The First Project, Part 1

Professor Elena's heavy sigh echoed through the lecture hall.

Fatigue was etched deep into her face, and her usual neat, put-together appearance was nowhere to be seen.

"Sigh... There are only four days left until the submission deadline, correct? I trust you are all preparing your first projects well. Make sure to wrap them up properly."

As the professor walked out of the classroom, Chloe turned to look at me with a worried expression.

"Doesn't the professor seem really exhausted lately? She's canceled class quite a few times, too... I wonder if something happened."

I shrugged and replied.

"Well, maybe... I'm not really sure."

Honestly, the canceled classes had actually been a blessing in disguise for me.

During those free hours, I had been able to stock up on inventory for the Kraken series.

Now, I had enough stock to last about a week, and I was planning to halt production on the Kraken series for the time being starting today.

The lines that used to stretch out until dawn had finally begun to shrink, and the internal supply within the academy seemed to have reached a stable level.

And to be frank, churning out the exact same weapon over and over again just didn't suit my personality.

I was starting to itch to craft something new.

Around us, students from other groups were huddled together, passionately debating their own projects.

"Since we only have four days left, I think we just need to add a simple mana circuit to this. It'll be tough, but let's make it work somehow."

"Yeah, I'm finally getting the hang of engraving runes. We should be able to finish in time."

Overhearing them, William muttered anxiously.

"It looks like the other groups are almost done..."

I smiled and looked at the two of them.

"Alright, shall we start on our project weapon too? Is there anything in particular you guys want to make?"

Chloe and William fell into deep thought.

"Hmm... What should we do?"

I could see various ideas flashing across their faces.

Suddenly, William's eyes lit up.

"Hey, let's make something absolutely ridiculous this time! Like, a flying carpet that cuts through the sky, or an hourglass that turns back time. What do you think?"

Chloe stared at William, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"What kind of nonsense is that? How on earth are we supposed to make something like that?!"

She shook her head and let out a sigh.

"Besides, those aren't even weapons. You do remember we're in the Department of Weapon Crafting, right?"

William scratched his head, laughing sheepishly.

"Haha... Yeah, I guess it's a bit unrealistic. I just felt like Edward might actually be able to pull it off... Then what should we make?"

"Well... shouldn't we make something a bit more practical? Like a magic-reinforced shield, for instance..."

Chloe turned to ask me.

"Edward, what do you think would be good?"

I fell into thought for a moment.

Feeling their expectant gazes on me, I pondered what kind of idea to propose.

After quickly running through several possibilities in my head, I slowly opened my mouth.

"I think making a shield this time might actually be a good idea."

"Right?"

Chloe agreed, a proud little smile spreading across her face.

William tilted his head slightly and asked.

"But isn't that a bit too ordinary? It feels like everyone is expecting something special from our group..."

I smiled and replied.

"Don't worry. I have a good trick up my sleeve. It won't be an ordinary shield."

At my words, their eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"What?! A shield that gets stronger the more it's attacked?"

Chloe and William stared at me with wide eyes.

Their expressions were a mix of sheer shock and excitement.

"Exactly."

I calmly continued my explanation.

"When this shield takes an enemy attack, it absorbs the energy. It doesn't matter if it's magic or a physical strike. Then, it uses that absorbed energy to reinforce the shield itself while storing the rest."

"Whoa, that sounds absolutely insane!"

William gasped in admiration.

Chloe tilted her head, looking skeptical.

"It's a wonderful idea, but... is that really possible? A magic that absorbs attacks... I've never heard of such a thing."

"Oh, come on, Edward probably knows exactly how to do it! Right?"

William asked, looking at me expectantly.

"Well... I'll have to look into that now."

I replied cautiously.

"Huh? There's actually something you don't know how to do?"

William asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well... I'm not omnipotent."

I shrugged.

Of course, it wasn't that I had never made a shield with that kind of mechanism before, but it required an incredibly rare material.

I needed the scale of a Void Dragon.

But it was impossible to go hunt for something like that now.

There might be one sitting in the imperial treasury somewhere, but that was about it.

Since obtaining such a material was out of the question for now, I had to find another way.

"Then what do we do?"

William asked worriedly.

"We go look for a way, of course."

I said with a determined look.

"Huh? You mean right now? Do we even have the time? I was just suggesting we engrave a basic reinforcement magic..."

Chloe said, flustered.

"Just follow me for now."

The library of Lucentia Academy boasted an overwhelming scale.

Bookshelves packed to the ceiling stretched out like a labyrinth, systematically organized by field so that anyone could easily find the materials they wanted.

In this place where ancient knowledge and modern research coexisted, a stillness hung in the air, as if time itself had stopped.

