Chapter 467: Controllable Holy Light

The laboratory’s protective system successfully activated.

This defense system, established during the Age of Sparks, showcased just how masterful the magic of the Gondor Empire was at the height of human civilization. Although most of the devices in the Rebellious Fortress outside had long since failed due to the magical tides and a millennium of weathering, the ancient protective system hidden within this fortress still maintained at least minimal functionality.

“Impressive…” Amber, who knew nothing about the lab’s equipment, couldn’t help but marvel when she heard the automated synthetic voice respond. “What was that just now? A magical automaton? A tower spirit? Is it one of those artificial intelligences created by the northern mages?”

Kamail manipulated the complex magical runes on the circular platform while casually replying, “Automatons and tower spirits? Those are trivial tricks… We used to be able to create mind cores nearly indistinguishable from humans. They could think like humans. Our iron soldiers equipped with these cores and our mage battalions were considered the two strongest forces on the continent. The northern barbarians’ automatons and tower spirits… they’re huge, slow-witted, riddled with logical flaws—basically defective products.”

“Unfortunately, when the magical tide came, those intricate mind cores were the first devices to fail. The iron soldiers turned into piles of scrap metal right in the armory,” Gawain shook his head. “The only consolation was that the iron soldiers were simply scrapped, not out of control—otherwise, things would have been much worse.”

Hearing Gawain’s words, Kamail could only sigh deeply.

Meanwhile, the ancient mage finally completed the preparations for the test.

On the round table at the center of the lab sat a device based on Cecil’s rune technology. It featured a universal hexagonal magic network: six hexagonal units arranged as the power source in the center of the table. Connected to the lower edge of these units was a special large rune substrate—the inverter array unit designed by Pittman.

The output end of the inverter array linked to a rune trigger device, which in turn connected to a blank copper substrate with a groove perfectly sized to embed a Holy Light rune board.

The entire test apparatus was simple and straightforward; its structure was clear at a glance, and its mechanism easy to understand.

“Charging the Holy Light rune with the inverter array isn’t complicated in itself. Our first test goal is to verify whether this process can be realized, and whether it will provoke the ‘divine punishment’ of the Holy Light God,” Kamail explained, hovering before the table for everyone present. “The lab is equipped with a comprehensive divine power defense system, ensuring that even if the Holy Light God were to unleash divine punishment, it would be filtered out by the defenses. The protection level is very high. According to tests from back then, even if the flesh of the Great Stag Amorn went berserk outside the lab, it wouldn’t affect the safety inside the barrier.”

The reason Gondor’s researchers could conduct various studies on divine power was precisely because of this defense system—otherwise, even though the Great Stag Amorn had fallen, these mortals studying divine remains would have died countless times over.

The fact that the entire Rebellion team survived back then already proved the reliability of this system.

“This level of protection should be sufficient,” Gawain nodded. “So, after we activate the inverter array, we can judge whether the device risks triggering divine punishment based on whether the lab is attacked?”

“Exactly,” Kamail nodded slightly.

Gawain thought for a moment, then raised a new question: “If the device starts successfully without divine punishment, how do we know whether the device’s architecture itself avoided the punishment, or if it helped the user bypass their own mental imprint?”

Divine punishment and mental imprint—these two factors were the shackles limiting mortals’ use of divine power.

Though not a researcher himself, Gawain understood the importance of rigor in experiments. His question aimed to rigorously verify the roles these two factors played during the test—if this couldn’t be confirmed, the Holy Light rune technology would undoubtedly carry huge risks.

“…I must say, you truly have the heart of a researcher,” Kamail couldn’t help but praise, then said, “Rest assured, we’ve already considered this. We installed a magic-transmitting linkage device on the rune trigger, connected directly to another Holy Light board. The tester must inject their own magic into the rune trigger to activate the device. This way, when the rune trigger closes, two Holy Light boards are activated simultaneously: one directly by the tester’s own magic, which we call Sample One; the other indirectly activated through the magic network and inverter array, called Sample Two. By observing the activation of these two samples, we can determine at which point the tester’s mental imprint appears, and whether it affects the inverter array’s operation. Of course, to perform this, the tester must be a gifted supernatural with magical talent.”

Gawain was thoroughly impressed by Kamail’s design—this was truly the work of a professional researcher. The questions he had thought of were already anticipated here.

