I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Wait a minute, it was clearly midnight just now.

He instinctively didn't move, letting Warren continue bouncing while he stared at the number.

It's rising; it's visibly going up.

0.12...0.15...0.19...

Just like grains of sand in an hourglass, little by little, it overflowed from the cloth bag and flowed into his panel.

The divination plate in the cloth bag really holds something.

It seeped out continuously, being absorbed by him silently and converted into points.

This thing is real, or it used to be real, and there is definitely something inside.

Richard made a quick judgment, trying not to let others notice anything unusual about him.

He glanced at the group of eager faces.

Warren, Mason, Grey, and Hugh, who was casually called over because they were sitting nearby.

Four ignorant faces, none of them knowing what they were doing.

Like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, with boundless curiosity, they were ready to poke a hole of unknown depth.

Richard weighed it in his hand for a moment and then spoke: "This thing."

He pointed to the cloth bag: "Could I take a look first?"

Warren paused for a moment, then casually tossed the bag over: "You know about this?"

"Just browsing." Richard took the bag and played with it in his hands.

He didn't take the disc out; although he didn't know if it was useful, it was better to avoid direct contact with it.

The points are still slowly increasing, from 0.53 to 0.67.

Meanwhile, Warren was already making arrangements.

Grey took the crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket:

"Light the candle, place your hand on the edge of the plate, close your eyes and ask a question."

That's all, no extra spells.

"Then let's light the candles first." Warren drew the curtains. "We should make it a little more ceremonial."

He also specifically checked the gaps on both sides and left them very small.

Mason laid out the candles, and Warren struck a match.

The orange flames were surprisingly bright in the dimly lit classroom, casting flickering light on several faces.

Neither of them noticed that Richard was standing to the side holding the cloth bag, and had not come any closer.

0.73...0.82...

"Williams," Warren turned around, "Want to play?"

"Coming," Richard said. "Wait a moment."

The candles were lit, and Warren cleared his throat, preparing to deliver the invitation.

0.92... Richard felt that the contents inside were almost exhausted.

Soon, that number stopped growing and settled at 1.

He breathed a sigh of relief, weighed the cloth bag in his hand, and casually placed it on the table next to him.

Warren had just taken the bag and removed the disc when the candle went out.

There was no wind, the curtains were drawn, no one moved, and no door was opened.

It was extinguished so cleanly and neatly, as if it had been squeezed out by an invisible hand.

Xiu shrank back a little.

Mason burst into laughter, leaning back in his chair. "I told you the curtains weren't tight enough; they let in a draft!"

"Where is the leak?" Grey lifted the curtains and quickly lowered them again, somewhat puzzled. "It's definitely sealed."

"That's a problem with the candle wick; how long has this candle been sitting there?"

Richard slowly withdrew his hand and covered his forehead. It was a little cold; he couldn't tell if it was his palm or his forehead that was cold.

He glanced at the disc.

Now, it really is just a piece of wood.

The characters on the wood were ancient, but the contents sealed within them had been completely absorbed by him, leaving the wood empty.

Warren was still arguing with Mason about the candle, and struck another match to light the wick.

Everyone put their hands back on it and waited for a while, but the disc remained motionless.

After waiting a while longer, nothing happened.

Warren withdrew his hand, making no attempt to hide his disappointment.

"That old man..." he gritted his teeth, "scammed my money."

"What's wrong?" Hugh asked cautiously.

"When he sold it to me, he went on and on about how it was a genuine product from the Eastern Continent, and that it would guarantee a reaction after use..."

Warren shoved the paper aside forcefully: "It didn't react at all, it's just a piece of broken wood."

Mason chuckled: "You actually believed it? That old man knew you were rich just by looking at you, he was probably just making it up..."

"I didn't take it seriously." Warren looked a little embarrassed. "I bought it as a toy, but even the trick didn't work out. That's not right."

Richard shook his head.

If he hadn't been there, the contents of that disc wouldn't have been cleared out beforehand.

If these clueless teenagers really invited something... he didn't know what the outcome would be, but it certainly wouldn't end well.

"Actually," he began, "even if there is a reaction, it might not be for the reason you think."

Warren looked over: "What do you mean?"

Do you know about the psychomotor effect?

"have no idea."

"That's the gist of it." Richard sat sideways at the nearby table:

"When a person is highly focused on something and has a strong expectation of the outcome, their muscles will begin to make subtle, unconscious movements. The nervous system will react spontaneously based on the expectation, bypassing conscious control."

Grey listened intently, her blue eyes filled with thought.

"So when several people put their hands on the same plate, and each person is hoping it will move, it will move."

Without any external force, everyone's muscles exerted force in unison without their conscious effort, and together they were enough to push the plate.

The person involved doesn't feel that they are exerting any force, so they mistakenly believe it's coming from an external force.

Warren understood what he meant: "So those people thought the table was moving, but they were actually pushing it themselves?"

"right."

"What about the candle?" Mason said. "How do you explain the candle going out by itself?"

"A candle burns in a confined space, consuming oxygen."

If five people are in this room, and candles are lit, the oxygen level in the classroom will drop.

A candle wick burns unstably in a low-oxygen environment; this can happen when a combination of random factors occurs.

At this point, he suddenly had a sense of déjà vu, as if he were giving these people a "science lesson"?

Warren put down the disc and sighed.

"I spent ten pounds on a piece of useless broken wood."

Ten pounds! Richard did the math in his head.

Ten pounds is enough to buy a thousand hot pies, and enough for their family to pay several months' rent.

But the thought only flashed through his mind before he dismissed it:

"It's not a loss, is it? Items from the ancient Eastern Continent have a certain market value in the collectors' market."

You can put it on the bookshelf so you can chat with guests when they come over.

Mason patted Warren on the shoulder: "Did you hear that? You bought decorative items, the elegant kind."

Warren glared at him, but then laughed first.

Grey put the candles and candlesticks into her bag and glanced at Richard as she walked over.

"You look really different today."

"After a fire, people tend to have more thoughts when they wake up."

"It's not just that you have a lot of ideas." Grey thought for a moment, "You used to hardly ever speak in class."

Richard smiled. Some things can't be explained.

Xiu leaned closer and whispered:

"Why didn't you mention that 'thought control' earlier... It really startled me when the candle went out just now."

"You didn't ask."

"So... are mediums and witches all scams?"

Richard's tone became serious: "Most of the time, but it's best not to try."

"Why? Since it's fake..."

"You don't know enough about it to judge which ones are fake, so what if you encounter the real ones?"

Hugh choked for a moment and obediently shut his mouth.

Warren had already packed his things, and walked over with his backpack, putting his arm around Richard's shoulder.

In male social language, this gesture indicates that he has already accepted the man.

Richard pulled Warren's arm off his body, focusing his attention on the panel: [Available Points: 1]

No rush, let's go back and see which direction to add it to.