Chapter 231 – The Problem with Living Runic Patterns
“Wang Zhong.”
As the doors closed behind him, Wang Zhong felt his entire back damp with sweat. It will be best if I don’t run about recklessly for a while… I really didn’t get a clear look earlier. I paused for maybe one second at best… cough cough. That’s enough. I’ll get swollen eyes tomorrow if I keep thinking about it.
“Cough… excuse me.” Wang Zhong didn’t try to find any trouble with Sully and didn’t bother exposing him either. There was simply no meaning in doing so. This fellow’s ability to not admit his mistakes should have definitely been trained to the point of perfection.
After conveniently pushing past the crowd of people blocking the entrance to the stairwell, he left everyone with a lofty, mysterious, and imposing appearance as they watched his retreating figure.
Student Sully felt as though he would soon choke to death.
She, she, she’s just gonna let that brat go just like that? That Laura? The one titled the uncrowned queen who couldn’t stand even the presence of sand in her eyes? That explosive bear goddess who hates lechers the most!? After letting an unfamiliar man intrude on her while changing, and even having him take in an eyeful of that-which-should-not-be-seen, she actually let him off in one piece?
What the fuck was going on? Was he really a newb at social interaction? A king of liars!?
His looks weren’t good enough to shock the entire Federation, and he certainly wasn’t strong enough to roar and howl at the entire world! He was just a big fucking liar! And yet, Hymin… then Laura…
This, this simply wasn’t logical! It was completely unreasonable!
Could Goddess Laura have become a vegetarian just for today?
Quite a number of those present felt boiling hot blood rush to their brains. Some even had the impulse to bear any punishment in order to feast their eyes on what was within the changing room. But, after feeling the aura radiating from the explosive bear within, eventually no one dared to storm in.
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This small crisis within the training room made Wang Zhong too embarrassed to continue staying in that place. He eventually met up with Emily and the rest and began a vigorous sightseeing of Copperfield City for the entire afternoon. They all got to know the culture and customs as well as taste the local cuisines.
As one of the Ten Great Federation Cities, not only was Copperfield large in scope, but the degree of which new humans awakened was also extremely high. Other than the baptism it went through during the chaos and wars of the Dark Era, another reason for such cases was due to the harsh conditions present from the high altitude.
The center of the city started approximately 3000+ meters above sea level with very few ordinary humans living in that part of the city. It was almost extinct of ordinary people as the high altitude, low atmospheric pressure, high convergence of dimensional energy and radiation, and high gravity made it a metropolis of new humans.
In fact, even the small food shops Wang ZHong and the others visited were manned by new human employees. Naturally, the vast majority of those working there were logistic employees similar to the Wang Zhong of the past. They had soul power of a mere 20-30 grassos and no additional abilities in combat. Such feeble soul power would only allow them to stay in such a place as they lacked the power to survive for long periods of time in harsh environments filled with radiation and energy. They couldn’t even stay working here for long. Every half month these employees would be required to take a long break with their families located at the bottom of the city.
With such extreme environment along with the continuation of bloodlines, the awakening rate of new humans here would naturally be higher than that of a normal city. As the number of experts rose, more and more large clans would be attracted over, thus forming a self-reinforcing cycle. Copperfield City did not rely on just luck to become a member of the one of the Ten Great Federation Cities, as well as home to the number one academy in the Eastern Area.
Over this period of time, Scarlet hadn’t been sightseeing with the rest of the squadron as she had to visit a few elderly as Headmaster Greene’s replacement. When the day, and she returned to their living quarters, a slightly strange expression was present on her face. It was as though she were trying hard to choke back her laughter.
“What’s the matter? Captain and Laura? Sex Scandal?”
“No clothes!? Oh my god, how many days have we been here? Why didn’t I know our captain had such skills? Such a genius!” Hymin exclaimed with a gaping expression.
“How is that possible? Big Bro Wang Zhong hadn’t even gone to the training room for the past few days. He’s always cooped up in the library. Even I couldn’t go and see him.” Emily spoke her complaints with a pout. These rumours were definitely spread to frame Big Bro Wang Zhong!
Scarlet also felt this rumour to be a bit laughable and ridiculous. In fact, it had long been spread from certain circles of people. Compared tot he rest, however, the version she heard was still considered the closest to the ‘original’. As for the explanation spoken of by that circle in an attempt at blowing everything out of proportion, they gave a rather exaggerated tale of the matter. “I heard this happened the day we arrived in Copperfield City. Right now our esteemed captain should be the most famous person in Copperfield.”
As for this famous person, Wang Zhong didn’t pay much attention to it. Over the past few days, he hadn’t even gone to the Wild Beast Society. It wasn’t because of Laura, however, but because the library here in Copperfield had truly caused him to become smitten with it.
Unlike Tianjing Academy, which had once been a glorious academy, Copperfield Academy had been set up during the earliest period of the Dark Era. Since its establishment till now, its glory had always been radiant. The endless number of books present within its library was something Tianjing was incapable of comparing to. Even on the aspect of rune patterns, which Tianjing Academy was supposed to excel at the most, Copperfield Academy didn’t seem the least bit inferior in. This was having strength to complement their weaknesses. In fact, Wang Zhong even discovered a few analytical theories with relation to the activation of rune patterns as well as simplification of dimensional array formations.
The former was an assumption theory. It asked the question, ‘What if rune patterns were alive?’ This was undoubtedly a new approach to this system. If one could truly prove this, then it would seemingly lead to the first ever reformation of the Federation’s rune pattern system. Its importance wouldn’t be anywhere inferior to the industrial revolution of the Glorious Era!
As for the latter, it was an example built upon the assumption of the former. With the utilization of the ‘living’ properties of rune patterns, it tried to simplify a complication dimensional space array formation. This was in order to directly specify its use capabilities.
Wang Zhong was truly ‘shocked’ and ‘astonished’ as he read it.
A question of such caliber had unexpectedly been written on small blackboard on the third floor of the library by someone. It was as though some random student had written it.
Great academies were truly great academies. At the very least, Wang Zhong had never heard of any professor at Tianjing Academy examine such a proposition. Exactly how high were the accomplishments of the students here?
If he had met with this before his interaction with Mu Zi and Aioros, then Wang Zhong would have undoubtedly felt his head hurt and spin upon seeing the question. He may even have collapsed.
The current existing system of rune patterns within the Federation was classified under the science category. Science explained the principles guiding nature with laws and theories that were formulated to provide explanations. Rune patterns were treated with the most stringent and rigorous scientific tests to prove and define their existence!
Possessing life? Possessing self-consciousness? This was exactly the kind of method a heretic or pagan would use to explain something inconceivable to them.
It was like telling a mathematician to believe that roman numerals possessed lives. Maybe one can discover a few special behavioural patterns within the laws of numbers and beautify it with the phrase ‘numbers have lives’. But if you were to truly tie life and self-consciousness together, then regardless of how you debated the topic, everyone would think you had a mental illness. There was basically no leeway given to such thoughts.
But at this very moment, Wang Zhong didn’t feel the same way. To him, what was written on this small blackboard was all too coincidental! It was if Aioros had suddenly given him the answer to the second half of his question.
According to what Aioros said, one could view rune patterns as lifeforms possessing self-consciousness. He even gave the ultimate finished product, which was the ‘dimensional space array formation’. That array formation was the answer to the second half of what was written here.