Chapter 256: The Scientific Method

A silver-white spatial gate opened abruptly in the center of the mage tower’s study.

Lia practically fled out of it, followed by a composed Klein.

Only when the familiar scent of scrolls and books filled her nose did the heat in her flushed cheeks begin to subside.

She subconsciously raised a hand to touch her face; good, it probably wasn’t so red anymore.

“What are you thinking about?” Klein’s voice suddenly sounded from behind her.

“Nothing!” Lia spun around like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her voice jumping an octave.

“I was thinking… thinking about the Montrose cake! Right, Lady Eleonora even packed some for me. It tastes really good!”

As she spoke, she fumbled to take the exquisitely packed dessert box from her spatial ring, attempting to prove the truth of her words with her actions.

Klein looked at her, his blue eyes betraying no emotion. “You’ve already repeated that the Montrose cake is delicious three times.”

Lia’s movements froze.

Her mind raced, trying to find a more plausible excuse, but before she could concoct some nonsense about “important things must be said thrice,” a faint sobbing sound came from the corner of the study, successfully rescuing her.

She followed the sound and saw Adèle slumped over a lab bench piled with various metal parts and flasks, radiating an aura of utter despair.

On the bench was a pile of twisted brass gears and a few dull-colored crystals, looking like the wreckage of some alchemical device.

Beside it was a thick stack of parchment, covered in annotations written in red ink. The handwriting was sharp, filled with merciless criticism.

Lia recognized it at a glance as Klein’s handwriting.

“Senior, what’s wrong?” Lia quickly walked over and asked with concern.

Adèle lifted her head, her pretty face clouded with sorrow. She pointed at the parchment and said listlessly, “Graduation thesis… it was rejected again.”

Lia picked up the thesis. The title was A Study on the Attenuation of Mana Conduction Efficiency in Composite Metals.

She flipped through a few pages and found the content to be detailed and well-researched, with precise measurements and summaries of mana conduction data for dozens of alloys.

From the perspective of an alchemy apprentice, it was definitely an excellent report.

However, Klein’s annotations were merciless.

[This is a summary, not research.]

[Repetitive work. I see no innovative thinking.]

[You are merely verifying laws that predecessors have already discovered. Where is your contribution?]

[If my students only need to reach this level to graduate, then I could find at least three hundred qualified people in the Magic Association’s alchemy workshops.]

Just then, Klein walked over. He glanced at the mess on the table and spoke in a flat tone, “I’ve told you before, Adèle. The purpose of a graduation thesis is to explore the unknown, not to circle within known territory.”

He picked up a piece of blackened mithril and continued,

“You spent three weeks proving that in a standard mana environment, the composite conductivity of mithril and truesilver is 3.7% lower than that of pure mithril.

This conclusion was roughly mentioned by the alchemical master Bard in his notes three hundred years ago. Your work has only made his estimate more precise.”

“But, Teacher,” Adèle’s voice held a trace of grievance and unwillingness. “I’ve consulted every text I could find and tried hundreds of different alloy ratios. This is already the optimal solution within the theoretical framework!”

“Then you should be questioning the framework, not seeking the optimal solution within it.” Klein put down the piece of mithril, his tone still harsh.

“My standards have never changed. Either propose a brand-new theory or discover an unprecedented phenomenon. Otherwise, this thesis will never pass.”

After speaking, he turned and walked towards his own alchemy laboratory, leaving behind an unchallengeable silhouette.

He seemed to feel that there was no need to discuss the matter further.

Silence fell in the study.

Adèle watched her mentor leave, her eyes slightly red.

She took a deep breath, slammed the mercilessly critiqued thesis shut, and slumped onto the table, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Lia could feel the deep sense of frustration welling up inside her senior.

As a mage specializing in alchemy, Adèle’s talent and diligence were beyond doubt.

But academically, she seemed unable to break through that invisible barrier, unable to achieve the “innovation” Klein expected.

Lia gently patted Adèle’s back, unsure of how to comfort her for a moment.

She knew Klein’s temperament all too well; the man’s obsession with academic rigor was simply outrageous.

After a long while, Adèle finally spoke in a muffled voice, “Lia… am I very stupid?”

“Of course not!” Lia immediately refuted. “You’re amazing, Senior. You handle the workshop’s logistics so efficiently, and all the accounts are in perfect order.”

“But in Teacher’s eyes, none of that seems very important,” Adèle said with a bitter smile.

