Institute of Magic Technology

"Yo, Warrant Officer Li Qi, good morning."

"Good morning, Second Lieutenant Miller. I didn't expect you to be the one picking me up."

At the base of the dormitory building, the middle-aged uncle Miller, who had once been in charge of Li Qi's entrance assessment, greeted him with a wave.

Li Qi responded politely, showing just the right amount of surprise.

He had originally assumed Second Lieutenant Miller was a teacher at the Military Academy, under the jurisdiction of its higher-ups.

But now it seemed Miller was more like a subordinate or adjutant to Bolent, handling miscellaneous tasks that Bolent found inconvenient to deal with personally.

Like this pickup, for instance.

But wasn't he assigned to logistics?

How did logistics get tangled up with the Intelligence Department?

Li Qi mulled it over briefly but didn't press further. He looked up at Miller and asked:

"Second Lieutenant Miller, may I ask where Senior Officer Bolent is taking me?"

"Hm? Didn't the Director tell you?"

"He didn't specify at the time. He only said he'd send someone to contact me over the weekend."

Li Qi replied calmly.

Miller nodded in understanding, then said with a smile, "Maybe the Director wanted to give you a surprise."

"A surprise?"

"That's right, a surprise. Warrant Officer Li Qi, you'll know when we get there."

Miller held back a little.

Curious as Li Qi was, he didn't press further. Instead, he followed Miller onto the carriage, heading to the place Miller mentioned.

Because of the assessment he'd undergone during enrollment, Li Qi stayed on high alert the entire time.

His superpower and enhanced hearing operated at full capacity, observing everything around him.

Fortunately, this trip seemed to be a normal outing. Along the way, Li Qi detected no ambushes or other traps.

The two arrived smoothly in front of an institution within the Royal Capital.

"Institute of Magic Technology...?"

Li Qi murmured the name on the plaque.

Miller smiled at him and said, "It's a department that combines Magic Technology and scientific technology. Many of our battlefield technologies come from here."

With Miller's brief introduction, Li Qi vaguely understood what kind of place the 'Academy of Technology' was.

Simply put, it was like the ancient 'Ministry of Works' or a modern Academy of Sciences.

The difference, however, was that here, besides researching technology, they also studied magic.

Though magic had fallen behind, clearly some people weren't willing to give it up just yet.

Some were trying to merge magic and technology together.

Li Qi pieced together the key points and thought about why Bolent had called him here.

The reason Bolent had arranged to meet Li Qi over the weekend was because Li Qi had said the Magic Corps would weaken in the future and had pointed out the root cause of that decline.

The weapons.

And now Bolent had brought him here, saying he had a surprise...

Could it be that this Academy of Technology had developed modern weapons that even Mage Masters could use?

Enchanting bullets?

Li Qi pondered.

He had tried it before—using mana to enchant bullets, attempting to fire shots with greater power.

But unfortunately, Li Qi couldn't do it.

The mana conductivity of firearms was too poor. Perhaps because of the many internal parts, mana would scatter the moment it entered, completely failing to attach to the bullet.

Even if he could barely attach mana to a bullet, the moment it left the barrel, the connection would break.

In the end, enchanting a weapon with mana required a continuous flow of energy.

Once the weapon left the hand, the attached mana would vanish instantly.

That was true for swords, and even more so for bullets.

So both Li Qi and the nation's high-level Mage Masters had abandoned the idea of enchanting bullets.

But now... it seemed the Academy of Technology had come up with a different inspiration?

Thinking wildly outside wouldn't help. As Li Qi mused, he followed Miller into the Academy of Technology.

After presenting his officer's ID for registration, Miller led Li Qi through the facility.

Li Qi took the opportunity to observe the internal routes and layout of the Academy of Technology.

The architectural style of the Duchy of Uno was very classical, of that Western European sort.

Or, to be more precise, it resembled the building styles of certain medieval Western European countries.

That was why, when Li Qi first regained his memories, he thought he had arrived in a medieval-like Magic Kingdom.

But the architectural style of the Academy was quite different.

From the outside, while it still had some Uno-style features, the interior was much closer to the office buildings Li Qi had seen before his transmigration.

Square and angular, with sharp lines, and above every room door was a department sign.

It gave Li Qi a fleeting illusion that he had transmigrated again.

Following Miller for a while longer, Li Qi clearly felt the defenses around them tighten.

Even though Miller had presented a special pass, they still underwent two extremely strict inspections before being allowed in.

Almost there?

Walking behind Miller, Li Qi pondered to himself.

With defenses this tight, he must be nearing the core zone of the Academy of Magic Technology.

Thinking this, Li Qi composed himself, his expression turning more serious.

Passing through the checkpoint, after just a few steps, the view before Li Qi suddenly opened up.

A vast, empty flatland, fully the size of two soccer fields, spread out before him.

Various targets were set up on the empty ground, and occasionally he could see a few members in white lab coats standing outside the warning lines near the targets, talking with some Non-Commissioned Officer.

Further off, there were Medical Mage Masters on standby, as well as Senior Mage Masters ready to set up soundproof Magic Arrays.

To be honest, when he first arrived here, Li Qi thought he had come to some recruit training ground.

If it weren't for those researchers in white lab coats, Li Qi would have truly believed this was a training field prepared for the barracks.

He glanced over the Firing Range, then withdrew his gaze and followed Miller toward Bolent, who was standing in the distance.

Scar-faced Major Bolent was currently conversing with an old man with white hair, wearing a white lab coat and glasses.

"Report! Warrant Officer Li Qi has been brought!"

Miller stood at attention before Bolent, saluting and reporting.

Bolent raised his hand in a symbolic response and said to Miller:

"Second Lieutenant Miller, good work."

After speaking to Miller, Bolent waved for him to leave.

Once only Li Qi and the old man in the white lab coat remained, Bolent smiled and asked Li Qi:

"Warrant Officer Li Qi, I imagine you're wondering why I called you here?"

"Indeed, this humble officer does not fully understand your intent, sir."

Li Qi replied with a hint of humility.

Bolent chuckled at that, then turned to introduce Li Qi: "Let me introduce you. The man beside me is the Dean of the Academy of Magic Technology, Dr. Eric Riv. Dr. Riv... this is the person I recommended to you."

The latter part was said to Dr. Riv.

The doctor named Eric Riv pushed up his glasses and looked at Li Qi, then his white brows knitted together as he asked Bolent with surprise:

"...A child?"

"Dr. Riv, don't let his age fool you. He's a recipient of the Unicorn Medal. The enemy soldiers he's killed might outnumber the soldiers you've met."

Bolent said to Dr. Riv.

Hearing this, Dr. Riv's brow relaxed somewhat.

He looked Li Qi up and down and asked:

"Your name is... Li Qi?"

"Yes, Warrant Officer Li Qi Grat, greetings to you, Doctor!"

"Alright, alright, no need to be so formal. Let me see... what is your mana rank?"

Dr. Riv pushed his glasses again and inquired.

Without hesitation, Li Qi replied: "Strategic Rank, Doctor."

"!?"

Hearing Li Qi's self-introduction, Dr. Riv was visibly startled. This time, he looked Li Qi over with a much more serious gaze.

Finally, without a word, he walked over to a nearby table, took out a device the size of a dinner plate, like red glass, and brought it to Li Qi.

"Put this on and try it."

Dr. Riv handed the disc-shaped device to Li Qi.

Li Qi took it from him, his expression somewhat bewildered as he looked at Bolent.

Never mind what this thing was.

Just the fact that it was an oval 'plate' this big—even if Li Qi wanted to wear it, there was no way he could put it on!