#2. What Was That Name Again?

A peaceful lecture period.

Professor Rachel had arrived.

…?

What is it?

Why is she here?

“My apologies, Professor Peter. Is there a student named Rain Ortiz present?”

“Eh? Rain Ortiz, you say?”

A murmur rippled through the room.

“Isn’t Rain that one kid? From the entrance ceremony.”

“Oh, right, that’s him.”

Damn it. After all the effort I put into being forgotten.

Why are they looking for *me* all of a sudden?

An unexpected situation. Should I try to hide and pretend I don’t exist? Or should I volunteer to come forward?

If I hide, I won’t get credit for attending. But if I go out there… Ah, it feels like I’m being forced to choose.

“Crap…”

Attendance, or attracting unwanted attention?

A weighty decision.

Ultimately choosing the latter, I carefully rose from my seat.

“Uh, it’s me. Rain Ortiz…”

“Ah, is that him?”

“Pretty average.”

The voice, barely a whisper, was proof of my nerves.

I hated being the center of attention even in my past life. This situation was just the worst.

Who enjoys people whispering about them? I felt like screaming, just letting out all my frustration.

“Student, can I see you for a moment?”

But it was the professor who was calling me.

This was unnerving.

Terrifyingly unnerving.

Not only did the professor know my name, but she came looking for me?

What could be more horrifying than this?

I endured the weight of their gazes, and followed Professor Rachel out.

“Can I ask what this is about…?”

“Wait. Let’s talk in my lab.”

…A matter that needed to be discussed in her lab?

My anxiety deepened.

After that, an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. So heavy that I wanted to just disappear while we walked.

“Here we are.”

A neatly arranged room. Books were meticulously shelved, and chairs were all pointed in the same direction.

It was a lab that clearly reflected Professor Rachel’s personality.

“Have a seat there. Can I get you some tea?”

In this situation, the professor herself offering to make tea?

Wouldn’t it be more harmful than poison? Mentally speaking, that is.

“No, thank you. More importantly, what did you want to talk about…?”

Professor Rachel stared at me for a long moment before retrieving a paper and placing it in front of me.

It was my assignment.

In that instant, all my questions were answered.

Oh, dear.

How truly terrible must it have been for her to come after me personally?

This was the price for cutting corners.

“Rain Ortiz.”

“…Yes?”

“How did you discover this?”

“Huh?”

I gave her a bewildered look.

…Discover?

“This circuit. How did you discover it?”

“…?”

“No, no. I suppose ‘invent’ is the more appropriate word.”

“What in the world is that noise?”

I wore a blank face, double-checking my assignment.

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, ‘Magitechnology’ wasn’t exactly advanced.

Current magic circuits are all about ‘extraction’ and ‘conversion.’ Simply put, it’s extracting mana from mana stones and then activating pre-set spells. It’s hardly even circuit-level, really.

But according to the report I wrote, it’s possible to create magical effects without casting spells.

In other words, I…

Invented direct and alternating current.

What insane nonsense.

I never imagined that artificial intelligence would write down such a novel concept.

I should have checked it before submitting, no matter how busy I was…

“Rain Ortiz.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Aren’t you going to respond?”

“Well, that’s…”

“Yes, it’s understandable you’d be skeptical.”

“No, that’s not it…”

Professor Rachel took a step back. Then, closing her eyes.

“I swear on my heart, I will not take credit for your work.”

She just blurted out a ‘Swear.’

What is a swear?

It’s a promise utilizing mana. If the promise is broken, the ownership of the ‘something’ used as a condition, transfers to the other party.

Professor Rachel put her heart on the line. It’s no different than staking her life.

A blue energy swirled around Professor Rachel’s chest. As soon as it calmed down, she opened her eyes again.

“No, why go this far…”

“Answer me quickly.”

At this point, I can’t keep my mouth shut. Dammit, I’m already confused, and she’s not even giving me time to think.

My immediate thought was to have the system answer for me. But if I rely on the system again, the situation might only worsen.

In the end, I started answering whatever came to mind.

“I thought the existing circuits were inefficient.”

“Why did you think that?”

“In the case of existing magic circuits, magic is essential. That’s the problem. Even when creating just one magical tool, you absolutely need one engineer and one mage. Magitechnology becomes more expensive, but it’s never commercialized.”

“…continue.”

“That’s where I got the idea. What if we could create magical effects without magic? Mana stones contain mana, and mana holds infinite possibilities. If we can properly control mana, anything is possible, right?”

