Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 111 - 108: Invitation
The group meeting proceeded as usual. First, Pascal reported on his recent work, followed by Rorschach and Paulina.
"So it’s made with the Purple Potion! No wonder it felt vaguely familiar," Kano exclaimed, the realization dawning on him after Rorschach mentioned the beverage.
During the days Rorschach was away on assignment, subsequent experiments had been put on hold due to the lab relocation. Paulina shared a few recently published collections of papers from the Magic Guild.
This was how Rorschach learned there were quite a few other mages who, like Kano, were attempting to explore the Star Realm. The authors of these papers were primarily from the Tower of Storms and the Tower of Time. ’Come to think of it,’ he mused, ’both of those are Magic Towers in Istani.’
"There’s a comet cluster passing overhead in late February. The Tower of Storms has sent an invitation to us, the Tower of Stars. The best observation point is on the Atlas Sea. Should we send anyone?" Paulina produced an official letter that had been forwarded by the Magic Guild.
"Our group is short-staffed. Let’s ask the other professors for their thoughts."
"Okay."
’What a missed opportunity for an all-expenses-paid trip... I mean, study opportunity... in Istani.’ The moment Rorschach heard "comet cluster," "Tower of Storms," and "Atlas Sea," he immediately recalled that Teacher Caroline was probably there right now. Unfortunately, there was no way he could volunteer himself to Kano. As a graduate of the Empire Royal Magic Academy, simply reading a star chart was the extent of his abilities. When it came to actual stargazing, he couldn’t possibly compete with the mages from other departments in the Tower of Stars.
The day after the group meeting, which was the last workday before the scheduled day off, Rorschach enjoyed a rare bit of downtime.
The blueprints had been handed over to General Manager Nixingen, and Kano was personally coordinating the lab relocation with the Alchemy Department and the construction crew. In short, Rorschach had nothing to do.
He lay on his dorm bed, switched off the still-spinning panel, and got up to organize his notes on *Standard Magic Array Geometric Analysis* and Elf Totemism. The former was less a textbook and more of a reference guide for quickly looking up concepts, whereas his notes on Elf Totemism were a mess. Just sorting out the author’s logic was going to take considerable effort.
An idea suddenly struck Rorschach. "Tower Spirit, are there any classes related to Magic Arrays today?"
"Greetings, Rorschach Mage. From 3:15 to 6:00 PM, there is an advanced course, ’Spell and Array,’ located in the Twelfth Palace on the third floor."
"Can I audit the class?"
"As a faculty member, you are free to audit any class. Please do not disturb the proceedings..."
Rorschach thought for a moment and decided he should still get the instructor’s permission. "Who is teaching this afternoon? Can you forward them my request to audit?"
"Understood. Sending audit request from Rorschach Mage to Professor Poincare... No response... Rorschach Mage, I will notify you the moment Professor Poincare replies."
"Thank you."
However, he received no reply all morning or through lunch. Rorschach decided to just head to the classroom early and wait, planning to speak with the professor directly when he arrived.
’He can’t possibly kick me out once I’m already here, can he?’ Rorschach mused. ’If I don’t wear my Mage Robe and borrow an Apprentice’s robe from Pascal, I should be able to blend in easily. After all, some of the students in there look older than I do.’
By the time class was about to start, the lecture hall was already full of students. Rorschach spotted Pascal, but his senior was in the middle of a yawn and failed to notice his dear junior brother lurking in the back row.
The person who walked in just as the bell rang was an old acquaintance of Rorschach’s. "Professor Poincaré had something to attend to, so I will be substituting for today’s class." The upper-year apprentices had all taken his classes before, so there was no need for introductions.
Rorschach, who was only auditing, didn’t need an introduction either. ’Wait, Professor Kano? So Professor Poincare is out. No wonder the Tower Spirit never got back to me... Does the Tower Spirit not know who the substitute is?’ Rorschach gained a new appreciation for the magical AI’s level of incompetence.
Kano spotted Rorschach sitting in the back row. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing and began the lecture.
...
Kano lectured animatedly from the stage, a deconstructed and annotated Teleportation Array displayed on the board behind him.
"...so, to return to the name of our course, understanding how to connect spells and arrays is a fundamental skill every Caster should master. But do not think this connection is a simple one, like the relationship between individual words and a language."
Kano, of course, had no intention of sticking to someone else’s lesson plan. He too was a Master who had spent years immersed in the Domain of Magic Arrays; his own research was based on them. Today, he went on a fitting tangent, hoping to offer a little inspiration to the apprentices—and one particular Middle Level Mage.
"To this day, this art—a fusion of magic, geometry, and alchemy—faces three major questions. First: How do we break through the limitations of existing array formats, moving beyond the confines of flat planes and simple geometric outlines?
"Second: We know some Magic Arrays can produce magical effects that surpass conventional spells. Can these, in turn, be reverse-engineered into spells that don’t rely on drawn Magic Circuits?
"Third: The effect of a spell can vary slightly when cast by different people, or even when cast multiple times by the same Caster. Can a Magic Array accurately record these specific variations? In other words, can any arbitrary effect of a spell be perfectly replicated by a Magic Array?
"These last two questions are summarized as the ’Spell-Array Complete Manifestation Hypothesis.’ It remains unproven and illustrates just how much room for improvement there is in our current Magic Array design techniques. I hope that one day, a Master who can solve these questions will emerge from among you. All right, class dismissed."
Hearing this, a student in the front row blurted out, "Professor, class isn’t over yet." The moment he spoke, this diligent student was mentally skinned alive and cut into a thousand pieces countless times by everyone else in the room.
"Isn’t letting you all go to the dining hall early a good thing? Honestly... Get out, all of you, get out!"
Kano shooed away all the apprentices, leaving only Rorschach and a now-awake Pascal.
"So, you’re that interested in Magic Arrays?"
"I saw a Topological Array on the Airship and found it fascinating. I’ve been brushing up on my knowledge of arrays recently."
"Good. That’s a breakthrough related to the first major question I mentioned. However, if you’re truly interested, I think you should delve deeper into the second and third questions. They are closer to the essence of magic. You have the potential to become a Great Mage, and you’ll need to develop a thorough understanding of these concepts."
Rorschach and Kano chatted for a few more moments before Rorschach left the classroom.
Now fully awake, Pascal pulled a letter from his robe. It contained a beautifully printed invitation. "Professor, this arrived in your mailbox this morning. Paulina asked me to give it to you."
"Tickets?" Inside, along with the invitation, were three tickets to the theater. Kano glanced at them and said, "There’s a charity performance at the Royal Theater tomorrow night. Get Paulina, and the two of you can come with me."
"Me? A mere apprentice like me can’t be seen at an event like that. You should ask Rorschach to go instead."
"Didn’t you want to get into the merchant business? This is your chance to rub shoulders with these wolves in sheep’s clothing. It’s the only way to see the true faces of these greasy-faced swindlers!" Kano rapped Pascal on the back of the head.
In truth, there was another reason. The tickets had come from one of the performance’s sponsors, the Shaleanna Mining Company, which was precisely why Kano wouldn’t let Rorschach attend. Kano had always been skeptical about the so-called gold mine, and as the one who had actually been to the Sub-plane, Rorschach couldn’t afford any further association with the company.
Meanwhile, Rorschach had picked up a letter from the mailroom. A charity opera was to be held at the Royal Grand Theater. The Hercules Beverage Company was one of the sponsors, and they were cordially inviting their major shareholder, Middle Level Mage Rorschach, to attend.
Tucked inside was a beautifully printed admission ticket.
