Capítulo 92: Chapter 92: Vina's Situation
"Alright, how long are you going to monopolize my hand? The tea is getting cold." After a while, Hollan said somewhat reproachfully.
Philod smirked and released her hand. Then he looked towards the bookshelf in the library and asked, "Can I read those books?"
"Non-campus personnel are not allowed to borrow books," Hollan replied.
"Heh heh, I'm not a non-campus personnel anymore." Philod took out the badge that Hilda had given him earlier and said.
Hollan glanced at it, somewhat surprised. "Since when did you become the captain of the Student Union Security Team?"
"A few days ago, Hilda gave it to me along with the deposit," Philod lied without blinking.
"In that case, you don't need an off-campus quota now?" Hollan asked.
Philod was taken aback for a moment, then put on a smile. "Of course not. Compared to being the captain of the security team, I prefer the freedom of being an off-campus personnel."
Satisfied with his answer, Hollan nodded and asked, "What books are you planning to borrow?"
"Do you have any magic books?" Philod inquired.
"We do, but considering your level, you can only borrow magic books up to the Gold level," Hollan replied.
"In that case, please help me find a few Gold-level ones," Philod grinned.
Rolling her eyes, Hollan got up and walked towards the bookshelf. In no time, she returned with three magic books.
There are two types of magic books. One is like a magic wand, used to assist in casting spells, enhancing their power or directly releasing spells through pre-drawn magic arrays on the book. The other type is for recording spells, for the study of magic by magic users. The three books that Hollan brought back were of the latter type.
Philod opened one of them titled "Gandalf's Amplification Magic Fifteen Pieces." It contained fifteen magic spells created by a mage named Gandalf, all of which were amplification types. Three were for enhancing the body, six for enhancing spell power, and the remaining six for various other enhancements such as mental, magical power, and perception.
Philod was excited as these books were more detailed than the records in the village. Perhaps he could try again?
He focused on the spell "Gandalf's Strength Amplification" and carefully memorized the magic array. Then he raised his hand.
Hollan watched curiously.
In the next moment, she widened her eyes. In the blink of an eye, a blue magic array appeared in Philod's hand.
"So fast..." Hollan was amazed.
Unlike regular novice mages who drew magic arrays based on a single magic point, Philod's array seemed to have countless starting points simultaneously. This resulted in an almost instantaneous completion of the array. The speed of his array drawing was close to instant, even difficult to achieve for Hollan when not fully focused.
But before Hollan could recover from her surprise, the formed magic array in Philod's hand instantly collapsed.
He tried several times, but the result was the same. Philod's face showed disappointment. "Still not working..."
Hollan pursed her lips and comforted him, "It's okay, we'll find a way."
"As long as we solve your magic lethargy issue, I believe you'll become a very powerful mage!"
"Really?" Philod asked excitedly.
"Yes!" Hollan nodded earnestly. "Your drawing speed is very fast, and very precise, indicating strong control. This is something many mages cannot achieve!"
Philod scratched his head and smiled, "That's because my magic cannot linger, so I thought of finishing the array before it dissipates."
"Then, I practice more, I have this speed, but unfortunately, even if the array is formed in the end, it cannot support the release of magic."
"Leave it to us. When the time comes, Vina and I will join forces, and we should be able to solve your problem!" Hollan said excitedly.
This was also a challenge for her. As a magic researcher, our Hollan mentor was very adventurous in the field of magic research.
"In that case, I'll wait for good news from you guys." Philod nodded with a smile and naturally shifted the topic to Vina, "So, how is Vina doing now?"
"Same as before, attending classes alone, conducting research alone," Hollan shrugged.
"Conducting research alone?" Philod was puzzled.
He could understand attending classes alone, but research should be a team effort, right?
Seeing his confusion, Hollan explained, "I underestimated Vina. She's different from the students we found in Heidi and other colleges."
"Those students can only be considered half-mages at most, just here for further studies."
"But Vina has completely reached the level of a Level 1 magic researcher, and is very likely already at Level 2!"
"Her expertise is extremely strong, and she covers many areas, including herbology, magical device engineering, runology, sigil studies, and even biology, mathematics, and magic array sequencing, etc. She excels in all of them!"
"It's hard to imagine how she did it."
Philod sighed and said, "Probably for the scholarship, the more subjects she studies, the more scholarship she gets."
"Yeah, probably," Hollan nodded.
"In any case, her professional level is completely different from the other students in our team. She's probably not far behind me in theory, just lacks practical application."
"This child, you know her, she's introverted, not good at communication, and the other students are not aware of her level. If she does something, and it doesn't work out, she blames herself."
"If she doesn't do it, she won't communicate, and easily conflicts with other students."
"Most magic researchers are straightforward, so I'm worried she'll be negatively influenced. So I let her establish a branch team on her own, and now she's the only one in the team, with me as the mentor."
Philod blinked, "I see... then add me to it?"
"You don't know magic research, won't you be a nuisance?" Hollan chuckled.
"Although I don't know magic research, I can provide various samples needed for your research." Philod patted his chest and said, "When the time comes, I'll cover all the sample materials needed by the magic research team, for free!"
Hollan raised an eyebrow, then chuckled as she scolded him, "You, Philod, how come you're not giving me free samples?"
"Heh heh, aren't you also in the team? It's free for you too," Philod grinned. "And this way, I can reluctantly consider myself a member of the magic research team. Sounds cool!"
Hollan was successfully amused by his somewhat childish remarks. But after some thought, she nodded, "True, with you around, things will be much easier, and we can save a lot of research funds."
"Exactly!" Philod slapped his thigh and said, then he couldn't wait, "So, can you take me to our team's laboratory now?"
This guy, it's "our team" already.
Philod's audacity is really something.
