Fate Resonance with Another World

As a college student, staying up late was perfectly normal.

As a mage-in-training, staying up late was perfectly normal.

At a university on Blue Star, Rorschach, an engineering student, was staying up late. His heart was racing, but he had no intention of sleeping with tomorrow's final exam ahead of him.

At a Royal Magic Academy in another world, Rorschach was staying up late. He felt dizzy and disoriented, but he did not dare go to bed with tomorrow's mage certification assessment looming over him.

His vision went black, and Rorschach seemed to hear the rumbling of his own heartbeat. A doubled wave of nausea struck him. After struggling to steady himself, he opened his eyes to find an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Fireball? Mage certification assessment? So I came to another world." Searching through the original owner's memories, the former college student Rorschach swiftly accepted the reality that he had transmigrated to another world.

In the language of this world, his name was also pronounced Rorschach. The same name, staying up late for the same reason, and at roughly the same stage of education in their respective worlds—Rorschach felt a sense of kinship with that unfamiliar soul who had also worked himself to the bone.

"I wonder if this body's original owner ended up in my world. I just hope he didn't screw up my major exam."

As the dizziness gradually faded, an irrepressible excitement surged up within him—magic!

He had actually transmigrated to a world with magic!

Magic absolutely crushed the sinkhole major he had studied before! Heaven had finally opened its eyes. Failing to switch majors had somehow sent him to another world instead!

Then Rorschach felt somewhat disheartened. This world apparently did not fall into the "game-like other world" category. Mastering a spell was extremely difficult; it was not like a game where a spell could be instantly cast with a click once its cooldown ended. He discovered that the former mage-in-training Rorschach had only barely mastered three spells: Fireball, Water Creation, and Basic Decomposition. Worse, he could not even guarantee a successful cast every time!

Even so, Rorschach was considered fairly outstanding among magic apprentices. His magic theory exam scores were near perfect. As long as he successfully cast all three spells in tomorrow's assessment, he could become a first-rank mage certified by the Imperial Royal Magic Academy. It was only the entry level among ranks one through nine, but he would still be a spellcaster. Strutting down the street might be too arrogant, but everyone else would only exclaim, "What refined tastes, Mage!"

Rorschach continued searching through his memories. "Fireball. Proficient. I can definitely cast it successfully."

It seemed he had inherited the original owner's muscle memory as well. Channeling his magic and smoothly forming the casting gestures, he easily summoned a flame. The little cluster of fire was stable. Though it was far smaller than a true fireball, it burned steadily and obediently at his fingertips, proving that the mage-in-training had a solid grasp of Fireball.

"Water Creation. Unstable. Only a thirty percent chance."

The second spell did not go nearly as smoothly. A small water ball appeared out of thin air in his hand, but it quickly lost its shape and burst, splashing to the ground. Rorschach felt a much greater drain on his focus, yet the amount of water produced was not even enough to wet his throat. He tried again, producing slightly more water than before, but it still fell short of the one-pint assessment standard. This was also the former mage-in-training Rorschach's weak point.

"Basic Decomposition. I need to find something to test it on."

His memories told Rorschach that Basic Decomposition had an extremely limited range and effect. Its most important characteristic was that it could only target inorganic matter—in this world, inorganic matter was defined as material with neither life nor magical energy.

To find a suitable test object, Rorschach carefully searched his surroundings. He already knew that he was in an Apprentice Dormitory, and an unusually rare private room at that. The dormitory was about the size of a sleeper train compartment. A simple linen bed, desk, and cabinet occupied most of the space. A water bucket sat on the bay window, with clothes hanging nearby. The most conspicuous item was a beige apprentice robe. "It's pretty much like a lab coat."

There should have been some small odds and ends on the desk suitable for practice. Rorschach turned his gaze toward it, only to see a scroll spread across its surface.

Scrolls were an important category among this world's many magical items.

Low-level magic could be cast using only a spellcaster's own magic power, with casting gestures used for guidance and acceleration. Mid-level magic required casting mediums. High-level magic was extremely complex, requiring not only magic power and casting mediums, but also rituals. As for the legendary Transcendent Magic...

A scroll was made by drawing the correct magic formation onto paper, leather, or cloth using ink mixed with spiritual materials.

A scroll could be activated by recording a Magic Circuit and then infusing it with magic power. Some also contained energy-storage circuits and could be activated instantly without a spellcaster's further input. The most valuable kind, however, was the Learning Scroll.

Rorschach picked it up and examined it carefully beneath the oil lamp. The parchment in his hand had aged into something brittle and scorched, but fortunately, the intricate patterns remained clearly visible. Unfortunately, neither the original Rorschach before the transmigration nor the current Rorschach received any response when they tried infusing it with magic power.

"This is a Learning Scroll for Water Creation—guaranteed to teach you! I'm graduating soon, so I don't need it anymore. It's practically being given away for just sixteen silver coins!" The enthusiastic senior's face at the Academy Market remained vivid in his memory, but the swindler's only truthful words had been "graduating soon."

It had no effect at all! For the next three months, the original Rorschach had lived on rye bread, swallowing his tears. Even now, at the final moment, he had refused to give up and kept studying it, only to gain nothing.

The old pocket watch had already passed midnight. "Sigh, in this condition, tomorrow's assessment—no, today's assessment—will be hard to pass!" Rorschach found a cork stopper that did not fit any bottle and hit it with a Decomposition Technique, blasting it into crumbs.

Fireball and Decomposition Technique were both fine. Only Water Creation was a problem. No matter how hard he squeezed himself, he could not produce enough water. The more he forced himself, the more exhausted he became. Rorschach could feel his magic nearing depletion.

Faced with this predicament, a transmigrator had to examine himself. He absolutely had to find his golden finger!

"System? System?" There was no response when he called out in his mind, so Rorschach swallowed his embarrassment and called aloud twice more.

There was no response.

"Old grandpa? Old grandma?" Still no response.

Forget it. Sleep first.

With his last bit of magic power, Rorschach recalled what he had learned in class and the sensation of the original owner's casting. After taking several deep breaths, he tried Water Creation.

Using the gestures to guide his thoughts, he constructed the circuit for Water Creation in his mind. The magic within him spread outward, seemingly passing through some barrier as it began to drift through an unreal world.

Snap! Just as his magic power and consciousness faintly glimpsed a stretch of azure blue, the casting was interrupted. That wisp of magic lost contact like a kite with its string cut.

It had failed without question.

Time in this other world matched his previous life. The academy bell would ring at six, and the assessment began at nine. There were still three hours left.

Rorschach stopped trying. He felt that proper rest was more important. Maybe after resting well, he would be in better condition, and then Water Creation would cast smoothly.

"Rest up! Rest up and make water!"

After extinguishing the oil lamp before bed, Rorschach noticed in the darkness that the spread-out scroll was giving off a faint glow.

"This world even has fluorescent ink, huh." As he thought that, the glow grew brighter and brighter, while Rorschach's magic power drained away at an alarming speed!

"Holy shit, did this activate the magic? It can't... blow up... the dormitory, can it?"

That was Rorschach's final thought before he lost consciousness.