The bald mage exclaimed, then turned towards the wall of the hall, no longer looking at Garrett. A mageās original spells were everyoneās most precious secrets, so it was fine if someone inadvertently saw them, but since he discovered that this was someone elseās original creation, it was best to be more discreet.
Gestures, incantations, materials...
Donāt look, donāt listen to anything!
The bald mage covered his ears, turned away from Garrett, and crouched down, holding his head. However, even though he covered his ears, he couldnāt block out the sound, and he could hear murmurs behind him, one after another:
"Oops, sorry, I relaxed for a moment... Let me try again!"
Boom!
"Hmm, quite successful, but control is a bit difficult... Let me try again..."
Boom!!!
"Uh, itās still... hard to control, powerful but too cumbersome to handle... Let me try again..."
Boom!
"The power has increased, still prone to explosion..."
"Why are you crouching here?"
The bald mage turned around and saw Aurora crouching beside him, her eyes shining as bright as her golden hair. Her friendly and curious look reminded the bald mage of his own hunting dog, also with a golden coat...
He smiled awkwardly, released one hand covering his ear, and pointed behind him. However, since he wasnāt used to crouching normally, when he gestured like that, his whole body swayed. Aurora just pulled him up:
"Why are you squatting? You didnāt deliberately stare, itās okay if you accidentally saw a bit. The bossās magic isnāt something you can learn with just one glance. Besides, judging by his temperament, the paper and exchangeable spells are probably coming soon..."
"How do you know?" The bald mage looked surprised. Brother, even though I donāt know why you, a level-five mage, are calling that boss, he is still your boss! Isnāt it inappropriate for you to act like the bossās master like this?
"Because Iām the one responsible for writing the paper..." Aurora drooped, looking disheartened, her ears almost drooping down.
What, the boss comes up with ideas, and youāre responsible for writing the paper? Isnāt that too fortunate? The bald mage was surprised and envious again, looking at Auroraās appearance was a bit funny, a thin layer of blush appeared on his bald head. Just as he was about to continue asking, a shout came from behind:
"Aurora!"
"Ah!!!"
Aurora happily jumped over.
The bald mage shook his head, smiled to himself, and stood up with his knees supported. He could hear whispers behind him:
"Aurora, try this... Use this as the casting material, didnāt you use sulfur for the Fireball spell? Try this instead. Be careful, itās especially prone to explosion, and controlling it is a bit tricky!"
"Okay, boss! Boss, step back a bit, hide in that corner, Iāll reinforce a shield for you..."
Boom!!!
"Wow, boss, you really came up with something amazing..."
However, since Aurora was only a level-five mage, he could only cast the Fireball spell three or four times a day. Increasing the charge, increasing the charge again, using oxygen and nitrocellulose together as casting materials, trying different methods several times, he exhausted his mental strength and had to surrender:
"Boss, I canāt do it anymore... Letās try again tomorrow..."
"Tomorrow?" Garrett looked at the time, still feeling unsatisfied: "Itās not even half an hour yet. How about we try blasting rocks again?"
He lowered the defensive force field in front and walked in. Aurora rushed up and stopped him:
"Boss, boss, you should go back to sleep first! You donāt need to do these things! We can finish making the items, testing, and all that, by giving tasks! Yes, assigning tasks!"
Afraid, afraid, his mental strength was exhausted, if the defense spell on the boss broke, he wouldnāt have time to reinforce it... it would be a disaster!
"Assign tasks?"
Garrett hesitated. Aurora vigorously nodded:
"Many people do this! We can outline the basic framework of the paper, and leave the rest of the work to others! Itās very convenient! Many mages are willing to take on the task! Offer some rewards, or give second and third authorships. There are plenty of people eager to grab them, like..."
"Like me!" The bald mage interjected eagerly:
"I donāt need rewards, just give me a third authorship! Iām Baruch Krisp, a disciple of Manning the Great Mage. I can sign a magic contract and absolutely not disclose anything! Of course, it would be best if you could teach me that new spellāI donāt expect it for free! Half-price exchange, is that okay?"
Garrett and Aurora exchanged smiles.
This testing session lasted until late at night. Then Garrett took the elevator upstairs as usual, went into Archmage Carlisleās guest room, and fell asleep. Meanwhile, poor Aurora spread out sheets of paper on the desk in the outer room and stayed up all night writing the paper...
The next morning, the paper on the entire Mithril smelting solution, especially the paper on the new explosive, and the improved version of the fire-based magic, were placed on Archmage Carlisleās desk. In less than half an hour, Archmage Carlisle personally carried the paper and sent it to the legendary mage.
"The little guy has some ideas." The Lord of Thunder sipped his coffee slowly, flipping through a few pages and praising. After reading through it all, he looked up at his disciple:
"Arrange everything, try out everything that can be burned or exploded, and see what results we get from using them as casting materials. Then, ask the little guy if heās willing to authorize this new explosive..."
At this point, both master and disciple smiled. So far, everything Garrett brought out had not been refused, sometimes even appearing eager to get rid of it quickly. A character like him was somewhat rare among mages, and it was necessary for the teacher to take care of him more:
"Well, talk to him. Is there anything he urgently needs, expensive magic equipment perhaps, we can customize a batch for him, and keep the price within these ten thousand contribution points? What else does he lack? A wand? Amplifying instrument? Familiar?
Also, the little guy is in Nevis City, doesnāt have a fixed residence yet, right? Itās not right for him to always stay in the lab, see if thereās anything convenient in the councilās properties, allocate a house to him, consider it as part of the rewardā"
So, Garrett was taken to Archmage Carlisleās office with a bewildered look on his face.
"Magic equipment? I need it!" Garrett didnāt hesitate and blurted out a bunch:
"Precise balance! Centrifuge! Oscillator! Pipette, give me a couple of dozen! Acidimeter! Spectrometer! Ultraviolet spectrophotometer! Oh, and give me a set of ammeter and voltmeter too!"
"Stop stop stop stop stopāwhat are all these things youāre asking for?!"
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