Chapter 444: Two Geniuses

Even the most basic first-rank rune apparatus required an extraordinarily tedious process of calculation and adjustment.

But it was merely tedious; the computational load itself was not large.

At least for Gao De, who was about to graduate from university, it felt like playing.

The only trouble was the adjustment.

During the adjustment of the rune array, the main issue lay in Gao De's own unfamiliarity with rune apparatuses.

Although he excelled in calculation and creation, when it came to large-scale rune array linkages and framework adjustments, he found himself stuck.

Especially since this was his first time crafting a rune apparatus.

In fact, not just everyone—ninety-nine percent of all rune apparatus designers had a mentor guiding them when making their first set.

But given these conditions, Gao De could only grit his teeth and press on.

Even with his stubbornness, he still inevitably hit roadblocks.

At such moments, a soft, childish voice would always offer ideas that seemed like those of an outsider, yet were remarkably useful and practical.

Following these ideas, Gao De could quickly determine the right direction.

Gao De gradually realized that this soft, childish voice belonged to Anna, who had not yet turned six.

Anna was certainly not a First-Ring mage; under the current rune system, she could not possibly have encountered rune apparatus knowledge—that was a domain accessible only to First-Ring mages.

Yet under these circumstances, Anna consistently offered Gao De many "guidances," which were not based on any knowledge, but rather seemed to stem from her having seen countless rune apparatuses during her brief five years of life, allowing her to intuitively sense what worked better.

What Gao De needed precisely was this kind of "intuitive" guidance, not specific advice.

Yet he couldn't help wondering: how wealthy must Anna's family have been for her to possess such astonishing exposure to something as precious as rune apparatuses?

And rune apparatuses were so complex—they weren't something you could master just by watching.

Just as most people, even after viewing a hundred master exhibitions, remain mere "common folk," one must possess sufficient artistic intuition and talent to gain anything from observation.

From this perspective, Anna's talent seemed almost too extraordinary?

A five-year-old girl, Jingran interested in the tedious and complex rune apparatuses, and able to remember and absorb insights without possessing the corresponding knowledge?

That in itself was unbelievable.

But after careful thought, Gao De recalled that as a child, he too had been fascinated by advanced math problems, learning from them alone without formal instruction—and he felt at ease.

For anything one is interested in, everyone is probably like this.

Not strange.

These numerous thoughts, though numerous, flashed by quickly; Gao De did not dwell on them or analyze them deeply.

Because at this moment, most of his energy and attention was fixed on the first-rank rune apparatus design before him.

To be honest, perfecting a rune apparatus design felt almost identical to solving a complex math problem.

This familiar sensation made Gao De deeply absorbed; even if he wasn't completely oblivious to the outside world, he was certainly free of distractions.

Thus, in a hotel room costing three silver dragons per night, beneath dim yellow light, Gao De and Anna—a tall one and a small one, both "children"—began jointly designing, utterly focused and immersed.

After frantically working for an unknown length of time, a small pile of draft paper had accumulated on the table.

Yet all the rune arrays had been verified and proven valid.

That meant Gao De's rune apparatus design was essentially complete, awaiting only its transformation into a tangible product.

Due to prolonged concentration, Gao De, exhausted and mentally drained, stared at the final draft and could hardly believe it.

He had actually produced a first-rank rune apparatus design in less than a night, with zero experience.

Anna, sitting on Gao De's lap, also stared intently at the design—somehow, she had crawled into his arms, her head poking out from his chest.

It resembled the posture of a parent teaching a child to write; perhaps she found it tiring to keep her head stretched out.

After staring for a long while, she spoke in a childish voice: "Is this enough?"

Her big eyes were filled with wonder. "My teachers have never made rune apparatuses this way."

She scratched her head in frustration. "I'm too young—I haven't learned these symbols or numbers."

"Even when you're older, your teachers won't teach you these," Gao De said, stroking Anna's small head.

"Why?" Anna looked up at Gao De. "Is it because only you understand these symbols and numbers?"

"Something like that," Gao De sighed. After He Xi left, he truly was the only one in this world who understood these things.

"Can you design rune apparatuses using them?" Anna asked again.

"Yes."

"Brother, you're definitely a genius!" Anna's big eyes sparkled as she shouted at him:

"All my teachers told me you must become a First-Ring mage to design rune apparatuses—but you don't need to!"

That's just how children are, Gao De thought unconsciously.

He Xi's forward-thinking ideas were never kept secret.

But every "mature" adult who heard them reacted first with natural disdain, dismissing them as unrealistic fantasies.

Only Anna responded with belief and admiration.

"Genius," Gao De lowered his head, staring at the small pile of draft paper, thinking instead of the mountain of calculation scribbles in He Xi's rune laboratory.

What genius was he?

The true genius was Master He Xi.

Thinking of his mentor, his lifelong friend, Gao De struggled to control his inner sorrow.

Anna keenly sensed Gao De's sadness and let out a soft "Ah."

She couldn't understand why praising him as a genius made him sad.

It was a very hard question to grasp.

Anna couldn't figure it out.

But she knew that when she was sad, her sister would distract her with something else—and when she looked back, she'd find she wasn't as sad anymore.

"Brother," she tugged his sleeve, pointing with her slender finger at a number in a formula on the draft paper: "Why is this number sometimes this (4.64), and sometimes this (2)?"

"When I see it equals this number (4.64), there must be the same rune in the rune array—is that why?"

Gao De glanced and answered casually: "Yes. When the same base rune connects, the energy rises from 2 to 4.64—equivalent to a higher-rank rune."

The next moment, he suddenly realized and stared down at the girl on his lap, eyes wide.

Anna gazed at him with intense curiosity; seeing her brother look at her, she immediately beamed a sweet, obedient smile.

"Anna, you… understood these symbols and numbers?" Gao De asked.

His voice was slightly dry.

(End of Chapter)