Chapter 368 Colin shines like the sun
Tower of the Great Sage, lower library.
The towering bookshelves were like rows of silent giants, guarding thousands of volumes of knowledge. The air was filled with the unique scent of old parchment and ink, and polished floating stone slabs moved between the slender cloud ladders, transporting heavy books.
Here, even the slightest footsteps will be amplified infinitely, and the rustling sound of a feather pen scratching across paper is the only allowed background sound.
Two months passed in a flash, and Finn, who had just arrived, had completely adapted to the life in Xuebang.
At this moment, he was studying with senior Coors at a large oak table, but the latter was obviously absent-minded, as if he was not expecting him, but someone else.
Finn put down the book in his hand, sighed softly, and whispered to Kurs beside him: "Speaking of which, I rarely see Ilana recently. Since she entered Professor Colin's laboratory, she seems to be immersed in it every day..."
Kurth's ears perked up when he heard Ilana's name, but Finn seemed to be unaware and just spoke with envy.
"But to be honest, I'm really happy for her. She has found something she is passionate about so quickly, and can participate in cutting-edge magical research."
Coors was immediately unhappy when he heard this.
He raised his head from the book, snorted with disdain, and moved closer to Finn's side. He whispered sourly in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Don't be so naive. His Highness Colin may not be attracted by Ilana's ability, but something else."
"Other...things?" Finn looked innocent, not understanding the deep meaning at all. "What else could it be?"
Seeing that he didn't understand, Kurs didn't feel like explaining any further. He just waved his hand impatiently and said something perfunctorily.
"You'll understand later."
Finn tilted his head to show that he didn't understand.
He was still young and came from the country, so how could he guess what the prince from the holy city was thinking.
Coincidentally, this conversation was heard clearly by Sgain who was looking through some documents not far away.
The corner of his mouth curled up in a playful sneer, and he looked at the hopeless and self-righteous fool with contempt.
If His Highness Colin was really so easy to corrupt, he wouldn't have to spend so much effort "preparing lessons". This apprentice who came out of nowhere just put all his dirty thoughts on others.
There are many people like this in Xuebang. They are conceited but have high expectations but poor skills. They attribute their failure to succeed to the fact that no one appreciates them. In fact, they are not even as good as a hair of Minos, whom they got rid of... His dear junior is really just unlucky.
It doesn't even take a gold coin to bribe such a fool; an illusory promise is enough.
But…why bribe stupid people?
Just give those fools a promise that will never be fulfilled, and let them continue to live in a distant dream. Compared to the virtual world that was only discovered in the last fifty years, the endless supply of apprentice cannon fodder is the fuel that has kept the Tower of Great Sage alive until now.
As fuel, they are not innocent either. If they don't burn in the academy, they will burn on the front line or somewhere else. All the suffering they have experienced in this life is just the retribution for the choices they made in their previous life.
Skain unconsciously tightened the pages of the book between his fingers, but was suddenly startled. He didn't know why he subconsciously defended His Highness Colin in his heart.
Normally he would never pay attention to such people.
A drop of cold sweat slid down his cheek, and he quickly collected his thoughts and continued to focus on the homework in his hands.
In just a few seconds, he quickly found a reasonable explanation for this inexplicable emotion——
That prince was Professor Ariste's target, as well as his own target, and a wild dog barking at his target only made him feel annoyed.
Well, that must be the case.
Skain continued to immerse himself in the exploration of science. He felt that he had already vaguely understood the mysteries of this theory.
Science is actually not a school of thought, nor is it a theory or axiom.
It is a thought.
This kind of thinking can be used to study light and sound, and of course it can also be used to explore the mysteries of magic and the spiritual realm.
It's like a lens.
Through it, we can not only see the world clearly, but also see ourselves clearly...
At this moment, Skain did not realize that a ray of light called "reason" had already shone through the barrier he built with his own hands and into his heart darkened by shadows.
And that prince is the sun that radiates light...
…
In the past two months, it is not only the candidates who have just joined the Tower of Great Sage who have gotten on the right track, but also His Highness Colin and his apprentices.
Although most professors thought that the prince was just playing around, those who actually listened to his lectures did not think so. More and more teaching assistants and even middle and lower-level tutors began to realize the importance of "science".
Especially after he talked about the principles of calculus and geometry, some instructors who were engaged in research on magic theory and enchantment technology felt like they had found a treasure and sent invitations for academic exchanges to this "unprofessional" prince.
Of course, it is not ruled out that some people just want to get close to His Royal Highness the Prince. After all, everyone knows that he is about to obtain virtual resources approved by the Council.
With the support of two professors, there is almost no suspense about this matter. It is just a matter of when the resources can be allocated.
It is very difficult for a mentor without his own team to take up the resources of a virtual world alone. If you build a good relationship with His Highness Colin now, you may be able to get a share of the pie later.
Luo Yan readily agreed to the numerous invitations for academic exchanges. Regardless of whether the other party had other purposes, it was exactly what he wanted.
