Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst-Chapter 168: VOL 3 - 6: The new Master-level.

In the development of Manalite, Erik discovered that this new material exhibited very interesting properties. Firstly, Manalite, unlike the common plastic that Erik had grown accustomed to in his past life, was almost immune to ultraviolet rays; its structure was so stable that even when exposed to considerable stress along with one hundred times the amount of ultraviolet radiation of a common sun, it was not affected in the slightest.

On the other hand, Erik also discovered, after having successfully created his healing pills, that magical artifacts could be crafted out of Manalite. Obviously, they couldn't sustain a very high mana load, and the runes that could be carved into it were limited; nevertheless, this discovery left Erik astonished, making him aware of the treasure he had created.

With this unexpected discovery, Erik knew it was only a matter of time before he received a nomination for the Auric Awards. After all, although the galaxy was not yet fully aware of the absurd potential of Manalite, he certainly was—no wonder he had once lived in the "plastic era."

But although his discovery was destined to take the world by storm, Erik knew that it would be an incredibly slow and gradual process that might take millennia or even longer. So, to shorten the time as much as possible, he had devised a little strategy to secure his nomination for the Auric Award in under a thousand years; after all, the cash prize was attractive and the reputation it would bring him would be very useful, especially for his brand.

With that in mind, Erik quickly developed three other versions of Manalite and presented them as a set along with the patent package, all with the intention of sending a message: "Manalite has infinite potential", demonstrating firsthand the "ease" with which variations could be developed for specific purposes.

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Secondly, Erik made his "donation" to the university, and, although he truly did it because he wanted to support—in his own way—the paradise that was the Arcane Order, he was also seeking some publicity for his invention. After all, the adoption of a new material for mass production would encounter countless obstacles, whether from the large industries whose profits would be affected. Or from the natural resistance of the market to change, not to mention the issue of perceived quality and a whole host of other problematic matters.

To avoid having to deal with that cauldron of problems himself, Erik specifically designed version 4 of Manalite with outstanding characteristics in terms of hardness and durability. He improved its thermal adaptability and corrosion resistance, along with providing it with superior mana conductivity. Moreover, he ensured that it had a sufficiently high maximum mana capacity to create specialized artifacts of decent quality, among other enhancements.

All this was aimed at developing a material highly suitable for creating armor; after all, this was the most eye-catching and expensive element for the university guards, the police, the order's army, and others—and what better warhorse than the militia? If the weapons and armor created with version 4 performed well enough, they would be employed on a massive scale, and the public would gradually come to see Manalite as something trustworthy and safe, which would greatly accelerate its widespread adoption.

...

"—And who did you lose the bet against, Master?"

After a few moments—wanting both to return the favor and to satisfy his curiosity about who had been responsible for his beautiful master's anger—Erik asked with a slight smile as he looked at Sigrún. This caused the cheerful expression of the beautiful blonde to change to one of anger, and she replied while simultaneously pinching Erik's waist to sour his mood.

"Hmph, with that idiot, Albert— that son of a bitch set a trap for me..."

"Master Taylor?" Erik asked with a hint of curiosity, since, although he did not personally know that Master-level individual from the Order, he was relatively well-known and Erik had read some of his books.

"Yes, that idiot lured me into a bet for an entire branch of Auramandra in exchange for me making three potions for him in case I lost. In the end, the idiot had insider information and won..." Sigrún commented somewhat annoyed, to which Eleonora added playfully.

"Only you would fall for such an obvious trick, Sig..."

"I already suspected it was a trick, but it was worth the risk. Besides, don't act so wise—you were just as surprised by the outcome." Sigrún replied with an annoyed snort at Eleonora's condescending words, to which the latter couldn't help but nod and comment.

"Well, in that, you're right; it was indeed a bit surprising."

"What happened?" Erik asked, curious about the cryptic words of his masters, to which Eleonora replied as she settled comfortably on the shoulder of her future husband.

"Something rather curious, really. Do you remember that little altercation you had at the space station?"

"Yes, with the guy who wanted to kidnap the twins." Erik quickly nodded and responded, a slight confusion in his tone as he looked at his beautiful master with golden eyes.

"Well, it turns out that today the master of that boy showed up." The one who answered was Sigrún, speaking as she rested her head on Erik's lap, which prompted the star-haired young man to remark in surprise.

"The new Master-level?"

"The same one." Eleonora nodded and commented while looking at the relaxed Sigrún, at which point Erik, full of curiosity, asked.

"And what does that have to do with the 'surprising bet'?"

"Everything, really. The bet was about the attitude of the new Master-level, and the result was a bit off from what we expected."

Sigrún replied after playfully sticking her tongue out at the envious Eleonora, prompting Erik to calmly ask while watching Eleonora push Sigrún's head with one of her fingers in retaliation.

"Was he more arrogant and crazy than you expected?"

Removing Eleonora's finger from her head, Sigrún quickly turned toward Erik and hugged his waist, burying her snout into the well-defined abdomen of her beloved disciple, then commented in a cheerful and playful voice—as if she were a little girl up to mischief—practically forgetting her earlier frustration.

