In a brightly lit large laboratory, Camil floated high in midair, monitoring the operation of the equipment before him—
A nozzle-like alloy device composed of multiple rings and sleeves was fixed at the center of the room's floor. Outside it stood a crystal conduit connected to the ceiling. Large quantities of runes and mithril conductive structures were embedded in orderly patterns across the floor around the device, while numerous control and auxiliary devices lined the walls on both sides of the room.
Camil's gaze was fixed on the crystal conduit in the center of the floor, on the alloy "nozzle" at its base. A blue-white stream of magical flame flowed silently from the nozzle, forming a straight energy beam within the conduit. The crystal apparatus at the top of the conduit hummed as it continuously released that pure, powerful energy into the high-energy circuits around the laboratory, maintaining a dangerous and precise equilibrium.
A nearby Magic Net Terminal suddenly chimed. Camil glanced up at the Mechanical Clock hanging on the wall, then descended to the communications station. As the device activated, a clear projected image soon appeared above the projection crystal. An elven lady with golden hair swept up high and a beautiful, mature face appeared in the image. "Good day, Master Camil."
"Good day, Grand Astromancer Verania," Camil replied with a slight nod—visually, this took the form of the arcane cloud around his head bobbing up and down. "Your contact was very punctual. How were the experimental results? Did our newly designed procedure work?"
"Unfortunately," the Grand Astromancer sighed within the Holographic Projection, "although we successfully created a shielding field capable of isolating all magical effects, the darkroom at the center of the field was still disturbed by natural magic. The image shown on the projection plate was blurred