For nearly thirty minutes, Ivan simply stood in his room, quietly observing the energy-gathering process. Of course, he was not observing the process with his eyes. He was using his Spiritual Perception.
Although Ivan had yet to break through the threshold of a true Wizard Apprentice, his Spiritual Perception had already developed to a certain degree. However, its range was extremely limited and could not even reach one meter. Thus, he could not observe all ten Miniature Energy Collectors at once.
Ambient light, heat, radiation, and even some invisible energy scattered throughout the air were gradually drawn toward the ten Miniature Energy Collectors. As the collectors operated simultaneously, their metallic surfaces occasionally flickered with faint light while continuously absorbing energy from their surroundings.
As the energy began to gather, it was filtered and converted into usable energy.
But among all those energy sources, there was one particular source that Ivan was paying attention to.
The free-floating magic particles.
Through his Spiritual Perception, Ivan could clearly sense the energy collectors slowly drawing the magic particles toward themselves. The magic particles entered the collectors and disappeared into their internal energy-conversion systems. After being processed, they were transformed into energy that could be stored within the void Furnace.
Ivan had been carefully observing this conversion process for nearly thirty minutes.
As Ivan was using his Spiritual Perception to observe the conversion process of one of the energy collectors—
Beep.
A mechanical sound erupted throughout the quiet room.
"Master, preliminary energy-gathering process complete. All ten Miniature Energy Collectors have accumulated one energy point each."
"Ten energy points?"
"Yes, Master."
Ivan's gaze remained fixed on the ten energy collectors. Ten energy points from ten energy collectors after gathering energy for nearly thirty minutes did not seem particularly impressive.
But it wasn't quite bad either.
At least, it was far better than the Valen Continent. There, the energy collectors had required nearly an hour to convert a single energy point. Compared with that, the current result could already be considered a considerable improvement.
But Ivan currently had no interest in this improvement.
On the contrary, he was far more interested in the energy converted from the magic particles.
"Nova, have you collected enough data from those collected energy points?"
"Master, the energy points are currently stored within the internal energy reserve of the Void Furnace. To observe and analyze their characteristics more accurately, I recommend transforming them into energy blocks and comparing them with energy blocks made from ordinary energy points. Ordinary energy blocks are produced entirely from universal energy and have not been interfered with by magic particles."
Hearing this, Ivan thought for a moment before nodding.
"Okay. Transform them."
As soon as Ivan's words fell, the space before him suddenly began to twist. A faint distortion appeared in the air, as though space itself had been disturbed.
The next moment, two metallic blocks gently emerged from the spatial distortion and landed on the bed.
Ivan's gaze immediately focused on them.
The two energy blocks looked almost identical. Both were roughly the size of ordinary construction bricks, and their surfaces were perfectly smooth, almost like polished mirrors. Under the gentle moonlight entering through the window, they reflected a faint metallic glow.
At first glance, there was almost no difference between them.
But Ivan knew that internally, they were completely different.
One had been produced from ordinary universal energy, while the other had been produced from energy converted after the energy collectors absorbed the free-floating magic particles.
Ivan reached out and gently picked up one of the blocks.
The moment it entered his hand, his eyebrows lifted slightly.
It was far lighter than he had expected.
Although the block was similar in size to an ordinary construction brick, its weight was nowhere near what its appearance suggested. Ivan weighed it in his hand for several seconds before picking up the second energy block.
There were no noticeable differences.
Even with Ivan's current Spiritual Perception, he could not sense any difference between the two blocks.
He placed the two blocks beside each other and observed them for several more moments.
In the end, Ivan gave up.
"Nova, perform a preliminary scan and tell me their characteristics."
"Understood, Master."
The moment Nova received the order, a thin blue scanning ray emerged from Ivan's eyes. The blue light swept across both energy blocks once, then another time, and then a third time. Various streams of data appeared within Nova's internal system.
Yet she did not immediately speak.
Ivan also did not urge her.
He quietly waited.
After all, if even Nova required several minutes to analyze something, then the phenomenon was clearly not ordinary.
