69novels Chapter 148 Thought Experiments
Chapter 148 Thought Experiments
Chapter 148 Thought Experiments
Laura thought things would quiet down after a while, but several hours had passed and the noise outside showed no signs of abating.
The noise kept her awake, and she suddenly realized that tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Lola got up, carefully protected her left arm, dressed, and went outside the dormitory.
Although it was a dark night with dim moonlight, the Ghost Forest was brightly lit.
Someone tied a long, thin hemp rope to the branches of all the adjacent miasma trees.
The ropes intertwined and knotted among the tree canopy, resembling a net, giving Lola the illusion that she was being targeted by some unspeakable high-level hunter.
And on each rope hung a bottle of glowing potion.
The liquid in the potion was multicolored and varied, and the light it emitted was equally colorful.
The neon-like light shone on the frosty ground, making the environment look bizarre and strange. Lola felt as if she had stumbled into the chapel of some heretical god.
Lola remembered that the old wizard named Loloti had said that all alchemical substances have side effects.
These glowing potions hanging above Lola's head were no exception.
The luminescent agent is volatile and will only emit light when the bottle cap is opened to allow it to evaporate and diffuse.
If you heat the bottom of the bottle with a candle or place it in sunlight, the evaporation efficiency of the medicine will increase, and the efficiency of its luminescence will also increase accordingly.
However, Lola was puzzled. Since they already had candles or sunlight, why use a light-emitting potion for illumination?
Inhaling the gas emitted by the luminescent agent can cause side effects.
As long as one is within the illumination range of the luminescent agent, one can generally inhale this volatile gas, and therefore, experiencing its side effects is inevitable.
Alchemy has uncontrollable side effects, so no one knows what physical or mental effects using luminescent agents will have on a person.
It could be skin itching, mental breakdown, or inflammation, but luminescent agents are still widely used because even when in a place where luminescent agents are used for a long time, the amount of volatile substances inhaled is still limited, and the body's self-healing function is enough to completely resolve these side effects.
However, Lola also knew that, at least tonight, the person who hung up these glowing potions would never replace them with ordinary candles or oil lamps.
Today is a special day, the most important festival of the year on the frozen continent, a night of gloom.
The people of the permafrost continent seem to think that tonight is the coldest night of the year.
The use of fire is a symbol of fear of the cold.
Lighting a fire on a dark night means surrendering to the cold, and you will likely be defeated by the cold in the coming year.
However, Lola saw lit candles in the dormitory, so she guessed that not lighting flames was something that needed to be observed only during celebrations or public occasions.
Lola is heading towards the source of the commotion.
Although she preferred quiet, she was now very curious about what kind of celebration had disturbed her peaceful sleep.
Moreover, she had only been in the Frozen Continent for a short time, and this was her first time participating in the Night of Gloom. She would likely have to stay on this land for a long time to come.
Understanding local customs should be one of the essential courses for Lola, right?
Soon, she arrived at the celebration venue.
She saw the crowd gathered in a relatively open clearing in the forest, and in the very center of the crowd was a huge ice pillar—as thick as five ordinary-sized miasma trees.
Facing the icicles, people chanted desolate prayers in unison using the cold language of ice, and then joined in with mournful melodies.
Next, the man and woman in the very center of the crowd will remove all their clothes and, naked, embrace the icicle with their skin.
The extreme cold brought by the icicles will be a test for him, and a baptism for them.
Once they accept everything, their will will no longer succumb to coldness.
Lola thought, "The will might not, but the body will."
Several people had their skin stuck to the icicles. Those who had been waiting nearby quickly poured hot water over their bodies to peel them off before they were frostbitten.
Lola doesn't like to laugh, but seeing this wolf-fox-like, comical scene, she inexplicably found it funny.
She could suppress her laughter, but she couldn't understand the meaning behind such an action.
These people have never conquered the cold; they have merely numbed themselves with suffering and torment.
"That's the power of belief."
Suddenly, a few words reached Lola's ears.
Lola turned her head and saw an old wizard with a hunched back.
She recognized him. He called himself a mind wizard named Loloti. Loloti leaned on a round-headed tree root cane in his right hand and wore a fleece-lined purple wizard's robe with the hood covering his head.
Lola looked at Lolotti with a puzzled expression.
