January 16, 1615 Central Calendar, 20:00

Runepolis, William Ameir District, Aikon Corporation Headquarters

On the northwestern part of the Imperial Capital Runepolis, located on the northern estuary of the Great Sumter River that divides the metropolitan area in two, lies William Ameir District where many of the Holy Empire’s largest companies’ headquarters and facilities are located. One of them is the Aikon Corporation, a major magical computing and communications manufacturing company.

On the topmost floor of a high-rise building standing among the heaven-reaching silvery white skyscrapers of Runepolis, the CEO of Aikon Corporation stood looking down at the district from his office. The large window panes behind his desk, which gave him a clear view of the outside cityscape, also faintly reflected his thinly smiling face as he stood in silence, admiring the never-ending glimmer of the Sleepless Magical City, an icon of prosperity and the architectural magnum opus of not only in the Holy Empire but also in the known world. Amidst the concrete jungle made of the finest reinforced concrete that the Holy Empire produces, the gliding snowflakes’ reflected light added an even more ethereal glow to an already fantastic urban scenery.

The CEO is a happy man. When he founded Aikon Corporation eight years ago, he did not expect it to become a global player so quickly. Originally known for being the producer of manacom capable of manufacturing their own magic circuits, the core of all magic technology, the company’s latest product, the grimoire, quickly become a massive hit and is selling like hotcakes in the market where they are never short of customers, particularly wealthy middle to upper-class individuals including nobility, thus bringing the company massive wealth. Not to mention that requests for the installation and upgrading of magic wave transmission towers as well as other support infrastructure kept flowing in not only from the Holy Empire itself but also from the neighboring countries in the Central World, taking advantage of the recent government policy of relaxing technology restrictions on those countries in exchange of dirt-cheap chunks of a previously thought useless substance.

The manacom already utterly dominated the known world’s telecommunications market due to their ability to perform voice communications directly over long distances, denying even a remote chance for their closest ‘rival,’ the Kingdom of Mu’s recently developed wireless telegraph, to enter international trade. Manacoms were used by the nation itself for communication as well, and if it weren’t for their desire to be totally free of any tools related to magic, they would have long since accepted them.

The CEO sees nothing wrong with that form his perspective. People, buildings, civilization, everything in this world that is advanced is born because they are wanted by someone, a result of desiring something, to act out of one’s greed. However, just as the Muish have their own desires, the CEO also has his own, and he is a really greedy man.

The manacom from Aikon Corporation, which uses their own magic circuit technology, is regarded as the best magical communications device among its rivals thankts to its impressive voice output and shock resistance. Additionally, it is currently available as a grimoire that combines the advantages of desk-mounted and bracelet-style manacoms. As the demand for grimoires rises, so do the company’s stock prices. As the Aikon Corporation continued to expand, the thought of his company’s rising fortunes brought a smile to his face, allowing the CEO to go about his daily routines with a peace of mind.

It seemed that all of his endeavors and hardships he had to endure had paid off, but he still desires more. However, the CEO acknowledges that all this success cannot be achieved without the help of the company’s certain benefactors, and being high-born from a prominent Milishian nobility, the CEO felt obligated to repay this great debt himself.

Ding!

The sound of a chime notified him of a visitor beyond his office door. With a snap of his fingers and a brief flash of mana, the magic circuits that operated the sliding door recognized the unspoken spell’s mana pattern and kicked the operation, moving the door aside to reveal a young light brown-haired beastwoman with rounded animal ears protruding from the top of her head. Wearing warm clothing, she walked in silence into the CEO’s office, a spacious room decorated in a minimalist style, yet still exuded an air of elegance thanks to its futuristic design.

“Forgive me for calling you so suddenly when you are about to finish your job and go home, my dear Fiolina.”

Still looking at the outside view, the CEO’s smooth voice echoed inside the quiet room, addressing the now-named woman, Fiolina.

“Do you need something, Mister President?” Fiolina inquired, following the work etiquette that has been established in this company, including addressing the CEO with a proper term despite his nobility status.

