Chapter 265: Those Who Understand and Those Who Don

"Why make another one? This one feels even more complicated." Professor Wang frowned as he watched the research maniac pull out a new circuit board after burning through two others.

"Because the version you had before was full of redundancy. In the game, spellcasting normally only requires four modules; the thirty-three exist mainly to accommodate different combinations."

The research maniac's fingertip crept slowly along the circuit, like navigating a maze, verifying he hadn't missed any critical point.

Professor Wang shook his head upon hearing this:

"I can see that. What I mean is, this board you've made now isn't a simplified four-module design either. Though I can still identify the main module and find the other three, what are these extra ones for?"

"These are for fine-tuned control. In the game, when casting a skill, we guide magical energy with consciousness. The more complex the ritual, the less conscious guidance is needed. Since we can't yet build software to replace consciousness, we'll have to test it with pre-made rituals first."

The research maniac spoke vaguely; Professor Wang understood even less. But he was a practical man—if something truly beyond his comprehension was happening, he'd follow Xiao Yang's idea for now, and consider alternatives if it failed.

But Professor Wang didn't know that the research maniac was even more bewildered than he was—not because he didn't understand, but because things were different.

In the game, he had already used programming principles to compile the 【Filter】 ritual successfully, but when he'd applied the same method to edit software before, it had burned out the circuit upon writing.

He'd wondered if it was because electricity and magical energy differed, yet even simple power flow had caused the entire system's ammeter to reverse.

As a professional, Professor Wang's hands were truly skilled—in just a few minutes, he pulled a new substrate out of acid solution, brushed off the carbon powder protecting the active areas, compared it to the design schematic, confirmed the circuit was intact, then carried the small board back to the lab bench.

Seeing this, the research maniac immediately moved to help, but Professor Wang glared at him:

"Forgot the safety protocol?"

"Ah!" The research maniac suddenly remembered—he wasn't casting spells in a game. His face paled; he immediately followed procedure to eliminate hazards, grabbed the fire extinguisher and set it beside him, then finally powered up the circuit board.

A 3.3V current surged into the circuit board—but nothing changed…

"No, there's a change!" Professor Wang held his measuring device, moving it back and forth near the output port. When pressed against the port, the reading was normal—but as soon as he pulled it away, the reading began to fluctuate erratically.

"It actually works?" Though he saw no visible effect, the erratic readings made the research maniac's face light up with excitement. Professor Wang, seeing this, shook his head:

"Don't get excited—it could just be an unstable electric field. I'm going to increase the voltage. Step back a little."

"Oh." The research maniac obediently stepped back two paces, grabbing the fire extinguisher. Professor Wang was satisfied with his reaction, pressed the power switch, let 5V surge in, confirmed no danger, then raised it to 9V. At that exact moment, a faint blue glow suddenly ignited at the output terminal—an electric current, in a profoundly unscientific way, swelled into a fist-sized orb of light, with faint arcs visibly spinning rapidly inside, accompanied by a crackling sound of static friction.

"What the hell is that? You're not telling me that's ball lightning?" Professor Wang leapt back two steps. Though ball lightning had long been reported and some scientists believed it possible, there was still no solid, reliable evidence—and its mechanism remained hotly debated. But regardless, it was undeniably dangerous.

"Uh, actually, it's a skill players DIY'd from a manga." The research maniac was stunned that this had actually produced the Rasengan, but hearing Professor Wang's question, he felt the ancestral authority of teacher over student and answered meekly.

"Manga? Don't tell me this thing is the Rasengan!" Professor Wang tilted his head slightly—then saw the research maniac staring at him in shock. He was momentarily speechless:

"What are you staring at? I was young too, you know? You kids watch 'Liu Ren'—we watched his grandpa, Naruto!"

"No, I'm just shocked this actually worked." The research maniac really wanted to retort that Professor Wang was just embarrassed, but the professor clearly gave him no chance—he only frowned:

"This thing's too dangerous. Not practical to test its power in the institute. Is there something simpler? Less powerful? Less dangerous?"

"Yes, Professor! Yes!" The first thing that popped into the research maniac's mind was "Eat Shrimp" from Guan'er—but considering it required a change in substance, it seemed too absurd. After thinking, he decided to return to basics and pulled out the ritual for "Armament Haki."

"Damn, you kids really know how to get creative. By the way, what's the name of that game? I'll try playing it later." Professor Wang asked casually as he worked on the circuit board. The research maniac immediately named "Hero vs. Demon King," then explained:

"The new version is a xianxia version. A xianxia NPC appeared, and to fight the new version's boss, he summoned us to a hidden map to learn skills—mainly the four Foundation Skill Lines of the Dynamic-Static School. By combining these four and driving them with subjective consciousness, you can compile magical energy into all kinds of spells… uh, kind of like an ancient game called Notia."

"Oh! If you'd said that earlier, I'd have understood! A magic wand! Interesting—this is fascinating. But why does it work?" Professor Wang clearly knew Notia's reputation and immediately grasped it. The research maniac could only shake his head. The old professor didn't expect an answer—he simply said:

"Forget the spells for now—this reversed ammeter is insane. Where did the extra energy come from? Can your Foundation Skill theory explain it?"

Hearing Professor Wang's question, the research maniac furrowed his brow tightly. After a moment, he hesitated:

"Maybe… because the first one was the Filter ritual?"

(End of Chapter)