Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Graduate Academy Days (2)
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I thought Professor Palrez's research had solid commercial potential.
Mana permanent preservation. The topic alone reeked of money.
But that was a misconception. Combining it with actual objects was a whole different story.
Professor Palrez's focus was more on integrating mana with artifacts and devices.
Simply preserving mana and binding it to a physical object were entirely different matters.
The reason was that engineering technology hadn't advanced anywhere near the level of magic.
Plus, what they called "permanent preservation" was, more accurately, long-term preservation with Professor Palrez's techniques.
It had once attracted significant investment, but it had stalled at a certain level and entered a long ice age.
The reason Professor Palrez could keep going was thanks to the patronage of a certain vanity-driven noble.
Of course, this just meant it lacked commercial viability—it didn't disappoint me. I'd expected as much from the start.
I already knew from reading the papers that true permanent preservation was impossible. Still, I found long-term preservation plenty appealing on its own.
For someone like me planning to invent a cellphone, whether this world's engineering lagged by 1 or 10 levels made no real difference.
All I needed was one thing: a technique to store mana for extended periods, period.
Professor Palrez's specialty.
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My advantages were a faint mana affinity talent, a heap of modern knowledge, and a bit of dexterity.
I had no intention of patching up medieval-level engineering.
Instead, I planned to propose an entirely new direction based on magic.
What if we created objects using already-advanced mana techniques, bypassing outdated medieval engineering?
Making objects from mana itself.
This idea had been swirling in my head for ages. If I voiced it, any Academy professor would scoff.
But I was dead serious.
It was something I had to achieve to invent a cellphone.
Manifesting objects purely from mana. And the starting point was long-term mana preservation technology.
Because mana needed long-term preservation to maintain an object's form.
That was why I'd joined Professor Palrez's lab.
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What I'd hammered out over a year holed up in the lab was the concept of the "Circuit."
Implanting mana into any random object doesn't make an artifact. Just putting them together doesn't mean they'll interact on their own.
Artifacts emerged only from a one-in-ten-million fluke—a truly inexplicable interaction.
That was why artifacts cost a fortune.
Still, mana carries unique patterns inherent to each mage. Mana itself has properties, attributes, and tendencies.
So, what if we manifested an object's form purely from mana first, then embedded mana circuits within it?
This shifted from a mere "object-mana" interaction to a "mana-mana" one.
The key device to induce and control that interaction?
The Circuit.
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When I first successfully implanted a Circuit, a thrill like I'd conquered the world surged through me. But the excitement didn't last.
In the end, I gave up.
I'd believed I could make a cellphone, but I realized it was impossible.
Only after devoting my entire graduate life to research did I hit the wall.
It couldn't be overcome with mere dexterity or modern know-how.
No matter how hard I tried, progress was purely quantitative—no qualitative leap.
That was just how I was. My magic talent wasn't even in mana capacity, after all.
My limit.
Someday, some genius might build on this. But that would be their achievement, not mine.
As I sighed, Professor Palrez approached cautiously. He knew I'd hit a wall in my recent work and was feeling down.
Maybe he wanted to encourage me. He spoke with a resolute tone, as if he'd made up his mind.
"Ivan, from your doctoral program to your professorship... I'll take full responsibility. Your path ahead will be smooth sailing."
"You've still got cooldown left on that, don't you?"
"Cool... down?"
"You said the exact same thing last week."
"So... you're not doing it?"
"Nope."
Just from Professor Palrez's reaction, it was clear I hadn't achieved nothing in this lab.
For instance, the Communication Orb.
The first artifact Professor Palrez and I co-created after I established the Circuit concept.
Of course, compared to the flashy powers and legendary origins people imagined for artifacts, it might disappoint.
But the key was that I'd produced an artifact with my own techniques.
The Communication Orb let users transmit voices over long distances.
It was also a pre-test for the function I'd later put in the Manaphone.
Now meaningless... Ah, no. Of course, the money mattered.
"By the way, Lady Bireta wants to see it once and invited us to dinner..."
The Lady Bireta Professor Palrez mentioned was the one and only vanity-packed noble sponsoring his research.
Originally a maid in the Bireta family, she'd caught the Family Head's eye and risen to lady of the house—an unprecedented feat for a servant.
It was possible only because his first wife had passed from illness.
Unable to escape her background's shackles, she constantly faced scornful glares, or so they said.