“Hmm. Actually…” the CEO trailed off, finally turning around to face her. “I will go straight to the topic. I want you to deliver something.”

“Deliver something…?”

The CEO hummed in affirmation and reached for a drawer of his desk, pulling out a maroon-colored case and opening it on top of the desk for Fiolina to see. Fiolina, who had an idea of what was stored inside that case, widened her eyes in surprise.

“You see, I’ve ordered this to be prepared since last year and planned it to be delivered when our grimoire sales reach our targeted number. However, I am happy to say that we’ve reached one hundred thousand sales of grimoire quite earlier than expected, and just as the research and development division has finished these new devices, I wanted to give this as a token of appreciation to our generous benefactors to test as well as to celebrate this occasion!” the CEO explained, sitting on his chair.

He was beaming from ear to ear as he spoke to Fiolina in front of him. His youthful countenance, a trait common to the Holy Empire’s upper-class society who often looked much younger than their actual age regardless of race, was radiating an air of excitement like a child who was about to show off a toy that his parents just bought him to his friends.

“Ah…” Fiolina mumbled, a bit dumbfounded. “But Mister President… are you sure about this decision?”

“Huh? Of course I am. Besides it’s not like this is the first time we’ve given them the samples of our products,” the CEO replied with a raised eyebrow, pointing out the prototype grimoires his company once gave the Runepolis Magic Academy.

“That’s different, sir. Grimoires are magic tools installed with communication spell as its only function, they cannot do anything that the new prototypes are capable of,” the beastwoman deadpanned.

Her boss was probably doing this out of a sense of honor and a desire to repay his debt by personally giving rewards to his company’s benefactors, as much as a busy CEO holding the helm of a telecommunications industry giant could, being a nobleman and all. However, she couldn’t help but think that he is a bit too careless with this one.

“Can’t you just assign our company’s employees to test them first?” Fiolina asked.

“They, who had a hand in giving birth to this device, belonged to the Ancient Ministry who is in partnership with us. As one point the partnership agreement mentioned, the testing of a jointly developed technology shall be done jointly. Although we developed these prototypes separately, the resources for its core technology were provided by the ministry.”

“Well… I heard that they are very busy with their work with a very strict schedule. Can’t you just do it with other Ancient Ministry employees? I’m sure they will be delighted.”

“Oh I know, and I can do that, but that would be disrespectful to our benefactors, wouldn’t it? They deserved to be notified first of the development, you know. Director Arsene Lippin said to me that all three of them are free for the next two days, but you best come in the morning and deliver these to them while they are doing exercises in their Training Ground. Whether it’s tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, it’s your choice.”

Fiolina slumped her shoulders and sighed. The CEO won’t budge in his decision, so she thought it was no use to argue further. Besides, this is not the weirdest of her boss’ requests.

“I understand, Mister President, I will do as you say.”

The CEO clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Splendid! Now, Secretary Fiolina Bucciarati, you are hereby assigned to deliver the new prototypes and oversee the joint testing together with the Ancient Ministry personnel!”

“Leave it to me,” Fiolina answered, straightening her back. “Is that all, sir?”

“No, wait.”

Reaching again to his desk drawer, the CEO quickly pulled a rather thick-looking brown envelope and handed it to Fiolina so casually that she recoiled and gasped in surprise, especially when she saw her name written on it. When she inspected and opened it, Fiolina’s enhanced sense of smell caught the distinct scent emanating from neatly arranged pink zollark banknotes freshly printed by the Imperial Printing Agency peeking out from the envelope.

“Eeeh…!?”

“For your troubles, that’s fifteen percent of your paycheck as a bonus. Now, deliver this and I’ll give you another fifteen percent. That’s good enough for you?”

“I………… uh……”

Fiolina struggled to formulate words at how abrupt the situation was.

“I would have baked a cake for you to celebrate but I guess this will do. Is that good enough for you or not? Are you not satisfied with the amount?” the CEO asked curiously.

“T-thank you very much, Mister President! This is just fine!!”

“Oh? Okay, then. You can go home now.”

