Chapter 37
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 037
Chapter Title: Mana Circuit
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The next morning, Andy stepped out of his inn room bright and early.
His destination was Estelle's workshop—a building nestled in the residential heart of the central district.
"This the place?"
Andy glanced back and forth between the map clutched in his hand and the structure before him.
Then he tilted his head.
The workshop looked nothing like he'd imagined.
'Looks like any old mansion.'
Estelle's workshop blended right in with the other upscale homes in the central district.
Windows, a tidy little garden—an unassuming two-story place. The picture of refined central district living.
A wizard's workshop? Most folks pictured clutter and gloom.
But this? A perfectly normal mansion. Deep down, the boy felt a little let down.
"Here goes nothing."
Andy headed inside.
First day on the job.
"Welcome! Grabbed some breakfast?"
"Yeah, I ate. But... this is really the workshop? Looks like a normal house from outside."
"Ground floor's my home. Basement's the real deal down there—that's the workshop. Come on, I'll give you the tour."
Estelle led the way.
Click.
She opened a door off the living room. Stairs plunged downward on the other side.
Down they went, into a sprawling basement space.
That was her work area.
"Plenty of magitech materials freak out under sunlight. UV-sensitive stuff. Most workshops like mine are underground—or in windowless bunkers."
"Makes sense."
Andy snuck a peek at Estelle. Her skin was ghostly pale. No doubt from holing up down here, away from the sun for ages.
He shifted his gaze, taking in the workshop.
'So this is what a mage's workshop looks like.'
Clutter everywhere.
Stuff strewn about. Crystal orbs on tables.
Mysterious tools abandoned here and there, stacks of scribbled papers piled on desks.
Filthy, honestly.
Do they ever clean?
'At least it's not pitch black. All these mana lamps.'
Dozens of mana lamps bathed the place in light—bright enough to forget it was underground. No squinting required.
"Over here."
She guided him to a table in the corner. A crystal orb sat atop it.
"This is what you'll be making. Ring any bells?"
What Estelle showed him was a hefty crystal orb.
Something you saw all over town, so yeah—Andy knew it right away.
"Mana lamp."
To be precise, the core part of one: the crystal orb.
Estelle ran a finger over it, continuing.
"Illumination crystal—the heart of any mana lamp. Etch a circuit in here, pump in some mana... and magic happens. Like so."
She channeled mana into the orb. Then—
Pop!
It flared to life, flooding the area with brilliant light. Lighting magic in action.
She kept feeding it mana, speaking to Andy.
"Sense it out with your spiritual perception. Figure the mana lamp's setup, how the magic kicks in."
Andy followed orders, unleashing his spiritual sense.
His circle spun lazily, boosting his focus. His sensory field expanded, wrapping the space around him.
Now he could read the mana humming in the orb before him.
Peering at its structure through spiritual eyes, Andy nodded.
'Got it.'
He grasped the orb's design in a heartbeat.
Faint blue lines etched across the surface.
They split and rerouted the injected mana into a precise pattern. That mana then burst forth as magic—pure light.
The circuit reshaped mana into light-attribute form, no doubt.
Mana flowed through the engraved paths, aligned perfectly, and boom—magic.
One takeaway for Andy:
'So that's light mana.'
He'd just unlocked what light mana really was.
Light element. Never touched it before, yet it clicked instantly.
No other mage could pull that off.
Just glimpsing the mana array and nailing its structure? Forget it.
Learning a new element meant trial and error—dozens, hundreds of casts. Fast learners needed days; slugs took weeks.
Not Andy. His freakish talent made the impossible routine.
A quick look at the spell in action, and he had the light array down cold.
Knew it? Time to test.
Mana gathered at his fingertip. Rearranged to the fresh pattern.
Manifest.
-Pop.
A dazzling glow bloomed at the boy's finger. A nail-sized orb of light shimmered like a jewel.
Estelle's eyes widened in delight.
"Whoa! Light element native for you? Talk about lucky. Cuts teaching time big time."
She figured he'd always handled light mana.
Who could guess he'd mastered a new element off a single glance?
Andy's cast was flawless—polished, like years of practice.
Still, she marveled inwardly.
'This kid... really just first circle? That mana array's insanely precise.'
Estelle walked the magitech path too. Her spiritual sense read ambient mana just fine.
