Chapter 2644 Everyone’s Treasures <TOC> Chapter 2646 The Wise One Is Not Foolish
Translator: SumTLMan
Although the parchment looks wrinkled, that’s merely because of its natural texture. The corners show no signs of fraying, and the edges have been meticulously stitched with gold thread, showing how carefully Kael usually protects it.
But can parchment really be considered a treasure?
Angel glanced over.
If the parchment had been filled with an emotional letter, that would be one thing, but there was hardly any writing on it at all.
All it recorded was a single theorem formula.
With one look, Angel could tell this formula must be a variant form of some foundational space theorem. Such variants, based on existing theorems, are quite common in the Wizarding World. Sometimes, they can even branch out and evolve into an entire “new world.” At that point, the so-called variant form is no longer called a variant form but becomes a new theorem in its own right.
This is essentially the concept of the knowledge tree.
Many new ideas, new domains, and even new “frameworks,” “perspectives,” or “factions” all stem from the initial seed of knowledge that slowly germinates and grows, branching outward.
Correspondingly, if one begins researching a foundational theorem and keeps extending it, until it eventually morphs into a new theorem, that’s the so-called branching effect.
“This is the variant form you’ve been studying?” Angel pondered for a moment: “The Bazel Biphasic Theorem?”
Kael, who had been holding the parchment in a somewhat dispirited manner and staring blankly, looked up only when he heard Angel’s voice.
Forcing a small smile, Kael said: “As expected of you, my lord. With a single glance, you identified it… as a variant of the Bazel Biphasic Theorem.”
After he spoke, Kael felt a wave of hot air behind him. He turned around in confusion and almost bumped right into Vai’s face.
“Why are you coming so close?” Kael instinctively stepped back two paces, clutching the wrinkled parchment in his hand more tightly.
Vai also halted and scratched his head somewhat sheepishly: “Did I scare you? Sorry about that. I was just curious, is that parchment your treasure?”
Kael didn’t answer but asked instead: “Where’s your crystal ball?”
Vai pointed toward the distant Box of Cecia: “I threw my crystal ball into the box, and then I heard a woman’s voice inside saying that my crystal ball qualifies as a treasure. Then it gave me this.”
Spreading open his palm, a symbol wreathed in red light slowly rose from it.
“That’s your ticket?” Kael asked quizzically.
Vai replied: “It should be… I’m not entirely sure. It just gave me this. When I used my mental power to sense it, it seemed to be some kind of energy structure without any physical form.”
After finishing his explanation, Vai looked once again at the parchment in Kael’s hand: “What were you and Lord Super Dimensional, excuse me, what were you and Angel just talking about? Is that parchment your treasure?”
Kael said: “We weren’t really talking about much. My lord simply identified the original theorem for this variant form.”
He paused for a long moment before continuing: “Yes, this parchment counts as my treasure, though whether it’ll be recognized, I don’t know.”
Vai studied the single line of variant form on the parchment with curiosity: “It’s just ordinary parchment, with ordinary ink, and a row of… well, formulas that I can’t read. Is the formula itself extremely valuable?”
Kael shook his head: “…No, it’s not.”
“If it’s not valuable, why do you call it a treasure?” Vai asked, puzzled.
Kael opened his mouth but couldn’t speak for quite a while.
At that moment, Angel chimed in to help explain: “I mentioned earlier that Cecia’s standard for a treasure isn’t purely about value. What matters more is its meaning to the person making the transaction. It’s just like your crystal ball, wouldn’t you say so?”
After pondering for a moment, Vai nodded: “That’s true. I was being presumptuous.”
Kael quickly waved his hands: “No, no, it’s nothing like that. My parchment is truly ordinary, nothing like your crystal ball.”
Kael continued in a quiet voice: “The truth is, this parchment is…”
He had barely begun to speak when a lazy, drawling voice came from not far away: “Isn’t that the parchment you always hang on your so-called ‘Research Wall?’ Before, I thought it was some astounding discovery, but it turns out it’s just a useless formula.”
Without a doubt, the speaker was Daus. He was the only one who could come and go in Kael’s lab and knew Kael well enough to say such a thing.
Hearing Daus’ words, Vai frowned: “You’re still as caustic as ever.”
Kael said: “You misunderstand Lord Red Sword, Vai. ‘Useless formula’ is actually what I told him myself.”
