Chapter 468: An Even More Terrifying Beast

Gawain hadn’t expected Rebecca to prepare a second experiment for this session. But the moment he heard her mention the words “random selection,” he immediately had a vague sense of what the young woman was aiming for.

“I want to test more precisely how the Mindseal actually works,” Rebecca explained her reasoning, pointing to the devices the researchers were installing on the experimental platform. “This is a modified rune trigger—it contains a spinning disc with notches. When the button is pressed, the disc contacts a small platform, but only when a notch aligns perfectly does the magical circuit complete. The whole setup is sealed off, so the person pressing the button has no idea what the outcome will be. Their mental choice is limited to whether or not to press the button, without knowing if the system will activate…”

Amber’s mouth dropped open in astonishment as she stared at Rebecca. Finally understanding a bit of what was going on, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “You researchers… how do your brains even work?!”

Gawain was drawn in by Rebecca’s design. The process itself wasn’t beyond his imagination, but the young woman’s way of thinking never failed to surprise him. Stroking his chin thoughtfully, he said, “The spinning notched disc is essentially a pseudo-random system, but the key isn’t randomness—it’s the tester…”

“Yes, it’s about the tester ‘not knowing the result,’” Rebecca nodded. “I want to see if the Mindseal still works when the tester doesn’t even know whether they’re defying the gods. Or if just the slightest doubt in their own faith triggers the seal.”

Pittman, who had been silent until now, was also intrigued by this clever “random selection” experiment. The old druid, who never quite looked serious, now wore the focused, expectant expression of a true researcher. Stroking his beard, he circled the platform once, nodding as he spoke, “Ingenious… ingenious… This should yield only three possible outcomes: first, the holy light panel in the inversion array activates while the panel powered directly by the tester does not; second, both panels activate; third, neither panel activates. These correspond respectively to the Mindseal working under random conditions, the Mindseal failing, and the notches failing to connect.”

Amber thought for a moment and then asked, “What if the panel powered directly by the tester activates, but the one connected to the inversion array doesn’t?”

The lab fell silent. Several pairs of eyes turned to Amber, making the half-elf instinctively shrink back. Pittman pinched his beard hard, and after a long pause said, “That would mean the God of Holy Light has played us all for fools!”

“Let’s begin,” Gawain took a deep breath and nodded slightly to Koenbell, who stood before the experimental platform. “Start the random selection.”

The young researcher bowed solemnly, adjusted his breathing, and turned toward the platform.

All non-essential personnel stepped aside, eyes fixed on the devices. Koenbell placed his finger on the modified, rectangular iron-box-like rune trigger. Silently counting a few beats in his mind, he channeled magic into the copper button and pressed down firmly.

The “random selection” device clicked and clattered. Moments later, both rune panels on the platform remained unlit.

Kamail stepped forward to inspect the setup, then announced, “First test: invalid connection. Proceeding to second test.”

Koenbell infused magic into the rune trigger again and pressed the button.

After a tense, breath-held moment, both rune panels lit up simultaneously, radiating stable holy light in full view of everyone.

Several gasps echoed through the lab. Kamail stepped forward, confirming the apparatus was functioning normally, then announced in a slightly trembling voice, “Second test: both samples fully lit!”

Gawain suppressed his excitement and ordered in as neutral a tone as he could muster, “Proceed with the third test.”

“…Third test: both samples fully lit!”

“…Fourth test: invalid connection…”

“…Fifth test: both samples fully lit!!”

The young mage Koen repeatedly activated the rune trigger before him, his eyes shining with an inexplicable fervor. Only when the two rune panels used for testing were pushed into an energy overload state did he stop, following Kamail’s command.

Silence fell over the lab. The low hum of magical devices and the defense system echoed softly in the seemingly frozen air. Kamail hovered quietly before the platform, watching the two rune panels gradually dim. After a long moment, he raised his head. The twin lights embedded in the arcane cloud flickered as they slowly swept across the room.

He seemed to see the lab as it once was—walls adorned with the emblems of the Kingdom of Gondor, energy conduits pulsing rhythmically, colleagues in imperial mage robes standing at their stations. Those figures turned, smiling warmly, offering congratulations.

