112 Discoveries

[ Memory Crystal was categorized to consumable and non-consumable. Consumable Memory Crystal only allows a single individual to forcefully learn the knowledge in contains. Non-consumable Memory Crystal can only be used by a special Mana Artifact that was capable of deciphering it. ]

"Hmm... I heard a little about that, tell me more and what was this level you've discovered?" Wallace replied after getting a response from the Avalon.

[ All Consumable Memory Crystals were made by nature while all Non-Consumable Memory Crystals were created by human researchers or Mana Practitioners during the 3rd Generation Era of Artifact Development. ]

Wallace tried to process the information he just learned. He hadn't thought too much about the Memory Crystals before but this time, he was quite interested on how the early magicians had managed to inject a particular knowledge in a crystal for other's usage and how did they managed to create a non-consumable crystal from it. Wallace continued to listen.

[ Consumable Memory Crystals were naturally developed stones that can be mined within multiple places in the southern continent. The Zairus, where you mentioned as your home country, was said to have a single mine in Stella Region that provides supplies for the whole country. ]

"Stella Region? That's near my home town." Wallace remarked and this brought him some bad memories where he had a dream about the Meredith Empire's descent on this planet. The empire's Conqueror Starship had descended in Stella Region which had been visible from their Red Star Town. Although they were separated by more than fifty kilometers, the several monstrous size Starships floating in the sky made it look like it was very near.

[ The Non-consumable Memory Crystals were also made from the naturally developed crystals that were mined but it was processed differently. These crystals will be mixed with other raw materials to produce a crystal that could store an amount of data with a small to large capacity. Anyone who had reached even a low level of Mana Manipulation could extract information from these Non-consumables as long as they possess the Mana Artifact used to decipher them.

The Consumable Memory Crystal was put into two levels by an unnamed researcher. The first level was what normally being consumed to enhance the knowledge of magicians called Essence Memory Crystal. It was said to be a low-level form of using Memory Crystal. The high-level form was called Eidos Memory Crystal where the crystal would not be orally consumed but requires to establish an Arcane Link from the said crystal to naturally learn its content without destroying the original crystal. ]

"Oh! So you were saying that I wasted those Memory Crystals that could have been used by others?" Wallace commented although he didn't really care if it was wasted since it had helped him a lot. After all, establishing Arcane Link wasn't something that can be easily done. In short, only those that has reached a high level of Mana Manipulation could extract information from it.

"Thanks for the information. Continue what you're doing and get as much information you can get." Wallace finally said as he concluded his conversation with the Avalon. He wasn't in a hurry to find some information he was searching for. Aside from the information stored in the Memory Crystals, with his reliable A.I. in hand and a low-level of data protection in this world, it was only a matter of time before he can grasp all information he needed. If some information could not be found at all in these sources, he'd think of a way to get those information even if it was saved in consumable or non-consumable Memory Crystals.

***

The audience watching Kyla was actually waiting for something to happen. Although they were saying that she already gave up, they were also hoping for her to do something unpredictable. After all, this is the competition where geniuses gathered from several countries.

It seems that their wish didn't remain unfulfilled because as soon as a minute mark was left in the given timeframe, Kyla had opened her eyes and the surrounding Mana within her stage stopped their unusual movement or behavior.

The dense Mana that was like specks of light scattered around the stage remained still as it slowly moved towards the crystal she was holding as if it was being attracted by an unknown force.

This surprised many, including the instructors she had as a manager who came together with them, her fellow participating students, and many magicians watching the competition.

"Inducement?"

"How could it be? It wasn't supposed to be this easy."

"Just a while ago, she was clearly struggling in her forceful method of manipulation."

"Was she just pranking us a while ago?"

"That's right, she might have learned of this method before. She may be a true genius in the Zairus and just did it to make some excitement and publicity."

"Well, we can't eliminate that. It would be too absurd to think that she just attempted it today. Maybe she was already on the verge of breakthrough before and due to today's pressure in the competition, she got some inspiration and successfully pushed her limits."

In truth, after the Twelve Magic Academies Competition, Kyla had been practicing rigorously to enhance her senses or sensibility around.

The reason was simple. Her fight against Shirley who had used Ultrasonic Burst pushed her to do so. During their fight, she was forced to alter her Mana Shell in a way that no sounds could enter her defense. During that time, she was only relying on her vision to keep track of her enemy. It was nightmare for her as although she barely managed to win, she had become too exhausted and wasn't able to win the next fight.

During the month that was given to them before the competition, she didn't took her well-deserved rest and only practiced as hard as she could.

Her hardships bore fruit today where she had managed to realized something. After she closed her eyes, she tried to empty her mind and allowed the free movement of Mana within the stage. She didn't tried to connect with the Mana like how the theory works with Arcane Link but instead change her Mana fluctuation and connected to the crystal.

That's right. She realized that Inducement Control isn't just attracting the Mana to follow her commands or swaying them to follow her will but Inducement Control's essence was to be one with the Mana. Copy their behavior and guide the Mana with her directions.

She doesn't have to forcefully control them and just had to make these Mana connected to her and be guided by her will.

Using an outside force like their Magician's mind power was effective if the Mana around wasn't that dense and had a peaceful behavior. But if it's like these or may be even worse, the forceful method would be tiring and difficult just to have a progress.

Kyla smiled after realizing the movement of the previous unsteady Mana.

"Well, I might have spent too much time but it is worth it." She didn't think that she would be able to fill the crystal ball made of Mana stone due to the time she spent concentrating. After all, only a few seconds was left. But it was fine for her since this would allow her to perform better in the future.

***

Chester hurriedly went to his office to discuss the new or unknown element with the representative sent by the Congress. Although he said that he would arrive around twelve mid-day, he miraculously arrived an hour before that which surprised many of the staff in the Ministry. Chester would normally not visit the Ministry in an earlier time as he was known to only be present here when an evening meeting was being called out or he would rather stay inside his laboratory.

"Oh? A new face... So tell me, where did it come from?"

Chester hadn't entered his office yet but when he noticed an officer wearing an insignia of the Congress, he immediately approached him and asked question. It was his first time seeing the man.

"Ah! Of course, I would like to discuss it with Sir Chester. I'm Marvin Cummings, a specialist in Anti-Mage Mutation Task Force. You can just call me as Marvin."

"Right! Where are my manners? Chester Cornfield." Chester shook his hand with Marvin after saying his name.

"Let's discuss these in my office." He added as he gestured for him to enter the room with him. He had been curious of the details since a while ago and couldn't restrain his excitement. But now that Marvin was here to elaborate the details, he can now relax a bit as he would soon get the information.

As soon as Marvin seated in a seat in front of Chester's desk, he didn't made the Head of Mage Doctors wait any longer.

"As I said on the phone, we received an unknown package from someone. It is a piece of metal with unknown origin. It either came from unexplored Northern Continent or probably something that dropped from space." Marvin seriously said. He waited for Chester's reaction.

"So, you found an element within the metal that was similar in what I found within the serum?" Chester squinted his eyes and clarified his understanding of the matter.

"No, but the structure was close to it." Marvin shook his head as he denied Chester's conclusion.

"Who sent it?"

"We are unsure of his identity as he may be using a fake one but the name written was Chalice."  Marvin answered.