With those words, Mei strode away, as if she'd said nothing of consequence.
As if she'd stated the obvious.
“...H-Hold on. Hold on a second, Mei.”
I caught up with Mei and grabbed her shoulder.
“What was that about the Dragon Heart? The one we made?”
“Can you be more specific?”
Mei blinked her sleepy eyes and looked at me.
“...I need the restroom.”
“I'll tell you when I get back.”
With that, Mei trudged towards the restroom.
Meanwhile, I pondered.
I had indeed created a Dragon Heart with Mei once before.
A Dragon Heart is a highly concentrated mass of Mana. I had weaving the Dragon Heart and channeled my Mana into its structure.
To crystallize the Mana, I forcefully broke down its structure, compressed it, and created the Dragon Heart.
It was the only 'real' thing I had ever made.
Actually, it only had the shape of a Dragon Heart; inside, it was filled entirely with my Mana. So, to be precise, it should be called a 'Human Heart,' or maybe a 'Frondier Heart'...
That sounded too cheesy.
Anyway, the Dragon Heart was undoubtedly a Mana crystal. Pure Mana itself, unmixed with foreign substances like Obsidian.
If I could apply that principle now...
'In that case, first...'
I picked up the 3D map device.
Thanks to what I had learned from Arald, I could now input my data into this device.
To me, this was no longer just a 3D map; it was closer to a 3D blueprint.
Mana circuits have their own distinct symbols, and mages learn these symbols to implement magic. While minor details may change as different circuits combine, their essence remains constant.
First, that very essence. Just recreating that would be a remarkable feat.
An image appeared on the 3D map device.
It was a circuit symbol. 'Stop,' the one Elodie had taught me. It was one of the most basic circuit symbols that mages learn, so its shape wasn't complicated. That was helpful now.
“I need to ask Arald to increase the resolution of this thing.”
If I was going to keep doing this, the current resolution could lead to errors.
“Then, in this exact shape, using Obsidian...”
The Obsidian moved at my command. The fog-like Obsidian gradually gathered around the image of the 3D blueprint.
And then, a cluster of Obsidian was formed, perfectly replicating the shape of the 3D model. Of course, if I tried to insert this symbol into a circuit as is, the Obsidian would just shatter like before.
So this time, I left the inside of the Obsidian hollow and filled it with Mana, just like when I made the Dragon Heart.
My Mana flowed into the Obsidian. The Obsidian, now in the shape of the symbol, would become a pure Mana circuit symbol once I filled it with Mana and crystallized it.
However, it was dangerous to force a huge amount of Mana into it at once, as I did with the Dragon Heart.
Doing something like that indoors would cause a huge commotion. But with a small amount of Mana, it wouldn't crystallize.
'I need to channel the Mana in bit by bit. Until it crystallizes.'
So, I endlessly poured Mana into the Obsidian. Slowly and steadily.
In the process, the small symbol quickly filled up with Mana and exploded with a sound.
But this was happening as intended. For Mana to crystallize, it had to break down first. I went through the same process when I made the Dragon Heart.
'...Just how much longer is this going to take?'
Mana condensed under high pressure, exploded, and the resulting void was filled with new Mana, only to be shattered again. This cycle repeated. And through this repetition, the Mana crystal would be completed.
However, the volume was much larger than I had imagined, and my Mana was being depleted at an alarming rate. I was already tapping into the Mana from Helheim.
But since I had done something similar before, I could feel that I was close to completion.
And finally, the moment I was certain that no more Mana could enter the Obsidian that was shaped like the symbol...
I slowly released the Obsidian.
I was speechless as I looked at it.
A Mana crystal that radiated a brilliant light. But it wasn't a Dragon Heart; it was a Mana circuit symbol.
It was excessive and extravagant, a massive concentration of Mana for a mere 'Stop' symbol.
A voice interrupted my thoughts. It was Mei.
Having returned from the restroom, Mei was staring at the Mana symbol I had completed.
Her sleepy eyes grew even drowsier as she spoke.
“You didn't need to tell me.”
I stored the new circuit symbol in my workshop and headed to work.
Now that it had become an object by crystallizing, I could replicate this symbol.
Honestly, I wanted to test it out right away, but a sense of unease held me back.
Trusting that Elodie could shed light on my concerns, I went to find her.
Elodie responded coldly when I met her in the faculty office.
Her acting was getting better every day. Now, it was almost impossible to detect any trace of pretense.
If I hadn't met Selena, I might have been intimidated by her performance.
Matching her act, I said,
“I need to speak with you. Follow me.”
“If you have something to say, say it here. Don't make me move unnecessarily.”
...Was this guy taking out his work stress on me?
Just then, I heard Elodie's voice transmission.
[It'll be weird if I just follow you after acting like that. My character here is supposed to be stubborn and proud. Come up with a good excuse.]
[An excuse? How am I supposed to make an excuse for you to leave?]
[Just pick a fight with me about something.]
Having no other choice, I sighed and said,
“About the last lesson, on magic theory... I heard you belittled my class.”
“Belittled? I never did such a thing.”
“You said a mage who can't fight in actual combat is not a real mage.”
“Well, I don't recall saying that, but it's not wrong.”
Of course, Elodie would never say such a thing. I was just picking a random fight, saying whatever came to mind.
“Not wrong? Theory is just as important as practice in magic.”
“No. The most important thing in magic is practical application. Theory merely follows practice.”
“That's why students need theory. To follow in the footsteps of those who came before them more quickly.”
“Do you think they can catch up just by studying at their desks? Can theory catch a monster?”
[You mean a devil, not a monster.]
[Oh, right. But there are monsters on this continent too, right?]
Well, that wasn't too bad, was it?
“Magic born from sound theory prevents bad habits. Theory is crucial for seeing the bigger picture.”
“Well, I think the reality in front of us is more important than some distant future. Even with bad habits, the continent needs mages who can kill even a single more de- I mean, devil.”
“Even if those bad habits get the mage killed?”
“That's why you try it and find out.”
“That's why you need to know before you try it.”
As our argument escalated, the other teachers in the faculty office began to stare.
Wow, are they at it again?
Do they have some kind of grudge against each other?
Can't they go a single day without fighting?
Are they just fundamentally incompatible?
By now, everyone in Atlas knew about our supposed bad blood.
...But honestly, I had no idea what we were even arguing about anymore. My own words made no sense to me.
Figuring that was enough, I pretended to notice the attention we were drawing.
Then, I said to Elodie,
“Let's continue this elsewhere. I did have something I wanted to discuss with you.”
And so, we managed to create a plausible excuse to leave together.
...But were we going to have to do this every time we needed to talk?
I prayed my eloquence wouldn't run dry.