Institute of Magic Technology

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

"Good morning, Second Lieutenant Miller. I didn't expect you to come pick me up."

Outside the dormitory, Miller, the middle-aged man who had once been responsible for Li Qi's entrance examination, greeted him.

Li Qi responded politely, putting on an appropriately surprised expression.

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

But now, Miller seemed more like Bolent's subordinate or adjutant, handling miscellaneous tasks that were inconvenient for Bolent to deal with himself.

Such as picking him up now.

But wasn't he assigned to logistics?

How had logistics gotten mixed up with the Intelligence Department?

Li Qi thought about it briefly but did not ask further. He looked up at Miller and asked:

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

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

"He didn't say clearly at the time. He only told me that he would send someone to contact me over the weekend."

Li Qi replied calmly.

Miller nodded in realization and said with a smile, "Maybe the major wanted to surprise you."

"A surprise?"

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

Miller deliberately kept him in suspense.

Although Li Qi was curious, he did not continue asking. Instead, he followed Miller into the carriage and headed to the place he had mentioned.

Because of the examination he had undergone when he enrolled, Li Qi remained fully alert throughout the journey.

He kept his superhuman ability and enhanced hearing running at full power, observing everything around him.

Fortunately, this really did seem to be an ordinary outing. Along the way, Li Qi found no ambushes or other traps.

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

"Institute of Magic Technology...?"

Li Qi murmured the name on the sign.

Miller smiled at him. "It's a department formed by combining Magic Technology and science. A great deal of the battlefield technology we use comes from here."

After Miller's brief explanation, Li Qi gained a vague understanding of what this "Institute of Technology" was.

Simply put, it was equivalent to the ancient Ministry of Works, or the modern Academy of Sciences.

The difference was that this place researched not only technology, but magic as well.

Although magic had already fallen behind, there were clearly still people unwilling to give up on it.

Some of them were trying to combine magic with technology.

Once Li Qi understood the key point, he thought of the reason Bolent had called him here.

The reason Bolent had arranged to meet Li Qi over the weekend was that Li Qi had said the Magic Corps would weaken in the future and had explained the fundamental reason for that decline.

Weapons.

And now Bolent had called him here, even saying that he wanted to give him a surprise...

Could the Academy of Magic Technology have developed modern weapons that Mage Masters could use?

Enchanting bullets?

Li Qi pondered inwardly.

He had tried enchanting bullets with magic power before, attempting to use them to launch attacks with greater force.

Unfortunately, Li Qi simply could not do it.

Firearms had extremely poor magic conductivity. Perhaps it was because they contained too many parts. Once magic power entered them, it immediately dispersed, making it impossible to attach it to the bullets.

Even if he managed to force magic power onto a bullet, the instant the bullet left the barrel, its connection to the magic power would be severed.

Ultimately, enchanting a weapon with magic power required the magic power to keep flowing continuously.

The moment the weapon left the user's hand, the magic power attached to it would vanish.

That was true of swords and blades, and even more so of bullets.

Therefore, both Li Qi and the kingdom's senior Mage Masters had abandoned the idea of attaching magic power to bullets.

But now, it seemed that the Academy of Technology had found another source of inspiration?

Standing outside and letting his thoughts run wild would not solve anything. As Li Qi pondered, he followed Miller into the Academy of Technology.

After presenting his officer identification and registering, Miller led Li Qi through the academy.

Li Qi also took the opportunity to observe the routes and facilities inside the academy.

The architectural style of the Duchy of Uno was extremely classical, resembling the style of Western Europe.

More accurately, it resembled the architectural styles of certain medieval Western European countries.

Because of this, when Li Qi had first recovered his memories, he had thought he had arrived in a medieval-like Magic Kingdom.

The institute's architectural style, however, was different.

From the outside, it still had some buildings with Uno-style exteriors, but the inside was much closer to the office buildings Li Qi had seen before transmigrating.

Square and angular, with department signs posted above the entrance to every room.

For a moment, Li Qi had the illusion that he had transmigrated all over again.

After walking a while longer with Miller, Li Qi clearly sensed that the security around them had grown tighter.

Even after Miller presented a special access pass, the two of them still had to undergo two extremely strict inspections before they were allowed through.

Were they almost there?

Following behind Miller, Li Qi pondered.

With security this tight, it was obvious that he was approaching the core area of the Academy of Technology.

Thinking this, Li Qi collected his thoughts, and his expression grew more serious.

After passing through the checkpoint, Li Qi had only taken a few steps when the scene before him suddenly opened up.

A vast, empty stretch of level ground, fully the size of two soccer fields, appeared before Li Qi.

Various targets had been set up across the open grounds. From time to time, he could also see several white-coated staff members standing outside the warning lines around the targets and talking with some officer.

Farther away were Medical Mage Masters standing by, as well as senior Mage Masters responsible for setting up soundproof Magic Arrays.

To be honest, when he first arrived, Li Qi had thought he had come to some kind of new-recruit training ground.

If he had not seen those white-coated researchers, he really would have thought this was a training ground prepared by a military camp.

After glancing across the firing range, Li Qi withdrew his gaze and followed Miller toward Bolent, who was standing in the distance.

Scar-faced Major Bolent was currently speaking with an elderly white-haired man in a white coat and glasses.

"Reporting! Warrant Officer Li Qi has arrived!"

Miller stopped in front of Bolent, saluted him, and reported.

Bolent raised a hand in a symbolic acknowledgment and said to Miller:

"Second Lieutenant Miller, thanks for the effort."

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

Only after Li Qi and the white-coated elderly man were left at the scene did Bolent smile and ask Li Qi:

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

"That is indeed the case. I'm not entirely clear on your intentions, sir."

Li Qi spoke with a hint of humility.

Bolent smiled at that and turned to introduce the man beside him to Li Qi:

"Allow me to introduce him. The gentleman beside me is the director of the Institute of Magic Technology, Dr. Eric Riv. Dr. Riv... this is the person I recommended to you."

Bolent's last sentence was addressed to Dr. Riv.

The doctor named Eric Riv pushed up his glasses and looked at Li Qi. His white eyebrows then drew together, and he asked Bolent in astonishment:

"...A child?"

"Dr. Riv, don't let his age fool you. He's a recipient of the Unicorn Medal. The number of enemy soldiers who have died by his hand may even exceed the number of soldiers you've seen."

Bolent said this to Dr. Riv.

Only then did Dr. Riv's brow relax slightly.

He looked Li Qi up and down and asked:

"Your name is... Li Qi?"

"Yes. Warrant Officer Li Qi Grat, reporting my respects to you, Doctor!"

"All right, all right, there's no need to be so formal. Let me see... what is your magic-power level?"

Dr. Riv pushed up his glasses again as he asked.

Li Qi answered without hesitation, "Strategic Rank, Doctor."

"!?"

Dr. Riv was clearly startled by Li Qi's self-introduction. This time, he examined Li Qi with a much more serious gaze.

Finally, without saying a word, he walked over to a nearby table and picked up a device about the size of a serving plate, resembling red glass. He carried it over to Li Qi.

"Put this on and give it a try."

Dr. Riv handed the round device to Li Qi.

Li Qi took it from him, then looked somewhat blankly at Bolent.

Leaving aside what this thing was.

Just look at the size of this oval "plate"—even if Li Qi wanted to wear it, he had no idea how he was supposed to do so!