The sun had not yet fully risen when Lux opened his eyes. For the past two years, it had become routine to wake up before dawn, when the city of Flame's Crest was still shrouded in silence and morning dew.
"Wake up, worm. It's time to measure your sad reality," Mobius' arrogant voice echoed in his mind.
Lux sighed softly. Now five years old, his body was stronger than it had been two years ago, but training with Mobius was still exhausting.
Lux then sat cross-legged on the floor of his room, focusing his attention on an ordinary stone he had picked up from the garden. In his mind, he visualized the Möbius Gauge the paradoxical ring that constantly spun within his soul.
Stone: Coefficient 0.99992
Solid and stable. Lux could now read this coefficient fairly accurately after months of practice. Two years ago, the numbers fluctuated wildly in his mind. Now, he could maintain the measurement for ten seconds before mental fatigue set in.
"Keep going... Don't be complacent," Mobius scolded.
Lux turned to a bowl of water on his small table. Concentration was more difficult here.
Water: Coefficient 0.99875
The numbers swayed, reflecting the ever-changing nature of the liquid. Lux frowned, maintaining his focus. Every time his mind wandered, the coefficient fluctuated more wildly.
"Control yourself, worm! You're not a baby anymore!"
After the water came the lit candle in the corner of his room. Fire was always the most challenging to use for practice.
Fire: Coefficient 0.99500
The numbers changed rapidly, almost impossible to follow. The wild and ever-changing nature of fire made it nearly impossible to measure with any stability. Lux was sweating, his head beginning to throb.
"Enough with fire. Move on to air."
Air: Coefficient 0.99750
This is the most abstract. Measuring something invisible. Lux spent the rest of his energy on this before finally collapsing onto the bed, breathing heavily.
"0.012% progress in 2 years. Pathetic," Moebius muttered. "But... for a worm, it might be sufficient."
"You're always so insulting," Lux replied in his mind, still panting.
"Truth isn't insult. It's merely... measurement."
Yeah... Whatever.
At breakfast, Lumina noticed her son looked tired. "Lux, are you okay? You've been waking up very early lately."
Lux nodded, taking a spoonful of porridge. "I'm just practicing, Mom."
Noctis, who was sitting across from him, smiled proudly. "Look, Lumina. He's going to be a great cultivator. Look how focused he is. Even at his young age, he already has the discipline of a true cultivator."
Lumina stroked Lux's hair. "I just want him to be happy, Noctis. Sometimes he seems... too serious for a child his age. Other children his age are playing, while he spends his time alone in his room."
"Let him be. Every great cultivator has a unique beginning," said Noctis. "Maybe this is his path."
Lux listened with mixed feelings. He wanted to say that he was actually practicing with a primordial weapon that could distort reality, but of course that was impossible.
"They won't understand, worm," said Mobius, as if reading his mind. "They live within a box of predetermined rules. You... you have the potential to be outside that box, well of course that's because I'm so great, hehe..."
"What's wrong, dear?" asked Lumina when she saw Lux's expression change.
"Nothing, Mom. I was just thinking... some things about cultivation," Lux replied quickly.
Haha... Noctis laughed. "See? Even at the dinner table, his mind is on cultivation!"
Alright... "Let's focus on breakfast for now," Lumina reminded them.
After breakfast, Lux returned to his room for his second training session. Mobius had developed a "training protocol" tailored to a child's body shorter sessions, more frequent breaks, and a focus on objects with medium coefficients.
"Today we're going to try something new," said Mobius. "I want you to measure the coefficient of your shadow."
"Shadow?" Lux was confused.
"Everything that exists in reality has a coefficient, worm. Even concepts themselves. Now measure!" Mobius commanded firmly.
Lux then try to do as mobius told, but it was much more difficult. How do you measure something that isn't a physical object? His mind raced, trying to understand this concept.
Two years...He had been training like this for two damn years. Sometimes Lux wondered if it was all in vain. But then he remembered the gray meteor, his lost friends, and the secret he carried.
He had to keep going. There was no other choice.
"Don't doubt yourself, worm," Mobius said suddenly, his voice a little softer than usual. "Your progress... acceptable. For a little worm."
