Chapter 44

After the discussion about the thesis ended, as they were about to part ways, Isarco mentioned that he wanted a self-study textbook.

"Really, that's fine. The books here belong to us, so I'll make a copy for you."

"I'm sorry. In return, I'll arrange for your duties at the Miscellaneous Affairs Bureau to be waived until you finish writing your thesis."

"But won't the other newbies and Clara think it's strange?"

"It will be fine if I tell them you're doing necessary chores for my research."

That should be fine, then.

Isarco left, and after tidying up the kitchen, Ricardo left the staff dormitory. Monta was playing on the roof of the staff dormitory and came down when he saw Ricardo.

"Kyu-kyu-ke-kyu" (Where are you going?)

"To the library. What about you, Monta?"

"Kyu-kyo" (I'll go with you)

Monta climbed into Ricardo's shoulder bag.

The library of the Magicians' Guild was near the Refinement Bureau, and about 70% of its users were from the Refinement Bureau.

When Ricardo entered the library, he felt the gazes of those who thought he was out of place. He usually avoided the library because of this, but he had no choice but to come here for his research.

Ignoring the gazes, he went to the shelves where books on magic were lined up.

He searched for books on earth and water magic.

For this thesis, he planned to introduce the compound magic incantations 'Fasnal (Oh Fire and Water)' and 'Amnasnal (Oh Earth and Water).'

At first, he considered only introducing 'Fasnal (Oh Fire and Water),' but since he found the magic words in the 'Great System of Magic' by the sage Manuel, he realized that if he introduced 'Fasnal (Oh Fire and Water),' someone else would eventually find 'Amnasnal (Oh Earth and Water).'

It would be better to introduce both.

However, to prove that these magic words were incantations, he needed to actually activate magic using them. The compound magic of fire and water, 'Molten Flame Bullet,' was already published, so he planned to use it. However, for the compound magic of earth and water, he only had 'Mud Bind,' and since he didn't want to publish 'Mud Bind,' he had to develop another compound magic.

He came to the library to look for ideas, but the books on earth magic didn't provide any new ideas for compound magic. He then started looking through the books on water magic and stopped at a particular passage.

The magician who wrote this book apparently tried to develop a magic to dry laundry instantly. The magic was completed but turned out to be useless.

To dry laundry with water magic alone, strong magic power and a powerful catalyst were required. No one would want to use such a high-quality catalyst just to dry laundry.

Seeing the drying magic, Ricardo had an idea.

While Ricardo was engrossed in his research, his fellow apprentice Massimo approached from behind.

"Is a guy from the Miscellaneous Affairs Bureau studying in the library? You're not writing a thesis, are you?"

As usual, Massimo moved his plump body with difficulty. Ricardo thought he would be faster if he rolled, but Massimo peered at the magic research book Ricardo was reading.

"I'm doing research for Councilor Isarco."

"You were looking through a lot of magic research books. What did Councilor Isarco tell you to research?"

"I can't talk about it without his permission."

Massimo's face showed a look of displeasure.

"Are you really trying to write a thesis?"

"No, I'm not."

"Che, whatever."

Massimo moved away and started looking through the magic research book Ricardo had been reading. It seemed he suspected Ricardo was writing a thesis and was looking for clues in the book.

An unpleasant suspicion crossed Ricardo's mind. Was Massimo planning to steal the thesis Ricardo was writing and publish it as his own?

"Am I overthinking it... I just decided to write it today. There's no way Massimo could know."

Massimo had ingratiated himself with Gianpiero of the Elder faction and managed to become a member of the Elder faction. The reason he chose the Elder faction was probably because it had many incompetent researchers.

These incompetent researchers didn't write their own theses but bought them from magicians who studied magic in the corners of the city and published them under their own names.

Massimo probably planned to do the same. However, theses published through such means were never highly evaluated, and the reputation gained from a compound magic thesis would surely decline.

Continuing his research, Ricardo found nothing interesting except for the drying magic. Monta, who had apparently fallen asleep, started moving in the shoulder bag, probably out of boredom. Ricardo decided to take a break and left the Magicians' Guild.

Worried about the breeding grounds that Antonio had mentioned, Ricardo walked over to them. More than half of the breeding grounds, which had been green until autumn, had turned a pale, earthy color.

The remaining parts with grass had also turned brown, creating a bleak landscape.

Monta, recognizing the place, climbed onto the roof of the work shed to play. It might be a good idea to plant trees where Monta could play. He thought of choosing trees that bore fruit.