Nearly five minutes passed.
Finally, a faint mechanical hum sounded.
"Master, I have discovered something strange."
Hearing this, Ivan's eyes narrowed. He could hear the seriousness in Nova's voice.
"What did you discover?"
"Master, please allow me to display the analysis report."
The next moment, a transparent projection appeared in front of Ivan.
Two energy blocks appeared within the projection. One was marked as an ordinary energy block, while the other was marked with a completely different classification.
Ivan's gaze immediately focused on the second energy block.
At that moment, Nova's explanation began.
"Master, the energy block that was not exposed to magical particles remained completely normal. Its internal energy structure is consistent with the universal energy recorded within my database. But the energy block produced from the magic particles gathered by the Miniature Energy Collectors displays different characteristics."
Ivan's expression gradually became serious.
"What difference?"
The 3D projection immediately changed.
The internal structure of the second energy block expanded before Ivan's eyes.
"Within this energy block, universal energy still exists. However, alongside the universal energy, another type of energy has appeared—a pure form of magical energy."
Ivan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Magical energy?"
"Yes, Master."
"According to the preliminary analysis, the concentration of this magical energy within the energy block is approximately sixty percent."
For the first time, Ivan's expression showed genuine surprise.
"Sixty percent?"
Ivan stared at the projection. His mind quietly began connecting the information he already possessed: energy collectors, universal energy, magic particles, and pure magical energy.
Those concepts seemed unrelated at first, but they had suddenly become connected by a single experiment.
But what surprised Ivan the most was the fact that magical energy and universal energy were coexisting within the same energy block.
Ivan knew very well what universal energy was.
In the Orin Civilization, universal energy was one of the most fundamental forms of usable energy. The technology of the Orion Civilization could extract energy from countless different sources: light, heat, radiation, chemical reactions, energy from stars, energy from black holes, dark matter energy, and even energy produced through advanced technological processes.
After passing through an energy collector, those different forms of energy could be purified and transformed into a standard form of energy.
This energy was called universal energy.
The reason for this name was also simple.
Universal energy could be converted into almost any other usable form of energy, such as bioenergy, electrical energy, dark energy, and even void energy. Thus, it became the foundation upon which countless technologies of the Orin Civilization operated.
Most importantly, once an energy collector completed the conversion process, the original characteristics of the energy source would normally disappear. Whether the energy originated from sunlight, heat, radiation, or another source, the final result would still be universal energy.
There had never been such a situation where multiple fundamentally different energy types remained inside the same energy point or energy block.
Yet it had happened.
The energy collectors had gathered magical particles, and instead of completely converting them into universal energy, part of that energy had remained in the form of pure magical energy.
Ivan stared silently at the energy block.
Then he suddenly thought of something.
"Nova, is the characteristic of this magical energy similar to any other kind of energy recorded in the database?"
After a few seconds of silence, Nova replied.
"Master, according to the current analysis, only one kind of energy source displays approximately ninety-nine percent structural similarity to this magical energy."
Hearing the answer, Ivan was slightly stunned.
He had asked the question almost casually. He had not expected any answer, let alone one so quickly.
"Which energy?"
"Master, this magical energy is highly similar to the energy stored within a magic stone."
Ivan's expression changed.
"A magic stone? Are you sure it is similar to a magic stone?"
"Yes, Master. According to my analysis, I can be ninety-nine percent certain that this energy is similar to the energy stored within a magic stone."
Ivan's gaze immediately fell on the magic stone beside him.
The magic stone was one of the most common forms of currency circulating throughout the wizarding world.
Ivan had already used Nova's scanning function to analyze magic stones before. He knew that ordinary magic stones were essentially ordinary materials that had accumulated an extremely high concentration of magical energy over a very long period of time.
At first glance, the process sounded simple.
But in reality, it was anything but simple.
In areas where the concentration of magical particles was extremely high, the surrounding environment could gradually change under their influence. Vegetation, soil, sand, stone, trees, and other ordinary objects within such an environment could gradually absorb the dense magical energy surrounding them.
