Plague Doctor
chapter-239

Translator: Lonelytree

Opaline, a kind of carbonized silicone gem with 5 to 10 percent water percentage. At the Spell Department base at night, inside a standard hostel room, Gu Jun was studying a brilliant opaline. There were two kinds of opalines, ones with chatoyance and those without. The one he had contained chatoyant. It was oval in shape, 4.5 cm long and 2.1 cm wide. It came from western Australia. This was a particular request made by Gu Jun because he believed there was still a significant reason why they had landed close to Warburton when they returned from Dreamlands. Since opaline was not a crystalline stone, some of its structure would change color or even crack due to water loss but it would not affect its structural stability.

An opaline of such quality, with brilliant colors, smooth cut and high water concentration fitted the requirement of the Pnakotic Manuscript perfectly.

“Hmm.” Gu Jun grabbed the stone and sat down on the study table. The table was covered with carving instruments like carving knives, drills, needles and saw… It was like a mini jeweller’s workshop. Around the corners, he had set up cameras to record his proceedings. Actually Gu Jun had no idea what would happen, he was going to carve an Ancient Seal on the opaline, but with regards to how to carve it and would it be effective, he was as clueless as anyone else.

This was a technique introduced in the Pnakotic Manuscripts. Different from the bigger stone, this smaller stone was meant for ‘rationality assessment’… or at least that was how Gu Jun saw it, the words were too vague and complicated for him to comprehend it perfectly. But the term ‘rationality’ was repeated so many times that he knew the civilization that came up with these technologies and techniques valued it a lot. Rationality was their main focus, knowledge and science were their only way to understand the universe. If one had to make an analogy, this little trinket would be like our pedometer, but while ours was used to check our accumulated steps, this was to check the wearer’s rationality value.

“This insignificant trinket.” Gu Jun thought, “Might be able to help solve our biggest problem…” The Pnakotic Manuscripts provided a detailed reconstruction of the necessary carving but each of the carved lines represented such complex mathematical algorithms that it made Gu Jun feel so small in respect to the expanse of the universe, the science that currently eluded the human scientific knowledge. Just like how the prehistoric man did not understand decimal point, this was unknown territory for Gu Jun too.

“Okay, let’s give it a try.” Gu Jun took a deep breath and picked up a carving knife. It fitted his hands perfectly, probably due to the effect of the Hands of Dexterity. He ordered his roommate Cai Zixuan, who had left earlier to stop anyone from coming in, to disturb him. Gu Jun closed his eyes and opened the Pnakotic Manuscripts in his mind, he turned to the page about Ancient Seal Accessories. The impossible lines and indescribable pictures stared back at him. They taught him how to imbue the opaline with the carver’s mental power, how to adjust the water percentage in the stone and to reconstruct its structure…

Slowly, his mental power drain and a headache came.

“Urgh…” Images of Dreamlands suddenly came to replace the darkness. Gu Jun looked around and realized he was standing back in the large and imposing library. But this time the shadowy figure was absent. The large rows of bookshelves were faraway, instead he stood next to one of the walls which was weakly glowing. He saw the stone-carved wall which was decorated with detailed carving. They were especially intricate, the patterns looked like they had been sanded out from the stone, instead of brutely carved out. The patterns layered upon each other, soft like feathers. They were many times more complicated than the ones inside the Pnakotic Manuscripts. ‘Are… are these the technological groundwork for the assessment stone?’

The more Gu Jun studied them, the more he was impressed by its delicate yet intense power. Each line and curve on the wall appeared to hook at his soul. Admiring the craftsmanship, Gu Jun lost track of time… After who knew how long, he slowly raised his right hand, attempting to touch the surface of the wall. Suddenly, the illusion faded away. Gu Jun’s eyes flew open, the giant library disappeared and he was back in his sprawling bedroom.The sky outside the window was turning bright. The clock showed that it was 6 am, a whole night had passed.

“Ah…” Gu Jun took a deep breath like he was readjusting to his body. A wave of fatigue slammed into him, almost knocking him over. It affected his limbs most intensely, they were so sore that he could barely move them… What happened that it incapacitated him so despite his level 3 Hands of Dexterity?

Gu Jun’s heart skipped as he looked down at his table. ‘What is this?’ There were many chipped stones on the table. He was still holding the carving knife on his right hand and the opaline in his left. It was still oval in shape and nothing seemed to change about the gem except the previously absent ancient seal imprint on the surface. It had not been buffed but it looked perfectly naturally, the lines of the ancient seal even matched with the coloring of the stone evenly.

“This…” Gu Jun frowned. He noticed the tools like the drill had not been used, for all appearances, he had only worked with the carving knife. He gathered his strength to stand up and his knees almost went underneath him. He struggled to move to the computer and opened the surveillance video. He saw that after connecting to the Pnakotic Manuscripts, his hands started to move on their own to work on the opaline… he looked at the recording at normal speed and then at double speed. He had spent the whole night carving away. He switched to a different camera angle. Gu Jun realized his eyes remained close, it looked like he was ‘sleep-working’.

“It appears like I have just carved an Ancient Seal on the opaline gem. I can feel the difference in the gem’s internal structure due to the imbue of mental power.”

Only

But the question remained… How was it effective?

Revising the Pnakotic Manuscripts, Gu Jun worked on the gem for a while longer. He saw its colors changing and the ancient seal imprint glow… He could not help but laugh as he gripped the stone. Yes, it worked!

He immediately called Elder Tong, it was time for him to interrupt other people’s dreams for once.

“Hello?” Elder Tong picked up at first ring, suggesting that he had trouble sleeping. It was evident in the dark circles under his eyes when Gu Jun last saw him.

“Elder Tong,” Gu Jun said with a smile. “Elder Atal has taught me a technique which I just grasped; I have come up with our first Phecda Health Tracker.”

“What health tracker?” Elder Tong was stunned. “Atal knows that kind of technology?”

“That’s just an analogy, actually it’s an assessment device that can be used to observe and monitor the rationality status of our Spell Department’s members.”