Lolotti seemed to notice Lola's expression: "Am I wrong? You seem quite confused about this ceremony."
Lola nodded.
"Ha, really?" Lolot chuckled. "So, you haven't had ice hockey today?"
Lola shook her head.
After receiving a reply, Loloti walked towards the group of people presiding over the ceremony.
After exchanging a few words, Lolotti walked back to Lola's side and handed her a puck:
"Eat it, and it will protect you from the cold for the next year."
"Really?"
Laura stared at the ice puck in her palm. The colorful light emitted by the glowing potion shone inside the puck, making it look very beautiful.
But it was indeed ice, and it made Lola's palms ache a little from the cold.
"Oh! Of course not," Lolot grinned. "It's just ordinary ice."
Lola tilted her head and looked at Lolotti.
"It's custom, little Lola," Lolotti said. "However, some physically strong Ice People occasionally miss the opportunity to consume ice hockey one year, and as a result, they suffer from chronic cold the following year."
Laura was puzzled.
Lolotti explained simply, "And that is the power of belief."
"believe?"
"The people of the Ice Lands believe that as long as they can overcome the cold on eerie nights, the coming cold will no longer have any effect on them. But in reality, they have never received any special protection; the only thing they have received is the power of 'belief,'"
As Loloti spoke, his eyes were fixed on the young men and women trying to conquer the ice pillars.
"As long as they believe in something, it's like they're constantly suggesting to themselves that it really exists, and their bodies mistake the suggestion for fact, thus triggering deeper potential."
"The same goes for those people embracing the icicles; it's just to reinforce this suggestion. Of course, the power of suggestion has its limits; after all, the human body's potential cannot be infinite."
"But little Lola, don't underestimate this power. At times, it may play an unexpected and crucial role."
Laura nodded and stared at the hockey puck for a few more seconds.
Then put it in your mouth and swallow it in one gulp.
It was very cold, and Lola couldn't help but shiver.
She looked up and found Lolotti staring at her and laughing.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Lolotti said with a smile, "it's just that you're much more likable than you look."
Does that mean I seem unpleasant to people? Lola felt a little annoyed.
But thinking about it carefully, there's nothing wrong with it.
Aside from Anne and Aaron, she disliked everyone else on the east side of the Despair Sea, and she didn't need anyone else's approval, which brought her peace and quiet.
"However, speaking of which, the power of 'belief' is actually a power of the mind," Lolotti suddenly said. "That happens to be my research area, Little Lola. If I'm not mistaken, you should have already started learning witchcraft, right?"
Lola didn't know why Lolotti suddenly brought up this topic, but there seemed to be no need to deliberately hide it.
She nodded.
"To what extent?"
"It allows one to sense and gather a bit of magical power."
"I've barely scratched the surface, but I'm not quite a wizard yet," Lolotti said, "but I'm just one step away, if only someone could guide and enlighten me."
Suddenly, a shout rang out, drowning out Lolotti's words.
The ceremony continued and appeared unlikely to end anytime soon.
Loloti waved to Lola, signaling her to follow.
Lola didn't like the noisy environment, so she started walking too.
After walking a distance, the noise of the ceremony had subsided considerably, and Lolotti finally spoke:
"Little Lola, now that you've started learning, let me ask you, what is witchcraft?"
No one had ever told Lola this question, and she had never actively sought to know.
That's right. Even now, she still holds a laissez-faire attitude towards becoming a wizard.
Lola shook her head.
"Hmm—yes, this question sounds simple and straightforward at first glance, but in reality, it's quite profound."
Lolo turned to look at Lola.
"It's indeed difficult for a beginner like you to answer, so let me ask you another question: How many kinds of extraordinary powers exist in this world?"
Laura had heard the shaman mention this before:
Six kinds.
Which six?
"Witchcraft, magic, martial arts, profound techniques, alchemy, innate superpowers."
"A very standard answer, but one that is indeed widely accepted. Some religious fanatics like to distinguish between the supernatural and the supernatural based on faith, but that's ultimately not objective enough," Lolotti said. "So, what are the differences between these different powers?"
No one had taught Lola this, so she didn't know and shook her head again.
Wizards call their power "magical power," sorcerers always compare their magical abilities, martial artists define the extraordinary from the ordinary by whether they have mastered pulse energy, alchemists' forbidden knowledge can unleash secret abilities, and naturally gifted individuals—their power is in their names.
