Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Tio's Mana Battery
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"Long time no see, human!"
I looked at the familiar face who'd come to our shop.
Tio, the boy dwarf artisan.
The Willis Carrier of this world, who invented the manacon—an air conditioner powered by mana.
The dwarf who'd revealed her burning desire to invent just to shove it to all the others who mocked her.
The genius dwarf who'd accepted my proposal when all the others refused and created a "mana battery that doesn't consume mana."
Thanks to her, I now had the ultimate backup tool that let me use mana even in emergencies.
It barely consumed any mana even if left unused for ages, and as long as I didn't draw from it directly, it could be maintained semi-permanently.
Of course, since I'd never collapsed from mana exhaustion, it had ended up getting used in our master's shota illusions.
"The finished product is ready. I'm planning to present it at the Imperial Academy soon! I'll announce it together with you, saying you helped!"
It had only been a day since Tio contacted me.
So I'd figured it would take a few more days for her to arrive in the imperial capital.
Her presentation at the academy was scheduled for the regular magic conference in four days.
But she'd shown up the very next day.
"I came a bit early to sync up with you before presenting the invention and paper at the academy!"
She beamed at me.
"Come on in. Let's talk inside."
"It's been forever here too. Business going well?"
Tio glanced around the interior and asked me.
I nodded.
"It's had its ups and downs, but yeah, it's doing great."
"I figured. Your illusions are... well, illusory in the best way."
She gave an awkward smile as she sat on the sofa.
"Want to give it a spin since it's been a while? No customers right now, so it's perfect."
"No, not now."
Tio shook her head and pulled out a black cylindrical object.
Thud.
The moment I saw the huge, hefty iron cylinder, I knew it was the mana battery she'd developed.
It was about the size of a man's fist.
It looked like a small artillery shell—too big to really call "portable" by our standards.
But in this world, portable meant something way bulkier.
Even the high-capacity portable batteries back on my old Earth were pretty chunky.
'Smaller than a 30,000 mAh power bank, at least.'
Tio, who'd pulled out the cylindrical object, spoke up.
"This is the portable mana battery I developed. Of course, it's rechargeable by design. I sealed the mana tight with lutan so it can't leak out, and inside, I used a mikel mana gate for maximum efficiency. That's what makes recharging possible."
"So 'portable' means there are non-portable versions too?"
"Exactly. I brought the stationary one as well! This is for installing right here in your shop, Max!"
Tio pulled something much bigger than before from her deceptively small backpack.
"Heave-ho!"
It was massive—like stacking four full-sized computer towers.
"This should keep your illusion magic running at full tilt for about 16 hours!"
An insane amount.
The old batteries topped out at 3-4 hours.
This was over five times that.
"And it's rechargeable?"
"Yes. The downside is it needs a mage to charge it directly or mana stones turned into mana water."
Given how tricky it was to make mana water, it looked like you'd still need a mage to make real use of it.
"But! Even accounting for that, its storage capacity is several times better than existing mana cores, with zero mana loss for top energy efficiency. Plus, the recharge efficiency is so high, it's unprecedented!"
It really was a game-changing invention.
Way more efficient than any existing mana core.
"It's huge."
"This is the largest size I can make right now! Several times more efficient than mana cores from anywhere else! Revolutionary, right?"
Tio grinned confidently.
"Impressive."
"Ahem, this mana battery will be named after me and you—human, no, Max! The joint invention of Tio and Max!"
Joint development, huh.
"I don't think I did that much."
All I'd done was send a few bits of advice in a letter when she hit a snag.
"No way. It would've been impossible without your help. Combining lutan and mana water was the biggest hurdle, and once we cracked that, the whole tech leaped forward!"
"Really?"
"Yes, so feel free to be proud! Honestly, that combination technique is even better than my invention."
She flashed a bright smile and clenched her fist.
"Anyway, thanks to you, I can finally hold my head high. No more getting looked down on for being a female dwarf... er, I mean, for being young."
Tio, who'd let "female dwarf" slip before hurriedly correcting herself.
She had no idea.
I'd already seen her illusion from the administrator's perspective and knew she was a girl.
