Chapter 50: Imperial Palace (1)
The Head Professor’s office was dead quiet.
Deculein focused on the scroll without saying a word. It was full of lines and circles and all kinds of magic formulas.
“…”
Epherene swallowed hard and clenched her fists tightly as she looked at Deculein nervously.
Her heart was pounding, and cold sweat was running down her temple. Even her breathing became rough.
“This knot that the magic circle continues is loose.”
A fountain pen floated up behind Deculein’s back as he looked into the formula.
“These parts.”
The pen checked eight parts.
“Always check the difference between a tight joint and a loose joint.”
Sylvia compared with her eyes what he checked and what he didn’t.
There was a subtle but clear difference. Epherene also took his advice seriously at this moment.
“The level of completion of the rest of your work isn’t bad,” Deculein nodded. At that moment, Epherene felt a certain euphoria rising from the bottom of her chest.
The rest wasn’t bad.
In other words, he didn’t catch her trap.
“… Hmmm.”
In fact, in a way, it was natural. Catalyst magic was ‘the magic of engraving a formula on a catalyst’ in the first place.
It was a kind of burden relief technique in which 70% of the formula was devoted to the catalyst, and the caster handled only the remaining 30%. In other words, 70% of the magic was hidden.
“I think you should keep going like this.”
Deculein didn’t notice the existence of her trap until the end. Epherene burst into laughter involuntarily.
“Ahahaha.”
With that laugh, he turned to her. She replied with a smile.
“Thank you, professor. Now I feel relieved.”
“If so, go now.”
“Yes!”
She jumped up, a smile filling her face so wide her eyes were almost completely closed.
Sylvia glared at her with her eyes narrowed, and soon the five of them left together.
“Arrogant Epherene.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Even at Sylvia’s words, she just smiled.
The team members took the elevator down to the study room on the lower floor of the tower. Thanks to Sylvia’s family name, the interior of the study room they got was very spacious and neat.
Epherene spread the scroll open on the large table.
“The professor is really awesome. It’s not even half-finished yet, but he determined our mistakes right away.” Eurozan expressed his admiration.
“Yeah. I realized that as soon as he pointed out this joint.” Dane replied.
“Hey, this is surprisingly fun. At first, I thought it would just be hard, but I really feel like I’m looking at the world magically.”
At their words, Sylvia laughed, mocking them.
Looking at the world magically?
The difference between their levels was so great that it was almost cute.
‘It’s like an eagle watching the caterpillars boasting about their antennae.’
“No.” Epherene confidently shook her head. “Deculein was wrong this time.”
“Arrogant Epherene.” Sylvia scrunched her forehead as her eyebrows twitched, displaying her hostility.
“We made a bet, Sylvia. Do you remember it?”
Epherene smiled a little and took out a mana stone from her pocket.
Eurozan grew curious.
“Bet? What bet?”
“Just something we did.”
Last week, Epherene and Sylvia made a bet related to Deculein’s skill while arguing at the Iliade mansion.
“Look.”
Epherene took out the mana stone that she received as a reward from Deculein in a previous class. She efficiently used it by dividing it into quarters, then engraving a circuit on one of them.
“Like I told you last time,” Epherene placed the fragment with an engravement on the scroll and infused it with mana, turning it into a catalyst. Combining it with a subtle formula on the scroll, she triggered a reaction. “He didn’t notice my trap—”
Pooooooof—!
A liquid gushed out and covered Epherene’s face.
“He didn’t… even…. notice my trap…”
Her words slowed down as she stumbled backward. The other members of their group just looked at her blankly.
A sticky ink was on her face, including her teeth and her gums.
“… Ouch!” She then felt something burning. Epherene floundered, breathing heavily, as her groupmates burst into laughter.
“Oh… Oh… Ouch!”
“Hehe. W-What’s wrong Ifi, d-does it hu-huhuh…”
“Pant, pant, pant…”
Sylvia turned around. She didn’t want to laugh, so she refused to look at Epherene, but her nostrils and lips kept fluttering.
“Aaaaaaahhhhh! it’s— it’s hot—!”