With a wave of the CEO’s hand, Fiolina quickly made her courtesies and left the office. With the departure of the secretary, the room was enveloped in silence once more. The CEO’s smiling expression that he had maintained throughout the meeting with Fiolina morphed into a lopsided one as he brought his hand to his chin, contemplating something. Inside the still open drawer where he just pulled Fiolina’s bonus, several other envelopes with her name written on them can be seen, along with other names. All of the envelopes were also accompanied with “15 percent” written on them.

“Hmm… just fine, you say?”

January 17, 1615 Central Calendar, 05:50

San Redentore District, Ministry of Ancient Sorcerous Empire Countermeasures

The sun has yet to rise, but three people can be seen running along the side of an empty road. Behind Robin, who was running ahead, Meteos and Walman followed her silently, trying to keep up with their teacher’s pace on their daily routine of a morning run to a Training Ground five kilometers from their apartment. However, today they were going to stay a bit longer at their destination.

“What’s wrong? Getting tired already?” Robin cheekily taunted as she looked behind her.

“………”

“!!”

Although Meteos did not show any reaction, sparing only a flat glance at her before refocusing his attention back to the road that was still illuminated by the streetlights, it spurred Walman who was running at the rear end to rush forward in order to catch after her, the vapor that came out of his mouth and nose became more intense as soon as he heard her words and soon came running side by side with his silver-haired friend. Seeing his friend about to turn into a literal hothead would have been quite amusing if not for the fact that the very attitude is what would lead his childhood friend into an unceremonious death. Now that those unpleasant memories came rushing in again, his lips contorted into a frown as he tried to shake away those thoughts.

That is one of the downsides of being able to clearly remember everything. Memories like the death of a closed one often came just as fast as inspiration to create new inventions no matter how Meteos wished to bury them deep within his mind.

“Tsk,” he clicked his tongue and decided to finally speak for the sake of his own peace of mind.

“Teacher! Was that really necessary?” he called out, causing Robin to look at him in slight surprise. Even though they were still running, their pace slowed to a crawl as a result of Meteos’ interruption.

“Don’t worry! I can take it!” came a reply from beside him.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah!” Walman nodded vigorously, giving Meteos a toothy grin.

After a moment, Meteos smirked and replied, “Fine, suit yourself, then,” before turning toward his teacher again, “Sorry for interrupting, Miss Robin. Let’s continue.”

“Right, remember we’re only getting started! I was working almost twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week, so let’s destroy some dummies to let off steam!”

“Alright!”

“Do you ever get tired from all of the work!?” Walman yelled.

After giving them an apologetic nod and continuing their running, Robin chuckled under her breath as she observed the silverette’s behavior around Walman. They are a pair of childhood buddies who like to help each other, but she also noticed that Meteos is somewhat protective and quick to defend the other boy. Whenever Walman is about to get emotional, he is also quick to calm him down. Even though he still has his own moments, with that neutral expression he usually wears, Meteos is easily the more mature one of the pair, at least according to Robin’s observation.

They spent several more minutes running to their destination. Upon arriving, their wristwatches already showed three minutes past six o’clock, and the golden glow of the rising sun already started to decorate the snow-covered hilltops of the eastern skyline. Even though it was in the middle of winter, the weather that morning was pleasant despite there was the prediction that the snow hail that swept the district last night might turn into another blizzard.

But it’s still in the middle of January after all, and they were running in the early morning. Breathing cold air usually stung Meteos’ nose and sent a burning sensation to his lungs, causing him intense discomfort and souring his mood. This is one of the reasons why he prefers summer out of all seasons in the known world. Combined with the fact that this day is actually Saturday, people would usually prefer to stay in the warmth of their homes and he would be lying if he wasn’t tempted to do the same. However, Meteos and Walman have their own reasons to go out and exert themselves in this routine.

It started around September two years ago, when they first got acquainted with Robin and moved to enroll at the Runepolis Magic Academy. At that time, she asked Meteos and Walman, who were Student Mages, if they wished to continue to advance their status as magic practitioners and become Mages. If they wished to do so, she will help with their education and training until they become full-fledged Mages. Their answer was obvious. No children in the Holy Empire who did not dream of becoming a Mage.

