Chapter 808 Two Inevitable Successful Choices
“Well… does this count as the Academy Head coming for an inspection? I didn’t expect Principal Serena Palizel to be interested in the experiment of Self-Generated Magic…”
I was equally shocked. Even Principal Mei didn’t come to this extent. However, despite her not being here in person, I certainly felt the concern coming from the Academy Head. Not to mention that this laboratory was approved by her; the concern she expressed when mentioning the topic of Self-Generated Magic was rather apparent.
She almost had the Extraordinary Witch help me with it.
But it was truly astonishing that the usually low-key Principal Serena Palizel suddenly showed up.
The last time I saw this Academy Head, she was taken away by that Betrayer Witch in the experimental area…
“To be precise, I’m very interested in you. From the initial prototype of the field, to the Great Knowledge Seed, and now to the Self-Generated Magic, you have repeatedly made me realize your value,” Serena stated bluntly, expressing her positive opinion without beating around the bush.
“This… about the Self-Generated Magic, this is also the result of everyone’s hard work. Their importance is equally…”
“There’s no need to be overly humble. It’s precisely because I also value this Self-Generated Magic promotion project that I came here,” Serena interrupted my excessive humility and shifted the topic back to the main point.
“My arrival shouldn’t affect your state, right? I’m just here as a spectator.”
“It’s fine, it doesn’t affect us,” I hurriedly responded.
However, it was clear that while I was fine, the others seemed more affected.
After all, it was their first time experiencing an experiment with the Academy Head observing.
Even though they were just on the sidelines observing data, integrating information, and maintaining data, etc.
If the Academy Head personally came to observe this experiment, it would indeed be an honor, wouldn’t it?
“My presence is unavoidable; I hope it won’t make you too nervous.” Serena could naturally see the impact she had on these students, and although she felt somewhat helpless, as she said, it was unavoidable.
So with a wave of her hand, she silently cast a spell.
I immediately sensed something unusual from the fluctuations of this spell, and soon I felt a calming force arise in my heart.
With my knowledge, I quickly recognized it as a rare mental spell. Although I wasn’t entirely clear on what kind of spell it was, its effect was certainly to soothe emotions.
But with my Heart Sense, I could easily resist this non-targeted spell effect, or rather, I didn’t even need this level of soothing.
“By the way, my presence here is due to a series of coincidences, so I came across something along the way. It’s meant for you; I’m just delivering it,” Principal Serena Palizel said as she took out a delicate small box and handed it over.
“Huh? For me?” I looked toward Principal Serena in confusion. As she passed it to me, I noticed a trace of Fortune Alchemy on it.
The moment I took it, it transformed into intangible fortune and dissipated.
“It seems like you know what it is? Don’t worry, I didn’t curiously open it to see what’s inside.”
“Well, I can guess what it is,” I nodded and opened the box, which contained the Extraordinary Item, the Misfortune Silver Coin, named “The Mockery of Fate.”
That’s the name I had given it.
Indeed, it was that Fortune Alchemist Trix. She’s probably the only Fortune Alchemist I know personally.
After studying the theoretical basis for Fortune Alchemy, I could see a few things.
The fleeting Thread of Fortune that just dissipated represented the meaning of “safely delivering it into my hands in an absolutely secure manner.”
Delivered to me through the hands of Principal Serena Palizel… this was truly “safe”!
I also wondered whether that Witch Trix knew she had inadvertently had an Academy Head run an errand for her using Fortune Alchemy!
“It looks like a Lucky Coin, but it has the aura of an Extraordinary Item? What an interesting little toy,” Serena remarked, seemingly intrigued.
“Yes, it was originally a rough version of a Lucky Coin, but due to a small accident, it became an Extraordinary Item,” I explained when I saw that Principal Serena was interested.
“I see,” Serena nodded without asking anything further. “Now that I’m done with my business, I can be just a spectator. You can start your tasks now.”
“Mm.” I nodded and then motioned to everyone, “Everyone, don’t just stand there. With Yi Rui back, it’s time to get down to business~”
As my voice rang out, Yi Rui walked over from Instructor Belika. Though she was also quite shocked that the Academy Head was present, as the “second-in-command” of this team, she needed to live up to the trust of her other sisters.
