How could such a serious mistake have happened?

At the construction site, the client, Bart, and the foreman, Jansen, were poring over the detailed blueprints, discussing which projects to cut to reduce costs. The Dwarves, originally tasked with hauling materials and mixing mortar, saw how fast Rorschach was working and started slacking off. Their numbers dwindled from ten to eight, then six... until finally, only Rorschach, the Dwarf directing him on the pilings, and the three-man crane team were left.

’I ought to make an example of the ringleader...’ Rorschach fumed. Fortunately, an equally furious Jansen gave each of the slackers a solid rap on the head, making their safety helmets sit a little higher.

"We’re sorry, Rorschach Mage! We were wrong!" A line of Dwarves bowed before Rorschach one by one.

"Alright, just get back to work. You’re not holding up my project."

One of the Dwarf artisans blinked. "Huh? If it’s not your project, then why are you working so hard?"

’He had a point...’ Rorschach was momentarily speechless, but he quickly came up with an excuse. "This is just part of my magic training. If you want to improve, you have to seize every opportunity."

"I see. No wonder you’re a Middle Level Mage while that kid Bart is only at the Basic Level."

’Mister Dwarf, if you’re so good at talking, please don’t stop. Any more of that, and Bart and I will each need to get a Book of Hatred and write down the same name.’

By the end of the first day, the framework for a wider, taller Mage Tower was already taking shape. Rorschach and the other citizens of Wertzburg marveled at the efficiency of the (properly motivated) Dwarven artisans. While a Mage could use Magic to keep pace, they couldn’t compare to the professionalism and cost-effectiveness of these bearded experts.

’At this rate,’ he thought, ’the construction time for the Sky Tree Tower and the Starlight Tower, which were also built by Dwarves, probably wasn’t too long either.’

Some parts of the construction, however, were not for curious bystanders to watch. Early the next morning, the Dwarves raised the height of the surrounding fences, and a heavy Metal Disc was rolled onto the site.

Rorschach had also made a point to wake up early, because today they were installing the very thing he was most interested in: the core Magic Array designed to gather ambient Ether.

"You understand this stuff, Rorschach kid?" Jansen crouched down and tapped the Magic Array Disc already set beneath the first-floor foundation. It made a muffled metallic sound. "No taking notes on paper, you hear?" he said, then went back to work connecting the Secret Silver Threads that were to be embedded.

Rorschach pinched one of the threads already connected to the Magic Array and tried to absorb Ether. As expected, a small current flowed from the array into him.

’This is quite interesting.’ Rorschach’s own [Magic Control] could also alter the distribution of ambient Ether, concentrating it within a specific area. He could fine-tune the effect, drawing the corresponding circuit patterns himself or using his panel to outline them.

’But when Rorschach created a Magic Array, it was a product of active Magic; it had to be infused with Magic Power to be activated. This array, however, could naturally guide Magic Power to gather and disperse above it simply by existing. Since the tower was a vertical cylinder, the area of heightened ambient Magic Power would perfectly cover the tower’s entire interior space, and it would do so continuously.’

’So it’s a spontaneous process?’ Rorschach activated [Arcane Vision]. Simultaneously using [Magic Control], he connected with the Magic Power around the Magic Array to sense the trajectory of its flow within the Metal Disc.

’There’s a pulling sensation... no, it’s more like a display of viscosity and tension. First, the circuits within the Metal Disc are incredibly dense. Then, the thread of Magic Power he was tracking—his own, but not under his direct control—was being pulled through the dense circuits. As it entered an inner ring, he suddenly lost his sense of it.’

’Clearly, a portion of the Magic Power was being consumed.’ Rorschach paced around the disc, sometimes walking in circles, sometimes stopping to stare intently. He followed Jansen’s instructions, not taking out pen and paper to take notes. Instead, he relied on his own physical intuition, constantly probing and trying to figure out the operational principles of the entire Magic Array.

’I see...’ Rorschach had been hunched over for so long that his back ached when he straightened up. Just then, Jansen came over. "We’re about to encase the Magic Array and lay the new flooring! Figured anything out, Rorschach kid?" Jansen’s tone was clearly teasing.

