In the end, both Clemente and Elias were smiling when they parted ways.
Only Winnidith, standing nearby, felt a chill run down her spine.
But seeing that the room was now empty except for the two of them, she casually dispelled her Invisibility Magic, plopped herself down on the office sofa, and waved a hand at Elias as a greeting.
“You actually came… Wait, you’re already a 7th-tier Magic User?!”
Elias didn’t mind her casual demeanor.
He was about to comment on how surprising it was that Winnidith had voluntarily come to the academy when he noticed the extraordinary mana within her—she had clearly entered the realm of a High-level Mage.
“Just encountered a bit of luck.”
Winnidith pressed her palms together.
Though her tone suggested she didn’t care, her expression clearly screamed, ‘Praise me, praise me!’
“As expected of someone with a Divine Status.
A fifteen-year-old High-level Mage—even Master Moledi couldn’t have achieved that in his time.”
Elias complimented her cooperatively, though the angle of his praise was…
“So you already knew too.”
Winnidith tugged at her hair in frustration.
Had she been essentially “walking around naked” in the eyes of those old Saint Realm folks all along?
“Once you reach the Saint Realm, you’ll naturally understand your uniqueness.”
Elias smiled, picked up the research manuscript from his desk, and handed it to Winnidith.
“Before you state your own needs, take a look at this.
I remember you once said this kind of magic could spark a new Magic Revolution.”
Winnidith took the manuscript.
After only a few glances, she nearly dropped the papers.
If this were true, it really could trigger another wave of productive liberation.
Though still crude, the Magic Array described in the manuscript already possessed its most basic function—Energy Storage.
It wasn’t like the Fountain of Memory, which used magic to isolate the Mana Formula and mana itself.
Instead, Clemente had attempted to create an Earth Element Magic with minimal energy consumption, forming an independent small space, then inputting mana into that space, and finally using the mana within to sustain the magic’s operation.
It might sound complicated, but it could be understood with a single term—a battery.
Except instead of electricity, it stored mana.
Current Life Magic still required the direct involvement of a mage.
But if this “battery-like” Magic Tool could truly be mass-produced, the dividends of technological progress would finally reach every household.
Moreover, its invention would propel Life Magic into an entirely new dimension.
With these people’s creativity, she might even get to use a mana-powered phone one day.
“As the Founder of Life Magic, what do you think of Clemente’s proposal?”
Elias returned to his chair.
When he said that, it meant Winnidith no longer needed to adhere to moral constraints—she could speak her mind freely.
“The ideal is great, but the reality has too many flaws.”
Winnidith pointed out several issues.
“First, this Magic Formula is too large. Maintaining it requires too much mana. At its current scale, the smallest enclosed space it creates is the size of a person, but even if filled to the brim, the mana stored inside would only last a week.”
“Second, there’s the outer casing. Currently, the Empire generally uses Mystic Pattern Red Ore to make shells for storing Life Magic formulas. But under normal conditions, this ore repels mana. Storing mana inside it could easily cause an explosion.”
“Hmm, I discussed this problem with Clemente too. He told me there’s a wood in the Natural Forest called Magic Pivot Wood that can store mana internally. He plans to try using that wood for the Magic Tool’s casing.”
Elias nodded.
These two issues were ones he had also raised with Clemente.
The first was a technical limitation that would take time, but the second—Clemente had already come up with a solution.
Magic Pivot Wood?
Winnidith didn’t recall Leah ever mentioning that type of wood.
But if Clemente thought it would work, she’d let him try.
After all, the Natural Forest and the Empire were now essentially allies.
Leah certainly wouldn’t refuse to sell a few logs.
“And what about the output channel? This only has a Magic Formula for storing mana. Where’s the formula for extracting it? Does each use consume all the stored mana at once?”
“Oh, so you’re supposed to extract it bit by bit.”
Elias suddenly realized.
No wonder he always felt this Magic Tool was completely different from the ones Winnidith had envisioned earlier.
It turned out they had been thinking in the wrong direction from the start.
“Then what did you originally plan to use it for?”
Winnidith’s expression twisted.
A battery that doesn’t supply power—what, were they going to throw it like a brick?
“We thought of making a one-time-use Magic Tool similar to your Sea Blue Bracelet. In battle, you’d destroy it to increase mana concentration and thus enhance magic power.”
