Charlie and Qingtong exchanged a smile.
"It seems David has a heart that seeks pure love," Charlie paused and unconsciously said, "But if his target is a common girl, this approach might not be very effective!"
"Oh? How do you know?! Has the great romantic of Hainei started to impart his wisdom?" Qingtong shot him a glare and said, "That's a blatant bias! What's wrong with common girls? Don't they deserve pure love too? Must it always be a monetary approach? How can you be so vulgar! I completely misjudged you!"
Qingtong suddenly erupted, catching Charlie off guard. However, the hint of jealousy in her retort made Charlie feel a bit secretly pleased.
"I admit, it is a bias, my fault, too vulgar!" Charlie raised his hands with an awkward smile and said, "I'm not a romantic; I'm just a kid who hasn't truly experienced love, so please don't crush my tender little heart like this."
Qingtong let out a snort.
Seeing this, Colin quickly changed the subject: "Actually, my brother does have a competitor from Roma City, a young master who is using the methods you mentioned, Charlie. To see which method works, we just need to look at who succeeds."
Charlie laughed, "David is learning to sketch? He should ask me! I'm learning too, and I should be able to teach him now."
Qingtong shot him a glance, "Really? You have talent in this area?"
"Don't believe me? Just wait; I'll go get my drawing tools and sketch something for you."
Qingtong pouted, "Cut it out! Let's talk about serious matters!"
Charlie sobered and said earnestly, "The main reason I brought you all out is to form a small team. This is a tradition in the academy. The next time a mission starts, the academy will require us to create our own teams. Also, the year-end evaluations are based on small teams. Team culture permeates every aspect of our academy life, so we need to take this first step."
Colin immediately agreed, "Great! So our team has just the four of us? Aren't we missing someone?"
"Qianxue will also join; the formal members will be the five of us, while Aileen will be a reserve member. Do you have any objections?"
Qingtong pondered, "Charlie, shouldn't we be more cautious about forming a team? It requires careful role distribution. The academy recommends that at least two warriors be included, one of whom should ideally be a defensive type to handle various unexpected situations.
With your current distribution, all five of us are mages, and we don't have a healer. How can we manage? If we encounter a creature immune to magical attacks, won't we be helpless?!"
Qingtong's analysis immediately exposed the issue.
Colin suddenly felt a bit awkward; the two of them were both mages, occupying two slots, while there was already Charlie and Qingtong in the team, whose magical abilities were undoubtedly superior. In comparison, he and his brother felt like dead weight.
Charlie shook his head and laughed, "I've never concerned myself with team configurations; the most important thing is trust and the willingness to risk our lives for each other. Right now, the only ones who meet those criteria are you, so that's why I called you.
As for whether this configuration is good or not, we won't know until we try it. I think having five mages is quite powerful! If you believe in me, don't worry about these issues; I'll compensate for the shortcomings!"
Though he sounded overly confident, his past experiences had earned him such a reputation.
Colin replied, "I have no objections; I support this decision! The only concern I have is that my brother and I might drag everyone down!"
Charlie looked earnestly at the beautiful girl before him, "Qingtong, are you willing?"
This question seemed to carry a special significance. Why did he ask like that? He must be doing this on purpose!!
Qingtong's face flushed, her fair skin turning a shade of pink that spread to her neck. She gently uttered one word, "Yes."
Charlie's smile blossomed, "Then it's settled! In a few days, I'll submit the application, and once we have the formal contract, I'll gather everyone to sign it."
"Okay."
…
Back at Master Nahr's magic tower, the master was still busy in his study, deeply pondering and seemingly trapped in some dilemma.
Seeing Charlie peeking in at the door, Nahr called out, "Charlie, come over here; I want to discuss something with you."
Charlie responded and approached.
Nahr waved for him to sit down and said, "I've submitted the paper."
Charlie waited silently for a moment but found the master lost in thought, staring blankly at him.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Nahr put down his pen, sighed heavily, "We're challenging the millennia-old mage rating system of the Wagerland continent and playing the role of a troublemaker, so of course, we'll face significant resistance. The academy's higher-ups find it controversial, so they've distributed the paper to some high-ranking archmages, and it hasn't been publicly released yet."
"Uh! Is there a deeper meaning here?"
Nahr shook his head, "As it stands, the strongest reactions are from the Mage Council; several esteemed mages are quite interested in this paper because it's currently the most likely plan to advance the existing framework. They've urged me to come up with a more persuasive and comprehensive proposal.
However, most other mages hold a generally opposing view. They're truly short-sighted; their first reaction to any new ideas is to oppose them without any reason, and they never take the time to understand others' new perspectives."
Charlie replied quietly, "Fear of change is in the nature of conservatives; to awaken them, you must shatter their protective shells!"
