Chapter 248 — Heddy's Experiment

Heddy accidentally poured the acid used for experiments into the container holding the original samples, only to discover that this ore, which seemed impervious to all normal means, could actually be dissolved by acid. The useless components in the ore became residue that could be filtered out during the reaction with the acid, while the acid itself, through a series of subsequent reactions, displacements, and purifications, finally turned into a kind of powder that could be smelted. After a series of smelting and casting on these ore powders, Heddy obtained the first block of pure Horne crystal.

Confirming that this precious Horne crystal was stably connected to the magic net, Heddy turned to look at Rebecca, who was standing by a certain magic circle in the corner of the room. "Can you sense the magical field over there?"

Rebecca (who had already been searched) glanced at the sensing crystal at the center of the magic circle. The crystal was giving off a faint glow, and of the dozen or so runes surrounding it, three had lit up. "It's there, it's there! But the intensity is still very low..."

Heddy frowned slightly, looking at the Horne crystal connected to the magic net. "Hmm... after purification, it releases a magical field very easily—just connecting it to the most basic magic net cell is enough for it to work. That shows the purification was indeed effective, but the intensity of the magical field hasn't changed much... Could it be that the upper limit of the magical field this thing can release is simply this large?"

Rebecca spoke while recalling: "I remember that just now, when you injected an extra measure of magical power into the crystal, the intensity of the magical field rose for just an instant..."

Heddy frowned. "Did it? Why didn't I feel it?"

Rebecca was a little unsure of herself. "Then maybe I saw it wrong..."

"No, we can test it," Heddy said—she was not one to let any detail slip. Hearing Rebecca mention it, she immediately picked up her staff and brought its tip close to the purified Horne crystal on the ground, then cast the simplest of enchantment spells. "See if the sensing crystal changes?"

"It does seem to have lit up for a moment..."

"What do you mean, 'seem to'?" Heddy glared at Rebecca. "How many times have I said it—magical experiments are extremely rigorous. You can't use words like 'seem to' or 'probably'! Let's try again!"

Heddy and Rebecca were busy testing the purified Horne crystal, while in the Runic Research Institute, quite some distance from the magic laboratory, Camille was utterly absorbed in studying the "teaching materials" Jenny had brought out.

This ancient mage from a thousand years ago hungrily absorbed every piece of knowledge from this era that might prove useful, whether it came from a deeply learned scholar or from a mere fourth-rank rune master—so long as it was useful, he was glad to learn it. Though at first, upon learning that a young girl who could not even count as a novice mage was leading the domain's runic research, he had felt rather disdainful, once he saw the runic logic materials Jenny brought out, this ancient scholar who loved delving into things was deeply won over by this novel theory.

And Jenny watched this archmage of an inconceivable form with a complicated mix of awe and delight. She had been startled at first sight of Camille, and after learning his identity had fallen into tension and unease. Though she had already grown accustomed to the relaxed and respected new life in Cecil Domain, the oppressive aura of a high-grade mage still weighed constantly on her heart. In her mind, powerful great mages were proud, cold, and terrifying—these mighty spellcasters would not only look down on the weak like herself, but would regard their own research findings as heretical. If the mages of the present day were like that, then how proud and unfathomable must an ancient mage who had lived from a thousand years ago to this day be?

She had prepared herself to face Camille's wrath, and to defend the dignity of runic logic under such circumstances. But she had never expected that this ancient archmage, upon seeing runic logic, would show not the slightest anger—instead displaying enormous interest in researching it.

This delighted her beyond measure. So it turned out that not all great mages or archmages were so unapproachable after all.

Camille read with his head bowed for a long while, and only after finishing the discourse on interference knots did he raise his head. He seemed about to say something, but before he could open his mouth, his body suddenly gave a slight shudder, and he let out a puzzled sound: "Hm?"

Jenny tensed at once. "Master Camille, what is it? What is the matter with you?"

The arcane streams of light flowing over Camille's body gradually steadied. "I do not know... I felt a sudden itch."

In the magic laboratory far from the Rune Research Institute, Heddy once again set her staff against the apex of the Holm Crystal. Even as she readied the spell, she cautioned Rebecca: "Watch closely this time. You must count exactly how many runes light up!"

At her words, a small burst of white light flared from the tip of Heddy's staff, and the Holm Crystal gave a faint flicker in answer.

Over in the Rune Research Institute, Camille had just set down the documents before him with a conjured hand when his body gave another shudder.

Jenny tensed again. "Master Camille?"

"...I do not know what is going on. I itched again..."