Fanatics of the Magic Academy

Chapter 123 "Cognitive Pollution" Hidden in Knowledge

Finn personally demonstrated how to use the two machines to Rose several times, and Rose also tried them out.

Rose interfered with the power of reason along the rune interface, sensing that his own focus was being slowly drained. The runes on the machine began to flash continuously with Rose's interference. Under Finn's guidance, Rose experienced most of the machine's functions.

It turns out to be truly feature-rich and extremely accurate.

It's not even in the same league as the secondhand junk I bought from the shady clinic before.

According to Rossai's assessment and predictions, these two machines will be sufficient for Rossai for a considerable period of time.

For example, there's the special nutrient solution that Rose learned about from the Ancient Dragon Followers in the Dream Library, which can be paired with the [Overload] technique.

Rose looked at the two machines with satisfaction and fondled them for a few more times.

When Finn saw Rose's appearance, a smile appeared on his aged face. Finn felt that Rose seemed to have a special temperament. Although he also had the rationality, weighing and calculation common among magicians, these could not cover up some of his core qualities.

It's as if his inner self, just like his outward appearance, has been transformed into that of a child by his soul.

Looking at Rose's appearance, he smiled and said to Rose, "These two machines have been with me before I came to the slums. Before I came here, I sold a lot of property and machinery, but these two machines were left behind because the cost-effectiveness of selling them was very low, and I do need to make some potions for trading and socializing after I came to the slums."

Although it has been used for quite some time, the machine is well-maintained, and its accuracy has not decreased much; it still retains about 78% of its peak performance. There are no obvious functional deficiencies or damages, and it is sufficient for general reagent preparation.

Rose nodded, reluctantly withdrawing her rational intervention, and then the runes on the machine slowly went out.

He is no longer the clueless youth who didn't know much about magic. On the contrary, his recent studies on magic have broadened his knowledge to surpass that of many of the mages in the gathering.

For example, Rose, who now has the foundation of rune engraving and the basic principles of runes, can judge that the value of these two machines is definitely far more than 5 marks. Even though they have been used for decades, they are worth at least 7 marks.

If it's a brand new machine, its value should be between 20 and 30 marks.

This is quite valuable and appropriate for Rose, whose foundation is still weak.

He looked at Finn gratefully and said, "Thank you, Mr. Finn."

Finn just smiled, and then the two started chatting casually again.

Most of the conversations revolved around pharmacology. Now, Rose is developing a nutrient solution and has the pharmacology notes given to him by Finn, so his knowledge of pharmacology is already quite advanced.

With the support of the Dream Library, his current level of potion-making has reached the level of someone who has received basic systematic training. Furthermore, Rose has received training in three completely different scientific systems: the relatively superficial technological system without supernatural powers in his previous life, the more in-depth faith-based potion-making system, and the more in-depth magic-based potion-making system. This has given Rose a very unique understanding of many potion-making theories.

He often utters some shocking and outrageous statements that leave Finn speechless, but upon closer examination, they are quite reasonable and insightful, and not just nonsense.

This is why Finn is so keen to communicate with Rose. In fact, Finn has a strange feeling that if Rose continues to study potionology, it is really possible for her to leave the slums and return to the magical society.

The two talked for about four hours, starting with pharmacology and then moving on to other topics, such as interesting anecdotes and peculiar theories.

The conversation eventually turned to the new magician from the South District—Silas.

Finn said, "Ross, you've met with Silas?"

Rose replied, "Yes, I have indeed seen him. I observed that his physical attributes are indeed extraordinary. It doesn't seem to be a method of [flesh manipulation]. It's completely natural. It's obvious that he has experienced a life leap due to advancement. Although his rationality level has dropped to the second ring, the traces of the leap in his body are still preserved, proving that he was indeed a third-ring mage before."

He was quite friendly when I spoke with him, even adopting a humble demeanor, which showed that he did not want to have any conflict or confrontation with me, and...

""

Rose paused, her azure eyes scanning the magicians in the room, and continued, "I discovered that he hasn't attended even one gathering. I haven't seen him since our last conversation; he's been holed up in his room, doing something I don't know."

Finn shook his head and said, "He's different from us. He's only in the slums temporarily."

Rose looked at Finn in surprise and said, "Temporarily? Does that mean he'll return to the magical world in the future?"

