Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 79 - 76: Middle Level Mage Registration
"Haven’t we arrived yet?" Rorschach asked. He had woken up and eaten breakfast, and according to the schedule, they should have been arriving soon.
But now, the Airship seemed to have stopped mid-air.
"Sir, due to airspace control over the Imperial Capital, we’re going to be delayed by two hours."
"Does this happen often?"
"No," the flight attendant said, thinking for a moment. "The Empire’s airspace controls have become much more frequent these last two months."
Rorschach nodded. They couldn’t stay in the sky forever, so he settled down to read the newspaper with peace of mind.
The docking station for the Imperial Capital was also located far from the city proper, which was why Rorschach could barely recall seeing any Airships flying overhead in his inherited memories.
Unlike the Holy Kingdom with its pursuit of towering, wondrous architecture, the Airship base at the heart of the Empire was simply a massive, unadorned, flat piece of land, divided into numbered docking zones.
A new roar sounded as a bladder at the front of the Airship bulged, air being compressed and pumped into it.
The density of the air in this bladder was greater than that of the surrounding atmosphere, altering the entire vessel’s weight distribution. Now nose-heavy, and aided by its rear thrusters, the Airship began to descend in a dive. The tail had similar bladders to provide an upward angle during takeoff and ascent.
In this light, the Sky Tree’s design avoided the Airship’s most dangerous landing posture—a nosedive toward the ground—and thus greatly improved safety.
At this moment, whether in first-class or the other cabins, regardless of whether they were noble or common, all passengers—some nervous, others forcing a calm facade—stared at the approaching ground. They watched as tiny ants on the surface resolved into ground guides waving small flags.
THUD~
With a slight lurch, the Sky Fortress landed safely. Enthusiastic applause erupted. Once the mooring cables were secured, Rorschach exited the cabin along with the others.
"First-class passengers, please come board the carriage." The voice came from underground. A staircase descended into the ground, where two large horse-drawn carriages were waiting.
’So the entire airfield has an underground level... The sheer scale of this project is no smaller than the Sky Tree.’ The subterranean level was brightly lit, filled with ground crew, carriages for refueling, various storage tanks, and even stalls selling food.
After completing the entry registration, another carriage picked up the first-class passengers and took them all the way to the center of the Imperial Capital.
It was morning, and Rorschach had a clear objective: the Magic Guild’s headquarters in the Imperial Capital.
It was located right next to the Adventurer’s Guild, so Rorschach had seen the grand and imposing structure before, but this was his first time going inside—he had received his Magic Badge and his Empire Caster certificate directly from the academy. Compared to the one in Valuva, this Guild Building had a more somber color scheme, its tall spires looming over the city district with a particular sense of authority.
The main doors were wide open. As Rorschach approached, a lightly armored Guard stopped him. After Rorschach showed his badge, the Guard also demanded to see his Caster certificate.
"Apologies, Master Mage. This is our regulation."
"Security didn’t seem this strict before."
"You must have just arrived in the Imperial Capital. A nasty incident occurred a while back, so the entire city has tightened its security." The Guard didn’t elaborate, silently guiding Rorschach to the front desk.
"Hello, how may I help you?"
"I’m here to update my Magic Badge and Caster file." Rorschach handed over his activated badge, which pulsed with a purple light. He chose to update it in the Empire so that his registered Caster Level would also be synchronized and raised to Middle Level Caster.
"Middle Tier! You’re so young!" The receptionist exclaimed in surprise. After confirming that his badge and Identity Card were in order, she led Rorschach to a small room.
"Please wait a moment. Further testing is required, and there are a few documents to fill out." Rorschach quietly drank his tea while he waited. After a little while, a new staff member walked in, dressed in a Mage Robe and holding a Copper Plate about the size of a watermelon. The receptionist followed behind him, a stack of documents in her arms.
The markings engraved on the Copper Plate were very familiar; Rorschach had seen them on the Magic Badge he had decomposed back in Kano. It was an enlarged version of a Secret Contract, filling the entire face of the plate.
"Please infuse as much of your Endogenous Magic Power as you can. Do not draw from the environment. You may begin when you feel you are ready." As he spoke, Rorschach felt a disturbance in the surrounding Magic Power. It was undoubtedly the Mage’s handiwork, likely to prevent the person being tested from drawing on Exogenous Magic Power.
Rorschach did as instructed, hovering his hand over the Copper Plate. It immediately began to emit a purple glow.
"Without a doubt, you’re a Middle Tier Caster..."
The purple light suddenly intensified, far exceeding the Guild Mage’s expectations. The entire room was bathed in the Copper Plate’s light, leaving nothing but a sharp, violet glare.
"That’s enough, please stop!" The Mage and the receptionist involuntarily squeezed their eyes shut against the intense light.
In Rorschach’s vision, his consciousness was abruptly pulled upward into a strange state. In that instant, his Magic Power surged out of his control, unfurling into an indescribable vista: beneath an endless, starry sky suffused with blue, purple, and red light, a pair of galaxy-sized eyes gazed into the distance. The subtle gradations of light and shadow among the stars faintly sketched the contours of a face.
Reflected in Its eyes was an endless Transformation. Patterns resembling Arcane Runes churned into rivers of light, converging into a vortex that formed a multicolored iris. The center of the vortex was a black hole—the pupil of the great being. There was no sound; in the silence, all things were born and destroyed in the same moment.
The being seemed to sense him and glanced his way—the stars shattered. Rorschach’s consciousness snapped back to the small room in the Guild.
It all happened in an instant. The Mage, finally managing to open his eyes, only saw Rorschach look dazed for a moment before appearing normal again.
"My apologies, it seems I didn’t control my output properly."
"No harm done. Just a mild little accident. You didn’t shatter our testing Copper Plate, at least. Rorschach Mage, congratulations on ascending to Middle Tier Mage at such a young age." The Mage offered Rorschach a handshake and then departed. The receptionist immediately spread the documents on the desk and prepared a pen.
There were identity verification forms, the updated file, and...
"Mastered Primary Magic?" Rorschach said, reading a form. It indicated that a Middle Level Mage was required to list at least six spells.
"It’s a new regulation," the receptionist explained. "Ever since that incident... all Casters registered with the Empire must now register their Magic. Don’t worry, the checks aren’t strict. We won’t actually verify what you write; it’s just to comply with the new act."
Rorschach said no more and quickly filled out the form. The Fireball Skill, Water Creation Skill, and Decomposition Skill were part of his exam, so they were certainly on record. He then added Mage’s Hand, Communication Skill, and Stone Shaping Skill. Judging by the names alone, all of them—aside from Fireball—were harmless Small Spells. Anyone who saw the list would have to say that Rorschach the Middle Level Mage was a model citizen.
"All filled out." The last document was collected.
"Everything is in order. Congratulations, Rorschach Mage." Along with the now color-changed badge, the receptionist presented him with a new Empire Caster Identity Card and a Gold Level Adventurer insignia. "Our records show that you are also a registered Adventurer with the Empire, so we’ve automatically updated your Adventurer Level."
"Thank you. Do you have any newspapers from the last few weeks? I’d like to learn about the recent major events in the Empire."
The receptionist shook her head. "The Empire’s Grand Library collects back issues of newspapers, but you will likely be disappointed. If I’m not mistaken, the things you want to know about were never allowed to be reported in the papers."
"Never mind, then. Thank you for telling me."
Rorschach left the Guild and headed toward his next destination; the academy wasn’t far from here. He had momentarily forgotten—if he wanted to know about the "nasty incident" and the "new act," all he had to do was ask a certain bald man.