He came to Xuebang just to absorb the magical knowledge here.
And this knowledge is not only stored in the books in the library, but more importantly, it is stored in the brains of those professors.
It was a perfect deal to exchange some crude scientific principles for the core theory of the school of law.
Moreover, in this process, he can also sow the seeds of ideas in the minds of Xuebang magicians while exploring the application of scientific theories in magic research.
Because we won three times, it is called win-win.
Since he focused his work on classroom and academic exchanges, Luo Yan adopted a laissez-faire approach to the laboratory.
Apart from overseeing the research projects, he left most of the daily management work to the apprentices.
And these boys and girls from ordinary backgrounds did not disappoint him. With solid hands-on skills, they were more creative than he had imagined. They were indeed the real test-taker kings who stood out from tens of thousands of test takers.
Of course, things are not always smooth sailing.
For example, at this moment, they encountered a little "trouble".
The dim sunset gradually sank into the snowfield, and the busy "Magic Science" laboratory had been running busy for a whole day.
Jamie, Ram, and several other apprentices were gathered around a laboratory table, sighing and puzzled over a tiny gear that they had removed from the wreckage of a puppet.
"No," Ram frowned, put down the magnifying glass in his hand, and sighed, "I can't see the inscriptions on it clearly. I really don't know how Mr. James carved them on it..."
In order to continue the task taught to them by their mentor Colin, they must identify the inscriptions on the gears before they can begin the further analysis.
However, it was not known whether the gentleman had used the power of magic or hired skilled dwarf craftsmen to carve the inscription on the inner wall of the gear, so that they could not see clearly what was written on it.
"I remember Colin said in class," Jamie scratched his head and whispered, "It seems that this is because when light passes through the lens, light of different colors cannot converge at the same point. But... we all know the reason, how can we solve it?"
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
Just at this moment, Ilana, who was passing by, heard their discussion. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly spoke.
"I...have an immature idea."
The moment they heard this, everyone's eyes were focused on her.
Ilana hesitated for a moment, and continued in an uncertain tone: "The mentor said that the problem lies when the light 'passes through' the lens. So...what if we don't let the light pass through?"
"No... go through it?" Jamie looked at her blankly and asked puzzledly, "Then how can we see the inscription on it?"
His Royal Highness Colin has already explained to them in class that the reason they can see objects is because the light reflected by the objects shines into their eyes.
This also means that Ilana's suggestion is completely contradictory... they must let light pass through the magnifying glass to see the inscriptions on the gears.
However--
As soon as he thought of this, the cognition that had been formed in less than a few seconds was overturned.
"Use reflection!" Ilana said seriously, looking at Jamie and Ram who were stunned, and continued with a sharp gaze, "Look, when light shines on this polished brass instrument, won't it be reflected back? If... we can find a concave curved surface that is polished as smooth as a mirror, let it focus the light, and then use a small, flat mirror to reflect the focused light into our eyes... wouldn't the problem be solved in this way?"
This idea was like a bolt of lightning, splitting everyone's mindset. They had never thought that "amplification" could be achieved through "reflection".
"Curved mirror..." Ram muttered to himself, "My father made similar decorations, but it's probably not easy to polish it to the degree you mentioned."
"But I think this method is worth a try!" Jamie looked at Ram and said excitedly, "And... I think this can be used in future research. Maybe we can use this tool to achieve microscopic carving!"
"Yeah... I still have a bunch of gears with unclear inscriptions!"
"Let's do it, brothers!"
“Ohhhh!”
The apprentices started talking about it. Even Ram, who was skeptical at first, gradually became less suspicious and joined in with the idea of giving it a try.
With a clear direction to solve the problem, these children from artisan families immediately showed great enthusiasm.
They found the right materials and started making it.
Hard work pays off.
After several failures, they actually made a simple "reflection observation instrument"!
When everyone saw clearly for the first time every hair-thin inscription on the micro-gear, everyone cheered in surprise.
At this moment, they did not realize that in addition to seeing the inscriptions on the gears clearly, they had also inadvertently done something remarkable -
The ideas they used to solve the problem were the technical principles of more sophisticated optical instruments such as reflecting telescopes and microscopes.
These magic apprentices almost made these two epoch-making tools!
"Ilana, you are so... smart!" Jamie admired sincerely, "I would never have thought that the lens could be used in this way!"
"Yes, yes," Ram's face was also full of admiration, and his cheeks were as red as apples. "I thought it would be impossible to do it, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult to do it..."
Facing the praise from her companions, Ilana's slightly cold face showed a rare hint of embarrassment, and she spoke in a very soft voice.
"I just happened to remember what our mentor taught us. And...thanks to everyone's persistence, this is not just my credit."
After saying that, she hurried back to her workbench and hurriedly continued the work she had left off, hiding the red clouds that were creeping up to her ears.
Looking at Ilana's back, Ram's eyes were full of longing. He couldn't help but whisper to Jamie beside him: "I didn't expect that Sister Ilana, who looks cold, actually has shy moments..."