Moreover, she was already well-prepared; not only for the new shaping ceremony, but she had also made breakthrough progress in her self-study of the framework ceremony.
However, all these advancements were based on numerous failed attempts.
While she couldn’t achieve absolute success, she had given it her all.
She still couldn’t grasp the essence of this framework ceremony, but sometimes it was enough to be able to use it without understanding it.
Just as everyone was getting pumped to dive into the experiment, my gaze remained fixed on that box.
Specifically, the coin.
It seemed like Witch Trix had completed her research, which is why she thought to return it to me.
I found a message left by the spell on this coin, and I swiftly read it through the Great Knowledge Seed.
The information detailed the characteristics of this Extraordinary Item, summarized by Trix.
The fact that the Witch could study it for so long suggests that the coin’s characteristics might be even more complex than the experiment I attempted in that café when guessing numbers.
Upon reading the information, it was indeed the case.
The characteristics of this coin weren’t strictly about making the wrong choices, or the description isn’t accurate or complete.
This was just one aspect.
Thus, Trix used another experiment to validate this characteristic—not by guessing numbers, but by predicting an action that hadn’t been taken yet, with the ultimate outcome being success or failure.
A very peculiar phenomenon would occur—the holder would have already given a predicted answer, but the actual event had yet to unfold.
So, was this event a success or a failure?
With the traits of the Misfortune Coin indicating success, then that unseen action should be a failure.
And when the holder confirmed the outcome as a failure and flipped the coin to “reverse fate,” the holder would suffer a misfortune penalty, with the severity depending on the probability of that action being an absolute success.
The lower the probability of success that one wants to reverse, the greater the price to pay.
Conversely, whether one hopes for success or failure is a personal choice—if one chooses not to intervene or change, there would be no backlash experienced.
Thus, Trix defined this coin as… the holder pays the price of misfortune for an absolute probability of an event.
Moreover, this misfortune price has no theoretical upper limit; rather, its upper limit is drawn from the threshold of the world’s fortune that the holder can interfere with.
After all, this coin’s probability interference serves as a medium of the world’s fortune.
If the interventions exceed the world’s limits, then this Extraordinary Item would also fail.
Yes, it would fail!
But even in failure, one would still bear the cost of misfortune at the world’s limits.
I suddenly became curious about what kind of experiments Trix conducted to measure the limits of such characteristics.
Just thinking about it felt somewhat terrifying.
Measuring it against the world’s limits for its upper bound…
Then… in this light, this coin doesn’t seem that powerful.
At least, a world cannot directly k*ll an Extraordinary Being; after all, the world cannot punish an Extraordinary Being, at worst, it just makes things go poorly for them.
But regarding this, I thought of something else. If the Misfortune Coin has such characteristics… then it seems very suitable for probabilistic experiments?
This is even more heaven-defying than “Ninglan’s Heart,” which manipulates fortune!
Of course, if I misjudge the price, it could indeed lead to real d*ath.
So… what would be the price I need to pay to ensure Yi Rui’s Self-Generated Magic framework ceremony succeeds?
I looked at Yi Rui, who was currently taking action.
This experiment was led by Yi Rui and her group; I wouldn’t interfere at the beginning, and my chosen help would come during the later stages of the framework ceremony.
Furthermore, it would be a collaborative effort between Yi Rui and me to construct the Self-Generated Magic, sharing the risks together.
“Sister Xiao Han, are you still looking at that coin of yours?” At that moment, a young girl approached, curiously eyeing the coin I was playing with. This girl was Cen Tan, who I was familiar with—she specialized in biological alchemy and was only responsible for basic data organization this time due to her unrelated specialty.
“Yeah, it’s a Lucky Coin. Want to guess if Yi Rui will succeed?” I showed the coin in my hand and asked with a smile.
“A Lucky Coin? Sure! Let me guess!” Cen Tan eagerly replied.
“Pick a side to see if it’s success or failure?”
“Huh? Are we going that big? What if…”
“It’s fine—just treat it like a game,” I reassured her.