Epherene placed a bowl on the ground, created water, and put her face in it.
Burble—
She stayed in that position for a while, raising her head only after the burning feeling went away.
“Pant… Pant… I’m dying…”
Sylvia smirked at her swollen lips and reddened eyes.
“Arrogant Epherene. Look.”
Managing to open her eyes and look at where Sylvia pointed to, she found a sentence floating above the scroll.
[Your originality deserves a little praise.]
“Damn— Oh, no. No no no no. it’s starting to burn up again…”
Frowning, Epherene put her face into the bowl of water once more, and Sylvia resumed working on their project.
However, Sylvia had grown a little wary.
‘Catalyst’ was secretive magic with only a part of it revealed. One would have to anticipate what kind of circuit the opponent had engraved to deal with it.
It required not only magical abilities but also a genius and mathematical brain.
In that aspect, Professor Deculein was a little more than what Sylvia had expected…
* * *
Three days later.
Roy informed me of the auction results.
[82,145,005 Ε]
After excluding taxes and labor costs, I earned more than 80 million in profit. The auction was held after I took over the appraisal shop, so there was no commission.
Of this, 20 million Elnes was transferred to Hadekain’s family account, hoping that Yeriel would benefit from it.
“About a billion?”
I still had a lot of stuff to sell, so I thought I could earn at least a billion more. The [Man of Great Wealth]’s performance showed no flaws.
Satisfied, I sat down in my study chair and looked at the magic book again, which was so thick it looked like three or four books were put together. It was aptly titled Metal Enhancement.
This was one of my efforts in upgrading [Psychokinesis].
I lacked the knowledge and mana to understand the concept of [Metal Enhancement] in the past. After all, my magical knowledge and base qualities determined the amount of [Understanding]’s mana consumption.
For example, solving calculus with elementary-school-level knowledge would consume enormous mana, while having high-school-level knowledge would provide me a ‘discount’ for it.
In that sense, [Metal Enhancement] was medium-scale magic that required enormous mana and numerous magic formulas to cast. It was still too expensive and complicated because it was an enhancement-type magic, but “Metal Enhancement” was usually used for huge castle walls.
Contrary to its seemingly simple name, it could be used as the final weapon for anti-aircraft attacks.
Hence, it was impossible for me to “understand” the core circuit of this magic even after pouring out all my magical power, and I didn’t even feel the need to do so.
However, since I steadily read and studied magic, my knowledge level had improved to such an extent that I finally partially succeeded in interpreting the part of this magic in charge of “enhancement.”
The [Metal Enhancement] series only used curved lines, eliminating the need for straight lines.
Henceforth, I implanted this circuit into my body’s [Psychokinesis].
Of course, I couldn’t reproduce the full scale and performance of the actual [Metal Enhancement] with my current understanding level of it.
Its output would be greatly reduced, but I could minimize the risk it could pose by making sure it only applied to objects held by my [Psychokinesis] and by imbuing my wood steel with a part of its formulas.
“… In a way, this is thanks to Epherene.”
Inspired by her challenge three days ago, ‘Catalyst’ magic relieved me of my magical burden.
Chomp— Chomp—
I carved a circuit on a wood steel shuriken, spending thirty minutes for all twenty.
After learning [Metal Enhhancement], I considered studying [Basic Restoration].
It was a technique that would enable me to give restorative power to [Psychokinesis] itself, allowing the object it controlled to recover independently.
Perhaps there had never been such a versatile “Psychokinesis” in this world.
To be fair, I was weaving it without foundation. If [Metal Enhancement] and [Basic Restoration] were added to it, I couldn’t even call it Psychokinesis anymore.
“… Restoration magic?”
A thought occurred to me out of the blue.
I took a pendant out of the drawer, which had a picture of Epherene and her father together. However, her father’s face had been erased.
If I were an expert in restoration magic, I’d be able to restore this torn part without difficulty.
Of course, nothing would change even if I fixed it, but…
“It’s better than not doing it.”
* * *
… The Imperial University Tower was the largest on the continent, with 101 floors above ground.
