Free Web NovelChapter 6: Chapter 6: Mo Ning is a Rare Talent
"The Multi-dimensional Demon Horn Variable Calculation Formula?"
The Sharp-eared Female Apprentice couldn’t help but murmur to herself, her emerald eyes widening slightly. ’This kid has even mastered this? His fundamentals are incredibly solid.’
The vast majority of newcomers learned some basic knowledge of Secret Divination and Divination before entering the academy.
But this was the first time she had ever seen a newcomer who had mastered the Multi-dimensional Demon Horn Variable Calculation Formula.
Although this calculation formula was only a fundamental tool in Witchcraft research, it covered numerous variables with complex interdependencies. As a result, the computational load was dauntingly massive.
Official Wizards often relied on expensive "Rune Calculation Cores" or "Divination Puppets" to handle the bulk of this repetitive work.
For an Apprentice, however, such tools were things they could only dream of but never obtain. They had no choice but to expend enormous amounts of time and mental energy to complete the calculations.
But the advantages of the Multi-dimensional Demon Horn Variable Calculation Formula were equally outstanding—its calculation accuracy was extremely high, and its logical chain was rigorous, saving a great deal of time on repeated verifications.
Thus, many Apprentices had a love-hate relationship with it.
「A few seconds later.」
On the scale pattern paper displayed by the light sphere, a single, concise result had already appeared: "Θ55.4▽."
’How is he so fast?!’
The Sharp-eared Female Apprentice could no longer hide the astonishment in her heart.
She had been researching Secret Divination and Divination for over forty years and believed she knew this calculation formula like the back of her hand.
In terms of manual calculation speed, she was among the best of the Third Level Apprentices.
But compared to the blue-robed figure writing furiously in the light sphere, her efficiency probably wasn’t even half of his!
A strong suspicion instantly flooded the Sharp-eared Female Apprentice’s mind. ’Don’t tell me he just guessed? Or maybe he used some fallacious shortcut and just happened to get a number that looks reasonable?’
She found it truly hard to believe that he was only sixteen and had just entered the academy today, yet he displayed such overwhelming speed in the pure calculation domain of Secret Divination and Divination.
She made an immediate decision. ’Verification! I must verify it immediately!’
The Sharp-eared Female Apprentice’s red lips parted, and she uttered a crisp syllable: "Mi-ya!"
Her Magic Power fluctuated in response. A faint glimmer appeared in the air, coalescing in the blink of an eye into a translucent, illusory hand in front of her.
This was precisely the Level Zero Witchcraft—[Magic Hand].
This Witchcraft was derived from the famous First Level Witchcraft—[Wizard’s Hand].
Compared to the latter, the former’s structure was greatly simplified, with its precision and power reduced to less than a tenth of the original.
But the symbolic meaning it represented was by no means small.
In Black Tower Academy, and even many other Wizard Organizations, being able to stably cast [Magic Hand] was one of the core assessment standards for promotion to Second Level Apprentice.
This was because it signified that the Caster’s accumulated Witchcraft knowledge and micro-control over their Magic Power had reached a new threshold of precision.
The Sharp-eared Female Apprentice turned her head to the right and flicked her right hand slightly. "Go!"
The illusory hand shot over, instantly passing through the wall to her right and retrieving a blank sheet of scale pattern paper and an Ink Tube Pen from the adjacent room.
This ability to "pass through obstacles" was the signature characteristic of [Magic Hand].
The paper unfurled automatically, suspended in mid-air. The illusory hand grasped the pen and began to fly across the paper’s surface.
The Sharp-eared Female Apprentice stared intently at the Ink Tube Pen as lines of complex formulas, clusters of nested sets, and streams of special variables poured out like a waterfall.
Her calculations were equally efficient and precise, carrying the conciseness and experience honed over thirty years.
Ten seconds... Fifteen seconds...
The tip of the pen came to an abrupt halt.
On the scale pattern paper, the final calculated result was presented, and it was, indeed—Θ55.4▽!
A perfect match.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
The ironclad fact was laid out before her eyes.
She had no choice but to accept a shocking truth: this newcomer named Mo Ning, whose talent was rated as "low," possessed a level of Divination Talent that she found almost absurd.
The Sharp-eared Female Apprentice turned to look at the young figure in the light sphere—oblivious to all of this, engrossed in the next step of his derivation—and whispered, "This kid really is a rare talent."
From an "arrogant fool who overestimates himself," to an "interesting subject of observation," to someone with "surprisingly brilliant talent," and finally settling on a "rare talent in the Divination Domain."
In just a few moments, her evaluation had completed an incredible three-stage leap.
She wished she could snatch Mo Ning’s Divination Talent for herself.
Unfortunately, while bloodline talents could be forcibly extracted, a Divination Talent was an extraordinary Spiritual Light that permeated the soul. No one could capture it.
A thoughtful light flickered in the Sharp-eared Female Apprentice’s emerald eyes. ’Perhaps I can recommend this Mo Ning to my mentor.’
To any Wizard dedicated to Witchcraft research, an Apprentice who displayed powerful talent in the field of Secret Divination and Divination represented an immeasurable asset.
Granted, a Wizard could purchase a "Divination Puppet" or a "Rune Calculation Core" to handle repetitive calculations.
But they had an irreparable, inherent flaw: they adhered strictly to pre-set logic and were utterly devoid of creative adaptability and Spiritual Intuition.
They couldn’t catch the sparks of inspiration in abnormal data stream fluctuations, they couldn’t propose subversive hypotheses when a calculation reached a stalemate, and they certainly couldn’t understand the "Inspiration Feiyue" that belonged to Wizards, something that transcended formulas.
