A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 105: A Summary Meeting

Inside the conference room, the fireplace was already lit, and a warm, cozy breeze wafted out as soon as the door was opened.

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

The debriefing meeting began with an analysis of the collected data, followed by plotting and graphing.

"It seems the design of this series is still not ideal." After examining it, Master Cano concluded: "It's somewhat interesting, but not much."

"Should we continue with the penetration or move on to the next group?" Paulina's "penetration" refers to continuously adjusting a single-configuration magic array to increase the target coordinate height and input power, which is what the research group was doing that afternoon.

"Let's continue penetrating. The amount of transmutation dust ejected is still considerable, which at least indicates that the teleportation channel of this configuration is relatively stable." Kano finalized the next task: "After all, we've solved the input source problem now, thanks to Mage Rorschach."

Speaking of himself, Rorschach also wanted to say a few words. Now that the analysis and discussion of the afternoon's experimental results had concluded, he wanted to raise a divergent question: "Is there a lot of energy within transmutation dust?"

"Not only are they numerous, but they are also chaotic and violent. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for some scholars to call them fragments of the divine kingdom. They contain condensed ether and occasionally other materialized energies, which we usually see in divine magic."

"Can this energy be utilized?" Rorschach felt that since the transmutation dust eruption could be contained by the crystal shield, it was relatively controllable, and simply offsetting it would be a waste.

"At present, the risks are quite high. The crystal dome is also a temporary measure that I need to maintain continuously. Also, the eruptions are only brief and highly volatile."

Kano thought for a moment: "But it is indeed an application direction. At least it can turn our phased results into something useful, and make it easier to persuade those old guys to spend money. I'll make a note of it. When the research lab recruits new people this semester, we can try to work on it when we have some free time." After saying that, he wrote down Luo Xia's idea in his notebook.

As is customary, the research team should replenish its ranks with new cattle and horses every year, but now the guild's trading company is expanding, providing a large number of job opportunities, and senior apprentices and low-level mages are all too busy to leave.

And importantly, Pascal's failure to graduate had a very negative impact on Cano's admissions process, causing many senior students who could have studied closely with professors to avoid Cano.

Fortunately, the master always maintained the attitude that "it is your loss if you do not come to learn from me," and never said anything about Pascal because of this.

Are there any other hidden stories, such as Pascal being Cano's illegitimate son, or that he is the son of someone Cano loved but could not have, and was entrusted to Cano at the end of a regretful and tragic love story? Rorschach, who had just arrived in the Tower, did not know the truth of these rumors.

Rorschach had another idea, inspired by Dryaz's actions: "Could we somehow enter the Primitive Realm first, and then enter the Astral Realm from the Symbolic Realm? Isn't it said that the Symbolic Realm and the Astral Realm have a one-to-one mapping?"

Kano retorted irritably, "If you can reach the Primordial Layer, why bother going to the Astral Plane? Rorschach, you make it sound so easy. Do you even know what entering the Primordial Layer means?"

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

"Although I don't know what will happen after the Age of Silence, in the Age of Gods, only gods can reach the Symbolic Realm! Even if a mortal were to rise there by sheer luck, without the protection of a true god, they would immediately be struck by the true forms of the gods, and their souls would be reduced to ashes! So, Rorschach, the path you mentioned is feasible, but there's a small prerequisite—"

Kano gestured with his fingers to indicate a minor premise: "All you need to do is become a god first."

Teacher, it's actually quite spacious there now. Rorschach felt there was no point in saying anything, so he nodded and shut up.

Cano glanced at his pocket watch. "That's enough for tonight. Rorschach, stay a bit. Paulina, you can go now. Pascal, come here. Pascal?"

Pascal found a wool blanket somewhere, wrapped himself in it on the sofa, and fell fast asleep.

"Hmm, Bao? Is the meeting over?" He opened his eyes to find Paulina with her hand on his shoulder; he must have been shaken awake.

"In the past." As Pascal spoke, he experienced weightlessness. Rorschach witnessed Paulina lifting him up and tossing him into the air above the conference table. With a wave of his hand, the Archmage allowed Pascal to finally settle safely into his chair.

Bang! The conference room door slammed shut.

"Teacher, look! She's like she's eaten gunpowder! That was terrifying!"

"We're all spellcasters. You should use magic to counter magic, not complain to me." Kano rubbed his hands together. "How's the progress at the Alchemy Department today?"

"Everything is going smoothly, the equipment is in place, and we can start production at any time. However, there are still some minor issues: the distributors say that the current product line is too limited and the unit price is too high, so it may not sell well, and orders may be less than expected. Also, the price of raw materials is rising, and costs need to be reduced further."

"That's all after production starts. Okay, Pascal, you did a good job this time. Rorschach, you and Pascal switch places. Tomorrow, Pascal comes to the research building, and Rorschach, you go to the potion workshop."

"I'm not going!" Pascal exclaimed, as if he were about to jump up. "Look at Paulina's condition! If I come, we'll both suffer!"

"Fool, she'll calm down once you're here. It's precisely because you're working so hard at the trading company that Paulina is sulking." Master Cano, with the air of an experienced man, instructed Pascal:

"Ultimately, everything will be resolved once you pass the exam and become a formal mage. As for this long-standing problem of yours, I will begin special training for you starting tomorrow."

Pascal was both afraid and expectant about the "special training" the archmage spoke of: "Won't the experiments continue?"

"Wasn't the equipment in the alchemy department all dismantled? Tomorrow, have the construction team move the lab to a larger location, closer to the power room. Three whole floors of the building are now empty, and the other research groups are itching to get started. We need to quickly claim our space."

Rorschach wanted to remind Master Cano that it wasn't appropriate for him, as the chief professor, to set such an example.

Rorschach's task starting tomorrow is to oversee and guide the new "Energy Potion" production workshop to ensure its smooth commencement of production.

Originally, this was the Alchemy Department's business, but everyone despises the Alchemy Department and needs its support everywhere. So, in this current construction boom, a lot of guys are out on fieldwork, and the Kano team, who have good relationships with them, have been invited to earn some extra money.

"The entire factory needs to be kept secret, so they fenced off an area inside for them to work on it." Former manager Pascal handed over the reins:

"Follow this map. When you enter, just say you're a representative of the Magic Guild and the Tower of Stars, sent by Master Kano. You can offer suggestions on the two questions I mentioned earlier, but don't sign anything carelessly, okay? Signing something means taking responsibility."

Pascal then gave some more instructions, and in Rorschach's eyes, he really treated the potion workshop as his own business.

"I understand, I understand." Senior brother, you're a really nice person.

(End of this chapter)