Above the mage

Chapter 140 The Unaware Genius

The light in the Rune Workshop remained constant, making one completely unaware of the passage of time.

Gaode made four attempts, succeeding on the first three attempts after failing the first.

Looking at the complex basic rune "Gathering Magic" that he had drawn on the magic paper, Gao De's eyes lit up slightly.

Light flows within these intricate lines, gathering the wandering magic of heaven and earth at a steady but slow pace.

Gao De watched this scene with admiration.

He felt an indescribable sense of beauty: just some cold lines, deconstructed and recombined within the knowledge system of rune literature, could transform into such an inexplicable magical power.

The last time I experienced this kind of beauty was in mathematics: some cold numbers and symbols, when combined, can become a harmonious and beautiful formula that expresses extremely complex concepts and rules.

It was this aesthetic appeal that made Gaode fall in love with mathematics.

Gao De originally thought that there was no other subject in the world as "beautiful" as mathematics.

Now, in another different world, Gaode has finally encountered the second "mathematics" subject that he thought would never exist.

After experiencing the beauty and awe of the runes, Gao De was filled with surprise and delight.

He was delighted to see the prey.

In Gao De's eyes, the rigid level zero basic rune "Gathering Magic" on the magic paper was so vivid, as if it could come to life at any moment.

Gao De put the four magic papers aside and opened the "Introduction to Runes" document again.

The second level zero basic rune recorded above is called "Restriction". Its function is that the system will only operate if magic power passes through all the "Restriction" runes in the system (which can be a composite rune or a magic circle).

If any of the "restriction" runes malfunctions or there is no magic flowing through, the system will not function.

The third level zero basic rune is called "Permission". If there are multiple "Permission" runes in a system, the system can function normally as long as one "Permission" rune has magic passing through it.

The fifth level zero basic rune is called "Connection". Its function is to act as a bridge to connect basic runes that are not compatible with each other, so as to form compound runes.

The last level 0 basic rune is "Spread," which spreads the effect of a basic rune to other systems.

After successfully drawing the last "diffusion" rune on the magic paper, Gao De rubbed his slightly sore eyes with a sigh of relief.

He found that not only were his eyes sore, but his wrists were also trembling slightly.

At this moment, Gao Decai suddenly came to his senses and realized that he was starving.

The already limited magical power within him nearly dried up during the process of drawing runes.

He was startled and quickly took out his pocket watch. When he looked at the time, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon.

In other words, he stood there for nearly eight hours without stopping or resting for a single moment.

Gao De opened his mouth, somewhat helplessly.

This has always been his "bad habit":

Once he gets into a problem-solving mindset, he becomes completely absorbed, oblivious to the flow of things around him, and even unaware of the passage of time, entering a state of "obsession".

Without external intervention, he will not "recover" from this state until he has solved all the problems in his hands.

In other people's eyes, this is called focus.

However, being too focused can sometimes cause problems.

For example, when he first encountered math olympiad problems in elementary school, he was stumped by the last challenging problem. He racked his brains and even broke out in a cold sweat.

Just like Gaode's mother, who waited at home for a long time for her son to come home from school, and then searched the streets for two or three hours before finally finding him in a dimly lit classroom, still engrossed in the final question.

Seeing his mother, who was also covered in cold sweat, Gao De realized for the first time that sometimes he also had to learn to control and suppress his focus.

But if a problem could be so easily overcome, it wouldn't be a problem.

The problems are all stubborn.

For example, right now, if he's not careful, he'll fall into that state of complete absorption in his surroundings again.

"damn it!"

Gao De's personality meant that he would not be deterred by the tedious process of memorizing and copying runes, and he would rarely swear.

He wiped the sweat that had somehow seeped onto his forehead, but couldn't help muttering a rare swear word to himself.

Of course, it's not about swearing, but at this moment, only profanity can most concisely and powerfully express my inner emotions.

No wonder it's said that rune literature has the highest threshold; just one "assignment" took him so much time, energy, and effort to barely complete.

The thought that all rune masters had gone through this process filled Gao De with a sense of awe and wonder.

He felt a sense of awe and reverence for the rune masters, but also a sense of frustration he had never experienced before.

However, Gao De did not wallow in self-pity, but silently accepted the fact that his aptitude for learning runes was not particularly outstanding.

Although in his life before coming into this world, Gao De was praised as a genius by others more than once.

He had a sense of ease and mastery in all subjects during his student years.

Learning has always been a very simple thing for him.

Very occasionally, he would think he was a genius.

For example, when you find a math formula that you once thought of while daydreaming during a break a few years ago, you see it in your current classroom.

However, Gaode does not arrogantly believe that this learning talent, which exists in a technologically advanced world, can also be applied in a world with an extraordinary system.

Everyone has their strengths. Since you are good at "mathematics", you won't be good at other fields.

However, this did not affect Gaode's decision to continue learning "Spellbook".

He really liked the beauty of runes.

Despite his hunger and exhaustion, Gao De diligently organized his "homework" and neatly stacked it next to the documents.

This is left for possible review by the mentor, Jose.

After doing all this, he silently turned around and prepared to leave.

Before leaving the rune workshop, he glanced once more at the small inner room where Hosie Oakenley was.

The door remained tightly shut.

It's also possible that it was opened, but you were so engrossed in your homework that you didn't notice?

This is not important.

The important thing is that he was very hungry and needed to go eat quickly!

Gaode left, and the workspace remained quiet.

After some time, He west, looking slightly pale and tired, opened the door of his "laboratory" and came out.

Even though he was already a third-ring mage, his energy and physical strength were far more vigorous than that of ordinary people, no matter how old he was.

However, the work he did was simply too exhausting.

Therefore, fatigue is inevitable.

However, amidst the exhaustion, there was also a hint of satisfaction.

This kind of satisfaction is hard to describe in ordinary language; only an ancient saying from Gaode's past life can accurately summarize it: "To hear the Way in the morning."

He habitually walked to the worktable and habitually tidied it up.

Then, he suddenly remembered that he had brought some introductory materials that he had compiled to the student named "Gaode" today.

"I wonder how he fared." The old man's mutterings abruptly stopped.

He saw a small stack of magic papers neatly arranged on the workbench, with basic runes drawn on them.

Compared to yesterday, this time He west's pupils did not dilate, but rather suddenly contracted.

He picked up Gaode's "homework" and carefully looked through each page.

For a high-level runemaster who has been immersed in runic literature for hundreds of years, this simple basic rune text should not have much to offer.

But at this moment, He west's eyes were filled with amazement, as if he were admiring some work of art.

"damn it"

Older people tend to swear less.

So even when he says the word "fuck," his tone is serious, his intonation is steady, and his pronunciation is clear and accurate.

It didn't sound like swearing at all.

And it's definitely not swearing.

The old man simply needed these three words to express his inner emotions.

After reading the "homework" left by Gaode, he seemed to be more excited.

Hosie put down the stack of magic papers in his hand and quietly added after "damn it":

"That's truly a genius."

(End of this chapter)