This was the second time Kano had brought this up. To be honest, Rorschach’s current project hadn’t seen any significant breakthroughs. The Guild and other Mages were all focused on his Blue Light Shield. His master frequently bringing up what would happen after the project felt a bit like discussing a year-end bonus at the start of the year.

Rorschach put down his teacup, a hint of suspicion in his eyes. "My dear Master, you seem awfully eager to send me away, don’t you?"

"How could that be? I’m simply concerned for my student. Just don’t be like your senior, who’s still here freeloading off me."

"That’s not right. The first time you brought this up, we discussed the possibility of a war between the Holy Kingdom and the Empire." Rorschach stood up, pacing around the office as he thought. "And yet, you said the Guild was willing to support me in establishing a Magic Tower in the Southern Empire. Something’s off. Very off."

"Don’t overthink it. Since you want to return to the Empire, I’m just supporting my student," Kano said, unconsciously rubbing his nose. "It’s just that if you build it in the Southern Empire, it would be easier for the Holy Kingdom’s branch to communicate with you, and the distance for supplying materials would be shorter, wouldn’t it?"

Rorschach studied Kano’s expression, but the Great Mage showed no other unusual signs. Finally, Rorschach replied, "Alright, I’ll need to think about it. For now, I have to finish my current assignment. And if I were to prepare to build a Magic Tower, I’d have to conduct a site survey first, wouldn’t I?"

If the "Hercules" collaboration with the Balderom Chamber of Commerce went smoothly, a beverage factory would be built in the Bayern Kingdom. Rorschach would then consider choosing a site for his Magic Tower that could offer mutual support to his old classmate and the industry in which he held a stake.

After their conversation, Rorschach left Kano’s office but didn’t return to the Tower of Stars. Since he was already in the research building, he decided he might as well continue with his project.

In the laboratory, the brass outer casing was as shiny as new, but the ceramic inner core had not yet been installed. To study the conversion process, Rorschach needed to come up with a new design, but for the moment, he was drawing a blank.

The most straightforward idea, of course, was to increase the number of Blue Light Barrier Arrays. But there were obvious limits to this approach. First, the brass casing had a height restriction. Second, after a certain point, the proportion of Blue Crystals in the post-decay product did not increase proportionally with the number of arrays.

In one of Rorschach’s experiments, after installing a fifth Blue Light Barrier section and activating the device, the blue luminescence became incredibly dense, as if it had piled up inside the tower and was about to overflow. However, when the Transmuting Dust was ejected, the mass of the Blue Crystals was actually less than it had been with only four sections.

In the original design, there were two Blue Light Barrier Arrays, one at each end of the inner core. After calibration, the luminescence would perfectly coat the entire inner wall upon activation, forming a protective layer. After adding more arrays, the fluorescent layer would thicken and fuse together. Looking down from the opening at the top of the tower, it resembled a deep, glowing well, completely obscuring the Magic Circuits and structure of the inner wall.

Rorschach stared at the data, comparing multiple experiments. He discovered that as the number of Barrier Array sections increased, the time it took for the Transmuting Dust to reach the bottom after ejection shortened. In the initial test run and subsequent trials with the original design, the post-decay products of the Transmuting Dust took seventeen seconds to pass through the entire tower. Now, with more Blue Light Barriers installed, it only took twelve seconds.

’Is it possible... that the additional Protection Arrays are interfering with the Slow Array?’ he wondered. ’A weaker slowing effect would reduce the dwell time for the Transmuting Dust’s conversion. This means that adding more Protection Arrays both directly promotes the conversion and negatively impacts it by reducing the dwell time.’

It seemed that without altering the Slow Array, Deryats’s Blue Light Barrier had both a positive and a negative effect on the conversion. When five panels were installed, the negative effect prevailed, making the conversion efficiency even worse than the previous test group.

If the slowing effect was weaker, he could just add more Slow Array sections. But this kind of thinking—like adding more flour when the dough is too wet, then more water when it’s too dry—was clearly not going to work. First, the prototype’s height was inherently limited. Second, with the current setup almost at full capacity, the conversion rate was only around ten percent. To reach an ideal rate by simply stacking more sections on top would be like building a second Starlight Torch Tower.