“Then I’ll go with the flower side! Did Yi Rui’s side have a flower? I don’t think I’ve seen it before.”
“I guess it’s the Iris, though it could be another flower,” I replied casually and then tossed it in a relaxed manner.
“Hurry, let’s see if it’s the flower side!” Cen Tan asked excitedly as the coin landed in my palm.
“Mm…” I opened my hand, revealing the side that had the flower print, “Looks like Yi Rui’s luck is pretty good~”
“Hehe! I told you Yi Rui’s luck is definitely not bad! She’s sure to succeed this time!”
“Mm-hmm~ You can go back to what you were doing.”
I waved Cen Tan off and shifted my gaze back to the coin.
Flower side, success.
Indicates that Yi Rui will fail, with no second option!
This was the second characteristic summarized by Witch Trix: when I expect success, the result is bound to be failure.
This is just like the experiment we conducted in the café; every time Trix tried to guess correctly, she was wrong.
So when I and everyone else who hopes for Yi Rui’s success uses it to predict, the superficial result will always be success.
But what actually occurs will inevitably be failure.
As long as not a single node of the entire matter exceeds the intervention scope of this world, the fortune will ensure that this experiment will fail.
And the only one who could change this outcome is me.
I have two methods to alter this conclusion.
The first: to fully master my skills in the Self-Generated Magic framework ceremony, ensuring success. By breaking the “probability” of this matter, the unforeseen choice would become invalid, thus freeing this matter from the probabilistic influence of the Misfortune Coin.
It’s just like wagering whether I can pick up a pen from the ground; since I already have the ability to pick it up, the probabilities concerning success and failure become meaningless.
However, I cannot counter probabilities with absolute success, so this method is unusable.
The second…
I silently flipped the coin over, resting the side with my silhouette on a surface in the laboratory.
Scarlet fortune glimmered from the mouth of the silhouette on the coin, as if revealing a mocking play with fate once again.
The second method is simple: alter the predetermined outcome, bear the misfortune, fulfill the principle of equivalence in using an Extraordinary Item, pay the price, and exchange it for success!
As for whether this success genuinely counts as Yi Rui’s achievement during this time…
I can only say that effort doesn’t guarantee success. Since Yi Rui cannot achieve absolute success, she must be prepared for complete failure.
Success is a reward for phase-specific effort, not a reward for partial endeavors.
The reason I decisively intervened is that Yi Rui is facing a situation where retreat is not an option; she cannot afford failure, and as her friend, I am willing to help her.
Of course, there’s also a rational aspect: if Yi Rui fails, I’m uncertain how many days it would take for her to recover from despair, and I don’t want to bear that unexpected fallout.
Moreover, as I bear the cost of misfortune, at least I have means to cope; even if it leads to disability or d*ath, it wouldn’t matter.
In Trix’s tests, the holder’s own capabilities can also counterbalance the costs of using the Extraordinary Items.
Just like Ninglan Qiuyue’s Ninglan’s Heart, where the bl**d and flesh of many ordinary people allows one person to wield fortune, Ninglan Qiuyue herself, with her own strength, can bear the costs of flesh.
Even a Flesh Healing spell could offset the costs incurred.
Therefore, I’m not acting recklessly.
No one saw what exactly I did.
Except for those two witches.
They said nothing about my actions; experiments are about achieving success by any means necessary. Although they were uncertain of what I had specifically done, the use of an Extraordinary Item inevitably incurs a price.
“Xiao Han, are you alright?” Instructor Belika walked up and asked meaningfully.
“Mm? I’m fine for now.” I shook my head and smiled, as the price hadn’t materialized before success.
Of course, it is also possible that the cost has already been incurred but hasn’t manifested yet.
Thinking of this, I instinctively touched the collar around my neck.
That was given to me by the Academy Head and personally fastened by Sister Bai… to sever the Earth Vein Shackles and suppress the misfortune curse coming from the world.
I wonder if this alchemical item can offset such a misfortune curse for me?
“If you need anything, just let us know at any time. Don’t hesitate; remember, there’s an Academy Head from the Witch Academy watching from the sidelines.”
