Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 124 - 121: Small Can Be Cute Too

’It failed?’ Rorschach was a little stunned.

He cast it again. Although it was the same as last time, this time Rorschach focused on sensing the changes in the surrounding Ether. It was just noise. It seemed only the core’s first step, "Magic Control," and the random "Frequency Vibration" had taken effect.

’Is the "Dissociation" conflicting with the random Vibration?’ Rorschach thought for a moment, then operated the panel, trying to place them on rings of different levels. It still didn’t work. Rorschach could feel the Dissociation and the Ethereal Tremors occur in succession, but they weren’t released in the form of a Projectile.

’Why is it still not working...’ Rorschach changed "Projectile" to "Ray." BIU—an invisible, turbulent stream of Ether shot from his fingertip and struck the practice target. However, the target was completely unharmed.

This meant the "Ray" had worked, but "Dissociation" hadn’t. Rorschach quickly thought of a way to verify if it could disrupt the orderly flow of Ether:

He cast the [Feather Fall Skill] on the test target. In his [Arcane Vision], a constantly dissipating Magic Aura now floated around it. If the random "Frequency Vibration" also took effect, then the [Feather Fall Skill] enchanted on the target should be dispelled.

With this in mind, Rorschach experimented again. In his vision, the Spiritual Light was struck by a violently trembling and shifting point of light, which then rapidly collapsed outward from the point of impact.

So that had worked too. But what was interesting was that even though Rorschach was using the "Ray" form, in his Arcane Vision the "noise" took the form of a flickering, shifting point of light. It was more like it was being conducted through the Ether ray.

At this point, Rorschach could confirm that the random Ethereal Tremors currently didn’t interfere with "Ray," but did interfere with "Dissociation" and "Projectile."

He changed his approach. His so-called "random" Ether noise still couldn’t replicate the effect of an Oscillation Crystal, which could powerfully interfere with and suppress even a Caster. He might as well try a different method.

Rorschach’s current Magic Control ability was fixed, meaning there was a limit to the maximum amount of ambient Ether he could mobilize. Therefore, at a given output power, he should create the highest possible frequency of Oscillation to concentrate the impact, while also avoiding the casting frequencies corresponding to other terms. This was how he could achieve the desired effect.

Adjusting the Oscillation frequency of Ether was completely unimaginable for someone with no casting experience. For a Mage, however, it was like a singer singing. But this time, what was needed was probably a "Dolphin Sound"—something not everyone could produce.

Fortunately, his "Magic Control" was at the Orange Proficiency Level. In terms of skill alone, he could perhaps be called the Vitas of Casters.

He experimented again. This time, the target, when struck, behaved exactly as Rorschach had predicted. First, the enchanted Spiritual Light of the [Feather Fall Skill] was instantly dispersed. Then, the target shattered outward from the point of impact, with the fragments closer to the center being finer.

’Success!’ Although it was a Ray, it seemed both effects were launched forward in the form of a point of light within the "Ethereum Pillar" Rorschach controlled. The ray he constructed was more like a conduit, or perhaps a qin string, that transmitted the magic. It would only burst forth upon contact with the target, once it was no longer constrained.

’Since "Dissociation" and "Frequency Vibration" are no longer conflicting, can I put them in the same ring?’ Rorschach tried restoring the four-ring construction of Core–"Dissociation"–"Vibration"–"Ray" back to three layers. In the subsequent experiment, he clearly sensed that the "point of light" in the ray was launched faster.

It seemed that on the panel, the distance from the spell’s "Magic Control" starting point affected the Magic Power distribution to the terms.

’What if I put "Ray" on the second layer too... It failed, of course! So it’s not unconditionally better the closer it is!’

Finally, he tried replacing "Ray" with "Missile," but the result was unsatisfactory. It seemed the energy was dispersed. On one hand, the Magic Aura of the [Feather Fall Skill] fluctuated before collapsing, which was slower than the ray. On the other hand, the "Dissociation" effect was also very weak, only shattering the surface of the new target.

It seemed a ray was the right form after all. Rorschach looked at the panel. The finally completed magic was named [Rorschach’s Small Dissociation Technique]. The annotation read: Due to the young Caster’s insufficient output power, its effect on magic and physical entities is merely passable. But that’s okay, small things are cute too, and it might just come in handy at a critical moment.

