A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 141 is truly a headache.

Today, Rorschach neither went to class nor to the lab; he was rummaging through something in a cramped little room. Hundreds of books, files, and pamphlets were piled on the shelves, the dust creating a dangerously high concentration of inhalable particulate matter in the small archive room.

"Master Luo Xia, I suggest you look for it in the library."

"The library certainly doesn't have what I need." What Rorschach wanted were other spells with the element of "energy deprivation," and at this level, the basic content available to apprentices in the library was obviously insufficient.

However, this archive room lacks proper organization, which may be intentional on the part of the administrator, or it may simply be that the knowledge here has been accumulated over time.

Since these materials were published and circulated within the magic guild according to a timeline, one can get a glimpse into what these mages have been researching since modern times from these publications and books.

For example, the book "The Analysis of Light and the Reconstruction of Illusion Magic" is almost spotless, and the gilding on the hardcover has been worn away, which indirectly proves that the book's "citation count" is probably quite high.

On the recent bookshelf was also a new book, "Analysis of the Optimal Form of Force Wall Spell Deployment." Rorschach opened it, and the corresponding author was prominently listed as "Archmage Poincaré." As a fifth-circle Evocation spell with protective properties, Force Wall Spell was not widely mastered—mastering it required a certain level of skill, at least an intermediate mage. However, its protective effect should only be slightly weaker than Rorschach's "Blue Light Barrier," and there were quite a few intermediate mages willing to learn it.

More importantly, its standard spellcasting manual is controlled by the magic guild, and intermediate and higher-level mages can apply to the guild to exchange for it with contribution points or money.

However, in this more systematic collection of papers, the first author, Poincaré's student, explained in detail the protective principles and deployment strategies of the [Force Wall] spell. It is an invisible "order field" of ether operating within a fixed spatial area, which is the so-called "Force Wall," and it is resistant to incoming projectiles and some magic.

The author discusses how to construct this field to maximize its effective range, and another strategy: how to concentrate and fix this field to enhance its defensive effect, especially against attack spells of the same or even higher levels.

It's not simply about imagining a dough, rolling it out thinly for a larger area and stacking it thickly for stronger defense. Instead, it's about designing targeted manifolds based on the characteristics of the "etheric order field" radiating outwards and the forms of spell projectiles and rays, pursuing the optimal solution under specific conditions and requirements.

"Very useful." The idea behind it is that Rorschach can also apply it to the "Blue Light Barrier" and other magic arrays in the collector. The materials in the archive room can also be borrowed. Rorschach has already borrowed and returned them. Whenever you take a text out of this room and leave, a secret contract will naturally appear on the cover of the text. After ten days, you must either apply to the tower spirit for an extension of the borrowing period or return it to its original place. Otherwise, the secret contract will turn into a restriction, and you will no longer be able to see the contents.

He began searching for the next potentially useful document, especially those related to "energy deprivation." From the arrangement of the archives, Rorschach noticed an interesting trend: the newer research materials from the Tower of Stars or the Magic Guild were more closely integrated with mathematical principles and tended to focus on research into protective magic and spell mechanisms, while the older materials were more likely to contain research on offensive spells.

The works from the last thirty years filled three large bookshelves, the next large bookshelf spanned about fifty years, and only on the fourth bookshelf did one find records of offensive spells—data from actual combat and bloody yet somewhat aesthetically pleasing illustrations. In-depth research and discussion of the [Fireball] spell could only be found in works from 180 years ago.

"Is this progress or regression?" Rorschach gleaned some insights from the book titles and pamphlet headings. The mages' research into the mechanisms of magic was becoming increasingly in-depth, and the effects of the new spells they constructed and the effects of the old spells they developed were becoming more and more sophisticated. However, it seemed that the spells in publicly published materials were gradually becoming "mild" and "harmless." At least the Tower of Stars was located in the peaceful city of Valuwana, and Rorschach hadn't cast [Fireball] in a long time, except for the time he verified the new function of the panel.

If things continue to develop peacefully, there may be two trends: the direct power of spells will become increasingly restrained, and their complexity and targeting will become increasingly stronger, especially against other spellcasters. In that case, a tragic future where a "kill spell" and a "disarming spell" go back and forth is not impossible.

The premise is that peace can be sustained—peace between kingdoms and empires on the continent, peace between mages and secular monarchies, and peace between guilds and churches. When things get really heated, can the guilds demonstrate the strength of the strongest mage organization on the continent?

Rorschach's thoughts wandered deeper into the archives. Although the space felt cramped due to the bookshelves, the archives were actually quite large. However, Rorschach was now facing a sealed-off area. The books on the shelves were entwined with flowing red runes, their color like blood—a warning, as if saying, "Kid, don't touch that!"

Rorschach insisted on picking it up, and a searing, burning sensation shot through his skin and into his brain; the book, enveloped in runes, felt like a scorching ember. There were no burn marks, Rorschach examined his hand; it seemed to be merely a mental attack. "I refuse to believe it!" he thought. Since there was no actual harm, he gritted his teeth and tried to pick it up.

"Hiss. Forget it, if it continues like this, it might awaken some strange attributes." Rorschach shook his hand, thinking of his [Minor Disintegration Spell]. It might damage the book, so removing the "Disintegration" attribute was necessary. The very purpose of the restriction was to be broken!

"Master Rorschach, your presence in the forbidden area has been detected. Since this type of material involves a large number of high-level spells of the seventh rank and above, permission from a professor of the following archmage rank is required." As if sensing that Rorschach was about to cause trouble, the tower spirit's mechanical voice sounded again to remind him.

Permissions come after permissions! Rorschach's ability to enter this room already indicated he had faculty/staff privileges, but once inside, he still needed to obtain even higher-level permission. Of course, acquiring this knowledge was much easier than in the "pre-magic guild era," at least because mages were willing to publicly distribute and circulate their knowledge to a limited extent, exchanging ideas with other mages of similar skill levels.

Master Kano was in the research building. No, it was still morning; he was probably still eating. Rorschach certainly didn't want to waste time on the way to the Starlight Torch Tower. He had another option: "Tower Spirit, check today's schedule."

In one classroom, there were not many students in this course; they were members of the advanced class, and most of the less gifted students had lost the right to continue taking the course.

"Therefore, we can deduce that for the above mapping, it possesses nonnegativity, nondegeneracy, and, as Miss Charlotte is right, symmetry. These properties hold true for all elements of the magic circle; in fact, they can be extended to..."

When Poincaré was lecturing, his pauses were both for writing on the blackboard and for hoping that his students could follow his train of thought.

Out of the corner of his eye, Poincaré noticed an additional auditor at the door. This auditor had good intuition for spellcasting, a good ability to construct spells and apply magic circles, but his mathematical skills were terrible, just like his mentor's.

"Okay, that's all for today." The apprentices filed out of the classroom with overly full minds and empty stomachs.

"Professor, do you have a moment?"

"If I didn't have it, I would have ignored you and left directly instead of slowly packing my things. So, what is it?" Master Poincaré looked at Rorschach.

First update of the new year! Two more updates tonight. Wishing all readers a blessed and prosperous 2024!

(End of this chapter)