Sunday, Day 37:
As soon as Zane opened his eyes, he immediately had the urge to spend the entire day in bed; his body ached, and his mind was sluggish. The idea of paying for guild points instead of doing those stupid missions popped into his mind, and he took a moment before he decided otherwise. In the end, Zane begrudgingly cleaned himself before walking out of his room.
"Hey," Zane said to Evans, who was reading a book on the couch.
"Hey."
Zane was about to walk away when he sensed something, so he glanced at Evans for a moment.
"Do I have something on my face?"
"What's wrong with you? Why is your mental energy so inert?" People's mental energy is usually quite active, often releasing short and intermittent pulses. But Zane discovered Evans' mental energy was a bit sluggish today.
"Oh, that's probably because I just finished a knowledge transmission."
Zane frowned. He was about to remind Evans when he remembered it had been more than a month since the last transmission, meaning his soul had recuperated enough to experience two more. "Alright, then, be careful." Zane turned around and prepared to leave.
"Wait!"
"Hmm?"
"I-I, you know what, never mind."
"Did you need help with something? Is it another word you can't translate?"
"No, it's not that." Evans shook his head. Yesterday, he brought more gold from his family, so he spent an exorbitant amount to buy a Gremorian Language Inheritance Book from the plaza to solve that issue.
"So, what is it?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Alright," Zane nodded before walking out. His first target was the library, where he wanted to find as many books on mental channeling as possible. He even asked Madam Valeria for good suggestions, which she happily provided after learning of his progress. Those reading materials were for tonight, so Zane returned to his dorm to leave his stuff before heading to the Arcane Guild.
This time around, the missions were terrible. The first one wasn't so bad, as it only required Zane to use the Water Condensing Spell to water a bunch of plants. But the ones after that involved digging, and for some reason, no magic was allowed in the process. With Zane's physical attributes, normal digging jobs should not have been too taxing on him, but nothing is ever simple in the magical world. For this task, he had to enhance his muscles through channeling, or the shovel couldn't penetrate the soil.
Monday, Day 38:
Professor Burbank finished teaching everyone about common magical herbs and minerals, then began focusing on different races across the Astral Cosmos. He taught about their racial traits, common habits, culture, customs, and even went into detail about a significant portion of their history. After class, Zane told his friend to wait for him in the library while he talked privately with the professor.
"An epiphany? Why are you asking about that?"
"It's like this," Zane answered, explaining his new title.
Professor Burbank sighed. "I must say, I envy your ingenuity and innovative spirit."
Zane smiled. This was not the first time he had heard these words. During his time at MIT and Harvard, he had met a few people smarter than him. However, none of them had his ability to solve problems; to think of solutions that others cannot think of.
"So, what exactly is the effect of this tile? Does it increase my understanding of a certain idea or concept?"
"It doesn't have to be a specific idea or concept; it could also be a generalized one," Professor Burbank said, nodding. "Or, you could use it for inspiration if you're trying to brainstorm an idea; or use it to master a skill or solve a problem you're facing. The uses are limitless."
"Wait, solving a problem? Like any problems?"
"If you think it can give you magical answers to anything you desire, then you'd be dreaming," Professor Burbank revealed. "An epiphany is based on the individual's capabilities and knowledge. An idiot will not suddenly understand complex mathematics. A genius who never receives proper education might suddenly be inspired to innovate, but the result might be something good; there is also a chance that it's nonsense. And someone with high enough education might suddenly have a genius idea, but it will only be based on what fields they have studied or are working on."
"That makes more sense," Zane nodded. If an epiphany could solve every problem, the value of that title wouldn't only be Blue. Now that he understood its use, Zane wondered the best way to use this opportunity.
"Maybe I should use it to complete the Mental Network?"
Zane hesitated for a moment. According to the professor, the success of the epiphany is contingent on his knowledge reserve. So, the question is: did Zane know enough to build a complete mental network?
"Let's ask the professor," Zane thought.
"You'd probably make immense progress, but I doubt you could finish it," Professor Burbank replied. "And honestly, taking it slow might not be a bad thing."
"What do you mean?"
"The process of building or creating the Mental Network is also a process of training your energy control. Haven't you realized how much easier it has been to control both your mana and mental energy?"
"Indeed," Zane nodded. He didn't know about his mana, but the improvement in his mental energy control had indeed increased dramatically. He no longer bleeds or feels dizzy when he uses mental channeling to enhance focus or reflexes while simultaneously using his mana channeling.
"I know you're in a hurry, but there is plenty of time. For the next three Earth months, you will have access to the time acceleration benefit of the school, which is plenty of time for you to slowly train and learn as much as possible.
Zane smiled wryly. Things were not as simple. If he dies in one of the dimension shifts, the so-called time acceleration benefits will be useless to him. "Wait, sir, you said for three months? What about after that?"
"You don't have to worry about it now."
"Oh," Zane sighed. "Then, how do you suggest I use this epiphany?"
"I think you should wait until the day before your Analytic Exam," Professor Burbank suggested. "Learn as much as possible, and the day before the exam, use the epiphany to help you make up for the things you don't understand."
"That's not a bad idea," Zane nodded. "But what about the Mental Network? Is there anything you can do to help?"
Professor Burbank shook his head.
"Professor, I don't need you to give me some answer, just some guidance."
Professor Burbank still shook his head.
"Is it because of the tower?"
"Yes and no," he replied. "While the tower forbids me from directly giving you advance books, I can still tutor you."
"Then?"
"If you were anybody else, I would give you some advice. However, for someone like you, the best way to train you is to give you the information needed and let you figure out the rest yourself."
Zane smiled wryly. That's good, and all, except most of the resources available to him on the subject were useless. He spent the entire night reading about mental channeling, the brain, and the small amount of information available about the mental neural network, and so far, he hasn't figured out any good method to improve his [Flow State] network.
"I know your concern, and I have something that may help you."
"Oh?"
"I have the experimental journal of a Necromancer who wanted to animate a body without any soul energy, using only brain waves."
"Hm? That sounds interesting. Did he succeed?"
"No, but his experiment revealed valuable information about the correlation between the brain and mental energy, which I think could be of great use to you."
"I can give it a try." Zane nodded.
"Good." Professor Burbank nodded before using his crest to send a message. Two minutes later, Electro — the Lightning Parrot — flew into the classroom carrying a large package attached to its small feet. Zane opened it, revealing three thick black journals made from an unknown animal skin, bound together by a thread. Several papers stuck out of the journals, making the whole thing look messy.
"I should warn you," Professor Burbank said when he saw Zane opening the first book. "The contents are cruel and graphic, involving animal and human experimentation. If you can't handle it, you should return them to me."
Zane paused briefly before saying. "It's fine."
"Alright," the professor nodded. "Did you need something else?"
"No, oh, right, there is one more thing."