Ventusmens (Month 9) 8, 1614 Central Calendar, 14:30
Runepolis Magic Academy
The class was over on the first day of school, and the blonde-haired student, Nadia Smirnova, headed to another classroom with a smile on her face. She was practically skipping along the way, followed by her two friends who were struggling to keep up with her pace. When she arrived at Class 3-A, Nadia looked around, trying to find the very noticeable silver hair of a certain boy.
"Haah... haah... Nadia, what was that for?" One of her friends, a redhead named Sofia, asked.
"I think... I know why she's in such a chipper mood..." whispered Nadia's other friend, a bespectacled girl named Annette, while trying to regain her breath.
While the crowd of students leaving the classroom thinned, Meteos was still nowhere to be seen. Eventually, she spotted Walman, who is the last one to leave the room. Her smile fell as they made eye contact. Seeing this, Walman sighed and walked up to the girls, already knowing why Nadia was here.
"He's not here, Miss Robin and Meteos went to Runes Valletta this morning and won't come back until night," Walman said.
"Oh... I see..." Nadia said dejectedly.
The brunette scratched his head and remembered something.
"Hey, if you want to say something to him, just tell me. I will use this to tell him."
Walman pulled a black rectangular object from his bag, an Aikon 117A grimoire, the improved version of the one sent to him before, this time included clock function and with the installation of transmission tower around the city, he can communicate with Meteos who was many kilometers away.
"Well... um... actually I just wanted to say hi, after all, it's been a while..."
"Alright," Walman shrugged as he typed to his grimoire.
"Wait, is that the new device I keep hearing about? Isn't that supposed to be released next month? So why are you having it now?" Annette interjected.
Walman looked up from his grimoire and answered noncommittally.
"Eeh, perks of being a developer, I guess."
"Oh, right..."
Nadia sighed, "I guess I'll just return to the dorms right now, see you later, Walman," she said before walking away with a noticeable sourer mood than before, followed by her two friends who keep glancing at her worriedly.
"Hm."
The brunette's usual attitude does not help improve her mood at all.
-----------------------
14:32
Oi
Nadia's looking for you
She said hi
14:36
Really? Sorry, I'm busy rn
Tell her Meteos said hi
14:36
Too late
She's already left
Why don't you buy her a grimoire or something
14:37
I'll think of it
Thx
-----------------------
"Thx."
Meteos typed into his grimoire inside a taxi on the way to the Runes Valletta Academy of Magic located in the suburbs of Runepolis before tucked the magical smartphone into his jacket's pocket while letting out a small sigh. Next to him, Robin gave him a sideways glance.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's Walman. He said that Nadia is looking for me."
"Aah... how unfortunate..."
If Meteos heard Robin's mutterings, he decided not to comment on it and just stared at the passing trees outside.
-----------------------
One hour later
Runes Valletta Academy of Magic
The Runes Valletta Academy of Magic, also known by its abbreviation, RVM, is an educational institution just like the RMA, specializing in aerospace technology and is the developer for the Alpha and Beta series of Heavenly Vessels, or magically-powered jet aircraft reverse-engineered from the Ravernal Empire's magic fighter jet. The RVM has its own airfield and advanced technology for manufacturing airplanes, similar to how RMA is the best at making naval ships.
Once again, Robin has demonstrated the privileges of being a member of the MOASEC. Meteos had been discussing with Robin about the next project ever since they returned to the capital, and when he visited Robin's office about the possible hurdle in getting the RVM to cooperate with a rival institution, she just smiled, pulled a document, signed it, and sent it to RVM. The next day, they received a reply that the Runes Valletta Academy of Magic is ready to welcome an inspection by the Ancient Ministry. And here they are, Robin and Meteos, one of her apprentices, walking around three planes parked inside one of RVM's hangar, with one of the RVM's staff as a guide.
Meteos scribbled at his notebook as the guide continued his explanation.
"...and that concludes the explanation. Do you have any questions?" The guide asked.
"Well, Meteos?" Robin prodded.
The silver-haired teenager stared at the three Heavenly Vessels in front of him with a forlorn smile.
The plane to the far right is the Alpha-1, the current air superiority fighter for the Holy Milishial Imperial Air Force, and next to it is the Beta-1, a multirole fighter. Both of them are powered by two Chant Powered Light Magic-Compressed Air Engines, which is basically a magically-powered pulsejet engine. This type of engine operates under a two-stage spell casting; during takeoff, the Tears of the Wind God will be used to draw in air, while purified liquid magic stones are used to produce combustion and thrust. The Tears of the Wind God's magic circuit will eventually deplete mid-flight, leaving the engine to passively suck in air for the rest of the flight.
