The Mage's Place

Benjamin froze when he heard that.

When had these two research teams... gotten together?

"After Ikor's army launched that surprise attack, I noticed their rune array and joined them in studying it." Seeing his stunned expression, Maurice hurriedly explained, "Did they forget to mention it to you?"

"...Forget it. It's not too late to mention it now." Benjamin shook his head helplessly.

Though he was the headmaster, Magic Academy had already grown into something quite complex. He couldn't possibly know every detail. He had also been running around outside a lot lately, with too much on his plate. Maybe someone had mentioned it to him, and he had simply forgotten amid all the busyness.

Never mind that...

"What did you discover?"

The Holy Light Cannon was important, but if rune research could be combined with magical artifacts, Benjamin believed the results might be even more powerful than the Holy Light Cannon.

Maurice pushed his wheelchair over to a worktable.

"This is a new product we developed after drawing inspiration from defensive arrays." He picked up a shield-shaped wooden piece the size of a palm and introduced it. "Unlike the automatically activated defensive crosses The Church excels at, its protective power is astonishing, and it doesn't consume mental energy. Once activated, it can forcibly withstand even high-level magic."

Benjamin took the little wooden shield, turning it over in his hands as he asked, "It doesn't consume mental energy?"

"That's right." Maurice's eyes brimmed with fervor, and the bloodshot veins from staying up all night were especially obvious. "You understand what that means, don't you? Even ordinary people with no mental energy at all can use it however they please."

Benjamin could not help drawing in a deep breath.

Impressive...

He suddenly realized that this invention might have an impact far more