"I think the same way, and the opportunity is coming soon." Nahr pushed a piece of parchment across the table to Charlie and smiled, "The editor of the Millennium Magic Report is visiting the academy, and they're preparing a special issue to report on the new magical ideas emerging from the Arcane Circle, aiming to promote a grassroots magical movement.
The editor has chosen our project and has discussed it with the higher-ups of the academy, deciding to hold a large public debate. The topic of the debate will be that we are the affirmative side, while the other instructors from the academy will be the negative side. Are you confident you can defeat them?"
"If it's about reasoning, I'm not afraid of anyone!"
Nahr laughed heartily, "Good! Then you'd better be prepared; the debate is set for two weeks from now. During this time, the Millennium Magic Report will handle the publicity, and it's likely to generate a significant response.
Let's discuss the details when we have time and refine our algorithms. There are still many difficulties I haven't fully thought through, as the scope is too broad and the rules are too complicated, and time is so tight."
At this point, thinking about the challenges he had just faced, Nahr suddenly became heavy-hearted. If he couldn't even get past his own hurdle, he might be left speechless by his opponents, which would truly be a disaster!
"Alright."
After a pause, Nahr said, "You are the initiator of this idea. I originally wanted to discuss this with you to see if I could gain some inspiration from you, but I found you hadn't been in the magic tower all afternoon."
The implication there carried a hint of complaint.
Charlie explained, "I received a friend's advice and decided to form my own team. I just met with a few friends in the trading district and lost quite a bit of time."
Nahr rubbed his face and sighed, "Fine! I'm not blaming you; I might just be a bit stressed lately. If we don't perform well in this debate, it could lead to the collapse of this proposal. I'm really worried!"
Charlie smiled reassuringly, "Actually, you don't need to feel anxious, regardless of the outcome of this debate, we are all winners!"
This was a fresh perspective, and Nahr responded with an "oh" of interest as he looked at Charlie.
Charlie spoke confidently, "There's always a back-and-forth process from the emergence of a new idea to its gradual acceptance. The mainstream stubborn thinking doesn't want to leave the stage, and new ideas will inevitably face fierce blows and suppression. The more intense the conflict, the more the value of the new ideas is highlighted.
You don't need to be too concerned about the rigor of the algorithms; something new will inevitably have its imperfections and incompleteness.
I believe our goal is not necessarily to defeat all opponents in the debate, but to share new ideas and provoke more thoughts and reflections from others. As long as we achieve that, we've already won; the outcome of the debate itself doesn't matter! Truly good things will definitely rise in the future!"
Upon hearing this, Nahr suddenly stood still, dazed for a good while before coming to realize it.
Then, Nahr showed a sheepish smile, applauding as he said, "Bravo! Very well said! I can hardly believe you're just a fifteen-year-old kid. I'm more and more curious about what kind of person your father is to have raised you like this.
Even I haven't reached your level, unable to let go of mycompetitive spirit and desire for fame and wealth. Ah! It's truly embarrassing!"
Charlie smiled in response.
"Then there's no need to let this trouble you any further." Nahr stretched and let out a long sigh, flipping through a stack of papers on the desk, saying, "Let me take a look at your recent assignments."
Charlie couldn't help but chuckle inwardly; this teacher was also someone who couldn't sit still.
Nahr selected a few drafts from the papers, spreading Charlie's recent assignments out on the table. From left to right, each drawing had the same characteristic.
Nahr couldn't help but show a satisfied expression, "Hmm! As always, precise. If all the assignments turned in by students maintained this level of attitude and quality, the teacher's lifespan would likely be extended by several years."
Charlie smiled again.
Nahr pondered for a moment, "You have already mastered eight complex magic array diagrams; perhaps I can try introducing you to some basic magic runes."
Charlie asked, "Aren't magic runes harder than magic array diagrams?"
"Individually, they are much simpler. The two are different concepts. A magic array diagram is a component of a spell model; it indicates the characteristics of the magic and is nearly immutable unless you modify the magic.
Magic runes are a bit special; they are like small units. Each small rune has its own characteristics—some can increase mana recovery speed, some can enhance magic transmission speed, and others can boost your strength. They can be combined organically to create more complex composite runes.
For example: clarity runes, torrent emergence runes, recovery runes, etc. These are classic composite runes and some of the most valuable discoveries in modern magical history. The attributes and skills you acquire from equipping them come from these runes.
The overlap and combination of runes are the greatest challenges in rune engraving and also where its value lies. As a rookie rune engraver, you should start learning from basic runes and then gradually work your way up to higher-level composite runes, understanding the principles and elements of rune construction. This is a long process of knowledge and experience accumulation.
Once you master most of the composite runes and acquire some skills, you can obtain the title of 'Rune Engraver'; of course, that's not the end."