Today, Rorschach had gone to neither class nor his research lab. Instead, he was in a cramped little room, constantly rummaging for something. COUGH, COUGH... Hundreds of books, files, and pamphlets were piled on the shelves, kicking up so much dust that the concentration of airborne particles in the small archive room was dangerously high.

"Mage Rorschach, I suggest you search the Library..."

"The Library obviously won’t have what I need." Rorschach was looking for other forms of Magic containing the elements of the "Energy Deprivation" spell. When it came to this tier, the basic materials available to Apprentices in the Library were certainly not enough.

This archive room, however, was poorly organized. Perhaps this was a deliberate choice by its keeper, or maybe the knowledge within had simply been left to accumulate over time.

Since these materials, published and circulated within the Magic Guild, were stacked chronologically, the books and periodicals offered a glimpse into what mages had been researching in recent history.

For example, *Light Analysis and Reconfiguration of Illusionary Magic* had very little dust on it. The gilded lettering on its hardcover had been completely worn away, proving that the book was frequently referenced.

On a nearby shelf was *Optimal Form Analysis of the Force Wall Technique Deployment*, another new book. Rorschach opened it to see that the corresponding author was none other than "Great Mage Poincare." As a protective Shaping Power Five Ring Spell, the number of mages who had mastered the Force Wall Technique was neither particularly high nor low—mastery itself had a barrier to entry, requiring one to be at least a Middle Level Mage, but its defensive effect was likely only slightly weaker than Rorschach’s Blue Light Barrier, so a considerable number of Middle Level Mages were willing to learn it.

More importantly, the standard textbook for its Casting was controlled by the Magic Guild. Mages of Middle Level and above could apply to the Guild to exchange contribution points or gold for it.

In this rather systematic collection of theses, however, the first author—one of Poincare’s students—explained in detail the defensive principles and deployment strategies of the Force Wall Technique. It was, in essence, an invisible "Ethereal Order Field" where Ether operated within a fixed spatial region—the so-called "force wall"—which was resistant to incoming objects, projectiles, and certain types of Magic.

The author discussed how to construct this field to maximize its effective range, as well as an alternative strategy: how to concentrate and fix the field to enhance its defensive effect, especially against offensive spells of the same ring or even higher.

It wasn’t as simple as imagining a ball of dough, where you’d "roll it thin" for a larger area or "stack it thick" for stronger defense. Instead, it involved designing specific manifolds based on the dispersive properties at the edge of the Ethereal Order Field, tailored to counter spell Projectiles and Rays, all in pursuit of an optimal solution under specific conditions and requirements.

’Very useful.’ The ideas within could also be applied by Rorschach to his Blue Light Barrier and the other Magic Arrays in his Collector. The materials in the archive room could also be borrowed; Rorschach had borrowed and returned items before. Whenever you took a text from this room and walked out the door, a Secret Contract would naturally materialize on its cover. After ten days, you either had to apply to the Tower Spirit for an extension or return it to its original spot. Otherwise, the Secret Contract would transform into a restriction, preventing you from ever seeing its contents again.

He began searching for the next potentially useful document, especially anything related to "Energy Deprivation." From the layout of the archive room, Rorschach noticed an interesting trend: among the research results collected by the Tower of Stars, or rather the Magic Guild, the newer the work, the more it was integrated with mathematical principles and inclined toward the study of defensive magic and spell mechanics. The older the material, the easier it was to find research on offensive spells.

Works from the last thirty years filled three large bookshelves. The next large bookshelf covered a span of about fifty years, and it was only on the fourth bookshelf that he saw records of lethal spells—complete with data from actual combat and illustrations that were both gory and possessed a certain aesthetic. You had to go back to works from one hundred and eighty years ago just to find in-depth research papers on the Fireball Skill.

’Is this progress or regression?’ Rorschach gleaned this from the book titles and pamphlet headlines. The Mages’ research into the mechanics of Magic was growing deeper, and the new spells they constructed and the effects of the old spells they developed were becoming more and more refined. Yet, in publicly circulated publications, they seemed to be growing progressively more "gentle" and "harmless." At least the Tower of Stars was located in the peaceful Valuva City. Aside from that one time he was testing a new function on his panel, Rorschach hadn’t cast the Fireball Skill in a long time.

If development continued in peacetime, perhaps two trends would emerge: the direct power of spells would become more and more restrained, while their complexity and specificity, especially against other Casters, would grow stronger. If so, a miserable future where Instant Death Curses and Disarming Charms were flung back and forth was not out of the question.

The premise was that peace could be maintained—peace between the Kingdoms and Empires of the continent, peace between Mages and secular royal powers, peace between the Guild and the Church... When it all devolved into a bloodbath, would the Guild be able to display the military might of the continent’s strongest organization of Mages?

His thoughts straying, Rorschach ventured deeper into the archive room. Although the space felt cramped, filled as it was with bookshelves, the room itself was actually quite large. But Rorschach now faced a sealed-off area. The books on these shelves were entwined with flowing red Runes, their blood-like color a clear warning, as if to say, *"Kid, don’t touch!"*

Rorschach insisted on trying to pick one up. A SIZZLE, and the sensation of being burned shot from his skin straight to his brain. The Rune-wrapped book felt like a scorching-hot coal. There were no burn marks... Rorschach inspected his hand. It seemed to be merely an attack on a spiritual level. ’I don’t believe this!’ Since there was no actual damage, he gritted his teeth and tried to pick it up again.

Hsss... ’Forget it,’ he thought. ’If I keep this up, I might awaken some strange new attribute.’ Rorschach shook his hand, his thoughts turning to his Small Decomposition Skill. ’It might damage the book... but I could remove the "Dissociation" parameter... The whole point of a ward is to be broken!’

"Mage Rorschach, you have been detected in the Forbidden Book Area. As these materials extensively involve Tier Seven and higher High-level Spells, permission is required from a professor of the Great Mage rank..." As if sensing Rorschach was about to cause trouble, the Tower Spirit’s mechanical voice chimed in with a reminder.

’Permissions on top of permissions!’ Rorschach’s ability to enter this room at all was thanks to his faculty-level access, but once inside, he still needed an even higher level of clearance. Of course, acquiring this knowledge was far easier than in the "pre-Magic Guild era." At least Mages were now willing to publicly release and circulate knowledge on a limited basis, exchanging it with other mages of similar skill.

’Master Kano is in the research building... no, it’s still morning, he’s probably still eating.’ Rorschach certainly didn’t want to waste time traveling to the Starlight Torch Tower. He had another option. "Tower Spirit, look up today’s class schedule..."

...

In a classroom, there weren’t many Apprentices taking this course. They were members of the advanced class; most of the less talented students had already lost the privilege of continuing with this elective.

"Therefore, we can deduce that for the aforementioned Mapping, it possesses... non-negativity... non-degeneracy... and... very good, Miss Charlotte is correct, symmetry. These properties hold true for the set of all elements in a Magic Array. In fact, it can be extended to..."

Poincare was lecturing. The pauses in his speech were both for writing on the board and in anticipation of a student picking up on his train of thought.

Out of the corner of his eye, Poincare noticed an auditor at the doorway. This auditor had good intuition for Casting and a decent aptitude for constructing spells and applying Magic Arrays, but his mathematical skills were abysmal—just like his mentor’s.

"Alright, that’s all for today." The Apprentices, their minds overstuffed and their stomachs empty, filed out of the classroom.

"Professor, do you have a moment?"

"If I didn’t, I would have ignored you and left directly, rather than slowly packing my things. Go on, what is it?" Master Poincare looked at Rorschach.