But why would Robin bother to offer them help?

That is because of the ranking system for the mages in the Holy Milishial Empire. Unlike its neighbors and other civilized and non-civilized nations that ranked their magical practitioners according to the amount of mana or the rank of magic they could use, the Holy Milishial Imperial Constitution only classified the ‘mages,’ which in the Constitution referred to as ‘bearer of mana and practitioner of magical arts,’ into five ranks: Student Mage, Apprentice Mage, Mage, Advanced Mage, and Grand Mage. This classification is less about their ability to use magic, but rather closely tied to their level of education and achievements. This rather strange system which is only used in the Holy Milishial Empire is referred to as the ‘Milishian Model’ by the other countries’ mage communities.

In the past, there was a proposal to create an honorable rank, the Mage Emperor, which will be held by the Holy Empire’s monarch who is the de facto strongest Grand Mage in the entire known world. However, Emperor Milishial VIII sternly rejected it and ordered it to be never brought up again due to how it sounded dangerously close to the Ancient Sorcerous Empire’s traditions. It was unthinkable that an ardent worshipper of the gods would bear such a blasphemous title.

The lowest rank, Student Mage, is automatically given to any citizens of the Holy Empire upon enrolling in the elementary school which already teaches magology, or the study of magic, in their curriculum. They only get to actually cast magic spells during the practical exam at the end of elementary school. Because education in the Holy Milishial Empire is compulsory at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, all Milishian citizens possess this rank at the minimum. However, the fact that it is equivalent to the lowest rank of the other countries’ own hierarchies caused any self-respecting Milishian citizen to pursue higher education to advance to the next rank, the Apprentice Mage.

This rank is normally granted to Student Mages after graduating from high school. However, a Student Mage can advance in rank much earlier if a Mage or higher-ranked practitioner proposes to the government and takes them as their official apprentice, such as the case with Meteos Roguerider and Walman Falkenhausen who already become Apprentice Mages after graduating junior high school. This is the rank held by the majority of the Holy Empire’s citizens and is a point of pride for the Milishian people over other nations, as the Holy Empire’s “Apprentice Mage” is generally more educated and capable compared to the other nations’ “Mage” rank.

Next is the rank of Mage. In normal circumstances, this rank is awarded to an Apprentice Mage who completed all the requirements it entails as well as passing the exam held annually by the Imperial Board of Magical Arts Supervision. Although Meteos and Walman’s work in inventing magical technologies already guaranteed the completion of the requirements to become one, they are held back by the exam’s minimum participating age which is fifteen years old. However, that did not stop them from training in preparation for that.

If being an Apprentice Mage is a source of pride for the Milishian people over other nations, then being a certified Mage is what distinguishes a Milishian among his or her fellow citizens. Some professions, such as medicine, pharmacy, firefighting department, funeral service, the Ancient Ministry’s engineering departments, diplomatic escorts, combat engineering, and Imperial Guards, require the minimum rank of Mage as a prerequisite for employment. In addition, following a centuries-old tradition, members of the clergy are usually powerful Mages.

Now, the reason why Robin offered supervising and training of Meteos and Walman as her apprentice is because of the requirement in rising in rank from Mage to an Advanced Mage. Unlike the previous ranks, the difficulty level to become an Advanced Mage jumped considerably. Not only a Mage is required to display acceptable proficiency in performing magical arts, which requires rigorous training, they are also required to contribute to the Holy Milishial Empire’s development in technology by creating at least one breakthrough invention and to take at least two Apprentice Mages and do everything in their power to supervise them until they become full-fledged Mages. Only then a Mage will be granted the rank of Advanced Mage.

However, the responsibility of this rank is high, as an Advanced Mage’s status is tied to the behavior of the Mages they mentored. If a Mage they once mentored is involved in a crime utilizing the magic they’ve learned, their mentor Advanced Mage will be subjected to a thorough investigation by the Imperial Board of Magical Arts Supervision and, with enough evidence, they can be held accountable for negligence in supervising them and punished by revocation of the Advanced Mage’s rank. Even worse, if a crime is done during the apprenticeship period, the supervising Mage’s rank will be immediately revoked and they will be forever blacklisted from re-entering the exam.