She'd clocked Andy's light spell perfectly.
And witnessed it:
Mana under his command snapping into array. Particles slotting exact, no wobble.
God-tier mana sensing. Control that beggared belief.
Precision like that at first circle?
'Maybe even sharper than mine...'
She shook it off.
No chance. A first-circle kid outdoing her third-circle finesse?
Hallucination. Had to be.
She refocused, addressing Andy.
"Nailed the light magic, huh? Mana lamps are straightforward. Circuit molds mana into light form, triggers the illumination spell."
"So the circuit's the key to magitech, right?"
"Spot on. You'll be practicing circuit etching from here out. Check this?"
Clunk.
She fetched another crystal orb from somewhere. Brand new—no etchings, unlike the one on the table.
She caressed it.
"Normally, you'd start with circuit design before etching. But you're here to work, not study full-time. Etching first. Design lessons once you're in the groove. No sulking."
Out came a pen from her pocket. Fancy—no ordinary quill. Tip wicked sharp.
Pen-shaped, sure, but screamed awl. Or precision chisel.
She positioned it against the orb.
"Ink's no joke—mana ink from alchemists. Load it with your mana, and you etch circuits."
Scratch, scratch.
Mana-fueled, she traced a circuit on the orb.
Thick lines here, thin there. Matching the mana lamp demo from before.
Not too tricky a tool. She wrapped it in half an hour flat.
"Illumination crystal—mana lamp core. Slap on a mana condenser circuit and timer, ship it out. Easy peasy, yeah?"
"Looks simple enough. Doing it myself? Jury's out."
"Low-grade stuff's a breeze. High-enders? Designs get wild, circuits a maze. Skill ramps up too. This? Dumb light machine. Cheap as dirt. Anyway... your turn?"
She passed the pen. Andy took it.
"Copy the circuit exactly?"
"Yup. Mana in pen, trace it perfect. New orb—go wild. Cheap junk."
Andy nodded, pen to orb.
Scratch-.
The tip gouged the crystal smooth as paper.
Magitech pen, maybe? Carved like butter.
Andy locked in, etching away. No peeks at the sample. Structure memorized on sight.
Focused eyes traced the lines. Estelle watched close.
Evening fell. Andy back at his lodgings.
Estelle sat frozen in her workshop.
"Why...?"
Her eyes fixed on a crystal orb on the table.
Illumination circuit etched in. Not hers. New hire Andy's handiwork.
Hand on orb, she murmured.
"Why's the efficiency this good?"
She pumped mana in. Then—
-Paaah!
Blinding radiance exploded, lighting the workshop like day.
Bright enough to flinch, eyes watering. Her retinas stung.
Squinting through the glare, Estelle muttered.
"Same mana input... but the kid's outshines mine by miles."
Double the brightness, felt like. Maybe triple.
Andy's orb. Same mana, way punchier light.
Weird.
Same tools. Same materials. Same circuit.
Yet this output.
She scrutinized the etching.
Identical. Angles, depths, ink volume. Indistinguishable to the eye.
'Efficiency's off. Gotta be a diff somewhere.'
Circle spun slow.
Whummm...
Three rings whirled. Spiritual will surged, senses razor-sharp.
She probed the circuit. Traced mana flows.
Dozens of minutes later, truth hit.
"Precision gap? Impossible!"
Andy's was tighter. Intricately tuned for minimal waste, max magic.
Just steady hands?
Nope. Circuit work went beyond dexterity.
'High-efficiency etchings demand top-tier mana sensing.'
Feel the flow real-time. Adjust for silk-smooth current.
Needed killer mana sensitivity.
Higher-circle crafters ruled for a reason—finer control, tighter circuits, better yields.
But first-circle Andy? This precision? Nuts.
Double her efficiency...
"Even I need hours for this level..."
She could hit it—with grind and focus.
But cheap mana lamps got half-assed effort.
Third circle here. Needing her A-game for what this kid breezed? First-circle casual.
Why?
Two options.
Beginner's luck. Fluked a golden etch.
Or...
"...Mana sensing so sharp it's unreal for first circle."
Sensitivity rivaling her third? Could explain it.
Luck? Talent?
"Tomorrow tells."
Boy shows, etches fresh. Answers then.
And so Estelle waited.