Furthermore, the Alchemy Ink had a limited capacity for carrying Ether. As the number of Magic Arrays increased, the power output of each individual array would drop. The question was whether the decreased energy consumption and efficiency would still be cost-effective.

’I’ll need to improve the Slow Array, then... or design a circuit specifically for the Dulling of Transmuting Dust based on the principles of the Blue Light Barrier Array... or change the device’s structural design to increase the Transmuting Dust’s dwell time...’ Rorschach considered many approaches, but in the end, he knew he had to start over with the design of the Magic Array itself.

This was precisely why he had designed the segmented ceramic inner core in the first place—it made altering the Magic Circuits very convenient. He also needed to perform quantitative calculations... but math always gave Rorschach a headache. If the amount of calculation increased any further, it would be impossible for him to do it all by himself. The panel didn’t have a calculation function, and constructing the Magic Arrays still consumed his own Spiritual Power.

A mechanical calculator and an Apprentice—Rorschach’s laboratory desperately needed both right now. Without them, he would waste a lot of time and probably lose his hair in the process.

’I should start by improving the Slow Array...’ He opened his panel, his eyes fixed on [Rorschach’s Delaying Technique].

’The "Energy Deprivation" attribute has a lot of potential,’ he thought. ’Right now, it’s limited to physical quantities, and with my current Casting proficiency and skill at constructing it into a Magic Array, its power output is not very high. But what if it could directly absorb Ether? Or what if I could direct the deprived energy to a specific target?’

If he could achieve that, it would be an incredibly powerful Magic. For instance, in heat engines and refrigeration units, the crucial process is heat transfer. Moreover, if it could absorb Ether, not only would it open up the first major technological path for utilizing Transmuting Dust—obtaining Ether energy directly without the Dulling process—but it would also be extremely useful in combat.

’Magic Control is already an attribute that gives directionality to Ether, but it’s not enough. I have [Rorschach’s Small Dissociation Technique] as a foundation, and if I combine that with "Energy Deprivation"...’ Rorschach’s thoughts began to drift. He felt he needed to study other magical research for reference. ’The archives and the Library tomorrow...’

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK... Someone rapped on the laboratory door. "Rorschach Mage, safety regulations state that you can’t keep the door fully closed."

"My apologies." Rorschach opened the door to find one of the men from the Alchemy Department, who was probably on duty in the research building.

The man looked vaguely familiar; perhaps he had been involved in setting up the laboratory. He glanced inside. "Do you need to continue your experiments? The steam engine in the power room is about to be shut down for maintenance."

"Alright, thank you for the reminder." ’Is it that late already?’ Rorschach pulled out his pocket watch. He’d come here after class, talked with Master Kano, run two sets of experiments, and brainstormed new ideas... Before he knew it, it was already past eight in the evening.

He hadn’t eaten yet. At this hour, the only places still serving food were the taverns or the Tower of Stars’ cafeteria. "I’ll pack up and head back now," he said.

"Alright." The man from the Alchemy Department clattered off toward the next laboratory. Rorschach gathered his data and rough notes, then extinguished the Magic Lamp.

...

At night, the Tower of Stars was still bustling with Apprentices. They had taken over the dining hall and the Library, and some classrooms were also open for self-study. The moment Rorschach stepped through the teleportation gate from the garden into the Magic Tower, the Tower Spirit sent him a notification:

"Rorschach Mage, a letter has arrived for you."

’A reply from Bart?’ He retrieved it from the mailroom. It was a very ornate letter. The envelope bore the words "For Rorschach Mage, Private" written in elegant cursive, and the top-right corner was stamped with the gilded insignia of the Bayern Kingdom. Rorschach was not of noble birth and didn’t know much about heraldry, but he vaguely recognized the crowned lion and interwoven lozenge pattern as being associated with Bayern. The wax seal was marked with the initial for "Balderom."

Rorschach bought a "Rorschach Bread" to take back to his room, planning to eat while he read.

As he opened it, a mixed scent of alcohol and flowers wafted out. ’Whoa, he even sprayed it with perfume.’ Rorschach recalled that Bart had been a bit flamboyant back in their student days, but surely not to this extent?

The contents were even more shocking, nearly causing Rorschach, who was eating as he read, to choke—

To my dearest friend, Rorschach:

The most important news must come first: I am getting married! The wedding will be held on the first day of May this year.