Among them, the 80th floor and higher was referred to as the ‘Upper Floors,’ where classified matters of the tower were conducted. Even its professors had different access rights to the Upper Floors depending on their rank.
“Okay! Now let’s start the executive meeting of the Imperial University Tower!”
Its 91st floor, in particular, could be said to be its top floor.
Several professors convened there today, using the entirety of it as a conference room. It was a regular meeting of the Magic Tower held every half year.
“But before that, let us first congratulate Professor Deculein for being chosen as the imperial palace’s Magic Educator! Congratulations!”
The chairman looked at me and applauded. This meeting room was tiered according to rank, so the chairman was the highest, and I was directly below her.
Clap, clap, clap—
The other professors clapped as well. I simply nodded in response.
“Your work there starts tomorrow, right?! Your achievement brings honor to our tower! Of course, Louina was also selected, but it doesn’t matter! Anyway, let’s start with our first agenda! The final exam!”
If the midterm exam was theoretical, the final exam was practical.
Therefore, the tests of all lectures that weren’t liberal arts mainly consisted of ‘overcoming situations’ or ‘proving one’s magic skills.’
“As you all well know, the previous emperor has sadly passed away, causing our schedule to be delayed a lot. In other words, we’re running out of time! If you need to prepare a place, you should apply immediately!”
She essentially told us to start preparing for the exams immediately.
“Next, you know the agenda that was passed in Bercht this time, right?! Now, Magic Towers need to apply for ‘Demon Purification’… However, at the same time, we also received a request for support! Perhaps it’s a bit of an urgent matter, considering the cathedral pinpointed Head Professor Deculein and asked for his help!”
“…”
I looked at her without saying a word. The chairman laughed bashfully.
“It’ll be okay, right?”
[Side Quest: Demon Purification Support]
◆ Store Currency +2
“Yes.” I agreed without hesitation.
Rejecting it would be reckless. In the first place, demons were much easier to slay than beasts for me. Most wizards would feel the opposite.
“Moreover, the “Mountain of Darkness,” which has been closed, will now reopen as per the instructions that just came in! On that note, the ‘Marik’ will also begin next week!”
The professors let out a low sigh.
The conservatives seemed a bit uncomfortable by the current situation, but they couldn’t do anything about it.
The emperor was a radical and fierce lionheart, but she was also a secretive soul wrapped in a veil.
Although contradictory, she could be either a villain or a good character depending on the player’s inclinations.
“Again, this time, I did a financial evaluation of the professors’ research projects, thesis work, etc., by dividing them into expenses and income!”
The meeting— No, the chairman’s words continued one-sidedly as several charts hovered in the air.
Relin, Letran, Ciare, Firenze, Lokan… The financial performance of the professors who had dozens of wizards under them didn’t look good.
As a side note, the new professors couldn’t participate in this meeting due to their lack of rank.
“Except for Professor Deculein, whose research has been stalled for three years, everyone else’s performance is below my expectations.”
Deculein had only been teaching for three years.
I received half of my lecture fee, and the other half was donated to the University Tower. The profits I brought far exceeded that of other professors.
“Um, chairman. I know it’s rude, but our research is purely academic, so it’s hard to judge just financially…”
Letran’s cautious excuse was actually correct. Although I sometimes looked down on them, the professors of the University Tower, such as Relin, Letran, Ciare, had achieved great academic achievements and continued to achieve more.
However, the mana stones they consumed and the labor costs of the wizards under them were just too huge.
“Doesn’t matter! Are you saying pure academics don’t make money?! Professor Deculein’s midterm exam papers were pure academics, but they made huge profits!” The chairman objected.
I nodded quietly.
“So! To overcome this situation! This time, we decided to reopen the ‘Planning and Coordination Office’ after five years of its dormancy! I need to appoint a Department Head to it. Does anyone want to recommend or nominate—
As soon as I heard that, I raised my hand. “I’ll take it.”
“Professor Deculein?”
“Yes.”
Planning and Coordination Office. To put it simply, it was a position that managed planning and budget, but I was looking at a higher place than that.
