Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 73 - 70: Badge and Secret Contract
"The Empire Embassy has invited me to a reception tonight, but I don’t drink." Rorschach felt he should let Kano know about this, whether he decided to go or not.
"They finally invited you? They must have gotten restless after the King’s banquet. Go, and go with your head held high. Wear your best Mage Robe. You’re a Caster; whether you drink or not is your decision." Kano was writing something in his office and didn’t even look up.
"What’s this?"
"An exam paper. Right, I forgot to tell you. You need to prepare the Magic History exam before the break. They’ll take it when they get back." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"Isn’t that a bit tight on time?" By his calculation, that was just over ten days, and the Magic History textbook was a massive tome.
"You can check the libraries on the second and third floors for question banks from previous years."
Rorschach suddenly realized a possibility even worse than preparing an exam. "I don’t have to take an exam after the break too, do I?"
Kano finally stopped writing, looking up to scrutinize the young man. "You... don’t have to. You’re an Official Mage now. You’ll be proctoring for me. Also, after the break, go to the Magic Guild and schedule a Mage evaluation. You’re probably a Middle Level Mage now, kid, so you need to re-register. Even if you don’t make the cut, you’ll be a Third Level Caster at worst. Here, activate your emblem and take a look."
Back when he was an Apprentice at the academy, Rorschach, like most apprentices, had no idea how Mage Levels were determined.
He didn’t know what it was like at the Tower of Stars or other Magic Towers, but the Empire’s academies intentionally or unintentionally maintained an information barrier between apprentices and mages. Most teachers wouldn’t proactively tell apprentices what came after becoming an Official Mage. Rorschach didn’t know if there was some unwritten rule about it.
For Rorschach, the panel had never displayed his level. The only indicator was the Guild’s emblem.
Rorschach took it out and lit it up. It was indeed a blue that was turning purple. No, it was already purple.
"So how exactly are Mage Levels determined?"
"You don’t know? The academies in the Empire don’t teach this?"
Rorschach shook his head. "I don’t. I doubt any of the apprentices at my academy do."
"In practice, the emblem can only sense three stages, from Initial Tier to High Tier, corresponding to the three colors: blue, purple, and red." Kano took out his own emblem and lit it. It was a solid, deep red.
"The three major tiers are split by the Guild into three sub-tiers each, resulting in nine levels. To advance within a major tier, you can be evaluated based on your contributions to the Magic Realm, like hunting dangerous creatures in the past or publishing papers. You can also spar with High Tier mages; there’s a set of rules for mage duels. In short, promotion within the three sub-tiers is manually assessed by the Magic Guild. The original intention was to encourage communication and knowledge sharing among mages."
Rorschach understood. "So the three major tiers are... determined by objective factors? A Caster’s actual power?"
Kano nodded. "You could say that. If your emblem’s color successfully changes, a First-level Mage can jump directly to Fourth Level Middle Tier. But if the emblem’s color doesn’t change, you can’t advance to the next major tier no matter how many contributions you make."
Kano spread his hand, and his emblem disassembled and floated in the air. Rorschach saw that the emblem’s core was a pattern glowing with red light.
"This pattern was inherited from ancient times. It was originally the mark of a secret organization, the Aurora Hermitage—the predecessor to the Elder Council. According to our research, it’s a Secret Contract that points to a great being. It can accurately sense the casting strength of anyone infused with Ether, and it has never made a mistake."
"This great being..."
"Is unknown. Some believe it’s proof of the Magic God’s existence and that it is the Holy Emblem. The Aurora Hermitage was indeed like an ascetic religious order. In that era, mages were typically reclusive, but the Hermitage was known for its strict discipline from its earliest records."
’Right, almost every Domain has its deity, so why wouldn’t Magic have a Divine Spirit?’ But as Rorschach recalled, the only time he’d ever heard of one was in Bart’s desperate, last-ditch prayers before exams.
"But there’s a problem. No records of a Magic God have ever been passed down! No documents, no epics, not a single trace! The Hermitage also never recorded what Divine Spirit they worshipped!" Kano said with a smile.
"So, a very strange situation has persisted to this day: those who don’t believe in the Magic God continue not to, while the mages who do believe think the Divine Spirit is unwilling to reveal itself and has intentionally erased all traces of its existence. They feel they must follow the god’s will by pretending not to believe."
’Alright, whether it exists or not, it’s all very mysterious. Very magical.’
Before the reception that evening, Kano had the Alchemy Department lend Rorschach an Alchemy Carriage to make an impression—his own driver had gone out drinking. Rorschach pointed out that he was alone and had no one to act as a driver, so Snow presented the Alchemy Department’s latest product:
"The Spirit Doll! Its interior is hundred-year-old oak inscribed with a constant-temperature Magic Array, and its exterior is covered in second-generation alchemy gel that simulates skin. It’s gentle and non-irritating..." The base model was a hyper-realistic female mannequin. After dressing it in a driver’s uniform, they removed the wig, pulled the hat down low, and set it on the horse. A section of Secret Silver Thread on the reins was extended back into the carriage.
’This isn’t a product the guys in the Alchemy Department use to solve their... personal problems, is it?’ Rorschach shivered. But on second thought, no one would stop a carriage from the Tower of Stars at night, so he figured it would be fine.
Before he left, Rorschach overheard Kano earnestly telling Snow, "Instead of spending time on this, why don’t you give the boys a break? Let them go out and find a suitable partner, even if it’s just at the Moulin Rouge..."
The embassy was the former Cres Manor, a historic five-story building purchased by the Empire. Among the shoulder-to-shoulder apartments on Seventh District, Muxi Street, it was the only one that imperiously carved out a garden and a backyard, occupying an empty plot on either side. The Empire’s emblem was mounted above the gate, and the Empire’s black eagle flag flew high.
In the stables, when the attendant wasn’t looking, Rorschach quickly stuffed the doll into the carriage.
"Where is your driver? People are not allowed to wander around here..."
"He prefers to rest in the carriage. It’s one of the few chances he gets to enjoy velvet cushions, so let’s not disturb him."
The attendant nodded and led Rorschach into the manor’s main hall. His Mage Robe drew the eyes of everyone present.
Two or three small, round tables were set up in the hall, piled high with desserts, mostly cakes. Along the sides, long tables held small plates of savory food and drinks. The Empire’s proud classical music floated beneath the crystal chandeliers as formally dressed guests mingled, holding their drinks.
’I’m doomed. It’s a reception—not enough food and no chairs.’ Rorschach realized coming here might have been a mistake.
"You must be Rorschach Mage! I am Gottfried, the Empire’s ambassador to Valuva. It is wonderful that you could come."
"Viscount, it is my honor to be invited."
Men and women in gleaming leather boots or trailing formal gowns came over. Here, the differences between the two nations were also apparent. Men in the Holy Kingdom favored bright colors, like highly saturated apple green paired with white silk, while formal wear in the Empire, even for women, leaned toward simple, elegant, or dark tones. And you would never see the generous necklines of Valuva’s married women.
"Rorschach Mage, you’re so young! Have you not brought a partner? This is a portrait of my daughter, take a look..."
This lord or that wealthy merchant crowded around him for some awkward small talk. The topic finally shifted from Rorschach’s romantic life to something they cared about more—the Sub-plane, the "Shaleanna Region."
