Chapter 367 The Demon King will help you experience it first

The next morning, Ilana came to the laboratory on the 40th floor of the Great Sage Tower with a feeling of seven parts excitement and three parts nervousness.

In order to leave a good impression on Professor Colin, she came very early on purpose, and after hesitating for some time, she even put on some light makeup in the bathroom.

She believed that His Highness Colin was not a superficial person and that he was definitely not attracted by her appearance, but everyone loves beauty, and she was no exception.

and--

The teaching assistant who found her also hinted this to her.

The thirty-something magician seemed to care more about His Highness Colin's affairs than himself, and was eager to leave a good first impression in front of His Highness.

Ilana took a deep breath, pushed open the heavy oak door, and was surprised to find that there were already a dozen people on the other side.

Like her, they were all wearing the simple robes of preparatory students and were looking around curiously at this place that would determine their fate in the next few years.

A sturdy boy who looked a little more mature than his peers was the first to notice her and smiled at her in a friendly manner.

"Hello, you are Ilana, right? I'm Jamie, from Quartz City. My father is a carpenter there. If any tables or chairs are broken, you can give them to me. My hands are much more dexterous than the golem."

Standing next to him, a girl with short braids also nodded and said with a smile, "My name is Ram, welcome! By the way, my family has been watchmakers for three generations, so if your pocket watch is not keeping time, you can give it to me!"

She is not tall, has a sweet smile and rosy cheeks, just like the little apples hanging on the trees in the neighbor's orchard.

In the Kingdom of Rhodes, most civilians do not have surnames, and there are many duplicate names. Therefore, many people will report their own or their parents' occupations when introducing themselves, in order to deepen strangers' first impression.

However, there is no such custom in the empire. Ilana nodded slightly and introduced herself to the classmate who greeted her.

"Hello, my name is Ilana Octavia, and I'm from the Province of Pierce... Please take care of me."

In the process of getting to know each other, she found that everyone here was similar to Jamie and Ram.

Like himself, they are not magical geniuses in the traditional sense, but they have a solid practical foundation in their respective fields.

and--

They have a vitality that others do not have.

She couldn't describe what that feeling was, but she just felt that they were quite different from many of the people she met after entering Xuebang.

I don't know how His Highness Colin discovered them.

"Ms. Octavia..." a slightly younger boy spoke hesitantly. Perhaps he heard something from the complicated last name, and there was a hint of awe in his voice. "...Are you a noble from the empire?"

As soon as these words came out, the originally slightly lively atmosphere suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes were focused on her, with a sense of alienation and restraint.

Ilana immediately understood their concerns and couldn't help laughing. She said modestly, "I'm not a noble. My family is just a businessman doing small business in the imperial province. You can just call me Ilana according to the customs of the Kingdom of Rhodes."

After a pause, she continued in a joking tone.

"If I were really a noble, how could my parents let me come to Xuebang to 'suffer'?"

and--

There is no need to come here as a preparatory student.

Only those who have passed the exam properly need to come to the Tower of Great Sage for further education. A letter of recommendation can save them at least three years.

But then again, if she had saved these three years, she probably would not have met the mentor who opened a window into her world.

Her frank self-mockery instantly relaxed the tense atmosphere.

Jamie laughed heartily and pretended to be relieved: "That's good! We thought we had to bow before talking to you in the future!"

Ilana smiled.

"That joke is not funny."

"Ha ha!"

Everyone laughed knowingly, and the strange barrier was broken.

In fact, if you ignore the height, there is no difference between the Imperials and the Rhodes people. They speak the same language, but some are closer to the Holy City and some are farther away.

"By the way, how many points did you get on your last assignment?" Ram asked curiously, "I heard that His Highness Colin seemed to have chosen us based on our scores on the last assignment... I got 83 points."

"I'm a little taller than you, eighty-eight," Jamie scratched his head. "I thought my answer to why the sky is green was perfect, but I don't know where I lost twelve points."