“I said recommend someone. Are you recommending yourself?”
“I recommend Deculein von Grahan Yukline.”
“You’re so shameless!”
“Based on your charts, I’m the right fit too.”
The Planning and Coordination Office Head’s authority was, of course, powerful.
However, my ultimate goal was to become the ‘Chairman’ of the Imperial University Tower.
At that time, Adrienne’s status would be upgraded to an Archmage in a year at the most. Upon doing so, she’d vacate her current position.
I would then ascend to the position of chairman, acquiring several rewards, including an additional 1,000 mana, for “job bonuses.”
“Um… Is there anyone else who has any recommendations?”
I looked at the professors, glaring at them as domineeringly as possible.
None of the professors came forward.
“…. By the way, you haven’t conducted any research in the past three years. How can you judge someone else’s research project?”
“I can learn anything from practical research. Also, I don’t know if I can say this is a study or not…”
I looked around the conference room and continued.
“And it’s embarrassing, but I’ve been immersed in a Symposium problem, focusing on solutions rather than research.”
“Huh? Symposium?”
“Yes.”
“Then you haven’t done any research yet because of that?”
I sighed softly and nodded.
“Not necessarily, but it’s because I got momentarily interested. However, that problem is now on the verge of being resolved.”
The chairman then looked down at me with a strange face.
“Hmm! Then, good! It’s not the millennium, but still! If you can achieve that academic value and achievement, I will appoint you as the Planning and Coordination Office Head! However, if you can’t solve it, you’ll be earning nothing but shame!”
* * *
“… There have been rumors of such a thing in the Magic Tower.”
In the imperial palace’s study room, Sophien received a report from the eunuch Jolang.
“Could he be the next chairman? Judging by his actions, he seems to be openly aiming for it.”
“It seems unlikely, but his research is currently stagnant, so…”
The eunuch’s ears were wide and detailed. He also had a cheap mouth or spoke like a knight, making him a convenient toy depending on who he conversed with.
“With the value of solving a Symposium problem and the status of Yukline combined, it will be easy for him to become the Head of the Planning and Coordination Office. However, becoming a chair is an entirely different story. Your Majesty’s permission will also be required for it.”
Sophien nodded as she got up and leaned against the window sill of the study.
The ‘road of modesty’ leading to the imperial palace was visible before her.
The time had come.
“Hmm.”
Just then, a woman approached her.
She had long dark green hair, resembling a dark forest, sharp features, and a clenched mouth, making her look very beautiful in her tight-fitting robe coat that showed her solid character even to the emperor.
“Louina von Schlott McQueen!” Sophien shouted. Surprised, Louina raised her eyes and looked at her.
“Nice to meet you!” Louina hurriedly knelt on one of her knees at her exhilarating exclamations and bowed her head, expressing utmost respect for her.
She knelt like a statue, seemingly having no intention of moving until the emperor’s gaze had left her.
Soon after, another man appeared from behind her.
The emperor shouted again.
“Deculein von Grahan Yukline!”
Deculein looked into Sophien’s eyes, showing no fear or hesitation in his gaze.
He expressed his courtesy with dignity and sincerity, but he did not kneel.
Sophien asked the eunuch behind her in a low voice.
“Why isn’t that guy on his knees?”
“Traditionally, magic educators and emperors are to be friends for half a year or a year. Of course, he is polite, but he doesn’t exactly see you as a military god.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. But that is if we based it on tradition… That guy is just really cocky.”
At the eunuch’s flattery, Sophien twisted her lips. She came down from the window sill and sat back in her chair, her expression turning rotten.
“I actually selected the two of them, but this is going to be cumbersome. Just by imagining them talking about nonsensical magic in front of me…”
“It wouldn’t be a problem if you delay for a while. Refusing their admittance isn’t bad either. To tame them—”
“Enough. I already greeted them.”
The emperor looked at her desk.
A chessboard was shining on it, making her smirk.
“I’m so sick and tired of being overworked, and today is my first class with those ‘friends’ of mine anyway, so it shouldn’t be a problem if we play a little game of chess…”