Vai was taken aback: “Huh?”
Flushing slightly and looking dejected, Kael recounted the story of this parchment.
In short, it was the history of a naïve young man’s good fortune.
When Kael was still an ordinary person, he loved exploring history and had visited many places rumored to hold ruins. He was lucky enough, among countless fake ones, to stumble upon a genuine ruin that had once belonged to a transcendent being.
Usually, ruins left behind by transcendents are dangerous. Yet Kael was practically the poster child for “the heavens watch over those who are clueless.”
This particular ruin had been a quiet meditation chamber for a White Wizard.
Not only did Kael avoid major dangers, he also acquired some leftover extraordinary items and, through an incredible stroke of luck, awakened as a talent without any formal mentor.
Later, while pursuing the path of transcendence, Kael met his current mentor Aesop and formally set foot on the wizard’s path.
The parchment Kael now held was found in that very White Wizard’s meditation chamber.
Aesop examined it and told Kael that it was a variant of the Bazel Biphasic Theorem. Then Aesop explained what a variant form meant and how it might potentially expand into a “new world.”
That explanation ignited a fervor in Kael.
He became convinced that this variant form could be further deduced until it became an entirely new theorem, one that would carry Kael’s name.
Aesop had no idea where Kael got that level of confidence, his firm belief that this would someday evolve into a “new world.” Perhaps Kael saw it as his first lucky find, tinted by a rose-colored lens?
Though Aesop doubted Kael would discover anything earth-shattering, he never stopped him; on the contrary, he provided ample support.
Because the process of research is, in fact, a journey of broadening one’s horizons.
Even if this variant form never branched out into the new world Kael envisioned, it could still serve as the stepping stone that turned him into a capable researcher.
Indeed, that’s precisely what happened. As Kael kept studying this variant form, he grew into a disciple whom even Aesop was proud of.
But one thing made Aesop fret: Kael’s fixation on the variant form of this parchment seemed to have become an obsession.
No matter where he went or what he did, he always carried the parchment, pulling it out to study whenever he had a spare moment. Aesop privately indicated that the variant form might not lead to a new theorem and suggested Kael give it up.
Kael agreed on the surface but continued to tinker with it in secret whenever Aesop wasn’t around.
Even when Kael went off to explore ruins, he would spend free moments pondering it.
Later on, when Kael settled in Sandworm Market and got his own lab, he devoted time every day to its study. That’s why Daus had seen the parchment countless times.
Yet Kael never managed to produce any conclusive findings.
Does this mean Kael is stupid? Hardly. Given that he rose from being a wandering wizard to join a school, he’s anything but dumb.
He’d long realized this variant form on the parchment might be flawed, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking at it and trying to make sense of it.
Aesop believed Kael’s attachment had turned into a demon of obsession.
But Kael felt he’d turned that obsession into a daily habit.
Kael also knew the parchment had served its purpose as a “stepping stone.” It was time to abandon it. Yet letting go of a decades-long habit was hard, and it was that very habit which propelled Kael into genuine research… He couldn’t bear to cast it aside.
What’s more, the parchment held a deeply personal significance as the witness of his journey from an ordinary mortal to a transcendent.
With this dual significance, Kael could never quite make up his mind to discard it.
But after he saw Angel calmly give up two coins that meant a great deal to him, it touched Kael’s heartstrings.
Although Kael didn’t suddenly start idolizing Angel the way Vai did, there’s no denying that Angel is practically a godlike figure to younger apprentices.
Despite his youth, Angel’s power and skill have reached heights they can hardly fathom. Kael also knew something that others didn’t, Angel’s attainments in space studies are remarkably advanced.
For someone like that, whether Kael said so or not, he felt a sense of admiration deep down.
Everything Angel did, Kael watched intently.
Angel could decisively let go of such meaningful gold coins. Why couldn’t Kael do the same?
After all, as Angel had said: to bid farewell can itself be a form of growth.
For the sake of growth…
Kael decided it was time to take that step forward.
…
Everyone present felt quite moved upon hearing Kael’s story.
No one expected that a variant formula on parchment could become Kael’s obsession.
“Still, does your fixation really hinge on that parchment?” Vai murmured quietly: “Isn’t an obsession supposed to be your inner demon? What does it have to do with that parchment?”
