“Layered magic circle... The magic circle depth increased by 4, yet the amplification is only double... Just as I feared. It's too complex compared to the amplification gained.”
“To put it differently, it means if I just use my head a bit, I can get amplified activation mana.”
The research I conducted with Avantgarde also yielded some small results.
My problem is that my activation mana is extremely low. What's the point of designing a magic circle so magnificently? I don't have the mana to operate and control that magic circle.
I can turn a completed magic tool on and off with mana, but it's difficult to cast magic on the spot. It's at the level where I have to put in all my effort to barely use combat-grade magic.
Naturally, in this floating city where monster-like magicians are swarming, that's a failing grade.
“But the layered magic circle is too complex. Using a magic circle to supply the mana to activate the magic circle? To put it as a metaphor, it's like picking up a fork with chopsticks, and then eating with that fork.”
“Uh, I know how to do that.”
I tried it when I was bored. It was surprisingly doable.
“...I know you have good dexterity, junior! But it's unrealistic and inefficient. What should be holding the fork are your fingers, not chopsticks! The responsiveness also drops significantly!”
“If your fingers are abnormally short like mine, there's nothing you can do. What can't be done, can't be done.”
What can you do. They say mana control and mana detection are not 'ordinary' abilities.
At my indifferent answer, Avantgarde felt even more frustrated.
“Junior. Aren't you aggrieved? Even with such intellect, you have to be driven out of the floating city because of mana?”
“Even the ordinary people who couldn't come to the floating city must have each had their own circumstances. I'm no different from them.”
“No! You are different...! You, whose knowledge alone has reached the pinnacle!”
It seemed a magician's brilliance was separate from the ability to express emotions in words. Avantgarde kept trying to say something, but stopped right before it became a sentence.
While we were walking through the Crystal Tower like that. Someone approached. Avantgarde saw the other person and got scared in advance.
“Hughes. Were there any results?”
10th floor. Magician of the double-digit floors, Lord Johanes. A great magician who is no longer even called a disciple, who explores on his own but no longer receives teachings.
One of only five in this Crystal Tower, a preceptor of the tower.
He had guarded this tower longer than the Blue Tower Master, and had deeper knowledge in specific fields. He was a magician as a pure researcher.
At his advanced age, he was sending a benevolent gaze towards me. I bowed my head and greeted him.
“Lord Johanes. Thanks to your concern, I am researching well.”
“Results?”
“There were some intended results, but... to be honest, it's far from enough. It's a method to cover up my lacking abilities with a makeshift, so it can't be helped.”
“Haha. That is so. The orthodox path isn't called orthodox for nothing.”
Johanes encouraged me with a gentle smile.
“With an intellect like yours, you might find the answer someday. Keep striving.”
“Thank you.”
“I will be going now. If there is anything you need, feel free to speak up.”
‘What a pity, what a pity. Even such a genius is blocked by the wall of talent and unable to spread his will...’
They say people become more generous as they live longer. However, magicians are an exception.
Magicians are those who must be immersed in their own world. They say you shouldn't associate with old magicians because they are concentrated eccentrics whose crankiness is distilled by the years.
While the eccentricities of magicians are famous enough for such rumors to circulate secretly, that old magician treating me looked like a man of great character no matter who saw him.
‘If he had mana, he would have been an even more demanding magician than Lankart. His speech is excellent and his personality is good.... What a waste, what a waste. He has a good head, so he could have been kept as an assistant.’
Of course, that was probably a pity he could show because I couldn't be a competitor.
I have a deficiency. As long as my mana is extremely low, I cannot directly threaten their positions. Because I revealed that to everyone, the Crystal Tower accepted me generously.
What if mana sprouts in me? How would they treat me? At the very least, Lord Johanes would be wary of me. Just as he was wary of Lankart.
“Hughes, junior. Not yet. There are dozens of mana amplification methods. There will be something among them that will help you!”
Avantgarde was sincerely cheering for me, but.... Well. Now I was slowly seeing no hope. After the Descent passed, I would have to self-study in the lower realm. Would I really be able to find a method on my own without the Crystal Tower's support?
