Deciphering Mysticism

A year ago, Li Mo enrolled at Wellington Higher Truth Academy.

The first thing the instructor said at the opening ceremony was:

"Please remember this: we know nothing about mysticism..."

The instructor wore a black robe that concealed his face, and all Li Mo could tell was that his voice sounded exceptionally serious.

Over the following year of study, the academy's curriculum bore this out.

Li Mo had several required courses.

The first was [Mystical Artifacts].

The firestone used in place of matches was one such mystical artifact.

Most mystical artifacts were natural, and only a small number could be synthesized.

Then there was [Mystical Rituals].

This was the most important part of mysticism.

Rituals came in all varieties, with little logic to them.

Some rituals were very practical.

For example, lying curled up on one's side in a specific position and breathing in a pattern of three long breaths and one short one could put a person to sleep within minutes.

Others were more abstract.

For example, slapping oneself ten times in succession could briefly block the sensation of pain.

Or one could smear specially prepared chili oil all over the body and then streak for a kilometer at midnight to trigger a physical breakthrough...

Or eat XX and XX in order to XXXXX...

In short, anything imaginable was possible.

Discovering rituals basically came down to one thing: luck!

Wellington Academy had dedicated [Ritual Developers].

They spent their days conducting all sorts of experiments, relying primarily on exhaustive trial and error.

Students went out of their way to avoid them.

They were afraid the developers might suddenly make them part of their play and inexplicably use them to test some new ritual...

Mystical rituals had another important characteristic: they varied from person to person.

The same ritual might work for one person but do nothing for another, or even backfire on them.

How many rituals a person could master depended entirely on their individual talent.

This was what was known as [Mysticism Perception].

The stronger a person's Mysticism Perception, the more rituals they were compatible with; their instinctive sense for seeking benefits and avoiding harm when learning new rituals also improved considerably.

Without exception, the kingdom's very best ritual developers all had exceptionally high Mysticism Perception.

Because the kinds of rituals each person could adapt to differed,

the field of mysticism developed different specialties on that basis, which in turn gave rise to various professions.

During their first year, all new students studied the same basic theory.

According to the academy's plan, students would not be formally assigned professions and begin specialized study until their second year, based on the kinds of rituals they were suited to.

Unfortunately, Li Mo's Mysticism Perception had vanished before he could make it to the second-year profession assignment...

Thinking back on everything he had seen and learned over the past year,

Li Mo fully understood what the instructor had said at the start of the school year.

Humanity's understanding of mysticism was one enormous black box.

Scholars merely worked backward from results and empirical observations.

Perform action A and obtain result B, then record it.

No one could explain why those actions produced those effects.

How was the energy converted in the process? What was the mechanism?

Li Mo had originally accepted this black-box theory too.

But now, things had changed somewhat...

While in the [Focus] state,

Li Mo stared at the firestone.

In his field of vision,

something had abruptly appeared...

Something that had been invisible before.

There were many faint threads.

They formed something like a spiderweb,

enveloping the firestone.

The firestone

seemed to be using this web

to slowly absorb some kind of energy into its crystalline structure.

Li Mo was surprised and very curious.

He took out the firestone

and decided to conduct an experiment.

He pinched the crystal

and rubbed it gently as he remembered doing.

Soon,

a small flame sprang up at its tip.

At that moment,

Li Mo noticed-

the threads seemed to have dimmed a little.

When he released it, the flame vanished.

Rubbing the crystal again lit it.

He repeated the process over and over.

As he continued, the threads grew fainter and the flame grew smaller.

There was clearly a positive correlation between the two.

Interesting...

Li Mo recalled the history of science on Earth.

Scientists had once suspected that an invisible medium called ether existed in the air, explaining the propagation of light.

Ether was later proven not to exist, and physicists went on to propose the hypotheses of dark matter and dark energy.

Could these threads in the air be this world's "dark energy"?

He had a feeling

that the underlying logic of mysticism was closely tied to these threads.

Where do the threads lead? What is the source of this energy?

Interesting. So interesting...

If I figure this out, will mysticism cease to be mysterious?

Could it become a science that can be calculated, quantified, and put to industrial use?

Li Mo's eyes felt a little dry.

He blinked and was forced out of the Focus state.

Sure enough,

once he left that state, he could no longer see the threads.

He let out a breath, put the firestone back in its box, and said to his father with a hint of excitement:

"Dad, I need more mystical artifacts. The more the better, and preferably different kinds. Why don't we bring up everything we have in stock?"

His father did not dare answer.

Mystical artifacts were expensive...

The firestone's function was simple, but a single one still cost a full five gold pounds.

You used it up in a few minutes. Did you ask its opinion?

Li En's heart ached.

Still, considering that his son could not handle any shocks at the moment, he did his best to speak gently. "Son, that stuff is very expensive."

Li Mo immediately realized he had been inconsiderate.

Although his family was well-off by Mondel Town's standards, it certainly could not afford to spend money like that.

I need to make money first.

The family's main asset was the Li family spinning mill, near the riverbank at the southern end of town.

Although steam engines were already widespread in this world, power transmission was not very efficient.

The spinning machines used in factories still retained a great many cumbersome mechanical components.

The flying shuttles tended to jam as they moved back and forth.

Yarn breakage rates were also high.

And in the history of Earth's Industrial Revolution,

the textile industry had been among the first to achieve technological breakthroughs and complete the primitive accumulation of capital.

From the spinning jenny to the water frame, and later the spinning mule,

every improvement had brought a tenfold or even several dozenfold leap in output.

All he had to do was make crucial structural improvements to the existing textile machinery, increase transmission efficiency, and reduce yarn breakage.

That would double the Li family spinning mill's production capacity in a short time.

Then he could take a portion of the extra money his family earned for his experiments with a clear conscience.

Li Mo made up his mind at once. "Dad, do you have time this afternoon? Could you take me to the spinning mill?"

"Hm?" Li En looked puzzled. "What do you want to go to the mill for? It's dirty and noisy over there. It won't be good for your recovery."

"Let's go. I just had a little idea pop into my head, and I want to try it out."