VIP Chapter 365: Bodily Reactions
Beyond Dreams, Perception Arrives.
“Mmm… Are you expecting something?”
“I… I…”
“Oh my, Teacher Liya now is like a witch ‘burning with passion from the heart’.”
“No cribbing.”
“Because Teacher Liya got angry at me yesterday. So, the reward and punishment cancel each other out.”
Will said, shrugging.
“Then… why did you still kiss me?”
Liya pouted, asking.
“Mmm…”
Will reached out and petted Liya’s head, specifically pushing her fringe back to how it was before he lifted it. He even tugged at her cat-ear headband and then noticed that the cat ears on the headband weren’t real—because he had touched real beastkin ears every day before, he instantly knew it was fake fur.
“Because even though we didn’t achieve it yesterday, you still tried hard today. Teacher Liya, who makes up for her mistakes, is quite cute. This is a reward from another aspect.”
“You—”
Liya’s anger rose to her throat, but she really couldn’t get mad. It was… it was that she couldn’t leave Will, it was that she had accepted the conditions, so she could only be teased by him like this. As long as she performed better, Will would surely hand over the liquid obediently.
“Alright, alright. Next, we should think about the second phase and that Original Text.”
Will didn’t continue to “delve deeper” into the topic, simply turning and inviting Liya inside. But… Liya clutched her heart, feeling her heartbeat. It was strange. Her heartbeat wasn’t as “violent” as before her magic circuits became sluggish, but it had slightly accelerated, only making her body feel a little warmer. These bodily reactions were not as intense as before. But… she looked at Will’s retreating back. She still felt a hint of happiness.
…And that feeling, long absent, called “heart-fluttering”?
Inside, Liya watched Will show her the calculations for magic related to the reflection of the “ice mirror.”
“Yes, the calculation results are like this.”
He had chosen to calculate the “maximum absorption amount” of the reflective surface generated by the Snow Woman for the second phase. Specifically, based on the current maximum of “rebound magic,” he hypothesized the thickness of a mirror made of ice, substituting it as the medium for the magic, and calculated how much absorption it could maintain in its state.
“Due to the location of the site and castle, and the time required to transition from the first phase to the second must be shorter than your strongest magic incantation time, the mirror ice actually has a limit in terms of its medium.”
“Rebound magic also has a limit, meaning…”
Liya picked up the draft paper in surprise. It was densely written, but like Will’s usual neat handwriting when answering a test, each formula was neatly listed for easy reading.
“Yes. As long as your Brilliant Light is powered to a sufficient level, it will definitely break through its reflection limit.”
“This way, the second phase can be overcome. So that’s how it is, no wonder that witch hid this. It’s too… too easy.”
She looked at the figure. As an experimental teacher, she had a decent idea of her own maximum output. The number calculated now, if she was in good condition, she could easily surpass it.
“If this point is resolved, I think we should move on to deciphering that book—”
“Mhm.”
Liya nodded. Listening to Will’s arrangement, she had already considered where she should use that bottle of potion if Will only gave her one, and in what situation. As for the third phase, she could only rely on that Ancient Magic for which she currently had no ideas. Deciphering Ancient Magic and finally using it often took only a day when inspiration struck, but when it didn’t, it was normal to rack your brain for two hundred years.
“Will, do you have any ideas?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“It feels like this book is written like a love letter. The wording Meilin used is surprisingly romantic.”
“That’s not an idea at all!”
Liya noticed. Compared to before, Will wasn’t pretending anymore. He was now particularly shameless.
“To be honest, I do have an idea.”
He pondered for a moment and then spoke.
“I really lack romantic cells. If you ask me to interpret the incantations, I’m completely clueless, but if you ask me to interpret the underlying logic of the magic…”
He looked at the book. The two erased words, “Ash Extinguish,” were clearly the most crucial part of the entire book, indicating the formation method of this magic. For some reason, the author of the Original Text had erased those two words. But, for Will… he might not need the “name.” Based on the ultimate outcome the magic aimed to achieve, he could infer the process.
“It’s probably like this…”
Will found it difficult to explain in words, so he took out a pen and began drawing on the paper.
“Mmm… Understanding the magic and its creation in this way? This approach has truly never been seen before…”
“Right? But if that’s the case, then the poetic prose and incantations in its magical section become incomprehensible.”
