden, blasphemous knowledge, or depict maddening magical arrays and symbols, and he would have to survive facing these deadly things. But instead, the first test he saw was just a pure math problem—the simplest kind, involving a few numbers added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided.

What kind of test was this?

A strange feeling stirred in the old mage’s heart, but he didn’t dare question it. Instead, he lowered his head and calmly completed the calculations, writing down the answers. As a mage, basic mathematical skills were a required subject.

Next question: a bit more complex, involving practical application—calculating the volume and density changes of a potion before and after distillation…

Still nothing difficult; his apprentices could handle that.

Next: calculating the burn time of a magical array running at full load…

Next: calculating the area of a strange shape composed of circles, triangles, and rectangles.

Next: calculating the maximum theoretical interference value M that a rune field can withstand on a specific magical conductive material…

Rune field? Interference value M? Daniel looked up, puzzled. Before he could ask, Gawain silently pointed to the “Reference Materials” book beside him.

Wiping the sweat forming on his brow, the old mage opened the book and began studying carefully.

For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to his youth, back to the days in the mage tower studying magic under his mentor.

No—he was even more tense and diligent now than back then!

He kept his head down, wishing he could bury it inside the pages. He poured all his imagination and comprehension into learning the knowledge, memorizing formulas, pondering their correspondence to real magical arrays. Whenever he finally understood a part, he immediately tried to apply it to the questions, then faced the next, even harder problem.

The material became more and more baffling, increasingly detached from everyday intuition. At first, Daniel simply didn’t understand the questions’ meaning, but he had the math skills needed to solve them. As long as he carefully read the explanations in the reference materials, he could work through the problems. But gradually, he no longer recognized the formulas and symbols used in the calculations!

Sweat streamed down Daniel’s face, his breathing growing labored.

This was indeed a test—a devilish one at that…

His heart pounded faster and faster. He increasingly felt this was a malicious punishment from the Outsider Wanderer, a penalty for his previous “little tricks.” But just then, he suddenly heard Gawain’s voice from beside him:

“That’s enough for now.”

He looked up and saw Gawain snap his fingers gently. The half-finished test papers and the partially read reference materials on the table vanished instantly.

“The test… is over?” The old mage looked at Gawain in disbelief. “I… didn’t finish…”

At that moment, he wanted to ask: Will I die if I don’t finish? Will I be punished for not showing my work?

“Not bad. Better than I expected,” Gawain smiled, and Daniel exhaled in relief. “I never expected you to understand or complete everything. I just wanted to see your mathematical foundation and your ability to absorb new knowledge. You surprised me—I thought a traditional mage your age would have a rigid mindset, unable to learn new things.”

Daniel silently thought: Getting old does make it hard to learn new knowledge… but when life’s on the line, who doesn’t have some potential?

“This is one of the rewards I promised you,” Gawain continued with a smile. “Knowledge—enough to let you keep moving forward on the path to truth.”

Daniel was stunned. For a moment, he couldn’t connect those things with the word “reward.”

But then he recalled what he had seen in the reference materials.

The knowledge for calculating rune efficiency, rune interference, and array stability; the clear rules for drawing runes; the elegantly simple, almost unbelievable formulas and theorems…

If these things were real, if they weren’t just “difficult problems” designed to torment him…

Watching Daniel’s changing expression, Gawain couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

When Ravencrest had those same materials, he was met only with his mentor’s cruel punishments and wanton trampling. But when an “unspeakable Outsider Wanderer” brought the same knowledge to another traditional mage, it was met with reverence.

Gawain lightly tapped the table to draw Daniel’s attention and said calmly, “Since you have the ability to learn these, I will now give you some other knowledge. This knowledge… is not for you alone.”

Under Daniel’s curious gaze, Gawain conjured two not very thick books and placed them on the table.

With Gawain’s permission, Daniel eagerly opened them.

The first book’s cover bore a large title:

Information Security and Network Architecture — Sleeper’s Special Edition

“Take your time learning this. If you don’t understand something, I can teach you. I want you to spread this knowledge in the psychic network, among the Sleeper’s followers. In the process, you will have countless opportunities to advance your rank within the cult. You can consider this ‘promotion’ as your second reward. I will explain the details of how and how much to spread it.”

Daniel’s eyes widened, staring blankly at Gawain.

But Gawain didn’t explain immediately; he gestured for him to continue.

The second book’s cover also bore a large title:

Leyline Network Technology — Typhon’s Special Edition

“You must also learn this carefully. But I believe, as a great mage, you will find this easier than the Information Security book. I will tell you how to gradually apply this knowledge in the real world, but you must control its spread for now—only release it when I give the order.”

Daniel’s eyes grew even wider.

Gawain smiled and looked at the old mage before him. “Curious about my purpose?”

Daniel swallowed hard. He wasn’t stupid—if these were brought by some unknown nobody, he might have dismissed them or criticized them. But since they came from the Outsider Wanderer, he immediately treated the contents of these two books with the utmost seriousness and caution, instantly recognizing the immense value and power contained within.

He believed that if the introductions in these books were not exaggerated, they could change the entire Sleeper cult—and even Typhon itself!

But they came from the Outsider Wanderer…

So… the Sleeper cult and Typhon might also be doomed because of this…

Yet he still couldn’t see the deadly “poison” hidden in this knowledge—he only saw its sweet allure.

Daniel couldn’t help but recall the information he had seen about “Gawain Cecil” in the psychic network.

After that ancient hero’s resurrection, he didn’t compete for power among the contemporary Ansu nobility, nor did he stir up trouble in the court. Instead, he led a group to the southern border of Ansu, building towns and developing territories… It was said that new things appeared every day in that newly established land.

New things meant new knowledge.

The Outsider Wanderer “jumps” between worlds, and each time it arrives, its actions differ—sometimes bringing destruction, sometimes salvation, sometimes transformation… It had already personally ignited the “spark” in Ansu, and now it was bringing knowledge to the Sleeper cult and Typhon with its own hands…

So this time, the Outsider Wanderer’s purpose—or mission—is to spread knowledge?

Halfway through this thought, Daniel immediately sounded an internal alarm: Don’t jump to conclusions so quickly. The Outsider Wanderer is a non-human entity. Who knows what logic or principles govern its actions!

Gawain didn’t need to guess what Daniel was thinking, so he didn’t let him continue speculating. Instead, he said bluntly, “This knowledge is a precious treasure, one that will benefit those who receive it endlessly. But I can tell you directly—I have left a ‘key’ inside.

“At some point, I will use this ‘key’ to collect the price for this knowledge. The greater the benefits it brings, the greater the price I will exact.

“Like I said at the start, I strictly follow the principle of equivalent exchange.”

Gawain paused, then looked Daniel in the eyes. “Remember the question I asked you at the beginning? If a greater salvation were placed before you, would you betray the Sleeper cult? Now I add one more—how much is your loyalty to Typhon worth?”

(End of chapter)