Inkgrit Adler was originally a talented mage like the other top students at Raven Academy. However, her real talent lies in her ability to design things.
Something out of the world or novelty.
Exactly one year from now, Inkgrit would invent a Magic Rifle. A practical weapon that could convert Mana into an energy blast as output damage, not magic elements like mages do.
The whole school turned upside down after such a revolutionary idea was presented. It was too bizarre for the logic of the mages, so they had a hard time accepting it at that time.
New things that were not familiar were difficult for many people to accept.
So, the discovery of the magic weapon received mixed reactions. There were those who agreed and considered Inkgrit a visionary. And there were those who thought it was something that violated the rules of magic and the ethics of mages.
Apart from those mixed opinions, a Magic Rifle could also only be used by people who have a lot of Mana. And that weighed heavily on many mages, even though it was capable of casting spells without incantation with it.
In other words, the invention was not as effective and efficient as it was described.
The impracticality of those weapons made everyone who agreed and believed in Inkgrit's ability as an engineer fade slowly with uncertainty.
But, Inkgrit didn't give up and kept trying to improve and update the invention even though no one supported her at all.
Finally, two years passed after the first prototype Magic Rifle was created. And sadly, war broke out in seven places at once in the Azure Realm. That created chaos everywhere.
Even Raven Academy was affected even though it had nothing to do with the war. In addition, Inkgrit also disappeared during the riot at the school.
The war situation was getting out of control. Some were quick, and some lasted a long time. In the end, only suffering and death remained from the wars.
In those wars, there were troops using Magic Rifles that were exactly made by Inkgrit before. But, many didn't care about that because the quantity was diminutive, and it could be said that it didn't really affect the course of the war. So, no one was looking to find out where the weapon came from.
And then, in 725, after the fall of Mada City, the battle that marked the era of the Omni Wars began. It took place between the two great nations, the Tucan Kingdom and the Asylum Empire.
Even though it was called a formidable and superpower kingdom, Tucan was defeated by the Asylum with the new troops armed with Magic Rifles. Apart from that, the Asylum also had Magic Cannons and Magic Ballistae, which were able to destroy the thick walls of the Tucan defenses quickly.
Subsequently, the direction of wars changed drastically. Those revolutionary weapons began to be given importance, and their numbers unknowingly increased until every small nation had them and could wage war freely as they wished.
When Aizen reached the highest power in the world, wars were intricate to stop with the presence of those new types of weapons. He was overwhelmed and tried to stop or destroy it. But fate was not on his side
The arms dealer, who turned out to be the mastermind behind the distribution of magic weapons, mysteriously disappeared.
And now he was back in time with no clues or information about the arms dealer other than its name, the Brotherhood of Spectre. But after taking another look at Inkgrit, he realized he still had a clue and a chance to prevent the Omni War.
Inkgrit and the Brotherhood of Spectre were definitely related to each other.
It was impossible for those magic weapons to be unrelated to Inkgrit, the engineer, who also happened to disappear at the start of the war in 724.
"Are you okay?!" Inkgrit asked Aizen, who was still lying on the ground with his arms over his head.
Aizen didn't respond despite being awakened from his reminisces of his previous life. He cast aside the matter of the Brotherhood of Spectre and focused on dealing with the current problem, Arman.
"Who the f*ck is this b*tch!? This is my business, and you are in no position to interfere! Get out of my sight! Now!"
Arman shouted with displeasure. His four friends also gave Inkgrit a disdainful look as if seeing a lowly class creature.
Inkgrit certainly wasn't afraid of the ridicule. She stood up and faced the five boys with burning eyes and a spirit of courage. She was displeased to see someone being bullied before her eyes.
"The behavior of the five of you is inappropriate and inhumane! If you don't stop, I will report this to the teacher!"
Arman and his friends chuckled at Inkgrit's words. A bluff like that wouldn't work against them.
But before the conflict turned into chaos, suddenly, a guard came and stopped the crowd.
"What are you guys doing here? Disperse! No spectacle here, and get back to lining up for your class assignments! Hurry up!" Shouted the guard.
Arman wanted to retaliate but was held back by his four friends. He then realized his carelessness.
The guard was a tier-2 Knight. So in terms of strength, it was impossible for the five of them to win.
Using the mayor's authority?
Arman could only bite his fingers about that. Despite his father being a Viscount, Raven Academy had the direct support of the high nobles of Gredbury, the capital of the Aslan Empire.
So, he couldn't mess around and make a big deal out of it, even though his father had a good relationship with all the staff, professors, and the principal.
His father had said that his mistakes would more or less be overlooked by Raven Academy. However, he couldn't quarrel with the staff and professors there, including the guards.
Arman and his friends clicked their tongues and turned around, returning to the line while stamping their feet on the ground in dissatisfaction.
That made the other students rush aside, voluntarily giving up their queue at the front.
Inkgrit was not happy and protested to the guard. "Why don't you punish the five of them? There are many students who have seen them beat this boy to a pulp. Besides, seeing their bad behavior, why don't they be reprimanded?" She said while pointing down behind her, then pointing forward at Arman and his friends.
The guard looked at Inkgrit nonchalantly and said, "Return to your lines. And there's no need to deal with unimportant matters. Besides, the boy you're referring to looks fine behind you." He then left, leaving the three students alone at the back of the queue.
Inkgrit was surprised to hear that and looked back. She saw that Aizen, although shabby and dirty, looked fine with the help of his friend, Milo.
"Are you... are you okay?"
Aizen once again didn't reply and was busy brushing dirt off his clothes. Instead, it was Milo who replied to Inkgrit.
"We are fine. Thank you for helping and worrying about us."
Inkgrit approached and said, "Let me help and report this later to the teacher. I'm sure they will be punished for it."
Aizen brushed off Inkgrit's hand that wanted to help clean his clothes. He then gave a sharp glare to the girl in front of him.
Right now, all that was on his mind was whether or not he should kill the engineer for the sake of the living beings of the Azure Realm. Even though he didn't have any information, he believed that eliminating Inkgrit would prevent the technology of these magical weapons from being born.
That way, the Omni War would be easily stopped with his full power.
Unknowingly, Aizen's killing intent radiates.
That made Milo stumble to the side while Inkgrit froze in silence. The two of them instantly found it hard to breathe, and cold sweat dripped down their necks.
Like prey ready to be devoured by a predator.
On the other hand, Milo, with great difficulty after swallowing his spit, tried to speak while stuttering.
"A-Aizen..., what are you doing? Y-You, feel like a murderer. P-Please stop."
Inkgrit also made an effort to speak. But Aizen got rid of his killing intent first.
She and Milo immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She was angry but tried to hold it in while Milo quickly wiped off his cold sweat.
"I don't know why you did that, but it would be nice if you went to the infirmary to get checked out."
"R-Right! We'd better go to the infirmary to check on you." Milo added to Inkgrit's words. He was still frightened because of Aizen's intent.
"I'm fine," Aizen said, dismissing their suggestion to go to the infirmary.
Inkgrit rolled her eyes and turned around. She was a little miffed at Aizen.
'What was the previous one? Does he want to kill me? Crazy! I just helped him, though. Ungrateful! Besides, he also rejected my advice. There seems to be something wrong with this boy's head!'
However, Aizen's next words made Inkgrit halt in confusion.
"If you think you have helped me. Then you are wrong. Instead, you are in trouble now."