The smell of cheap ale hung heavy in the air, and the atmosphere in the tavern today was much more raucous than usual.
"Brother, they seem to be discussing the rising price of rye bread..."
Across the table, Vera watched her brother and blinked in confusion.
She wasn't confused about what the low-level mages were shouting about, but rather why her brother had such a strange expression on his face.
"What is it, Brother?" Vera tilted her head. "Don't they complain about things like this every day? Is something terrible going to happen just because the price of bread went up?"
"Well... who knows." Ansu didn't look away, his gaze fixed on the young man standing on the platform, waving his arms excitedly. He couldn't help but wonder if a failed art student from another world was about to make a grand debut.
Of course, that was mostly a joke. The actual situation was somewhat different.
The series of deteriorating events caused by the Church's turmoil had indeed triggered significant price fluctuations, but the economy of the Novalon Empire had not yet collapsed.
"Oh..." Vera didn't get a specific answer and didn't press further, lowering her head to take a small sip of her sweet fruit juice.
Regardless of the reason, she simply enjoyed accompanying her brother on his investigation.
After all, this was a rare moment of private time with him.
...
Over the past week, Ansu had become a regular at the Mutual Aid Tavern.
Every day, he would bring Vera here for an hour or two. After becoming a familiar face, he had developed a shallow acquaintance with these gloom-ridden mages. As soon as he sat down, two mages raised their glasses to him and nodded in greeting.
Of course, the association's acceptance of Ansu was largely thanks to his 'generosity'.
Representing the Lawrence family, he had donated a batch of brand-new alchemy equipment under the guise of 'offering a little support for magic research'.
Alchemy equipment was rare and priceless; a basic set cost an astronomical sum.
Ansu's absurdly extravagant gesture made the president, Old Lady Brenda, so happy that she held his hand every day, urging him to join the association.
If they could secure such a wealthy member, the association's perennial funding issues would naturally be greatly alleviated.
Withdrawing his gaze from the noisy crowd, Ansu instinctively looked toward the empty corner of the tavern.
He hadn't seen that dark green figure at all these past few days.
Since their brief exchange in the alley that night, Altina had not appeared at the tavern again, and none of the regulars or mages knew where she had gone.
"Ansu!" An excited voice interrupted Ansu's thoughts.
A middle-aged mage wearing glasses, holding half a cup of beer, sat down in the empty seat next to the siblings with a smile. "I really have you to thank this time!"
This mage, named Valger, had initially been quite wary of Ansu, this 'gentleman from Benalu', suspecting he had come with ill intentions to spy on something.
But now, his smile was filled with sincere gratitude. After spending a few days together, he could sense that Ansu wasn't a bad person.
Of course, the main reason was that Ansu was incredibly liberal with his money, and Valger himself was the primary beneficiary of the donated magic alchemy equipment.
"Mr. Valger, there's no need for such politeness." Ansu smiled and clinked glasses with him. "I also hope to do something for the association."
The strategy of throwing money around had been very effective; over the last few days, he had gradually learned some important internal information.
The Northern Magic Mutual Aid Association didn't sustain itself primarily through this tavern, but by taking on fragmented research projects and magitech repair work.
Valger, who sat before him, was quite talented in magitech and runes—a buried gem.
More interestingly, his research direction was intriguing. Valger specialized in Evocation, focusing on rune structures for efficient energy shaping and directional explosions.
The "Safe Magic Crystal No. 1" that the association had purchased from the black market was primarily for his research.
Ansu watched this 'key figure' and didn't directly touch upon the topic of dangerous goods, instead using a casual tone to steer the conversation. "I feel like you've been particularly busy lately, Mr. Valger. Did you pick up a new project for the association?"
"It is indeed a new challenge." Valger adjusted his glasses, his eyes shining behind the lenses, though he kept his tone restrained. "The content is quite special, involving an unprecedentedly complex rune structure..."
"Oh? Then congratulations!" Ansu offered a timely compliment, his tone carrying just the right amount of curiosity. "You've been so busy lately that you haven't even stepped out the door... The pay for this project must be quite generous, right?"
"Mhm..." Valger took a sip of beer before explaining, "The employer is indeed generous, but it's not entirely about the money. The topics involved in this research are at the absolute forefront of contemporary magitech. It truly fascinated me."
He stopped there, unwilling to discuss the specific research content further.
Ansu had already pieced it together in his mind. The generous mastermind he mentioned was likely Barcas.
It had to be said that Barcas was indeed a top-tier talent scout, living up to his reputation as the Master of Poaching. His eye for talent was truly something...
If the core principle of the massive explosion that could level the entire city of Norvigel really came from this mage... Valger would eventually earn a title like 【Explosion Maniac - Valger】 and sit at the same table as Professor Duncan and the others, wouldn't he?
It was already evening when they returned to the manor. Ansu didn't stop to rest and went straight to the lab to check on things.
As he pushed open the doors, he found that compared to the heavy, oppressive atmosphere of the past few days, everyone today was filled with an irrepressible excitement and joy.
The group that had been huddled in front of the massive blackboard, discussing incessantly, stopped almost simultaneously and turned to look at him.
"Ansu! You're back just in time!"
Celia looked at Ansu excitedly, her azure magic projection flickering as she instantly appeared before him.
Ansu looked at the witch who was inches away. Her eyes were curved into crescents, her face glowing with a pure, childlike joy that she didn't bother to hide.
"Ansu, come quickly and look! We've had a major breakthrough today!"
Ansu was both surprised and delighted, instinctively asking, "What breakthrough? Tell me!"
Celia led Ansu to the massive blackboard, which was almost completely filled with dense symbols. However, one core rune structure had been prominently circled.
"Do you remember the ultimate goal of our project?" Celia turned her head. "We wanted to reconstruct a magic structure with the same effects based on your prototype amulet."
Ansu nodded. Of course he remembered. Celia needed to lead everyone present in a reverse analysis of the 【Spirit Amulet】, breaking down this miraculous magic item into an understandable and reproducible universal magic language.
And this involved the fundamental principles of magic.
Magic was like a rigorous building, its construction divided into three layers: the magic crest, the magic formula, and the magic rune.
The magic crest was the outermost layer, the most direct manifestation of magic power. Magic levels were measured in Circles; the number of Circles referred to how many layers of magic crests a spell required. The higher the number of Circles, the more powerful the magic.
The magic formula was the secondary structure. Mages referred to specific magical phenomena as 'magic formulas', such as a formula for siphoning mana or constructing a shield, much like basic circuit units that combine to form an appliance.
And the magic rune was the most fundamental structure of magic. Formed by pure spiritual power through concentration, imagination, and construction, it was the root code that directly resonated with the ambient mana in nature, triggering the "Echoes of Truth".
The name of the Echoes of Truth cult was derived from this very concept.
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