Everyone reported their scores at once, and Ilana found that everyone here scored above 80 points.

"Ilana, what about you?" The young man who had asked her if she was a noble suddenly spoke up, looking at her with curiosity. "Your score must be pretty high."

"I..." Ilana scratched her cheek a little embarrassedly and said softly, "I got 99 points."

"Ninety-nine!?"

"Saint Sith is above!"

A burst of suppressed exclamations rang out, and almost everyone looked at her as if she were a monster, an expression of genuine envy and admiration.

"Oh my God, Ilana, what did you write?" Jamie couldn't help asking, his face full of desire, "Can we see it?"

Ram looked at him in surprise, and Jamie immediately realized his abruptness and quickly shut his mouth.

In Xuebang, it is taboo and impolite to inquire about other people's "academic secrets" that have not been published publicly.

Maybe these assignments are not academic secrets, but this is the general trend of the entire Tower of Sages, and they have been more or less influenced by this.

But Ilana didn't care. She was just a little embarrassed and felt that her answer did not deserve such a high score.

"Of course, although I think... my answer is actually of little reference value."

After a pause, she continued.

"I told that His Highness that the sky is not green, water is not equal to ice, and steel is steel, which is different from molten iron. To be honest, I was prepared to fail the test, but I didn't expect that His Highness actually approved of my answer... I was quite surprised."

The laboratory fell silent again.

Those eyes that looked like they were looking at a monster gradually turned into shock and disbelief.

Challenging the instructor, questioning the question itself... This was a path they had never imagined. What was even more incredible to them was that this path was actually recognized by His Highness Colin?!

"No wonder you can get 99 points..." Ram sighed sincerely, and continued in a low voice, "Actually, I thought so too, but I hesitated for a moment and still didn't dare to write it completely according to this idea... After all, he is His Royal Highness the Prince, what if he gets angry?"

"Yeah, it's no joke to offend the prince of the empire..." Jamie also scratched his head and whispered, "Credits are a small matter. I'm mainly afraid that His Highness will blame me."

"...I think that His Highness is not a petty person. Even if he sees an answer that he doesn't agree with, he will probably just laugh it off and not take it seriously." Ilana smiled stiffly and expressed her opinion softly.

After all, according to her observation, everyone got that credit.

Although she didn't dare to claim that she understood that prince, this extracurricular assignment did allow her to have a new understanding of that prince.

The person His Highness chose was not the one who was “best at answering questions”, but the one who “knew how to think” and “was pragmatic”.

Although he had never explained in depth what "science" was, this new word suddenly seemed less unfamiliar to her.

Just as everyone was whispering and discussing, a steady and clear sound of footsteps was heard outside the laboratory.

"The tutor is here!" Someone whispered a reminder, and all the heated discussions came to an abrupt end.

More than a dozen apprentices sprang into action, quickly standing respectfully in front of their respective oak tables, with their backs straightened, waiting with bated breath for their mentor to arrive.

As the steady footsteps stopped outside the door, the oak door of the laboratory was slowly pushed open.

Luo Yan walked in and saw a dozen apprentices standing in a neat row. He was surprised, but a smile flashed in his eyes.

"Oh? Looks like everyone is here, earlier than I expected."

He spoke gently, his eyes scanning each young and nervous face, and continued with a smile.

"Welcome everyone to join my laboratory. It's still very simple here. After all, I just picked up this treasure... Thanks to Professor Hector's help."

"Hello, Master!" the apprentices responded in unison, their voices loud and respectful, their eyes filled with curiosity and surprise.

They always felt that His Royal Highness the Prince was not the same as they had imagined.

They had thought he would be more dignified in private, but they had not expected that he was even more approachable than he was in class.

"Don't be so reserved, relax a little," Luo Yan smiled and waved his hand, walking to the center of the laboratory. "Professor Hector told me that being an apprentice in Xuebang usually means going to a dangerous maze to collect magic materials for the mentor, or dealing with some experimental subjects with the risk of magic backlash. But you don't have to do that here, you can breathe a sigh of relief."