Antonio and Dario were collecting the withered grass.

"We should look for cold-resistant forage and plant its seeds. We need to do some research."

The breeding grounds had been expanded by the apprentices of Master Romano. The ninth to thirteenth plots, each one hectare, were completed and waiting for the release of the magic trees.

Due to the feed problem, he didn't plan to increase the number of magic trees during winter.

After waving to Antonio and the others to let them know he had arrived, Ricardo headed to the breeding grounds managed by Bernaldo, where a building similar to the work shed was under construction.

He caught up with Master Romano and asked about the logging site, requesting an introduction to a logger. Master Romano readily agreed.

Returning to the Junius breeding grounds, Ricardo entered the work shed and took out the purple jade tree fruit crystals he had received from Bernaldo. He planned to create temperature-regulated storage purple crystals.

Out of the twenty purple jade tree fruit crystals, four were successful. The first two failed, with white streaks running through them. The third had a single white streak, but he managed to stop the magic power. This should be enough to engrave factor letters.

The fourth one showed signs of a white streak but he managed to stop it. It was a perfect success.

He engraved factor letters on the two successful ones and completed the refrigerated storage purple crystals.

While taking a break, Monta, who seemed to be hungry, came back and begged for food.

"Would dried grapes be okay?"

"Kyu-e" (Yes)

Ricardo took a bag of dried grapes from the storage green crystal and placed it in front of Monta. Monta stuck his face into the bag and emerged with more dried grapes than he could eat.

"That's too much."

"Mo-kyu-kyu, kyu-e-kyu-ya" (Monta is growing, so it's okay)

Saying this, Monta happily started munching on the dried grapes.

When Monta finished eating, Antonio entered the work shed.

"Are you hungry? I made lunch, so let's eat together."

"Thanks. I was really hungry."

The lunch at the breeding grounds consisted of bread baked by Julia and vegetable soup. Although it was a simple meal, it was much better than what they had in the slums, and Dario and the others were happily eating.

While eating, Ricardo talked about collecting the branches and leaves left at the logging site.

"Can we take them for free?"

"It seems they would appreciate it if we collected them."

"That's good. We'll go to the logging site, then."

"We need the loggers' permission to do so."

According to Antonio, the magic trees were being fed with withered grass, but their movements were not as good as when they were fed with fresh grass.

After lunch, they returned to the work shed. This time, Ricardo started processing the Death Op's scale-toothed whip. The three-meter-long scale-toothed whip was thick at the base and tapered towards the tip.

Only the last 70 centimeters could be used as a rod, and the rest needed to be thinned by removing the scales.

The two scale-toothed whips had twisted and damaged parts, so only about five sections could be processed into rods. He cut these sections and thinned the thick parts.

He coated three of the rods, which had been processed into ordinary rods, with magic power to make them capable of withstanding up to mid-level magic.

For the remaining two sections with scales, he decided to take a risk. He performed probe meditation and submerged his consciousness deep into his mind. When he brought his consciousness close to the Source Gate, he felt a powerful force flowing in.

He converted this force into magic power and channeled it into the rod. Snowflake patterns appeared on the scales on the rod's surface. These were more complex and larger than any he had seen before.

Usually, when he coated rods with magic power, their surfaces turned amber, but this rod turned a dark brown color.

After completing the magic coating, the rod became something different from the others he had made. It had a presence that seemed to overflow with power, and when he channeled magic power into it, the scales vibrated, giving off a menacing force.

This dark brown rod, called the 'Death Op Rod,' became a popular item among the Matou-made magic rods, and many counterfeits began to circulate, making it one of the magic rods that collectors should be cautious about.

He completed the last rod as a Death Op Rod. When he went outside, it was almost evening, so he went home with Antonio.

Monta, who had been sleeping in the shoulder bag, looked sleepy. Although he couldn't play with him, Monta seemed happy just to be with him.

On the way, they stopped by Bernaldo's house.

When he met Bernaldo, he handed over the newly processed storage purple crystals.

"Ah, you've finished. Two ordinary storage purple crystals and two refrigerated storage purple crystals, right?"

The high-quality refrigerated storage purple crystals were to be processed into a bracelet as a gift for the crown prince.

"Once it's completed, should I ask General Samuele to send it to the crown prince?"

"Yes, please do."

"By the way, I almost forgot. The pendant-type storage purple crystal for Councilor Isarco is ready."

It was a simple pendant design with a storage purple crystal floating inside a small ring made of gold and silver.