Robin already has the training and invention parts covered, all that’s left is to take apprentices. Her original plan was to take them under her wing until they graduated from university, but Meteos and Walman are unexpected jackpots. If Meteos and Walman, who desired to become Mages, can complete the next exam which will be held in August, Robin will be granted the coveted Advanced Mage title only around 23 months after their first encounter, or if following the official date of the start of their apprenticeship, ten months.

Based on her own experience, Robin devised a training program to ensure their success as aspirant Mages. As of now, her apprentices’ physical strength, endurance, stamina, flexibility, and mana reserves have improved considerably compared to when she first met them. Especially for Meteos, whose small stature in his early teenage years is a bit of a sore spot for him. What is the most important thing for Meteos is that he is now only a few centimeters shorter than Walman, even though he is still the shortest of the three. Other things such as the fact that the changes in his appearance where the remaining traces of childish innocence is already giving way to something else are of a secondary concern for him.

Because the three of them are busy with their jobs, they cycled through exercises that Robin laid out and this Saturday’s portion can be said to be their favorite, because it involves magic spells. There is nothing more exhilarating than being able to freely launch magic spells one after another. Simply unleashing the birthright of a sentient being of this world is already enough a stress relief, just like what Robin had said.

However, as much as it is fun to do that, discipline is required when it comes to practicing magical arts. This is why the Second Amendment in the Holy Milishial Imperial Constitution introduced punishment for the misuse of magic outside of self-defense, emergencies, or outside the designated areas for the sake of national security. They are not barbarians, after all.

Just as they were about to proceed to the next part of today’s training, Robin spoke to her apprentices.

“So… Meteos and Walman,” she started, “Since it’s already in the middle of January, you have less than eight months left before the exam. You know, it’s almost two years since we started doing this and you have grown so much since then. And by the way, Meteos, congratulations on not being a runt anymore, hehehe,” she grinned teasingly as Walman tried not to burst into laughter.

Eyes twitching, Meteos retorted, “Just you wait, I’ll eventually grow taller than you.”

Even without this much physical training, Meteos as an adult in his past life is around Arsene’s height, which is taller than Robin.

“Uh-huh, I don’t doubt that, just make sure that you stay in good shape. Now do you understand why I always tell you to get enough rest each night? It’s because you grow and adapt when you recover, and the best recovery time is sleep. Don’t you think you can get away with only four hours of sleep each night, Kid, only villains do that.”

“What—” Meteos blinked, a bit confused with the last part of Robin’s sentence.

“What?”

“What?” Walman also blurted.

“………”

“………”

“………”

The three stared comically at each other before Robin rapidly shook her head and continued with her lecture.

“Anyway! Maybe you have an entire universe inside your head that you wanted to unleash on this world, Meteos, I don’t know, but make sure you are getting enough sleep, eight hours every single night. I don’t care how you do it, but you must do it. The same goes for you, Walman. Is that understood?”

Meteos sighed in resignation at this one matter that his teacher liked to repeat like a broken tape at nearly every opportunity and each time she brought up that topic, her explanation differed from the last. However, he understood that she means well with those points. Some people who are envious of her might think that Robin is nothing more than a greedy opportunist who took advantage of his and Walman’s achievements to propel her own, but he knew better. She truly cared for her apprentices’ well-being and he respected Robin for it.

“Yes.”

Robin nodded, pleased with the response.

“Alright, now let’s go to the warehouse and put some protective gear on before getting started.”

She was about to leave for a nearby storage room when a slight noise caught Meteos’ ear, causing him to turn at the Training Ground’s entrance with a confused noise.

“Hm?”

“What is it?” Robin asked at her student’s sudden action.

“Hey, look,” Meteos replied, pointing at the entrance.

When they turned to look, from afar, they can make out someone riding an autobike approaching the Training Ground. The closer the autobike got, the louder its signature whining noise became. Robin raised an eyebrow as the rider brought their autobike to stop in front of the three of them, then widened her eyes in recognition as they removed the goggles and the helmet that covered their head. The person shook their head several times, causing the long hair underneath that helmet to flow freely.

