A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 134: The Defense – Answering Questions, Not Defending.

After the experimental setup was completed, Rorschach made several improvements and obtained some interesting results.

The day for the thesis proposal defense has arrived.

"Don't be nervous. Our mission is to get more money. Don't worry about whether it will pass or not. No one will make things difficult for you because of your teacher." Before entering the meeting room, Cano patted Luo Xia on the shoulder.

Rorschach felt a warmth in his heart: "Yes, Professor." Ah, this is the epitome of a model mentor.

The current thesis proposal defense is somewhat different from the process in his previous life, because Rorschach is now an intermediate mage, and the focus should be on securing independent funding, so it's more like applying for the "Magic Research Fund of the Holy Kingdom Branch of the Magic Guild".

Fortunately, there are few monks, so the competition is not too fierce. Many monks who have received donations from merchants and nobles disdain to be bossed around by their peers or to "bow down for five miles of silver coins," and have no need for guild sponsorship or funding.

Five monks were seated for their defense. Luo Xia bowed to them in greeting; some smiled and nodded, while others remained unmoved, their faces cold as they studied their prepared materials. Among them was a familiar face: Ina winked at him.

Seated in the middle at the head was another female mage: "Alright, let's begin."

First came a 15-minute presentation. Luo Xia wanted to use a slideshow presentation, but the hardware didn't allow it. He could only take out a diagram drawn on cardboard from his storage ring, attach it magnetically to the presentation board, and then explain it using the on-the-spot handwriting.

"Currently, magical research and applications are developing towards large-scale and complex operations. Simply collecting and utilizing the aether in the prime plane environment is gradually unable to meet the ever-increasing demands of spell operation and the real-world production needs involving alchemy technology."

Under the new spells, new technologies, and new circumstances, higher requirements have been placed on the energy density and quantity of input ether. In the previous research of the Kano Group, in order to support large-scale, interdimensional teleportation magic and astral teleportation magic, a steam engine-powered ether conversion and production device was developed, which initially solved the problems of poor sustainability and low output power of personal ether condensation.

During the design and exploration of the Prime Plane-Astral Teleportation Array, Professor Lionel Cano's research group discovered a method for collecting transmutation dust from the edge of the astral plane. Based on this technology, our group seeks to develop and utilize transmutation dust.

Transmutation dust possesses several characteristics, including extremely high ether energy density, incorporation of unknown divine power, instability in the prime plane, and the ability to release and decay energy. It is inherently dangerous, but due to its enormous energy content, it has a very broad range of applications. If a safe and stable energy collection method can be found, it will help obtain a more powerful source of ether energy without relying on individual archmages.

The increased scale and density of energy input will further enhance the complexity of new spells and the widespread adoption of alchemy.

Rorschach talked on and on, desperately trying to paint a rosy picture according to Cano's instructions, exaggerating the technology as if it would bring world peace.

In fact, Rorschach didn't think it was an exaggeration. In his previous life, the main manifestation of the Industrial Revolution was the energy revolution. Every little improvement in the way and efficiency of energy utilization could lead to a giant leap forward in the productivity of the whole society.

Even if Rorschach can't concoct a perpetual motion machine like the "Miser Core" that allows him to exploit the source of the magic network for free, if he can actually develop a device to convert transmutation dust into ether, it's not much different from mining oil.

After explaining his research methods and timeline, Rorschach concluded his presentation. For some reason, Rorschach noticed that the two old men opposite him seemed to be hypnotized; they were looking down at their documents, but remained motionless for a long time.

Next comes the interrogation by the five seated professors. It's a question-and-answer session, only answering questions, no debating. If you really want to have a debate with the professors, they won't mind inviting you to overtime.

"You said this research will provide a more concentrated and greater amount of etheric magic than that of an archmage, but I don't see much potential for miniaturization. If mages can't carry it around, won't its usefulness be greatly diminished? Or can it only be built in specific locations like magic towers to provide a source of magic?"

This sorcerer's thinking was still limited to the personal and spellcasting aspects; he hadn't seen the trend of alchemy gradually spreading to large-scale industrial production, nor the ever-increasing demand for etheric resources. Rorschach could only shake his head inwardly, but for the moment he had to wear a restrained, humble smile:

"Regarding your suggestion of miniaturization and portability, as I mentioned in my previous technical roadmap presentation, our second technical roadmap aims to obtain more stable and secure transmutation dust, which can then become an excellent casting material to power more powerful magic."

