Everyone stared at Adam. Although his body seemed frail, his eyes were shining.
"Adam...?" James inquired softly.
Before Adam could open his mouth, the devil rushed up towards him and shouted, "My almighty master, it's wonderful that you're alright! You have no idea how worried your humble servant was about you..."
Adam conjured a psychic hand and slammed the devil to the side, "Don't do what I do."
Adam continued, "I optimised my meditation method -- the quality has greatly improved, but I can't control it perfectly at the moment."
The three were excited, and Frank asked, "How is the result of your optimization, then?"
Adam handed out papers detailing his research and explained, "I managed to cut the nineteen runes down to only nine, removing the redundant and useless rune structures. This new arrangement can fuel more magic, but correspondingly, you need to be more proficient in order to handle these runes."
Adam didn't point out that it was much easier for him since he had extremely good computing power.
Adam was practically enlightened -- after incorporating simple geometry into drawing the runes, they have a more scientific, efficient structure.
In the first half of the month, Adam standardised every line in the rune using geometric theorems, making the rune's structure consistent.
After another half a month, Adam studied the runes closely, trying to combine them in different ways, and removed redundant parts.
In the next ten days, Adam discovered the hidden laws behind the combination of the runes. He found that there was a more efficient construction method, so in the last seven days, his systems went into overdrive to combine them. The runes were like an equation, so by calculating a "solution," he could construct a combination for them.
Adam discovered an unknown constant within the runes, which is a person's mental power. One day, if he has a more thorough understanding of mental power, he can integrate mental power into the runes to ensure consistency.
However, William, Frank, and James didn't have Adam's computing power. In their eyes, the runes were incredibly complicated and complex, making it difficult to memorise and draw them.
James was depressed upon discovering that the new rune structure takes longer than the old structure. The same is true for Frank.
William calculated silently in his heart, and found out that it would take him four times the time to complete the new rune structure compared to the old structure. He wanted to ask for Adam's help, but stopped. After all, the contract clearly stated that Adam was not obligated to serve their needs.
Adam was in a good mood and threw them a bone, "Don't memorise the runes; study the principles and patterns of the runes, and construct them through calculations."
The three of them stared at him, waiting for an explanation, but Adam didn't know how to. Adam frowned at himself, admitting that he did not have the capabilities to be a teacher.
...
Adam left the lab and walked towards the cafeteria.
His supply of food in his portable space had long run out, and although Adam was in great shape, not eating for a long time made him exhausted.
Along the way, Adam saw many apprentices gathered together in small groups. Only then did he recall that the Academy's trial was about to start. He didn't worry, though. He was confident that he was able to run amok the apprentices only using telekinesis.
The apprentices noticed Adam as well, but couldn't help but notice a grey mist lingering around him.
They didn't know what it was.
Adam knew it was a Death Mark left behind by Clarke. If what Clarke said was true, that means that a qualified antimage would be hunting him down, and the upcoming trial would only make the antimage's job easier.
"Right. We don't know where the trial is going to be held."
Adam didn't really know what to do. After all, he is just an apprentice. Besides, there was no way he could ask a qualified mage from the Academy to protect him.
He soon arrived at the cafeteria and ordered a table full of high-end food. While he was devouring all of the food, Elliot sat opposite of him, "Long time no see, my friend. You too, Mr. Devil. You seem unwell!"
The devil transformed itself into a beautiful woman and hovered around Elliot, "No, call me Miss Devil."
Elliot snickered, "Nice to meet you, Miss Devil."
Adam ignored the banter between the two, continuing to devour his food. When he was finished, he chatted with Elliot, "You seem free. Don't you need to refine any potions?"
Elliot laid his head on the table and sighed, "There's nothing else to do -- my scope of knowledge is too little to continue."
Adam didn't know how to respond. He didn't know how knowledge is defined in the mage world. Could his telekinesis be considered knowledge?
Could his new runes be considered knowledge as well? He didn't know.
"Maybe we need to integrate maths into knowledge. To make it consistent and easier to understand," Adam whispered to himself.
Elliot wasn't paying attention, "What did you say?"
Adam shook his head, "It's nothing."
Elliot sighed; he wasn't in high spirits today. After looking at Adam's frail body, he asked, "Where were you anyways? You look ill."
The devil replied on Adam's behalf, "My master was so obsessed with his research that he almost starved himself to death!"
Elliot stared at the devil in shock, "This isn't good, Adam. The trial begins in a few days! What if you slip up and die in the trial?" Elliot didn't want Adam to fall in the trial.
Adam lightly replied, "I'm good, don't worry about me. Besides, since when does a mage rely on their physical state to fight? I'll be fine. By the way, do you know anything about the trial?"
Elliot replied, "I'm not allowed to tell you, but you'll find out soon enough."
...
Elliot was right. Three days later, all apprentices were called to gather at the square.
Dean Victor was in his human form, donning a black robe, "I'm glad everyone has survived until now. However, this trial will separate the talented individuals from the... less talented ones."
The apprentices were restless listening to the Dean's short speech. Most of the apprentices were incredibly unprepared for the trial, since they did not do any of the missions listed on the Task Hall in order to improve their combat experience.
"Tomorrow morning, you will go to the trial site through a portal -- the trial site is a divided habitat of monsters. Your task? Destroy all the monsters and survive for a month."
Adam heard the relaxed gasps around him. All of the apprentices were glad they didn't have to kill each other.
Adam was slightly surprised at how simple the trial was.
The Dean continued, "All of you will receive a drop of a potion later. The beasts will attack anyone who has the scent of the potion indiscriminately."
The Dean's words were brief, and Adam found that Elliot was the one who will issue the potions. He winked at Adam upon spotting him in the crowd.