Bonus Chapter 2/2 sponsored by @james

Little Hero (1)

Tower Master’s Research Room in Silence Tower

Reed picked up a transparent magic stone.

Transparent Magic Stone

Type: Material/Consumable Item

A magic stone that is as transparent as glass.

It can store and hold magic power.

Durability: 10/10

Grade: Lower

<Magic Science Lv. 4/Magic Engineering Lv. 4>: Mana storage capacity: 100

An ordinary magic stone with stored magic power.

Magicians often embed these in wands or staves to enhance their mana to compensate for the immense power that they cannot generate by themselves.

Furthermore, they would melt fully charged magic stones into a liquid form to create mana potions, making them versatile items in the magic world.

Reed picked up the magic stone with his gloved hand and placed it on a plate made from a magnesium ingot.

He inserted the stone into a frame made just to fit the processed magic stone. He very carefully injected a tiny amount of mana.

Without more or less, he put in exactly 1, to create a so-called supersaturated state of 101 mana. When this happens, the mana in the magic stone will overflow, and it will not stop until it is completely empty, like a glass with a broken bottom.

Woong-.

The magic stone reacted, and the mana inside began to flow out.

The overflowing mana cautiously seeped into the magnesium.

The hardness of the magnesium varied depending on the amount of mana.

The area near the magic stone hardened instantly.

“Hmm…”

Reed fiddled with the edge.

It bent easily like a ball-jointed doll.

This meant that the mana had not spread to the end.

‘It still hasn’t spread evenly.’

The overflowed mana was concentrated in the center of the magic stone.

The judgment made with the <Magic Engineering> ability would undoubtedly say the same thing.

[<Magic Engineering Lv. 4>: Mana has not been fully dispersed.]

Reed muttered, clicking his tongue.

“I’ve failed.”

Refocusing on the project on the third day, this was the fifteenth failure.

The processed magnesium plate, along with the magic stone, were discarded.

It was necessary to start all over again from making the magnesium ingot.

‘At least there’s progress in the research.’

Making the plate accounted for 30%

Creating a place to put the processed magic stone accounted for 40%

And through these trials and errors, 70% was completed.

‘It depends on what you learn from trial and error.’

When in a deadlock, it wouldn’t rise even by 1%, but once the problem was caught, it easily rose by 5%.

The key was how focused Reed was and whether he could identify the problem.

“I’ve run out of magnesium plates, so I need to make new ones.”

At his words, the expressions of the magicians behind him darkened.

They were assistants and researchers responsible for processing magnesium ingots and making plates.

Although it wasn’t as mentally exhausting as controlling a mana furnace, it was a meticulous job that required control, making it the most mentally demanding work for them.

‘I understand since I’ve been there too.’

As much as he wanted to handle everything himself, he couldn’t be distracted by trivial matters.

So, he entrusted the tasks that could be done manually to two apprentice magicians.

As Reed looked at them, the assistant magicians belatedly noticed his gaze and stood stiff with tense faces.

“I know it’s difficult.”

“No, no, it’s not!”

“If you order anything! If it’s the Tower Master’s command, we’ll find out what’s at the edge of hell!”

Even though it was just encouragement, they bowed their heads as if they had heard harsh words.

It was as if they were looking at a surprise visit from a brigade commander.

“Make three more of the same plates and call it a day.”

“No, no!”

“Just say the word, and we’ll make five or even seven more.”

Although they said that, Reed had no intention of making them do so.

From Reed’s「Talent Appraisal」, observation, both of their mana and stamina were below 40%.

It meant that the concentration of the two was at its lowest.

Knowing what would happen if mana exhaustion occurred, Reed didn’t push them to their limits.

“It’s better to stop there for today. Make three plates and leave right away. Take a break until I call you back. Understood?”

“Yes, we understand.”

The assistant magicians were secretly delighted by Reed’s unexpectedly lenient demeanor, even though they were surprised.

‘I also need to rest while the plates are being made.’

Reed left his research room and went up to his office.

As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by a pile of books reaching up to his thighs and Phoebe, who was sorting them out.

“It seems that there are more books now than last time.”

“Ah, itu… it’s because the Tower Master of the Imperial Tower sent some more books.”

“Didn’t he also send some last time?”

“Last time, he sent basic materials, and this time, he said that he has sent more advanced materials after sorting them out …”

Reed clicked his tongue, recalling the presents sent by the Imperial Tower Master.

‘What a troublesome guy.’

Reed clicked his tongue as he checked the gift.

-Introduction to Elementology: Understanding and Advanced Study of Earth

A basic book that records the part dealing with the earth among the elements.

It was undoubtedly a gift from the Imperial Tower.

It wasn’t just the Imperial Tower.

Reed was confident that he could accurately predict which tower the pile of books came from.

‘They only sent magic books of their specialty fields.’

Reed himself is in charge of education.

However, at the Tower Master’s meeting, he mentioned that he would follow his daughter’s interests in education.

Therefore, they would do their best to create a ‘possibility’ to connect with them.

These gifts are like promotions, showing how great the magic they are researching is.

‘Well, from a father’s perspective, these are perfect gifts…’

Crystal orbs recordings with magical tutoring scenes, books filled with notes and memos.

These were items containing the history that the Tower Masters had carefully collected since their rookie days.

From the teacher’s standpoint, there are many useful things to refer to, and some know-hows that look good to skip.

‘But it’s the worst gift for my daughter.’

How would a child of her age, who would enjoy reading fairy tales and developing a taste for reading, react to being given college textbooks?

He thought she might develop textophobia and start trembling at the sight of text later on.

These gifts were more for the father, Reed than for Rosaria.

Phoebe was checking the books they sent one by one, making sure there were no problems.

Although it was a rare case, if there was magic cast on the book or if someone had done something absurd, Rosaria could be in danger, so Phoebe was carefully going through each one.

Of course, considering that there had been no issues so far, it seemed that there was no need to worry.

“Ah, this book.”

Phoebe exclaimed as she picked up a book.

It was a book called <The Principles of Mana>.

“It really brings back memories.”

Phoebe flipped through the pages with a faint smile.

“Did you learn magic from that?”

“Yes, my master was the head of the Asteria family, and the head taught me strictly from a young age.”

“Strictly?”

Reed thought about whether a whip was involved.

Phoebe shivered as she spoke.

“No, if I couldn’t understand something after hearing it several times, my master would make me copy down that part. I think I did more than ten volumes? My master got angry a lot, saying I had talent but couldn’t focus.”

“I see.”

Considering the thickness of the book, what did it mean that she had written more than ten volumes due to her lack of concentration?

Phoebe asked Reed with twinkling eyes.

“Did you also learn from this book, Tower Master?”

“…”