Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 373 - 372: A New Life at the Research Institute

Mage Cohen walked through the wide and bright corridors of the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute. Researchers wearing white Mage Technician robes passed by him, occasionally stopping to greet each other before proceeding together to their respective laboratories.

Cohen was also wearing a similar white robe.

From the door of the research institute to the front hall, it took seventy-two steps; from the front hall to the first Practical Technology Research Room, it was one hundred and two steps, passing through three doors and one corridor. Cohen walked this now familiar route at a leisurely pace, each step precise.

He glanced down at himself. This white robe was nearly undecorated, with only a metal-pressed card pinned to the chest, bearing his name and a number. It wasn’t a magic-enhanced robe—just a plain fabric robe. If there was anything special, it was that nearly everyone in this research institute wore similar attire, which held significant meaning in this land.

This attire represented the identity of a "Mage Technician," a new and unique designation on this land.

Since arriving here, Cohen had worked in the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute for over four weeks, more than forty days. For this level three Arcane Master from the royal capital, life in the Cecil Territory was not entirely as he had imagined—it turned out he got to meet the powerful ancient Arcanist, the legendary pioneer hero, and saw the Magic Web and Magic-Powered Engine, wondrous creations said to be ancient technology. Yet, aside from these marvels, his surroundings were far from what he expected.

This was not a harsh, barren land for pioneering. The people of the Cecil Clan had firmly established themselves here, and it was unbelievably prosperous. Yet, this was also not a land adhering to traditional customs—even though it was founded by a true ancient hero. From Cohen’s perspective as a Mage from the royal capital, Cecil’s rules seemed almost heretical.

Commoners enjoyed unprecedented freedom, the aristocratic system had taken a backseat, and the Administrative Office ran with remarkable efficiency... although located south of Anzu, everything here seemed as if it belonged to a distant, storybook foreign land. Cohen originally thought he had been invited here as a Mage to delve into ancient relics and musty tomes for research, only to find himself becoming a "Mage Technician apprentice," learning an entirely new body of knowledge from scratch—and alongside a group of apprentices, craftsmen, and scholars.

In this field, everyone started on the same line; the Transcendents lost their privileges.

To be honest, it was challenging to adapt initially, but Cohen gradually got used to it. He wasn’t from a noble family nor was he a prodigious Mage, just the fortunate son of a merchant. He hadn’t experienced any special Transcendent privileges in the Mage community of the royal capital, so adjusting here came quite naturally. Moreover, he wisely realized that no matter how rebellious things seemed here, he didn’t have the right to question them—for Gawain Cecil had established the order on this land, and this very individual had also set Anzu’s order seven centuries ago.

Now, everything in Anzu deemed as "civilized societal rules" were just the words of that ancient hero casually spoken seven centuries ago evolving over time. Thus, discussing "ceremonial orthodoxy" in the Cecil Territory was utterly meaningless; what the Grand Duke declared was orthodoxy.

Cohen had ingrained this belief early on, though even he didn’t know if it emerged after witnessing Master Kamel bow in respect to Gawain Cecil...

With abstract thoughts spinning in his mind, Cohen reached the door of the first Practical Technology Research Room. But before he could push open the door, a young girl with an ash-colored single ponytail ran up the corridor, waving a rolled-up paper in her hand: "Cohen! The new issue of the Cecil Weekly! I bought it for you—don’t forget to treat me to a meal later!"

Cohen raised his hand to accept the newspaper from the girl, agreeing casually as he watched her cheerfully run toward another laboratory at the end of the corridor.

The girl’s name was Medea, a Mage apprentice from the Kant territory. She had arrived sooner than Cohen and thus became a "senior" at the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute. Cohen had received much of her care in the institute. Medea was a passionate girl, seemingly deeply influenced by the leader’s ideology, eager to help others, and lacking in social hierarchies, making her well-liked by many in the institute.

Cohen smiled and shook his head, entering his laboratory while glancing at the newspaper in his hand.

The newspaper was another unique item of this land, not having appeared long ago—this was only the third issue—but Cohen found it very interesting. Reading the newspaper was not as mentally taxing as reading spellbooks, and its content was both entertaining and practical. Cohen treated it as a relaxing read to adjust his mental state, knowing that many in the research institute did the same.

Moreover, Cohen knew that the project he and his colleagues had been working on recently had significant ties to this thing called "newspapers."