The last aircraft has a sophisticated arrowhead shape with tailed delta wings and canards, but missing its engine and nose cone. This is the Ravernal fighter jet used as a basis for HME's Heavenly Vessel, dubbed "Alpha Zero." This engineless plane is the one with the best condition and is sent to RVM for analysis and reverse-engineering under the supervision of the MOASEC. As for why it has no engine, actually, the Milishian engineers unearthed in a separate place what can be described as a magic turbofan engine in good condition and managed to analyze it to a certain degree, and went on to test the engine.
It exploded.
Other turbofan engines unearthed later were either missing too many parts or too damaged to be used, so the progress came to a halt as they gave up on it. The current engine is the best they can reverse-engineer, based on an older, less sophisticated Ravernal jet engine.
Since the Heavenly Vessels the Empire produced are incapable of reaching supersonic speeds, with its two engines only capable of bringing the plane to less than 500 kilometers per hour, they then resorted to using straight wings for the plane. In addition, since creating a perfect replica of the materials used in the Alpha Zero is too costly, HME resorted to using a significantly lower grade magic alloy, resulting in a severe reduction of the fuselage's strength. This makes the Heavenly Vessels incapable of pulling sharp maneuvers lest the plane will disintegrate midair.
This result of the trial-and-error method and severe lack of understanding of aerodynamics is painful to look at, to be honest.
This will also haunt the Holy Milishial Empire in the future as their best jet fighters are outmatched before the Antares fighters of the Gra Valkas Empire.
"Have you considered finding a stronger material for the plane?" Meteos finally asked.
"Yes. We estimated that using Ferrum-3+ will result in a stronger structure for the plane, but it is not cost-effective, so we are sticking with the current alloy, Ferrum-2+."
Ferrum-2+ means that the chemical element of iron (Fe) has been enhanced with magic on the molecular level, denoted by the 'plus'. The higher the number, the stronger the magic power used, but the more difficult the process and requires more highly purified magic stones as fuel, resulting in an exponential increase of the cost. Currently, the Mithril-3+ is the strongest magic alloy the Empire can produce, but the production cost is so astronomical that no one can find any practical use of the material. Ferrum-2+ is still also far from Alpha Zero's alloy, Mithril-1+, which will be used in the future as an armor material for the Mithril-class battleship.
At the end of the inspection, Meteos received a headache. He didn't know where to start.
"So, Meteos, do you have any suggestion of how to improve the performance of the plane?"
At Robin's question, Meteos rubbed his temple before answering.
"Yes... I have concluded that before we can even touch the fuselage or the cockpit, we need to upgrade the engine—no, we need to create a new engine altogether...... The engine... the engine is shit! What the hell is this!? They used two and are still slow as hell!? This is unacceptable, Miss Robin! This is an affront to technology, an insult! A waste of money and life for something so worthless!" he ranted, ignoring the violent twitching of the guide's eyebrows.
His teacher sweatdropped at Meteos' outburst. 'Wow, it must be pretty bad if he suddenly exploded like that,' she thought.
A minute later, Meteos finished his rant and calmed down.
"......I have plans for improving the engine, but I need to check on something, and we will need cooperation from the RVM."
The accompanying guide, whose institution Meteos had indirectly insulted, tried to retort angrily, but a terrifying glare from Robin silenced him.
"O-o-of course...! We at Runes Valletta will do our best to help with your project... Miss Cal—"
"No, technically it's not my project, neither the Ancient Ministry, it's his. I'm merely here to supervise and make sure that everything goes smoothly. The Ancient Ministry merely provides support and we don't want to get credit for someone else's work." Robin interrupted.
"Urk......! Y-yes, of course."
Robin gave a satisfied nod at the whimpering RVM official. Other than her personal reasons, she has been assigned by her superiors to make sure that Meteos Roguerider, whose reforms have been steadily proved to benefit the Empire, can conduct his projects without trouble. If required, she will not hesitate to clobber the official to submission with her fists, but doing so will only upset her student. Still, she is not above using threats or subterfuge to accomplish her task.
The official from RVM also knows better not to risk the ire of someone representing the Ancient Ministry, the most influential government agency in the Empire, and the one who entrusted the Alpha Zero to them. With the disappointing result of analysis and reverse-engineering of the Alpha Zero, it is good enough that the Ancient Ministry still bothered to ask for their expertise. Although they have to work together with a rival institution, this is a chance for them to acquire funding and prestige by accomplishing the project, especially since the latest development by the RMA.
