Does This World Still Follow Science?

It was an inexplicable, profoundly mysterious tremor.

Downs did not open his eyes. Following the sensation that seemed to come from nowhere, he turned his head and "looked" toward the pitch-black ceiling.

What entered his Sea of Consciousness was a world he had never encountered before.

The sky was no longer the sky, and the earth was no longer the earth.

Everything between heaven and earth seemed to have been broken apart, becoming the most primitive, tiniest components.

Gradually, everything in the world sank into silence, leaving behind only one sound...

If Lein were to lift his disciple's eyelids at that moment, he would be astonished to see that Downs's eyes were crystal clear, with only faint electric light dancing nimbly within his pupils.

Downs continued spreading his senses. In his daze, he felt that the magic described by bards seemed somewhat different from what his master had spoken of.

His master's [science] was newer and better!

All that surfaced in his mind was his master's towering figure from that evening.

This was the shadow he had always pursued!

Downs did not hesitate!

He knew he had to seize it—seize that tiny, sole fragment of lightning's power.

At some point, he had already risen to his feet.

Like a traveler about to die of thirst in the desert, he reached toward the last illusion in his heart, even if it was likely an... unreachable mirage!

Closer!

Ever closer!

He could faintly hear the hum of lightning.

Downs grew more and more excited. The air was filled with a scent called "legend." It felt as though he was about to enter the arcane halls of ancient mages, where the Holy Statue of the Goddess of Magic stood above, watching him with a profound and kindly gaze, encouraging him.

Downs's excitement reached its peak. He stretched out both hands from afar and pressed them against that lightning pulse...

In the dead of night, Lein had been tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

The system had told him to take on a disciple, and he had done so. But it felt like having to teach an elementary school brat every 1GB porn torrent and all 1,024 website addresses stored on his hard drive. Lein was filled with guilt.

Downs was far too innocent. Lein had never even considered the possibility that he might deceive his master or betray his sect.

Just as Lein was drifting in and out of sleep, he suddenly heard a strange sound.

How should he put it?

It was like someone had gotten a foul-smelling slipper stuck in their throat and could not even cry out.

Lein did not want to use such a wondrous metaphor, but it was the closest sound he could think of.

The moment he opened his eyes—

Good grief!

The sight before him left Lein completely dumbfounded.

What he saw was practically the legendary scene of "lightning in the left hand, fire in the right—Thunder Lord, aid me!"

Lein had never imagined that this idiot Downs would go touch the electrical switch in the middle of the night.

Wasn't that just asking to die?!

The Copper Wire Lein had twisted by hand was uneven, and there was no way this lousy valley had plastic, rubber, or other insulators just lying around. To keep himself from being electrocuted while setting up the wiring, Lein had at least covered the wires with an uneven layer of glass for insulation.

Meanwhile, a waterwheel generator was not something that could simply be stopped whenever he wanted. The waterwheel was connected to a magnetic rotor; as long as it kept spinning, it kept generating electricity.

Lein had merely used the Guillotine Switch he had hammered together himself to cut off the power.

For safety, he had deliberately installed the guillotine switch two meters off the ground, where it was impossible to touch under normal circumstances.

Yet that brat had touched the switch—and with both hands, no less, grabbing the two ends of the Guillotine Switch...

"Grass!" Lein cried out in alarm. On instinct, he threw the Physics Holy Sword—a crowbar—he kept beneath his pillow for self-defense.

The blow raised a lump on his Wicked Disciple's shoulder, but the force at least knocked both his hands away from the electrical switch.

"Damn it! What are you doing?!" Lein grabbed the still-twitching disciple by the collar and cursed at him.

"Mas... ter..." Downs's mouth was numb as he replied with a shiver, "I was sensing the mysteries of lightning..."

"..."

At that moment, Lein's silence was deafening.

Tell him, was that not electricity?

Without a disciple, he could not activate the system, and not teaching for even a day made Lein feel awful. Now that he had a disciple, teaching him made him feel awful for the entire day.

Fortunately, the waterwheel generator he had tinkered together was not a professional generator from before his transmigration. With a stream flowing at this speed, producing 220 volts and more than ten amps would not have been difficult.

This hand-built generator was probably not much higher than safe voltage.

Otherwise, something really would have happened!

No matter how he looked at it now, he was sprinting full speed down the irreversible road of [Never Tire of Destruction]!

By the moonlight streaming through the window, Downs saw Lein's face, black as the bottom of a pot, and hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry! Master... I... I shouldn't have touched Master's lightning artifact!"

Lein was utterly embarrassed. "No. This is just an ordinary lighting tool for daily use. As long as you use it 'scientifically,' nothing will happen."

Downs's heart was instantly filled with warmth, and tears even burst from his eyes:

I recklessly touched Master's ultimate artifact, yet he did not scold me. He even deliberately said it was just an ordinary household item. If it had been a stricter knight, I would at least have gotten a whipping. Woo woo woo! Master is such a typical good man—hard-mouthed but soft-hearted!

No!

Wait!

I need to learn about "scientific" things before touching them. Does that mean I can keep trying things that are "unscientific" right now?

Lein had no idea that his precious disciple had misunderstood yet again. He carefully examined the disciple's body.

If something serious had happened, Downs would have long since been electrocuted into cardiopulmonary arrest, perhaps even with his heart pierced through by high-voltage current.

Since he could still talk, it was probably nothing serious.

"Mm, your fingernails are black, and you have a little external injury. Nothing major. If something had happened to you, I'd already be giving you CPR. Sigh. Downs, don't overthink it. We'll talk tomorrow morning."

"Understood, Master!"

By tomorrow morning, it'll be too late. Master must think my aptitude is too poor and be trying to find a way to send me away.

Downs decided to admit his mistake. There was no need to wait until next time—he would continue now.

He lay back down on the wooden bed, folded his hands together, and gently pressed them down over his lower abdomen.

Very quickly, by recalling the feeling of Electric Current passing through his body, he entered that mysterious state once again.

Before he knew it, he released his hands. His left and right hands curled loosely in the air, each pair of fingertips facing one another.

There was nothing in his hands, yet he felt a tingling force extending from between the five pairs of fingertips, intertwining with itself.

"Bzzz—"

Downs felt his heart give a tiny jolt.

A ripple known as [Wind Element] spread through the valley, which was filled with active elements, radiating in every direction.

At that moment, Lein, who had not yet fallen asleep, abruptly sat up.

He sharply sensed that some kind of power seemed to be forming a connection with the boy in the opposite bed.

In the void, it seemed as though the voices of magic apprentices in the legendary mage sanctuaries echoed in unison as they recited Spells.

There was light in the dark room.

Lein's eyes widened as he discovered numerous nimble Electric Serpents dancing between Downs's ten fingers, which were held above his lower abdomen.

At that very moment, it was exactly like that afternoon, when someone had been fooling around with a Tesla coil.

"Grass!"

Did this world still follow science?