[Sometimes before the tournament]
---
The secluded garden path was deserted as afternoon classes were in full swing. Vel glanced around, making sure they were truly alone before turning to Hileya.
"Let's go somewhere so no one will see us."
"Yes, young master, I know a place," Hileya responded without hesitation, already turning to lead the way.
They made their way through winding paths until reaching a forgotten corner of the Academy gardens. Overgrown flowering vines partially obscured a stone bench tucked against the wall. The air was perfumed with jasmine and honeysuckle.
"This is a path to the servant area," Hileya explained quietly, "where we wait for our masters during classes. Few students ever come this way."
Vel surveyed their surroundings with approval.
Hileya knelt down in front of Vel. "Let me hold it for you, master."
"Keep it going," Vel instructed, watching her movements intently.
Hileya's hands moved back and forth in a steady rhythm.
"Be gentle, it could get in your eyes."
Vel relaxed his muscles, letting the cool sensation flow naturally.
Two female servants passed nearby, carrying baskets of linens. They slowed their pace as they noticed the pair in the secluded corner—the young master standing close while his half-elven maid knelt before him, holding something in her hands, but it was obstructed from view. Their eyes widened.
"Almost there," Vel murmured, his concentration unwavering. "Just a little more..."
"It's much thicker than last time, master," Hileya whispered with quiet satisfaction.
"Perfect," Vel announced, stepping back with a pleased expression. "This gets better every time we do it."
The servants hurried away, whispering urgently to each other with occasional backward glances.
Hileya smiled proudly as she carefully lifted what they'd been working on all along—a perfectly chilled container of berry smoothie, its surface glistening with frost from Vel's ice magic. The frozen berries and cream had blended into a smooth, pale pink mixture.
"The consistency is perfect this time," Hileya observed, admiring the smooth texture. "Adding the ice magic gradually really does make a difference."
"Let's surprise Celia," Vel replied, completely unaware of the impression they might have given to passersby. "It's her special day after all."
The two departed the secluded garden, leaving behind only a faint scent of berries and the whispered rumors that would soon spread through the servant quarters about young Master Novalance and his private "activities" with his half-elven maid.
---
[One day before the first match]
---
Vel sat in the grand library of the academy, fingers wrapped around his chin, back leaned against the chair. His eyes stared into the distance, the other students around him might as well not exist—even Tomas sitting right beside him.
They were supposed to be researching new potential spells they could use for the tournament—well, that was Tomas's goal at least. For Vel, his spell arsenal was only limited by the sigils he knew. The more he understood about each magical component, the more he could create.
His mind wandered to one thing: if he could understand others, identify their potential, strengths, and weaknesses, it would make his job a lot easier. He'd been trying to find a spell similar to Appraisal or Analysis in the library's tomes, but so far nothing concrete had appeared.
"Hello, Vel," Konomi walked over with her usual pile of books, setting them down with practiced care on their table.
Vel blinked, pulling himself from his thoughts. "Hey, Konomi."
She glanced at Tomas with polite curiosity.
"We've seen each other around, but I don't believe we've been properly introduced," she said.
Tomas straightened up, looking slightly flustered at being addressed by the blue-haired girl.
"Tomas. Mardin," he replied with a small nod. "And you're Konomi, right? I remember from... that time."
Konomi's eyes widened slightly in recognition. "Ah, yes. Mardin—are you related to the Mardin merchant by any chance?"
"Guilty as charged," Tomas smiled sheepishly. "That was my father."
"I'm Konomi, apprentice of the Alchemy Guild"
Vel watched as Konomi's face lit up with recognition.
"I see, my father did transact potions from time to time," Tomas explained, seeming pleased to have a connection with the blue-haired girl.
"The Mardin Mercantile is quite respected in alchemical circles," Konomi replied. "I've studied several formulations that came through your father's trading routes."
Vel observed the exchange with interest. Konomi was clearly more animated when discussing her specialty, and Tomas appeared to be enjoying the attention from someone who appreciated his family's work. Their conversation flowed naturally into discussions of trade routes and rare ingredients.
After a few minutes, Vel saw an opportunity to steer the conversation.
"Say, Konomi," he interrupted, "if you came across an unknown potion, how would you identify its usage?"
Konomi's eyes brightened at the question. She set down the book she'd been gesturing with and adopted a more scholarly posture.
"Well, there's quite a systematic approach," she began. "First, you'd observe the basics—color, thickness of the liquid, how dense or opaque it is. Then you'd test with heat and cold to see what kind of fumes it produces, whether from burning or freezing."
She gestured as she spoke. "You'd mix it with other reagents to see how it reacts. And sometimes, for the more unusual potions, you'd observe the effect on small living things—plants, insects, that sort of thing."
Tomas nodded appreciatively at her thoroughness.
"I see. Not really what I'm looking for," Vel said with a slight frown.
Konomi tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"I thought there would be some kind of spell for that," Vel admitted. "Something that could just... tell you what something is and what it does."