Over an extremely long period of time, those materials could undergo fundamental changes. Their internal structures would slowly become compatible with magical energy, eventually transforming them into magical materials.
A common stone could become a magic stone.
A plant could become a magical herb.
Other ordinary objects could gradually transform into magical ores.
The process was natural but extremely slow.
Even the formation of a small magic stone vein could require thousands of years, and that was only for low-level magic stones. Higher-level magic stones required an even greater concentration of magical energy and an even longer period of accumulation.
The higher the level, the more difficult their formation became.
This was also why magic stones were considered valuable resources throughout the wizarding world.
They were not simply stones containing magical power.
They were the product of an extremely long natural process.
Ivan had used Nova's scanning capabilities to examine various magical resources during his time in the academy. There were countless types.
Some could convert magical energy, some could store magical energy, others could absorb magical energy, and some even rejected or interfered with magical energy.
Take magic copper, for example.
Although magic copper was called a magical material, that did not mean magic copper itself continuously produced magical energy. Its value came from its internal structure.
The structure of magic copper allowed magical energy to pass through it smoothly. In other words, magic copper possessed an extremely high affinity for magical energy and could function as an excellent conductor.
Other magical materials had completely different characteristics.
The wizarding world possessed an enormous variety of magical materials precisely because magic particles could gradually alter matter in countless different ways.
But now, the energy produced by the Miniature Energy Collectors contained an energy form almost identical to the energy found inside a magic stone.
This discovery immediately made Ivan's mind race.
He lowered his head and stared at the magical energy block.
"If the energy collectors are capable of transforming every energy source into standardized universal energy, then why didn't the magic particles become universal energy?"
This was the most important question.
The energy collectors had been created by the Orin Civilization. Their technology had been designed within a completely different universe.
The original universe of the Orin Civilization was a purely technological and materialistic universe. There was no magical energy or magic particles within that universe.
The entire energy-conversion system had been developed according to the physical rules of that universe.
Yet the same technological system had encountered magical particles, and the result was completely different.
Ivan fell into deep thought.
He remained silent for nearly ten minutes, his mind rapidly examining every possibility.
Could the energy collectors have malfunctioned?
No.
Nova had already confirmed that the collectors themselves were functioning normally.
Could the energy conversion process be incomplete?
That was also unlikely.
The universal energy inside the block was extremely pure. The energy converter itself had clearly succeeded.
The problem was that the magical particles had not been converted into universal energy.
Instead, they had become another form of energy: pure magical energy.
After thinking for a long time, Ivan finally gave up trying to solve the problem through his own knowledge.
"Nova, analyze the reason for all this phenomenon."
"Yes, Master."
Nova immediately began processing the collected data.
This time, however, the wait was longer.
Several minutes passed before a response came from Nova.
"Master, there is insufficient data to establish a definite conclusion based on our current knowledge reserve. Our understanding of the wizarding world is extremely limited. We lack sufficient knowledge regarding the fundamental rules governing magical particles, magical energy, and the deeper principles behind the wizarding system. Therefore, it is difficult to derive a definite answer from the current information."
Ivan wasn't surprised.
From the beginning, he had not expected Nova to provide a definite answer.
"However, after comparing the available data, I have obtained a preliminary hypothesis."
Ivan's eyes moved slightly.
"A hypothesis?"
"Yes, Master."
"The magical energy produced from the magic particles may be related to the fundamental rules of this universe."
Hearing this first sentence, Ivan's expression became extremely serious.
Anything related to the fundamental rules of the universe had to be treated with extreme seriousness.
Nova displayed another projection.
"This conclusion is based on information we already possess. We know that the magic particles circulating throughout the wizarding world are related to the chaotic void energy that exists throughout the Endless Void. Although our current knowledge is insufficient to determine the exact nature of chaotic void energy, it is clearly a fundamental existence within this universe."
"Therefore, we can make a preliminary assumption. Magic particles may not simply be an ordinary form of energy. They may be one of the manifestations of the fundamental rules of this universe."
Ivan nodded slightly.
