Chapter 96.
At dawn, I roamed about the library of the Red Magic Tower excitedly, reading through research papers. Although the research papers were all written unnecessarily hard to read, the key points recorded the behavior of the chimeras, their mana frequency, etc.
Among them, there was a paper that attracted my interest. It was research to artificially create a mana stone. If mana stones were to be artificially produced, then the price of items that are powered by magic stones would suddenly drop. That would only be after preparations for mass production were complete.
However, the research was still at a developmental stage with only hypotheses and no trials. So it seemed likely to take another 200 years for the research to be carried out in earnest.
Still, it was an interesting research topic, so I didn’t think it would be a bad idea to try it myself.
Notes, notes.
I took notes of the research papers, or if it was too much to take notes, then I just made a copy with magic.
After leaving the library, I headed to the equipment room where only high-ranking magicians of the magic tower were allowed entry.
Oh! I wonder how this works?
I was touching magic tools I had never seen before and trying to figure out the principles of how it worked when I heard a sound outside the equipment room. I put the magic tool I had in my hand down to its original location and quickly hid.
Did I perhaps get found out?
No, it might just be a guard on patrol.
I hadn’t even gotten to look at the magic tools properly yet, but I might have to prepare to escape. It wouldn’t be difficult to suppress the guard without a sound when he came in.
However, it would be quite annoying to make future visits again if the guard woke up later and alerted that there was an intruder. In that case, it would be safer to retreat now and visit again tomorrow since I still had time left.
Well, duplicating the entry pass and making a visit after the training session was another possibility. But if possible, I wanted to finish seeing all of the Red Magic Tower while I was still in training.
This was because this trainee pass was only a kind of an instant code. After the training, it was certain that the magic circle in charge of security would remove the authority on the pass unless the person in charge was quite lazy. If that happened, the pass I planned to duplicate later would become meaningless trash. Of course, since it had once been connected to the magic circle, it would still contain a certain amount of information. That was why it would be more convenient than bypassing the magic circle without any information, but the fact that it would be annoying remained the same.
Or there was also the method of taking away the right to operate the magic circle of the Red Magic Tower. But it would take too long and wasn’t worth the effort to invest that much in the Red Magic Tower.
In any case, even if I stole the rights to operate the magic circle, the owner of the huge workshop in the magic tower called the Tower Master would certainly notice. If that happened, it would turn things into a big deal and become annoying.
I was leaning towards running away, but then the person believed to be a guard finally came into the equipment room. I took a peek at the face of the person who dared to interrupt my fun time.
Huh? It’s Squidward?
The man who entered the equipment room was Squidward.
Did Squidward normally also have guard duty?
As far as I knew, Squidward didn’t need to do this kind of troublesome work because he had experience and a high enough rank. It was reliable information since it came from a civil servant who had worked for quite a long time in the Red Magic Tower.
Entering the equipment room full of magic tools used in various experiments, Squidward stood in front of a particular magic tool. This tool he was trying to take was one that could perform an inspection several times more precisely than the precision magic tool I had disassembled yesterday.
The magic tool that I looked at yesterday was for new magicians who had just entered the magic tower as it was stored in a public space where civil servants based in the magic tower could also access. On the other hand, the magic tool that Squidward was carrying now was a super expensive one for the high-rank magicians.
Was Squidward suddenly trying to do an experiment in the middle of the night?
Let’s sneakily follow him just in case. It was a great opportunity for me, who had never done or seen a life magic experiment.
I laughed mischievously as I touched the half-white mask on my face.
-o-
Edward went out of the equipment room with the expensive precision magic tool in a cart. He walked energetically to the elevator despite it being early in the morning.
Although it was very early, there was no way he would feel sleepy. He was now so excited at the honor of being able to participate in the Tower Master’s experiment that he could barely hold it in. He pinched his cheeks thinking about how he was able to enjoy a situation that every magician in the magic tower dreamed of, despite him being just in charge of managing the breeding facility.
"Ouch!"
His cheeks hurt, but Edward couldn’t hold back his laughter. It just signified how much of a golden opportunity the experiment with the Tower Master was. And it was likely never going to happen again.
Humming, he pushed the precision magic tool into the magic-powered elevator and climbed aboard himself.
"Huh?"
The elevator shook slightly and tilted when he got on. This would usually happen in cases where there were many people in the elevator or when someone got on top to repair it.
Edward sighed, thinking that the old elevator might be causing trouble again.