’...I never should have read the annotation!’ At the same time, Rorschach erased the word "Small" from the name. ’It’s not small, it just has potential for the future!’

The young man then adjusted the ratio of Magic Power allocated to Vibration and Dissociation, finally succeeding in making the target enchanted with the [Feather Fall Skill] completely explode into smithereens.

However, Rorschach could roughly surmise that if an Enchanted Item’s Ether movement was more orderly—for example, if it had multiple magic effects applied or was imbued with a specialized protective magic—his current level of "Ethereal Tremors" would probably be unable to interfere with or break through it.

By the same token, this tremor might cause some interference for a Caster while they were chanting or gathering power. But it was obvious that the "Magic Explosion" produced by a charged Oscillation Crystal, which completely blocked and suppressed the casting process, was still the optimal state for now.

But Rorschach had other plans. A large portion of magic began with "Magic Power Drive," also known as "Magic Control." After all, no Mage could cast all their magic relying solely on their own Ether.

’If I can apply targeted interference to this step of driving external Ether, then I can achieve a [Forbidden Magic Roar] without relying on an Oscillation Crystal, and it would be effective against many types of magic...’

Rorschach was even more dizzy and exhausted when he left the practice room. He had intended to go straight back to his dorm to sleep but was stopped by the Tower Spirit. It turned out Poincaré was looking for him.

"This is the completed Magic Array design, but you should be able to make it yourself now." Over the past month of auditing his lectures, Rorschach had continued to ask Professor Poincaré questions, ranging from the very, very basics to the cutting edge of Magic Array design. The professor was well aware of Rorschach’s current level.

"If you run into any more difficult problems, you can still come to me for advice. But for the simple stuff, ask your own mentor first."

"Thank you so much!" But Rorschach’s gratitude was limited to words. His offers to treat the professor to a meal had been declined. As for the matter of the thesis later on... he’d deal with that later. Rorschach felt he was still a long way from any practical application.

"Don’t say that. The Elf Totem you brought was very interesting; both my students and I benefited greatly from it." The professor handed Rorschach the manuscript that he (and his students) had transcribed. "You have talent. Don’t waste it on wine, cards, and social events like a certain someone."

"..." Rorschach had no idea how to respond to that.

"However, Master Kano has coordinated many relationships for our Tower of Stars with the Guild, the Kingdom, and even the Church. These past few years have been the best of times for the Magic Tower’s research environment. Your mentor’s contributions are undeniable, so it’s only right that he became the head."

’My mentor is still hale and hearty, no need for you to be writing his eulogy just yet, right?’ Rorschach took his leave from Poincaré’s office.

...

「The next day, in the research building.」 Rorschach went to find Kano in his laboratory.

"Ah... ah... ACHOO!" Kano couldn’t hold it in and sneezed right in front of Rorschach.

So even a Great Mage could sneeze. "Do you have a cold?"

"No. If I had a cold, I’d just get some medicine from the Alchemy Department or cast a spell. I don’t know why, but I’m always like this once spring arrives. I see quite a few people with the same problem."

’It’s most likely a pollen allergy. Can Healing Skills and Divine Arts not fix this? First, the air is full of pollen during this season. The green areas around the research building and the Stella Garden at the entrance of the Tower of Stars are all full of allergens. Second, are allergies even strictly considered a disease? It’s just an overactive immune system...’

"You... could wear a mask."

Kano clearly confused the mask Rorschach mentioned with a full-face covering. "I’d rather walk around with an [Air Filter Bubble] than wear a Plague Doctor’s beak." The Great Mage was a man of action. A brilliant light flared up and enveloped his head. After the light faded, it was impossible to tell whether the "Air Bubble" was there or not.

"This is the first draft of my device’s design. Who should I see about getting it custom-made? Do I contact a workshop myself?" Rorschach decided he would first create a brass cylinder. He’d flatten it, inscribe his Magic Array on the inner surface, roll it back up, and weld it with a [Molten Beam]... ’I should still remember the skills I learned in my metalworking practicum.’

"Not so fast. The funding can only be approved after your project proposal is accepted. High Master Valuva is already preparing to open a preparatory class. You’ll probably have to go over in the latter half of the month to teach Basic Alchemy. Have you chosen the textbook yet? Let me see it once you’ve decided. It can’t involve any magic..."

’Holy shit!’ Rorschach, who hadn’t sworn using curses from his original world in a long, long time, had completely forgotten about this for the past month...