Chapter 878 — The Formless
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
Looking at her mentor's calm gaze, Windsor suddenly felt, for no clear reason, that her own heart grew calmer too.
She had not seen her mentor look so calm in many years.
What had her mentor been like over the past years? Resistant, impatient, dejected, furious, hysterical... Ever since he had failed, years ago, in an attempt to break through the limits of his talent by certain dreadful methods, that once gentle and wise old man had seemed to become another person, drifting further and further from her, until at last he had voluntarily left the Royal Mage Association and chosen to live in seclusion in some place seldom trodden by human feet. And when, after many years, the old man returned to the imperial capital, his manner toward her remained cold and distant—there was no sign that the estrangement of years would thaw, and Windsor Maple had even come to feel that this rift would never be closed.
The once intimate master and apprentice had become strangers.
Yet His Majesty the Emperor's series of plans had forced this estranged pair back together—whether they wished it or not, as the two most outstanding talents in the nation, they were bound to meet here often, to work side by side, to converse and argue and aid one another through their contact in the fields of technology and knowledge.
"In truth, I am glad of the chance," Windsor Maple said with a small smile, and a note of feeling in her voice. "His Majesty's task has brought us both back onto the 'right track.' I think you have proven what you wished to prove many years ago—that human talent is by no means limited to supernatural power alone, and that your talent in the field of arcanotechnology is also of 'legendary' caliber."
In Windsor Maple's view, Daniel's present calm must surely have everything to do with the advance of arcanotechnology—this stubborn old man had proven himself in a new field, and that "proof" was enough to undo the knot in his heart; and once the knot was undone, that kindly mentor would gradually return.
Daniel only looked at Windsor quietly.
She was a powerful legendary mage, extraordinarily gifted, of transcendent standing—but that did not mean she possessed any gift for reading human hearts.
Perhaps that was for the best.
"There is no need to flatter me; you know I dislike flattery," Daniel said with a shake of his head, his tone mild. "In fact, those with talent in magic are usually no less gifted in arcanotechnology—mathematics and magic are in many respects one and the same. Your improvements to transmission spells prove your ability in this field; to grasp the Sleepers' technology in so short a time is no feat for an ordinary person either."
"Thank you for the praise," Windsor said with a smile, but then her brow furrowed and she spoke earnestly. "Yet I have met with no small difficulty as well... The Sleepers' runic system was born of divine arts, and there is a problem of energy conflict between transmission spells and divine arts. At present I am attempting to drive both sets of runes with pure arcane magic, and this makes the whole system extremely unstable, highly prone to backflow and meltdown... I imagine the Cecil people must have overcome this obstacle, since they boldly apply the Sleepers' runes to those 'Magic Net terminals.' Recently I have been searching the samples of Magic Net terminals for that crucial conversion structure..."
She described in earnest detail the problems she faced in confronting wholly new knowledge, just as she had discussed difficult questions with her mentor when she was an apprentice years ago. But she soon noticed that Daniel was not responding; the old man merely stood quietly beside her, watching her with an oddly calm gaze. She could not help but feel puzzled. "Master?"