Once upon a time, when he had just entered the magic tower, he remembered that the elevator often broke down and he had to often call a magician to have it repaired. Now that he was in a mid-management position, he didn’t have to go around calling magician repairmen.
Still, thinking about the time when he had just come into the magic tower to do magic research, it felt sentimental but also unpleasant. If he could go back to the time around when he entered the magic tower, he would rather take the test to join the imperial magician division.
Edward pressed the top floor where the Tower Master’s office was, thinking he should ask the new magician to fix the elevator. The elevator quickly climbed to the top floor of the tower. When the door opened, the elevator shook slightly even though he didn’t move.
Is it really broken?
Edward slowly pushed the precision magic tool out of the elevator. When he got off the elevator, the door to the Tower Master’s office was open.
"You’re here! Good to see you. Come on in."
The Tower Master welcomed Edward, beckoning him to come in with a bright face.
Feeling proud of the Tower Master welcoming him, Edward quickly, but cautiously, pushed the precision magic tool and walked into the Tower Master’s office.
On the floor of the Tower Master’s office floor was a magic formula that Edward could not comprehend. The magic formulas drawn on the floor gathered together to form a single magic circle.
Edward looked at his surroundings, his eyes opened wide at the sight of the magic that he could not comprehend.
"Wow!"
Edward stared in amazement. Although he didn’t understand it, he still felt a vague grandness from it.
When Edward was absorbed in the magic circle as if he were appreciating art, a familiar voice came to him.
"Edward oppa... Play with me..."
The place where the voice came from was a square box covered with black cloth.
"Number 46A-10346? Tower Master-nim, why is that chimera here...?”
As Edward trailed off his words and asked with caution, the Tower Master put his hands behind his back and approached the box containing the chimera.
"Number 46A-10346 was selected as the chimera to be used in this experiment. Of the chimeras I asked you to pay special attention to, this one turned out to be the most suitable for this experiment.”
"Is... that so? Edward looked at the chimera worriedly.
Experimenting with life magic meant that the safety of the chimera, the subject of the experiment, could not be guaranteed. Since chimeras were made and raised to be experimental animals, one could say that it was the fate they were born with.
Although the thought of using Chimera Line Number 46A-10346 bothered Edward, he was also a life magician researcher who handled chimeras and researched life magic. It would be a great disgrace for a magician to not be able to properly handle the subject due to emotional attachments.
The Tower Master looked at Edward with a nice smile. "Now, let’s start with an exam before we start the experiment."
With that, the Tower Master took off his robe and stood in front of the precision magic tool that Edward had brought.
"Why are you standing over there?" Edward asked with confusion.
The direction that the Tower Master stood was where the subject was supposed to be examined.
"It’s not a big deal. I always examine myself before I do experiments. How should I say this... Although chimeras are used as test subjects, they have life just like us. So it’s kind of a jinx or belief of being on an equal footing when doing an experiment." The Tower Master swept down his beard and broke out into a frenzied laughter. "Isn’t it foolish for a magician who rose to the top to believe in jinxes?"
Edward vehemently shook his head at the Tower Master. "No, it is not! Didn’t it all come from the heart of caring for the chimeras? I am very touched!"
Edward was genuinely moved by the Tower Master. He was also really grateful to be part of this experiment.
"Hahaha, thanks for understanding. How about it? Would you like to try participating in my jinx?”
Edward nodded gladly at the invitation. "Of course!"
Edward and the Tower Master were each examined, followed by Chimera No. 46A-1036. Soon after, the test results came out on paper and the Tower Master carefully examined them.
"Good, it seems we can start the experiment right away. Are you ready?" The Tower Master asked with a bright smile.
Edward nodded enthusiastically.
The Tower Master was delighted with Edward’s drive. He pointed out where Edward and the chimera should be positioned and explained how the magic experiment would proceed. Finally, he stood in the middle of the magic circle, which he plastered the whole room with, and began to pour the mana in.
"Now!"
Under the Tower Master’s instruction, Edward pointed at the magic circle on the floor and poured his mana in.
"Good! Keep pouring it in!"
As the Tower Master shouted with joy, Edward tried to pour more mana in.
"Hectopascal kick!”
That is until someone wearing a half-white mask from outside the Tower Master’s office suddenly came and did a double-side kick.
Keuok!
Edward screamed and flew into the wall of the Tower Master’s office.
"Ah, NO!!"
The Tower Master turned deathly pale at the sight and screamed.
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