Professor Hector didn't say it, but that didn't stop him from attributing this sentence to the only professor he knew.

Anyway, this is the fact.

Glancing around the spacious but somewhat empty laboratory, he continued in a joking tone, "Now, your most urgent task is to help me clean up this newly 'found' laboratory. If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools. Our first step is to get familiar with our 'tools'."

After saying that, he began to assign tasks to the apprentices.

"Jamie," he looked at the carpenter's son, "You are a carpenter, right? Although these lab benches are made of top-quality oak, the mortise and tenon joints in some places are a bit loose. Go check and see which ones need reinforcement."

Jamie immediately straightened his chest and stood up like a soldier.

"Yes, Master! Leave it to me!"

"Ram," Luo Yan turned to the watchmaker's daughter, "You have very skillful hands. These brass instruments look very precise, but they have not been used for a long time, and the scales may no longer be accurate. The calibration work is left to you. This work requires patience and carefulness. I believe you can do it well."

Ram's cheeks flushed and he nodded seriously.

"I understand, mentor!"

"very good."

Luo Yan also arranged tasks for several other apprentices, such as transcribing materials and organizing utensils. Until the end, his eyes fell on Ilana.

Ilana felt a little nervous being stared at by that prince.

Those eyes seemed to have a special power that could see through all disguises and masks. This also made her feel a little inexplicably ashamed, as if she was standing naked in front of him.

Fortunately, this feeling did not last long, and the prince seemed to have just looked at her twice out of curiosity.

"Ilana."

"Yes, mentor." Ilana responded immediately and took a step forward.

Luo Yan pointed to a cluttered corner at the deepest part of the laboratory. There were half-human-high metal parts, scattered parchment, and some unrecognizable semi-finished products, all covered with a thin layer of dust.

"Your mission is a little different." Luo Yan said with a smile, "Did you see those things? They were left behind by the previous owner of this laboratory. Some are puppet parts, and some are discarded drafts. Most people treat them as garbage, but I think there may be different discoveries. My favorite thing to do is treasure hunting."

The apprentices around him looked in the direction he pointed, with a look of confusion on their faces.

If there really is a treasure here, can it still be kept in their hands?

The magicians in Xuebang are all very smart!

Luo Yan looked at Ilana and continued.

"I need you to count them, sort them into categories, write down the numbers and register them. If possible, I hope you can write down their uses in the notes. It doesn't have to be exact, just record your guess... Can you do that?"

As soon as this task was mentioned, the other students cast slightly sympathetic glances at Ilana.

This sounds like just a chore like cleaning a warehouse, boring and unskilled.

However, there was no trace of loss on Ilana's face. Instead, her eyes brightened and she answered in a clear voice.

"Yes, mentor! I promise to complete the task!"

Although others think that this is a job of cleaning up garbage and requires no technical skills, she does not think so.

In particular, His Highness Colin asked her to record the uses of these recyclables in a booklet, which just showed that His Highness valued her judgment and opinions.

This will be a valuable experience!

Luo Yan didn't say anything else, just gave her an encouraging look, then walked to his desk and sat down.

Although this task seems boring, it is actually a comprehensive cultivation of observation, inductive, and analytical abilities.

He had asked Tafu for her opinion on this matter. Although that kid was only third-rate in management work, he still had some insights in the field of scientific research.

After all, she is the captain of a scientific research vessel, even though she may be the only cannon fodder on the entire starship.

in addition--

Luo Yan was also looking forward to discovering unexpected treasures from the flower bud he had chosen among these unclaimed wastes.

The laboratory immediately became busy.

While flipping through the book "The Isomorphism Conjecture between Star Power and Magic Conduction" borrowed from the library, Luo Yan took a sip of the black tea that Sarah had just brewed, wandering in the ocean of knowledge.

A milky white mist appeared beside him, and Youyou, who was only visible to him, nodded his abstract head approvingly and praised.

