As the relocation work got underway, Skord, Thibault, and the others received allocated premises in Terry City and began building magic workshops and developing equipment according to their experimental requirements.
This already involved the domains of the Alchemy School and the Magic Guidance School.
Advanced Arcana was often not the achievement of a single school. It crossed disciplines and fields, requiring substantial funding and technical personnel.
Both men seemed confident, however, and with a large new grant from the Arcane Committee, morale was running high.
Without another word, they got to work, determined to develop the "Automatic Printing Machine" they envisioned.
"Actually, we're already building our first prototype. It will be the most advanced model to date, a commercial machine that can genuinely be used in business."
A few days later, once they had settled in, Roland visited the laboratory prepared for them.
Skord told him a secret.
"Even within the research institute, this is highly confidential. Please don't disclose its existence to outsiders, especially the Lainer People."
"A commercial model that can be put to business use..."
"Let us show you around."
Roland followed them into an inner room, where he saw something resembling an open suitcase on a workbench.
It was densely packed with components connected by a tangle of fine wires, with a magic circle made of mithril underneath.
Quite unlike what Roland had imagined, its appearance actually leaned toward science fiction.
This was the Magic Guidance School.
All it lacked was staff in white lab coats holding fingernail-sized chips and discussing problems in front of laser projections.
The two men excitedly introduced Roland to all sorts of relevant data.
Roland did not understand much of it, since this was not his area of expertise, but he did grasp that this research had immense potential.
The key