After thinking about it, he had also come to a similar conclusion.
"The original universe of the Orin Civilization was fundamentally different from this universe."
"It was a purely materialistic universe. There was no magical energy or magic particles."
"The energy collectors there were therefore designed according to the rules of that universe. They could gather energy from countless sources and transform it into standard universal energy."
"But after entering this universe, the collectors are operating under a completely different set of fundamental rules. The energy they gather is still subject to the rules of this universe."
Nova's projection changed again.
"If the magical particles are themselves connected to the fundamental rules of this universe, then the energy collectors may not be capable of forcefully converting them into universal energy. Instead, when the collectors interact with those particles, the particles follow the rules of this universe and transform into their corresponding form of magical energy."
"It is similar to how the energy collectors could not violate the rules of physics within the original universe of the Orion Civilization. No matter how advanced the technology was, it could not simply ignore gravity or other fundamental physical rules."
"Therefore, after entering this universe, the collectors could not ignore the fundamental rules governing magical energy."
"The technology of the Orin Civilization could process energy, but it could not simply override the fundamental rules of an entirely different universe."
As Nova's explanation ended, the room became silent.
Ivan stared at the projection for a long time.
This explanation was only a hypothesis.
There was no way to confirm it with their current level of knowledge.
But it was logical.
The Orin Civilization's technology had been developed in a purely technological universe. Their machines could manipulate energy, transform energy, and even convert energy into highly advanced technological forms.
But none of that meant that technology could transform the fundamental rules of another universe.
Every universe had different rules, and every existence within those universes had to operate under those rules.
After thinking for a moment, Ivan finally spoke.
"I think your hypothesis may be closer to the truth. However, without enough data, we cannot confirm it."
"Correct, Master. More data is required for us to confirm the truth."
Ivan's attention returned to the magical energy block in front of him.
He slowly reached out and wrapped his fingers around the strange magical block.
The moment he held it, Ivan closed his eyes.
His Spiritual Perception slowly spread outward.
He carefully sensed the energy contained within the block.
Universal energy.
Magical energy.
Two different forms of energy coexisted within the same block, yet they did not violently conflict with each other.
Instead, they quietly coexisted.
Ivan remained motionless for several moments.
Then-
His eyes suddenly opened.
A brilliant light flashed through his blue pupils.
For the first time since the beginning of the experiment, an unmistakable excitement appeared on Ivan's face.
He stared at the magical energy block in his hands.
At this moment, it no longer looked like an ordinary block.
In Ivan's eyes, it was a completely new resource—a resource and a way to gather incredible wealth.
Ivan was naturally excited.
But not simply because he had discovered a new resource.
He was excited because, a moment ago, Ivan had tried to absorb the pure magical energy within the energy block.
And he had succeeded.
Although this matter sounded small, it was anything but small.
A magic stone was a natural product that required thousands of years to form. Alongside being the currency of the wizarding world, magic stones also had many other uses.
Wizards could directly absorb the pure magical energy within a magic stone to increase their Mental Energy or replenish their mana during battle. Magic stones were also used in various formations and wizardry techniques.
One could understand the preciousness of a magic stone from these uses alone.
And now, the energy block in front of Ivan possessed the same effect as a magic stone.
It could be said that this was a monumental discovery.
But after a moment, Ivan suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
Although this discovery was extremely valuable, and using such a resource could allow Ivan to instantly become rich or even famous, his current power and background were nothing special.
Any high-level Wizard Apprentice could kill him with a flick of a finger.
If anyone discovered that Ivan possessed such precious technology, it would be no different from a child walking through a crowded market while openly holding a piece of gold.
Ivan's expression gradually became solemn.
Cold sweat began to form on his forehead.
Fortunately, there were restrictions within the dormitory, and nobody had discovered what was happening inside his room.
But in the future, Ivan had to be even more careful.
Before he possessed enough power to protect himself, he absolutely could not allow this technology to be exposed.
Power.
At this moment, Ivan understood more clearly than ever that without sufficient power, even the greatest discovery could become a disaster.