Elias said matter-of-factly.
As long as the stored mana was sufficient, even a High-level Mage could use it to greatly amplify their spell’s power.
As for creating a dedicated slot to channel internal mana outward—that concept had never even existed in their plans.
Now for the last problem.
Winnidith wasn’t going to argue with these people.
A millennium of habit had made mages naturally associate magic with warfare.
Besides, Elias’s idea wasn’t completely invalid—after all, treasures like the Sea Blue Bracelet were rare and couldn’t be issued to every mage.
“The production cost is too high. Even with this crude Magic Formula, a mage below High-level Mage would need at least ten minutes to draw it.”
“So, can you solve these problems?”
Elias folded his hands and asked kindly.
Since Winnidith could point out the flaws, she surely had solutions in mind.
After all, she had likely seen something similar before.
“Maybe, but I don’t have that much time.”
Winnidith shook her head.
Moreover, she wasn’t skilled in research and development.
She could only propose various advanced technologies from her previous life and adapt them to this world.
If she actually participated in the R&D, she’d probably just cause more trouble.
So giving a few suggestions and corrections like this was more than enough.
“True. There are indeed more urgent matters in this world that need your attention.”
Elias nodded.
Clearly, he was one of those in the know about the Truth of the Gods.
“I’ll pass on your concerns to Clemente later. Now, tell me the real reason you came to the Magic Academy today.”
Finally, the conversation reached Winnidith’s purpose.
She immediately sat up straight, her identity shifting naturally from the Founder of Life Magic to a student of the Royal Academy of Magic.
“I want to learn High-level Magic. And I want to know how to become a Saint Realm Magician.”
Although she could already use High-level Magic, she only followed the most basic method of constructing a Magic Formula and adding mana.
The Royal Academy of Magic surely had a more systematic training method.
As for becoming a Saint Realm Magician, she had no choice but to ask Elias for help—she wasn’t that close with the Sanctuary’s bishops.
“You’ve only just become a High-level Mage and you’re already thinking about the Saint Realm. Only when you say it does it not sound like a delusional dream.”
Elias sighed.
Sometimes having a too-talented junior was a bad thing—it made him, as an elder, look pathetic.
“Can you or can’t you, Grandpa Elias?”
Seeing Elias lean toward refusal, Winnidith immediately launched into a coquettish plea.
But this was the first time she had actively tried to act cute with someone outside her family.
After she finished speaking, Elias hadn’t even reacted yet, but her own face was already burning red.
‘I really did cut off my past life completely, didn’t I?’
She thought with embarrassment.
If she still had even a shred of her former self’s pride, she could never have squeezed her voice into that syrupy tone.
But the effect was excellent.
Elias visibly paused for a few seconds, then quickly clutched his chest and said with lingering fear,
“Oh my, oh my—Little Ancestor, please don’t talk to me like that. If your family finds out, they’ll mince me into ground meat.”
“I promise to personally guide you, okay? Just don’t do that again. I’m old, my heart can’t handle such a fright.”
Winnidith scratched her cheek awkwardly.
Was the Dean really making such a big fuss?
But regardless, she had achieved her goal—and with surprising ease.
So smooth that she even forgot the earlier chill she had felt.
“However, although Grandpa wants to help you, I really can’t find the time.”
The word “however” had barely left his mouth when Winnidith’s alertness shot to maximum.
Seeing Elias deliberately put on a regretful expression, she waited to see what excuse he would come up with.
“Because of that little accident earlier, two-thirds of the Magic Academy’s teachers were called away by Clemente for his research. The remaining teaching staff is really insufficient.”
“Especially the Life Magic professors—every last one of them was taken. Ah, thinking of those children eagerly anticipating creating a new Magic Age, only to find out the academy can’t assign them a single teacher, this old man’s heart aches. I even forgot how to become a Saint Realm Magician.”
“If only, at a time like this, there were a mage proficient in Life Magic with some free time to serve as a temporary teacher at the academy—maybe then I could remember?”
Winnidith listened, her mouth falling open wide enough to fit an egg.
The “accident” Elias mentioned was obviously her sneaking into the Principal’s Office using Invisibility Magic.
She just never expected that her attempt to avoid drawing attention would end up causing a shortage of teaching staff across the entire Magic Academy.
This, this, this—
Fine, fine.
She would help.