"Alright, then. If there's nothing else, we shall take our leave. Thank you very much," she said with a smile.
"T-the honor is mine, ma'am!"
"Alright. Let's go, kid. Where to next?"
After thanking the guide, Meteos and Robin walked out of the RVM complex, the sun was already hanging low in the sky, giving an eerie orange glow. Both of them returned to the Runepolis Magic Academy by taxi, but not before stopping by Aikon Corporation's headquarters because Meteos wanted to ask the CEO something.
----------------------
19:00
Runepolis Magic Academy
Walking to the Alchemy Department's laboratory, Meteos and Robin discussed their visit to RVM earlier this day.
"...You don't have to worry about blueprints, it is pretty much done. The problem here is the materials that will be used for the engine parts. If we use the current method of using a pure material enhanced with magic power, to make it stronger will require greater magic energy, which requires more highly purified magic ores, and it will be expensive. So I propose that we find an alternative to that, for example, combining several materials to create a new alloy that does not rely too much on magical reinforcement or even remove it entirely so that the energy can be used somewhere else, but strong enough to withstand heat and friction."
Hearing Meteos' explanation, Robin nodded.
"I see. About using magically enhanced materials, what is the main problem with them?" She asked.
"That is Ravernal's method, Miss Robin. Light-winged people have a magic power incomparable to other races in this world, of course they can use the brute force of their magic as they please. We humans and other sentient beings will never be able to do that, and yet those engineers wasted their time trying to replicate it. I mean, it's okay, it's just that they don't bother to find another way."
"Mm... rather uncreative, aren't they? I wonder why..."
Shrugging, Meteos continued to talk.
"By the way, Miss Robin, remember the first time we met? Back then, I considered creating a miniature turbojet engine instead of a conductive magnetic radar, but it was way too expensive beyond my savings, and I don't find the materials to be satisfactory."
"Is that so? Well, I'm looking forward to seeing this 'turbojet engine' that you will be creating!"
After entering the laboratory, they were greeted by a male elf wearing a white lab coat.
"Professor Calvello, and Mr. Roguerider, welcome to the Alchemy Department laboratory."
"Yes. Sorry for our sudden visit, but we have a favor to ask you, Shara."
"I'm all ears."
At his words, Meteos spoke up.
"We need to check if your lab has a sample of Non-Magic Conductible Ore #22."
Shara raised an eyebrow at the boy's strange request, but nodded and answered.
"I understand, then please fill the forms first."
Several minutes later, two metal cubes with the size of 4 × 4 × 4 centimeters were brought before them. Meteos picked one and examined it closely. They were both silver in color, very hard, but quite light.
"Where is this one came from?" He asked.
"That is a sample from the Meerky Kingdom, and that one from Altaras. Since these are non-magic conductible ores and they don't seem to have any use of it, we were able to acquire it for free."
"But if you can shape them into this, that means RMA's forge can process #22, right?"
"Yes, our forge can process and magically infuse metals up to Mithril-2+, but this one is quite hard to process than iron and cannot be infused with magic power in its pure form. We once tried to mix it with iron, but as a result, the impurity caused the process to enhance the resulting metal takes more time and magic power than usual, although it is stronger than the magically enhanced iron alloys. That's why the naval engineers don't use them as armor material since it only means a slower speed of using magical armor reinforcement."
Which did not fit the Empire's naval armor doctrine. HME Navy relied on the quick deployment of mana from powering the ship, the weapons, and reinforcing the entire ship's hull, which is made of pure magical alloys. That is also a Ravernal method, which means HME's attempt to do the same thing will always result in a far weaker output than the light-winged people, but since it always worked against other weapons in this known world, they never bothered to find an alternative way. Meteos didn't know whether it is a part of the virulent magical supremacism mindset or the engineers simply being lazy. Besides, all that problem will not become a problem once Meteos succeeded in creating the turbine engine, which is capable of producing larger output than the current ones fielded by the Empire.
In addition, the Ravernal material strengthening method cannot be applied to HME's aircraft, which has a much smaller engine. Thus, it is imperative that the development of a new alloy that does not rely on it be conducted as soon as possible.
After confirming that there is more of the material, also known as NMC-22, being stored in the RMA's Alchemy Department and further discussion, Meteos and Robin finished their business for the day and decided to return to their apartment. When they arrived at around 1 o'clock midnight, Walman was already asleep. They will have to continue the brainstorming of finding the perfect material for the turbojet engine tomorrow.
