Elemental Spells and Tea

Rorschach's Mana Drive (Purple)

No longer limited to "gathering," Rorschach could sense that, besides collecting mana, he could disperse the gathered mana or guide the mana in the environment to perform other operations. Unfortunately, the casting range was very small. Perhaps advanced mages also knew this mana-manipulation technique, but they would not regard it as an independent, complete spell.

Mana could be divided into internal and external mana. Intelligent races all possessed internal mana, though most individuals had very little of it. If an individual's internal mana was abundant enough to stir the mana in the environment and produce changes, they possessed the basic qualifications to become a spellcaster or priest.

Research showed that internal mana and external mana were equivalent. Then could he use the spell Mana Drive to reverse his mana bar, gaining more the more he used?

The nose and mouth could both inhale and exhale. But water and food had fixed directions and routes through the human digestive system, and blood circulation also had a fixed direction. What about mana? After considering it again and again, Rorschach temporarily gave up on this tempting experiment.

By separating out "Projectile (Purple)," he obtained Arrow Shot (Purple).

It was an interesting beginner spell that could grant objects kinetic energy. Rorschach found a small letter opener and, under the spell's enhancement, sent it straight into the wall. The panel's default name for this spell lacked the "Rorschach's" prefix, meaning it was an existing spell.

It was possible to construct a spell from a single entry. As an engineering student in his previous life whose major was related to chemistry, Rorschach called these reactions... spells with only one step Elemental Spells.

Just as he thought that, the panel created a folder named "Elemental Spells," containing exactly three single-entry spells.

"I withheld the recommendation letter the dean wrote for you." That was the first thing Teacher Caroline said after calling Rorschach into her office. Her tone was not very pleasant.

"Huh?"

An image of a bald head and its confident smile surfaced in Rorschach's mind. "Please trust the Intelligence Agency."

That was it?

"You accepted Sabins's proposal. Why? Mages, especially young people like you, should cherish your clean and free status instead of rashly joining his... Intelligence Agency."

Rorschach considered his answer seriously before replying, "Ma'am, my parents are not free. They are bound to the land, laboring all day, and the farthest place they have ever gone is the nearby town. They are old now and need me to repay them, while I need funding to continue my studies. The Discipline Chief came to me and could solve my problems."

In truth, sponsorship from the Bart Family's merchant guild could also solve his problems, but Rorschach did not want to accept that kind of help. Personal favors were tangled, troublesome things, and they would also break something—the fragile equality maintained on campus between the son of a great merchant and the son of a farmer.

Studying abroad, serving as His Majesty the Emperor's eyes and ears—there was nothing much to it as an Empire citizen. To Rorschach, who had transmigrated into another world, it was like accepting a long-term quest from the NPC Agency Chief Sabins, gaining a hidden class, with quite good rewards. Joining a secret organization was even a little cool.

That was all.

Working for you and taking money from you was good. It was far better than unclear personal favors.

After hearing Rorschach's words, Caroline's expression improved somewhat, and she sighed. "It hasn't been easy for you to study magic either."

She took off her mage robe and hung it up. Rorschach noticed that Caroline was wearing a white shirt and a high-waisted green skirt today, while her brown braid still draped over her right breast.

Caroline looked beautiful even with her brows slightly furrowed.

"Sorry, black tea?"

"Thank you."

Caroline sat down before her desk and used Mage Hand to brew Rorschach a cup of tea. She looked over the dean's recommendation letter, skimmed through it, and then spoke.

"Stars, I came from the Tower of Stars."

That was right. Brown hair, rather than the pale gold and orange-red common in the Empire, was a characteristic of people from the southern Holy Kingdom.

"I'll write your recommendation and letter of introduction!"

"Teacher, since I already have one, troubling you again would..."

"You came from the Empire's Royal Academy and had the dean's recommendation. You're covered in labels. They aren't stupid; once you get there, they'll probably be wary of you and exclude you." Caroline rolled her eyes, a small gesture that did not suit her status.

"I'll write to my former teacher, Archmage Kano. Once you arrive, he can look after you. At least you'll have someone to rely on. But don't report everything to that Intelligence Agency chief either, all right?"

Rorschach had not expected Caroline to be willing to help him like this. "Thank you so much. I'll be careful."

"It's good that you can think of your parents. There are many precious things in this world. Many spellcasters, many apprentices I have seen and taught... they become too absorbed in their own power and the status magic brings them. You are a sensitive and hardworking child, someone who can keep walking this path for a long time. I only hope you will not become a loyal servant of power. Please remember that."

"I'll remember. Thank you, truly, very, very much." Rorschach had never intended to sell his life to some feudal ruler anyway.

"There's one more thing. What you cast during the assessment was not Water Creation, was it?"

Seeing Rorschach's surprised expression, Caroline looked somewhat pleased with herself. "Water Creation is essentially a Summoning Spell. It causes slight spatial fluctuations, and spellcasters proficient in Space, Time, and Astronomy or Stellar Magic can sense them when nearby. But while I was proctoring your exam, I felt no fluctuations."

As expected of a teacher of Space, Time, and Astronomy from the Tower of Stars—she could even notice that. Before Rorschach could speak, Caroline asked first, "You didn't cheat with a magical item, did you?"

"They inspect the examination hall, Teacher. Besides, how could I afford a magical item?"

"That's what I thought, so I didn't make things difficult for you on the spot." As Caroline spoke, she suddenly stood up and widened her eyes. A possibility had suddenly occurred to her. "Could it be that your good-for-nothing friend Bart lent you a magical item?"

"Teacher Caroline, please stop guessing. I'll demonstrate it for you again."

Rorschach cast his self-created True Water Creation again, condensing a small ball of water that fell into the teacup.

"You know I'm very good at Fireball, but I'm not very skilled with Water Creation, so I couldn't guarantee passing the exam. So, following the principle behind Fireball, I changed the conversion of condensed mana into Fire Element into conversion into Water Element."

"The approach you mentioned was tried long ago, but it consumes too much mana and is less efficient than current Water Creation."

"Yes, but its principles are close to the Fireball I'm good at, so for me, it guarantees a higher success rate."

By Rorschach's knowledge, both involved converting mana into elements, but a fireball was actually a plasma mass formed by air under high temperatures. In other words, mana was converted into energy in the Material World. Converting it into Water Element, on the other hand, converted mana into stable matter. Naturally, the energy barrier was much higher and the efficiency far lower.

It was easier and more efficient for mana to convert into energy than into matter. This was an axiom spellcasters could perceive, yet the mistaken phlogiston-Fire Element hypothesis had blinded the vast majority of people.

Caroline only wanted to rub her forehead. Unable to understand a beginner spell, he had created one himself. How had she never noticed that her student possessed such unusual talent and such a bizarre mind?

"You are simply a knight riding a Boar in a horse race. You shouldn't go to the Tower of Stars—you should go to the Tower of Arcane Arts and join a group of geniuses as unconventional as you."

What kind of metaphor was that? Rorschach reminded her, "I already made an agreement with Mr. Sabins. If I go to the Tower of Arcane Arts, I won't receive any compensation."