Professor Rachel was silent for a while.

Then, she opened her mouth again.

“So… you created this?”

“Yes.”

“To control the flow and pressure of mana?”

“That’s right.”

“Just an assignment?”

“…The professor gave it to us.”

Professor Rachel staggered. Clutching her head, she laughed hollowly.

“Ha, hahaha… This is an innovation. Do you understand? Rain Ortiz, you’ve made an incredible invention…”

“I-Is it really that significant?”

“Yes! It’s worthy of having your name etched into the Empire’s history books right now.”

Professor Rachel, in her excitement, began to ramble to herself.

“With this, Magical Engineering can be adopted as a core subject. Haha! Those Magic Faculty b*stards who used to look down on me will surely…”

“…Professor?”

“Ah, apologies. I’ll contact you again later, so you’re free to go for today.”

I quickly slipped out of the lab.

…Something feels wrong.

I guess it’s good since I’ll get a good grade?

Yeah, let’s think positively.

Living normally isn’t a problem yet. I can just hand the technology over to Professor Rachel.

Oaths can also be rescinded with mutual consent.

“I’m glad I can fix it…”

I should refrain from using the system in the future.

“Now that I think about it, I left in the middle of class, I wonder if attendance will be marked…”

*

The Magical Engineering professor, ‘Rachel Arte,’ is an elite.

During her Academy days, she always held the top spot.

She was appointed as a professor at the youngest age ever.

She swept up all kinds of awards and raised the level of the Magical Engineering field itself.

More than anything, she’s a star in the Engineering world, the one who created the current magic circuit.

However, Magical Engineering was still not a promising field.

People around Rachel always said. You should have majored in magic instead.

Rachel had loved Magical Engineering since she was young. The reason she commits herself to the bleak future of Magical Engineering is also because of that. What’s wrong with doing what one loves?

Actually, there was a problem. The inherent characteristic of Magical Engineering, that it’s difficult to develop, became a problem.

The reason Magical Engineering is bleak is because its limitations are clear. Even Rachel, a genius of the century, couldn’t find a way to break those limitations.

Until today.

‘This is impossible.’

A student solved all the problems in a single morning. It was done by a freshman.

Do you have any idea how amazing this achievement is?

Rachel started to get excited.

There are more things to research. New inventions can be made. Now it’s only a matter of time before we catch up with other disciplines.

Magical Engineering, it will change the world.

“Haha, hahahaha…”

And so, she devoted herself to research.

She converted all scheduled lectures to cancellations, and for two days straight, she didn’t sleep, carrying out all kinds of experiments.

Professor Rachel was a genius. Perhaps not quite on par with Raine’s grasp of direct and alternating current, but the sheer feat of devising the existing circuits in the first place was achievement enough.

What would happen when she became truly engrossed?

For two days, Rachel threw herself into experiments, solidifying her theories of direct and alternating current. She even managed to construct a few prototypes.

There was no time to sleep. Or rather, no need.

It was exhilarating. Truly. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt such scholarly fervor.

Raine Ortiz.

It was all thanks to Raine Ortiz.

“I have an extraordinary student…”

Rachel made a silent vow.

When Raine Ortiz graduated, she would take her under her wing. Without fail.

*

A chill ran down my spine. What was that just now? Why this sudden ominous feeling…?

Ah, now wasn’t the time to dwell on such things. The next class was starting in less than a minute.

I sprinted as fast as I could and arrived at the lecture hall.

“Whew, not late.”

I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Predictably, all the seats in the back were taken. The only spots left were in the very front… The seats everyone avoided, the perfect place to make eye contact with the professor.

“…”

I had no choice. I couldn’t very well stand for the entire lecture.

As soon as I sat down, the professor walked in.

This class was a general education course. ‘Understanding Magic Calculation Formulas’. To be honest, it was boring.

But what could I do? It was my fault for choosing such a dull elective.

And so, the class began.

“Hnnng.”

Maybe it was the release of tension.

Thump.

“…Ah.”

I was a little sleepy.

Drooling, and hitting my head on the desk.

Just one ridiculous thing after another.

This wouldn’t do; I couldn’t fall asleep.

It was all Professor Rachel’s fault.

Assigning strange projects that kept me up all night.

Suddenly barging in and putting me on edge.

“……”

I ended up dozing off for a moment.

And at a terrible moment, too.

“Student.”

“Hnnngh.”

“Student, what’s your name?”

Oh, heavens.