However, the magic section was an exception.

It was bustling with students from the Department of Magic, and the reading rooms were filled with the constant murmur of chanting spells and the rustling of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turning pages.

We combed through books on magic absorption and energy conversion.

However, we couldn't easily find any concrete theories that could be applied to the shield we were designing.

"I don't think it's in this book either."

Chloe sighed.

"What we need is much more complex than this."

"You're right."

I nodded.

Most of the books dealt with formulas or principles for converting mana into a specific attribute.

But what we needed was far more intricate.

A universal formula that could absorb not only all types of magic but also physical attacks imbued with mana, converting them into pure mana.

There wasn't a single clue to be found regarding such a groundbreaking theory.

"We can't go on like this."

I said.

"Let's look somewhere else."

In the end, we turned our steps toward the 'Recently Published Theses' section.

I had briefly passed by it during the tour on our first day of admission; it was a place where papers that hadn't made it into books or academic journals were gathered.

Unlike the other magic-related sections, this area was deserted.

It was likely because most of the contents were unproven theories or experimental results rather than completed magic formulas, making them seem impractical.

"Let's see... Among the research related to 'magic circuits'... specifically the mana conversion category."

I muttered, running my finger along the titles of the papers to find a topic of interest.

Hmm, once I filter them out, there are only a few papers.

"Let's split up and skim through these."

I assigned a portion to William and Chloe respectively.

The three of us soon sat down in our respective seats and began to focus.

William let out a sigh and said.

"There's really nothing here that could serve as a clue. It's all single-attribute mana conversion theories. Fire to water, wind to earth... stuff like that. It's far from what we're looking for."

Chloe shook her head as well.

"Yeah... nothing on this side either. Most of them are just reports on failed experiments. Edward, how about over there?"

"Not much here either..."

I replied disappointedly, looking at the stack of papers piled on the desk.

That was when William spoke up.

"Should we just do what Chloe suggested? Just engrave a few reinforcement spells and submit that. We're running out of time anyway..."

Chloe nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! What we practiced will be more than enough. For freshmen, we can get a pretty decent grade with just that."

"Alright, let's go then!"

William sprang up from his seat.

The two of them began to tidy up the books, and I reluctantly stood up as well.

Just then, a thin paper hidden between several books caught my eye.

I picked it up.

I haven't looked at this one yet.

Chloe and William continued their conversation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as they prepared to leave.

"Let's stop by the magic consumables shop and the weapon materials store on our way. A new material came out recently, you know? It's absolutely amazing."

"Seriously, Chloe, you lose your mind over anything new."

"Um... what are you doing, Edward? Aren't you coming?"

William called out to me from near the door.

"Huh? Oh, hold on a second..."

I gave a half-hearted reply, my focus locked onto the paper.

That was when the title entered my field of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vision.

Beneath it lay a spread of complex diagrams and mathematical formulas.

"Guys. I think I found it."

Lily Harper let out a heavy sigh as she sat down at her lab desk.

She had just received a harsh scolding from her professor.

The memory of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heading to the professor's office earlier, holding the research proposal she had stayed up all night to write, flashed through her mind.

Anticipation and anxiety had warred in her chest.

This time, I'll definitely get recognized...

Knock, knock.

"Yes, Professor? You called for me?"

The moment she opened the door, Lily flinched at the professor's grim expression.

"Harper, is this a joke to you?"

"Pardon?"

"Hasn't that research already been proven to be completely unrealistic? And yet you bring it to me again? Are you trying to blow the entire department's research budget?"

Her advisor's sharp criticism rang in her ears.

Is my research really that flawed?

Lily hung her head low, sinking into deep thought.

Her heart ached at the thought that the efforts she had poured in over the last three years might go down the drain.

Just then, the professor's voice snapped her back to reality.

"I am leaving for a business trip now. By the time I return, rewrite the proposal from scratch with a completely new idea and submit it."

Lily nodded with a heavy heart.

"Yes, I understand, Professor."

The professor put on his hat, grabbed his briefcase, and opened the door.

Just before stepping out, he turned back to add one last thing.

"If it's still the same when I get back, I will hand this research project over to another researcher. Keep that in mind."

Slam! The door shut.

"Tsk, I put her in the team leader position thinking she was smart, but..."

The professor's muttering, fading away with the sound of his footsteps, weighed even heavier on Lily's heart.

Not long after the advisor left, a soft knock sounded at the door.

"Who is it?"

she asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Hello, we came to ask you a few questions."

"Oh? The professor just left for a business trip."

"Ah, actually, we came to see you, Senior Harper."

Lily couldn't hide her surprise.

It was the first time anyone had come to this lab looking for her instead of the professor.

"Me... you mean me?"