The next day, I put the ghosts and brothers to work first, and went to check out the crevasse — I'd never seen geological formations like this before, and it was a chance I couldn't pass up.
Well, I can see why geologists are always on an adventure, or so I thought. It's as if giant arrows of crystals pierced the rock, grew out of the bowels of the earth, and got stuck in the mountain. Cut, sharp lines, luster and colors of the rose quartz veins — very beautiful, and to try to describe this beauty would only spoil the impression for those who will see it in person.
I will only say that this view will touch everyone, albeit in different degrees, but it will not remain indifferent, I think! The vein of gold was not impressive. Honestly. Just a crooked strip of yellow color with a lot of little veins coming off the main line, and that's all. Well, that's how they're shown in movies, so I wasn't expecting anything wonderful, so I wasn't disappointed. But I was wondering: how to choose?
Anyway, I spent the whole next week with new thoughts, during which I used a lot of paper for sketches. Life went on as usual, and I even started to communicate with students from Mahoutokoro, a magical academy in Japan.
They told me that the academy enrolls all gifted children, and there is even something like a nursery where they take children from four or five years old, but the main enrollment is from seven years old. In general, the academy uses a standard method of education, with a division into junior, middle, and high school, as well as specialized higher courses (something like an institute graduate school or something like that).
These are the trainees who came here under a long-standing agreement between the clans and the government, and while they're on vacation, the boys and girls here get acquainted with real work. It's a good method, I like it. And in general, the more I learn about this country, the more I like their teaching methods with their rational methodology, their approach.
On the other hand, after serious processing of personnel, very often they are thrown out on the street and they look for work on their own. It will be very lucky if during the internship the student will be attracted to a possible employer. That's bullshit if you ask me.
There's plenty of work for magicians in the country, and not even enough personnel (I know this from talking to Goro-san and his wife), but the central government and the clans, for some reason, pay little attention to this matter, just overworking their people beyond the norm, taking away their days off. In short, strange people.
Or do all mages have their own weirdness, like in the movie Scarface Boy? Well, it doesn't affect me, so there's no point in worrying about it. And if it does, I can already see the solution, so no problem.
Returning to Mahoutokoro, I should add that the social aspect of the academy is also well thought out: there is a strong caste with the power of the clan children, and the subordination of the mages of the first generation, or "returned" — the descendants of those clans who for some reason lost the gift of magic. But because of their aristocratic upbringing, the most influential children don't flaunt their exclusivity, even eating in the common dining hall.
Well, it's not the custom here to stick out your lip for no reason. Everybody knows everything, and that's why the aristocrats stay in their own circle, contacting the commoners through their servants or, very rarely, by themselves.
The "commoners" pretend not to notice the dark affairs of the highborn and go about their lives, although it must be admitted that some have enough sense to try to join the elite in order to arrange a future. It is not uncommon for a particularly beautiful gifted woman to go to some clan as a concubine or, less commonly, as a younger wife. And talented mages who have successfully glimpsed will go into service right after the farewell ceremony.
All in all, everything is just like ordinary people. Again, I liked the way the trainees described the elite here, who do not get involved in bickering and squabbling because it is beneath their dignity to resemble the plebs — they have servants and guards for that.
Even if it's arrogant, everything is clear to everyone, and besides, the power in the hands of the clans is real, and they can afford such behavior. It's a pity that I'm not allowed to go to the academy (it's allowed for clansmen, but ordinary gifted people have to study there, and only at the age of eighteen can they choose how to live their lives).
After a week, the first prototype was created, which I named "Harvester". Its purpose follows from its name — to collect materials, perhaps in the future, and ingredients. It looks like the same spider, only the back part is much longer and has three more pairs of legs. The connection to the cephalothorax itself is more mobile and reinforced, due to the future tasks, the raison d'être of the Harvester.
The joint allows the "cargo bay" to bend differently, so that the "hatch" at the bottom, near the joint, can do its job, and the pair of stingers can do theirs. Two more pairs of paws support the expanding womb.
This was the kind of monster I had created with the help of spirits that had already grown considerably with my magic. The first test proved the new spiders worthy. When this monster rose to the light and, splitting along the womb (unloading mechanism: just open like a clam shell), dumped the extracted crystals onto the grass, I was delighted.
Real joy! I wanted to scream and dance, but education had time to repel such impulses, and I just smiled, groped, and looked at the broken sapphire druze. Of course, it was a pity to break the "sphere" in which the treasure was hidden, for it was very beautiful.
The entire inner surface of the perfect sphere was covered with small crystals, and in the center was the largest crystal, with several smaller ones on the sides. It was beautiful, very beautiful, but it would take a long time to dig the whole "ball" out of the wall, and to lift it up, some passages would have to be widened considerably. I even had to widen some cracks for the harvester, not to mention the ball. But never mind, the main thing is that the homemade mutant spider proved to be "Above Expected" and that only added to my joy.