Konomi laughed lightly at Vel's suggestion.
"If only it was that easy," she said, shaking her head. "Identification magic is incredibly complicated, even for experienced mages. There are only a handful of people in the entire kingdom who can do it properly, and they're not exactly available when you need them."
She leaned back in her chair. "That's why we alchemists rely on manual methods. We memorize ninety-eight different alchemical properties, then identify each through different approaches."
"Ninety-eight?" Vel repeated, his brow furrowing.
His past life as Giri had been terrible at chemistry, but he was certain the periodic table had more elements than that. The discrepancy caught his attention immediately.
"Yes, 98," Konomi confirmed with the confidence of someone who had indeed memorized all of them. "There's even a chart for that."
"Can I see?" Vel asked, his curiosity piqued.
Konomi nodded and retrieved a scroll from her stack of books, unfurling it across the table. Vel leaned forward, surprised to find the elements arranged in a circle rather than the rectangular table he was familiar with from his old world.
Some elements he recognized immediately—iron, gold, various metals and gases—but others were completely alien, either nonexistent in his former world or simply outside his knowledge.
"What is this?" Vel pointed to an element near the edge of the circular chart.
"Adamantite," Konomi replied without hesitation. "Harder than diamond, light as iron."
"Huh," Vel murmured, his finger tracing the connection lines between elements. "How about this?"
"Irokan," she explained. "Found only in griffin ichor."
Vel's eyes widened slightly. These weren't just chemical elements—they were magical components, fundamental building blocks of this world's unique properties. The circular arrangement wasn't arbitrary either. He could see patterns forming, relationships between elements that suggested natural affinities and oppositions.
Vel's eyes traced the unfamiliar patterns on the circular chart, his mind racing with implications. This world had elements his old Earth simply didn't—or perhaps they existed but remained undiscovered. He recalled how the periodic table had gaps for undiscovered elements, spaces scientists theorized would eventually be filled.
"This is fascinating," Vel murmured, his finger hovering over an element labeled 'Lumithril.' "But this still doesn't answer my question about identification."
He looked up from the chart, glancing between Konomi and Tomas.
"What about you, Tomas? How would you evaluate or identify an object—say, an artifact?" Vel asked, curious if the merchant's son might have a different perspective.
Tomas perked up, clearly pleased to contribute something to the conversation.
"Well, in my father's business, we dealt with unusual items fairly often," he began, leaning forward slightly. "For magical artifacts specifically, we'd employ a specialist called an Relicmaster."
"An Relicmaster?" Vel repeated, the term unfamiliar.
Tomas nodded. "They're trained to channel a specific type of mana through objects to reveal their properties. It's not exactly a spell—more like a skill developed through years of practice. The method reveals the fundamentals they need—material composition, magical properties, that sort of thing. Not quite like a true identification spell would."
Vel's eyes widened as a realization struck him. "Wait, do you know how to do this Relicmaster technique?" he asked Tomas eagerly.
Tomas shook his head apologetically. "Nope. It takes specialized training at the Guild of Artifice in the eastern provinces. My father hired specialists when needed—never learned it myself."
Vel leaned back in his chair, disappointed. The conversation had led to another dead end in his search.
Konomi studied him with curious eyes. "Why the sudden interest in identification magic?"
"Well," Vel hesitated, choosing his words carefully, "I was thinking if I could identify... say, a person's properties. Can't exactly channel mana through a person, can I?"
Konomi raised an eyebrow, but before she could respond, Tomas straightened in his seat.
"Why not use the attunement artifact?" Tomas suggested, his voice brightening.
Vel paused, his mouth slightly open. How had he not thought of that? The crystal used during their entrance ceremony had revealed everyone's elemental affinities with a simple touch.
"You're a genius, Tomas," Vel exclaimed, slapping his palm against the table.
Several nearby students glanced over at the noise, but Vel paid them no mind. His thoughts raced ahead to the possibilities.
"The artifact, that's right," he continued more quietly, "the one the Academy used to identify student attunements."
It had analyzed everyone's magical properties in seconds—exactly what he needed. If he could study it, perhaps even modify its function slightly...
"Where can I get one of those?" Vel asked, leaning forward eagerly.
Konomi and Tomas exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from enthusiasm to something more hesitant.
"Not that easy," Konomi said, lowering her voice. "The artifact is... well, an artifact. It's extremely valuable."
Tomas nodded in agreement. "They keep it well-guarded when not in use. Only certain influential nobles can arrange to use them outside of official Academy functions."
"Like having a private reading before the entrance test," Konomi added, her tone suggesting this was common knowledge among those from prominent families.
Vel's excitement deflated visibly. He slumped back in his chair, a slight pout forming on his lips. So close to a solution, only to be greeted by another problem.
"I'm gonna steal it," Vel declared suddenly, his face completely serious.
Tomas nearly choked on air, his eyes widening to an almost comical degree. Konomi froze mid-page-turn, her gaze darting around to see if anyone had overheard.
