Although Froya's assessment was a little discouraging, it did nothing to dampen Roland's enthusiasm. Even Skord and Yvonne took a keen interest, constantly asking how things were progressing.
Roland did not let that setback put him off exchanging ideas with them.
But casually showing people an unfinished paper, then discussing its contents in depth, was something only his bookish predecessor would have done. He certainly would not.
Instead, Roland brought out his already published graduation thesis and outlined his general approach, asking for their opinions in hopes of finding some inspiration.
Unfortunately, his attempt to get ideas for free failed. After reading his graduation thesis, Skord and Yvonne were utterly bewildered.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I reading?
Skord had originally assumed that Roland's so-called Oracle script was merely another variant modeled on elven writing or derived from magical runes of past eras. He had never expected anything like this.
The first work alone was astonishing enough, yet Roland was already writing a second paper so soon. It even seemed to come with a thick stack of appendices on character origins and meanings, compiled into a dictionary.
Yvonne was equally stunned.
"R-Roland, you're amazing!"
With her talent for translation, she could vaguely sense how complete and sound this system was.
Through a stroke of genius, Roland had constructed an entire writing system that should have belonged to a civilization!
"D-did you really create this, Roland? D-don't misunderstand. What I mean is, what was its parent system? Where did it come from?"
"Exactly. Language is one thing-it can arise naturally in everyday life-but not every people has a writing system of its own.
"Simple pictures, letters, and symbols can't adequately carry knowledge and experience. At most, they're only the beginnings of writing...
"To develop a complete, independent writing system, you have to build upon a civilization."
"I'm sorry, you two. I understand what you mean, but as far as Atrelin is concerned, Oracle really did appear out of nowhere!"
Roland neither lied nor dodged the question.
He was simply a little vague.
"Inspiration is something I find hard to explain to you..."
Never mind Skord and Yvonne-even Froya, who thought this whole business was dubious, began to feel a little amazed.
She had not expected Roland to be serious.
Step by step, he was beginning to make his earlier wild claims a reality, and at an astonishing pace.
Even she did not have that kind of drive.
Still, she did not think he could produce anything particularly remarkable.
It was normal for apprentice mages to have ideas. Many famous figures had made their important discoveries while they were young, too.
But the basic principles still had to be followed. A certain amount of accumulated knowledge was indispensable.
Writing a paper for practice is fine. It doesn't cost anything under Atrelin's rules, anyway...
With that thought, she could not bring herself to say anything more.
As the days passed, Roland gradually developed the Oracle system to a mature stage containing over a thousand characters.
In just over half a month, the paper grew visibly thicker.
Since most of the work involved organizing and checking the material, it did not take him much effort. Another matter, however, had him worried.
"Where should I submit it?"
When Yvonne learned what was troubling Roland, she offered some advice. "These days, every major school in the arcane community has its own main outlets for publishing papers. Our Runes School is no exception. The best-known would have to be Runes, the journal directly overseen by the Arcane Committee.
"It's a leading journal second only to Arcana, and many important arcane findings have been published there. You could try submitting to it."
Skord said, "I think if you're submitting a paper, you should aim for the very top. Why not just submit it straight to Arcana?
"Since the modern arcane reforms, theoretical research and applied technology haven't been strictly separated anymore, but there are still clear differences in rank and impact factor."
Roland was speechless. You two really do dream big.
Because he had studied linguistics on Blue Star in his previous life, he naturally equated Arcana with a combination of the two major journals he knew, and felt somewhat intimidated.
Whether he considered the practicalities or the specialization of his research field, Runes, which ranked slightly below that top journal, would be the better choice.
Even then, he worried that a leading journal might be out of reach, and wondered whether he should aim a little lower.
But after discussing it with the two of them, Roland suddenly realized that Atrelin valued all knowledge capable of bringing magical power. There was no division between the humanities and sciences here.
Explorations in these humanities fields were also regarded as fundamental arcane research, because they were directly linked to magical power and could bring enormous benefits to the Arcane Empire.
What he was bringing to this world was the profound heritage of another civilization. There was no need to sell himself short.
And so the two watched Roland's expression turn from relaxed to solemn, then from solemn back to relaxed.
Roland planted both hands on his hips, brimming with confidence.
"Then Arcana it is! The end of the month is coming up, too. I'll hurry and finish it."
"Yes, yes!"
With the fearlessness of youth, Skord and Yvonne wholeheartedly agreed, nodding repeatedly.
"What? You're planning to submit to Arcana?"
Froya was stunned when she heard.
"Good heavens! Those two dared to suggest it, and you actually believed them? And now you want to finish it in such a short time? Didn't I tell you to take things slowly and not rush?
"You three youngsters really have no idea how far out of your depth you are!"
But Roland had made up his mind. As the person responsible for the new students, Froya could only support him. She had no grounds to object.
As she helped him register and guided him through the submission process, she warned, "Let me make this clear now. If your paper gets rejected, you're not allowed to get discouraged and shut yourself away!
"You youngsters start out full of ambition, convinced the sky's the limit, then whine the moment you suffer a setback. It's so annoying!"
With a look of pure, guileless stupidity in his eyes, Skord asked curiously, "Why are you so familiar with this, senior?"
Froya flushed and waved a clenched fist. "Are you an idiot? Every year, someone overestimates themselves. Even if I haven't tried it myself, I've seen plenty of cases."
"Oh, so that's it. I thought you'd experienced it yourself."
Smack! Unable to help herself, Froya rolled up the documents she had finished using and struck Skord on the head.
"Ow!"
After some horseplay, everyone went their separate ways. Only then did Froya press a hand to her forehead in realization. "Those guys... They distracted me, and I completely forgot to read what Roland wrote. What was in that thick stack, anyway?
"Oh, never mind. With them treating it like such a joke, there probably isn't anything worth reading."
Before you continue