"Not bad, they are really hardworking little guys... Speaking of which, Lord Demon, Youyou has noticed that you can find so many useful tools wherever you go. Do you have any tricks?"

"Nothing special, just practice makes perfect."

Luo Yan smiled faintly, replied in his heart, and turned another page of the book in his hand.

This was the book Corgi had pushed to him, written by Professor Alister Thorne.

It is said that this gentleman is a famous scholar of the Source Law School, and has extremely profound insights into source magic and virtual realm research.

If the core of the Source School is that all magical phenomena originate from a cosmic basic energy that transcends elements, light, and darkness, then this professor conducted an in-depth exploration of the nature of the source force based on this theory, and even created a set of breathing methods.

However, this exploration mainly remains in the philosophical sense, and there are not many mathematical discussions and quantitative research.

I think this is also related to the underdeveloped basic science in this world, especially mathematics.

In Luo Yan's impression, although this world has the concepts of algebra and geometry, there is nothing further.

"...I'll talk to them about calculus after a few more classes." Luo Yan thought to himself, with a playful smile on his lips.

In this way, a few more days passed.

During this period, Luo Yan continued to explain the many scientific principles to the "flowers" of Xuebang, opening the doors to new worlds for them, while patiently waiting for good news from Professor Hector, and lived a regular and fulfilling life.

As for his free time, he would occasionally visit his laboratory, or sit alone in the meditation room, absorbing the rich "essence of heaven and earth" around the Tower of the Great Sage.

With the combined blessing of the dragon egg and source power, his experience points were growing at an incredible speed, as if he was riding an elevator.

Probably no other player can level up faster than him.

On the other hand, the number of students attending his classes every day gradually stabilized at around 500.

Some students who registered did not actually come to the classroom, which was within his expectations. After all, not everyone has the patience to listen to "boring theories" that have no direct relationship with improving their abilities. They just come here to get credits.

What Luo Yan didn't expect was that as time went on, there were actually some teaching assistants from various mage towers among the "auditors" in the back row of the classroom.

Especially when he talked about the "mathematics" part, the teaching assistants who already had a deep understanding of magic showed unprecedented enthusiasm, and even listened more attentively and seriously than some of the preparatory students.

They were beginning to realize that what His Royal Highness the Prince was talking about was an unparalleled "universal language" that could describe the underlying laws of the world!

This does not conflict with the magic they are studying -

In fact, this is a "method" that can be used to study magic.

One day at noon, when the noon bell rang, Luo Yan enjoyed a hearty and cheap lunch in the faculty and staff cafeteria - all you can eat for 5 copper coins.

After dinner, he had nothing to do, so he went to his laboratory.

Most students eat in the cafeteria at this time.

Usually, after finishing their meals, the preparatory students of Xuebang would choose to go to the classroom or return to the dormitory for a nap to recharge their energy for the afternoon classes.

However, to his surprise, when he pushed open the door of the laboratory, he found a young girl squatting alone in the corner of the storage room, staring intently at the sundries in front of her, so much so that she didn't even notice Luo Yan walking behind her.

Out of curiosity, Luo Yan coughed lightly and interrupted her thoughts with a friendly expression.

"What's wrong, Ilana? The noon bell has already rung. Don't you have an appetite today?"

"tutor!"

When Ilana heard the voice, she looked up in surprise. There was some dust on her face, but her eyes were brighter than ever.

"I was just coming to see you! Look at this!"

She took out a personal notebook wrapped in thick cowhide from the bottom of a pile of discarded drawings and draft books as if she were presenting a treasure.

There was no magical mark on the cover of the notebook, only a name stamped with an iron - "James Wall-E".

If I hadn't carefully read the contents, it would have been easy to confuse it with the pile of useless drafts.

Luo Yan raised his eyebrows slightly, took the notebook with interest, opened it and took a look.

Ilana, who was standing nearby, reported her discovery in an excited tone.