"Cohen—good morning," upon entering the laboratory, he was greeted by a colleague’s friendly voice. A familiar Mage Technician noticed the newspaper in Cohen’s hand and asked curiously, "What’s written in it this time? I haven’t had a chance to look yet."

Another Mage Technician nearby chuckled and said, "I hope to see the continuation of last issue’s ’Northern Forest Folktales’—I never imagined there were so many strange stories and legends in the northern parts of the kingdom."

"Pay more attention to the useful news," Terry glanced at the Mage Technician and waved the newspaper in his hand, "It says here that our King has already gone to the border to negotiate with the Typhon Emperor—and Mister Godwin predicts they’ll meet next week."

"Tsk, that day has finally come," the first Mage Technician smacked his lips, "It seems our King is in quite a hurry."

"No one likes war, especially the King—it costs him quite a bit," the second Mage Technician said and burst into laughter, "He spent all his savings repairing the Silver Castle ten years ago!"

Terry didn’t join in the ensuing conversation; he simply shook his head with a smile, folded the newspaper, and placed it back into his cabinet.

In the developing regions of the remote southern borders, two people who were originally just a craftsman and a Mage apprentice were discussing topics about the King and the neighboring Emperor’s negotiations as if it were the most natural thing to do—moreover, these negotiations weren’t from years ago but were events happening these very days. This truly was an incredible sight.

The people of the Cecil Clan seemed accustomed to accepting all sorts of incredible things, but for this Mage from the royal capital, it would probably take a bit more time to fully adapt to it all.

At that moment, someone walked into the laboratory, and the Mage Technicians who were chatting and arranging their personal belongings immediately quieted down.

It was a girl with dark brown hair, younger than anyone else present, looking like she had just come of age. She had a bright smile on her face and moved with an energetic pace, yet no one in the lab dared to underestimate this young girl, including Terry.

Because this girl, who seemed only seventeen or eighteen, was the owner of the entire Magic Guide Technology Research Institute and the heir to the ancient family that ruled the land, bearing the surname of Cecil.

"Hello, everyone!" the girl cheerfully walked to the center of the lab, waving and greeting everyone without a trace of aristocratic air, but Terry, like the others, respectfully bowed his head and extended his respectful greetings with a uniform voice, "Good morning, Lady Rebecca."

"Alright, alright, there’s no need for formality," Rebecca waved her hand, "Today let’s continue with our projects, with each group testing the data and materials they’re responsible for. Blues, Terry, come over here, I have a new idea that needs verifying."

The laboratory’s workflow immediately kicked in, and people from various "groups" got into working mode in no time. Terry also immersed himself in his tasks. He has not yet become a fully qualified Mage Technician and is currently training as a Mage apprentice but, having a level three Arcane Master qualification, he was progressing rapidly in the field of rune logic. Therefore, he was granted access to work in the laboratory early.

He cherished this opportunity greatly.

The "magic research" at the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute was different from elsewhere. There weren’t any dark, cramped Mage spires or gloomy, isolated Mages. There weren’t any timid Mage apprentices or mysterious and cryptic spell experiments. Here, numerous technical personnel discussed matters and cooperated with each other. Everyone’s inspiration and thoughts were explored and verified, and a large project was broken down into smaller parts for various groups to collaboratively tackle. This unprecedented way of researching magic amazed Terry from the start, and not long after, he was completely absorbed in it—the collision of ideas, the blending of inspirations, and the collective sharing of knowledge for a common goal was much more satisfying than being part of the Royal Mage Association in the royal capital.

Terry’s task was not complicated—he was responsible for testing which magic could imprint on which material and ensuring that this process was reversible.

In fact, most workgroups in the laboratory were engaged in this simple yet tedious work.

Terry knew the purpose of this work—it was to create a "printing tool" that could rapidly make templates and be reusable. This task objective was hung right on the wall facing the door of the laboratory and had been there for many days.

This is why it’s said that the project Terry and his colleagues were engaged in was closely related to "newspapers"—everyone in the lab was smart enough to figure out in which field the new printing tool could be used once their research succeeded.

Knowing that the research he was conducting could transform into something significantly meaningful, Terry felt an unprecedented motivation—this drive was entirely different from the satisfaction after memorizing and mastering a new spell over several months.

He felt as though he was partaking in the building of history.