To cope with the stress, perhaps, she'd armored herself in ostentatious luxury and bravado.
I'd thought maids turned ladies usually shrank back, but she did the opposite—emboldened, she swept through the world with her wealth.
...What a personality.
She was also the first outsider to try our Communication Orb.
Upon grasping its use, she reacted with startling speed, immediately writing to her husband.
Her husband was tasked with pioneering the barren northern land called the Devil's Forest.
This kept him away long-term, which was why Lady Bireta was easily dismissed by those around her.
The Family Head's absence.
But that choice brought massive changes—for her, Professor Palrez, and me.
Upon receiving her letter, the Family Head tested the Communication Orb in his mission and recognized its value.
A tool for remote communication during land reclamation? Reclamation results skyrocketed just from that.
Enormous gains in record time.
Investment and rollout followed swiftly. The commander of the Family Head's unit even wanted to meet us, but I skipped it. Professor Palrez handled all that tedious stuff—he loved it anyway.
The Family Head openly praising his wife was only natural.
"Entrusting the family to you was the wisest choice of my life. My Violet..." or whatever.
So Lady Bireta adored us. How good must it have felt to flip all those sneers?
She invited us to dinners often.
I attended without fail. She was our sole cash flow—no alternatives.
'Not anymore, though.'
Anyway, word spread through high society (Lady Bireta couldn't keep quiet), drawing investment offers to the lab.
Professor Palrez was thrilled.
I was leaving anyway.
Still, showing my face one last time was polite.
'To that house's kids, too.'
I visited the Bireta estate. Professor Palrez had another commitment and would arrive by dinner.
'I've got some leeway now, human-wise.'
Unthinkable in the old days.
Lady Bireta would understand. Her favor toward us had maxed out, so she'd overlook such trifles.
After a brief greeting, I quietly left her study.
Someone was waiting outside the door.
A small girl with bright eyes blinking up at me.
"Ivan! Done talking?"
She was Lady Bireta's daughter, Ellis Bireta.
The house had the Family Head's firstborn daughter and second son from his first wife; Ellis was much younger.
Last in birth order and family standing. Even with the first wife's death, her influence lingered.
In a way, Ellis and I had something in common. Though as a maid's child, her lot was a bit rougher...
No honey for her like I got.
Not out of solidarity—I'd just taken a liking to her from the start and played with her a few times when visiting.
"Hurry! I wanna see it again!"
Ellis grabbed my hand with her tiny one and tugged me down a familiar path.
I followed without resistance, and soon the Bireta estate's vast garden unfolded before us.
Ellis didn't slow, marching straight to the ornate fountain in the center.
"Show me! Show me!"
She bounced in front of the fountain, beaming.
Her light purple hair swayed.
Hmm... She loved it so much it felt like I was showing off some grand magic, but really, it was just manifesting an ice bird using a mana circuit and letting it fly.
Still, if I had to name a professional-level spell from grad school, it was Manifestation.
I focused, and the circle around my heart began to spin.
Mana stirred within me, surging out and coiling over my palm.
I shaped the dull mana into an ice bird's form, then finely tuned it to embed a mana circuit inside.
Once the flow connected to its tiny wings, the bird trembled like it had come alive and took flight.
Back then, my precision faltered, so I'd craft frames by hand. Now, since the spell was my own creation, my mana naturally formed circuits.
Manifesting form from mana itself was basic-level stuff.
Back at the Academy, I'd been ignored...
Peak magic: entertaining kids.
The ice bird perched atop the fountain, and Ellis hopped over, staring at it raptly.
Dealing with a kid giggling at tumbling leaves made my ego soar.
After playing like that for a while, evening came, and as we headed back inside, my eyes met those of a girl standing at the garden entrance.
Her. The Bireta firstborn, Elin.
"Are you done showing off magic to my clueless little sister?"
Her clipped, unchildlike tone pierced my ears.
Such a stoic kid.
And smart, too!
She'd nailed exactly how I was entertaining Ellis.
Caught out, all I could do was change the subject.
"Are you using the gift I gave you last time... okay?"
"..."
A beat of silence. Like I'd said something wrong.
Elin's eyes darted.
"Oh... that? I threw it away."
"Nah, it still smells like the flowers I put in it."
"Huh? W-what smell?!"
The stoic girl's voice pitched up.
I didn't say it stunk or anything.
Obvious as day: she'd been using my gift right up until now.