"Are you sure you want me to tell you?" ’You’re the one who asked,’ Rorschach thought, recounting his analysis. "First, the really clever part is that the outer ring’s circuits are incredibly dense, with each unit being minuscule. The surface also seems to have an uneven plating; two layers of metal with different Magic Power conductivity create a slight potential difference."

"However, that isn’t enough. It only allows Ether to flow directionally from the outside in through those tiny units, which isn’t sufficient to maintain a high concentration of Magic Power for the whole tower. So, the second ring consists of multiple, stacked Magic Power manipulation units. The minute flow from the first set of units is just enough to activate the structure of the second ring. This creates a ’Magic Control’ effect, imparting momentum to more Ether and feeding it to the next stage."

"It’s like a set of dominoes. The tiniest imbalance provides the potential difference that ’topples the first domino,’ and the rest follow in a chain reaction. Based on this, the circuits must have been etched from the inside out during manufacturing, with the uneven plating applied last." If the system relied only on ambient Magic Power, the process would be unsustainable and couldn’t snowball, just as one can’t build a perpetual motion machine by using capillary action to pump water in a continuous cycle. However, starting from the second stage, a portion of the Magic Power was consumed to create the Casting effect, which sustained the increasing concentration.

Jansen’s beard twitched. Finally, he stopped Rorschach. "Rorschach... Mage, you don’t have to say another word! Let’s hurry up and lay the floor so we can start setting up your Magic Array! I’m convinced."

"So I wasn’t wrong," Rorschach said with a harmless smile. ’This design only requires a basic brass foundation and a small amount of plating with a high Magic Power affinity metal. If I were to swap the inner and outer rings of this Magic Array’s design to make it pump Magic Power outward, it could clearly replace the Mithril rods in the "Nuclear Reactor" version of the Collector, drastically reducing manufacturing costs. With this, there’s hope for replicating and improving the first model back in Bayern. At the very least, it would save me from eating black bread for the next three years.’

"Rorschach Mage, please begin."

Rorschach first picked up a clay cup to demonstrate his proposed defensive system. He had covered its interior and exterior with circuit patterns he’d designed. He then placed it upside down in a shallow dish filled with Alchemy Ink, creating a small-scale model of the Mage Tower.

Bart, Amelia, and Jansen all watched his demonstration.

"Setting aside attacks from the Transformation System or Enchantments, the most common attacks from the Shaping Power Energy System can be divided into two types: kinetic and other forms of energy. The latter includes various elemental Magic from the Potential Energy System."

"For other energy attacks, my solution is a pre-charged [Blue Light Barrier] that can be triggered at any moment." This was a Magic he had developed himself, including the Magic Array version. It was familiar, effective, and battle-tested, and he could shape it however he pleased.

"As for kinetic attacks, if they’re coming from a conventional army, the greatest threat to a building is, of course, cannonballs. My idea is a combination of [Arrow Reversal], [Feather Fall Skill], and [Slowdown Skill]." Rorschach hadn’t known the first Magic until the previous night. He had gone to the Guild, bought a Scroll, and successfully had Bart reimburse him for it. The fact that he learned the new trick from a single Learning Scroll was a major blow to Bart’s ego.

"But [Arrow Reversal] can only block a small amount of damage," Bart pointed out. He had raised this same point last night, but Rorschach had been evasive at the time.

"I only learned and integrated the first Magic to serve as a detector for high-speed objects. The real work is done by the other two high-consumption spells." He picked up a small pebble and used [Flying Arrow Skill] to launch it at the cup. The circuits flared to life, and the pebble instantly lost most of its kinetic energy, fluttering harmlessly to the ground.

Rorschach explained that [Feather Fall Skill] and [Slowdown Skill] couldn’t be sustained without a target, so they could only be kept in a standby mode. The low-consumption [Arrow Reversal] field, however, could operate continuously. Even though it only altered a tiny amount of momentum, it served to selectively trigger the other two, more powerful spells.

Rorschach had used his knowledge of Magic Array construction to adjust the parameters for what the system defined as an "arrow." Now, for both the cup and the entire Mage Tower, only high-speed objects would trigger the defensive system and be intercepted. Normal comings and goings would be unaffected.

"If you poke it quickly with your finger, the effect will be different than if you touch it slowly." The combined array of the three spells was like covering the tower in an invisible layer of non-Newtonian fluid.