Chapter 268: Fortune Triggered

Although he asked aloud whether there was hope, the science fanatic's mind was clearly focused on a different question—Feng Xue could see it too, but he couldn't say it outright; after a moment of silence, he spoke:

"It's not quite a matter of salvation. In essence, your spiritual realm and Dao cultivation simply haven't kept pace with your spellcraft advancement. Each of you is spiritually complete, energetically robust, physically strong—just calm your mind and slowly refine yourselves, and you'll naturally return to the right path."

"… " Upon hearing this, the science fanatic felt a flash of excitement, followed immediately by worry—after all, "spiritually complete, energetically robust, physically strong" were just upgraded character stats; in reality, he was a weakling who gasped for breath after walking two li.

Thinking of this, he ventured tentatively:

"Senior, my physique was also created by spellcraft—is there no other way to compensate?"

"I didn't notice that, but then again, if one truly could forge such a body, it would be absurd for one's life force to be utterly empty." Feng Xue's expression grew thoughtful, making the science fanatic feel guilty, as if he'd deceived an AI; Feng Xue then judged the moment right and said:

"I do have a method of divine cultivation, originating from the ancient shamanic lineage. You might think of it as conjuring a deity out of nothing, then treating that deity as your Core Technique—the stronger the deity, the stronger your soul becomes, and with a powerful soul, cultivation naturally becomes twice as effective. If you further supplement it with dietary alchemy, the deficiencies should be remedied."

"A deity?" The science fanatic vaguely sensed this wasn't about fixing a flaw—it was likely a method for cultivating in reality. But as a modern man, his feelings toward faith were complicated; he couldn't help pressing further.

"Calling it a deity is just a term. Ancient shamans called themselves messengers of deities to obtain spiritual sustenance for cultivation. In truth, the core is merely establishing an idol and gathering devotional energy—whether you call it a deity or a manifestation makes no difference. If you're inclined, try cultivating it. Copy the text and place it on your bookshelf."

Feng Xue casually explained the cultivation principles of Wu You'er's face, then pulled out a book he'd long prepared and handed it to the science fanatic.

"'The Covenant of Wu Xuan Mutual Cultivation'?" The science fanatic was about to open it, then suddenly realized this act was impolite—he immediately turned to thank Feng Xue—but when he looked up again, the figure that had just been before him had vanished.

"Did I just receive true transmission?"

The science fanatic's heart swelled with the joy of encountering a novel-style fortune. He immediately activated the screenshot function, rapidly capturing every page, then saved them to his archive of study materials. Still feeling uneasy, he wondered whether he should log off to buy a hard drive and make multiple backups, even considering printing a physical copy—when his friend communication suddenly chimed.

In his mind, he should have been studying this secret scripture to honor this fortune—but just as he was about to ignore it, he remembered Professor Wang had said he'd send a message. He jolted awake and quickly opened the message window:

【Professor Wang】: I've created my account. I'm in the newbie village.

"Coming!" The science fanatic instantly added the friend, sent a brief text, then stepped out of the library and said:

"Someone kill me back!"

"What's gotten into you?" The Dragon Warrior, who'd been waiting for his new inspiration, was taken aback by the science fanatic's sudden outburst. The science fanatic merely shrugged:

"Someone I know made an account. I need to go pick him up."

"Oh, fine. This village's been expanded, yet they didn't even set up a respawn point or teleport array—every time you have to run across the map. What a pain!" The Dragon Warrior also shrugged, followed the science fanatic out of the village, then unleashed a "Guardian's Addiction."

The science fanatic's skull shattered by a club, he instantly respawned in town, then immediately teleported to the newbie village…

…

"Professor Wang!" Spotting Professor Wang—whose avatar had no custom face, only the default one—via his ID, the science fanatic hurried over. Professor Wang heard his call and rushed forward:

"Where's your staff? Show it to me!"

"This is a safe zone. Let's go outside the city." The science fanatic, infected by Professor Wang's urgency, said nothing more, grabbed his hand, and cast 【Instant Step】.

"What the hell?" Professor Wang, suddenly experiencing extreme acceleration, nearly thought his blood pressure would explode—then remembered he was in a game and exhaled in relief. The science fanatic, hearing this, pointed to his ring:

"Instant Step. Because it's so useful, nearly everyone who can use it has engraved one. It can transport up to two people at high speed, but only in straight lines—changing direction makes you stumble."

As he spoke, the science fanatic explained to the old professor the structure of these spell rituals. Professor Wang listened intently, walking beside him toward the Hidden Village, asking questions about every detail of the rituals, even borrowing a device that could record a single spell and attempting to cast one himself.

Unfortunately, aside from the fact that this level-1 newbie had pitiful mana, he'd never undergone training in first-generation Talisman and Spell—he could barely feel the sensation of mana draining from his body, let alone cast a spell.

But Professor Wang clearly wasn't in a hurry. He mentally organized his theories while asking the science fanatic to cast simple spells, matching them to the basic skills he'd seen online.

After roughly half an hour, as they neared the Hidden Village, Professor Wang finally nodded thoughtfully:

"That's enough."

"So what exactly were you testing, Professor?" The science fanatic, who'd spent the whole trip casting spells, was curious about the old professor's thought process. Professor Wang didn't hide it:

"I'm mainly testing the activation mechanism of these rituals. For example, the Call Lightning Spell and Fire Talisman you cast earlier—they all first convert mana (players don't know mana differs from blue bars) into lightning or fire, then release it. You can shape it during conversion, redirect it during release, or filter it to add more properties. So directly inputting electricity into the ritual is essentially the same as first converting mana into electricity…"

"But didn't we already discuss this?" The science fanatic didn't understand why Professor Wang was testing something they'd already talked about. Professor Wang shook his head with an expression of "unteachable lumber."

"How can you be so dense? If mana can be converted into electricity, and electricity can be channeled through various rituals—then why can't we reverse it? Can we convert electricity back into mana through 【Conversion】?"

(End of Chapter)