As I was trying hard to swallow my gloom and smile, Avantgarde, who had been fidgeting, eventually hugged my arm tightly. Is this a consolation.... Hmm. Maybe it's because his body is soft without having exercised once. It is comforting.
It was then. The elevator door opened and the Blue Tower Master came out. The Blue Tower Master, who walked with her legs stretched out unabashedly, discovered Avantgarde and me, and watched us with interest. She pondered for a moment, but Avantgarde's presence wasn't a reason to stop her. The Blue Tower Master strode over and patted Avantgarde's shoulder.
“Hello. Avantgarde. I'm sorry to interrupt your good time, but is it okay for a moment?”
“Ye-yes? Lady Elisha?!”
“You've worked hard hanging out with my disciple. I also happened to come up with an idea, so I came to take my disciple back for a bit.”
The Tower Master of the Crystal Tower. The guardian who protects the history and knowledge of the Crystallography School. At the Blue Tower Master's request, Avantgarde was startled and let go of my arm, stepping back. He kept glancing at me as if reluctant, but I couldn't do anything for him right now either.
“Senior Avantgarde. See you later. I'll come visit you when I'm done with my business.”
“Ye-yeah...!”
Avantgarde nodded and trotted away. He stuck right around the corner of the nearby hallway and kept glancing at me, but I should pretend not to notice that much.
The Blue Tower Master asked me.
“How are the results?”
“It's as you expected.”
“If there was a way to amplify mana with no risk, all the magicians in the world would be using it. That's obvious.”
“Did you come to mock me?”
“No way. Even if I mock someone, I don't do it empty-handed. Ta-da.”
The Blue Tower Master held up four gems wedged between her fingers. Gems with red mana swirling inside. A gem crystal that I had seen enough of in the Crystal Tower.
“A crystal containing mana, a High Crystal? Judging by the type, it looks like a bloodstone.”
“Yeah.”
“If it's a High Crystal brought by the Blue Tower Master herself, it must be special, but.... Well. Will it really be able to solve my problem?”
“It seems my disciple has suffered a lot of heartache. Making such sickly sounds.”
Grinning, the Blue Tower Master held the gem in her hand and gestured to me.
“It's a bit much to show it here. Shall we go to my room?”
“Of course.”
The Blue Tower Master's room, with its floor and walls all made of crystal, still radiated an immense presence. As I, now used to it, took a seat, the Blue Tower Master poured tea warmed in a crystal teacup and handed it to me, just like always.
Taking the signal of me taking a sip and putting down the teacup, the Blue Tower Master brought up the business.
“Do you know what this High Crystal is?”
“A High Crystal is a crystal that has supersaturated mana. Since you have to fill the gem with mana beyond its limit, it requires the design and control of a high-level magician. Since the master of the Crystallography School, the Blue Tower Master, made it herself, it must hold tremendous value.”
Accustomed to my sudden flattery, the Blue Tower Master reacted indifferently.
“Anyone knows how to talk up someone. You are exceptionally good at it, but that's not what I want to ask. Tell me the characteristics you've discovered.”
Tch. Is the effect of the medicine slowly wearing off? I pretended to look closely at the High Crystal, read the Blue Tower Master's thoughts, and said exactly that.
“The fluidity is unusually high, so mana is flowing out to the surface even without touching it. It's too unstable to be called a High Crystal.... The Blue Tower Master wouldn't have made a mistake, so is there a reason?”
“There is a reason.”
The Blue Tower Master reached out and pulled my left hand. Then, she casually rolled up my sleeve and took off the bracelet I was wearing. As I gave up resisting her bold touch, the Blue Tower Master revealed my hidden secret.
A biological terminal. The Aki Avatar that the Military Nation engraved on the bodies of all its citizens.
To put it nicely, it's an Aki Avatar. It magically measured the human body and created a pass for injecting mana from the outside. Its main use was identification and restraint of the Military Nation's citizens.
“A trace of the black magic 'Human Catalyst' procedure. It looks quite uncomfortable to see.”
Clicking her tongue as she looked at the biological terminal with disapproval, the Blue Tower Master inserted the High Crystal into my biological terminal.
