Questions and Answers

Although Gawain had put the crystal away again, he could still "see" the overhead view in his mind, like some kind of energy imaging. Soon, however, he found a way to close the image: as long as he consciously shifted his attention away from the overhead view and focused on something else, the image would disappear on its own. And the way to bring the image back was simple – just consciously call for it.

There was no need for the crystal's power in this process.

Some kind of "link" controlled by spirit and willpower seemed to have been established, and the crystal's role in this process was probably just like a key... or a catalyst.

Gawain sat behind his desk, looking at the questions he had written on paper, organizing his thoughts, and attempting to answer them.

Based on Gawain Cecil's memories, combined with what had just happened, it was now certain that the changes in the "sun" in the sky were directly related to the Magic Tide on the ground. Every time sunspots appeared on the sun's surface, magic power surged on the earth, and the elements became active. The so-called Dark Magic Tide was actually the instantaneous explosion of massive amounts of chaotic and disordered magic power, a process where Elemental Power went out of control like an avalanche and eroded the material world. As for the monsters that appeared in the Elemental Storm, their principles were not yet clear and could temporarily be regarded as a secondary phenomenon after elemental rampage.

Regarding sunspots and the phenomenon of magic power surging, the intelligent creatures of this world were no strangers to it. It was a natural phenomenon, not regular but not uncommon. Therefore, Gawain boldly hypothesized that the essence of the Magic Tide was actually the surge of magic power after crossing a certain "critical point." When the magic power amplification of this world reached a certain limit, the stable order of the elements would be broken, and thus the Magic Tide would erupt.

And what role did the sun play in this process?

Did the sunspots cause the magic power to surge? Or were the two not cause and effect, but two phenomena of the same event?

Gawain thought for a moment and added a small question on paper: What is the essence of the sun?

It was a gas giant, that much seemed certain—at least that's how the "monitoring information" described it. However, it was clearly very different in nature from the gas giants Gawain knew.

The gas giants in Gawain's home world were not celestial bodies that emitted light and heat. Although they were usually filled with massive amounts of nuclear fuel and released a certain intensity of energy radiation, because they had not reached the critical point for fusion, these giant planets were "cold" like an unlit stove. But the "sun" in this world clearly provided light and heat to the earth.

So, was it "lit"? Or was it because the laws of the two worlds were different that it exhibited such special properties?

Gawain thought about it. He personally leaned more towards the second explanation because the sunspots and the surging magic power phenomena were all reminders that this world had physical rules completely different from his homeland. If he confined himself to rigid thinking, he would likely be making futile efforts when pondering problems.

There was another important reason why he ruled out the first guess: if the giant sun in the sky was truly a gas giant that had been ignited and was undergoing fusion reactions, then it could already be considered a star. The light and heat it released would definitely not be as little as it was now. Given its apparent disk area and its almost blue-white surface color, the heat it released should have been enough to burn the planet beneath his feet to ashes.

Gawain wrote his conclusion on the paper: The "sun" is a gas giant with special properties, and its activities affect the magic power on the surface, speculated to be some kind of catalytic energy radiation. The appearance of sunspots may indicate an increase in energy radiation, but the answer is uncertain due to the lack of effective detection methods.

So, the second question, what is a "monitoring satellite"?

It could be a research post left by some ancient civilization or some extraterrestrial visitors in the planet's orbit. The civilization that built it must have been extremely advanced, at least they were not afraid of the so-called Magic Tide—the satellite could even leisurely hang in space and watch the show when the Magic Tide erupted, which was enough to show a technological gap. And where is the civilization that left this (assuming only one satellite for now) observation post now?

Gawain considered that the satellite he had transmigrated through was already severely malfunctioning, and yet no after-sales service had shown up. This led him to boldly guess: the civilization that left the satellite either had "died" or had long since departed, and no longer paid attention to this place.

Of course, it was also possible that the big shots had too much money and were bored, treating a broken satellite like using a paper napkin, so no one came to check the situation. However, this possibility was very low, and Gawain didn't consider it much.

In any case, the satellite was almost "dead," and there were no maintenance personnel coming. It seemed that for the time being, he didn't have to worry about a super-civilization father beating up the children, which was good news—but Gawain then thought, if that super-civilization could help solve the Magic Tide problem and they weren't coming, then this was terrible news...

As for the satellite's functional positioning, it was probably used to monitor magic power fluctuations.

