A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 1 Resonating with Fate in Another World

As a college student, staying up late is quite normal.

As a prospective mage, staying up late is quite normal.

On a certain university on Earth, Luo Xia, an engineering student, was staying up all night. He felt his heart racing, but he didn't plan to sleep because of his final exam the next day.

In a royal magic academy in another world, Rorschach was staying up all night. He felt dizzy, but dared not go to bed now because of his mage qualification exam the next day.

His vision went black, and Rorschach seemed to hear a rumbling heartbeat. A double wave of nausea washed over him. When he finally managed to calm himself down, all he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Fireball spell? Mage qualification exam? I've arrived in another world." Searching through the original owner's memories, former college student Rorschach quickly accepted the reality that he had been transported to another world.

In the local language, his own name also sounds like Rorschach. With the same name, the same all-nighters studying for exams, and similar educational levels in both worlds, Rorschach felt a sense of kinship with this other, completely unfamiliar, hard-working soul.

"I wonder if the original owner of this body will travel to my world? I hope they don't mess up their major exams."

As the dizziness gradually subsided, an overwhelming sense of excitement welled up inside me—magic!

I've actually been transported to a world with magic!

Magic is far superior to my previous terrible major! Heaven has eyes; the failed attempt to transfer to the cosmic machine actually transported me to this world.

Then Rorschach felt a pang of unease. This world didn't seem to belong to the "game-like alternate world" category. Mastering a spell was extremely difficult, unlike in games where you could instantly cast it once the cooldown was over. He discovered that the former quasi-mage Rorschach had only barely mastered three spells: Fireball, Water Conjuration, and Low-Level Disintegration, and even then, he couldn't guarantee a 100% success rate!

Even so, Rorschach is considered one of the more outstanding magic apprentices: he scored near-perfect marks on the magic theory exam, and if he successfully casts all three spells in tomorrow's assessment, he will become a certified first-tier mage from the Imperial Royal Magic Academy. Although he is only an entry-level mage among the first to ninth tiers, he is still a spellcaster—walking around the streets might be too arrogant, but others will only exclaim that he is a mage with refined tastes.

Rorschach continued searching his memory, "Fireball spell, practiced, it will definitely succeed."

It seemed that he had inherited the original body's muscle memory. He used his magic and skillfully made the spellcasting gestures, and successfully exhaled a flame. This flame was very stable. Although it was far from a large fireball, it could burn steadily and controllably at his fingertips, proving that the quasi-mage's fireball spell was quite proficient.

"Water creation technique. Unstable. Only 30% certainty."

The second spell didn't go so smoothly. A small water ball appeared out of thin air in his hand, but it quickly disintegrated and splashed away. Rorschach felt even more mentally drained, and the amount of water he created wasn't even enough to quench his thirst. He tried again, producing a little more water than the first time, but it still didn't reach the required pint for the assessment, something that was a challenge for the former quasi-mage Rorschach.

"Basic decomposition technique. Need to find something to experiment with."

Rorschach's memories told him that the so-called low-level decomposition spell had a very limited range and effect. Its most important characteristic was that it could only target inorganic matter—in this world, inorganic matter was defined as matter that had no life and did not contain magical energy.

To find suitable test subjects, Rorschach began carefully searching his surroundings. He already knew he was in the apprentice dormitory, and unusually, in a single room. The dormitory was about the size of a sleeper car, with simple linen beds, desks, and cabinets taking up most of the space. A bucket of water and clothes hung on the bay window, the most conspicuous item being a beige apprentice robe. "It's similar to a lab coat."

There should be some small odds and ends on the desk for practicing. Luo Xia looked at the desk and saw a scroll spread out on it.

The scroll is an important component among the many magical items in this world.

Low-level magic can be completed using the caster's own magic power and can be guided and accelerated using casting gestures. Mid-level magic requires a casting medium. High-level magic is very complex, requiring not only the input of magic power and a casting medium but also a ritual to complete. As for the legendary super-level magic...

A scroll is a device that uses ink infused with spiritual substances to draw the correct magic circle on paper, leather, or cloth.

A scroll can be activated by recording the magic circuit and then injecting magic power. There are also instant scrolls that have a stored energy circuit and do not require the caster to reactivate them. But the most valuable thing is the learning scroll.

Rorschach picked it up and examined it closely under the oil lamp. The parchment in his hand was old and brittle, but fortunately, the intricate patterns were still clearly visible. Unfortunately, however, neither the original Rorschach before his time travel nor the current Rorschach could get any response when he tried to infuse it with magic.

"This is the learning scroll for the Water Creation Technique, guaranteed to teach you! I'm graduating soon and don't need it anymore, so I'm offering it for a steal at just sixteen silver coins!" The enthusiastic senior's face at the academy market was still vivid in my mind, but the only truth that the swindler was saying was "I'm graduating soon."

It had absolutely no effect! For the next three months, Yuan Rorschach ate only rye bread, swallowing his tears. Even now, at the last minute, his desperate attempt to continue research had yielded nothing.

The old pocket watch showed past midnight. "Sigh, in this state, it's going to be hard to pass tomorrow's test, or even today's test!" Rorschach found a cork that didn't fit the bottle and used a disintegration spell to blast it into pieces.

Fireball and Disintegration spells were fine, but the Water Creation spell was a different story. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't squeeze out that much water. The more he forced himself, the more exhausted he became. Rorschach could feel his magic power on the verge of depletion.

Faced with the current predicament, as a time traveler, one must learn to examine oneself and find a cheat code!

"System? System?" After calling out in his mind without getting a response, Luo Xia, feeling ashamed, called out twice more.

no response

"Grandpa? Grandma?" There was no response.

Never mind, I'll take a nap first.

With his last bit of magic, Rorschach recalled what he had learned in class and the feeling of the original owner casting spells. After taking a deep breath, he tried to create water.

With the help of his assistant's associations, he constructed a circuit for water creation in his mind. The magic power within him spread out, as if passing through some barrier, and began to wander in an unreal world.

*Snap!* Just as his magic and spirit faintly saw a patch of azure, the spellcasting was interrupted, and that wisp of magic lost its connection like a kite with a broken string.

It was a complete and utter failure.

Time in this other world is the same as in my previous life. The academy will ring the bell at 6 o'clock, and the assessment will start at 9 o'clock, so there are still 3 hours left.

Rorschach decided to stop trying, thinking that getting some rest was more important. Perhaps a good rest would improve his condition, and with a better condition, the Water Creation spell could be successfully cast.

"Conserve your energy and build up your reserves!"

After turning off the oil lamp before going to bed, Rorschach noticed in the darkness that the unfolded scroll was emitting a faint glow.

"There's fluorescent ink in this world, huh?" Just as he was thinking this, the light grew brighter and brighter, and Rorschach's magic power was rapidly depleting!

"Holy crap, did it activate magic? It's not going to blow up the dorm, is it?"

This was Rorschach's last thought before he fell into a coma.

(End of this chapter)