Aqua slowly approached the small teacher. She towered above her, eclipsing any authority Mia had in the interaction.
"So, Miss Brightcrown. Tell me. What did you mean by infinite water when speaking of runes?"
Aqua scratched her cheek. "Do not even try to say something like 'I made it up.' I heard how confidently you spoke of it. Out with it."
I don't think there is any reason to hide it. "Could you tell me why mana drawing from the air is so impressive for you to pull me aside?"
Mia clutched her stomach and burst out laughing. "Are you serious?! Is this some royal humor that I'm too lowborn to understand? Do you realize that my team had been working on cracking that mystery for centuries, and now you come along and boldly state what needs to be done; however, you mentioned runes we do not know."
Aqua blinked. "What do you need from me?"
"I want you to demonstrate it. I am not letting you leave until you do."
I keep getting myself into this type of annoyance.
With a sigh, Aqua opened the void storage, making Mia jump back and point her wand toward it. "What in the hells is that?!"
"Dimensional storage." From the void fell a small bucket. It was made fully of iron, but carried no magic within it.
Mia cautiously pointed her wand down. She slowly stepped forward and looked at the bucket. "Outrageous, I must say. Is this some royal secret or something? No way my team wouldn't know about something as useful as dimensional storage."
Aqua shook her head. "My own technique."
"Now the infinite water doesn't seem so far-fetched. Show me." Mia stared at her in anticipation.
Without a word of complaint, Aqua placed her finger at the inner bottom of the bucket. I wont use aether circles… She side-eyed the eccentric elven teacher.
Her finger rubbed the bottom of the bucket, tracing its end and making a large containment circle. She drew [Air] inside shortly followed by another on the opposing side.
Right after, in the middle, she drew [Moon], followed by water under it.
"Other than the impressive skills at drawing these runes, nothing too spectacular."
Aqua ignored the comment and placed her finger on top of the moon. "Now, runes you don't know. [Arcane]." The moment the rune was drawn, the entire bucket crackled with energy, and the mana from the air seemed to resonate with it.
Above first [Air], she placed [Void]. The dark rune seemed to absorb the light while others glowed faintly. The mana in the air swirled around, yet it failed to be absorbed into the rune.
"WHAT?!" Mia's eyes widened, and her wand dropped out of her hand.
"And finally, a way for the gathered mana to be sucked in." Her finger made a line, then a diamond encompassing all runes. [Space].
The entire structure stabilized, and the dark glow died down. In a moment, the bucket filled with water.
"Done."
"This…" Mia grabbed the bucket and poured it at the classroom floor. However, it never bottomed out; it continued to pour. "You… You…" She placed the bucket on the table with her hands shaking. "Join my research team! Please!"
Aqua flicked her wrist, and the water evaporated.
Mia blinked. "Did you just do that without any casting method…" Aqua felt her hand being squeezed. "Our nation needs someone like you! I will make sure you are well compensated."
The way Mia's eyes sparkled reminded her of a certain dwarf. She let out a sigh. "I came here to see how this nation conducted their academics. I do not want to get entangled into any programs."
"Aw…" Mia's shoulder slumped. For a moment, she hummed and paced around Aqua. "Okay, how is this? You can be a consultant. You don't need to be a permanent member. Everyone in my team is a genius in their own right, so if someone who has cracked the secrets of runes guides them, they will figure it out in no time!"
Aqua rolled her eyes. This girl is an exact replica of him.
She tilted her head down and looked into Mia's starry eyes. "Sure… why not?"
"Magnificent!" Mia threw her hands up in the air. "Together, we will revolutionize magic. We will be able to create machines that move on their own. Can you imagine it?!"
Very ambitious. These people might have been primitive, but their intellect and ingenuity were even higher than that of her old world.
"Would you mind showing me some of your current results? I am done with classes." Aqua smiled.
The words made Mia stop. "Results…"
A nervous chuckle escaped her lips. "... It's a little embarrassing, but that bucket you made is probably better than almost anything we had discovered."
"That doesn't matter to me. I am curious, and if you need my help, I need to know where you are at."
"Ah!" She hit her fist into her palm. "Good, I thought you would abandon us for that. You should probably let your friends know that you will be doing something else."
"I suppose…" Aqua nodded and, with a quick spell, connected her mind to Azure's.
[Azu, Professor Mia needs me for something, please go ahead without me.]
The connection cut, leaving Aqua with her own thoughts. I should teach her telepathy. It would be nice to be able to hear her voice no matter the distance.
"Done."
Mia closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. "What are you royals hiding from us?!" Mia shouted, unbefitting of her small frame.
Aqua placed her palm in front of her. "That is my personal spell, royals do not know it either."
"You really are some kind of freak, are you not?" Mia's lips stretched into a wide and creepy smile. "You are just like me. Come, follow me."
The freak comment made Aqua reel back before gathering herself and following the girl out of the classroom.
The duo passed the halls of students, leaving their classes and heading toward their own destinations; however, Aqua and Mia headed downstairs into the underbelly of the whole institution.
The lights were powerful, hiding the fact that they descended deep underground. Soon, they appeared before a similar door to that of the upper classrooms.
With a creak, a large dark room was revealed. Mia waved her wand, and the magical lights sprang to life.
"I didn't expect this place to be empty." Aqua crossed her hands and took a look around. The old lab reports and various engineering trinkets were scattered around.
"Even the most ambitious people deserve rest. I am not so cruel as to keep them locked in here all day." Mia approached the door and pulled it closed. "Also… Sorry about the question during the class, I thought you were some arrogant royal considering how everyone around you looked at you."
"I do not mind, you would be wise to assume that, considering you teach young nobles."
"Umu, we will get along great. I feel bad for trying to embarrass you." The small teacher led Aqua deep into the lab and into a small room. "This is where we keep our products…"
The lights came to life and revealed a myriad of items.
Primitive but still decent.
Aqua's eyes sparkled for a moment.
"These flasks were attempts to create an infinite water supply, you so easily did." Mia tapped her wand against a large chest, which quickly floated on top of the table. The small teacher floated up and opened the container, revealing large numbers of leather flasks.
"Failures… every single one of them, sure, they can create water, but they require the user to expend mana… which can risk mana exhaustion in a long march or prolonged battle. It just isn't enough for civilian use. Even that is bad because many can't even push mana into these runes."
"Can I take a look at one?" Aqua's hand hovered just above the contents.
"Sure, you can have them all if you want to. They are not worth the leather that runes are inscribed on."
Aqua picked up a plain leather flask and hummed. "If you knew about aether, this would work, but I agree that it is more convenient to have an infinite supply without even thinking."
"Aether?" Mia landed on top of the chair and stared at Aqua.
"I will teach you about it later, but right now let's focus on this." Aqua formed a small blade of mana in her hand and cut open the leather flask. This is their start into mystic engineering.
She felt a strange sensation for her kin. She felt pride about them not only figuring out aether through Avaros, but Mia had led the team to start the art of mystic engineering.
Her eyes landed on crudely inscribed runes. "I suppose I can show you how to do runes properly… and I will then show you how to use the aether to enhance your creations even further beyond."
Mia nodded and keenly observed.