Chapter 3133: Entrusting the Laboratory, Suggestions

After hearing Iolum's analysis, the string that had been pulled tight in Xia Duo's heart finally relaxed a little. In truth, he understood these principles himself, but sentient beings are often irrational and unreasonable.

Moreover, the bottom line of the Netherese Mages was also something he often worried about. Before meeting Iolum, he truly could not be sure what decision the Council would ultimately make.

Therefore, he could only choose to do as he had before: persuade others to support him as much as possible. Starting with Iolum was undoubtedly a relatively safe approach.

And now, Iolum had not disappointed Xia Duo; he did not go all-in on the New Artifact just because of the slight signs of a breakthrough that Kalishi had displayed.

"Then, Teacher, do you think I still need to contact others?"

"If you are firmly opposed to crafting the Artifact in the Northland, then it is best to contact others in advance to communicate your respective thoughts. Others will not stand on your side for no reason; as long as there is an opportunity, you must try your best to win them over."

"I understand."

"It is good that you understand."

Subsequently, Iolum began to close the Laboratory again, shutting down relevant equipment or putting it into standby mode, and returning the Psionic Artifacts to storage. While doing so, he told Xia Duo:

"The reason I brought you to this secret Laboratory is that I wanted to tell you that Netheril has been attempting research related to breaking through the Arcane Magic Boundary for a long time; Psionic is just one of those attempts."

Thus, Xia Duo recounted the process of his subsequent research on Psionic Artifacts at the Tower of Time to Iolum, in which he emphasized the method of artificially shaping unused Psionic Artifacts into Psionic Detectors.

Thus, Xia Duo hurriedly explained the complex origins of the Laboratory Accident Insurance, while pointing out: "Actually, the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce has not been offering this service for long. As far as I know, the only one that has purchased this service so far is the Tower of Time, but I believe that this service will surely be accepted by the majority of Mage Tower organizations in the future."

"So you don't need to worry about others completely abandoning the current Arcane path because of signs of breakthroughs shown by Psionic or anything else. The old guys haven't all died yet; even if the younger generation wants to do that, there will be someone to step forward and stop them."

Faced with such a clear statement, Xia Duo was still a bit stunned. He thought about it quickly and did not immediately agree or refuse, but instead asked Iolum a question:

After hearing Iolum's explanation, Xia Duo could not help but shake his head, "If it is only the two of us, I feel that we will never be able to crack the true essence of Psionic."

"It is best not to look for people from the outside; I will also come to help you sometimes. Psionic is a very dangerous power, but at the same time, it is also extremely tempting to Arcane Mages who have no hope of progress, so you must find people who are very firm in the Arcane path to conduct research."

"It sounds like a guarantee contract? Related to laboratory accidents? Since when did the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce have such services?" Iolum was very confused about this.

"I think that by cleverly designing it to package Psionic experiments as ordinary Arcane experiments, and then adding them into normal Arcane research projects, the Psionic experiment can be completed while others are unaware."

"Just me alone? Can I recruit people from the outside?"

Now it seems that Psionic is indeed weird enough; it is even possible that in the process of studying Psionic, the researcher's thoughts might shift toward becoming a Psionic Mage.

Because of this, Iolum valued Xia Duo even more, because after Xia Duo discovered that the experimental results changed according to the experimenter's thoughts, he did not develop in the direction of a Psionic Mage, but tried to use his own thoughts to dominate the experiment.

Iolum first affirmed Xia Duo's idea, but also raised his own question, "But it is probably not easy to achieve. Inserting packaged Psionic experiments into normal Arcane research projects—how many Arcane research projects do you think are needed to support one Psionic research topic?"

"What did you say?!"

"Then do you think future Psionic research does not need to recruit more operators?"

Speaking of this, Iolum changed the subject, "However, the old guys will eventually die, so the exploration of Psionic or other unknown domains still needs to be handed over to your younger generation."

"Do you have any basis for what you said? Don't just make it your own guess."

"Hasn't Teacher discovered it? The results of experiments involving Psionic change with the experimenter's thoughts; studying Psionic and studying Arcane are completely different concepts."

Iolum's eyes widened, and the beard drooping from the corners of his mouth seemed to sway rapidly with his breathing, "You said the results of Psionic experiments change with the experimenter's thoughts?"

"Of course, the Arcane research projects under our hands and the hands of your other students are not necessarily enough, but what if we expand the scope to the entirety of Netheril?"

"Therefore, for future Psionic research, the requirements for researchers might focus more on experimental design and data analysis, and the requirements for professional expertise might be lower."

"Ah what? I want to ask if you are willing to take over this Psionic Laboratory?"

Speaking of this, Xia Duo then threw out his suggestion—

"Of course, isn't Psionic determined by the mind? The only difference between us and Psionic Mages is whether or not we have awakened our own exclusive Psionic, but unshaped Psionic is influenced by thoughts, and it won't change just because we are not Psionic Mages."

Instead, introducing other researchers who are unaware of the experimental purpose to avoid the influence of the experiment leader's thoughts on the results—being able to come up with such a method is simply that of a natural Arcane Mage!

Iolum was filled with emotion while listening, and after hearing it, he let out a long sigh, "How good it would have been if I could have met you earlier! Why didn't I think of shaping Psionic Artifacts into Psionic Detectors!"

Now Iolum's heart was full of regret, but he also knew that even if he had luckily shaped unused Psionic Artifacts into Psionic Detectors, he might not have been able to discover the highly counter-intuitive conclusion that "experimental results change with the experimenter's thoughts."

"Teacher, you are still conducting Psionic research using the methods of Arcane research; no wonder there has been no progress for so many years!"

Although Iolum had actually accepted what Xia Duo said in his heart, it would be difficult for anyone to accept that their nearly hundred years of research had actually been a waste of time.

"I think what you said makes a lot of sense!"

"Ah?" Xia Duo was stunned by Iolum's sudden entrustment.

"Yes. However, what Teacher just said about the need for secrecy is also correct. It is best if Psionic research is not known by too many people, because it is hard to say whether the final result will change due to the expectations or plans of those who are in the know."

"What other ideas do you have?" Iolum felt that he was increasingly unable to keep up with Xia Duo's train of thought, so he was very glad to be able to hand the Psionic Laboratory over to Xia Duo.

"Has Teacher ever heard of the Laboratory Accident Insurance of the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce?"