A Beekeeper in a Magical World

Underneath the substitution cloth, a clear magical effect was taking place.

Shortly after, the tattered fabric seemed to come to life, wriggling slowly.

"Is the substitution starting?" Hua Mi watched expectantly at the unfolding scene before them.

However, what followed wasn't as Zeleka had described.

The substitution wasn't completed all at once.

The substitution cloth continued to wriggle, as if it had hit a snag.

At that moment, while Hua Mi enveloped the substitution cloth with their psychic energy, a peculiar image flashed in their mind:

A bright silver balance hovered within the void.

Seemingly as large as a skyscraper yet as small as a speck of dust.

Without any reference in the void, its size couldn't be determined.

Its design was simple and imposing, devoid of intricate components or decorative patterns.

Only a structure fulfilling its most basic function.

The fundamental function of the balance, of course, was to weigh.

At that moment, on its left pan, lay the Honey of Illusionary Feathers that Hua Mi had placed beneath the substitution cloth.

While the right pan remained empty.

To be precise, it hadn't decided what to place there yet.

Various colored dots gathered, but before they could coalesce, they swiftly dissipated, and the balance remained imbalanced.

Hua Mi found it intriguing.

This balance clearly wasn't an ordinary magical tool; it possessed a strong spirituality.

It was like a special entity attached to the substitution cloth.

Just as Hua Mi was about to delve deeper into its nature using their psychic energy, the Illusionary Feathers Honey on the left pan vanished.

And suddenly, they felt a repelling force, their psychic energy rebounding.

The image in the void vanished.

Hua Mi blinked and looked at the substitution cloth on the table.

It no longer wriggled, the internal magical effect having ceased.

Lifting it, Hua Mi checked, and indeed, the Honey of Illusionary Feathers remained untouched, no change whatsoever.

"Has the substitution failed?" Hua Mi covered the cloth again, chanting "Alimondo" thrice, but nothing happened.

"...What's going on?"

A glitch, maybe?

Possibly because the honey wasn't supposed to exist in this world, so the balance couldn't accurately assess its value...

As per Zeleka's description, under normal circumstances, the substitution was almost instantaneous.

But just now, it 'stuck.'

And with their psychic power, Hua Mi had seized the opportunity to sense its inner space.

Now, attempting to probe again was like hitting a brick wall—a seamless surface with no cracks.

Seemingly flawless, with no openings.

It seemed the only chance to enter would be during its substitution.

After a brief contact, Hua Mi could ascertain that the entity attached to the substitution cloth was unique.

Whether it was bound within or originally birthed from this fabric was uncertain.

This raised a question: when the substitution cloth was used enough times, and if it became damaged and unusable, would this entity within the balance be released or would it perish?

Hua Mi noticed that despite the incomplete substitution just now, the fabric showed signs of wear.

Seemingly, any usage would lead to abrasion, regardless of the outcome.

"The Honey of Illusionary Feathers seems to have been blacklisted. How about trying another honey? Or perhaps, directly using bees."

Hua Mi was single-mindedly eager to uncover the secrets of the entity within the balance.

Controlling a Yin-Yang Bee, the highest-grade bee they currently had, it settled on the tabletop.

Hua Mi had the bee lie flat on the table, covered it with the substitution cloth as before, wrapping it with their psychic energy, and chanted "Alimondo" three times in succession.

After a familiar wave of magical fluctuations.

The fabric 'came to life' once more.

Simultaneously, Hua Mi lost control of the Yin-Yang Bee.

Focusing their attention, they sought loopholes.

As expected, this time, the substitution wasn't completed in time.

Seizing the opportunity, Hua Mi infiltrated with their psychic power.

Again, the image of the void balance surfaced in their mind.

Similar to when weighing the Honey of Illusionary Feathers.

The specter of the Yin-Yang Bee rested on the left pan of the balance, while various items flashed on the right pan, but equilibrium remained elusive.

This time, Hua Mi noticed the balance seemed more 'temperamental' than before—the shifting on the right pan quickened noticeably.

"Twice in a row, and you can't get the job done. You're failing at this, balance," Hua Mi quipped inwardly.

It seemed like the balance heard their thoughts.

Its surface, initially a bright silver, instantly shifted to fiery red, emitting wisps of 'steam' signifying irritation, seemingly exasperated.

A creaking sound akin to old metal rubbing against each other emanated from it.

"Turning red?" Hua Mi realized that this balance, while bound by certain rules, appeared somewhat clumsy and dim-witted, almost like a machine controlled by set programming.

But within those rules, it exhibited significant spirituality, capable of basic communication at least.

Hua Mi grew increasingly curious about its origins.

Suddenly, the balance 'heated up,' and a stream of rainbow dots flowed from its surface, converging and landing on the right pan.

The scale began tilting toward the right.

By continuously adding and subtracting the dots, the balance finally achieved equilibrium on both sides.

"This is..." Before Hua Mi could examine closely, their psychic energy was once again repelled.

The void balance disappeared from their mind.

Hua Mi glanced at the tabletop.

The substitution cloth appeared more worn out than before.

It seemed it wouldn't withstand many more uses.

A slight bulge emerged in the center, indicating that what lay beneath was no longer a bee.

Lifting it, Hua Mi found a cluster of rainbow dots underneath.

Information about it flooded into Hua Mi's mind.

It was a characteristic.

It was what the void balance had peeled off from itself.

Unable to find a suitable equivalent, it had directly targeted Hua Mi.

This characteristic, to be precise, was the 'Weighing' characteristic.

The void balance relied on this characteristic to perceive the nature of an object and conduct equivalent substitutions.

"This characteristic can absorb... as long as it absorbs this characteristic, I might be able to analyze the nature and value of unfamiliar items in the future."

Because the characteristic wasn't complete, it couldn't provide a hundred percent information.

It could only offer a certain probability.

But that was already quite impressive.

Without hesitation, Hua Mi reached out, fingertips touching the cluster of characteristics.

At the moment of contact, they felt an attraction, as if countless particles were clamoring to burrow into their body.

Relaxing their psychic energy, they allowed the cluster of light to merge into them.

A fleeting warmth surged through them.

This characteristic had become a part of them.

Hua Mi blinked, surveying the interior of the wooden cabin, eager to test the newly acquired ability.

"No, the things here are already familiar to me. I don't really need to 'weigh' them... Maybe I'll try later when I get a chance."

...

As for other types of bees and honeys, the substitution cloth showed no reaction anymore.

It seemed

to categorize them collectively and blacklist them...

"I wonder if the void balance giving out partial characteristics will affect its own functionality?"

If the total quantity of characteristics remained constant, undoubtedly, its abilities would be somewhat weakened.

Of course, it might have only duplicated some characteristics, so it wouldn't be affected entirely.

However, amidst these uncertainties, Hua Mi was more intrigued by the origins of the void balance.

Such a rare characteristic, even by the standards of other realms, was undeniably mystical.

Hua Mi glanced at the heavily worn fabric, deciding not to continue experimenting—another try might just render it useless.

Carefully, they stored it in their storage ring.

"When my psychic energy becomes strong enough, maybe then I'll forcibly probe into the space where the void balance resides, and by then, I'll naturally understand its origins..."

At that moment, Hua Mi suddenly felt waves of heat emanating from their body.

It wasn't due to external environmental changes but rather an internal radiance.

"Could it be because of the absorbed characteristic?"

Hua Mi carefully sensed the anomaly within their body, probing inwardly, confirming that indeed, it was caused by the recently absorbed characteristic.

It seemed... somewhat incompatible.