Chapter 74
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74
At Professor Martelzier’s signal, the group practical officially began.
The room was instantly filled with the low hum of students whispering. Our group also began discussing how to approach the assignment.
“First, let's lay out all the gems we have.”
“O-okay.”
The four of us took the gems and various auxiliary tools from our drawers and arranged them on the table. The colorful gems Wayne had described earlier glittered brilliantly under the light.
[Enhance] [Increase] [Ascend]
[Harmony] [Imbue] [Amplify]
[Chaos] [Descend] [Decrease]
[Remove]
These were the gems symbolizing the ten concepts required to process the crystal ball. Of course, they weren't actual gemstones; they were more like glasswork that had been magically treated for the exercise. The concepts they represented and their colors had no basis in reality—they were merely tools prepared for the lesson.
Nevertheless, they were as beautiful as real jewels.
“Whoa…”
Bell’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the glittering gems. She had likely never seen anything so expensive-looking in her life. Beatrice and Yuliana, on the other hand, narrowed their eyes, studying the gems with intense focus.
“How unexpected. I didn't know the curriculum included a practical like this.”
“It’s my first time seeing it as well, Your Highness. It seems to be a new addition for this semester.”
It was a new type of practical, unknown even to Beatrice and Yuliana, despite their deep knowledge of magical theory. The two began to analyze the exercise, carefully examining the gems and the auxiliary tools.
“A practical where we combine ten concepts to find the optimal result… The number of possible combinations is staggering, even if we assume the [Remove] concept simply erases previous ones.”
“And considering we have to use these auxiliary tools, the difficulty seems quite high.”
Yuliana gently touched the various tools placed next to the gems: a wide black disk, mana tongs, a dropper, a strangely shaped mana pen, and bottles containing various reagents. Their designs differed from the standard magical tools typically found in workshops.
Bell, who had been scanning the items on the table, turned to me.
“Roen, do you know anything about this?”
“Hmm.”
At Bell’s question, I looked down at the gems and tools before slowly opening my mouth.
“I have a general idea of how this works.”
Actually, I knew it very well.
This practical was structured almost exactly like [Artifact Gacha], one of the mini-games in Myrillin Saga.
[Artifact Gacha] was a mini-game found at an arcade near Deiarron, the Alchemist's Tower. It was a simulation game implemented through holographic magical tools.
‘…According to the lore, it was a game created by simplifying the actual artifact creation process from the Magic Tower so that ordinary people could enjoy it.’
The lore stated that the mini-game, which blended various combination elements with a gacha system, was a massive success, drawing countless tourists and gamblers to the arcade every year. I’d also heard that the Magic Tower used the combination data extracted from the arcade, as new combinations and brilliant ideas would often emerge organically from the players.
In any case, it seemed this piece of "advanced culture" had made its way to the Union and was being used in lectures.
When I spoke as if I were familiar with the process, Yuliana looked at me with skeptical eyes.
“You’re saying you know something that Her Highness and I don’t?”
Her tone was dripping with condescension. It was clearly her attempt at revenge for earlier.
“If you don't want to hear it, don't. Figure it out yourselves.”
As I leaned back comfortably in my chair and crossed my arms, Yuliana hurriedly spoke up.
“Hey, we're in the same group. If you know something, share it.”
“…”
Beatrice, too, seemed to be waiting for my explanation. No matter how brilliant her mind was or how well-versed she was in theory, it took time to grasp a piece of culture she had never encountered. Furthermore, she knew that listening to someone with experience was wiser than acting rashly.
“…”
After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I began to explain.
“There's nothing particularly special about it. First, look at this black disk.”
Tap.
I tapped my finger against the tray-sized disk.
Zzzing—
The silhouette of my finger touching the disk spread like a shadow and appeared on the crystal ball in the center of the table.
“This black disk is linked to the crystal ball. In other words, instead of using the gems directly on the crystal ball, you place them on this disk to test their effects and performance.”
“I see. So the black disk acts as a circuit board connected to the crystal ball.”
“Exactly.”
Beatrice continued, glancing at the tools next to Yuliana.
“Then these auxiliary tools must be for arranging the concept gems on the disk and connecting them with mana to create combinations. It seems to require more precise control than I thought.”
“Correct. You're a quick learner.”
It was nice not having to waste my breath; I only had to explain one thing for her to grasp the rest.
“Excellent. Thanks to you, we can proceed without any trial and error.”
As she said this, Beatrice glanced over at the other groups, who were currently in a state of total confusion.
“Whoa!”
“The gem melted!”
“Wait, wait! Don't put it in yet!”
“It says the contamination level is high? I guess we can't pick them up with our bare hands.”
“What's this mana pen for?”
“Should we just put all the gems on the disk first? So we don't lose them.”
Crack!
“Professor, the disk broke!”
“Our gem melted, can we get another one?”
