"Strange. Why is this so hard to calculate?"
In the villa at Chanselle No. 10, Roland made several attempts at Strategic Deduction, without success.
It made him doubt his own spell formula.
But on second thought, he understood.
"She's an astrologer who practices Astrology. Her school focuses on reading the stars and divining fate. Even without deliberate precautions, she's bound to carry some mysterious influences.
"In a spell formula, those are all unknowns that are hard to solve."
After all, Strategic Deduction was only a lower-tier spell. Much of its advantage came from throwing data at a problem and exploiting the fact that people had no defenses against a new spell.
His repeated successes had led him to overestimate it.
In truth, there was still considerable room for improvement.
Meanwhile, in the Kleians Mansion.
Anna Corliss also frowned.
"How is this possible? I've met Roland several times now, but I still can't find his Fate Star!
"And there's another force interfering, too."
She set the astrolabe in motion, its specks of starlight moving like celestial bodies.
Yet however many times the stars revolved, she found nothing.
"Huh? The resistance seems to have increased!"
Suddenly, Anna looked startled.
"As a genius astrologer, I won't lose that easily!"
She immediately put more power into her spell.
"Heh. A bit of a challenge..."
At the same time, Roland altered his formula. Seris Runes formed from magical power flickered between his fingers, taking on a more profound and complex structure.
If I can't solve the equation, I can still brute-force it!
If this approach doesn't work, I can try another!
It would merely take more time and effort.
Of course, if the protection were several levels stronger, the cost in time and effort would increase exponentially, soon reaching astronomical figures. That would essentially make