༺ Going On Strike ༻
We overlooked one thing when Professor Heerlein tried to get me entry into the library.
“We need to see a student or staff ID.”
“Are personal slaves allowed one?”
“Not if she has no records in the Academy.”
I was Professor Hasfeldt’s property but not affiliated with the Academy itself. We were told by the security to go inquire elsewhere if we needed help so we went to see the Academic Affairs team.
And then.
“A slave’s status is not legally recognized.”
“Then?”
“A temporary pass cannot be issued.”
What a fucking shame. Shouldn’t a library be open to all citizens?
Ah, right, I was a slave who didn’t even count as a citizen. This was throwing me off because I kept thinking in terms of my original world.
“There’s no way to go about it, then. I’ll go in by myself so wait here a bit.”
After Professor Heerlein said that, she reappeared a little while later with a book and a student in tow.
What. I get borrowing books, but what’s with the student?
“Miss…. Assistant!”
Red hair and eyes. It was Lorewell. I didn’t know his family name but that didn’t matter here at the Academy so it should be fine to let it slip.
Lorewell was also carrying a few books. We got ourselves some drinks and then sat down at a nearby table outdoors. My eyes naturally gravitated towards the books that Heerlein brought.
The books were all different: Language Arts, Mathematics, History, Magic, etc. There were also books about alchemy, basics of scroll fabrication, and the stance of a mage when engaging in a fight.
“Professor Heerlein, do you and Miss Assistant know each other?”
“Assistant? Ah, I see.”
Heerlein handed the books over for me to look at and then answered Lorewell’s question.
“I do, indeed. I’m helping her with enrollment.”
“Enrollment? Hasn’t she already graduated?”
Lorewell seemed to be quite shocked. He must have thought that I had completed my undergrad.
“Can’t you tell? You two are about the same age.”
“…….”
Professor Heerlein, didn’t I tell you a few days ago not to judge by appearances?
Oh wait, I didn’t!
“Anyway, you know that getting into Tilette is notoriously difficult.”
“The written is especially a bit……. yeah.”
“The written test being difficult has always been an age-old tradition. If one isn’t theoretically prepared, then they won’t be able to perform properly or something. And so, you can still fail even if you do well on the practical. Anyway, Miss Assistant here needs to get good enough to pass in three months.”
“Is it possible…. to study all that in just three months?”
Heerlein stuck out a hand towards me. It wasn’t to give me chocolate like last time, just pointing my way.
Lorewell understood the gesture and let out a small, “Ah.”
“It might actually be possible for her….”
“Not only possible, she’ll be stellar at it. She won’t pass with top marks because of the practical but second place, perhaps…….”
“That’s too much pressure.”
Tilette Academy’s admissions process was hellish.
Thousands applied even though they only picked a few hundred. The competition wasn’t limited to commoners or the middle-class who wanted to rise in status but there were also the nobles and royals from other nations.
Intense competition was a given since this nation was at the frontlines in the war against Magic Beasts,. I was expected to pass amongst the gifted players who played at the national level, so it was no joke. This was basically the equivalent of being told to get accepted into the Ivy League or Oxbridge.
“You should know by now since you’ve been here for three years. Tilette’s exams are out of 400 for the written and 100 for the practical.”
“So the written is the key.”
“Well, your challenge will be the practical, probably, since your kind can’t use magic without mana grass.”
“I’ve heard that you can use it for the Combat Magic test.
“But that’s it. If you don’t get enough points there, then you’re going to fail.”
Everyone tended to do well on the written test so it was pretty much absolute grading. Because of that, the criteria for passing was insane. If you scored under 40 out of 100, then it was an automatic fail no matter how well you did on the written.
I used to think that it couldn’t be that hard to get 40 out of 100 but I realized after seeing the examinees from the year before the last. Receiving 10 points for Tilette’s written meant that you were good enough to just breeze through the gates of any other academy.
“I’ll keep this short. These books are for reference from the school so make sure to study it. I’ll give you special guidance on the practical part later, alright?”
“… Won’t I be caught for cheating the admissions?”
“This is cheating? Why?”
“Well, I mean, if an admissions officer helps a student through connections…….”
“You didn’t know. All the nobles get in with that kind of help.”
Right. This wasn’t my original world.
I thought I had completely adjusted here, but there was still a long way to go. Sighing, I nodded in response.
**
Time passed, and then it was evening.
When I returned from the admissions consultation under the guise of a personal meeting with Heerlein, Professor Hasfeldt was waiting for me in the lab.
Her eyes weren’t angry. Her posture wasn’t one of building rage, either. But from the amount of magic papers she was holding, she was definitely trying to kill me.
“Did your meeting with Heerlein go well?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What kind of meeting took so long?”
A test question. I knew she was going to ask this.
“She bought me food.”
It wasn’t exactly wrong since I was given a beverage.
“And?”
“We debated about academics.”
Admissions counted as academics, so this, too, wasn’t wrong.