“…”
It was utter chaos. They were learning the very information I had shared in a few words through a painful process of direct experimentation.
“We will replace materials and tools as needed, so please let us know if you require anything,” Assistant Professor Wayne announced.
Students from other groups rushed over to grab new gems and tools. After watching the farce for a moment, I turned back to our table.
Yuliana, who had also been watching the others' bizarre antics, asked me, “Shouldn't the professor have explained this beforehand? This is so inefficient.”
“I suppose the trial-and-error process is part of the evaluation. It wouldn't be any fun if they told you everything from the start, would it?”
“Fun…”
Yuliana shrugged and began the combination process in earnest, checking each gem one by one.
“Do you also know how to combine the gems? And how to arrange them on the disk?”
“The basic principle is to place the gems on the disk and connect them by drawing lines with the mana pen.”
Clink.
I used the tongs to pick up the red gem symbolizing [Enhance] and placed it on the disk. Next, I placed the teal gem symbolizing [Amplify] beside it and drew a straight line with the mana pen to connect the two.
Sizzle.
The two gems were joined with a faint wisp of smoke. Once linked by the line of mana, the gems began to emit a brilliant light in their respective colors. Simultaneously, the crystal ball synchronized with the disk also changed.
Vwoom—
The crystal ball pulsed with a red light, as if issuing a warning.
“By connecting these two gems, I have [Amplified] the concept of [Enhance]. But I haven't yet decided what to enhance and amplify. It could be the crystal ball's mana storage capacity, its preservation period, or even the grade of magic it can store. This red light is a warning about that lack of direction.”
“Then how do you decide that?”
“You just need to draw the corresponding formula on the desired gem. It's not difficult.”
“Aha.”
“For your information, the effects of each concept also change slightly depending on the shape, thickness, and number of lines connecting the gems. You can also use reagents to alter the properties of the lines. Try to combine these elements effectively.”
With that, I concluded my explanation. If I've told them this much, I've told them everything.
After hearing the explanation, Yuliana pressed her temples as if she had a headache.
“This is quite difficult. The number of possibilities is practically infinite. I don't think this is a problem that can be solved in an hour.”
“Don't overthink it. Professor Martelzier probably isn't expecting some legendary result, so we just need to make it look decent. Just look at what the other groups are doing.”
Yuliana glanced at the other groups for a moment before nodding.
“Right… I suppose we'll get first place no matter what we do.”
The students in the other groups were still fumbling around, not even knowing how to place the gems, let alone use the tools. There was no need to worry.
“Still, could you help with the combinations? You seem to know more about this than I expected.”
At her request, I furrowed my brow.
“Do you want me to spoon-feed you, too? I've given you the foundation; you can figure out the rest on your own.”
This was a group composed of the 1st, 5th, and 6th place students from the pop quiz. Their actual academic rankings wouldn't differ much from that. It was only right for them to put their heads together and solve it themselves. Besides, I'd given them more than enough hints.
‘And honestly… I'm not confident I can do better than them.’
I looked over my group members and shrugged. Beatrice, Yuliana, and Bell. According to the lore, these three had the highest intelligence stats in the entire story. I might have some meta-knowledge, but under the same conditions, I couldn't beat them. It was better to just leave it to the experts.
Just then, Beatrice spoke up.
“Yuliana, Roen is right. Now that we've received this many hints, we must solve it ourselves.”
Beatrice tackled the task with a fiery gaze.
“Let's create… the best possible result together.”
One hour after the practical began.
I clicked my tongue in amazement as I stared at the crystal ball before me, which was now emitting a powerful magical aura.
‘To achieve this in just one hour. As expected… geniuses are geniuses.’
After hearing my explanation, Beatrice, with the help of the other two, had begun to enhance the crystal ball, steadily connecting the gems with lines of mana. It was a perfect synergy where they compensated for each other's weaknesses: Beatrice's logic formed the core, Yuliana filled in the technical gaps, and Bell proposed unique methods the other two hadn't even considered.
At first, they made a few mistakes and had to use the [Remove] gem to reset the disk, but once they got the hang of it, they began to find the optimal combinations without hesitation.
And now.
This was the result of the combined efforts of Beatrice, the future Grand Mage; her assistant, Yuliana; and Bell, the future Master of the Magic Tower.
“It's… complete.”
Beatrice wiped the sweat trickling down her forehead and smiled with satisfaction.
The colorful gems embroidered the black disk like stars in the night sky, connected by intricate geometric lines and formulas. And linked to that disk, the crystal ball glowed with a magnificent, steady light. It looked less like a school project and more like a work of art.
Just as I was admiring the result.
Ding—
The bell rang, signaling the end of the practical. A moment later, Professor Martelzier, who had been waiting outside, entered the room with a wide smile.
“Alright then, shall we take a look at everyone's creations~?”