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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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Chapter 12: Of Magic and Physics
After a few days of general calm back at the home front, things had mostly normalized and given us a taste on how to handle this kind of long-ranged missions.
It was clear that this was soon going to become a frequent situation, so I decided to invest in better ways to handle a couple of situations which could have been dealt with better. Specifically our food situation and how the refrigeration system was still too inefficient to handle that kind of trip. Thus, I decided to bring Elinalise and Zen together at a table and bring up this situation. Brainstorming ensued as it became clear the current runes weren't doing the kind of job we wanted them to. This was one of these problems that had to be solved before the next big trip.
They had to preserve the food better, and thus improving the runes was a priority. Elinalise found a way to extend the duration, while Zenith found a way to double that kind of improvement by using a smaller container as the runes seemed to lose potency the bigger the container was. To be fair, the idea made sense within a physical logic, one that I saw fit to write down as a potential new formula. I didn't have knowledge of specific units of measurement used for magical efficiency, duration and potency, but I decided to ponder on those for a while. I mean, I had to keep my intellectual self in shape somehow and handling potentially new advancements in physics sounded just right.
The real struggle was that I didn't have any comparison with people that had that sort of knowledge in that regard. Yes, Zen had studied Magic through conventional means in the past and even now she continued her studies, but I could tell by asking her about it that it wasn't something students at Ranoa Magic Academy were experienced with. I could say some teachers had to have some interest in the field, mostly because it wasn't unheard of that among them there were research groups meant to expand the field with new additions.
All in all, these few days were spent studying and adventuring, with Geese peeking by to try and add his own 'crazy ideas' since he could barely handle the topic due to its intensity and because he just had a general grasp of what the final result was. Ghislaine... would try. I didn't blame her as she would just fall asleep mid-brainstorming, going as far as to prevent the girls from waking her up. It was a good trick to get the beastwoman to rest due to how troubled her sleep was during nighttime, so I found the idea of letting her 'faint' mid-conversation a good alternative as normal sleeping. Sleep is sleep after all.
Speaking of Ghislaine, she actually made a breakthrough when it comes to using three swords at once. I wasn't sure how she managed it, but she started to juggle the blades when attacking. I would see two rotating blades stuck mid-air while the beastwoman would use each to distract and create a sense of encirclement on her opponents. She actually had me beat in mere minutes of her using that tactic, and it took me three more quick spars to realize what was going on and how to 'solve' this. I couldn't outright win these fights, but I had a 60% chance of winning by having her trip. The main focus of this battle style was relying heavily on not tripping on uneven ground.
So, it was either a naturally uneven one, or the kind of field that could be manipulated through obstacles to become difficult to rush through at high speed. This clever approach had me search more in what I could find in the Water God Style and... I was stunned to find out that nothing around could help in that regard. Yes, I was still struggling to find a tutor, but the issue was that no text tied to this subject offered any assistance to handle this kind of pressure. Maybe it was some secret knowledge only high-level users could handle, but it sure bummed me out to know I needed a tutor more than before.
I thought I had enough things to deal with when I realized that sometimes interesting quests didn't leave much notice for any of us to be ready to handle them with a clear mind. And that's what happened when we received a new B-Rank quest that was actually meant to unfold within the region. A group of researchers from Ranoa Magic Academy had just recently reached out for adventurers to escort them as they looked over some ruins which may or not contain some books, engravings and even magical items which had to be researched in a safe place. They received support from the Asura Kingdom to conduct this operation, but they needed some guards to prevent issues with local bandits and other issues in the area.
It was a group of four. The vice-principal of the Academy, Georg; two elves that acted as his subordinate, and a fellow teacher which kept apart from the rest. Blue long hair, water-blue eyes, a lithe and short frame, Roxy Migurdia was, as her last name would suggest, a Migurdian. Now, I was no expert on the matter, and I knew more on the matter through Zenith as she had studied under Roxy. Yes, the individual that looked to be way younger than the blonde was actually older by a couple of years.
It was one of the traits known about Migurdians, they aged slowly and lived long lives. But what made this specific Migurdian interesting was not the fact she had strayed from her home back in the Demon Continent, but the fact she did so because of her lacking the Migurdian's most known trait: telepathy. I wasn't completely aware of what happened about it, but it got to the point where Roxy just left the continent and joined the Ranoa Magic Academy for several years, first as a student and then as a teacher.
"Oh oh, I wish to humbly thank you for your kind service here today to further the academy's knowledge, Mr. Bukharin," Georg praised jovially, to which I politely just nodded.
