Chapter 356: Chapter 353: I Have a Bold Idea
Andre was now drained, both mentally and physically.
He was enjoying a level of attention most Magic Apprentices could never experience: one-on-one tutoring. Even most apprentices at the Thirteen Mage Towers only attended large lectures, studied on their own with self-purchased scrolls, and used the short breaks between classes to ask Mages questions.
But then, he ran into difficulties learning the [Cold Ice Beam]. Rorschach had understood its mechanics just by using a single Learning Scroll, after which a breakdown of its components had appeared on his panel.
Although Andre didn’t have a panel, "Frozen" type spells appeared as early as the First Ring, proving that the principle of "Energy Deprivation" wasn’t complicated and that even Low Tier Mages could master it.
Upgrading the Spell Ring Tier was simply a matter of generating more "Cold Energy," as well as improving its form and range. At its apex, the spell could alter a region’s climate or create a ray approaching absolute zero.
To cast the Eighth Ring [Polar Ray] or summon an Ice Blade that could cover an entire area, one needed not only more Magic Power but also an increase in "energy efficiency," which demanded strategic casting.
The problem was that suppressing the immense heat from a [Fireball Skill] or an explosion required both a large area of effect and a rapid cooling speed.
"I’m sorry, Teacher, I can’t go on." Andre wanted nothing more than to collapse on the spot. His exposed skin was stinging, and the smell of scorched hair and clothes hung in the air.
With his barely mastered [Cold Ice Beam], he couldn’t counter Rorschach’s [Fireball Skill], even with Rorschach holding back his power. And since Rorschach wouldn’t let him use any other magic, Andre nearly lost his eyebrows after several failed attempts.
And if he couldn’t handle the Fireball, he couldn’t meet the requirements for the spell series.
Seeing the sky grow dim, Rorschach pulled Andre to his feet. He first cast a healing spell, then used a Reversal on the damage the [Fireball Skill] had done to the apprentice’s clothes.
"Let’s call it a day."
"Are we continuing tomorrow?"
Rorschach was not satisfied with the day’s results. Given the same Learning Scrolls as a teaching tool, Bart had been able to master more complex casting in a single night. In comparison, Andre’s learning efficiency was far lower. But then again, he wasn’t like Bart, an Official Mage who had received a complete magical education. His Casting Ability was weak compared to his peers at the Magic Tower.
’He’s just missing that foundational education... I can’t rush him.’ Rorschach chastised himself for being too eager for quick results. He muttered to himself, ’Think about how you could never remember formulas. Think about how you were always stuck on "abandon" on your vocabulary lists. Think about that exam where you couldn’t remember the main material for an ion-exchange membrane... Okay, that’s better.’
Andre had no idea what kind of mental journey Rorschach had just been on. He only witnessed his teacher’s expression instantly shift from a contorted twitch to a gentle smile—which, outlined by the twilight and shadows, looked exceptionally terrifying.
Andre shuddered, regretting what he’d said. He thought he might have accidentally revealed his reluctance to continue studying.
Fortunately, Rorschach’s words weren’t a criticism. "We have other things on the schedule for tomorrow, and you also need to rest and review the new material. How about this: we’ll schedule one or two practice sessions every ten days. The rest of the time, you practice on your own."
"Er... you did well today," Rorschach said, patting Andre’s shoulder encouragingly, though he didn’t understand why the apprentice flinched.
Encouragement was one thing, but Rorschach still wanted to accelerate Andre’s process of mastering magic. In terms of learning progress, Andre’s performance was merely adequate, but the reality of their situation didn’t afford him the luxury of growing slowly.
The more intense the future war became, the more there would be to do. Moreover, the factory was being built so recklessly that it was sure to have countless safety hazards. If Andre could also handle sudden incidents, the potential risks in the future would be greatly reduced.
’Actually, just Andre and I aren’t enough...’ Rorschach was suddenly struck by a bold idea: Andre had only been thinking about whether they could mass-produce scrolls and Alchemy Weapons, but what if he could mass-produce Casters?
The Empire’s single Royal Magic Academy was simply too slow. What Rorschach wanted was for more people to learn magic, and for the spells they cast to be standardized, just like Magic Arrays, reducing the individual differences between various Casters performing the same spell.
This would lower the barrier to entry for becoming a Caster, allowing more people with the ability to channel ambient Magic Power to cast acceptable spells.
