At the end of the month, in a small conference room at the Arcane Committee headquarters.
The three Grand Mages, Ovesto, Lunifis, and Watson, sat at the small round table countless arcanists regarded as the "Arcane Tribunal" and began their second-round deliberations.
Reviewing Arcane Papers was, in essence, a process of screening knowledge, and this was one of the supreme powers within the Empire.
This authority had been allocated to the Arcane Committee, the Grand Mages on duty, and the Tower Spirits linked to the magic network—artificial intelligences. The three Grand Mages now exercised the power of life and death on behalf of the Grand Mages on duty.
They had the authority to make the final decision on whether a paper would be published, which also served as an important basis for assessing an arcanist's achievements.
The scene looked rather like a courtroom, and in truth, it was not far removed from one.
While waiting for proceedings to begin, the three Grand Mages each organized the documents in front of them, checking that nothing was missing. Several quills floated in the air, writing on record scrolls, while rows of high-ranking mages serving as clerks sat in the hearing seats behind them. These were the authorities and elites of magical civilization.
They quietly awaited the start of the second-round deliberations, occasionally exchanging opinions through glances or gestures. The entire scene was solemn and dignified, with only the rustling of paper and scratching of quills breaking the silence.
At last, the moderator spoke.
"We will now begin the second review. This round received a total of one hundred and twenty-three submissions. Twelve papers passed the preliminary review with one vote, four with two votes, and one with three votes.
"In accordance with procedure, we will now select three new Candidate Papers from the five highest-scoring submissions and the five whose authors have the highest achievement indices, ten papers in total. These will enter the final review alongside the papers from the previous two rounds..."
As the moderator explained, the standard light screens of Projection appeared before all three Grand Mages.
A list containing numerous paper titles was displayed on them.
"Understanding and applying magic based on elemental attributes"
"Practical applications of Gravity Magic"
"A study of the applications of the Anaya Illusion Spell in combat"
"The limitations of Healing Magic and their implications for biology"
"Time Magic and spacetime relativity"
"Potential threats of the Frolos Teleportation Spell and defensive strategies"
"The integration of Arcana and engineering-from mechanical magic to Intelligent Puppets"
"A study of the value of the divination spell Eye of Fortune in supporting investment decisions"
"An in-depth study of emotional manipulation of succubi using Otherworldly Oathbinding"
Roland's new paper was prominently listed among them.
"A new practical writing system-a study of oracle-bone characters"
"I recommend this paper on Arcana and engineering. The Intelligent Puppet technology it discusses could trigger another transformation of the alchemy industry. The Empire is currently waging war in the Outer Realm, and the Planar Battlefield urgently needs more fighting forces that can be deployed quickly in actual combat..."
Archmage Ovesto spoke first, opening the discussion that followed.
The clerks swiftly took notes using the Copying Spell, observing and learning at the same time.
After a round of deliberation.
Lunifis said, "I recommend this paper on oracle-bone characters. It is a rare masterpiece of linguistics among recent works, revealing to a considerable extent the possibilities of a new ideographic writing system. Atrelin has always placed great importance on projects to reform language and writing, but phonetic systems have always dominated..."
The Alternate Committee Members and high-ranking mages listening in nodded to themselves.
They had also read the paper's abstract recently and gained a general understanding of it.
It was indeed a relatively rare example of a mature ideographic writing system.
Grand Mage Watson suddenly spoke. "I object!"
The moderator gestured. "Please state your reasons."
"I believe this paper lacks originality and should be rated as low quality!"
Grand Mage Watson slammed his hand on the table as he spoke.
"As everyone knows, the Runes School has reached a dead end in theoretical research. While many people struggle to find a way forward, a handful of fools with too much time on their hands spend all day researching so-called fictional languages under fictionalism!"
Lunifis frowned slightly. "Lord Watson, please mind your behavior and language."
Grand Mage Watson turned a deaf ear. Waving his arms and spraying spittle, he continued, "They think a language system imagined out of thin air can compare with the efforts of generations of predecessors in the Runes School over thousands of years. They recklessly invent all sorts of irregular languages and scripts, muddying the waters.
"Some even go so far as to say, 'Well, things are already like this anyway'... Listen to that! Is that any way for a person to talk?
"There is no denying that languages and writing systems are created by people. When necessary, they must be renewed and replaced to retain their vitality.
"And Atrelin's writing system has indeed reached the point where the old must be broken down before the new can be established.
"But revision is not reckless fabrication, and innovation certainly does not mean pursuing novelty for its own sake!
"We must firmly oppose being different merely for the sake of it! We must firmly oppose cheap sensationalism!
"The temptation to have one's own language and script become the official standard and secure a place in history is simply too great. And what is the result?
"The result is a whole pack of ignorant incompetents who, with their shallow foundations, use scholarship as a pretext for taking opportunistic shortcuts.
"This is something we must stamp out!"
Lunifis said unhappily, "Grand Mage Watson, I completely agree with what you have said, but what does any of it have to do with the paper we are discussing?"
"Of course it has something to do with it! Can't you see this paper is nothing but reckless fabrication?"
The irascible little old man bristled and glared, shaking the documents in his hand.
"Look at the method of character formation it provides. The character for 'sun' is a circle with a dot in the middle, supposedly representing its luminous nature.
"The character for 'fire' resembles a mountain, with extra tongues of flame...
"What kind of bullshit reasoning is that?
"And look at these Oracle characters for 'shit,' 'urine,' and so on... They're nothing but children's scribbles, utterly crude!"
Unconvinced, Lunifis said, "Ancient people formed characters through their own observations and imagination, gaining the power to give expression to their emotions. Their writing developed from simple drawings like these in the first place.
"Besides, the methods of character formation it discusses include pictographs, indicative symbols, compound ideographs, and sound imitation. All of these are perfectly consistent with linguistic logic. They are hardly as simple as the scribbles you describe."
"Lunifis, don't forget that language and writing need to be connected to magic. These things alone simply won't work!"
Grand Mage Watson pounded the table and shouted.
"There is currently a view in academia that the Runes School ought to have a purely theoretical framework, one that allows language and writing to be separated from magic and studied independently.
"Some have even traced things back to ancient times, to the languages and scripts humans created before they mastered magical abilities, when magical factors did not need to be considered.
"But this is not antiquity. This is the age of magic network coverage!
"If a language and writing system lack the power to evoke magical resonance, they are utterly meaningless!"
Lunifis faltered, momentarily finding no words to reply.
This is a bonus chapter. I hope everyone will give the book plenty of support during its launch period.
Before you continue