The next day, Ricardo, Tania, and Patrick visited Isarco at the Refinement Bureau.

As soon as they entered Isarco's room, Tania wished him a happy birthday.

"Councilor, happy birthday!"

Ricardo and Patrick also wished him a happy birthday.

"Thank you. I'm happy to have two more magicians wishing me a happy birthday this year."

Isarco was often avoided by the researchers due to his strict guidance, especially by the Elder faction, so the only researcher who knew about his birthday was Tania.

"Isarco, you should be a bit nicer to the researchers. It's not good to just keep pressing them about their theses like a debt collector."

Hearing Patrick's advice, Isarco smiled wryly.

"I'm kind to researchers who work hard and publish theses. Isn't that right, Tania?"

Tania looked troubled.

"Yes, but there are few such researchers."

Isarco looked dejected, and Ricardo said,

"Let's not talk about the Refinement Bureau today."

Tania and Patrick agreed, and they each presented their gifts to Isarco.

"I bought Councilor's favorite Opul fruit."

Tania's gift was a type of nut similar to pistachios, roasted and seasoned with salt.

"Mine is a distilled apple wine."

Patrick's gift was something like apple brandy. Isarco, who enjoyed alcohol, was pleased.

"Giving me alcohol and snacks, you guys are thoughtful."

"Councilor wouldn't be very happy with decorative items."

Hearing Tania's words, Ricardo frowned slightly.

"Ricardo, you brought a gift too, right? Show it quickly."

Encouraged by Patrick, Ricardo took out the pendant-type storage purple crystal.

"Oh, you made a mistake."

Patrick thought it was just a decorative item.

"No, no, I'm happy with decorative items too."

Isarco tried to be polite.

"This isn't a decorative item. It's a magic tool."

"This is a purple jade tree fruit crystal, right? I've never seen a magic tool made with this."

"I heard Councilor wanted a storage green crystal, so I decided to give you this storage purple crystal."

"Storage purple crystal? You don't mean..."

Isarco, who was well-versed in storage green crystals, pinched the storage purple crystal with his fingers and channeled magic power into it. The next moment, the bottle of alcohol Patrick had given him disappeared.

Seeing this, Tania and Patrick were in an uproar.

Isarco was delighted with Ricardo's gift and decided to watch over the promising young man's growth.

◆◆◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆

A few days later, the crown prince of the Yorgul territory found a small box in the package sent by General Samuele and tilted his head.

"What... A gift from Ricardo?"

He recalled the conversation he had with Ricardo when he came to the Yorgul territory.

"He really sent a birthday gift. He's quite conscientious."

No commoner would fail to prepare a gift when hinted at by the crown prince. His sense of things was different from that of commoners.

"Well, what did he send?"

When he opened the box, he found an elegant bracelet. He put it on his left wrist. Although he wasn't fond of flashy jewelry, the single purple jade tree fruit crystal embedded in the bracelet caught his attention.

A piece of paper was in the small box, which read, "Channel magic power into the purple jade tree fruit crystal to use it."

"Channel magic power into the purple jade tree fruit crystal... Is this a magic tool? But I thought purple jade tree fruit crystals were useless."

He tried channeling magic power into it. The presence of a paper stored in the refrigerated storage purple crystal appeared in his mind.

"This feeling is the same as with a storage green crystal..."

The crown prince checked the crystal-like crystal embedded in the bracelet. It was indeed small and purple.

He tried to retrieve the paper stored in the refrigerated storage purple crystal. A manual for the refrigerated storage purple crystal appeared in front of him.

The purple jade tree fruit crystal was called a 'refrigerated storage purple crystal' and had the same function as a storage green crystal, though with a smaller capacity.

"The purple jade tree fruit crystal, thought to be useless, can now be used as a magic tool similar to a storage green crystal... This is a groundbreaking discovery."

After using it a few times, he understood the capacity and functions of the refrigerated storage purple crystal. He began to feel that this magic tool might have tremendous potential.

"If I could return to the capital, I could study the potential of this magic tool and put it to use for the country."

However, he didn't plan to inform the king or other royals about this new magic tool. He didn't trust the royal family, and in the worst case, Ricardo's invention could be stolen and used as a source of funds by greedy royals.

"Ricardo has a merchant named Bernaldo with him. He seems to be an experienced merchant, so I don't think he'll sell it poorly, but I should instruct General Samuele to keep an eye on him."

The crown prince started writing a letter to the general.

2017/8/6 Typo correction