Vikram, as was his habit, read through the manual of the void simulator lightly.
He did not read everything in detail, just titles and subtitles, as well as the rough explanations, to make sure that he is following the correct lesson plan. This is his habit, perhaps it's most engineer's habit. This way, you will know if you have to buy more screws when chapter six comes to play, or more diodes when chapter ten comes. You could choose the buy three get two free on the screws if you know this about your textbook beforehand.
Your knowledge is not deep, it's just that you have a hypothetical idea, with no clue about details.
Vikram's knowledge about using ether in conjunction with elements was like that.
Since he gets a lot of time these days as one gene modifier after another comes as the alpha buffalo boss's vitality decreases, he practiced with elements.
That's how he figured it out.