Chapter 102 - 29: A Long Experiment

Chapter 102: Chapter 29: A Long Experiment

There’s a well-known saying.

Practice is the only standard for testing truth.

The same was true for verifying the correctness of a Spell.

Theoretically analyzing it a hundred times couldn’t compare to having someone try it once—the only difference being that the latter was far riskier than the former.

But Lilia could reload, so this risk was completely negligible to her.

Of course, there was no way Victor would agree to her plan.

Any number of accidents could occur during the attempt. Perhaps the moment the Spell was chanted, one’s body or spirit would be shattered by the powerful impact. Even if Lilia truly understood Time Magic, it didn’t mean she was guaranteed to be safe.

If someone had to try, it could only be him. He could never give such a dangerous task to Lilia.

However.

Through experimentation, they learned that the Magic recorded in the manuscript had very high requirements for Elemental Affinity. Victor was already a once-in-a-century genius, but even he was unable to cast it successfully.

The task could only fall to Lilia.

Of course, Victor could choose to temporarily halt his research and find another genius with "extremely high" Elemental Affinity to be his guinea pig. But for one, such a genius wasn’t easy to find. Even if he did, they would likely be born into a powerful and influential family, with no reason to risk their life for his experiment just because he asked.

For another... the experiment was extremely dangerous; there was a very real chance of dying mid-attempt. To fully comprehend this manuscript, one either needed incredible luck or a sufficient number of magical geniuses to test it.

Either option was practically a fantasy.

"So, it has to be me."

Lilia rolled up her sleeves. Far from being afraid, she was actually eager to try.

’These were Magic Spells left by a Demon Lord; every single one was priceless.’

’As long as I keep reloading, I can learn so many High-level Magic Spells. Plus, I can earn the guilt and affection of my conquest target, and maybe even get a key clue to unlock his personal story quest.’

’The only risk is that the Spells might be unsafe. Any mistake could lead to my death.’

’So what if I die?’

’It’s not like I haven’t died before.’

’Besides, I don’t even need to worry about Victor’s concern that I might not be able to activate my Time Magic instantly. Even if my consciousness returns to the System Space, I can still reload and come back.’

’Why wouldn’t I do something that’s all gain and no loss?’

’Even if Victor tries to stop me, I’m still going to do it!’

Of course, Victor couldn’t dissuade Lilia.

Just as she said, it was better for them to do it together than for her to try haphazardly on her own. With him watching over her, it might be a little safer.

Having no other choice, Victor could only compromise. He set up several layers of defensive measures around Lilia and told her to immediately activate "Retrospect" the moment she sensed any abnormal Magic Power fluctuations. He would also react at the first possible moment.

All preparations were complete.

Lilia officially began the experiment.

As it turned out, they had thought a little too poorly of the Demon Lord.

When the Spell was fully chanted, the world-destroying magical effect they anticipated didn’t occur. Instead, it was as if nothing had happened at all—so peaceful that Lilia thought Victor’s deduction must have been wrong.

But.

The next second.

The manuscript page recording that Spell suddenly shattered, as if they had finally eliminated an incorrect option.

The two of them huddled together to study it and discovered that the manuscript was no simple copy. When the scribe recorded these Spells, they must have, either actively or passively, infused some Magic Power into it, or perhaps used Extraordinary Materials.

In short, the Magic Power within it resonated with the text. Once someone chanted the Spell correctly, the page would automatically shatter.

After realizing this, things became much simpler—

Since most of the Spells were Blinding Techniques, with only one or a few hiding key information, their next task was to find those few crucial Spells.

Through continuous experimentation, Lilia discovered that although the Spells had no special effects, they were exceptionally draining to use.

It was like that even for her, with her extremely high Elemental Affinity. No wonder Victor had never succeeded.

Furthermore, since Victor refused to let Lilia take any risks, he would only let her attempt a Spell after he had worked through its theoretical principles and was certain his deduction was correct.

As a result, their verification speed was drastically slowed. It took a minimum of four or five days, and as long as half a month or even a full month, to completely rule out a single Spell.

And so, it went on.

Winter gave way to spring.

Half a year passed quickly.

Thanks to Victor’s meticulousness, Lilia had successfully eliminated Spells until only two remained, all without having to reload even once.

Victor had repeatedly analyzed both of these Spells, and from a theoretical perspective, there shouldn’t be any problems.

Lilia stood in the library, silently committing the two Spells to memory.

Over the past six months, she studied magic theory with Veronica and the others by day and received private tutoring from Victor by night. Coupled with her "Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence" talent, Lilia’s abilities skyrocketed. She even gained Free Attribute Points on three separate occasions, which she used to max out her Intelligence before putting the remaining five points into [Constitution]. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Not long ago, Victor gave the several Princes and Princesses a small test.

The results proved that Lilia’s abilities completely crushed Veronica’s in every aspect. In other words, she had already reached the level of a Fourth Rank or even Fifth Rank Mage.

For the current Lilia, casting these Spells was child’s play.

"Only two are left. I guess it’s a fifty-fifty choice now."

After memorizing the Spells, Lilia looked at Victor, who stood before her. "Looks like we’ll have our answer tonight."

Victor nodded lightly.

His expression was more serious than during any previous experiment.

The closer they got to the end, the less they could afford to lower their guard.

Demons were known for their cunning. Just because the previous Spells weren’t dangerous didn’t mean the final one, the one that held the secret, was guaranteed to be safe.

As usual, Victor reminded Lilia of a few things. After she acknowledged him, she began the long chant.

The beautiful and rhythmic Spell flowed from the girl’s lips.

From the moment she began to speak, Victor’s nerves were stretched taut.

As the final word of the Spell fell, he keenly caught a nearly imperceptible fluctuation of Magic Power, so faint he almost thought it was his imagination.

The fluctuation vanished in a flash. Immediately after, the manuscript page in his hand shattered, turning into snowflake-like crystals that dissipated into the air.

"Another wrong option eliminated."

Lilia let out a soft breath. "There’s only one left..."

Without a doubt.

It was the right answer they had been looking for.