Chapter 461 — The Act of Defiance

The pure magical energy flowing through the Magic Web was a convenient and versatile power source, but precisely because it was too "versatile," it could not power divine-type rune systems. Divine-type rune systems could accept only two kinds of energy: one was the corresponding divine magic (such as the Holy Light energy stored in holy light crystals), and the other was magic regulated by human spiritual power (the magic of priests and other clergy, or of other extraordinary beings). The pure magical energy of the Magic Web had not been processed by the factor of "human," and was therefore plainly unsuitable.

Thus, if one wished to charge divine-type runes with the Magic Web, one had to use the "inverter array" technology Pi Yun had developed: the inverter array could take the place of the "praying person" and process the pure magical energy.

The inverter array was a mature technology, already widely applied in alchemical factories—but it was also a dangerous technology: it was stealing the authority of the gods.

When the inverter array first appeared, Gao Yang had issued an order: at the present stage, the technology was permitted only in the field of druidic magic—because the druids' god, Amon the Giant Stag, had been confirmed dead, and his divine corpse was suppressed in the Shadow Realm. Even if the inverter array stole natural divinity, there was no risk of triggering divine punishment. But powering other divine magic with the inverter array was another matter.

The other gods were all still alive—and not merely alive; they could even call their believers back (answer prayers)...

Though Gao Yang knew that all the gods had died once, every sign indicated that those slain in ancient times by the Zenith people had already revived. At the very least, something was now sitting upon the throne of the God of Holy Light. Frankly speaking, Gao Yang truly did not wish, at this stage, to draw the attention of any god upon any throne...

Amber, too, had realized the danger of this inverter array business. She fell into a tangle of worry along with Gao Yang, and after agonizing for a long while, she said with little conviction: "Just steal a little... what if the God of Holy Light doesn't notice?"

Gao Yang shot her a glare: "Your occupational habit is acting up, isn't it—what do you mean, steal a little? Do you think you're picking someone's pocket in a tavern?"

Amber shrank her neck: "I was just saying it, can't I even say it..."

"The inverter array retains a great many rune structures that simulate divine magic, and these structures cannot be removed. They are very likely to draw the attention of 'the gods.' But on the other hand, throughout the entire process—the Magic Web that supplies energy, the inverter array that converts it, the rune substrate that releases the divine magic—none of these three units involves any 'mind.' All a person does is pull the rune trigger. So in theory, this process can still bypass the judgment of 'divine punishment,'" Camille said, laying out his considerations. "The only thing we cannot now determine is..."

Gao Yang spoke as soon as Camille finished: "We cannot determine whether, under the premise that the entire casting process is fully automatic and involves no Mind Brand, 'divine punishment' will still occur; nor whether the act of 'pulling the trigger' also introduces the human 'mental factor' into the casting process, and whether this might indirectly bring about 'divine punishment.' Is that it?"

"Everything is precisely as you say," the light upon Camille flickered faintly. "Though a person only pulls the rune trigger to connect the system, the simple act of pulling a trigger... is also driven by thought."

Gao Yang furrowed his brows and could not help murmuring to himself: "Could it be related to the observer effect... the observer effect of the macroscopic world?"

Camille had not caught it clearly: "What did you say?"

"No, it's nothing," Gao Yang waved a hand. "I don't believe 'pulling the trigger' should count as part of the casting process, because within the system formed by the arcane net and the rune substrate, the casting process is a closed loop. When a person operates it from the outside, their spiritual power resonates with no magic at all—and whether spiritual power takes part is a crucial marker of the casting process. Of course, that is only my personal view; as for how it actually works... we must design an experiment to verify it."

Kamael nodded. "Devising such an experiment is not difficult. The difficulty is how to guarantee the safety of the process—we may draw the attention of a deity, and that price is too great. We must eliminate the hidden danger."

Gao Yang looked into Kamael's eyes—or rather, at the two masses of arcane radiance that should have been his eyes. "What do you have in mind?"

Kamael was silent a moment, then said, slowly and firmly, "I request permission to reactivate some of the laboratories in the Defiance Fortress."

Gao Yang did not answer him directly, but asked a question of his own. "Are any still usable?"

"The laboratories in the outer fortress zone are all destroyed, the defense systems entirely offline, but those inside the Defiance Bastion... they can still be used!"