Lolo continued to introduce, "Little Lola, look, there are so many kinds of powers, but each power can be further subdivided into a complex system of a hundred branches. These branches also give their respective powers all sorts of names."
"What about the power of ice, the power of shadow, the power of curses, the power of mad wolves, and so on? But are there really so many kinds of powers? Are these different powers truly independent of each other, without any connection whatsoever?"
"What do you want to say?" Lola asked.
"I want you to think about whether these forces are connected."
Lola has mastered magic, but is learning witchcraft.
However, he knew very little about martial arts and alchemy.
So she couldn't think of anything: "I don't know."
"Don't be discouraged. I don't know either, nobody knows," Loloti said. "However, if you try to think about it more deeply, you will find that the various forces may not be as absolutely independent as they seem on the surface, or rather, you can find similar characteristics."
"What characteristics?"
"Those who have mastered martial arts techniques or profound secrets are all extraordinary martial artists. Although these two powers are different, they have one thing in common: they both require the body as a medium."
"The difference between witchcraft and magic is that witchcraft can often directly induce extraordinary phenomena, while magic is like building a channel between extraordinary phenomena and reality. However, compared with the extraordinary abilities of martial artists, it does not require the body as a medium."
"So, is it possible that witchcraft and magic are actually the same thing?"
This topic piqued Lola's curiosity: "Really?"
"I don't know either,"
Lolotti spread out his left hand, while his right hand tapped the ground rhythmically with his cane.
"But assuming magic and sorcery are the same thing, is it possible that all extraordinary powers actually share the same source?"
Magic and sorcery do indeed share many similarities in their forms of expression.
But if the extraordinary power contained in alchemical potions is the same, Lola finds it somewhat incomprehensible.
She found the idea a bit unbelievable: "What do you think?"
"This is a research direction, Lola," Loloti said. "The clear division and precise definition of the extraordinary into six categories was done at the very beginning of the First Nations."
"From the very beginning of the promotion of this system, some people have questioned it and firmly believe that there is only one extraordinary power."
In an effort to prove that all extraordinary qualities are the same thing, countless scholars have dedicated their lives and wisdom.
"Although no one has made any clear progress to this day, and it remains a mystery, this research has acquired a widely known name, which is—"
Lolo paused for two seconds, observing Lola's expression, before continuing.
"Grand Unified Theory!"
Although it was the first time Lola had heard about this, she had a strange feeling that the theory must be incredibly profound.
The premise is that it is correct and has been fully verified.
She asked, "Do you think the Grand Unified Theory is correct?"
"Of course, I firmly believe this, otherwise I wouldn't have told you so much."
Lolotti shrugged. By now, they had walked quite a distance, and the noise from the celebration was barely louder than the rustling of leaves in the north wind.
"Moreover, as a mind wizard, I believe that all power is the power of the mind."
Why?
"No matter what extraordinary phenomenon one wishes to achieve, one must first have the thought, and then act upon it, indicating that the extraordinary is the result of being driven by the mind. But unfortunately, my idea has a major flaw."
Lolotti shook his head and sighed as he spoke.
"Alas, our ideas cannot explain alchemy. The power of alchemy is too objective, almost unaffected by the subjective influence of the mind. In other words, the framework I conceived cannot encompass all extraordinary powers."
"So you're wrong?"
"That's not quite right," Lolo corrected. "Unfortunately, I'm old and probably won't live much longer. I won't be able to revise my theories. The reason I've been staying at the Phantom Society recently is to write a book so that my theories can be passed down."
"Little Lola, what do you think I'm trying to tell you all this?"
Lola shook her head.
"What I want to tell you is that since all extraordinary powers may share the same source, then the entire system of witchcraft should also possess the same essence."
Loloti said,
"Since you are able to gather magical power, it means you have the opportunity to learn any kind of magic. However, everyone has their own strengths, and you will only achieve success in the branch that resonates with your soul."
"And most people's souls do not fit into any of the branches, so not everyone can actually become a wizard and master the extraordinary."
"But since you can sense and gather magical power so quickly, it means you have talent, and there must be some branch that allows you to use your talents."
