Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 893 - 886: A Person Like Feng

Chapter 893: Chapter 886: A Person Like Feng

According to Tangmo’s description, the rune pattern on this door was somewhat similar to that of defense runes. The runes on the door were passive, and once they were invaded by an external force, the defense runes would be activated, which was why Hu Daoke couldn’t open this door no matter what.

In fact, breaking the runes on this door was very simple, you just needed to use a Kedal metal knife to adjust a few rune lines on the door, and this could invalidate the runes.

However, there was also a risk in doing so. As mentioned before, runes were not afraid of becoming invalid, but they feared disorder the most. No one knew what could happen with disordered runes; it was possible that a defense rune could instantly turn into an explosive rune.

So it was precisely because he was worried about the runes becoming disordered that Tangmo didn’t dare to try to decipher this rune directly. Instead, he wanted to change the type of rune through an external connection, turning it from a defense rune into another type of rune, allowing him to push the door open directly.

Tangmo remembered that when Hu Daoke tried to push the door, there was no disturbance in the air’s magic energy, so she deduced that the runes were most likely powered by a magic crystal. This discovery made her even more cautious because a slight mishap that led to rune disorder could result in the magic crystal-powered runes causing very terrible consequences.

In traditional methods of rune deciphering, external connection was the most commonly used method, whereas the seemingly easier method of direct modification of runes was rarely used. This was in part due to its danger, and partly due to regulations from the Church Court.

Generally speaking, most of the mages among the northern populace were graduates of the Magic Academy, and only a small number were self-taught. The Magic Academy advocated modifying the nature of existing runes by connecting external runes, so most mages did the same.

Of course, there were also those self-taught mavericks who insisted on using the dangerous method of direct modification to break runes. But as they say, nature selects, and those who chose to do this were mostly not tough enough, so after these people died, there were very few who continued to do so.

In the textbooks of the Magic Academy, there is a case specifically recorded to remind students of the dangers of rune disorder.

The case described a civilian mage who was modifying a magic array powered by a magic crystal. He modified it without deactivating the array and used the dangerous method of direct modification. The end result was rune disorder, which turned it into an explosive rune. Because it was powered by a large number of magic crystals, its power was comparable to a nuclear bomb.

According to the description in the book, two suns rose in the sky, followed by a huge mushroom cloud. Everything within five hundred meters of the magic array was leveled to the ground, meaning the power generated by this rune disorder was almost equivalent to a small nuclear bomb.

As for that mage, at the moment of the explosion, he turned into dust, and not even a trace of his remains could be found at the explosion site. The description in the book stated that he bathed in light and ultimately became light.

After dinner, Tangmo found a relatively flat and thin slab of stone to begin the process of breaking the runes.

In reality, breaking runes was akin to a hacker breaching a computer’s firewall. By connecting an external rune and changing the original rune’s magic energy circulation, it would become invalidated.

Magic power, flowing through different rune patterns, would produce different magical effects. These magical effects were all regular and could be calculated to find out, and Tangmo was one of those specialists who studied runes.

In fact, she could even be said to have a higher level of understanding of runes than her teacher, Zhuyan Yu. After all, Zhuyan Yu studied everything, including spells magic, rune magic, and so on, while Tangmo excelled specifically in rune magic, achieving beyond her teacher’s expertise.

Although Baiyue’s proficiency in rune magic was not as good as Tangmo’s, she was stronger in computational ability. Many of the effects of runes had to be calculated to find the answer, which was why the Magic Research Center had been making continuous breakthroughs in recent years. They could use a supercomputer to directly calculate and simulate the effects of runes and even create new runes.

Frankly speaking, the High-peak people’s gravity reversal runes were indeed rare, but the headquarters were not particularly eager to have them, because frankly, given enough time, the headquarters would sooner or later be able to analyze and calculate the operational pattern of the gravity reversal runes and even come up with new patterns.

In recent years, the attitude of the High-peak people towards the headquarters had changed significantly. They seemed to realize that the headquarters could create runes by themselves, so the value of their gravity reversal runes would only diminish over time. This was why they were willing to share a part of the gravity reversal runes, allowing the headquarters to produce super mobility devices.

According to the headquarters’ plans, once the Otherworld Gate was opened and they had established a base in Lipei, the headquarters would install a difference engine there to perform computational research in the field of magic.

Although the headquarters had made some breakthroughs with magic-powered computers, they would still require a significant amount of time to be fully operational, whereas the difference engine could be improved and operated using existing technology.

Of course, in such a remote wilderness, one could hardly dream of a supercomputer, let alone a differential machine. The only thing the advance team could rely on was Baiyue, whose calculating ability was exceptionally strong.

Baiyue carried a small abacus with her, and at this moment, she was briskly striking it, calculating the operational effects of the runes while she carefully drew the calculated rune patterns on paper.

Once the two of them started working, they paid no attention to day or night. On snowy nights, as long as the clouds did not obscure the moon, the overall brightness was quite high. With the additional light from a fire, visibility was assured.

It was only at times like these that Luo’er and the others would realize their helplessness deeply. It seemed the last time they felt this way was when Lipei was analyzing the Otherworld Gate.

Many times, the three men of the advance team did indeed play a very significant role; they charged into battle without flinching. But when it came to such in-depth research, they could pretty much only depend on Tangmo and others.

While Feng was a combat mage, she had learned a different branch of magic, not the orthodox magic of the Aels Continent, and therefore could not be of much help. With nothing else to do, she took out a carpet printed with runes and began to meditate while kneeling on it, at the same time absorbing magical energy from the air into her body.

"She..." Seeing Feng in meditation, Axia frowned, appearing hesitant to speak.

"She is also a mage, but she studies magic not from this world," Luo’er explained.

"Not from this world?" Axia stood there stunned.

"I should say it is magic not from this continent. She may come from another continent," Luo’er explained.

"Another continent..." Axia squinted at Feng, lost in thought.

"Do you have any questions?" Seeing her like this, Luo’er asked curiously.

"No, not from this world," Axia pursed her lips, then took a deep breath and said, "I seem to have met someone who also claims to be not from this continent. He seemed to be looking for someone, and after asking me for directions, he headed north."

"Not from this continent?" Luo’er blinked and asked, feeling like he might have asked a significant question.

"Yes," Axia nodded and said, "He looked strange. At first, I thought he was an Otherworlder, but it seems he could use magic, so, um..."

"You’ve seen Otherworlders?" Luo’er asked.

"Of course, I have participated in the Prophetic War," Axia said without avoiding her military experience.

Naturally, she must have participated in the second Otherworld War, because most of the Otherworlders from the first war had died on Earth.

Axia continued, her gaze shifting, then fixating on Feng and said, "He looked just like that girl, very petite with similarly dark hair."

"Could that person come from another continent just like Feng?" Ziang moved closer to Luo’er, asking with a frown.

Because of the Sea Leviathan, the Otherworlders of the Aels Continent had not launched any great navigational voyages by the time they made contact with the people of Earth. They were naturally unaware of whether there were other continents and peoples in this world.