Before him, the red-haired girl uttered a very unfortunate name.
Had his identity been exposed in the "Infinite Negative Numbers Realm"?
Ronald immediately dismissed the idea and reminded himself—
Faced with this sudden danger, the first thing to do was to stay calm and think.
If his identity had been thoroughly exposed, then the stargazing area tonight would not have just Catherine waiting there; he would have met an army of Great Wizards from Barrier Mountain.
A simple conclusion emerged.
Catherine had not informed Barrier Mountain of Ronald’s identity.
If Catherine had targeted something on Ronald, it would be unreasonable for her to actively release the news now; ambushing and striking unexpectedly would be the safest move.
So... was there a possibility?
That Catherine had come to him with good intentions?
Ronald felt somewhat reassured, maintaining an expression of composure as he probed the Catherine before him:
"Since entering Barrier Mountain."
"My identity has not been exposed to anyone."
Catherine was very pleased with Ronald’s composed manner.
She sized up Ronald, now donning a wizard’s robe, and explained directly with a teasing tone:
"But when you were in the dormitory, your companion Bapulor mentioned your name. If not for that incident, I couldn’t have figured out your real name."
Ronald naturally hadn’t forgotten Bapulor’s blunder.
But when the heretical magician revealed information, Ronald was quite sure there was no one around, nor were there any spell monitors. What method had Catherine used to learn such a confidential level of information?
"I should not have been monitored by any person or spell."
Ronald plainly stated his thoughts.
Catherine explained just as straightforwardly:
"Ronald, this world isn’t just about monitoring and mind-reading spells, the original texts provide a variety of spells."
Ronald immediately thought of the wizards allied with astronomical science:
"So, is it a Prophetic Spell?"
"That’s somewhat imprecise," Catherine laughed again, now with a hint of affirmation for Ronald’s answer, "The old foxes of the prophecy branch, their spells can only conjecture things that may or may not be true. Unless it’s for finding people or objects, one question could yield hundreds of outcomes."
After dismissing Prophetic Spells, Catherine pointed at herself:
"The only way to achieve the ability I have is by relying on precise mathematical models."
You’re not claiming to be a Laplace’s Demon, are you?
When it came to mathematical prediction, the first thing that popped into Ronald’s mind was the scientific hypothesis of ’Laplace’s Demon.’ Even in a fantasy world, the concept seemed too unreal.
Ronald racked his brains analyzing the situation.
And at this moment, Catherine spoke again, this time more seriously:
"Ronald, do you know? Every character recorded in the book of origin has its significance. It might be a myth, or some knowledge that is difficult to comprehend, or maybe it is filled with fantasy, the secret and unpredictable stories between the words; these books with magical power, in fact, all carry the vessel of knowledge."
Ronald thought of the old man he had met in the White Shore Castle—Xiang.
At this moment, faced with Catherine’s narrative, he couldn’t help but say,
"Beyond the seal, others have also researched to this extent."
"Then please take good care of those people," Catherine said with utter seriousness. But upon seeing Ronald’s expression, her demeanor swiftly changed, her eyes lowering as if understanding the plight he had encountered.
"Indeed, human folly is the same everywhere."
Ronald responded to Catherine’s ridicule with silence.
Just then, a couple returned from the observatory in the distance.
Ronald and Catherine tacitly maintained their silence, then continued walking forward as if they had just come out for a stroll.
Once they had put some distance between themselves and the passersby, Ronald resumed the conversation:
"In terms of the research on the original texts... you... how far have you gotten?"
Catherine looked deeply into Ronald’s eyes.
It wasn’t until they arrived in front of the abandoned tower that she paused for a long while, then pushed the door open and went inside.
Simultaneously, Catherine spoke in an even tone:
"A sufficient accumulation of information can form substantial material; but before it comes together, the information itself lacks actual physical properties."
"Yet, this uncollected information actually constitutes over eighty percent of the material world’s mass, and its potential impact is beyond imagination."
"The spells we use, the original texts born of the void, even the world itself that is continuously recognized and altered by mankind, are all results of the interference of information."
Ronald’s educational background was certainly adequate to understand Catherine’s description.
And stemming from his knowledge of the world in which he once lived, Ronald immediately posed his own question:
"But such a world is far too unstable."
"If this invisible information exerts such immense influence on the real world, then it would be nearly impossible for the world as humans live in now to have formed."
"Your history has suffered breaks in its transmission." Catherine looked at Ronald with interest, then immediately offered a shocking theory, "The outside world was initially very stable."
"Going back even further than the time before we were sealed, a star suddenly exploded in the sky. According to our ancestors’ records, it was after that the original texts began to appear in the world, and spells began to be mastered by humans."
"A star... exploded..."
In Ronald’s limited knowledge, a star’s explosion could only refer to something that might mark the beginning of Earth’s human civilization.
——A supernova explosion.
——This astronomical event.
With what remained of his knowledge system, Ronald identified a glaring loophole:
"If a star truly exploded, then the starscape shouldn’t look ."
A supernova is an astronomical phenomenon that lasts a long time.
If this world had indeed experienced such an event, then the starscape should, as Ronald suggested, show numerous aftereffects of supernova explosions.
The night sky of this world showed no such signs.
Unfortunately, this time Catherine couldn’t provide Ronald with an answer.
The red-haired girl smiled regretfully, then quite frankly admitted her ignorance:
"That’s beyond what I know."
"Anyway—Ronald, haven’t you been inquiring everywhere about the artificial deity these past few days?"
"Do you want to hear it now?"
"I can tell you right away."