Aqua and Mia sat across from each other, a large metal sheet placed on top of the table. It was a plain piece of steel; however, the way both girls stared at it made it seem as if it were an artifact of great importance.
"Mia, I like your passion. And I will show you the basics of Mystic engineering. I believe that will be enough for you to revolutionize this kingdom."
"You mentioned it earlier, but it's a term I have not heard before. I think I understand the Aether you spoke about, but not on how to use it directly. You made it seem like its raw form is not usable by anyone."
"Yes and no. The runic circles you use are good, but they fall into the same trap as when using the mana."
"If you hadn't demonstrated your skill, I would have called you insane."
"Many would." Aqua chuckled.
"No wonder." With a wave of her wand, an item created by the duo floated into her hand. She inspected it and then placed it on the table. "Just this flask is a testament that you know what you are talking about."
"I will show you how to use the aether to inscribe aether circles. This will make any inscribed effect even more potent. For example, while runes that draw mana from the ambience are powerful, they are not enough to power more powerful machines. I would say a rune is about a tenth of the potency of the aether circle."
Mia pinched her chin and nodded. "I see."
I shouldn't teach her anything dangerous. She searched her memory archives, finding one aether combination that wasn't dangerous to a beginner was a taxing task.
Her eyes then fell onto the magical lights in the laboratory. They required mana to be supplied by an actual person, which made them unreliable. A normal rune would require a lot of instances to light up an entire area on its own. There was a safe way to fix it.
An aether circle could create great luminosity with a single instance, with an easy way to dim it.
"I will show you how to upgrade your magical lights." Aqua placed her finger on the piece of metal.
A soft hum reverberated through the piece.
It was small, but runes could be made as small as possible as long as they were accurate.
"You do know the combination for light, correct?" Aqua turned to Mia, who nodded in response.
"Good, I will start with inscribing [Air+Air+Moon+Sun] to create a source of light, you know." Right after inscribing, Aqua pushed a small amount of mana into the configuration, making the piece of metal flare and blind the small teacher.
"Agh! That's so bright!" Mia rubbed her eyes, and a small tear formed.
"As I said, Aether circles are a lot more potent."
"I can tell!" A grin formed on her face. "I am sure there is more to this!"
The light soon faded as the mana was exhausted.
"Yes, just as with water, we will inscribe the combination to draw mana from the air. [Arcane+Void+Space]. Cower your eyes, Miss Mia."
Mia shut her eyes and as soon as the final rune was inscribed, the piece of metal glowed with the intensity of a miniature sun.
Aqua quickly dragged her finger over the piece and it dimmed. "The control depends on you, you have to use your mana to make it brighter or dimmer." Aqua smiled and the light dimmed to a level where it could be gazed upon.
"Whoa…" Mia's eyes widened and she grabbed the metal. "But what if someone can't use mana?"
"Then you can drag your finger over this piece of metal. [Earth+Earth+Air+Moon]" She then handed her an ordinary piece. "This acts as a controller to its attuned rune combinations. It's very easy to do, but you have to use mana to create it and bind it."
"Revolutionary…" Mia's jaw opened, and she grabbed the controller. She fiddled with the luminosity level before placing it back on the table.
"Would you like to try it yourself?" Aqua's smile grew wider.
"Of course!" The girl quickly produced one metal rod and one small metal sheet. "I can't wait to teach this to my team!"
She squinted, and her finger glowed, she slowly drew the rune combination for light.
"Now the hard part." Aqua leaned over Mia's shoulder and slowly guided her hand. "Make sure to remember these advanced circles."
"I understand." [Arcane] was inscribed, her fingers trembled. "Calm down, you need to draw them properly, otherwise they will be unstable. These runes aren't easy like basic ones. Let me guide you."
With a nod, Mia relaxed and let Aqua guide her, making sure that the runes she made were burned into her brain.
[Void] was successfully inscribed shortly followed by [Space].
Her eyes opened.
"It worked!" Mia pulled her hand back from Aqua's grip and lifted the sheet above her head. "I can't believe it!"
"You are really talented, I can tell you have practiced runic casting for at least century."
"Four…" Mia muttered, and her fingers connected. "Four hundred years, but I was stuck at the same level for half of that."
Aqua blinked. "May I ask, Miss Mia. What's your age?"
"I am 7 centuries old…" She averted her gaze, and a small blush appeared on her face.
Ah, she is one of the older elves. She doesn't have any signs of aging, though. Aqua leaned down and inspected the girl closely.
"H…Hey! It's inappropriate to look down at your teacher that way!"
Aqua held back her laugh. "Sorry, I'm just surprised you are older than me."
"I would prefer if you were some old hag nearing her millennium… that would let me keep some of my pride."
"I am a bit above 400."
"You are just a baby!" Mia's smile widened. "Do you want some milk, little baby?"
Aqua closed her eyes and inhaled. "You work with elven youth, I am not sure if I could be considered a baby."
"I am just poking fun, I suppose you being a proper royal adult makes sense as to why you have such genius within you. I heard the royal family is full of them."
"Thank you, Miss Mia." Aqua giggled. "Ah, before I forget, I will write down some rune combinations for you to test out in the advanced section. I am sure someone like you will make good use of them."
The offer made Mia squirm. "Please!"
From the void flew a sheet of paper. Aqua quickly grabbed it, and on it wrote with an ordinary pen various advanced combinations.
"If an effect is unexpected, call me." She slid the paper to Mia, who quickly stashed it in her robes.
"Understood!" The small elven girl looked around and then back at Aqua. "I think you should get going, I took a lot of your free time, and you have my practical casting tomorrow… You don't need to attend if you don't want to. You are far beyond what I can teach."
"I prefer to attend, Azure and Avaros are gonna be there after all."
"I see." She beamed. "I will try to make it interesting for someone of your caliber."
"No, No. Please do not change anything to accommodate me. You are teaching those who do not have as much of a grasp as I do."
Mia sucked in her lips. "I guess."
Aqua pushed herself up and turned toward the door. "I will head out for tonight. I am looking forward to your class tomorrow."
"Likewise, I will practice these runes to the best of my ability and try to instill it on everyone!"
"I am looking forward to it~." Aqua opened the door and stepped out.
She really is an amazing teacher. Her mind wandered; this world truly had amazing people. Her lips stretched into a line. "I should scold Sun God for being so rude to this world's inhabitants."
Not like I was any better. She headed upstairs.
Just as she reached the top, she ran into a certain royal princess. "Good day, Lady Aqua." Aurora bowed to her.
Aqua quickly took the proper position and curtsied. "Good day, Lady Aurora."
The princess seemed to be in a hurry.
The girl smiled at Aqua, "May I ask what you're doing in the lab sector?"
Aqua tilted her head and blinked slowly. "I was discussing something with Professor Mia. Is that an issue?"
"Not at all, I am headed down there myself now. Please excuse me." Aurora bowed again and quickly headed down.
Why is she in such a hurry? She asked herself before quickly shaking her head. The teachers were all busy people, and it wasn't her place to question them.
Soon she arrived at the academy courtyard, her gaze fell onto her dorm before she shook her head. "I should probably find Azure first before returning to the room."