thefictionvixens Page 221
Page 221
"That must have been tough on her." Latis sighed and asked:
"How about we invite her over for dinner in the next couple of days?"
“That’s uncertain.” Robin took Latis’s hand again and explained, “Teacher Yin seems to have gone to Siyuan Flower Castle these past two days. I don’t know when she will be back.”
“That’s unfortunate… If she hasn’t returned in a few days, I’ll ask her through the beacon.” Latis scratched his head and continued, “By the way, Little Bird, why aren’t you learning magic yet? Did Headmaster Fisherman say something?”
"How did you know, brother?"
The robin shook Latis's hand in surprise, a thoughtful expression on its face, and said:
"The principal said it's better that I don't have magic right now. Although some research progress requires the help of other researchers, having magic would mean access to the magic network, which might cause some other inconveniences... My classmates said they're probably worried I'll become addicted to the magic network and lose my ambition. Humph, I won't!"
"You old codger, you were indeed on guard against the magic network!"
Latis was startled, silently muttered a complaint about Fisherman, then patted the robin's head reassuringly and said with a smile:
"Indeed, it's better for minors not to go online!"
"No way!" the robin poked Latis's waist twice, puffing out his cheeks, and said defiantly.
"When your older brother turns back into a minor, I won't speak up for you, okay?"
Latis paused for a moment, then couldn't help but burst out laughing. He grabbed the robin's finger, hooked it with his own, shook it, and grinned.
"Little bird, you are so cute!"
Chapter 230 The Robin Project Progress
"Brother, that's the testing ground for one of our project team members!"
The robin released Latis's hand and ran excitedly towards the fenced-off grove, pointing to the sign hanging there, and said:
"This is 'Ace Dwarf Tree,' a very difficult tree to grow. Although it is short, it is extremely resilient. We are considering using it as the framework for the 'Fusion Magic Engine.'"
"When mages advance in rank, the 'Ace Dwarf' becomes active due to the swelling effect caused by the significant increase in the quality of magical energy it can contain. In other words, it becomes excited, which leads to a certain degree of melting..."
"In our calculations, the 'Ace Dwarf Wood' will transform into a pool of surging magical liquid precisely when a mage ascends to legendary status. At that time, the magic engine can be directly integrated into the mage's body, allowing the mage to return to their normal state without needing to contain the magic engine anymore."
"That sounds a little strange..."
Latis nodded with a strange expression, thought for a moment, and sighed:
"If the 'Fusion Magic Engine' project succeeds, Bogu Academy might suddenly become the most popular academy in the Kingdom of Norard... After all, it eliminates the long path of mage advancement; one can reach legendary status effortlessly simply by accumulating magic power... Thinking about it that way, it's really powerful."
"Right? The project team members also think this is a very meaningful project."
The robin chuckled proudly, then its eyes lit up, and it called out loudly to the female student who had appeared in the grove:
"Miss Cai Nong! My older brother and I have come to see you!"
……
"Team leader, deputy team leader, this is the latest generation of 'Ace Dwarf' that I've trained."
Wearing thick glasses, Cai Nong pointed to a small tree enclosed by a fence in the arboretum and said:
"Since we haven't officially started assembling the new magic engine yet, our performance requirements for 'Ace Dwarf Tree' are still in the speculative stage. However, I believe this generation of seedlings should be close to meeting our expectations."
She patted her chest confidently, making a loud thumping sound.
“Saplings?” Latis asked, looking at the saplings inside the fence, puzzled.
"What makes this tree different from the others?"
"Oh no, deputy leader, look!" Cai Nong glanced at the robin snickering behind Latis, inwardly muttering a few words of exasperation about these two "siblings" who were clearly out for a stroll, and pointed to the treetops, saying:
"Deputy team leader, due to the unique nature of its marginal reproduction, 'Ace Dwarf Tree' typically propagates seedlings at the very top of the tree."
A pair of magical wings sprouted from her back, and she floated lightly into the air, pointing to a small, emerald-green stick at the top of the treetop, saying:
"Look, this is the latest generation of seedlings. We can't just plant these small trees in fertile soil right away. If the small trees don't adapt to the expansion of their bodies during the growth period and don't have the sap transport from the larger trees, they will be unable to support themselves and will eventually die due to the bark cracking and peeling caused by uncontrolled expansion."
"Wow, this is so profound!" Latis's eyes widened, feeling a surge of murky knowledge begin to reverberate in his mind.
"Yes, with the body fluids supplied by the larger dwarf tree, the smaller dwarf tree can sustain its life for a long time. At this point, we can try to artificially accelerate its expansion, or drain nutrients through punctures, or modify the external morphology of the smaller dwarf tree through pressure-based restraint... Oh, and we can also modify the dwarf tree's 'self-awareness' by transplanting bark from other trees, thus making it exhibit the characteristics of other trees."
After speaking at length, Cai Nong couldn't help but get excited. For someone like her who was involved in magic research, discussing magic research was her favorite thing to do.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the right place for a long talk, so she could only sigh regretfully and smile:
"This is just one aspect of magical botany."
Cai Nong glanced leisurely at the pigeons flying in the sky, then landed back on the ground. She looked at Latis and said with a regretful expression:
"Unfortunately, magical botany, as a branch of magical environment research, has gradually declined due to the death of the elves and the decline of environmental science. I am using this seedling to write my term paper for my intermediate mage class. In the past ten years, there have only been a dozen or so papers that can be cited..."
