Chapter 114

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 114

Chapter Title: Mana Cultivation - Compression

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"Ah, honestly, if you can't do it, just say you can't. Stop peeking at someone else's blueprint."

How long had it been since I arrived at the Arcane Fist Workshop?

The craftsman who had taken MechanicalMage's blueprint stared at it intently for a good while.

"...This blueprint. Where did you get it from?"

"That's a secret. Can you do it or not?"

"This punk..."

The craftsman glared at me before turning back to examine the blueprint.

He wasn't even listening to my provocations anymore.

He was completely absorbed in it.

"A growth-type artifact...? How is this structure even possible...?"

"Hey. If you're not buying, give it back."

I was the one buying, sure.

But it was a problem to keep showing him the blueprint if he couldn't make it.

At that moment, the craftsman shot to his feet.

"Tell me straight. Where the hell did you get a blueprint like this?"

"That's really a secret. But it came from someone trustworthy, so no worries about it being illegal."

"Illegal... This is a blueprint that couldn't possibly be illegal. Even if it used something illicit, no craftsman alive could design at this level."

"Exactly. So, can you do it?"

So, are you making it or not?

The craftsman pondered his answer.

I was debating just taking the blueprint and leaving when

he seemed to come to a decision and spoke up.

"...I'll do it."

"Oh, really?"

"But I can't guarantee success. You might lose the materials. That's okay? I won't charge you, though."

I might lose the Etherolite.

He didn't seem confident about succeeding either.

I thought for a moment before answering.

Actually, there wasn't much to think about.

"Got it. Please do it."

Etherolite by itself was useless anyway.

This was the only workshop that could handle it.

My skills might improve enough to make a good artifact later,

but that would take too long,

and it wouldn't beat MechanicalMage's design anyway.

He was stubborn, but trustworthy, so why not give it a shot?

Especially since it was free.

"Good. But are you sure?"

"I don't know where you got it, but... honestly, it's the first one to make my heart race like this. I'm certain I'll never see a better blueprint in my lifetime."

Of course. It's Gonik's work.

Anyway, I decided to entrust it to him.

"It'll take some time. I'll finish my current commission first."

"Understood. How long?"

"Luckily, the current job wraps up today. Even starting prep tomorrow and diving in, I can't predict with this design. I'll contact the academy when it's done. Your name?"

"Ian Isaac. First-year Class A."

The craftsman scribbled notes and pinned them to a board on one side of the workshop.

"Ian Isaac. Noted. I'm Dumer Fist."

The owner of Arcane Fist Workshop, craftsman Dumer Fist, extended his hand.

I grabbed it firmly and shook.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Please succeed.

"Then, call me."

Having successfully commissioned it, I was about to leave the workshop for real.

The moment I mounted my broom to fly off,

a massive surge of mana accompanied something whooshing toward me.

I instinctively dodged back, and a red-haired man descended from the sky.

"..."

He gave me a sidelong glare.

His eyes flashed briefly, but he soon ignored me and entered the workshop.

-Ah, Tower Master. You've arrived. It'll be done soon...

As I flew off on my broom, I heard Dumer's voice from behind.

That guy must be the Tower Master.

The commission ahead was apparently his.

The Tower Master was one of those who rivaled the Archmage Dukes, right?

He felt more like a true mage than those playing noble games.

I mulled over such thoughts as I returned to the academy.

After returning to the academy from the workshop,

the place was still quieter than usual due to the subjugation festival aftermath.

Popular training rooms were usually packed even on weekends.

But today, lots of spots were empty—everyone resting, maybe.

I claimed a spot in the training room and opened the gallery.

I didn't have grand plans to gallery-surf in the training room.

It was half habit, half checking my growth plans.

Several factors were key to advancing magical realm.

For magic itself, raising hierarchy based on the Eight Sages Theory was crucial.

Plenty more at higher realms, but

right now, I needed to study theory and raise hierarchy.

A step further: specialties like chantcraft, artifacts, beast taming, etc.

Things that boosted my computations and realm.

I'd picked up various specialties, but none I could call masterful yet.

"Mana capacity's lacking."

But mana underlay everything.

Mana was simply the power to cast spells.

Like basic stamina.

Any specialty needed mana as foundation.

Whether direct computation, chantcraft, artifacts,

or beast taming—tamers with low mana couldn't control ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠familiars properly.

Of course, my mana capacity was quite high for a cadet.

Still, this dilemma stemmed from recent cultivation efficiency.

Originally, each session gained thousands.

These days, long focus yielded that sometimes, but

mostly capped at hundreds.

I felt gains from cultivation diminishing.

"Of course, it's still insanely fast."

Gaining even hundreds was tough normally.

Anyway, subjectively, growth had slowed.

Time to rebuild basics.

Double down on cultivation focus, then simple spell training.

Stuck at 4th hierarchy for a while.

I could handle 5th hierarchy spells, but

not as effortlessly as 3rd or 4th—

they required heavy concentration for computation.

In short, not yet battle-ready for 5th hierarchy.

Focus computations to raise hierarchy for now.

The two 6th hierarchy spells from the Goniks were piling up too.

Specialties later, after those.

"Cultivation has three principles, right."

Expansion. Compression. Optimization.

The three principles—or methods—from when I first learned cultivation.

Expansion was basic, what I'd done so far.

Simply inhaling ambient mana to expand the mana vessel.

But lungs don't expand infinitely with breathing,

nor does blindly inhaling ambient mana expand the vessel forever.

Compress mana in circuits to raise density.

Compression came after expansion, they said.

Optimization was far harder, not yet.

I posted about compression, but reactions were mostly negative.

ExtremeEfficiencyFanatic first compressed at 800k mana.

50k did seem a bit cheeky.

But I felt like I could do it.

Just shrink the mana vessel—er, circuits' mana, right?

I'd called it mana vessel till now, but circuits was more accurate.

Body makes physical self, soul makes spirit.

Circuits make my mana-based existence.

Filled circuits grow, mana capacity rises.

Circuits weren't just about capacity, though.

Hard to explain precisely, but circuits felt like my body in mana/magic world.

Felt it eating dirt before—deeper circuit understanding advances realm.

These guys just say I can't.

But they weren't wrong.

Maybe I was being greedy.

Gains slowed, but still faster than other cadets.

Guess not possible.

But it felt doable.

As I pondered trying solo,

a welcome comment appeared.

Recently just empty talk,

but longtime rice teacher MagicIsNotHard in teaching mode.

She'd taught first when others said no.

Compress circuits uniformly?

Not squish one side—press all evenly without gaps.