Wizards pursue the truth

Chapter 53 [53] Rules for Reversing Abnormal Items

The night was as dark as a curtain, yet the flames painted the darkness with a glow as bright as day. These were special fireworks, set off at the docks of the Vast Sea Wizard City. The ordinary laborers, for once, wore smiles, filled with anticipation for the future.

The great ships that sailed the endless seas brought the joy of a bountiful harvest, which was also the annual harvest festival. However, Wang Ya, as a newly minted wizard, was destined to never see the grand spectacle of the hunting fleet in the Dark Lands.

His fair cheeks reflected various hues as he silently closed the window of the mansion room. The large bed was sprayed with perfume, a light, subtle scent rather than a strong fragrance. On the blank desk sat a gold pocket watch; upon closer inspection, the engravings were not particularly intricate, indicating that even in the mortal world, such a pocket watch would not be of high value.

Wang Ya gave up a bottle of healing potion, and everyone thought the two were not worth the same. They were even laughing at Wang Ya.

After all, it's just an object belonging to an ordinary person. The value of precious gold lies in the refined gold essence, which, when added to the making of magical artifacts, acts as a neutralizing agent. It would take thousands of such pocket watches to refine it. But even then, it still wouldn't reach the value of a single bottle of healing potion.

However, Wang Ya believed it was an equal exchange. This was because the pocket watch was very special, even beyond his comprehension.

The pupils emitted a subtle blue shimmer.

[Target: A gold pocket watch]

[Details: An ordinary, unremarkable gold pocket watch for an ordinary person?]

[Note: This item lacks constant information; it exists in a state of flux, making it impossible to determine the true nature of the item or whether it is indeed a pocket watch.]

Wang Ya was stunned; this was the first time he'd encountered such a situation. The last time he felt this way was with the unknown medal inside the red metal ring, whose specific function and information he hadn't been able to find.

The only way to find out is probably by consulting that sealed diary. There are still ten days left to analyze it.

This gold pocket watch is definitely special; the Eye of Truth couldn't possibly be wrong. Wang Ya noticed the words "information uncertain" and "information variable."

Could a pocket watch, or something that isn't a pocket watch, transform into something else entirely?

The drape it provides is indistinguishable from that of ordinary metal. Opening the flip cover of the gold pocket watch reveals ordinary hands and minute hands, which are not moving, suggesting a problem with the mainspring. The inside of the cover could hold small items such as notes.

It was very ordinary, very ordinary. Wang Ya couldn't find anything special about it, let alone anything extraordinary.

I tried turning the minute hand, and with my keen senses, I instantly noticed something was wrong.

Are you kidding me?!

Wang Ya's eyes widened in horror, and he nearly dropped the gold pocket watch in his hand. There were some marks on the table—water stains from when he wiped it with a cloth.

He had clearly wiped it clean, but Wang Ya was startled by the water stains on the table. The unknown is the greatest terror. He didn't know if he had triggered something. This golden pocket watch... how could such a thing happen?

[Hint: An information variable has occurred; record one.]

Wang Ya touched the table with his finger; it looked very real, and the water stains were real too. His eyes flickered with uncertainty, and he then turned his gaze to the gold pocket watch in his hand.

It looked like an ordinary gold pocket watch, nothing out of the ordinary, with no extraordinary fluctuations whatsoever. He wasn't sure if it was caused by him turning the minute hand; if so, that would be terrifying.

It's simply an unreasonable thing.

He now has two choices: either continue turning the hour and minute hands, or close the gold pocket watch and press it deep inside the silver bracelet.

Wang Ya couldn't be sure; the consequences of the first choice were unknown, and it might even harbor great danger.

The best option is to seal it away for now; things you don't understand, you can touch upon them when you can understand them.

But his inner curiosity made him want to choose the first one.

After washing his face in the restroom, Wang Ya was calm and rational.

He didn't inject any particle energy, and there's no reason why the old man wouldn't touch the gold pocket watch; he must have tried to repair and adjust it. After such a long time, didn't he discover anything special?

There must be something crucial here. Either rotating the minute hand poses no danger, or...

[Target: Wang Ya]

[Scan complete: Condition is good, no negative aspects detected.]

This is too strange. There's always a trade-off between gain and loss in accomplishing anything; that's the natural order. There's no reason for someone to have seemingly used the power of this mysterious pocket watch without paying a price!

For a moment, Wang Ya's mind was filled with wild ideas, and he thought of strange and unusual prices such as luck, lifespan, and soul.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and used the pocket watch again, adjusting the hour and minute hands back to their original positions.

The pupils scanned the room, trying to spot any differences or changes, but found nothing.

He frowned and spent about an hour adjusting it.

Wang Ya's pupils contracted. The table had changed; instead of the original table, a book had appeared on it—the book of witchcraft, "Stable State of Particle Energy," which he had previously perused.

He silently used his mental energy to examine the silver bracelet, and sure enough, this book was missing.

It's completely baffling. It's like defying the rules of reality. How exactly is this witchcraft placed on the table, and in what form?

Wang Ya didn't understand; his mind was a complete mess, and he felt that even his extraordinary knowledge and understanding had become chaotic.

"Information variables." He pondered, seemingly struck by a realization. Could it be that the given information variables were not certain enough, leading to random changes in the target?

[Hint: Information variable two, test begins.]

Wang Ya held a quill pen in his hand and wrote a lot of words on the draft book. Then he tore off that page and tucked it into the lid's compartment.

Rotate the hour and minute hands.

He saw the book of [Particle Energy Stable State] in the silver bracelet.

Suddenly, I understood the special nature of this gold pocket watch and why the old man hadn't noticed it. Change, if not given a definite target, will be random; it could be an object or a person.

Such changes are too subtle to be noticed without keen observation.

I wrote my information down, inserted it, and found that I couldn't rotate it forward, only backward. After a moment of confusion, I found myself in the doorway of the room. The time was right.

Wang Ya took a deep breath, his emotions surging to the extreme. This golden pocket watch was incredible. It was as if he had been walking down the street an hour ago, and now, turning it back an hour would allow him to appear directly on that street.

However, some limitations were also discovered during testing.

The time frame is limited to 24 hours, and this past can only be a definite information target. This past does not interact with the present past; it's like a rule independent of the rules of reality, forcibly altered.

Fire is water, which shouldn't be true, but it becomes true under the influence of an object like a gold pocket watch.

If used well, it will be Wang Ya's biggest trump card.

The only drawback is that seemingly definite goals can only be rotated once a day. Uncertain goals can only be rotated three to five times a day.

This is the result Wang Ya obtained after testing it the next day.

Finally, Wang Ya gave the gold pocket watch a new name: "Abnormal Item." It was the most abnormal thing, and the most abnormal thing that could be realized.

He took out the Nightmare Flower from the silver bracelet. Under the warm light, it shimmered with a hazy color, with a faint ripple of light, as if it might fall apart at any moment.

Those who take it experience a dreamlike state, a nightmare unlike any they've ever had before.

If you can get through this, you will improve your mental strength significantly.

Wang Ya aimed directly at the Nightmare Flower and inhaled deeply. The scent released from the flower's stamens entered his respiratory tract, causing a profound sense of dizziness, followed by the onset of a nightmare.

The expectation before taking it was to increase mental strength by at least 1 point.

Time passed, and the next day arrived.

(End of this chapter)