"Okay." The questioner acknowledged Rorschach's answer.

A monk wearing a wool wig put down some documents: "Master Kano is very confident that you will complete this project, but I still want to ask, transmutation dust is an extremely unstable and dangerous substance that can cause mutations. How can you guarantee the safety of its development and utilization?"

"According to our research and records, the main reason why transmutation dust causes changes in real matter is that it contains complex and diverse divine power, which is why some scholars have previously speculated that it comes from a shattered divine realm in the astral plane."

Rorschach had anticipated this question, and to demonstrate, he took out a small, round hand shield, mainly to show the protective array engraved on it: "During our investigation of the elven ruins, we discovered a powerful protective spell, and based on it, we developed a restraint and protection array against divine power."

After speaking, Rorschach activated the circuit on his shield, which condensed into blue light.

"Can it resist divine power?" All the mages grasped the key point: "Mage Rorschach, can you guarantee that?"

"We have already experimented with transmutation dust, and it is indeed possible to resist mixed divine energy radiation as long as the circuit is not damaged and the ether supply is maintained. As for attacks with divine magic, I have not yet had the gracious ones of the Church of Light and Order test it."

Upon hearing this, the air was immediately filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Some mages even said that the attacks of those charlatans could be blocked with just one level of [Shield], only to be corrected by their companions: "To be on the safe side, you'd better wear a thicker layer of clothing."

"Ahem." Mage Ina stopped them from going off-topic. She was very interested in the shield; she had already recognized that the protective magic circle's prototype came from Delyuaz's divine magic. "Can we test it?"

"It works particularly well against spells that are in the form of energy; you can try targeting the shield directly."

The mage Ina raised her hand and crushed the crystal bottle in her hand. Seven silver starlight gathered and swirled above her head, as if she were wearing a crown made of stars. The starlight was incredibly bright and sharp even in the daytime indoors.

"Mage Ina, is it really necessary to use this spell? What if something goes wrong?" This spell startled the mages nearby. They had heard that the two of them had apparently traveled to a lower plane together; what was going on between them?

"It's alright," Ina and Rorschach replied simultaneously.

The star-shaped points of light spun and flew toward Rorschach. Rorschach raised his shield to block them. Blue fireflies swirled and rippled on the surface, successfully absorbing seven points of light, but only emitting a little light.

Each time a starlight pierces through, Firefly loses a few points, but with Luo Xia's continuous input, it quickly recovers.

As expected, for mages, a live demonstration is far more effective than simply talking about words and illustrations. "The seventh-tier [Crown of Stars] has been completely defended!"

Normally, the starlight burst would cause penetrating burns, but now the shield and its wielder, Rorschach, are completely unharmed. The other mages nodded in agreement.

"What is the core of the magic circle?"

"How was the ether consumption during the defense?"

"Are there any corresponding spells? Are any casting materials required?"

"Can it be fixed to an object? Can the coverage area be expanded?"

...

To Luo Xia's surprise, all the subsequent questions revolved around the Blue Light Shield. The mage wearing the wig even hoped that he could publish a paper on the magic circle to the guild and welcome in-depth discussions with him.

After the meeting, the judging panel held a small meeting, so Rorschach took his leave first.

Upon seeing Rorschach, Cano quickly asked, "How are you?"

"I feel like I've missed the point," Luo Xiasheng said dejectedly.

"How could this be? I personally oversaw it! You didn't go off-script, did you? If you had followed the script, there would have been absolutely no problem. You should have been able to handle the questions. How could this be..."

"I'm not the one who's missing the point!"

Thank you to the readers "Humble Fool", "Death Never Ends", "Reader 20231224190011525", "sssRain", "Reader 20220222233134167", "Winning and Fighting", "Siegfried", "Sun and Moon Source Clear", "Reader 20181122224706787", and "Holding the Middle Without Opposition" for their monthly ticket support!

Thanks to the readers "Blown Clouds", "There's a Bear in the World", "Mount Tai-CD", "Zha Tian Bang Jun Ci" (it's been a long time since I've seen Zha Tian Bang, I miss him), "Missing Items", and other readers for their recommendation votes!

I'm feeling better these past couple of days, but I still have a lot of other things to do, so my update schedule will be a bit "flexible," but I'll strictly stick to updating twice a day! I'm begging my readers! *bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang*

(End of this chapter)