Tio—no, Tia—still thought I saw her as a boy, oblivious that I'd glimpsed her shameful desires laid bare.
I couldn't exactly tell her first.
'I already saw everything. I know you're a girl, Tia.'
Explaining that would mean admitting I'd viewed her illusion.
How do you even say it?
"I saw your entire fantasy of getting utterly ravaged by a golem that looks just like me."
No way.
She might smash the mana battery I was holding if I did.
And so, we'd ended up in this awkward mutual deception.
"Dwarves look down on anyone without a beard."
Long-beard.
The term for a dwarf with long years of experience.
To dwarves, beards symbolized strength and tenure.
The longer the beard, the more respect you'd earned, so no beard meant total greenhorn.
That was why dwarf society dismissed boys and women who couldn't grow them.
"I'm gonna shatter that bias at the imperial regular conference in four days. Prove that lack of beard doesn't make you less of a dwarf!"
She clenched her fist again.
"Anyway, let's draft the presentation script for the mana battery reveal at the conference."
Tia, brimming with enthusiasm, handed me a manuscript.
"What's this?"
"What else? Basic specs on the battery for the talk. I'll handle the external stuff, but you explain the lutan-mana water combo, Max. You came up with it, right?"
Using extreme mana control to bind the highly reactive lutan and mana water together.
She wanted me to explain the method.
"If I present this at the conference, everyone's gonna laugh and tell me not to joke around."
Even though I'd done it, it was an absurd approach.
Brute-forcing mana water into lutan with raw mana control—aka sheer physical force.
I could already hear the other mages calling it a dumb hack.
"Don't worry. I guarantee it. We can demo it live if they doubt!"
Tia shouted like it was no big deal.
"No one will ignore the genius inventor of the manacon. Unless they're dwarves."
And so, we spent quite a while debating the conference presentation.
That's when.
"Disciple! I'm here!"
Right in the middle of our discussion, my master arrived.
She startled at the sight of Tia, who was with me in the waiting room, jotting down presentation notes next to the battery.
"Wh-who's this?"
"Oh, this is Tio, the dwarf who made our mana battery."
"T-Tio? Wait, Tio as in the teacher who developed the manacon?"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tio."
"Thanks to you, summers have been cool. But any improved version coming? It guzzles too much mana to use often..."
"Oh, that."
Tia patted the battery.
"This guy's gonna fix that."
"What's this?"
"Well, this thing..."
Meiko's eyes widened as Tia explained the battery.
"D-Disciple, this all true? You helped make this?"
"Yes."
Meiko's jaw dropped.
"You're a genius! The top mage of our Illusion Magic School!"
Then she hugged me tight.
"I'm so proud! Anything I can do to help? I'll do whatever! I've presented at conferences a few times before!"
"Then help make materials for the presentation."
"Of course!"
Meiko sat beside me, eyeing the mana battery intently, then leaned in to whisper.
"S-So, when do we install this battery?"
"Tomorrow, so we can test it in real use."
"R-Right. Got it."
It wasn't just my imagination—her excitement at "soon" seemed genuine.
The Empire's regular conference at the Imperial Academy.
A gathering of countless scholars, mages, and knowledge seekers, open to all races in pursuit of wisdom.
A rare chance to see elves, dwarves, and other sub-races.
Held twice a year for a full week, it featured announcements of new tech, papers, and magic.
The innovations revealed here shaped the year ahead.
Even rival faction members and professors from various academies set aside origins for this day.
You'd think a knowledge hub would be solemn, but it was surprisingly rowdy.
'Feels out of place.'
Illusion mages rarely came here.
'We don't get attention for developing spells.'
We mostly co-authored under other factions.
'Even that was only possible because it was Meiko.'
Dressed in a suit per the conference dress code, I felt constricted by the tight fit.
'Snug.'
Suits were the baseline here, regardless of gender.
A symbol of pursuing pure knowledge, beyond sex, age, or status—everyone suited up.
Entering the academy in my suit, I spotted the two who'd arrived ahead amid the crowds.
"Human, over here!"
"Disciple, there you are."
Tia and Meiko waved at me from the throng.