Kael didn’t answer, and it was Angel who replied to Vai instead: “Whether it’s a treasure or not, let the Box of Cecia be the judge.”
After a brief pause, Angel turned to Kael again: “Whether or not this parchment counts as Cecia’s so-called treasure doesn’t really determine whether you can sever your attachment and obsession. That depends more on you.”
Kael nodded: “Thank you for the reminder, my lord. I understand. I’ve always known that it’s the starting point of everything. If I want to end this fixed habit and begin anew, I at least have to start by letting it go. I was just reluctant before, but now… I’ve come around.”
Angel said: “Then I’ve needlessly imposed my thoughts on you.”
Kael undoubtedly understands himself best. Neither Vai’s words nor Angel’s were truly necessary.
Kael waved off Angel’s remark: “Not at all. You played a part in helping me see this.”
Then, in a voice so soft it was barely audible, Kael added: “In the end, I have to say farewell.”
With that, Kael respectfully bowed to Angel, then stepped forward, one foot after another, heading silently for the Box of Cecia.
A few seconds later, Kael returned.
He had walked over slowly but came back with brisk strides.
Now, the parchment was gone, and a symbol glowing with red light floated above Kael’s palm, just like the one in Vai’s hand. This meant that, to Cecia, that seemingly worthless parchment was indeed a treasure.
Notably, Kael’s eyes showed none of the reluctance the others had expected. Instead, he appeared to be reflecting on something, alongside… relief.
That sense of ease and liberation can’t be feigned. It served as proof that Kael truly understood himself: his obsession was not rooted in his mind but bound to that parchment. As soon as the parchment was relinquished, that attachment, or inner demon, would gradually fade with time.
One might say Kael was at last free from the obsession of his past.
“When Cecia took the parchment, did she say anything to you?” Vai asked, curious.
Kael rubbed the bridge of his nose with his index finger, slightly embarrassed: “All I heard was a single word, ‘Fool.’ Then nothing else.”
Vai said: “So… you got scolded by a box?”
Kael gave an awkward chuckle.
Daus spoke up: “Vai, don’t forget, you got yourself kicked out before. Are you in any position to make fun of anyone?”
Vai replied: “The first time, I got kicked out for everyone’s sake, to test things. And just now, I got in right away. Besides, you’re hardly one to talk. With all your so-called property, what sort of treasure can you bring out?”
Hearing this, Angel also turned toward Daus.
Daus was the only person present, aside from the Black Count, who had yet to produce a “treasure.” The Black Count had other reasons, he wasn’t trying to pass the test but to communicate with Cecia. But if Daus failed to offer a treasure for his ticket, his only option would be to hide inside Angel’s Exile Space.
Under everyone’s gaze, Daus simply snorted: “Of course I have a treasure. Look, I’ve got one right here.”
With that, Daus pulled from his pocket a cane that emitted a faint glow.
Angel took a single glance and frowned slightly: “That’s the Holy Light Cane from Achillea Comprehensive College, isn’t it?”
The main difference between apprentice alchemists and formal alchemists lies in that apprentices mostly follow established methods, while a formal alchemist can create on their own.
Following established methods means taking what others have designed and crafting something from the already well-developed alchemical blueprints.
Almost all alchemists experience a progression from imitation to creation.
Achillea Comprehensive College has some open-source blueprints available for novices learning alchemy.
Judging by the style of the cane in Daus’ hand, it was one of Achillea Comprehensive College’s basic staff designs.
Named the “Holy Light Cane,” it was created by the famed “Holy Light Wanderer,” Gandalf, one of the current pillars of the Research Institute.
Daus nodded: “Yes, that’s the Holy Light Cane. It should qualify as a treasure, right?”
The first half of his statement was directed at Angel, while the second was clearly meant for Vai.
Vai’s expression twisted with disbelief: “By Cecia’s standard, it might count as a treasure, but… are you really going to hand that over?”
Daus replied: “Certainly!”
Vai said: “Aren’t you worried…”
Before he could finish, Daus cut him off: “Worried about what? The moment it got into my hands, it became mine. That’s the rule of a free wizard!”
And with that, Daus turned decisively, cane in hand, and strode toward the Box of Cecia.
Chapter 2644 Everyone’s Treasures <TOC> Chapter 2646 The Wise One Is Not Foolish