"On the contrary, he was suspiciously humble and level-headed; he apologized for his disciple's behavior and assumed full responsibility for the incident without offering any excuses. He even declared that he would cooperate with the court so that his disciple received an exemplary sentence, and on top of that, he calmly agreed to pay the fine, take the courses, and even declare that he would attend private therapy."

"Fine, courses, therapy?" Upon hearing several unexpected terms, Erik asked, somewhat confused, to which Eleonora replied with a resigned smile at Sigrún's childish behavior.

"Yes—fine, courses, and therapy. By law, in the Arcane Order, when a disciple—especially the direct ones—commits an offense, their masters assume a certain responsibility depending on the severity and circumstances of the misdeed. This generally translates into fines and mandatory courses on pedagogy and psychology; in exceptional cases, the master is even required to attend therapy to address issues that may have influenced the disciple's behavior."

"Wow, I had no idea that could happen. I'll have to be more careful so as not to get into trouble..." Erik commented pensively, which brought a cheerful smile to the beautiful faces of Eleonora and Sigrún, who immediately understood the concerns of their beloved disciple.

"Fufu, you're such a darling, did you know?" Eleonora kissed Erik's cheek excitedly and tightly embraced his arm, causing it to sink completely into her cleavage, then continued speaking with evident joy.

"But you don't have to worry about that; the master's shared responsibility only occurs when a criminal offense is committed, and, even then, it must first be determined whether the offense was due to irresponsible upbringing on the master's part—so it isn't very common."

While affectionately hugging her disciple's waist and rubbing his cheek like a cat, Sigrún added in a cheerful tone.

"Hehe, Eli is right. Besides, we fully trust your judgment, so if you end up getting into trouble in any way, we know perfectly well that it was something you deemed necessary. It's not a problem for us to share that responsibility with you."

"Thank you for the trust..."

Erik commented with a small smile on his face while hugging Eleonora's waist a little tighter and caressing Sigrún's hair. They smiled happily as they embraced their beloved disciple even more tightly.

"Fufu/Hehe"

At that moment, Erik felt a timid, quick kiss on his head, given in a hurried manner, which inevitably made him smile amusedly, as he could easily imagine the blushing expression of his beautiful personal maid.

But since she had dared to step out of her role as the perfect maid for a moment, he decided not to embarrass her any further and acted as if nothing had happened. This brought a huge smile to Seraphina's face as she looked at her young master with love—he truly understood her perfectly.

...

After a moment of silence, during which Erik simply took the time to gently care for his adorable masters while Seraphina, having returned to her professional and calm demeanor, served tea in three cups on the table—still with a happy smile on her face. Erik continued speaking as he received his cup from Seraphina.

"But getting back to the topic, it is truly a surprise that the master of that idiot behaved so well."

"We were also quite surprised—and it was even more so when he offered to issue a public apology and to compensate the siblings for the emotional and reputational damages they might have suffered." Eleonora commented calmly while thanking Seraphina with a smile as she handed over a cup of tea, to which Erik couldn't help but remark in a slightly skeptical voice.

"That sounds really hard to believe..."

"We think the same; it's very strange. Usually, those who reach Master-level act all high and mighty for a while. Although obviously that is not the case with this Master-level, known for behaving simply and humbly since her ascension, hehe." Sigrún commented cheerfully with a cheeky smile on her face as she sat down again on the sofa and accepted the cup of tea offered by Seraphina.

At Sigrún's brazen words, Eleonora and Erik simply rolled their eyes, while Seraphina maintained a professional, unwavering smile as she once again stood behind Erik like his faithful shadow.

"Getting back to the topic, did all the Master-level individuals believe his performance?" Erik asked with interest, to which Eleonora replied.

"I highly doubt it. Like us, everyone else must have suspected something was off, but the report presented at the meeting regarding his behavior over the past years lends a certain credibility to it."

"Report?"

At Erik's inquiry, Sigrún commented while enjoying her tea.

"Yes, at the meeting an intelligence report was presented about the conduct of the new Master-level in the Order, and what the report contained made the whole situation somewhat more credible—although only just a little."

After savoring a sip of her delicious tea, Eleonora continued Sigrún's words in a calm tone.

"According to the report, the new Master-level was born into the Order just under 100,000 years ago, and although he cannot be called an exceptionally striking genius, he undoubtedly has a talent for researching bio-mystical techniques. In addition, he is quite asocial and has few friends, so his relationships are rather scarce."

Removing the cup of tea from her beautiful cherry-colored lips, Sigrún nodded at Eleonora's words and continued.

"Furthermore, the kid from the station is actually the old man's third disciple, and the other two are already Sages with a certain reputation within the Order and have no disciplinary or criminal records of any kind. This makes it even more believable that the behavior of his third disciple is due to being neglected while the elder focused his efforts on reaching Master-level over the past century—apparently, my own ascension pushed him a bit too far."

"Mmm, that information really lends a bit more credibility to his attitude..." Erik commented with understanding as he nodded, to which Eleonora added with a smile.

"But that isn't the most important part. What really changed the opinion of the Master-levels—and even that of the director—about him was that he handed over, in exchange for merits, the bio-mystical technique he had been working on for the last 20,000 years.

"A technique that allowed him to consummate his ascension. It's a pretty crazy thing, really, since those techniques are very important and are kept as state secrets by all factions; they are neither patented nor licensed—they are too precious for that."

***

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