Raising his hands, Kamail’s voice echoed through the lab: “Rebels, rejoice! We have opened another door!”

Cheers truly erupted from all directions. The vision in Kamail’s eyes shattered, replaced by the modern reality: the lab now covered in a honeycomb of magical networks, surrounded by researchers in white short robes. Faces blurred and faded from his sight, replaced by new ones growing clearer.

Kamail looked at Gawain. “Forgive me, my lord, I got carried away.”

“No need to apologize. This is a moment worth losing yourself over,” Gawain praised generously, his gaze sweeping over every researcher present. “Each and every one of you did well—we should celebrate. We have just broken the authority of the gods! We’ve proven with facts that even so-called ‘divine magic’ can be explained and controlled through logic and technology!”

Right stood quietly to the side, watching the smartest minds on this land complete the experiment. No dramatic spectacle, no massive crowds—just a dozen researchers, a few witnesses, and two small glimmers of holy light on the platform. Yet in these seemingly ordinary two hours, what had happened here was no less significant than any war humanity had ever waged in the name of gods.

This was indeed a war—no swords or bloodshed, but the first successful mortal rebellion against the divine.

“Now we can confirm that the Mindseal is influenced by ‘self-awareness,’” Kamail said, stepping away from the platform to stand before Gawain. “Under random selection, the tester is uncertain of the outcome, so even if they know their action might be an act of defiance, the Mindseal does not activate. At the same time, our first experiment showed that even when the Mindseal is active, magical devices operating purely on mechanical principles can remain unaffected. The act of ‘pulling the trigger’ involves the mind and does trigger the seal, but the seal’s effect can be isolated through technical means…”

At that moment, Pittman approached, still stroking his increasingly sparse beard, his face thoughtful. “What puzzles me most is this: the Mindseal should act on the tester themselves, but after the tester channels magic into the rune panels, how does the magic—now separated from the tester—just vanish? Could it be that magic, once detached from the body, still carries ‘thoughts’? That it senses it shouldn’t exist and thus disintegrates on its own?”

Kamail listened and nodded slightly. It was indeed a perplexing phenomenon. It was understandable that the tester couldn’t release divine magic due to the Mindseal, but when the tester uses the device to release magic, the energy leaves their body and operates within another system. In other words, the “magic flow” is an established fact. Yet this fact seems to vanish because of the tester’s own Mindseal. Why?

Seeing Kamail and Pittman deep in thought, Gawain’s mind raced. For the first time, he felt his intellect struggling to keep up with the native knowledge of this world. The Mindseal phenomenon reminded him of the observer effect—where an established fact is altered by the observer’s influence. But the Mindseal’s effect wasn’t exactly the same. It occurred not only on a macro scale but showed an even stronger idealistic nature: the tester’s awareness of their own actions was the primary condition determining whether the phenomenon occurred!

This world… was full of unimaginable mysteries.

And the differences between the two worlds didn’t end there. On Earth, anything related to quantum theory caused upheaval in the scientific community, tormenting researchers endlessly. But here…

Kamail and Pittman were merely puzzled by the phenomenon, their mindset seemingly unaffected.

The reason was simple: in the realm of magic, the impossible was commonplace. This world had yet to build a solid “magical science edifice,” and its researchers had yet to grasp the terrifying upheaval of their worldview.

Gawain shifted his gaze away from the two researchers, a faint sigh escaping him. Perhaps he had unleashed yet another beast—a beast even more terrifying than “transcendent power returning to mortals.”

His thoughts drifted—from the magic that seemed to vanish under the observer’s gaze, to the Mindseal that acted like a mental lock, from the nature of gods to the connection between mortals and deities. His mind wandered further and further, until a voice suddenly echoed in his head:

“…I hope you’re ready… for what’s to come…”

Gawain jolted awake, snapping his head up toward the lab’s floor-to-ceiling windows.

His gaze pierced through the energy barrier of the Rebellion Fortress, through the chaotic gloom of the Shadow Realm, past floating debris and shattered stones, locking onto the corpse of the great stag, Amon.

(End of chapter)