The round and short human exuded a peculiar mirthfulness that matched with his plump nature. He looked quite kind, genuinely so, and I decided to trust him to not be some ambitious and dangerous individual as some high-level magician turned into. Yes, it wasn't a stereotype, Zenith told me there had been numerous magic users that went nuts with power and had to be murdered for 'straying too far, too quickly'. I was still unsure if the guy could earn my full trust since I had many times seen in the media how some principals/vice-principals are known to have some sort of secrets which could easily screw things up.
Still, I think it would be best to say that while I had initially wanted to focus on the guy and check for any inner motivations for this trip, I ended up spending more time with someone else. Mostly on the basis that this individual was willing to go through some knowledge-related exchanges and intellectual talks Zenith would join too at times. Roxy Migurdia was, without a doubt, a smart woman.
I caught notice of that when, in her lonesome as we had yet to depart due to some tools missing from the group's inventory, I found her scribbling on a small blackboard with chalk. I could catch just a few elements on the board, but soon I spotted the full thing as she left the board by her table at the guild. Roxy was glaring at the fact she couldn't keep going with the formula since she reached an impasse, and said nothing as I decided to walk up to her and check on it. No words were exchanged and... she just blinked as I reached for the untouched chalk.
Roxy frowned for a moment, her eyes narrowed as she followed my hand as it started to write on the blackboard. The white chalk softly struck the board, leaving behind familiar symbols to her but also unfamiliar ones. I could tell she was a bit clueless as her annoyance was overwhelmed by confusion. She said nothing, but the girl unconsciously leaned closer to the board as she tried and failed to grasp the complex formulas I was relying on to try solving that interesting problem.
"You gave a unit of measurement for magic?" The Migurdian finally spoke, surprised by this notion.
"Not one for magic- multiple ones. For efficiency, duration, potency, and upkeep."
"That's... peculiar. How did you formulate such a concept?" She inquired, thirsty for answers. "What drove you, an adventurer, to pursue this knowledge?"
"I think this will sound a bit disappointing, but I've been working on a method to preserve food for a longer time compared to their natural expiration through refrigeration," I explained politely, with Roxy nodding slowly as she allowed me to add more details on the matter. "It was while my group was studying how to further expand this method that I came up with these formulas to help us try to solve our issues in that regard."
The girl's eyes glowed in delight at this new discovery, and she was soon inquiring for more. I think that was fairly 'childish' in the way she wanted to know a lot out of it at once, flaring some giddiness in expanding her awareness on the subject and proposing to soon give Zenith some education when it came to some magic she was struggling with. This exchange was beneficial for both sides and I couldn't help but find Roxy a good individual to talk magic with. It all ceased as amiable as possible after a while I had Zenith introduced to her. The two were just hitting it well and were walking one beside the other when we could finally get moving.
With all necessary tools brought, the expedition could move to our newest destination. Which took us to a large forest which was filled to the brim with harmless magical creatures. It was one of the few areas adventurers rarely visited, mostly because it was closer to the capital than our current home and most of these lands were forbidden to adventurers with no royal permission to wander this region. I was a bit confused by this decision, but reasoned that the king had decided to employ his own army to make sure bandits were dealt with rather than becoming dependent on the Guild for assistance. Very clever, but saddening as it meant these kinds of sights were going to be rare due to these circumstances.
"We're almost here!" Georg commented earnestly. "I can see the ruins. The report was correct- we found a new former settlement to study!"
The giddiness wasn't lost and I couldn't help but understand why the man was so excited. From the looks of it, we had stumbled on some old fortress that had been forgotten for at least a few centuries. I could tell this much by the extent of roots, plants, and trees covering most of the large buildings that existed in the area, and how those could be easily confused as unusual natural growth. Yet, the more we approached, it became apparent it was a man-made settlement that had been abandoned a long time ago.
It looked like an interesting discovery, even so when I noticed a few familiar architectural choices which had me frowning for some time. I had seen some of these decorative columns before, I had studied some of these structures in the past at school and... Then I saw it, in a rhomboidal stone set just above the entrance of one of the ruins. It was partly crusted by moss but I could recognize the symbol after seeing it so many times in the past. That was a cross. That was a destroyed church, and then I saw what looked to be a broken statue standing in the center of the 'square' we were walking into. The moss had covered the entire figure, but as I approached the spot where it was erected on, I saw a familiar engraving into the lower section of the pedestal. As soon as I removed the bits of moss covering the writing, I was provided a Latin name.
Carolus Magnus Rex
Imperator Romanorum
What?!
AN
Next time, some... puzzles!
REVIEW Q&A!
Guest (Chapter 13): She isn't ready for commitment just yet.
Raidentensho: I have some plans to create a unique version of the Water God Style. Something that will render the Sword God Style practically useless against it.