Sudden News
The Propulsion Department located on the second basement level of the Mage Tower in Number Nine Floating City.
Roderick hurried through the inspection and then found Iris inside the Propulsion Department.
At this moment, Iris was reviewing the reports submitted by the technicians brought by Alva.
The report has one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. The good news is that they found out exactly what those mages who were originally in the Propulsion Department were doing.
Moreover, what they did was actually easy to repair; it only required less than 20,000 Gold Coin to restore the power system of the Number Nine Floating City to its original state.
This way, all the work in the Propulsion Department can be completed before the deadline, and Iris won't have to worry about the Floating City falling down if they actually fight the Cult of the Sky Dragon.
The bad news is that, in addition to this vulnerability, the technicians also discovered many other strange things.
For example, the magic dust material originally used to inscribe Magic Inscription should be the latest model issued by the Construct School fifty years ago. According to the system update regulations of Number Nine Floating City, it should be replaced with the latest model after an inspection.
The Magic Inscription currently used in the Propulsion Department are actually outdated products from about five hundred years ago. It is unknown when this type of magic dust was produced, but it is certain that it will cause problems if it is operated at high intensity.
In addition to the magic dust, the flight devices in the Propulsion Department's warehouse, as well as the Magic Inscription -related tools issued to mages, have all been replaced with older models from many years ago.
This is not something the mages in the Propulsion Department can decide; they only have the right to refuse the purchased products, not the right to choose.
In other words, besides the mages in the Propulsion Department, other departments within the Mage Tower may also have been involved in this procurement corruption scandal.
Furthermore, the technicians discovered that this corruption case seemed to have been going on for a long time, with a very sophisticated strategy for circumventing oversight.
All inspections of the Floating City's levitation system revealed no problems. The mages in the Propulsion Department were probably worried that they might have cut corners on the levitation device; if it were to fall down unexpectedly, it wouldn't be as simple as losing their heads.
The magic dust currently used by the Propulsion Department is the kind that anyone can grab a handful of, half of which is the latest model and the other half is a mixture of old models from hundreds of years ago.
The flying devices currently in the hands of the mages in the Propulsion Department are in good condition, but those in the warehouse are all defective. After testing, the technicians found that some could not fly at all, some could only fly one or two meters, and some could only fly to a height of ten meters before they could not land.
Based on the above information, these technicians outlined their proposed solutions in their final report.
"We need approximately 20,000 Gold Coin worth of supplies; the list will be prepared later. We strongly urge the council to send personnel to thoroughly investigate the management of the Mage Tower. If the Propulsion Department can do this, it means other departments can too."
Elise tightened her grip on the report in her hand. She hadn't expected these mages to be so audacious. This was the Propulsion Department of the Floating City, yet some mages dared to make such a fuss.
Although it only costs 20,000 Gold Coin to repair, who knows how much of the budget the Propulsion Department has embezzled over the years?
"When I get back, I'll also check out the Northern Lands Society. I have a feeling that someone is taking advantage of my Northern Lands Society to steal my money."
The sound of Roderick's hurried footsteps drew Iris's gaze toward the doorway.
Roderick's expression wasn't serious, but rather strange. When he arrived in front of Iris, before he could even speak, Iris answered first.
"Mentor, we've now uncovered the specifics of the Propulsion Department. We need a special investigation of the Mage Tower, just in case our Floating City's protective shield isn't activated when we arrive at the Cult of the Sky Dragon..."
"I know that. I've confirmed it with the HR department. Those mages involved in corruption have violated regulations and have actually been in the Propulsion Department for over a decade..."
"The council will take action soon, and it won't affect your job or position. Now I want to talk to you about something more important."
Iris was somewhat surprised. Something more important? What could be more important than what's happening here at the Mage Tower?
Iris thought about it for a moment and realized that there was no such thing.
Even if Fran's identity is exposed, it won't be as important as what's happening at the Mage Tower.
Because Fran already possesses several prestigious awards, these awards are enough to warrant preferential treatment from the Alliance.
Even if Fran's disguise as Alchemy School, her publication of Paper from other School, her theft of Magic Inscription, and her publication of Territory Mage Paper are exposed, from the Alliance's perspective, the only recourse is to imprison her for a year or two.
The Alliance still offers many preferential policies to accomplished individual mages.
What she really needs to be careful of is the attention Fran will attract after her identity is revealed. At that point, Fran will probably only be safe if she stays obediently by her or Harbos's side.
Even so, this is not a big deal; it's not nearly as important as the matter of the Mage Tower in front of us.