Lux smiled slightly. It was almost like a compliment from Mobius.
Six months later, on a bright afternoon, Lux sat in the backyard of their house. In front of him was a cup filled with clear water that he used for practice. Two and a half years had passed since he began training hard with Mobius, and frustration began to creep into his heart.
"Still can't do controlled distortion," Lux complained in his mind. "All I can do is measure, measure, and measure. When will I be able to actually do something?"
"Patience, worm," Mobius replied in an unusual tone almost as if he were considering something. "Today... today might be the right day to try."
Lux immediately sat up straight. "Really? You're allowing me to try distortion?"
"Not 'allowing'. I'm ordering. But listen carefully, little worm. You may only try it on the water in that cup. The coefficient is 0.99875. Aim for a small change only 0.00025. Understand?"
Lux nodded happily. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He assumed a meditative position, his hands stretched out toward the cup of water.
"0.99875..." he whispered, focusing all his attention.
He visualized the Möbius Gauge in his mind, watching the glitch pointer move along the surface of the paradox. He concentrated on the number, imagining it changing slowly.
0.99875... 0.99870... 0.99865...
His head began to throb, but he kept pushing. The energy in his body drained rapidly, like water flowing from a leaky container.
0.99860... 0.99855... 0.99850!
Suddenly, the water in the cup changed. From clear to slightly cloudy, as if fine bubbles had formed and then disappeared. The change lasted only about three seconds before the water returned to normal.
Lux fell backward, his head throbbing with pain. The world spun around him.
"Finally!" exclaimed Moebius, and for the first time, Lux heard a tone that was almost like pride in his voice. "Measurable progress. Although it's still pathetic on a cosmic scale, at least you're not completely useless."
"The water... became thicker," muttered Lux, still lying on the grass.
"Of course. You changed its reality coefficient, which affects its molecular bonds. Now sleep, worm. You'll need at least two hours to recover your energy."
After Lux woke up from his forced nap, he immediately took out the small notebook he had hidden under his bedroom floor. As a former engineer, he was accustomed to documenting every experiment.
Lux's Notes:
· First distortion successful!
· Target: Air coefficient from 0.99875 → 0.99850
· Effect duration: 3 seconds
· Energy cost: High (must sleep for 2 hours)
· Physical effect: Water becomes temporarily thicker
"What are you doing now, worm?" asked Mobius.
"I'm recording my observations," replied Lux. "From all the measurement exercises over the past two years, I've noticed a pattern."
He opened a new page and began to write:
Distortion Difficulty Level:
1. Air (most difficult) - Coefficient 0.99750
2. Fire - Coefficient 0.99500
3. Water - Coefficient 0.99875
4. Earth/Stone - Coefficient 0.99992
5. Metal (easiest) - Not yet measured
"Hmm," Moebius sounded interested. "You noticed that objects with lower coefficients are actually harder to distort?"
"Yes," Lux said enthusiastically. "At first I thought objects with lower coefficients meant they were more unstable, so easier to change. But in fact, it's the opposite."
"Good logic for a little worm," praised Mobius. "But you misunderstood the meaning of the coefficient. A lower value does not mean 'more unstable' - it means 'easier to change'. But 'easier to change' also means more difficult to control."
Lux nodded, beginning to understand. "So fire is easy to change, but because of its wild nature, it's actually more difficult to distort in a controlled manner?"
"Exactly. Think about it: which is easier—pushing a stationary stone ball, or trying to change the direction of a ball of fire that is already moving unpredictably?"
The explanation made everything clear to Lux. He immediately updated his notes:
New Understanding:
· Low coefficient = Changeable but difficult to control
· High coefficient = Stable but once changed, the effect is more permanent
· Optimal range: Medium coefficient (0.998-0.999)
"You learn fast," said Moebius, and this time it clearly sounded like praise. "Maybe there's hope for you after all."
In the following weeks, Moebius adjusted the training methods based on Lux's discoveries.
"Our training sessions will change," announced Mobius one morning. "Based on your observations, which... aren't entirely wrong, we'll focus on objects with a medium coefficient."