“If this line of thinking is feasible…”
***
The third day.
Liya looked at the materials before her. She hadn’t slept all night, and following Will’s train of thought, she had organized a feasible method for this set of magic and a set of incantation plans.
“With these… it might actually be possible.”
Liya didn’t dare to say if this magic could handle the wax block, but she believed that this magic had a certain feasibility in dealing with the ice castle.
“I feel like if it’s like this, we can start with a preliminary experiment today.”
“Preliminary experiment… *Yawn* A term I haven’t heard in a long time.”
Will yawned. Like Liya, he hadn’t slept all night. In fact, he had advised Liya many times, but for some reason, Liya seemed determined to finish everything today. For someone like her… Will’s finger reached towards his ring. Inside his ring was the beaker containing the “miraculous liquid.” He could take out a little bit now and give her some “reward.”
“It seems like it’s been two days since I’ve given her any ‘rewards.’ It’s like I’m dangling her along.”
“From the perspective of ‘controlling’ her, a combination of reward and punishment, making her body react like Pavlov’s dog, is the optimal solution…”
“But, from… for her to understand how to love me correctly…”
In Will’s sight, Liya became somewhat blurry. “Making her, like now, apart from her bodily reactions… use her true heart to feel what love should be like…”
She seemed to be preparing for the “preliminary experiment” very seriously, not slacking off, nor looking back to ask him for the so-called “reward.” She was completely immersed. His body had improved a lot, but precisely because he hadn’t stayed up all night doing something so focused for months, he now lacked the tolerance for it. Moreover, in this cold mountain cave without a bed, after sleeping for three nights, he was truly exhausted.
“Hoo…”
At a certain blink of an eye, Will slumped onto the table and fell into a daze, asleep.
“…The idea for the preliminary experiment is also ready. I think you’re right, we do need the witch’s coin. Now, I think we can use that tree from before…”
Liya turned her head and found that Will had fallen asleep. His body was slumped on the table, revealing a very handsome profile. His brown hair was a little messy, drooping over his forehead. His monocle had been knocked off by his arm, leaning against it as if it had fallen. She had often seen Will asleep. Because before, when she was in the laboratory, he would occasionally stay up all night with her and fall asleep at the table like this.
“Come to think of it…”
Liya looked at her palm. It trembled slightly. Then, she realized something. She had unknowingly been researching magic all night. And… during the entire process, she hadn’t felt “bored” or “annoyed.” Even though her magic circuits were silent, she seemed to be able to accept this tranquility and continue with what she was doing. Even when she was executing the “mission Will left behind,” every morning when she saw the sunlight, she would always feel… feeling those originally rather plain emotions beneath her turbulent emotions. For example… joy from figuring out a little new content, happiness from Will forcing his eyes open to help her look at her notes, delight from his witty remarks when he was about to fall asleep.
“So there are so many emotions beneath the bodily reactions driven by the magic circuits?”
By the time she noticed, Liya had already reached out, lifted Will’s hair at his temple, and tucked it behind his ear. Immediately after, she gently kissed Will’s temple. There were no passionate emotions, no fluctuations of exciting magic circuits, but after spending the night like this, she could still feel… liking him. Him staying by her side like this, just like before, doing experiments together, staying up all night together, discussing what magic should be like… She liked it very much. Even if her magic circuits didn’t react, even if her blood didn’t boil, even if her heartbeat only beat a little stronger than usual. She still liked it very much.
As Liya pondered, she looked at the stacks of notebooks placed beside the table where Will was sitting. Before his hand fell, he seemed to have been flipping through them.
“…A notebook I haven’t seen before.”
Liya leaned closer. “I’m not spying, I just want to tidy up for him.” She noticed that on that notebook, like the “Quest System,” there was a line of “missions” listed, but there was no “quest” written in front of it, nor were there any rewards written as before.
“This is…”
She tilted her head to be able to read the words written on it faster—
“…Let Teacher Liya clear the dungeon of the Snow Woman and obtain an important item from the Snow Woman. As expected! This guy just wants to get something and is using me.”
But then, she saw the next line.
“…Then, continue the mission…”
“Revenge against… Carver?”