"Although this botany seems a bit strange, magical research is indeed quite demanding..."
Latis's mind raced through memories of the necromancer, Principal Fisherman's son, and Frico, among others. He shook his head and offered words of comfort:
"Don't worry, the magical world will continue to improve. There will be more and more mages, and magical research will flourish. The things you love will have a bright future..."
A flapping sound came from the air, and Latis instinctively looked toward the source of the sound, then froze in surprise.
"...It is promising."
He struggled to continue the conversation, exchanged a glance with the robin, wiped the sweat from his brow, and asked hesitantly:
"Miss Cai Nong, I'd like to ask, is that new 'Ace Dwarf Tree' seedling the one for your term paper?"
Cai Nong was taken aback and asked, puzzled:
"Yes, I just started my thesis proposal. What's wrong?"
Latis chuckled twice, pointed behind Cainon, and said:
Your term paper... has been eaten.
"Varied……"
Cai Nong turned around and looked at the sapling that the pigeon on the treetop was carrying in its beak. She was immediately terrified and cried out in alarm:
"no no……"
The pigeon tilted its head, glanced at Cai Nong, and swallowed the seedling.
……
……
"what!!!"
Fisherman, who was carrying the birdcage, suddenly trembled and almost dropped the bird.
He scratched his head, looked towards the source of the screams that echoed throughout the academy, and muttered:
"What happened? I have nothing else to do, let's go take a look."
……
Good morning!
"Have you eaten yet? Hey, this isn't a live bird... I made it myself! You think it looks good? Right? I think so too!"
"Hey, good morning! You want to know the specifications of this mechanical bird? Well, I'll have to tell you all about it. It's truly amazing..."
Fisherman strolled to the edge of the arbor, glanced at the "Ace Dwarf" sign, frowned, and muttered:
"I suddenly realized I forgot to inform everyone about the precautions during the magic surge period... In addition to the rapid growth of magical plants, many herbivorous birds and insects will also migrate here. I hope no one gets hurt..."
As he approached the grove, intending to inspect the situation inside, a female student wearing a white research robe, thick glasses, and red eyes as if she had just been crying suddenly walked out of the door.
Fisherman smiled and was about to ask in a friendly manner if anything serious had happened when Cai Nong glanced at the birdcage in his hand.
Her face changed drastically, and she fainted from the shock.
"I'm super?!"
Fisherman was taken aback and quickly used his magic to protect Cai Nong. He glanced at the birdcage in his hand, slowly exhaled, grinned, and said to the mechanical bird:
"Look, some people are so surprised by you that they faint. I told you you're my masterpiece, didn't I?"
……
……
"...In short, there aren't many members still in school in the project team, and the number of members who can consider the materials in such a short time... Hmm, bro, let's go to the student apartments."
"Okay." Latis looked at the cold sweat on Robin's cheeks from witnessing the tragedy, chuckled inwardly, and bent down to wipe it off for her.
"cough."
The robin slightly averted her gaze, coughed shyly, but didn't flinch away nervously. Feeling the warmth of Latis's hand, she smiled slightly and said:
"That member is a bit strange. Although he has a lot of ideas, he often doesn't show up all day and often can't get his own materials. When asked, he always says the time isn't right... But he often helps other members collect materials, so even though he's not always working, he's still quite helpful to the project."
"There are such weirdos?"
Latis couldn't help but sigh, and followed the robin toward the student apartments of Bogu Academy.
……
Student dormitories, as an essential place for every college, reflect the quality of a college's students in terms of their condition and discipline.
Unlike the university dormitories in Latis's previous life, the student apartments at Bogu Academy didn't have the same sense of life. There were no scenes of clothes drying in the sun, and you couldn't even see students carrying a bunch of lunchboxes to bring food for their sons. These tedious fragments of life had been optimized away by magic, and in their place were all sorts of magical creations, placed rather haphazardly around the area in front of the apartments.
The reason it wasn't very organized was that some students would also make small toys in their spare time, such as paper airplanes with built-in magic blowers, paper frogs with built-in magic springs, and 3D pool tables that looked like large square boxes...
"Are you guys having some kind of arms race..." Latis couldn't help but complain as he looked at the paper airplanes that were flying faster and faster and the paper frogs that were jumping higher and higher.
He then looked at the 3D pool table with twelve pockets and the students casting flight spells to hit balls in the air, and couldn't help but marvel at the mages' imagination.
"I've heard that Bogu Academy is the most interesting of the three academies. I think it might be because the students like to tinker with small toys in their spare time."
The robin looked at the group of students playing freely with a hint of envy and sighed.
"Alright, my little bird." Latis ruffled her hair and chuckled. "If you have any toys you'd like to make, just give me the blueprints, and I'll make them for you!"
The robin paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously and laughed loudly, "Yes!"
They stood and watched the students in front of the apartment building for a while, then, led by the robin, walked towards the back of the apartment building.
In Londia, extradited apprentices usually choose to live in the student dormitories on campus. Those with some spare money may rent apartments in the inner city or mage towers in the outer city, while those who do not even have the necessary expenses to maintain their lives may live in shops that provide food and lodging, or in mage towers that require help.
In conclusion, although the students' individual circumstances differ, they are all mages in Lundia, and no one has any particular opinion about others.