But an Apprentice with a top-tier mind for Divination could. A single, chance spark from their thoughts could help a Wizard solve a Divination problem that had troubled them for a long time.
And knowledge was power. This would directly help the Wizard obtain immense power.
Therefore, many Wizards were happy to recruit Apprentices with outstanding Divination Talent.
The Sharp-eared Female Apprentice revealed a cunning smile. ’If my mentor accepts Mo Ning as an Apprentice, I can use our shared discipleship as a pretext to have Mo Ning help me solve some Secret Divination and Divination problems.’
The academy’s regulations clearly stipulated that all transactions must adhere to the principle of "mutual consent," and forced transactions were prohibited.
Although there was no shortage of shady business happening in the shadows, no one dared to do it openly.
But under the guise of being fellow apprentices, she could "exploit" Mo Ning’s labor for a smaller price, or perhaps even for no price at all.
The best part was, since the Secret Divination and Divination for Sub-zero Level Tricks and Level Zero Tricks were on the same level, Mo Ning’s demonstrated proficiency in Divination meant he could participate in research immediately. There was no need to wait for him to slowly develop.
The Sharp-eared Female Apprentice even began to consider that tomorrow she could gather a few... hmm, or maybe a dozen Divination problems, and just dump them all on Mo Ning to solve.
’Hee hee!’
’That’s what you call care between fellow apprentices!’
She gazed at the light sphere, her expression a little odd. ’Did I just exploit a loophole in the rules today and get some knowledge for free?’
The academy had strict confidentiality measures regarding knowledge.
Take borrowing books, for example.
The borrowing fees were extremely expensive. Books for the First Level Apprentice stage could easily cost 50 Black Tower Points or more per volume.
The borrower had to strictly keep the knowledge from the books confidential and was forbidden from teaching it to anyone. If discovered, they would pay a heavy price.
The Female Apprentice had been assigned the task of monitoring the newcomers. The academy hadn’t expected someone like this to be among them, so she could pry openly and justifiably.
Of course, she understood that a newcomer was just a newcomer. Their level of knowledge was low, so even if the academy found out about the loophole, they wouldn’t care too much.
* * *
「Meanwhile.」
In apartment 804, Mo Ning sat upright in his oak chair. His gaze seemed to be focused on the scale pattern paper, but deep within his pupils, a virtual interface that only he could perceive was reflected.
The header of the interface was a line of block characters that were out of place in this world, yet felt incredibly familiar to him—Multi-dimensional Demon Horn Variable Calculation Formula · Divination Calculator (Iterative Version v1.7).
Within the interface, there were no static runes or charts, but rather countless numbers, symbols, and geometric shapes formed from faint light.
They were currently undergoing a frenzied, waterfall-like cascade of jumps and reorganizations according to some rule.
Every flicker, every carried digit, every variable substitution corresponded precisely to a step in the derivation of the complex calculation formula in the real world.
This was one of the auxiliary abilities that the [Eye of Truth] had developed after long-term analysis and study of numerous Witchcraft Models and calculation formulas.
It could convert specific, systematized Divination Formulas into a highly efficient internal calculation process, transforming the tedious manual calculations that gave Wizards the biggest headaches into a nearly instinctual "intuitive output."
The "extraordinary calculation talent" that had so shocked the Sharp-eared Female Apprentice moments ago was, in essence, nothing more than this "Divination Calculator," hidden deep within his consciousness, running quietly at full speed.
Before long, the light on the calculator’s interface condensed slightly, and the second key result quietly appeared: "⊙= 16.2▲."
The tip of Mo Ning’s Ink Tube Pen descended, and in a selectively "transcribing" manner, he recorded a few key intermediate steps and the final result derived by the calculator onto the scale pattern paper.
In the eyes of an observer, this ability to "skip most of the calculation steps" was excellent proof of "possessing Divination Talent."
This represented an outstanding logical ability!
It also implied a superior speed of thought!
SCRITCH! SCRATCH!
Along with the sound of the pen tip scratching against the paper, a faint ripple of joy spread through Mo Ning’s heart.
He clearly sensed that ever since he had successfully imported the "Multi-dimensional Demon Horn Variable Calculation Formula" into the "Divination Calculator" three months ago, its internal logic seemed to be undergoing some kind of subtle self-optimization and adaptation as the amount of processed data accumulated.
The calculation speed had already increased by nearly forty percent compared to when it was first created.
He was completely certain that, given time, once the calculator had "digested" enough data, it would be able to produce answers for routine calculations of this type of Sub-zero Level Witchcraft in an instant.
And every second saved meant a faster rate of progress.
’So what if my talent is rock bottom?’ Mo Ning gently flexed his slightly stiff wrist, thinking to himself. ’With the Divination Calculator, I have a shortcut to the truth.’
Time slipped by quietly amid his absolute concentration. Outside the window, the light and shadows of the "Birch Forest" had shifted from bright afternoon to dusk.
At this moment, the virtual interface floating before him was no longer an isolated window.
Six translucent calculation interfaces were now lined up side-by-side. Within each one, dozens or even hundreds of Divination variables were madly circulating, colliding, and iterating.
Hundreds of symbols pulsed simultaneously, composing a symphony of Divination that only he could appreciate.
Finally, the light on the last interface stabilized, and all the jumping numbers fell silent.
The derivation was complete.
Mo Ning slowly let out a breath, glancing at the Guiding Ring on his index finger out of the corner of his eye.
Facing the empty room, he murmured to himself in a tone tinged with the candor and reflection of a research setback:
"The derived result of the first hypothesis deviates somewhat from the initial prediction."
"The peak increase of the energy flow pulse is only 4.2%, and the final model shows only 66.3% of what I had projected."
Mo Ning shook his head and judged his own work. "It’s too little."