If the Number Nine Floating City were to fall to the ground from their hands, their names would be on wanted lists, and they could even be included in the Construct School's textbook on management system loopholes.
They occupy such an important place, so they also have to bear responsibility. Anyway, if something really goes wrong, they won't be able to escape responsibility.
"Iris, may I ask if you have ever supervised the research work of the mage ' Lai '?"
When she heard her tutor call her name without using an affectionate term, Iris realized the seriousness of the situation.
She hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
"No, I just handed her over to one of my mages to teach the researchers basic skills and operations."
"After that, I didn't teach her anymore. At most, I answered some questions when she asked me questions."
"So what exactly happened?"
Roderick's expression made it impossible for Iris to tell whether the situation was good or bad, as Roderick's face only showed surprise and astonishment.
However, Roderick didn't keep them in suspense and directly revealed what Fran had done.
"The mage ' Lai ' you brought has published three Paper in the Alchemy School's journal."
"Um!!"
Iris muttered to herself, if it were anyone else publishing Paper, she wouldn't be so apprehensive, but if it was Fran publishing Paper, then it was no small matter.
Every Paper Fran has produced recently is a work of exceptional quality, from the Fireball Paper she wrote for the Northern Lands Society, to the Territory Mage Paper, and then to the Golden Hourglass Award not long ago.
Fran's Paper either caused an academic sensation or a sensation in the broader social context.
The former is to make the mage realize how genius this mage is, able to come up with such Paper; the latter is to show how the mage dared to do this, just like when he brought Felistin's name with him.
For Iris, neither of these was actually a good thing. Although she allowed Fran to gain more attention in the Floating City to overshadow the upcoming Amber Law Award ceremony, it was a different story.
However, due to Fran's recent antics, Iris felt that the name ' Lai ' now surpassed the name ' Fran ' that she was trying to conceal.
Did she receive Legendary reviews for those three Paper?
Iris asked calmly, without inquiring about Fran's three Paper, because the fact that Roderick had specifically come to see her indicated that Fran's three Paper had caused a sensation.
She now needs to ascertain the scope of this sensation in order to decide on her next move.
"No, Legendary has been quite busy lately. Besides, Legendary wouldn't just casually look at unapproved Paper. Last time was purely an accident."
Iris nodded. As long as there were no Legendary comments and the Alchemy School didn't have any awards to give out recently, the sensation it would cause would be quite limited.
Most mages don't actually have the time to look at the quality of every single Paper; they'll look at those that have won awards or have been Paper by High-Order Mage.
Even if Fran's Paper is published, its impact will be limited. After all, it didn't win any awards, and in Fran's social circle, apart from Iris, no one will write a recommendation for her.
But if that were the case, Roderick wouldn't have come looking for him, since it's rare for a mage to publish three Paper, all of which would be published in Alchemy School journal.
But that's not enough to make Roderick say, "This is a more important thing."
She fixed her gaze on Roderick, Roderick slowly explained:
"Although the Legendary didn't write a review, he still wants to meet that mage ' Lai '..." This matter shouldn't warrant Roderick coming to him; after all, it's not a big deal for Legendary to want to meet a junior.
"Furthermore, I predict that Mage ' Lai ' is going to win the Gold Alchemy Award."
"Huh?" Even after Roderick finished speaking, Iris still didn't understand why Roderick had rushed over so quickly.
In the committee room of the Gold Alchemy Award, Alva looked at the mage Oguate seated before him with a strange expression.
Oguate was very excited at this moment, seemingly unaware of what was happening in today's journal.
As a Fourth Order Mage, he was very busy, especially with the recent top-secret mission within the School. Furthermore, even if he published the Paper, he couldn't determine the final outcome.
"What were the results? Alva, you should have seen them by now. Did I get the Gold Alchemy Award?"
Alva didn't keep them in suspense, but said directly:
"No, Oguate, you failed. You did not win the Gold Alchemy Award."
Your Paper is ranked fourth in the journal.
"I see..."
Oguate sighed, slumped into his chair, and casually asked.
"Was there another nominated mage's Paper before mine? Was it published by that mage ' Lai '?"
He assumed that the first post before his would be by ' Lai ', and the remaining two might have been posted casually by mages who had won the Gold Alchemy Award, or even by the mage who claimed to be researching the life-level enhancement potion.
"It was sent by that mage, Lai, but..." Alva paused strangely, then continued:
"There is only one mage's name mentioned at the beginning of your Paper."
"What?!?" Oguate nearly jumped out of his chair, his face filled with disbelief.