The mana-containing crystal was entering my body. I pretended to be startled, but I didn't pull my hand out. Because I had already read what the High Crystal was for.
The moment the High Crystal seeped into my biological terminal. Even with my dull senses, I felt overflowing mana.
“Huh? I can feel mana?”
“Bloodstone is a gem with properties most similar to the human body. I imbued the bloodstone with mana and gave it fluidity. So that the mana flowing out of the High Crystal could seep into you. How is it?”
“I can feel the mana... But the gem's mana isn't my mana, so it doesn't move according to my will.”
“You can't get full on the first spoonful. Even if it's me. Above all, I haven't finished adjusting this yet.”
When the Blue Tower Master made a light gesture, the High Crystal embedded in my biological terminal popped out. Checking the state of the High Crystal with mana detection, the Blue Tower Master scribbled something with a fountain pen.
“I recorded your heartbeat and mana flow. I'll adjust the High Crystal to match your heartbeat. Then it will be easier to use the mana contained in the gem.”
“Oh...! I'm just lacking in mana, not completely without it. If the scattered mana of the High Crystal hitches a ride on my mana, I'll be able to enjoy a mana amplification effect!”
“That's the correct answer, my disciple. Because of the Law of Reversal of Cause and Effect, we can't increase it by more than double. But it seems we can reach an amplification of 1.8 times.”
“They say having an outstanding teacher is also a fortune! Thank you! I always respect you!”
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Come to think of it, it's like doping, and when the High Crystal's mana is depleted, it will return to normal, but who's complaining. These trivial developments pile up and pile up to become a great discovery.
The Blue Tower Master looked at the High Crystal this way and that, then asked as if in passing.
“How's Avantgarde? You two are always hanging out together lately.”
“Senior Avantgarde? He's a very good senior. Compared to a noble magician like my master, the Blue Tower Master, his level is lower, but because he teaches me know-how from a lower perspective, I also gain a lot.”
I subtly implied that you are my only true master. Senior Avantgarde is useful, but he's no match for the Blue Tower Master, and when there is a superior and a subordinate, it's the law to revere the superior more.
Then the Blue Tower Master said with an unreadable smile.
“Just as Lankart said.”
“Yes? What is?”
“I now know what kind your genius is.”
What's this suddenly. What is she expecting from me, who hasn't shown anything yet?
As I watched with a dumb expression, the Blue Tower Master spun her fountain pen around and began to explain.
“Avantgarde is a master of mana amplification through crystal resonance. He's a magician who focuses on the scale of mana itself. His floor level is also 5. It's not a very high level, so it's easy to match pace with you. He's the most helpful magician to you right now, yeah.”
“Yes. That's right. I'm receiving a lot of help.”
“How did you end up choosing Avantgarde?”
“I didn't choose him, but Senior Avantgarde challenged me to a duel. He asked me to teach him as the price of victory, but he knew more than I thought.”
It was really lucky. It's not easy for that to happen either...
“There was a rumor that your mana was lacking. Not being able to do mana control and mana detection is a disqualifying factor. If someone like you receives education from the Tower Master of the Crystal Tower, naturally, there will be backlash.”
“Territorialism exists everywhere. I don't care.”
“Then, you wouldn't care. Because you're the one who spread that rumor.”
Tch. As I clicked my tongue and averted my gaze, the Blue Tower Master stared intently at my face and smiled.
“I, for one, have never brought up the story of your lack of mana to the outside. What kind of master would go around talking about their disciple's weakness? Even if they're not my disciple, I don't point out the inferior parts of others.”
‘Because most humans are inferior to me, so if I pointed out every single one, there would be no end.’
You're really something.
“But the rumor was already out in the Crystal Tower. They would have wanted to challenge you to a duel because they were sure to win. Among the magicians researching mana amplification, Avantgarde, who had the lowest floor level, must have wanted to step forward the most.”
“It was luck.”
“Is that really luck?”
The Blue Tower Master asked me with a blue gaze that seemed to pierce through my inner thoughts, and I nodded honestly.
“Yes. It's luck. Even if I designed it, I couldn't be sure he would follow along exactly. Because humans are fickle.”