Chapter 12: The Exploding Head Theory

The door to the room swung shut, sealing them off from the outside world.

Lia stood rooted to the spot, the very air in the room feeling heavy.

Klein turned and returned to his desk, where he took out a fresh sheet of parchment and smoothed it flat.

He dipped his quill in ink, its tip hovering just above the paper as he seemed to contemplate the opening sentence.

Lia watched him, realizing he intended to simply start writing from scratch.

‘Just like that?’

The obsessive-compulsive tendencies from her past life made her skin crawl.

“Master.”

Klein’s quill froze, and he lifted his eyes to look at her.

“Are you planning to write it just like that?”

“How else?”

“There’s no structure,” Lia blurted out.

Klein said nothing, merely watching her with an expression that clearly said, ‘Continue.’

“A proper paper, one that can convince everyone, requires a standard format,” Lia began, steeling herself to explain.

“It allows the reader to grasp the main points and understand your logic as quickly as possible.”

“First, you need an abstract.

Use the most concise language to summarize the experiment’s purpose, methods, and conclusion.”

“Then, the introduction.

This presents the research background—what the old theory is, what problems it has, and why we are proposing a new one.”

“Next is the core section: theoretical derivation and experimental design.

You must clearly write out the derivation process for those five formulas, then describe every step of the inclined plane experiment in detail, including the apparatus and operational procedure.”

“After that comes results and discussion.

Write down the observed phenomena from the experiment—namely, that the two spheres reached the bottom at the same time.

Then, analyze this result, explaining how it proves the new theory and refutes the old one.”

“Finally, the conclusion.

Reiterate your argument and point out potential future research directions for this theory.”

Lia delivered the entire explanation in one breath, feeling as if she were lecturing a graduate student on thesis writing.

Only after she had finished did she notice Klein studying her with an inquisitive gaze.

“Is that how the ancient tome was written?”

“Ah, yes, yes,” Lia nodded quickly.

“Its structure was exceptionally clear.”

Klein set down his quill.

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his hands as he looked at Lia.

“You will write it.”

“Me?” Lia asked, pointing to herself.

“You are the most familiar with the format,” Klein offered, a reason she could not refute.

“But my handwriting…”

“Adèle can serve as your scribe.

You will dictate, and she will write,” Klein arranged without missing a beat.

“I…” Lia tried one last time to protest.

“One week,” Klein cut her off.

“Give me the first draft.”

Lia swallowed all her objections.

“Yes, Master.”

“Very good,” Klein said, rising to his feet.

“Now, let us discuss another matter.”

He walked to the center of the room, to the spot where they had conducted the experiment.

“Starting today, I will officially begin teaching you magic.”

Lia’s eyes lit up.

Finally!

She had been waiting to hear those words for so long!

“The paper’s publication will cause a significant uproar,” Klein’s voice was devoid of emotion.

“You need to acquire the power to protect yourself as quickly as possible.”

“Is it because of the traditionalists Master Laplace mentioned?” Lia guessed.

“Will they send people to assassinate me?”

“Assassinate?”

A strange expression flickered across Klein’s face.

“That is the crudest of methods, and the one you need to worry about the least.”

“Then what is it?” Lia asked, confused.

Instead of answering directly, Klein posed a question of his own.

“What do you believe is the source of a mage’s power?”

“Spiritual energy?

Magic power?”

“Those are mere manifestations,” Klein shook his head.

“Its true source lies in one’s perception and understanding of the rules that govern the world.”

He held out a hand, and a small flame ignited in his palm.

“We use principles to describe the world and formulas to define those principles.

Then, we use our spiritual energy to construct these formulas, drawing upon power to ultimately manifest spells.”

“Every mage, from the moment they first pick up a staff, begins to construct a theoretical model in their mind—their own unique model of how the world operates.”

“This model is the very foundation of all their power.”

Lia felt as if she understood something, yet at the same time, nothing at all.

Klein watched her, then continued.

“Now, a question arises.”

“If the cornerstone of this model—a foundation believed to be indestructible, one that has supported the entire system for centuries—is suddenly proven wrong, what happens?”

Lia thought for a moment.

“The model becomes unstable?

Spells will fail?”

“More than that.”

Klein’s tone grew grave.

“Not instability.

Collapse.”

“When a subversive and irrefutable new theory emerges, the old model cannot be reconciled with it.

A mage’s spiritual energy will try to comprehend and accept the new rules, but their old, deeply ingrained perceptions will stubbornly resist.”

“An object cannot exist in two completely contradictory states at once.”

“A logical system cannot accommodate two completely contradictory axioms at the same time.”

“In the spiritual world, A equals B, and at the same time, A does not equal B.

What does such a fundamental logical conflict trigger?”

A chill began to creep up the back of Lia’s neck.

“Mental breakdown?”

“You could understand it that way,” Klein said.

“But the manifestation is more direct.”

“As the chains of logic begin to break, link by link, the entire cognitive model will suffer a chain reaction of collapse.

This collapse on a spiritual level will be directly reflected on a physical level.”

His gaze fell upon Lia, his voice calmly stating a terrifying fact.

“The blood vessels in the brain will rupture from the unbearable logical conflict.

Neurons will die off on a massive scale.”

“The end result is the physical phenomenon you would observe.”

“Their heads explode.”

A deafening buzz filled Lia’s mind.

She stared blankly at Klein, unable to utter a single word.

She had thought she was merely spreading scientific knowledge, advancing this other world.

It had never occurred to her that the basic laws of physics from her world could be a weapon capable of killing people directly.

“So, Master Laplace’s reaction…” She recalled the old mage grabbing the table, his body swaying.

“He is powerful, and his mind is open enough to accept new things.

So his perception was merely impacted, and his spiritual energy experienced a brief tremor before he stabilized it,” Klein explained.

“But what about those old fools who have been stubborn their entire lives, who treat every word of the ancient masters as gospel and even pride themselves on it?”

“When they see your paper, see that irrefutable experiment, and discover that the beliefs they’ve held their entire lives are a joke… what do you think will happen to them?”

Lia’s face turned pale.

She didn’t dare to imagine.

“They will go mad,” Klein said for her.

“They will not admit they were wrong.

They will only hate—hate the source that destroyed their worldview.”

“The theory itself is cold, emotionless.

So they will pour all their malice upon the person who proposed it.”

“They wouldn’t dare do anything to me, because I am stronger than them.”

“But you are different.”

Klein walked over to her, looking down.

“A young apprentice, newly enrolled, with no foundation to speak of, unable to cast even a first-circle spell.”

“In their eyes, you are the heretic who has shaken the very foundations of the world—a heretic who must be erased.”

A cold dread rose from the soles of her feet, instantly spreading through her entire body.

She wasn’t on the path to becoming an academic star.

She was on the path to becoming the public enemy of all the old powers in the world.

“Can… can I still withdraw the paper?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“Too late.”

Klein’s reply shattered her last glimmer of hope.

“Once a truth is revealed, it can never be concealed again.”

“You opened the box.

Now you must face the consequences.”

He reached out and placed a hand on top of Lia’s head.

“So, from now on, you have much to learn.”

“You must learn to build your own cognitive model, one that cannot be shaken by any theory.”

“And then, you must learn to fight with it.”

“You must become strong.

So strong that anyone who bears you ill will must first consider if their own head is hard enough before they dare to act.”

Klein’s voice was calm, yet Lia heard an unyielding command within it.

“Do you understand?”

Lia nodded stiffly.

“I understand, Master.”

(TN: This might be one of my favorite novels that i have translated yet lol, i was working on a research paper recently and seems like the author is very well versed in this field)