Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 107 - 104: A Summary Meeting

In the meeting room, the fireplace was already lit, and a wave of cozy warmth washed over them as the door opened.

Pascal was curled up on a sofa in the corner, looking like he was about to fall asleep. Normally, Paulina would have hauled him over to the meeting table, but this time she ignored the young man on the sofa and walked straight past.

The review meeting began. First came the analysis of the collected data, followed by plotting it all on a graph.

"It seems this series of configurations is still not ideal." Master Kano concluded after some examination, "It’s a little interesting, but not by much."

"Should we continue with the penetration tests or move on to the next set?" The "penetration" Paulina mentioned meant continuously adjusting a single configuration of the Magic Array to increase the target coordinate’s altitude and the input power—which was exactly what the research team had been doing that afternoon.

"Let’s continue the penetration tests. The amount of Transmuting Dust erupting is still considerable, which at least indicates that this configuration’s teleportation channel is relatively stable." Kano finalized the next task. "Besides, we’ve solved the input source problem now, and that’s thanks to Rorschach Mage."

Since he was mentioned, Rorschach felt he should say something as well. Now that the discussion focused on the afternoon’s experimental results was over, he wanted to pose a more divergent question. "Is there a lot of energy within the Transmuting Dust?"

"Not only is there a lot, but it’s also chaotic and violent. That’s why it’s not without reason that some scholars call it a Divine Kingdom Fragment. It contains concentrated Ether, and occasionally other manifested energies that we usually see in Divine Arts."

"Can this energy be harnessed?" Rorschach felt that since the eruption of Transmuting Dust could be contained by a Crystal Protective Shield, it must be somewhat controllable. Simply neutralizing and dissipating it seemed like a waste.

"As it stands, the risks are quite high. The Crystal Cover is also a temporary measure that I have to constantly maintain. Plus, the eruptions are brief and highly volatile."

Kano thought for a moment. "But it is a potential application. At the very least, it could turn our interim results into something useful, which would make it easier to trick those old geezers into forking over more money... I’ll jot this down for now. We can try to work on it when the lab gets some new recruits this semester." After speaking, he wrote Rorschach’s idea down in his little notebook.

By convention, the research team was supposed to bring in new blood every year. But the Guild’s merchant houses were currently in a period of expansion, creating a huge number of jobs that kept senior Apprentices and Low Tier Mages too busy to get away.

Another crucial point was that Pascal’s failure to graduate had an extremely negative impact on Kano’s recruitment efforts. It caused many high-level apprentices, who could have studied closely with the professor, to give Kano a wide berth.

Fortunately, the Master always maintained an attitude of ’It’s your loss if you don’t come study with me,’ and never said anything to Pascal about it.

As for whether there were other hidden reasons—like Pascal being Kano’s illegitimate son, or the son of a woman Kano loved but could never have, entrusted to him at the end of a tragic and poignant love story... Rorschach, being new to the Tower, had no idea if any of these rumors were true.

Rorschach had another idea, inspired by Deryats’s operation. "Could we use some method to first enter the Original Layer, and then access the Star Realm from the Symbolic Realm? Isn’t it said that the Symbolic Realm and the Star Realm have a one-to-one Mapping?"

Kano replied irritably, "If you have a way to reach the Original Layer, why would you even bother going to the Star Realm? Little Rorschach, you make it sound so easy. Do you have any idea what entering the Original Layer even means?"

"What does it mean?" Rorschach had actually been there, so he was quite curious to know.

"I don’t know what it’s been like since the Age of Silence, but during the Age of Gods, only Divine Spirits could reach the Symbolic Realm! Even if a mortal got lucky enough to ascend there, without a True God protecting them, they’d be instantly blasted by the true forms of the gods, and not even a speck of their Soul would remain! So, Rorschach, the path you described is possible, but there’s just one tiny prerequisite—"

Kano pinched his fingers together to show how small the prerequisite was. "You just have to become a god first."

’Master, it’s actually quite empty there now...’ Rorschach thought it was pointless to say anything, so he just nodded and kept quiet.

Kano glanced at his Pocket Watch. "That’s all for tonight. Rorschach, stay behind. Paulina, you may go. Pascal, come here. Pascal?"

Pascal had found a wool blanket from somewhere and was now wrapped up in it on the sofa, sleeping soundly.

"Hmm... Pau? Is the meeting over?" He opened his eyes to see Paulina’s hand on his shoulder. She must have shaken him awake.

"Get over there." As she spoke, Pascal experienced a feeling of weightlessness. Rorschach watched as Paulina lifted him clean off the sofa and tossed him into the air above the meeting table. The Great Mage gave a wave of his hand, and Pascal landed safely in his chair.

BANG! The meeting room door slammed shut.

"Master, look, look! She’s acting like she ate gunpowder! That was terrifying!"

"We are all Casters. You should use Counter Magic against her magic, not come whining to me." Kano rubbed his hands together. "As for the Alchemy Department, what’s the progress today?"

"Everything’s going smoothly. The equipment is all in place, and we can start production at any time. But there are a few small problems: the distributors say our product line is too narrow and the unit price is too high. It might not sell well, so orders could be lower than expected. Also, the cost of raw materials is rising, so we need to lower our costs."

"That’s all stuff to worry about after production starts. Good, Pascal, you did a nice job this time. Rorschach, you and Pascal will swap. Tomorrow, Pascal will come to the research building, and Rorschach, you’ll go to the Potion workshop."

"I’m not going!" Pascal looked like he was about to jump out of his seat. "Look at the state Paulina’s in! If I come here, we’ll both be miserable!"

"You idiot. She’ll have a chance to cool off once you’re here. It’s precisely because you’re so enthusiastic about your work at the merchant house that Paulina is sulking." Master Kano lectured Pascal with the air of a seasoned veteran.

"Ultimately, if you can just pass the assessment to become an Official Mage, everything will resolve itself. To deal with this chronic problem of yours, I will start your special training tomorrow..."

Pascal was both afraid of and looking forward to the Great Mage’s "special training." "Don’t we need to continue the experiments?"

"Didn’t they finish dismantling the equipment in the Alchemy Department? Tomorrow, have the construction crew move the lab to a larger space, somewhere closer to the power room. The building has three entire floors vacant now. The other research groups are all rubbing their hands in anticipation. We need to hurry up and claim our territory..."

’Is it really appropriate for you, as a chief professor, to be setting this kind of example?’ Rorschach really wanted to remind Master Kano.

Rorschach’s task starting tomorrow was to supervise and guide the new production workshop for the "Energy Potion" to ensure a smooth start.

This was originally the Alchemy Department’s project, but everyone looked down on the Alchemy Department while also needing their support. So, amidst the current construction boom, a large number of their guys were out on assignment, and Kano’s team, being on good terms with them, was invited to earn a little extra on the side.

"The whole factory needs to be kept secret, so they’ve walled off an area to work inside," said Pascal, the former person in charge, as he handed over his duties.

"Follow this map. When you get to the gate, just say you’re the representative from the Magic Guild and the Tower of Stars, sent by Master Kano. Regarding those two problems I mentioned earlier, Junior Brother, you can offer some suggestions, but don’t go signing anything carelessly. You’ll be held responsible for what you sign."

Pascal went on to list a few more points of caution. In Rorschach’s eyes, he was genuinely treating the Potion workshop as his own personal venture.

"Got it, got it." ’Senior Brother, you’re actually a pretty good guy.’