Chapter 311: Chapter 307: Desperate Genius
Undoubtedly, Schopenhauer failed in using Imaginary Alchemy to create materials and elements that do not exist in the real world.
Make no mistake, he did not fail to verify Imaginary Alchemy, he merely could not create the materials or elements that Perfikot depicted which do not exist in the real world.
He used Imaginary Alchemy to manufacture a new type of alloy material that he had always envisioned.
This material was a new type that Schopenhauer was still conceptualizing and imagining, possessing greater strength than steel, yet lighter than wood, intended to serve as his stepping stone to becoming a formal member of the Royal Academy of Sciences.
According to his original estimation, he ought to spend five years continuing research and study, followed by three to seven years to complete this research.
Then, he used Imaginary Alchemy to create this material that was still in his conception.
This was no different from the material he imagined, but the entire process of refined creation was completely contrary to his understanding and conception, even entirely opposite.
"Too incredible, how could this approach work?" Schopenhauer could no longer maintain his expression or behaviors, appearing extremely inappropriate.
But the other alchemists around him did not consider him rude, because their reactions were even more disreputable.
There were some who shouted with joy, mostly worshipers of Perfikot, cheering merely to flatter the Lord of the North.
Only very few were cheering for the progress of alchemy.
There was not lacking those who were seized with rage, but in such a situation, they could only suppress their anger, and still had to echo and flatter, praising Perfikot for ushering in a new era of alchemy.
Even though they clearly realized that they were the kind of conservative, crippled by the shackles of reality, incapable ones Perfikot spoke of.
Yet even so, these "incapable ones" who still held high positions in academia had to pretend as though they were highly capable, even in the field of Imaginary Alchemy, capable of quickly achieving results.
Because if they failed to present themselves this way, they would indeed soon be eliminated by this age.
After all, though they were incapable, they were not ignorant, still able to clearly understand what kind of transformation and impact Imaginary Alchemy could bring to this world.
And among all the people, Schopenhauer was undoubtedly the one struck most strongly.
He was born into a family of alchemists, starting from his great-grandfather, his family had been famous alchemists, passed down for four generations, the accumulation of family knowledge was already enough to easily transform any ordinary person with talent above average into an outstanding alchemist.
Born into such a family, Schopenhauer was not someone who idly relied on the shade of his ancestors.
On the contrary, having demonstrated his talent and ability since childhood, Schopenhauer not only gained the family’s devoted nurturing, he himself also consistently worked extremely hard and diligently.
Despite the gap compared to the Brandelis couple who became famous ten years earlier, Schopenhauer always believed that what he lacked was merely accumulation of time, not differences in ability and knowledge.
He believed that as long as he matured step by step, he could quickly reach the position achieved by the Brandelis couple ten years ago, attaining accomplishments equal to theirs.
He always believed so, and his growth trajectory gave him such confidence, believing he could succeed.
Just like he believed that at forty years old he would certainly become a formal member of the Royal Academy of Sciences.
However, when Perfikot emerged soaring, the name Perfikot Brandelis made all other geniuses of her era appear dim.
She was a legendary figure who began changing history and propelling the world’s progression at fourteen, even directly by her own ability carved out lands, the first Dragon Slayer and holder of the Philosopher’s Stone in hundreds of years.
Her feats even when written into those absurd novels, would be the most outrageous kind.
If she were merely a fictional character, Schopenhauer would only sneer, thinking the author fantasized and indulged too much.
But when such a character was real and someone of his era, for someone like Schopenhauer who thought of himself as a genius, it was akin to a nightmare.
Because Perfikot’s existence made him clearly realize, he was a genius, yes, but only an average genius, a genius in the sense of ordinary people.
And Perfikot? She was an unworldly genius, a genius for geniuses.
The reason she’s called a genius is because only the adjective ’genius’ suffices, not that her talents are merely so much.
Schopenhauer looks at Perfikot’s manuscripts before him, as if gazing at a towering mountain he can never surmount, striving to look up, but could never see the peak of this mountain.
Even if he managed to climb, he felt that when he indeed stood on the summit, Perfikot would merely stand atop a higher peak, gazing down at him, with not a trace of possibility to catch up.
This is the disadvantage of having too clear an understanding of his own strength, Schopenhauer cannot imagine surpassing Perfikot.
He cannot even imagine catching up to her, because he has a clear understanding of his own ability, he cannot achieve it.
He cannot achieve breaking existing alchemy theoretical systems at fourteen and creating a whole new theoretical system, forcibly creating Imaginary Alchemy outside real alchemy.
This is like everyone climbing a mountain together, Schopenhauer and other alchemists were only advancing along paths previously forged by predecessors, while Perfikot carved out another road herself, and moreover she climbs to the summit even sooner than them.
To others, this gap perhaps does not feel so pronounced, after all, the difference between mediocrity and ordinary genius is already so apparent, how could he perceive the chasm-like gap between himself and Perfikot?
To put it bluntly, the gap between mediocrity and ordinary genius is far smaller than the gap between ordinary genius and Perfikot, mediocrity cannot even see where the edge of the gap between him and Perfikot lies.
But for Schopenhauer, who himself is a genius and has a clear self-perception, this gap is so despair-inducing.
As the saying goes, "The more you know, the more you feel your ignorance."
And at this very moment, Schopenhauer just wants to say: "The more you know, the more you can feel the kind of despair-inducing summit you face."
That is a pinnacle so unattainable that even gazing at its silhouette demands all efforts.