Riding the black cruiser-type autobike is one of Robin’s acquaintances, a demi-human woman in her early 20s. With two rounded animal ears protruding from her long brown hair and a bushy tail from her lower back, she must have belonged to the Daby Tribe, one of the beastfolk subgroups that live in the Holy Milishial Empire. Yawning slightly, she pulled a briefcase attached to the autobike’s rear trunk and dismounted from the bike.

“Professor, long time no see,” the woman greeted.

“Hahaha! If it isn’t Secretary Fiolina Bucciarati from the Aikon Corporation!” Robin replied with a happy smile.

Rubbing his chin in contemplation, Meteos hummed as he witnessed the two ladies exchanging pleasantries.

‘The King of the Condor Tower has sent his right-hand woman to a secluded place in the most secluded part of Runepolis for whatever reason. Intriguing.’

“Well, Fiolina, what brings you to this place?”

“It’s both an official business visit to the Ancient Ministry and a personal assignment from Mister President to come to this Training Ground,” the beastwoman, Fiolina, answered with a practiced businesslike attitude.

“Huh. Instead of the Ministry’s administration, you came here of all places? What kind of assignment is that?”

Robin was curious.

“To celebrate the one hundred thousandth sale of the grimoire, the President of the Aikon Corporation, Lord Victor Legendorga, has requested me to deliver this to you three as a gift—”

“I’m sorry, but we cannot take those,” Robin interjected with an edge in her voice. “Please tell Lord Legendorga that if he wants to send the Ministry gifts, he should have visited the administration, not us. This is not how things work.”

No matter how sincere the CEO of Aikon Corporation in his intentions, she cannot accept this gratification. When faced with something of unclear status like this, Robin preferred to avoid it altogether.

Huffing at the interruption, Fiolina continued, “…If you let me finish my explanation, you’ll know that Mister President contacted your boss personally, and Director Lippin has given his permission. These so-called gifts are delivered to you under the guise of joint testing of newly developed technology that both the Aikon Corporation and the Ancient Ministry developed together and has been approved by both sides. Furthermore, I was assigned the task of testing it together with you as a company representative. Now, can you please accept it quietly?”

“Then, why don’t anyone inform us beforehand!?” Robin asked in exasperation.

“I guess Mister President wanted it to be a surprise for you,” Fiolina shrugged.

“………”

Robin brought a hand to her face and groaned. ‘This better worth our time,’ she thought, upset that her quality time with her students have been interrupted.

“Fine. What is these ‘gifts’ anyway?”

Fiolina twirled the briefcase and opened it to show Robin. The astonished expression that adorned the bespectacled woman’s face is the same as when Fiolina’s boss showed its contents to her last night.

“Woah! This is…!” Robin exclaimed.

Looking at each other, Meteos and Walman approached their teacher from behind to take a better look.

“What is it, Miss Robin?”

Inside the case is three unfamiliar devices with what looked like three enlarged Aikon magic circuits in three different colors.

“Is this what I think it is…?” Meteos tilted his head.

“It looks different from Miss Robin’s, though.”

Gesturing to the larger devices one by one, Fiolina explained to the amazed trio.

“One set of prototype Unit 00, ‘A.M. Revolution,’ two sets of prototype Unit 01, ‘BIRTH-DAY,’ and one Core Circuits for each. These are the gifts that Lord Legendorga presented to you… the second-generation Manadrivers. Now, since we are at a Training Ground, let’s carry our birthright and set it free.”

Robin felt a smile crept across her face. Maybe it will be worth their time after all.

Currently Publicly Available Information

MAGE RANKINGS

The civilizations in the known world recognize a system of titles for their ‘mages.’ The Holy Milishial Empire’s ranking system, which is codified in their Imperial Constitution, only divides their magic practitioners into five ranks, unlike the other countries who can group them into as many as six or seven ranks. Other countries have their own terms for these ranks, and the terms displayed on this entry are rough equivalent in Milishian terms.