Chapter 106: Explosion

Lett gripped the armrests of his seat tightly.

Seeing the successful development of the magic crystal bomb, he felt an overwhelming sense of excitement…

He had long grown tired of the dull and tedious life in the St. Lawrence Mage Tower, where all he ever did was clean the corridors over and over again.

But here, in Idar, he had finally found his value as a mage apprentice!

Although most of the credit belonged to Earl Bruno, since he provided the overall concept and key details for creating the magic crystal bomb, he had at least been able to contribute and benefit from it!

He could even consider himself one of the first members of the Idar School!

Thinking of this, Lett suddenly felt that trekking across mountains and valleys with like-minded companions to reach Idar was probably the best decision of his life!

A spacious and well lit magic array laboratory, a clear research direction, and the ability to draw fascinating magic arrays using his staff these were things he had never experienced before.

Although they faced various difficulties and setbacks throughout the process, experiencing frustration after repeated failures, Lett believed that this was what being a mage apprentice was truly about!

Staying in the Mage Tower and cleaning every day certainly meant he wouldn't face setbacks, but… what meaning was there in such a life?

Any ordinary person could do that job, and forcing mage apprentices to take care of the cleaning was nothing more than a way to satisfy the vanity of those so-called great mages.

Lett loved his life now.

Every morning, as the eastern sky just began to brighten, he and his fellow mage apprentices would struggle to get out of bed and start running laps around their quarters.

This was one of the requirements set by Earl Bruno.

Because they had spent their days cooped up in the Mage Tower, the mage apprentices had become physically weak, to the point where even a mild illness could leave them bedridden.

This was highly detrimental to the long term research of magic arrays or rather, it was highly detrimental to Bruno's ability to maximize their productivity.

Thus, under Bruno's orders, no matter how heavy their workload was, they had to exercise every morning to improve their fragile bodies.

After all, this world's medical standards were far from advanced. No matter what illness you caught, the standard treatment was simple bloodletting.

Although mages could sense and manipulate the magic energy present in nature, their physical condition was no different from that of ordinary people. They didn't have longer lifespans, nor were they immune to all poisons. There were even cases where mages had died from excessive bloodletting during treatment.

From Bruno's perspective, mages were one of Idar's most precious and irreplaceable resources. If they died from something as trivial as a cold, it would greatly hinder the progress of magic array research.

On one side of the magic array research laboratory, there was a wide and flat testing ground. This was where the first magic crystal bomb of Idar was detonated.

A large portion of the testing ground had been scorched black by the explosion's flames, and several trees had been snapped in half when the bomb went off.

Even though the magic crystal bomb had already been successfully developed, Bruno had yet to witness its explosion firsthand.

"Earl, please step back a bit. The magic crystal bomb is extremely powerful," said Arnel, carefully retrieving a fist sized magic crystal bomb from a tightly sealed wooden box.

According to the mage apprentices, the power of the magic crystal bomb was directly related to the amount of magic energy stored within the crystal and the performance of the compression array.

As a result, given the current level of technology, the larger the magic crystal bomb, the greater its power.

The bomb that Arnel was holding had been designed based on Bruno's concept of a 'grenade'.

"As per your request, Earl, this 'grenade' bomb can be used by ordinary soldiers. They can detonate it by flipping the switch on the bomb's surface, which will destroy the compression array within the magic crystal, causing the stored magic energy to rapidly overflow. Of course, to ensure soldiers have enough time to throw it, there is a delay of at least five seconds after activation."

This was actually Bruno's first time seeing a magic crystal bomb in person.

Unlike the grenades on Earth, this magic crystal grenade looked more like a flawless work of art.

Magic crystals were semi-transparent minerals that emitted a faint blue glow, and the engraved array patterns shimmered within this blue light, appearing and disappearing like a mirage.

Once Bruno had retreated to a safe distance, Arnel without using magic flipped the switch on the surface of the magic crystal grenade and threw it forcefully forward.

A few seconds later, with a sudden, earth-shattering roar, the magic crystal grenade exploded upon hitting the ground.

BOOM!

Like divine retribution, a dazzling shockwave spread out from the center of the explosion.

Blazing firelight appeared out of nowhere, and with a scorching heatwave, the nearby trees were set ablaze in an instant.

The power of the magic crystal grenade far exceeded Bruno's expectations. Perhaps due to the amplification effect of magic, its destructive force was even greater than Earth's grenades.

"You've passed the assessment."

After a moment of silence, Bruno finally spoke.

The mage apprentices froze for a second, then immediately dropped to their knees in excitement.

"Master!" They shouted in unison.

Although Bruno had not personally participated in the research of magic arrays, he had a clear understanding of their principles.

The distance between different lines, their angles, and even the interactions between various lines and structures could all impact the functionality of a magic array.

Thus, every single line in a magic array had an optimal position, and different combinations of structures could result in entirely different effects.

And if one wanted to optimize a magic array, the most critical requirement was complex mathematical calculations!

For the people of this era, using mathematical calculations to determine the optimal pathways for magic arrays was an incredibly difficult task.

But for Bruno, all it took was ten points of Glory to purchase the complete mathematics curriculum from elementary school to university in the system's shop!

Thus, as their mentor, Bruno was more than qualified.