Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 316 Leisure

The pace of his life quickened again the following week.

In the morning, he had two new courses: one was "Basic Stealth and Disguise," taught by a taciturn, shadow magic-savvy third-ring wizard;

The other course is "Extreme Environment Survival and Adaptation Training," and the instructor is someone who has carried out numerous missions in the permafrost.

Experienced veteran.

These two courses were not unfamiliar to Rowling. His experience of escaping into the wilderness gave him a deep understanding of stealth and survival, but the systematic learning and targeted skills training still benefited him greatly.

The afternoons and evenings are still dedicated to research.

He cross-referenced the environmental data from the outpost core with historical geography data of the permafrost provided by Master Gavin in an attempt to find the distribution patterns and possible causes of spatial disturbance points.

At the same time, combining Master Evelyn's "Universal Rune Logic Syntax" and new analytical results on rule substrate fragments, he began to try to construct a simplified mathematical model that simulates the energy characteristics and behavioral logic of the observer protocol unit.

This was an extremely complex task, and progress was slow, but every step forward gave him a deeper understanding of that cold, orderly civilization.

Ellie would occasionally come over, not only to report on her studies but also to bring some rumors about the northern border.

As the council increased patrols, news of unusual lights and strange sounds appearing in the permafrost began to circulate in smaller circles.

That afternoon, as Rolin was in his studio adjusting a small rune array to simulate the peak of dark gold Order energy, there was another knock on the door.

This time, it was Marcus who came.

"Assistant Rowling," Marcus still looked gloomy, but there was a hint of urgency in his eyes, "the investigation team has been assembled and will depart at dawn tomorrow."

"Before she left, Master Evelyn asked me to give this to you."

He handed me a small box reinforced with leather and metal, about the size of a palm.

Rowling took it and opened it.

The box was lined with soft velvet, and on it lay a dark gold metal piece with fine scratches and wear on its surface.

Its shape is irregular, with sharp edges, like a fragment that has broken off from a larger structure.

The surface of the fragments faintly shows residual geometric markings similar in style to those found on the previous core and outpost.

"This is—" Rowling looked up at Marcus.

"We found it in a crack covered by ice on the outpost's outpost side," Marcus whispered. "It's not a part of the outpost itself."

"The material and texture are very similar, but the wear is more severe, as if it has experienced a longer period of time and a more violent impact."

""

"There are extremely faint traces left on it, similar to the energy fluctuations of the secondary Arbiter you described, but even more—"

"Frenzy and chaos."

Rowling carefully picked up the shards.

It felt cold and heavy to the touch, and you could feel a faint, almost completely dissipated energy pulsation at your fingertips. It did indeed carry an uncontrollable sense of violence and chaos, which was completely different from the cold order of the secondary arbiters you had encountered before.

"Master Evelyn said to show you this; it might be helpful for your research," Marcus said, then turned and left, seemingly in a hurry.

Luo Lin closed the door, returned to his workbench, and carefully examined the fragment under the energy-sensing crystal.

The texture is so worn that it is difficult to identify.

The remaining energy is weak and chaotic.

But the very existence of this fragment reveals something unusual.

Are not all creations of the observer civilization cold, orderly executors?

There are also individuals who have experienced intense battles, and may even have gone out of control or been damaged.

Furthermore, is it a coincidence that this fragment appeared near the outpost, or does it indicate that a battle involving observer units once took place there?

He compared the fragments with the energy model he had constructed.

The model is primarily based on the “ordered” characteristics of secondary arbiters and outpost cores.

The chaotic fluctuations of these fragments add a new, previously unconsidered dimension to the model: the possible abnormal states or damage patterns of the observer protocol unit.

This might explain why the outpost core records the simultaneous occurrence of spatial disturbances and observer energy peaks.

Those units that appear inside the wasteland may not be in a completely normal working state.

Are they engaging in some kind of spatial activity, possibly accompanied by energy instability or even violence?

Ideas are like sparks in the darkness, fleeting yet illuminating new possibilities.

Rowling immediately jotted down these thoughts and planned to include a preliminary analysis of the new fragment in tomorrow's research report.

He carefully collected the fragments, placing them together with the regular substrate fragments and the interference amulet.

The sky outside the window gradually darkened.

In the distance, lights twinkled throughout the city of Muta.

Tomorrow, Marcus's expedition will venture deep into that frozen wasteland, a place teeming with ancient heritage and unknown dangers. He himself will continue his journey through the labyrinth of knowledge, attempting to piece together a picture of the truth.

The shadow of the permafrost is quietly spreading. And the Secret Council, as well as Roland, who is caught in the middle of it, can no longer remain uninvolved.

The appearance of the new fragment was like a pebble thrown into a calm pond, creating ripples in Rowling's research.

The chaotic, violent, yet still coldly ordered residual energy was incompatible with the orderly protocol unit model he had previously established.

He spent two full days using every non-destructive testing method imaginable: examining the details of wear and tear under a high-powered enchanted microscope, conducting multi-frequency energy resonance tests, and performing contact reaction experiments with inert crystal dust—ultimately confirming that before being completely destroyed, the fragment's internal protocol logic should be similar to that of the Secondary Arbiter, but its energy core seemed to have undergone extremely violent processes.

Overloads or shocks exceeding the design load cause permanent distortion and logic lock-up in the internal energy circuits, which is why the residual fluctuations appear so distorted.

"Damage Mode" — Master Evelyn wrote these words in the margin after reviewing Rolin's preliminary analysis report, adding, "Focus on the cause of the damage. Was it an external attack? An internal malfunction? Or was some protocol command executed beyond its capacity?"

-

Rowling kept this question in mind, but lacking more clues at the moment, he had to put it aside for the time being.

He devoted more energy to building a more complete "observer protocol unit behavior model".

The model now includes three states:

Normal execution mode (orderly, efficient, such as a secondary arbitrator);

Standby low-power mode (ordered, low-activity, such as the sentinel core);

And newly added abnormal damage patterns (disordered base, unstable energy, such as new fragments).

At the same time, he combined the environmental data from the outpost core and began to try to predict the possible activity patterns and priority targets of observer units in the permafrost wasteland.

Spatial perturbation points became the focus of his analysis. He tried to find potential connections between these points and magical tidal cycles, temperature changes, and even ancient star charts, but progress was minimal due to the limited amount of data.

His daytime was filled with research, classes, and occasional conversations with Ellie.

The nights are still spent meditating and organizing thoughts.

Marcus's investigation team has been on its way for a week, and there has been no news yet.

Patrols along the northern border of the Parliament have been noticeably increased, and during training sessions, Rowling could even hear the instructors whispering about new traces of what appeared to be the Pale Hand activity recently discovered on the edge of the Howling Rift.

After the stealth lesson that morning, the taciturn third-ring shadow wizard Silas called out to Rowling.

"Rolin, come with me for a moment." Silas's voice was low and hoarse, almost devoid of emotion.

Luo Lin was somewhat surprised, but he still followed.