But Hollan didn't refuse. This was a good thing, so she nodded, "Sure, let
's go. Vina is currently researching teleportation subjects, preparing for the Level 2 magic researcher assessment."
With that, Hollan got up and led Philod and Chichi towards the research institute of the college.
As they walked, Chichi stuffed three cookies into his mouth and finished the rest of the milk, his cheeks bulging.
This little glutton.
Upon entering Hollan's research room, Philod immediately spotted Vina's figure. She was still dressed in her usual beige mushroom attire, hardly changed since the first time he saw her. When they arrived, Vina was engrossed in drawing a magic array on a plate. Even as Philod approached her, she remained focused, diligently sketching the array.
Philod didn't disturb her. He gestured for Hollan and Chichi to keep quiet and silently stood behind her, observing. Hollan and the little cat felt a sense of anticipation, wondering when Vina would notice Philod and what her reaction would be.
Vina's hand was steady, and the magic carving knife in her hand emitted a faint glow. With each passing moment, the array on the plate, about the size of a teapot, grew denser with intricate patterns. After completing the final stroke, Vina seemed to sigh with relief, straightening up and stretching her neck slightly. But she still hadn't noticed Philod; instead, she picked up a nearby prepared crystal with tweezers.
It was a positioning crystal, similar to the three crystals representing three teleportation points on Philod's array plate. Vina carefully embedded the crystal into the groove on the plate. After inserting the first one, she promptly added the second. Philod could tell that this was a teleportation array with two transmission points.
Vina could already create teleportation array plates by herself! Teleportation array plates were not cheap. Even for a plate with just two transmission points covering a few hundred kilometers, it would cost thousands, if not tens of thousands, of gold coins. Vina was truly remarkable!
After embedding the two crystals, Vina took out a small brush and applied transparent resin as a fixative. Once completed, she held the plate close to her mouth, pulling down the turtleneck sweater covering half her face to reveal her small mouth, pouting slightly as she gently blew, hastening the resin's hardening process.
Finally, the resin hardened. Vina seemed a bit nervous, hesitating as she clenched her hands, as if psyching herself up. A minute later, this slow-paced mushroom girl lifted the plate, and a faint blue light emanated from her hand—the glow of magic. With the infusion of magic, the array on the plate quickly filled with magical energy, and the crystals lit up accordingly. In the next moment, a teleportation array a meter wide appeared beneath Vina's feet.
As it wasn't bound, the array lingered for three seconds before gradually dissipating. However, this indicated the completion of the teleportation array plate, ready for use.
Vina looked very happy. Although her hair and collar obscured her small face, Philod could tell—she held the plate in her hands, and with one hand clenched into a fist, she gave a gentle wave. Just as Philod thought Vina was about to turn around and notice him, she picked up the carving knife again.
Wasn't it finished yet?
No, it wasn't.
Vina leaned over and carved "Heidetis" and "Heidithis" above the two crystals.
At this moment, Vina turned around while holding the plate.
And the moment she turned, she saw Philod standing behind her, looking at her intently.
Vina seemed startled, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Philod grinned widely, showing off his bright white teeth.
"Surprise~" he said.
Vina stared at him blankly, offering no response.
Feigning unhappiness, Philod put his hands on his hips and leaned his face close to hers, tilting his head. "What's wrong? You don't seem very happy to see me?"
Vina shrunk her neck and shook her head.
"Not happy?" Philod raised an eyebrow.
Vina shook her head again, her voice barely audible.
"No... not unhappy..."
"So, you're happy then?" Philod said with a smile.
Vina let out a soft hum.
"Yeah," Philod said. "Say you're happy."
"Happy," Vina said obediently.
"Such a good girl~" Philod chuckled and patted her mushroom head.
Vina shrunk her neck again, looking a bit at a loss.
"Don't bully her," Hollan said, lightly swatting Philod's hand away.
"Where did I bully her?" Philod muttered.
Vina also shook her head and looked at Hollan. "Not bullied..."
"Hmm..." Hollan looked at Vina somewhat helplessly, then glanced at the teleportation array plate in her hand, and said with a smile, "Being able to independently carve a second-level small teleportation array, it seems that there's no problem with the second-level magical researcher assessment."
Vina nodded gently, looking somewhat happy. Then she remembered something and looked at Philod, slowly extending the plate she was holding towards him.
"For me?" Philod asked knowingly.
"Yeah," Vina nodded.
At that moment, Philod was overjoyed. He took the plate and examined it, exclaiming, "Hehehe, these lines, this craftsmanship, it's really good!"
"Hmm..." Hollan glanced at him.
Back then, when I gave you a Level 3 thousand-mile teleportation array plate, why didn't you praise it like this?
Hollan looked somewhat helplessly at Vina and said, "I thought you were going to use it yourself, but you're giving it to him?"
"Yeah," Vina nodded.
"Hehe, jealous?" Philod showed off the plate to Hollan as if he were flaunting.
Hollan gave him a disdainful look, then said, "The materials for this array plate aren't cheap. Vina bought them with the research funds I allocated to her, which cost a full three thousand gold coins. You better not lose it."
"Three thousand gold coins?!" Philod raised an eyebrow and looked at Vina. "And you're giving it to me just like that?"
Vina nodded again. "Yeah."
Philod looked at Hollan, who shrugged. "Research funds include various expenses related to research, materials, consumption, and daily living expenses of researchers. I gave her five thousand gold coins, and she spent three thousand gold coins on the array plate materials. I initially thought she would practice carving by herself, and once she mastered it, she could pass the second-level magical researcher assessment. And she could keep the array plate for her own use. But I didn't expect her to give it to you."
With that, Hollan rolled her eyes.
If only I had told Vina that Philod already had an array plate. But now that Vina has given it away, there's no point in saying anything more.
Presentes
-- Presente
recebido Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder