High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 337: Chapter 6 Othello’s Balance and Observer Effect_1

The Ash Mountain Range, constructed from hues of black and red, winds and stretches across the center of the white continent.

At the end of the range, several golden smoke-thread dragons frolic and play, spewing the smoky air around them and ignoring the black-red bones at their feet—unaware of the impending danger.

The slender antennae of the scouting black soldier ants oscillate rapidly, estimating the distance between the legendary ’treasure’ and their own army.

The vast black army, like a heavy stroke of ink, blots a corner of the white continent.

The hunt begins, subtly and without warning.

Pounce, bite, entangle, fight.

The bodies of the smoke-thread dragons seem exceptionally bulky and mighty to these tiny black ants. A swipe would pulverize, a knock would mash. Countless bodies of the black ants fell, nourishing and augmenting the height and length of the Ash Mountain Range.

Yet ants are never creatures known to retreat in the face of difficulties.

Unable to scale the dragon, ants swarm.

Unable to withstand the dragon’s majesty, ants overwhelm by sheer numbers.

And so, a golden smoke-thread dragon was shredded into tiny pieces by the black swarm. The black soldier ants, carrying their trophies atop their heads, skittered on six short legs back to their camp.

There, the ant queen, swollen with anticipation, awaited the world’s offering.

”The primal ants battle to the death, at most adding slightly to the height of the Ash Mountain Range nestled in the center of the white continent.”

Professor Yao, biting on his pipe and crossing his arms, stood near the white continent. He spoke in a flat tone while his eyes drooped,

”However, then they grow—or, rather, mutate—the situation becomes very different.”

The classroom was silent.

Everyone was engrossed, watching life and death, war, and peace unfold in that tiny world. The only intermittent proof of the thrilling events on the white continent were the heavy exhalations of the young men and the occasional shrieks from the young women.

The ant queen, having consumed the remains of the smoke-thread dragon, rapidly mutated.

Her tora was larger, her physique sturdier—tens of times the size of other ants. Her carapace was shiny and smooth, the hard bristles on her legs sharp and thick, easily piercing through the white continent beneath her.

”For the black ants, this is a sign of luck as well as of impending misfortune.”

”They’re lucky to have the strength and ability to defeat their enemies.”

”Unfortunately, they do not have control over this newfound power.”

Old Yao was casually narrating from the lectern while the battle on the white continent was in full swing.

With a stronger leader, the black ants’ morale surged. They broke through the obstacles of the Ash Mountain Range effortlessly, scattering the red ants.

The continent’s landscape changed dramatically in the blink of an eye.

The bodies of the dead ants either became fertilizer for the mountains at the base of the Ash Mountain Range or were pushed off the edges of the continent into the abyss, turning into wisps of black smoke that returned to Old Yao’s pipe.

The major combat was over, and peace was imminent.

All seemed to return to tranquility.

Only the young wizards who had been attentively observing the evolution of the continent through the massive light screen could perceive the terror hidden behind the calm.

”What are those?” Zheng Qing pointed to the transparent holes slowly appearing on the white continent and pushed Doctor Xiao next to him, asking nervously.

”Footprints left by the queen ant.” Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses, his eyes never leaving the screen, he muttered, ”To this continent, she is far too powerful... Her sharp fangs and pointed legs are far too sharp for this paper.”

Zheng Qing looked enlightened.

Then he frowned deeply.

Just a few inadvertent steps she took on the white continent left dangerously piercing scars.

The black soldier ants, patrolling as guards, occasionally fell into these transparent holes, plunged into the abyss and turned into wisps of black ash.

Clearly, this world was no longer suitable for the large queen ant to continue living.

Her existence was a threat to the entire colony.

”Standing still, her massive size continues to tear this continent apart, causing the ant queen to fall into the abyss; and she hasn’t yet evolved wings. Like other insignificant ants, when she falls into the abyss, the only thing welcoming her is the Ruins.”

Old Yao gripped his pipe, puffing out a series of smoke rings. His voice sounded somewhat heavy,

”But this still isn’t the worst.”

”The most desperate moment for the white continent would be when the second large creature appears on this already overloaded world.”

As he spoke, a large red ant suddenly arose from the other end of the Ash Mountain Range.

It was a small cluster of fugitive red ants that had luckily killed a lone smoke thread dragon, and this was their reward.

When it climbed to the top of the Ash Mountain Range and roared challenges to another presence, the countdown for this land began.

The previously leisurely striding black ant queen, now dragging its heavy body, charged at the newborn red giant ant.

One by one, transparent holes appeared behind it.

The large red ant raised its large pincers unwillingly and fought back hard.

They rolled and bit, allowing the residual black ants and red ants to fall into the transparent holes and into the endless abyss.

The world was becoming more and more run-down, but this couldn’t stop the two powerful ants from continuing to be insane.

The black ant queen spurted out surges of acid, and the red giant ant shook off sparks of fire.

The acid fell onto the white paper, corroding patches of yellow-green stains; the sparks splashed onto the white paper, baking pieces of burnt yellow crisp.

The white land had turned into a vast crispy plain.

Fragments of shattered paper fluttered down from mid-air, Old Yao’s second pipe hadn’t yet finished, and this tiny world of white paper had ended its brilliant, short, and bleak life.

Without ground under their feet, the two giant ants fell into the void one after another, transforming into two slightly larger wisps of black smoke, returning to Old Yao’s pipe.

The light screen tore open.

The little elves returned to their seats on the blackboard’s edge.

The atmosphere in the classroom was a little heavy.

Everyone was savoring that simple yet complex process just now, and everyone had seen some harsh reality from the simple experiment.

”Every world is like this.”

”As long as the ’superhumans’ are active, the chance of the world’s destruction increases exponentially.”

Old Yao grabbed his pipe and tapped the lectern hard.

Zheng Qing felt dazed for a moment.

He remembered many web novels, American dramas, and Japanese animations he had seen before.

The Earth was just like that white paper continent.

Long Aotian, Green Giant, and even the Super Saiyans. When they weren’t active, the Earth quietly survived for billions of years.

The more active they were, the shorter the world’s lifespan.

With a casual tear of the sky, a collapse of the mountains, a sneeze triggering storms, a pee stirring up tsunamis.

The spectators were so thrilled they couldn’t help themselves.

But only those who were in the midst of it could sense the deep desperation of ordinary people.

Perhaps by freezing all these extraordinary lives, this world that has been rebooted countless times can be saved.

Professor Yao tapped the blackboard and emphasized:

”To avoid destruction, the extraordinary ones must remain silent.”

”This is where the Silence Theory comes from.”

”Speaking of maintaining silence, we must mention an important theorem of the Silence Theory: Othello’s Balance.”

”... Within a certain time and space range, the extraordinary individual remains silent, reducing the damage to the world... this can ensure the survival of both the extraordinary individual and the ordinary one... The content of Othello’s Balance is interesting and complex... The above is just the best equilibrium solution recognized by the wizarding world.”

”...There is another theorem in the Silence Theory which involves the Dimensionism that we will talk about in the next class... this theorem is the ’Observer effect’.”

”...When extraordinary power is noticed by ordinary people, the destructive power it generates will converge, collapsing into reality, and also causing corresponding damage to the world of ordinary people...”

”...When extraordinary power is not noticed by ordinary people, this destructive power will continue to diverge, diverging into higher dimensions...”

”This is why the wizarding world avoids the world of ordinary people. We cannot avoid disagreements among wizards, but we can try to avoid the Observer effect of ordinary people on extraordinary power.”

”And divergence and convergence are the most widely used magic concepts in contemporary Philosophy of Magic - Dimensionism.”

”...As one of the basic theories of Philosophy of Magic, the ’Silence Theory’ ahass many conjectures that need to be verified by future wizards... You could say, any wizard who proves any conjecture is eligible to win a ’Logic Prize’...”

”...that will be the direction of your efforts in the future!”