Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 132:

Translator: MarcTempest

Proofreader: naturallyInconsistent

Chapter 132

“Let’s begin the explanation.”

Flan stepped onto the podium and quietly unfolded the record sheet.

He didn’t bother to introduce himself.

After all, his only role today was to decipher the formulæ.

It wouldn’t take him more than an hour to explain the formulæ. But he had a feeling that he would spend much longer than that.

The expressions of those who sat around him in a circle were proof enough.

Doubt would turn into certainty once it was resolved, but it usually took a lot of time to resolve it.

That was the nature of magicians.

They created mysteries with their own hands, but sometimes they refused to acknowledge them.

They saw miracles with their eyes, but they didn’t easily change their opinions.

They always broke and transcended the boundaries, but in a way, they were always trapped in them.

Flan hoped that today they would break another boundary.

“First, the explanation of the first transformation.”

To make it easier for the others to access the record sheet, Flan extracted and explained a few key formulae.

The first transformation didn’t need a long explanation.

He briefly explained 「Observation」, 「Three-dimensional Transformation」, and 「Penetration」, and only touched on the essentials.

And he added one more thing.

“If you use these three, the result will be very clear. However, always be careful that the completed three-dimensional picture doesn’t blur like ink.”

That was 「Preservation」.

The process of shaping a three-dimensional picture with mana was similar to the process of printing with ink in many ways.

So they couldn’t relax just by seeing a clear result.

In the end, the most important thing was preservation.

“For preservation, I pursued efficiency as with the above formulæ. Next, the second transformation.”

A second three-dimensional picture unfolded in the air.

The theme was ‘present’.

It was a complete representation of the current state of the magic department.

The principle was not much different from the first one.

This was also nothing more than printing something that existed, so he skipped all the redundant explanations and moved on.

“Question.”

Then someone interrupted sharply.

The owner of the voice was the court magician, Nineheart.

He had small, round glasses and glared at Flan with fierce eyes.

He also knew that there was nothing wrong with Flan’s formulæ. But the series of events that had turned the world upside down recently, including the Black Demon Emperor and even this record sheet and the tower construction…

He was so amazed by the astonishing feats that he thought they were impossible for a student of the department, so his doubts grew even more.

“You just emphasized efficiency. Right?”

He had devoted his whole life to magic, so he knew that magic was never easy.

Nineheart seemed to have found a flaw in Flan’s logic.

“Flan, then let’s talk about efficiency.”

Nineheart radiated mana into the air.

Tiny mana particles shaped like cubes piled up, and soon the magic department was completed.

“In the case of the second transformation, you basically stacked particles one by one to mimic the academy’s scenery. I think you should admit that you gave up on efficiency.”

“The result is the same, but the method is different.”

Flan created a thin layer of mana that was elastic like rubber.

When he covered Nineheart with it, the mana layer naturally took his shape.

He solidified that shape with 「Preservation」.

A three-dimensional picture that looked like a statue of Nineheart.

It only took him five seconds, and it was very precise without having to stack particles one by one.

“Is this enough for an explanation?”

“…What? Wait, wait a minute.”

Nineheart looked back and forth between the statue that resembled him and Flan, and blinked his eyes.

He asked in a voice that had lost its composure.

“Are you saying that you can spread a mana layer as wide as the area of the magic department…?”

“It’s not a big deal. Next.”

Flan unfolded the last three-dimensional picture.

“The third transformation.”

The theme was ‘future’.

It was the appearance of the magic department that he would create in the future.

A strange phenomenon where the result changed drastically depending on whether it was observed in a bright or dark place.

As he explained it, another person interrupted.

“I have a question.”

It was another court magician, Laura.

Construction and Laura, Laura and construction.

She was a person of great skill in the field of magic design, to the point where she was in charge of managing the palace garden herself.

“The theme of the last transformation is future. Then, are you planning to make the magic department look like this?”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a question about magic.

Laura’s question focused on the future plan, but Flan didn’t ignore it.

He knew that this was also part of the verification.

The current tower construction was receiving a lot of attention, and they naturally wanted to ask Flan about the feasibility of his plan.

It was something that I had to properly address sooner or later, so Flan nodded his head.

“This is just the basic form.”

Then, Laura created red arrows.

They pointed at various parts of the magic tower.

“A building that is only high in height is usually lacking in substance. It builds a height that it cannot maintain. That’s vanity, and even if you build it, wouldn’t it be a huge waste?”