Gawain remembered the second type of overhead view he had seen before (he called the clear satellite views he had seen over many millennia the first type of overhead view). That view covered the entire land with various color filters, perhaps the varying shades of color represented magic power fluctuations, and the synchronized changes in those colors when the magic power surging phenomenon occurred could also support this guess. So, was the satellite actually an early warning device for the Magic Tide?

At least, "early warning" should be one of its functions.

However, the situation of this observation post was probably dire. No matter what instructions Gawain gave, he couldn't make any adjustments to those images. Moreover, the images were often plagued by severe interference patterns and jitters, all of which reminded him—the system was probably nearing its end.

So, there was only one question left: why did the ancient Gawain Cecil from seven hundred years ago leave behind such a crystal?

Gawain still couldn't figure out all the properties of this crystal, but at least he had verified that it could help him re-establish contact with a monitoring station in the sky. So, was this crystal useful to others?

If it was useful, what did Gawain Cecil of that year use it for? Did he also get a satellite view like himself?

Emmmmmm... Thinking about it, it seemed so logical. The reason why the most formidable Expansion Knight back then could lead a group of refugees through the Magic Tide and monsters, making a daring escape like extreme parkour and establishing a new kingdom, was mainly because he had a full map cheat...

But mere speculation wouldn't do; he had to test it himself.

Gawain held the intact crystal, pondering how to test it—this involved his secrets, so he couldn't just hand it over to anyone. Although for most people in this world, seeing an overhead view similar to thermal imaging would reveal nothing, he worried that there might be exceptionally intelligent individuals among the natives who could deduce some truth from those overhead views.

Therefore, he had to find someone reliable enough, someone he could ensure that even if they succeeded in testing it on the spot, nothing uncontrollable would happen.

Actually, Gawain's worries were a bit excessive here—with the worldview of most people in this world, they wouldn't have any concept of satellites becoming sentient and reincarnating. If they suddenly saw a world map through a crystal, the only thought they would have was probably, "This thing is a divine artifact, it comes with Eagle Eye skill at level 10,000"—but Gawain's thoughts hadn't yet synchronized with this world.

So, he pondered for a while, then slowly looked up at Miss Amber, who was standing by the desk, lost in thought.

The half-elf girl felt a chill run down her spine. She turned her head and saw Gawain's intense gaze, and goosebumps immediately rose on her skin: "What... what do you want?! You're finally showing your noble nature and planning to attack your guard, aren't you..."

This wouldn't do. She was disobedient, unreliable, and too cunning. Who knew what kind of chaos would ensue if she were to do the test.

Gawain quickly dismissed the idea. Just then, someone came in to report that Rebecca, who had gone out to survey the land, had returned.

Gawain's eyes lit up: "Quick, have her come over!"

Rebecca soon rushed into the tent. She had been running around outside all day, but she showed no signs of fatigue; instead, she seemed full of energy. She thought Gawain wanted a report, so as soon as she entered, she quickly said, "Ancestor! You probably wouldn't believe how much good land there is nearby—I thought the Dark Mountains were all barren and uncultivable, but following the map you gave me, I actually found..."

"It's okay, that can wait," Gawain waved his hand to interrupt Rebecca and handed her the crystal in his hand. "I have something for you to do."

He looked at his N+1 great-granddaughter with a smile, feeling that she was the complete opposite of Amber—

Obedient, reliable, and with a slightly cracked head.

Rebecca dazedly took the crystal Gawain handed her, unsure of her ancestor's command: "And then?"

Gawain thought carefully about how he had contacted the satellite and began to direct her from the side: "Now, imagine that very, very high up—higher than the clouds, there's something that can overlook the land. Now, try to establish a connection with that thing."

Rebecca blinked: "Oh, oh, you mean the Eye of Mystery?"

The Eye of Mystery was a term used by mages. They believed that everyone with the talent to master magic possessed a pair of eyes transcending themselves. These eyes floated above the entire world, immersed in the "Aether Sea," observing the essence of the world and the flow of magic for the mages. The quality of these eyes determined each mage's talent in their pursuit of mastery. Mages could not directly perceive these eyes, but their souls could subconsciously—the process of meditation was a process of communicating with these eyes.

Gawain was naturally not referring to this: "No, it's higher than the Eye of Mystery, and more specific—it's a tangible thing, like a magical artifact."

Rebecca tried hard, showing a slightly apologetic smile: "But I don't see anything?"

Then Gawain tried several other guiding methods, but the crystal in Rebecca's hand showed no reaction at all.

It seemed... the issue of Duke Gawain Cecil from seven hundred years ago having a full map cheat could not be confirmed.