"It is precisely because you have reached the threshold that I finally have the opportunity to fulfill my original promise."
Lola remembered Lolotti's promise to pass on some of his research to her.
Lola needs to prioritize studying and mastering the power within the "Knot of the Mirror," and her current wizarding courses also require her to devote a great deal of energy to it.
She really had no interest in studying Lolotti's personal research.
Therefore, she said, "I may not be suited for spiritual magic either."
“Of course,” Lolo nodded, “but as I just said, I believe that all the extraordinary originates from the mind, so those who can master the extraordinary should also be able to master the power related to the mind.”
"Although this reasoning isn't rigorous, I believe it's the truth. It's very difficult to reach my level."
But it should be easy to get started.
"Little Lola, mastering another power will definitely help you. Especially something related to the mind."
"Especially?" Lola wondered for the basis of Lolotti's assertion.
"No power can arise from nothing; that's the fundamental theorem," Lolot explained. "For example, magic..."
Most mages draw power directly from some source: gods, mystical realms, the earth, the sea, the sky, legendary creatures...
"Witchcraft cannot escape the fundamental theorem: all power must have a source, and my mental witchcraft's power comes from the human mind itself."
"Don't underestimate the power of the human mind. The strength of the body may have its limits, but the limits of the mind are difficult to quantify."
"The reason I say that my power will surely help you is because, under normal circumstances, your mind always overlaps with your body, so you can always connect with the source."
"Are there situations where communication is impossible?"
Lolot smiled upon hearing this: "Good question! How about we conduct a thought experiment?"
"A thought experiment?"
"That's right!"
Lolo stopped, thought for a few seconds, and then said,
"Suppose there exists an absolute realm that can sever the connection between the inside and outside of that realm, and you are inside that realm..."
Is it possible to use any supernatural power other than that originating from the mind?
Upon hearing this, Lola began to think.
According to the root cause theorem, if one cannot establish a connection with the root cause, then any extraordinary means are meaningless.
The prerequisite for using the extraordinary is being in phase with the root.
The mind is always rooted in the human heart, thus ensuring phase consistency.
Lola understood Lolotti's meaning: its mind magic possessed inherent phase consistency, thus ensuring its effectiveness at all times.
Even so: "Such an absolute domain only exists in hypothesis."
“Indeed, the word ‘absolute’ is absolutely impossible to replicate in reality,” Loloti said. “But theory is, after all, a conclusion under ideal conditions. Little Lola, whether you like it or not, this thought experiment proves that my mind magic is extremely reliable.”
Despite this, Lola had no desire to learn.
Lolotti clearly sensed Lola's resistance, and he sighed:
"Hmm—you little rascal, you really don't appreciate my kindness. Well, since you want to sleep tonight anyway, and you don't seem interested in attending the ceremony, how about you learn some basics from me?"
That's true; Lola also happened to be unsure how to pass the time that evening.
In the end, she agreed.
As the rising sun cast grotesque, twisted shadows onto the smoky trees, the eerie night came to an end.
As the ceremony ended, fatigue crept into Lola's head.
Loloti is the same; at his age, he certainly can't withstand the ravages of staying up all night.
He yawned as he said goodbye to Lola, and before leaving, he said to her smugly:
"See! What did I tell you? Little Lola, you can call yourself a wizard now!"
Lola ignored it, only sighing that the world was finally quiet.
Because of the eerie night, there are no classes at school today.
She also remembered that she still had many things to do.
Lola has been putting off Draco and his ilk's requests for many days.
Although Anne had come up with a solution for her, she simply couldn't find the time to inform Draco and the others due to her busy school schedule.
Since it was a day off, Lola decided to remove this thorn in her side.
She traveled to the Mushroom Land, and through the Eternal Anchor, arrived at the sewers of Nailport.
Draco's settlement is in Stellate, and a day is definitely not enough time for Lola to travel back and forth.
Fortunately, this time it was just a matter of conveying the information to him; Lola didn't need to go in person.
At this moment, she had already written a letter according to Anne's plan.
She could leave the port once she handed the letter to the postman.
Of course, if she could use the slave king's ring to save her people, she would be willing to stay a little longer.
But it won't take too long; she must cherish and make good use of this hard-earned vacation.
She wanted to see Anne, but it hadn't been long since her last visit to Herald City, and she was afraid Anne would find her annoying.