"You're joking, right?" Tomas whispered urgently, leaning across the table.
Vel held his serious expression for another moment before breaking into a smile.
"Well, yes, of course I am," he replied, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm not about to risk expulsion over a magical rock, no matter how useful."
The tension visibly drained from his companions' shoulders. Konomi shook her head with a small smile, while Tomas let out a relieved sigh.
Vel tapped his fingers rhythmically against the table, his mind working through alternatives.
"But I do need to see it again," he mused aloud. "Up close, working. Not just a passing glance during entrance ceremonies."
"Why not just ask?" Konomi suggested, closing her book. "Instructor Nalren oversees the artifacts collection. You could request to study it for academic purposes."
Tomas snorted softly. "Right. And the instructor would just hand over one of the Academy's most valuable artifacts to a first-year student from the unstable class."
Vel's eyes lit up as a plan began to form in his mind. He sat up straighter, energy returning to his posture.
"You're both right, but I have an idea," he said, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Maybe I'll tell her I need to study it because of my unstable reading. How would the artifact react now compared to the entrance reading? I could say it might react differently now that I've... improved."
Konomi tilted her head, considering the suggestion. "That's... actually not a bad approach. Instructor Nalren does have a particular interest in anomalous magical phenomena."
"And with your sister being Saint Landre," Tomas added thoughtfully, "there might be interest in whether her light affinity has any familial connection to your unusual reading."
Vel nodded, already mentally composing his request. He could present it as a genuine academic inquiry—which, in truth, it partially was.
His gaze drifted back to the alchemical chart still spread across the table, studying the circular arrangement of elements. The artifact had analyzed everyone's affinities during the entrance ceremony—reading the elemental resonance from each person. But how exactly did it translate that information?
His eyes moved between the chart and his own scattered notes about spell structures.
"Wait," Vel said suddenly, sitting up straighter. "What if identification isn't solely dependent on magic but also alchemy? The combination of both would bridge the complexity of the spell."
He grabbed a blank parchment and began sketching rapidly. If he could understand how the artifact analyzed magical properties, perhaps he could replicate its function through a combination of magical sigils and alchemical principles. The crystal's function wasn't just magical—it was transforming energy into information, breaking down and analyzing elemental compositions.
"What are you thinking?" Konomi asked, peering at his hasty drawings.
"I'm thinking we've been approaching this all wrong," Vel replied, his quill scratching across the parchment. "We've been looking at identification as either purely magical or purely alchemical, but what if it's both?"
Vel divided the page into two sections with a quick vertical line. "We know our mana attunement resonates with the artifact, right?"
"Right," Konomi nodded slowly, following his thought process.
"So in a sense, much like alchemy, we can do controlled tests. But simpler." His quill moved to one side of the page, sketching rough symbols. "With seven—" he paused, correcting himself, "—six elements."
"See which element reacts and how they react?" Tomas offered.
"Exactly," Vel said, adding more notes to his diagram.
Konomi leaned forward, her brow furrowing. "But the problem is capturing the result. And one person can't exactly resonate well with six elements if they're attuned to just one or two."
Vel's quill hovered over the second section of his page. "That's where alchemy bridges the gap. If we can somehow capture the result..."
"Like the artifact does," Konomi finished.
Vel looked up at her, excitement building in his expression. "Yes. Like the artifact."
He stared at his rough sketch—half magical theory, half alchemical process. In a way, this was similar to his old world. There were established methods to identify invisible things: waveforms, sound frequencies, electrical signals. None of which he understood deeply—Giri had been a game developer, not an engineer. But he grasped the concept: something measurable that could be translated into readable data.
Here, he had to rely on what already existed. The artifact. Build upon it. Find a way to translate magical resonance into—
His quill stopped mid-thought.
There was a gap in his design. An empty space where a crucial component should be—the part that would actually extract and interpret the target's properties. In his mind, he thought of it as a getTargetProperties() function, a term from his past life that had no equivalent here.
"It's still missing something," Vel muttered, tapping his quill against the blank section.
Konomi leaned closer, studying the incomplete diagram. "What kind of something?"
"The core mechanism," Vel said, frustration creeping into his voice. "The part that actually reads the target and pulls out the information."
"I need to go," he announced, gathering his belongings with newfound energy
"Where are you rushing off to?" Tomas asked, startled by the sudden movement.
"To find Instructor Nalren," Vel replied, his eyes bright with excitement. "If I can examine the attunement artifact up close, I might be able to figure out what sigil I'm missing."
"Right now?" Tomas asked, looking surprised.
"No better time," Vel replied with a grin. "Konomi, thank you for your help. This might actually work!"
He rolled up his sketch carefully and tucked it into his sleeve.
"I'll see you both later," he said, already backing away from the table. "Wish me luck!"
Without waiting for a response, Vel turned and hurried out of the library, his mind racing with possibilities. If Nalren could help him fill in that final piece, he might actually create a functional identification spell—something that would be invaluable for the tournament and beyond.