908 Derivative (1/2)
Splash!
A rush of water splashed onto his face, immediately dousing Snow awake.
He continued struggling while crying out loudly. However, he was gagged and could not say a word.
The professor and the students were tied to the thick trunk of a tree.
I've been kidnapped by a lizard?
After this thought surfaced in Snow's head, he was so ashamed that he wanted to hide in a hole.
Suddenly, he spotted the giant lizard in front of him.
It seemed to be staring curiously at him, and its gaze carried a mocking look.
No! This can't be right! This Derivative's intelligence is completely beyond my expectations! It might even be a first-class Derivative… Damn it, this was supposed to be just an ordinary assignment…
”All right, Mr. Snow. Let me release your bindings. I hope you don't misunderstand!” A man's voice came from the lizard's mouth.
Turning around, it waved its claw and snapped a few vines. He fell to the ground immediately.
”Cough cough!” Snow spit out the cloth gagging his mouth. He was about to chant again. ”S—”
Smack!
The next instant, he was thrown violently onto the ground. He was in so much pain that his mind turned blank, and he could not speak for a while.
”If you want to teach me spells, I'm more than happy to learn. However, let us communicate in a common language for now… You do realize that your spells use a different language system, right? From now on, every time I hear anything like it, I'll whip you once. Understood?”
Fang Yuan lowered his claw, pressing down on Snow to threaten him aggressively.
”I… understand…”
Snow had finally confirmed that this giant lizard had intelligence equivalent to a human's. In fact, it was extremely cunning.
”Where are you from?”
”Newtlud, of the Sorcerer Congress!”
”What's your name?”
”Snow!”
”How old are you?”
”Twenty-one!”
…
After a few questions, Snow's gaze began to relax and turned dazed.
”That's it…” Fang Yuan sighed heavily. ”If my magical powers had recovered fully, I wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble just to hypnotize him…”
He seemed as though he had been drugged with truth serum and was basically ready to answer any questions he was asked.
”Where did you get your abilities from?” Fang Yuan's voice was dreamy as he asked the most important question.
Snow revealed a struggling expression but still answered the question. ”The Philosopher's Book!”
”What kind of book is that?”
”It's a first-class Derivative. At first, it was nothing more than a regular notebook. But as long as you write a spell in it, it'll become real…”
With that description, Fang Yuan understood the special feature of the Philosopher's Book.
As long as he wrote the power of a spell in the book together with its incantation, it would become real.
After that, if someone in this world recited the incantation, that spell would come to life!
Furthermore, without paying any price, any caster who practiced enough would be able to become a sorcerer!
It was precisely because of this that the Philosopher's Book was so well-protected. Furthermore, the incantations were written in a near-indecipherable language. All because they were afraid that it would turn into a horrifying disaster.
”The Philosopher's Book… has it reached this point already?” Fang Yuan really could not believe it. ”Is there something wrong with this world? Why does it sound so similar to the Magic Encyclopedia? Hey, is there a fat blue robot that has a four-dimensional pocket here?”
”No… At least, I haven't heard of a Derivative like that before!” Snow answered honestly.
”What is this 'Derivative' you've been talking about? Explain it properly!”
”Yes!”
…
After a series of questions, Fang Yuan finally gained a deeper understanding of this world.
This was a world that was very similar to Earth. The advancement of its technology was also similar. Until one day, 'it' appeared.
No one knew what 'it' was. Perhaps it was a ray of light or a natural phenomenon. Perhaps it was a god that was playing a joke on humanity.
In other words, from a certain timeframe afterward, there were some strange things on this planet. They were so peculiar that it could cause scientists to collectively puke blood.
The existence of these peculiarities violated the fundamental rules of this world.
For instance, no matter how strong a person was, they would never be able to pull their hair and lift themselves off the ground.
However, once this phenomenon influenced them, they would be able to do it!
All these unimaginable characteristics were formed after a certain 'contact'. Some of these characteristics could even topple the ecology of the planet.
After going through multiple life-changing crises, some people paid the price of a horrifying experience. Finally, they managed to get a grasp of the rules of this first-class Derivative. With that, they set a contract to jointly control the existence of Derivatives. Furthermore, they took action to seal this secret off from regular citizens.
”So-called first-class Derivatives are things that came to life after coming into contact with 'it'. There are multiple classes of Derivatives as well. Secondary Derivatives were infected by first-class Derivatives. Come to think of it, Snow could be considered an 'infected' party of the Philosopher's Book, so he's a secondary Derivative. Some secret organizations also borrow the power of Derivatives to fight against new Derivatives. Furthermore, the most dangerous ones are those with strong attributes. They aren't particularly stable yet either, and they can infect an unlimited number of Derivatives. It seems like each one that appears is considered a world-level threat!”