Andre’s Magic Talent was mediocre. The guys from the Alchemy Department and even Bart thought it would take a great deal of effort for him to become an Official Mage. Indeed, based on today’s observations, Andre’s ability to manipulate ambient Magic Power was not strong, and he had to cast in a rigid, step-by-step manner, which slowed him down.
The more advanced humanity’s tools become, the less impact physiological factors like muscle and endurance have on a person’s productive capacity. The same was true for Casters. However, Rorschach didn’t intend to rely on brute-force methods like equipping people with Magic Staffs and Spell Gemstones. He wanted to explore a more efficient, streamlined approach.
"Teacher... Teacher Rorschach?" Andre watched as Rorschach, looking as if he’d lost his Soul, started walking straight down the wrong path. He pulled Rorschach back onto the correct road and, at the same time, out of his deep contemplation.
"Oh, it’s nothing. Let’s go eat."
Andre was a little suspicious. He felt that something was off with Rorschach today.
Too preoccupied to even think about his meal, Rorschach hastily shoved some food into his mouth, then sprinted into the R&D building at the site of the old food factory.
At this time, this building was the most important structure in the entire factory complex. Rorschach had assigned two specialized Demonic Puppets to guard the door. On the surface, these Demonic Puppets were made of mud coated in tung oil, just like the others, but they had overlapping Metal Plates embedded within them, like scales hidden beneath the skin.
This was because the ground floor of the research building housed not only a Transmutation Dust Collector but also a cluster of calculation cores powered by two such Collectors.
At the very center was the core that housed the Soul. The other calculation units, which had not been modified by the [Enlightenment Skill], surrounded this central core like stars orbiting a moon. They communicated with each other through circuits made of Mithril and copper alloy wire, using Magic Pulses as signals.
For a core meant to carry a Mage’s knowledge, this method of signal transmission was likely more efficient and compatible than mechanical transmission. Rorschach didn’t know what the latency was, but at the very least, it was capable of handling everything he currently required of it.
Of the ten peripheral calculation units, three were steadily lit and two were blinking, indicating that they were currently active—controlling the Demonic Puppets and paging the "Sky Knights."
One machine was different from the other calculation cores. After Rorschach entered, the "Tower Spirit" activated it, and a [Communication Skill] Magic Array lit up. A voice then echoed in Rorschach’s mind: "Greetings, Master."
Thank goodness it was a proper Tower Spirit, a creation born from an immaterial, artificial soul, much like any other sapient Mechanical Body. If it had turned out to be a wisecracking, meme-spouting version of himself, he would have cringed hard enough to dig a new Mage Tower with his toes.
Still, Rorschach felt a slight tinge of regret. The awakened intelligence wasn’t the personality of the Ancient Mage, which proved that the Wise Man truly had no intention of possessing him. On the other hand, it also meant Rorschach had tragically lost his "wise old mentor in a ring."
’Well, I’ll just consider the old man officially retired. That’s fine too.’
After composing himself, Rorschach began to test his idea. First, he inscribed the spell series he had intended to teach Andre onto a Learning Scroll. Since it consisted of multiple nested and combined spells, the finished product was surprisingly large and incredibly complex.
Then, just as he had seen done in Poincare’s laboratory, Rorschach connected a Magic Power detection probe to the Fourier transform machine that was originally used for sound signals. He then instructed the Tower Spirit to begin recording and analyzing the entire magic.
In addition to the calculation units, a storage device modified from the original blueprints also began to operate. Upon receiving a Magic Pulse, the tiny Oscillation Crystal particles bound to the circuit by alloy wires began to shift, each one recording a small segment of the pulse.
These tens of thousands of crystal clusters formed a matrix. The next time Magic Power was channeled into it, they would release specific oscillation signals, reproducing the message they had initially received.
"Recording complete... Analyzing. Please do not disconnect the power source..." The Tower Spirit’s prompts always gave him a sense of déjà vu, reminding him of a certain operating system. It must have read Rorschach’s past memories to develop its reporting style.
’It couldn’t be that a "King of Cringe Rorschach" personality was in there pretending to be a voice assistant, could it?’
Once the analysis was also complete, Rorschach could proceed with the next step of his experiment.
He had previously tried to give the Demonic Puppets simple Casting Abilities while the Tower Spirit was controlling them, but that had failed.
However, what if he had the Tower Spirit establish a connection with Andre, to assist someone who already possessed a Casting Ability?