“… I see. I can ask Meriga for details later, I suppose. More importantly.”
Baaam─!
She threw down the bunch of magic paper onto the desk.
The first sheet had an incomplete circuit drawn on it with the word ‘Flare’ written up in the corner.
This situation was similar to when I was told to fabricate scrolls for the Ultimate Fire Magic ‘Chaser Flow’, but the level of difficulty for this one seemed worse than that. She didn’t mean for me to just copy what was already made.
“I want you to finish this. Within three months, if possible.”
I knew instinctively. This was going to be impossible.
It wasn’t that it couldn’t be done in three months. If I slept less and put that time into research, then it would be possible to meet the deadline. The issue was that I had no time to work on this while preparing for the tests.
The written test didn’t only consist of Magic Theories. Along with Language Arts, Mathematics, and History, I had to study a total of four subjects. Mathematics might be okay, sure, but I actually needed to study Language Arts and History.
I received a cheat ability when it came to languages as a transmigration bonus so let’s say I could miraculously get away with Language Arts. Then what about history? I was already feeling lost at the thought of having to learn another world’s modern history from scratch.
So, I had to give up one or the other. I said okay for now and took the papers.
Of course, she gave me a three-month period so I planned to leisurely…….
Not do it.
**
Afterwards, Klais only inquired about the usage method of the transistor. When she asked if Aether had shown the transistor stone to a first year, she answered affirmative without hesitation so there was nothing else to say.
─ I thought you would understand better this way rather than through words.
That was how Aether put it. If she had calculated that far, it meant she was no ordinary mind. It implied she understood all of her movements. Klais started to say something, but then ended the conversation with a nod.
She was making good use of the transistor stone that she had learned from her assistant. And not just using but replacing the other stones with it because she was enamored by its effectiveness. Any time she encountered a problem on a circuit, she only needed to place a transistor in that position to solve it immediately. Before she knew it, Klais regarded this mana stone as something all-powerful.
The transistor’s mana conductivity was also superior to any other stone. Taking advantage of this, Klais put all of her knowledge to use and even managed to produce an output of over 70 sieverts from an elementary scroll.
It was truly an element that was too good to be true. She wanted to purchase it in bulk and stock up on it.
“… Amazing. This has significant worth.”
She only now realized why her assistant had implored her to buy as many as possible.
Where there was demand, there was supply. That was the basic rule of the commodity market.
The Calamities couldn’t be killed and dissected by just anyone. There could only be a limited quantity on the market.
On the other hand, the demand was going to increase exponentially as the days passed. The price would inevitably skyrocket.
‘You were able to see this far ahead?’
When she didn’t know much about the use of this mana stone, she had paid a hundred gold pieces thinking that she didn’t have much to lose. It was an amount worth two normal slaves or a generous meal at a 5-star restaurant and more.
Aether was back in her dorm. Klais readied herself to go out to the market alone. When she arrived at her usual store, a familiar face greeted her.
“Oh dear! What brings you here at this time of night, my lord?”
“Do you have that top-grade mana stone in stock?”
“There is just one sack left…….”
“How much?”
“That’ll be twenty gold. After you came and went, many people were wanting to buy it so I had no choice but to raise the price.”
It was still fine. The cost had inflated twenty times but it was still reasonable considering the value of this stone.
Klais made the hefty payment despite suffering from insufficient research funds.
“When will you be restocking?”
“It won’t be for another week, at least.”
“Why did the price jump so quickly?”
“The word seems to have spread throughout the state within a day or two. Oh, come to think of it, that Golden-Eyes slave that you brought was right!”
“If you ever get it in stock, please contact me first. I will always pay more than the highest offer.”
Though she said that, she was already considering in the back of her mind to leave for the northern continent.
─ Why would we waste money buying low-grade stones? You can go find them on the hills out back.
It was hypocritical of her to say that to her assistant while she herself reaped the benefits of another’s hard work. She wouldn’t be able to look Aether in the face.
‘I don’t wish to experience such hell again, but…….’
What wouldn’t a mage do for an all-powerful mana stone? Soon, everyone was going to know the value of the transistor. There might even be a professor who presented this as a question on next year’s admissions test.
Having it this year didn’t sound bad, either.
Klais’ perception of the transistor was a positive one. It was a gem worth taking risks to acquire.
She felt that it would be possible to break the limit of Fire Magic with this gem.
‘There needs to be some kind of plan to deal with the Cataclysms. Yes, if at the very least Flare can be completed….’
Flare. The technique assigned to her assistant for research starting today.
Klais had already constructed the basic circuit component of Flare. Its destructive power could be estimated based on the outline of the circuit alone.
The one problem, however, was that the magic paper could explode because it wouldn’t be able to handle whichever way the scroll was fabricated.
If that could be solved, then they could subdue the Calamities like they were mosquitos.
‘She’ll do well as she’s always done.’
This could be the last time she got help from her assistant.
Suppressing her dismay, Klais made her way to her mansion.