"If my guess is correct, this is the private notebook of the former owner of this laboratory. There is no content about magic in it. Instead, it is filled with many extremely complex mechanical structure diagrams and calculation formulas!"

"It looks interesting, although I have no idea what he is designing just by looking at these... Do you have any good ideas?" Luo Yan asked casually with a smile, but he didn't expect that Ilana actually came up with an idea that he didn't expect.

"Theory of quantifiable magic power!"

Ilana spoke excitedly, looking at her mentor who had a surprised expression on his face, she raised her sleeve to wipe the dust off her nose, and continued speaking quickly.

"Mr. James mentioned this in other drafts. When he was studying puppet design, he realized that magic power, as a more stable energy output than steam power, should also have corresponding units to quantify the output power and magnitude of magic power!"

"Later, the scholar conducted a series of explorations along this line of thought. Unfortunately, due to the lack of precise measurement tools and calculation methods, many of his research projects came to a dead end. This suddenly occurred to me... Perhaps, perhaps the 'science' you proposed in class can be the tool to solve this problem!"

When she said this, Ilana raised her head, her eyes sparkling, as if burning with an invisible flame!

Although she didn't know what the use of this was, out of pure curiosity and desire to explore, she subconsciously expressed the immature idea in her mind.

Luo Yan closed the notes in his hand, and the look he gave Ilana was no longer one of surprise, but rather one filled with genuine surprise and admiration.

"Incredible..." Youyou whispered beside him, looking at his Majesty the Demon King in surprise, "Why do you always find 'Legends'?"

"Maybe... it's because I have a pair of eyes that are good at discovering."

Luo Yan replied with emotion in his heart, then gently placed the notebook in Ilana's hand.

He didn't expect that the seeds he planted would germinate so quickly and even grow a tender sprout that had broken through the soil.

Perhaps Taffy or the players of the cemetery could do it faster or even better than her, but he still intended to let the people of this world complete this necessary path to enlightenment on their own.

There are some things that cannot be replaced by external souls.

Besides, this clue itself was discovered by people in this world.

"Ilana, your observation and judgment are very sharp." Luo Yan's voice was full of praise, looking at her slightly immature eyes and said, "You are right. Although... the Great Sage Tower believes that Mr. James Wally's research lacks practical value, and the inscriptions and runes themselves are enough to make the puppets move, there is no need to do anything extra. But in my opinion, he is an explorer at the forefront of the times."

"The value of this notebook may be greater than we thought."

After a pause, his voice became serious.

"From today on, your task is no longer to sort out the clutter—"

Ilana held her breath and looked at His Highness Colin nervously. Half of her heart was shocked that she shouldn't have believed her ears, but the other half was also filled with surprise.

"You are the person who knows these studies best at the moment. I need you to study this notebook," Luo Yan said word by word. "Not just the notebook. I need you to sort out all of Mr. James Wally's research and continue along the path he has not completed or even abandoned."

When he said this, Luo Yan smiled, accurately dispelling her concerns about her identity and qualifications.

"Don't worry about your lack of experience or ability. After listening to so many of my classes, your starting point is no lower than others... If you need to use magic, I will arrange for an assistant to assist you, or I can come in person."

"Your Highness, this, this is too..." Ilana exclaimed, and just as she said this, she suddenly remembered that she had used the wrong address.

But would the devil care about this?

"I'm not His Highness, call me mentor or sir. No matter what other mentors and professors think, at least to me, academics are academics. In the face of truth, every soul is equal. You don't have to worry about status and status, just tell me what you saw and what it is!"

Luo Yan smiled slightly, looking at Ilana who was so excited that she could hardly breathe, and announced Prince Colin's decision in an inspiring tone -

"From today on, the theory of quantifiable magic power will be the first research topic of the 'Magic Science' laboratory!"

Just like when he put the tip in Corgi's hand, he placed an extremely huge and shining "magic crystal" in the hands of a promising magic apprentice.

The future achievements of this seed may exceed his imagination.

(End of this chapter)