Jamie nodded dully but didn't say anything. The same thing happened to the guys standing next to him, whose faces blushed unconsciously...
…
The next morning.
When Luo Yan learned that his apprentice had actually created the prototype of a reflecting telescope, he was shocked and extremely pleased.
In addition to commending these smart and hardworking boys and girls, he immediately set up a new project in his laboratory - encouraging his apprentices to design a telescope that could see farther.
This thing is of great use in both navigation and astronomy. Maybe even the Imperial Royal Naval Academy will be interested in it.
By then, the school called "Science" might even gain the support of the imperial officers and shine even brighter on this desolate snowfield!
But this is still a long way off.
The research on the improved telescope is currently being led by Jamie and Ram, while Ilana is still working tirelessly on the notebook belonging to James Wall-E.
By the way, apart from the important role she played in inventing the "reflection observation instrument", the progress she has made in the past two months can simply be described as "a thousand miles a day".
Especially after mastering the powerful mathematical tool of "Calculus"!
Many of the complex calculations in her notes that were originally obscure and required a lot of detours to solve, can now be solved easily by her.
She could even go the other way and use simpler formulas to optimize Mr. James's derivation process and correct several flaws caused by outdated calculation methods.
but--
Just like Jamie and Ram would encounter their own bottlenecks, when she followed the footsteps of her predecessors and reached the end of the road, difficulties finally fell on her head.
Especially when her research gradually went deeper into areas that even Mr. James had never conquered, she felt unprecedented difficulty.
For every problem she faced, there was no previous experience to draw on, and every step of exploration was like walking alone in thick fog.
Putting down the feather pen in her hand, she gently rubbed her swollen temples, and deep fatigue appeared on her cold face.
At this moment, a gentle voice sounded behind her.
"In trouble?"
Ilana turned around in surprise and found that His Highness Colin had stood behind her at some point, looking at the formula spread out on the table with great interest.
"Instructor..." She stood up a little embarrassedly, blushing and speaking stiffly, "Yes, Mr. James encountered a problem about the limit of a multivariable function here. Although you mentioned it in class, you didn't elaborate on it. I tried... but I still can't figure it out."
Luo Yan nodded in understanding, and after thinking for a moment, he took out a brand new book from his storage ring and handed it to her.
This was copied by Youyou for him. He didn't ask how she copied it. I guess the players played some role in it.
Ilana took it with suspicion, and saw a few words she had never seen before written in the common language of the Empire on the cover of the book -
Advanced algebra?
Looking at Ilana who looked confused, Luo Yan said with a smile.
"Calculus is only the foundation of advanced mathematics. What I taught in class is just the basics. After all, I have to take care of those who don't understand. But you are unexpectedly talented in mathematics. I think it's time to give you this book... maybe it can bring you some help."
Hearing this, Ilana was stunned.
The expression on her face was first surprise, then excitement and emotion. She stretched out her trembling hands, took the heavy book, and held it in her arms.
For her, it was not only new knowledge, but also a heavy recognition!
Feeling the residual warmth on the cover of the book, Ilana looked up at His Highness Colin's face and spoke in an unprecedentedly serious tone.
"Teacher...I will definitely keep it well!"
She swore!
She will spend her whole life defending her mentor's "science"!
Looking at this overly excited magic apprentice, Luo Yan laughed and waved his hand, indicating that she didn't need to be so nervous.
"It's just a book. I have plenty of them here. I'd rather you read it to pieces than put it on the bookshelf."
Having said this, he paused for a moment, then continued in a more serious tone.
"...Do your best. I hope that after you understand it, you can teach it to other apprentices in the laboratory for me."
"If I am no longer here one day, I will have to rely on you to spread the teachings I left behind."
The spark of enlightenment has been ignited. As to when it can turn into a raging fire, it depends on the luck of the people here.
As the Demon King, he is only responsible for lighting the fire.
But they are lucky, because His Majesty the Demon King is not just setting fire in one place, but fanning the flames all over the world.
When the flames rise into the sky, their time will have come.
"Um!"
Hopefully that day will come later...
Holding the book "Advanced Algebra" tightly, Ilana felt excited, reluctant, overwhelmed with emotions, and many other things.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally couldn't help but ask the biggest question in her heart.
"Teacher, where did you learn all that profound knowledge? From the Janna Continent? Or the Holy City?"
Compared to a magician who has already given up his own teachings, she is actually more eager to follow in the footsteps of this prince!
That desire is like a sunflower's desire to face the sun.
Faced with those eyes filled with curiosity, admiration and even a hint of longing, Luo Yan did not give a direct answer.
"I'm not as great as you think."
He turned and looked outside the window at the cluster of wizard towers standing in the mist, and spoke softly in a distant and humble tone.
“I am just standing on the shoulders of giants.”
He has been wanting to pretend to be like this for a long time.
Finally he got the chance.
(End of this chapter)
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