Oh, right—Lola suddenly realized that it had been a long time since she had visited Aaron.
Therefore, I decided that after dealing with things in Nam Harbour, I would go back to the library.
As she walked onto the streets of Namcha Barn, she suddenly felt someone tap her on the shoulder from behind.
Lola quickly turned around, and her forehead bumped right into a finger.
She slapped the hand away and hurriedly backed away.
Only then did I realize that it was Draco.
Draco chuckled, "You've died at my hands again, little Lola. You really haven't improved at all. This time is different from last time!" Lola retorted inwardly.
Laura asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I was just about to ask, where are you?" Draco said, his eyebrows furrowed. "You've kept us waiting long enough. Let me think, three months? That's about right. I've come to Nailport several times looking for you, but I haven't even found a trace of you."
"After a long investigation, I finally heard from the dock supervisor that only six months ago, a little girl wearing glasses took a ship to the permafrost continent."
"But, little Lola, since you went to the frozen continent, why did you reappear on the Finger Peninsula? Like, you're standing in front of me now."
"And you didn't come from the port, nor did you pass through the mainland. It's as if you've always stayed in the city and never left. Little Lola, how did you do that?"
Lola frowned: "Never mind that! What do you want from me?"
"It's the same thing again," Draco said. "We haven't stopped our activities for the past few months, and now the whole western part of the kingdom is talking about us. Plus, two more people want to join and get the block characters."
"One of them was a northerner, and he was my teacher, so I could trust him. The other one came to me on his own initiative."
Upon hearing this, Lola couldn't help but shudder:
"You've been discovered?"
"Yes," Draco's expression also turned serious. "That person is not simple. I can sense that he has some strength, and he took the initiative to find us to join us. However, I know nothing about his character, and I don't sense any serenity from him."
A restless soul? Laura wondered.
But Lola doesn't care about other people's character; whether they want to do good or bad things is none of her business.
She took out the remaining two characters and read them aloud:
"Sincerity" and "benevolence".
Draco nodded and accepted it, then his eyes locked onto Lola again:
"So, how did that matter go?"
"Go see him."
Lola took out the letter and handed it to Draco.
"Go see that gentleman!"
After parting ways with Draco, Lola drank a large glass of milk in a restaurant, suppressing her nausea, and then left Nailport and entered the Land of Dawn.
Her next destination was the library.
Apart from the indistinguishable outlines of the rosy light and the anchor points set up by Lola, there was nothing else in the rosy realm.
Despite having been here many times, she still felt that the existence of the Radiant Realm was truly magical.
The operating rules and time flow of this space seem to differ greatly from the world when Lola came.
Perhaps, it was originally an extra existence separated from the world.
Just then, Lola suddenly remembered the thought experiment Lolotti had mentioned to her that morning—an absolute domain that could isolate the source.
She suddenly felt that if such a realm truly existed, there was probably no place closer to it than the Realm of Dawn.
Also this morning, Lolotti taught Lola the basics of his mind magic.
Lola learned it very quickly, which is why Lolotti said those words when they parted.
That witchcraft merely slightly reshaped the current emotions.
Laura realized that the two conditions for verifying that experiment were now in place: an absolute domain and mind magic.
If the fundamental theorem is correct, Lola mobilizes her power, and immediately, she feels a continuous surge of magical power welling up from the depths of her soul.
And her emotions inexplicably rose.
Well, Loloti is right.
Suddenly, she realized that in the instant she was reshaping her emotions, the mirror in front of her began to distort and swirl.
It was as if a pair of empty hands were pulling and squeezing the entire space tightly from the edge.
She saw the radiant glow of the sunset and the swirling purple mist.
I also saw myself.
That was my past self, coming from afar until it overlapped with the present.
It is also my future self, moving away from this moment and gradually becoming hazy.
But as she waved her hand, the past trajectory quickly caught up and converged, drilling into her body.
Countless possibilities for the future collapsed and vanished, turning into nothingness.
They then continued their pursuit in the past and continued their escape in the future.
Birth and disappearance, endless cycles.
When she shifted her attention away from herself, she suddenly realized that the entire mirror had been distorted, and was completely different from what she remembered.
The library, which was once so close, is now drifting further and further away.
All anchor points are far away