Chief Authority Expert

"Chief Authority Expert!"

They gasped.

They gasped.

They gasped.

Inside Laboratory 8003 of the Mage Tower.

Roland had come by on an errand and taken the opportunity to tell everyone what the Arcane Committee's letter said.

When Froya, Skord, Yvonne, and the other senior students heard the news, they did not congratulate him as they had before. Instead, they all drew sharp breaths.

It almost felt as though they had sucked the air out of the room.

"That title of yours is even more outrageous than Yvonne's!"

Skord could not help waving his arms excitedly as he spoke.

"R-Roland was already amazing."

At that, Yvonne blushed, pinched the hem of her clothes, and turned aside.

Everyone else wore looks of envy.

Just how much prestige did the title of expert carry?

They could not speak for elsewhere, but in Atrelin, where knowledge was prized, it carried plenty!

Not just anyone could become an expert. The difficulty alone earned them tremendous respect.

And he was not merely an expert, but the chief, an authority!

Even setting his status aside, the special allowance of 2,400 gold coins a year was a respectable income. Excluding expenses such as experiments, maintenance of magical instruments, and consumable materials, it would fund a downright luxurious everyday life.

That meant a living allowance of 200 gold coins a month-200,000 copper coins. On that income alone, he could stay exclusively in the king suites of luxury hotels, enjoy food, clothing, housing, and transport reserved for nobles, frequent high-society venues, and attend all manner of salons.

If Roland was already approaching financial independence and such mundane wealth did not count for much, then the Special Spell Quota, the fourth-level spell "Dimension Door," was something even other mages would envy.

Its effect resembled the second-level "Dimensional Jump," but it had a longer range and more flexible applications. To a certain extent, it could serve as a stripped-down version of "Teleportation."

Clearly, the Arcane Committee had put real thought into tailoring Roland's spell allocation, giving him considerable tactical value.

"Calm down, calm down! Come to think of it, this is actually perfectly normal. Roland founded this field in the first place. If he isn't the chief, who is? If he isn't the authority, who is?"

"Skord, do you even understand? What's truly outrageous isn't the title itself, but that the Arcane Committee quietly passed a resolution to appoint him as a special expert!"

Froya adjusted her glasses, a gleam of wisdom flashing across the lenses as she delivered her incisive analysis.

"If Oracle itself weren't valued, no one would bother paying attention, no matter how much he created!"

"Exactly, exactly!" the senior students chimed in, then looked at Roland with boundless envy.

Froya concluded, "This means Oracle and the Magic Runes adapted from it will receive tremendous support. They might even establish a new discipline!"

Skord hastily said, "My dear fellow student Roland, please, you must let me help write it!

"All I ask is to have my name listed among the editors of An Introduction to the Magical Adaptation of Oracle!"

"I want in too!"

Several of the more outgoing senior students eagerly volunteered.

Froya and Yvonne were too embarrassed to say anything, but their eyes revealed the same longing.

"We'll all do it together. Everyone's welcome," Roland said with a smile.

There was no need to insist on completing this independently. Besides, he really did need a team's help.

They might have been young, but every one of them was an outstanding student. With their teacher overseeing things, there would be no problem.

As word spread, the Mage Tower erupted.

Everyone who had not joined the research group was envious.

Fall behind once, and you fall behind at every step!

Whether out of reserve, busyness, or simple ignorance, they had failed to participate at the start.

Now that the little circle had formed, joining was no longer so easy.

They all resolved to sign up eagerly the next time an opportunity arose!

Roland and the others paid little attention to that and began discussing another matter.

"The money invested in the experiments earlier came out of our teacher's own pocket. We'll return it according to the usual practice. There's nothing more to say about that.

"But the leftover materials, scrolls, finished products, and so on... let's divide those among us!"

"Oh yeah!"

Privately funded projects like this were audited too, under the supervision of the Hilt Consortium.

But who could argue with Archmage Ovesto's word?

Now that the project had produced results, everyone received a few things on top of their normal allowances as compensation for their recent hard work-a reward, essentially.

After some discussion, they divided everything amicably, and everyone was happy.

Roland took a pile of ink, paper, and Quills, along with a mana crystal that could recharge a wand.

He had been using the Scholar's Happy Stick rather frequently lately. Fortunately, the research group had purchased several crystals as equipment, and the leftovers were distributed among everyone.

At nearly 12.5 gold coins per charge, a standard crystal held enough spell energy for fifty charges and had a market price of 625 gold coins.

As for the remaining gold coins, Roland did not pocket a single one.

Not because he was as incorruptible as a saint, but because there was simply no need.

This was money his teacher had invested-money invested in him.

There was no point moving it from one pocket to another. Securing his royalty payments before the end of the year was what really mattered!

After that, Roland devoted himself to building the new discipline alongside his regular studies.

The title of Chief Authority Expert was not so easy to earn. Just as Senior Froya had analyzed, the Arcane Committee had hinted at plans to vigorously support Oracle and establish a new discipline.

Roland keenly felt the weight on his shoulders. Since this truly held exceptional significance for his future development, he put considerable thought and effort into doing it properly.

By now, everyone recognized Roland as a genius. Relying almost entirely on his stored memories, he transcribed the various materials in his mind.

Under normal circumstances, compiling all this would have required a group of experts to work tirelessly for decades, pouring much of their lives into it.

As for magical adaptation and localization, Roland already had an idea.

This was a vast undertaking. Naturally, it should be guided by the spirit of open source, pooling everyone's strength and passing the torch onward.

This was not something he should do alone. He needed to unite everyone's efforts to complete it!

Saving time and effort would leave him free to work in other important fields, but beyond that, the process would gradually form an interest group that recognized, defended, and relied on Oracle, providing firm ground for him to put down roots here.

For instance, if the senior students around him could devote their efforts to this undertaking and gain fame and fortune from it.

Then if someone criticized or slandered Oracle one day, they would be even more anxious than he was!

Of course, even now they would be indignant and help him, but that was only because of the natural closeness between students of the same tower.

What he wanted was to bind their interests together, so they would share both good fortune and hardship.

A few days passed.

Ding! Wealthy and Generous has sent you a new message...

"Good afternoon, Roland! Have you had any free time lately? If you do, why not come to our Yther Wizard Tower and give a lecture on Arcana?"