The Great Magician's Summons

Xu Yi had been at Camilla's Magic Tower for nearly two months, but this was his first time entering its top floor.

The moment he stepped into the area reserved for the Great Magician Camilla, a wave of cool air washed over him. He shivered and nearly sneezed.

"It must be nice to have a Large Frost Array," Xu Yi said with a smile, rubbing his nose as he followed Stille.

"What, are you jealous?" Stille looked back at Xu Yi, her eyes full of curiosity.

Xu Yi had surprised her when he developed that magic fan a while ago. Now her grandfather had suddenly summoned him. That, together with the impression Xu Yi had made on her the day he arrived, had left Stille deeply interested in him.

"Of course I am," Xu Yi replied. "The senior researchers have said countless times that if we could install a Large Frost Array in our research room, everyone's efficiency would improve several times over."

Stille giggled and waved a hand. "That won't happen. Grandpa's notoriously broke. He can't afford to put a Large Frost Array in every research room. Even the one here only runs on the hottest days. The rest of the time, it's just for show."

Xu Yi knew a little about that, but he was still curious.

"Miss Stille, that doesn't seem right. Lord Camilla is a three-star Great Magician, after all. The kingdom alone gives him a substantial sum every year. How could he be poor?"

"Because he has even more expenses." Stille shrugged helplessly. "You all know Grandpa's a Great Magician who receives a special salary from the kingdom, but you don't know how expensive magical research is—especially the high-level magic he studies. He spends more than half his income each year just buying research materials. Then he has to cover the Magic Tower's daily expenses. Money's actually very tight."

"I see... But I've heard other Great Magicians are wealthy..."

"Are you saying Grandpa doesn't know how to make money?" Stille shot Xu Yi a look. "Don't bring that up in front of him. He'll be furious."

"No, no, of course I'm not saying that. I've just heard Lord Camilla strongly disapproves of magicians focusing on making money..."

"He does. Grandpa's just that stubborn." Stille sighed. "I've tried talking to him several times, but he always says magicians should devote their energy to studying magic. If all they think about is making money, they don't deserve to call themselves magicians."

Xu Yi nodded and said no more.

He did not agree with that attitude. Too much commercial influence would certainly affect academic research, but commercial investment could also increase funding, greatly improve research conditions, and boost both progress and efficiency.

Back on Earth, there had been plenty of examples of academic research and business working perfectly together. Each advanced the other, producing better results than research conducted in isolation.

Besides, Xu Yi's own field of mechanical engineering was closely tied to practical applications. If its value could not be demonstrated through commercial use, that would be a failure.

"We're here." Stille pushed the door open and gestured for Xu Yi to enter. "Go on in. Grandpa's waiting."

Xu Yi straightened his clothes and walked in with his head held high.

The Great Magician Camilla's private laboratory occupied the magic tower's entire top floor. It was enormous—four or five times the size of Xu Yi's research room.

Its arched ceiling rose more than five meters above the floor. Looking around, Xu Yi thought the place was nearly the size of a small basketball court.

An immense table stood in the center. Behind it, an elderly man with dark brown hair, dressed in a dark blue magic robe, was bent over his Magic Research.

That must be the Great Magician Camilla.

Hearing someone enter, Great Mage Camilla looked up. He gave Xu Yi a brief once-over, nodded, then returned to his work.

Xu Yi was not surprised. He had long heard that Camilla was obsessed with magical research. He was probably absorbed in a problem and unwilling to break his concentration.

While he waited, Xu Yi took a careful look around the laboratory.

It was much tidier than he had imagined. All sorts of strange magical materials had been sorted and placed along the walls. Only the area around Great Mage Camilla's table was cluttered.

Strange marks covered the floor and walls, likely left by Great Mage Camilla's magical experiments.

Many of the marks were deep. Whatever had caused them must have been dangerous.

Xu Yi's gaze stopped at a corner of the room. A heap of scrap metal lay there, but he easily recognized it as the first Magic Fan he had made—the one Stille had bought.

Judging by its ruined state, someone had deliberately taken the Magic Fan apart.

As for who did it...

Xu Yi looked back at Great Mage Camilla, puzzled.

Was the Great Magician Camilla interested in the magic fan too? There's hardly any advanced magic in it. Surely it wouldn't catch his eye?

Before long, Great Mage Camilla appeared to finish his work. He stretched and straightened up.

When he saw Xu Yi, he paused, as though he had forgotten Xu Yi was there.

After a moment, he nodded to Xu Yi. "You're Xu Yi?"

Xu Yi hurriedly bowed. "I am, honored Great Magician."

Camilla waved a hand. "No need to be so nervous. I asked Stille to bring you here because I have a few questions."

"Please ask whatever you wish, my lord. I'll answer as best I can."

"Good." Great Mage Camilla glanced around, went to the corner, and picked up the heap of scrap metal Xu Yi had noticed. "Stille tells me you made this?"

"Well..." Xu Yi looked at the Magic Fan, now almost unrecognizable, and answered awkwardly, "It didn't look like that when I gave it to Miss Stille."

"Don't blame Stille. I wanted to study it, so I took it apart." Great Mage Camilla tossed the Magic Fan aside, rummaged across the table, and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Here. I called you in because I'm interested in the Magic Array you inscribed on this Magic Fan. There are a few things I don't understand. I hope you can explain them."

Xu Yi's respect for Camilla rose at once. As a three-star Great Magician, Camilla had openly admitted that there were things he did not understand to someone who had not even passed the Magicians Guild's qualification exam. He clearly took magic seriously.

"You're too modest, Lord Camilla. I'm sure there's nothing about this Magic Array that a Great Magician like you can't understand. What puzzles you probably has nothing to do with magic itself, does it?"

Great Mage Camilla considered that, then shook his head. "You could put it that way, but it isn't entirely separate from magic either. Come, look here." He pointed to a spot on the Magic Array. "I understand that this change reduces the Wind Vortex produced by the array. What I don't understand is why you made it. Didn't you want the array to be more powerful?"

Xu Yi leaned in for a look and smiled. "You're absolutely right. The change does reduce the Magic Array's power. But, my lord, this Magic Array is mainly meant to power the Magic Fan. It doesn't need to be that strong."

Camilla shook his head. "That's not right. I tried your magic fan. It produces a fair amount of wind, but have you considered that sometimes more wind might be needed? Look at how large this room is. If I put only one magic fan here, it would reach just a small area. That wouldn't meet my needs at all."

Xu Yi spread his hands with a rueful smile. "Lord Camilla, I did consider that when I designed the Magic Fan. But the materials limit how fast its blades can turn for now. A stronger Magic Array would make them spin faster, of course, but the fan itself probably couldn't withstand it. It would break down before long."

"I see..." Great Mage Camilla recalled what had happened the first time he had channeled magic into the Magic Fan. The blades had spun furiously, but soon failed under the strain, leaving the whole thing a heap of scrap. Stille had complained to him about it for ages.

"All right, setting that aside, what about this part?"

"Oh, that? It keeps the Magic Array's power output within a narrow range, so the wind from the Magic Fan doesn't fluctuate too much."

"And here?"

"For this part, you have to look at the fan's overall design. See, this shows how the magic array connects to the fan's central shaft. Without this arrangement, much of the array's output would be lost, wasting magic crystal energy for nothing."

"Very good. And here..."