The key to Kamail’s design lay in Sample One, which confirmed whether the tester’s mental imprint remained effective throughout. Since the mental imprint is an inherent attribute of the tester, if Sample One was affected by it, it proved the imprint was always present, and the tester hadn’t bypassed it through the magic network-inverter array architecture.

With the device checked, Kamail stepped aside, and a young researcher approached the platform.

He was the tester.

Gawain looked at the young man, who appeared barely in his twenties, standing calmly before the platform with his hand on the special rune trigger. Before the test began, Gawain suddenly asked, “What’s your name?”

“Cohen,” the young researcher met Gawain’s gaze steadily, his breath a little quick but maintaining composure. “My full name is Cohen Bell, my lord.”

Gawain felt the name was familiar. After a moment’s thought, he recalled the information from his memory: “Cohen… you’re the researcher who discovered the use of mithril in arcane transference technology?”

“You actually remember me—that’s an honor!” Cohen said, a bit excited. “I… I only discovered the idea. The coating was developed by our entire team…”

“Your contribution is significant, no need to be modest,” Gawain interrupted, then glanced at the device on the table with a serious expression. “You understand the nature of this experiment, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have faith?”

Cohen lowered his head. “I’m a casual believer in the Goddess of Magic, my lord.”

“When you press the button, you might face divine punishment. Are you aware of that?”

“Yes,” Cohen, a level-three arcane mage, answered calmly. “Pressing the button is an act of defiance against the Holy Light God. The last person who did this was burned alive—but I trust the lab’s defense system will work.”

Kamail floated over to Gawain. “All testers participate voluntarily, my lord. Please rest assured.”

“I know,” Gawain nodded slightly, then exhaled softly, looking at the young man before the platform. “Cohen Bell, you may make a request—I promise you personally.”

The atmosphere in the lab grew solemn. Even Amber, usually playful, looked at the young man with respect. Cohen fell silent for two seconds, then looked seriously at Gawain. “My lord, I come from the capital—that place is sealed off. If I succeed, I hope you can bring my family here. If I fail, I want to send a message back: Cohen Bell, son of a merchant, fell on the path of pursuing magical truth.”

After saying this, Cohen nodded firmly to his colleagues and to Kamail, the project lead, then without hesitation injected his magic into the rune trigger and pressed the iron button hard.

All eyes instantly focused on the platform in the center of the lab.

The hexagonal magic network glowed with a faint blue-white light. The inverter array connected to the network brightened simultaneously. All magical patterns and runes activated. Pure magical energy was converted and injected into the Holy Light rune board serving as the sample. At the same time, the Holy Light board directly connected to the rune trigger also lit up after Cohen’s magic injection.

All this happened in a very short time, but under Gawain’s gaze, it felt as if a century had passed.

Finally, above the second Holy Light board connected to the inverter array, a clear, sacred radiance appeared. The board directly connected to the rune trigger flickered briefly, then went dark.

The Holy Light rune board powered by the inverter array was successfully activated.

The tester’s mental imprint remained intact throughout.

Cohen still stood firmly before the platform—sweat beaded on his face, his eyes wide with tension, breathing rapid, fingers trembling slightly, but he was still standing strong.

Kamail immediately called out to the lab’s response system: “Protective system, report any divine impact!”

“Self-check in progress… no signs of attack detected. Protective system energy at full capacity.”

Floating in midair, Kamail stared for over ten seconds before turning excitedly to Gawain. “No divine punishment! My lord, we succeeded! The magic network-inverter array architecture can avoid divine punishment! And it’s unaffected by the mental imprint!”

Amber blinked. With her limited understanding, she still hadn’t grasped the experiment’s mechanism, but she recognized the fact of success. She stared blankly at Gawain. “It worked? So… we’ve ‘stolen’ the Holy Light from the Holy Light God?”

“No, we just took it,” Gawain smiled at the half-elf lady, then approached the platform and solemnly nodded to Cohen. “I will keep my promise—I will bring your family safely to Cecil.”

At that moment, Rebecca’s voice came from behind Gawain: “Ancestor, there’s actually one more test.”

“One more test?” Gawain turned in surprise, seeing Rebecca directing technicians to place new devices on the platform. “What have you designed?”

“Random selection,” Rebecca answered seriously.

(End of chapter)