Rose was so surprised because although Keaton's purpose in organizing the gathering was to allow wizards to help each other and trade in order to find a way back to magical society, in reality, everyone knew that the gathering was nothing more than a group of marginalized people in magical society banding together for warmth in this place where the law was weak.

Rose has been attending the gatherings for over half a year, but she hasn't seen anyone actually return to the magical community. Most people are just clinging to a nagging belief and hope.

Finn said, "Yes, as far as I know, he used to be a mage who worked at the 'Believers' containment observation point,' specifically the one near the South District."

The "observation point" near the South District? Isn't that the same observation point where Rose was before?

Unpleasant memories flooded back: the naked young believer, the repulsive obese body, the eyeballs in special bottles scattered all over the floor flashed through Rose's mind, as did his mother choking him and hurling vicious curses.

Rose now has a deeper understanding of the technologies of the Magic Federation and a more profound understanding of the eyeball in the special bottle.

Based on the knowledge Rose gained from the dream library and some observations in reality, Rose learned that the alienation of the body would dissipate after a believer died.

This is why the Magic Federation, after failing to find Rose for a long time, did not continue the search but hastily found a scapegoat and closed the case immediately.

They all guessed that Rose had gained a lot of power in a short period of time through his belief in the evil god, and then died in the slums because he had overdrawn his body and soul.

The physical alterations of a believer's body after death will gradually dissipate, making it almost impossible to distinguish them. Rose may have already been dismantled and sold by some homeless person.

This raises the question of what was going on with the various strange eyes in glass bottles that Rose saw in the "Bishop's" house.

In the past few days, Rose has learned the techniques of many schools of thought, not limited to the Lightning School, the Fire School, the Flesh School, the Soul School, and so on. He can roughly guess the technical principles behind them.

That is a very special method of treatment. The alienation of the believer's body originates from the alienation of the soul caused by faith. When the believer's body and soul are highly compatible, this alienation will be manifested in the body.

The method to preserve this alienation is also very simple: use the methods of the Soul School to perform special treatment, cut the soul in the eyes, and preserve the alienation through this technique.

Of course, this brutal dissection of the soul will bring excruciating pain. And because it acts directly on the soul, the human soul does not have a pain protection mechanism like the body. It will not go into shock due to excessive pain. It will only continuously and directly perceive this pain until the surgery is over or the soul disintegrates.

Generally speaking, even mentally mature and resolute adults can experience a spiritual breakdown due to this kind of pain.

The social reality remains much like Cthulhu's, and the more you learn about it, the more terrifying it becomes. Even the scenes that had a strong psychological impact on Rose were only the most cruel surface; its essence is far more bizarre and cruel than what the naked eye can see.

Of course, for Rose at this point, this level of cognitive shock is not enough to cause a collapse of his rationality; in other words, it will not trigger the "fanatic materialist" phase.

To put it simply, it's too bland.

Because the prevailing ideology in society is "rationality above all else," and based on the details that Rose has observed so far, it seems that this ideology of rationality, when taken to a certain degree, can create social rules that are more cruel and sensational than the law of the jungle, such as the survival of the fittest.

Furthermore, these ideas are even presented openly in books. For example, "The Psychology of Runes" openly describes soul transformation as psychological counseling. As Rose continued to learn this knowledge, she was unknowingly influenced by this social trend.

This influence is subtle and gradual, and difficult to perceive.

Cognitive pollution is hidden in the spaces between the lines of knowledge.

As long as this action is practiced continuously, this pollution will persist.

It's a very simple thing. For example, when Rose was studying "Rune Psychology," he found that most of the knowledge in it matched the phenomena he observed and recognized. He would naturally think that the book was "authoritative" and reasonable. This perception would then spread to some other incredible details in the book, such as describing soul transformation as psychological counseling.

Even if one book isn't enough to change Rose's perception, what if all books and knowledge were like that? Because that's the prevailing social trend.

If we extend the time frame, this change in perception becomes even more pronounced.

Take Rose as an example. If we consider the Rose who had just arrived in the slums, he would be breathing out again, and his eyes would be transforming into golden vertical pupils.

However, now Rose only falls into a brief silence after recalling that painful memory.

There were no other extra reactions; it remained in a materialistic state without revealing the slightest flaw.

Furthermore, Rose is able to quickly adjust her own emotions.

Because we've seen this kind of situation far too often, whether it's the social realities in slums or the lines of some magical books.

Now I understand why in many Cthulhu novels that Rose read in her previous life, knowledge was considered corrupted and could cause irreversible changes to a person's mind.

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