----------------------
Ventusmens 9, 1614 Central Calendar, 14:30
A yawning Meteos walked out of the classroom along with Walman. He can still remember the lessons today from his previous life, so he is quite bored. He can't wait for the semester to just end already, ever since he invented that conductive magnetic radar, he already secured his and Walman's dream to become an engineer. The RMA will more than happy to pass them both without a test.
A nudge from Walman broke him from his musings, and when he turned at him, Walman pointed with his chin toward a direction, and when he followed it with his eyes, he saw Nadia and her two friends. Remembering something from yesterday, Meteos smiled and walked at them.
"Um... hi, Meteos."
"Nadia, I heard that you looked for me yesterday. Sorry, I have an important business with Miss Robin," Meteos said apologetically.
"It's alright, I just wanted to say hi. After all, it's been a while."
"Oh, that's right. Nadia, I have something for you."
Meteos rummaged his bag and pulled a pair of small boxes, then showed it to Nadia. Annette and Sofia looked at each other in astonishment while Walman gawked at the sight of the boxes and then muttered under his breath, "He really did it..."
"Huh!? Aren't these...?"
"That's right! These are grimoires! If you want to call me or send me messages, don't hesitate to do so! There are manuals inside it. If I'm not busy, I'll try to answer. I also bought another one for your grandmother so you can call her anytime. Here, this is for you!" Meteos said with a wide grin.
This turn of events is totally unexpected for Nadia, whose face quickly began to turn red.
"W-wha... I... please wait a moment!"
She pulled her two friends away and began to talk in hushed tones to each other.
"What should I do!? He's been very kind to me but this is too much! I don't want to take advantage of his kindness!"
"No, I don't think he is bothered at all. Just look at him..." Annette pointed out.
"Just accept it, Nadia," Sofia added.
"But—"
"If you don't take them, Meteos might be disappointed. You want to see him look dejected?"
At Annette's words, Nadia glanced at the silver-haired boy. He was waiting patiently with Walman. She bit her lips before finally slumping her shoulders in resignation and walked to him.
"Alright... Meteos, thank you very much... I don't know what to think..."
"Don't worry about it. You should send the other one to your grandmother immediately," Meteos waved her off nonchalantly.
Nadia smiled shyly as she put the grimoire boxes into her bag.
"Hey, hey, Meteos, what about me?" Annette pointed to herself with a sly tone.
"Haah!? Your father is a duke, why don't you ask him to order it for you!?"
"Jeez... I'm just joking. Besides how is my father being a duke have anything to do with this?" She pouted.
To be honest, that remark stung. Here is her possible relative and he already hated her because some nobles decided to be arrogant assholes. Nadia and Sofia decided to call him out.
"Meteos, that was uncalled for!"
"I don't know if you hate nobles or something, but Anna's father is always a real gentleman, you know! He's not the typical stuck-up nobles!"
Meteos realized what he was just saying and flinched, "...Sorry. That was very rude of me. I don't mean any of that."
"...Alright. Then as an apology, you must buy us ice cream!"
"Seriously!? Didn't I say sorry already!? Argh, fine!"
"Heh, serves you right, Meteos. Next time you better think before you speak," Walman snickered.
Meteos threw his hand in exasperation while four of them laughed as they walked along the school's corridor to the entrance.
"You three, I heard that you are planning to take the equivalency exam, right?" Meteos turned to the girls and asked after they reached the school building's entrance.
"Well... that's right, is there any problem?" Nadia asked.
"Here's the thing. I wanted to ask for your help with my project. I have talked to Professor Robin about this, and if the project is finished, she agrees to vouch for anyone helping in my project to skip the exam altogether and got accepted in whatever department you want to join immediately."
He said that as if he was talking about the weather, but for the girls, this is a big deal.
"H-hold on! Can we discuss this first!?" Annette held up her hands.
"Sure. But it's preferable that you tell me your decision immediately."
Meteos pulled a paper and a pen, then wrote a set of numbers in it before handing it over to Nadia.
"That is my grimoire's number. You will need it to call other people's grimoires. If you have decided, call me immediately. Okay?"
The next day, the three of them agreed to help Meteos in his project.
That's right, when given a chance, don't miss it.
Especially when the power of the insider is strong in this one.
----------------------
Currently Publicly Available Information
ALPHA ZERO
A Heavenly Vessel developed by the Ancient Sorcerous Empire, it was given the designation of "Object 16" by the Ministry of Ancient Sorcerous Empire Countermeasures. There are several intact planes that managed to be discovered, one of them was given to the Runes Valletta Academy of Magic for analysis and reverse-engineering. That particular individual plane was missing an engine and a nose cone believed to house a mana detector or a conductive magnetic radar.