As if they shared the same concern as Laura, a majority of the others also nodded their heads.

Laura did not stop and interfered with the three-dimensional picture.

She split the towering magic tower in half and placed them side by side like twins.

“This would be a compromise. Architecture that only harbors fantasy leads to casualties. Look at reality.”

But Flan calmly answered.

“Even though you discussed reality, you call it fantasy.”

“Informal speech…?”

Laura frowned.

But the point about honorifics was for later. First, the magical debate was the priority.

“Indeed, if it is a magic tower that consumes power, it makes sense to split the building in two.”

“All power is consumed.”

“No, my power source has two characteristics. One is self-generation, the other is circulation. It is far from waste from the beginning.”

Flan muttered and floated a few formulæ in the air. Laura narrowed her eyes as she examined them.

“Hmm, there is nothing wrong with the formulæ, but…”

As she grumbled, Flan checked the clock. He intended to allocate only about 90 minutes at most, but 85 minutes had already passed.

“I spent too much time on a trivial question. There is no separate explanation for the last transformation.”

“…!”

Some of the magicians gave Laura a resentful look. Laura’s face turned red.

“Wait, wait!”

She shouted with a flushed face.

“There is definitely no error in the theory. But!”

Laura clenched her fist and continued.

“What we are discussing now is realism.”

“I said it for the second time, I talked about reality.”

“As far as I know, in the field of magic, there is not a single power source like that. You may be able to delay the consumption as much as possible, but self-generation? Circulation? That’s impossible.”

“That’s a good remark.”

Flan nodded his head with a faint smile.

“So, I intend to expand the field of magic.”

“Expand the field…?”

“The magicians here have only learned human magic. I plan to actively use ancient runes in this regard.”

“Then, that power source is related to ancient runes…”

Laura couldn’t finish her sentence. Her face gradually showed horror.

Not only her face.

The rest of the reactions were one of two. They either clenched their mouths and opened their eyes wide, or opened their mouths blankly.

The whole lecture hall was shaken by the word ancient runes.

Then.

Somewhere, a cold voice was heavy and thick.

“Everyone, clear the place.”

It was a short word, but the weight was immense.

At the woman’s word beyond the curtain, everyone hurriedly left the lecture hall.

The three representatives of the magic department looked around blankly and left their seats.

Only two left in the space.

Once again, a voice was low.

“Did you say ancient runes?”

Beyond the curtain, golden eyes shaped like crescent moons stared at Flan.

She was none other than the second princess, Aurora.

“Yes.”

“You make some interesting noises.”

The princess spoke not only with words but also with eyes.

In her pupils, which passed countless times between the crescent moon and the full moon, there was a strange interest in the man beyond the curtain.

“Also, you only received gold coins as an investment.”

Aurora said calmly.

“Architecture, engineering, technology… No manpower, just gold coins. I naturally wondered.”

“What are you wondering about?”

“If this is a large-scale fraud, I can’t sit still. I, the princess, can’t just watch the people be deceived. Isn’t that right?”

Flan thought for a moment about how to explain.

Soon, a good idea came to mind.

So, he nodded his head with a faint smile.

“Deceiving people by promising false results is a very common method.”

Aurora narrowed her eyes slightly.

“But.”

Flan radiated his magic ‘incessantly’.

A vast amount of three-dimensional pictures, each with a very subtle difference, were arranged at a fast speed, forming a ‘video’.

The three-dimensional pictures were finely carved and also passed by the princess’s eyes at a rapid pace.

Aurora stared at them without blinking for a moment.

The total number of three-dimensional pictures used was 10,000.

What was reflected in the princess’s pupils was the process of the current magic department becoming the future magic department.

“…”

Silence flowed for a moment.

The first to break the silence was Flan.

“It will definitely be like this. Without any error.”

“Definitely, without any error.”

Aurora blinked her eyes again.

“I can create errors with my fingertips. It’s not a big deal to ban the investment that goes to you.”

The golden color of her pupils intensified.

“Yet, knowing that, how dare you utter the expression that there will be no error.”

“Yes.”

Flan answered immediately.

One second.

Two seconds.

Ten seconds.

He did not avoid the princess’s glare.

Soon.

The woman behind the curtain burst into laughter.

◈

A day had passed since the verification lecture.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, Maiev was sitting on the floor, sorting out a large amount of documents.

She asked me, her eyes fixed on the documents.

“Did you sleep well?”