“He wants innovation, something that can push the boundaries of knowledge. But I can’t give him that. I feel like my brain is a piece of iron; no matter how it’s forged, it will never turn into gold.”

She sat up straight, looking at Lia with an almost pleading gaze. “Lia, you… can you help me?”

Lia’s heart sank.

“I’m not asking you to write it for me,” Adèle said, hurriedly explaining as if she had seen through her hesitation.

“I know the rules; that would be cheating. I just… I just can’t figure out what I need to do to be considered ‘innovative.’ You always come up with these strange but incredibly logical things.

Like that AC motor, and the periodic table… how on earth does your brain work?”

Looking at her senior’s eyes, which were filled with hope and confusion, the scales in Lia’s heart began to tip.

After a moment of contemplation, Lia finally made up her mind.

She pulled over a chair, sat down next to Adèle, and lowered her voice. “Senior, I can’t give you the answer, but perhaps I can offer you a… method for thinking about problems.”

“A method?” Adèle was a little confused.

“Yes.” Lia nodded. She decided to explain the core logic of scientific research from her past life in a way this world could understand.

“First, look at your thesis title,” Lia pointed at the parchment.

“A Study on the Attenuation of Mana Conduction Efficiency in Composite Metals. This title itself limits your research direction to ‘attenuation,’ a known negative phenomenon.

All of your work is to find more precise data to support this known conclusion.”

Adèle nodded thoughtfully.

“Now, let’s try a different approach.” Lia picked up a quill and wrote a few words on a blank sheet of parchment.

“Step one: Observation.”

“Observation?”

“Yes. Go and observe a phenomenon that you cannot perfectly explain with existing alchemical theories. Don’t worry about the established conclusions written in books; just use your own eyes.”

Lia patiently guided her.

“For example, why are some healing potions effective on burns but have poor results on cuts? Why can Master Fiona’s light bulbs glow for so long with a tungsten filament, but burn out in seconds if you switch it to an iron wire?”

A flicker of light passed through Adèle’s eyes.

These were all problems she encountered in her daily alchemy, but she had habitually attributed them to vague concepts like ‘material properties’ or ‘elemental affinity’ and had never delved into the underlying reasons.

“Step two: Propose a hypothesis,” Lia continued writing. “When you find an anomalous phenomenon, boldly propose a guess that can explain it. Remember, this guess can be as wild as you like, as long as it can be verified.”

“Verified?”

“Yes. For example, you might hypothesize that the essence of a healing potion isn’t some kind of life energy, but a catalyst that promotes the recombination of specific particles. That is something that can be verified.”

Lia’s words opened the door to a new world for Adèle.

She had never thought of deconstructing a magical phenomenon in this way.

“Step three, and the most crucial step: Design an experiment.”

Lia’s expression became serious. “You need to design an experiment that eliminates all interfering factors to prove or disprove your hypothesis.”

“If you want to prove that the material of the filament is the key, then you must ensure that the mana input, the size of the bulb, and the internal gas environment are all identical, changing only the filament material.

This is called ‘controlling variables’.”

“Controlling… variables?” Adèle repeated the novel term, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

“Finally, based on the experimental results, draw a conclusion. If the experiment is successful, your hypothesis could become a new theory. If it fails, go back to step two and propose a new hypothesis. This process is research.”

Lia put down the quill.

She looked at Adèle, who was so shocked it was as if her entire worldview had been rebooted, and felt a little uncertain herself.

She didn’t know how much of this “scientific methodology” from another world Adèle could understand.

Adèle stared blankly at the parchment with the words “Observation,” “Hypothesis,” and “Experiment” written on it.

After a long while, she suddenly looked up, her eyes shining with an astonishing light.

“I get it… I think I get it!” She grabbed Lia’s hand, so excited she was almost incoherent.

“What Teacher wants isn’t a perfect answer, but the process of proposing a question and trying to answer it! I’ve been solving word problems, but he wants me to write the questions myself!”

Lia let out a breath of relief and smiled gratifiedly. “It seems you understand.”

“Thank you, Lia! Really, thank you so much!” Adèle stood up and paced back and forth in the study, constantly muttering, “Anomalous phenomenon… hypothesis… control variables…”

All her previous confusion and bewilderment seemed to vanish in that instant, and a new path full of possibilities slowly unfolded before her.

Seeing her senior’s fighting spirit rekindled, Lia felt genuinely happy for her.

‘I hope… that guy Klein doesn’t get on my case for this,’ Lia thought to herself.

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