Doing Scientific Research

By the time Sordil and Zeref had carried all the Mirror Crystals they had gathered to the shore, Gilkunis and Wattster had also descended from the sky. Gilkunis was still holding a crisp, golden-brown grilled Emerald Cod Fish and gnawing on it, while Wattster, unwilling to be outdone, was heartily devouring a roasted leg of lamb. The sight nearly made Sordil and Zeref faint with rage. Yet Gilkunis paid no heed whatsoever to their condemning stares and continued his great fish-eating endeavor. Wattster, on the other hand, put away her lamb leg and praised the two for doing well. However, Sordil did not hear the slightest hint of praise in her words. Instead, it sounded more like she was complaining that they had come out too soon and ruined her appetite.

No matter what, the four of them had achieved the purpose of this trip. They had trained Sordil and Zeref's practical combat abilities while also gathering the magical materials needed to make Wind Chant. Before parting with Sordil, Gilkunis had fulfilled his final responsibility, and he had also enjoyed some delicious fish, so the journey had not been wasted. After Zeref sorted and packed all the Mirror Crystals onto Gilkunis's back, the four began their return to Mildian Magic Academy.

Four days later, the group finally arrived at the canyon where Sordil was staying. After placing the gathered materials in the cave within the canyon, Sordil escorted Zeref back to his dormitory at Mildian Magic Academy. The two agreed that Sordil would come pick Zeref up early the next morning, and they would study how to make Wind Chant together.

After returning to the canyon, Sordil made a list of every material that might be needed. When he went to pick up Zeref the next day, he planned to give the list to Hissell and ask him to prepare everything. Filled with anticipation for tomorrow, Sordil drifted into a sweet sleep. As the world fell quiet, time began its performance, gradually drawing away the heavy black curtain and releasing the morning sunlight to shine upon the entire land.

After eating a simple meal, Sordil took the list he had prepared the day before and flew toward Mildian Magic Academy. By the time he arrived, Hissell was already waiting with Zeref. As an elder among humans, Hissell understood the value of Sordil's invention even better. Regretting that he had been unable to join them in gathering materials last time, he decisively joined the research group this time. He wholeheartedly approved of Sordil's requests as well, and before long, all the tools and materials Sordil needed had been delivered before the three of them. With everything in place, the three immediately threw themselves into their research.

The three fiercely debated every possible issue: which Magic Array to use, the process of inscribing the Magic Array, the quantity of materials required, the design of the glasses, and more. The old man and the two youths each voiced their own opinions, none willing to yield, and they often broke into arguments. Gilkunis and Wattster could only keep shaking their heads as they watched.

After three days of arguing, none of them could convince the others. In the end, they decided to each make a prototype according to their own designs, then exchange their successful experiences and reasons for failure. Once they received their magical materials, they immediately began crafting. Since Sordil had already seen Wind Chant's general appearance in an anime in his previous life, he quickly made a pair of glasses that looked ninety percent similar. Just as he finished, a loud bang came from nearby. Then Sordil saw a figure emerge that looked like the Black Bear Demon from Journey to the West. It was Hissell, whose experiment had failed.

Just as Sordil was about to ask Hissell what had caused the explosion, the sound of pages rapidly flipping—rustle, rustle—came from nearby. Zeref was using the Wind Chant he had made to read, and the pages were turning at tremendous speed. However, every page was shredded to pieces as it turned, and by the time he finished, the book was gone. Hissell's face twisted in pain at the sight, but when Zeref explained that it was merely his scratch paper for calculations, the old dean finally relaxed. With both of them having failed, Zeref and Hissell turned their eyes toward the red glasses in Sordil's hand. Their meaning was obvious. Sordil did not waste any time and immediately began testing them.

Although Sordil's glasses neither exploded after magical power was infused into them nor tore the book apart, and they did indeed display the book's contents before the user, they still failed. The pages turned too quickly during use, making it impossible to finish reading the knowledge on a page before it flipped. Moreover, even the portions that were read could not be remembered. After discussing it, the three decided to improve upon Sordil's glasses. Based on the theories they already had, they began exploring and refining the design.

While Sordil was busily developing Wind Chant, Gilkunis began preparing to return to Fostadu. The two-month deadline was approaching, and Gilkunis had to return. Otherwise, Radel and the other two alone could not guarantee Fostadu's safety. Sordil deliberately paused the research to prepare a grand farewell banquet. During the feast, Sordil, Wattster, Hissell, and Zeref each said their goodbyes to Gilkunis. Wattster, Hissell, and Gilkunis drank themselves senseless and slept sprawled across the ground for the entire night. The next morning, after Gilkunis flew into the sky, he was still rubbing his temples to ease the pain... well, assuming he even had temples.

After seeing Gilkunis off, Sordil and the other two once again plunged into the frenzy of research and crafting. With Mildian Magic Academy's vast collection of books, Zeref's talent, and Sordil's cheat-like advantage, they finally succeeded in making the first pair of Wind Chant after half a month. Its effects, however, were truly nothing to praise. Though it was indeed somewhat faster than ordinary reading, it was far inferior to the Wind Chant from the anime in Sordil's previous life. Even so, Hissell was so excited that he nearly jumped up, declaring Sordil an unparalleled genius who had successfully advanced the spread of culture and so on. The praise made Sordil blush with embarrassment.

After Zeref and Hissell left, Sordil took out the research notes from all three of them and carefully read through them, hoping to discover a way to improve it. As the saying went, heaven would not disappoint those who worked hard—three thousand armored men of Yue could swallow Wu. Sordil truly did find the reason for the slow speed. After thoroughly understanding the principles, inscription methods, and placement of the three separate Magic Arrays, Sordil made a bold modification. He fused the three arrays together, creating a new array. The improved glasses achieved a qualitative leap in reading speed. When he showed his newest creation to the other two, this time not only Hissell, but even Zeref was shocked speechless.

Once Wind Chant had been improved, Sordil, as its creator, naturally became its first beneficiary. With Wind Chant's high-speed reading ability, Sordil finished reading every book on the first floor of the Mildian library in only half a month. During that time, he also found time to accompany Wattster as she toured Mildian, this ancient human city. However, Sordil's leisurely days were soon interrupted, and because of it, he missed an extremely important event.