Chapter 10
“…My apologies. This old man made a fool of himself.”
Robak, the old mage, scratched his head awkwardly after regaining consciousness.
“No, sir. Alchemy workshops don’t really have the best environment.”
“…That’s not exactly the reason…”
“We are trying to improve it, but it’s still lacking… If you visit next time, we’ll make sure it’s much better—”
“It’s truly fine! The Magic Tower isn’t any better to begin with. When making artifacts, this kind of thing happens often.”
“Ah, I see.”
While it might not be as bad as an alchemy workshop, an artifact workshop probably didn’t have good air quality either.
Yujin nodded in understanding.
“Then… do you perhaps have a gold allergy?”
“…Are there even people with gold allergies? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“Well… I’ve heard contact-based gold allergies exist… then why did you faint when you saw gold?”
“Ah, about that… ahem. First, I should explain what I do. I am Robak, a mage from the Kalibor Magic Tower who teaches disciples. I also research artifact design.”
“Ah, I see.”
“The reason I came here is…”
Robak explained his situation.
He had been working on an artifact that he considered the goal of his life.
To complete it, he needed gold with purity close to 100%.
Normally, existing gold was sufficient for most artifacts—
but the one he was creating was far more complex than any ordinary artifact.
Because the design was extremely intricate, he had to create very thin gold circuits—
but due to impurities, the mana flow became inconsistent—
causing repeated malfunctions and even total destruction.
That was why he needed nearly perfect gold.
“…But no workshop in the Empire could produce such gold.”
Even workshops run by other members of the Magnus family—
or precious metal houses like the Cartier family—
could not meet that level of purity.
Then—
while looking at the flying saucer his disciple had made—
he discovered aluminum.
“When I flowed mana through it, I could feel that the aluminum made by this workshop was pure. Am I correct?”
“That’s right.”
Since it was refined through electrolysis, it was nearly 100% pure.
“…I see. So I came here thinking that perhaps your workshop could produce pure gold. And what I saw earlier… that was pure gold, correct?”
“…Yes.”
Yujin nodded, pointing at the gold on the table.
“Could you tell me its purity?”
“It wouldn’t be completely 100%, but I’d say it’s over 99%.”
“…Over 99%…?”
Robak gasped in shock again.
‘…I thought pure gold wouldn’t really have any use… was I wrong?’
Yujin thought.
Until now, artifacts functioned fine without such purity—
so he assumed there wasn’t much need for it.
But hearing Robak’s explanation—
he realized that in high-level research, purity mattered a lot.
‘Right… I didn’t consider integration density.’
Even if this world wasn’t advanced like his previous one—
higher complexity naturally required higher purity materials.
‘It might be early, but… there could be a market for this.’
Robak’s artifact might become the first example proving the usefulness of pure gold.
“…Let me confirm.”
Robak picked up the gold and tested it by flowing mana through it.
Then—
“…Impossible… something that should only exist in delusions…”
he muttered in a trembling voice.
“What do you think, sir?”
“If I had known such a workshop existed, I would have come here first… How did you even…?”
After muttering that, Robak looked at Yujin with determination.
“…Will you sell me this pure gold? This amount will be enough.”
“…It’s not exactly something we’re selling right now…”
“Please! I beg you! I will pay any price!”
“…Hmm.”
Yujin thought.
‘He said he teaches magic…’
The Magic Tower was a place where new, undocumented magic could be learned—
even things unavailable in the “Infinite Library.”
That could give him a significant advantage.
“…Then, could you teach me magic?”
“That is possible. What kind of magic do you want to learn?”
“Magic that would be useful for an alchemy workshop.”
Yujin explained.
“I want to go beyond traditional alchemy and actively incorporate magical principles. I’ve wanted to learn various types of magic, but I haven’t had many opportunities.”
That was partly true.
Magic was the best way to apply his scientific knowledge in this world.
“…Unbelievable!”
Robak exclaimed in regret.
A talented young man capable of creating aluminum and pure gold—
yet lacking opportunities.
“I understand. Then, would you be willing to visit our Magic Tower?”
“The Magic Tower?”
“Yes. I have a spell in mind that would suit an alchemist—but I need the proper place to teach it.”
“…Alright. I’ll go.”
***
Yujin and Robak arrived at the Kalibor Magic Tower.
The tower had six floors—
wide at the bottom, narrowing as it went up.
It had good lighting and a bright atmosphere—
but most windows were covered with blackout curtains.
It seemed researchers’ habits couldn’t be fixed by good location alone.
The building was well-maintained—
which meant they had enough funds beyond just research.
‘A reliable future customer.’
They entered the laboratory first.
“This is our lab. It has equipment for testing magic.”
Everything was neatly organized—
training dummies, reagents, and safety artifacts.
“The safety systems are well done.”
As Yujin looked around—
he noticed someone conducting an experiment.
A girl with bright pink hair—
cute in appearance—
around his age or slightly younger.
But what stood out more—
‘…A floating aluminum plate?’
A thin silver plate was floating up and down in front of her.
“That is my disciple, Ivrin Kalibor,” said Robak.
“She will one day become the master of this Magic Tower.”
“I need to prepare something, so I’ll leave for a moment. Please wait here.”
“That’s fine.”
Yujin was left alone with Ivrin.
‘The future master? This is an opportunity.’
But—
it felt awkward to interrupt someone mid-experiment.
Then—
their eyes met.
“New recruit?”
“…Huh?”
“I’m Ivrin Kalibor, a senior mage. Nice to meet you. How old are you?”
“…I just turned fifteen.”
“Really? I was going to say call me ‘noona,’ but maybe that’s awkward?”
‘…She’s older?’
That was the most shocking thing he’d heard all day.
But—
“I’m Yujin Magnus. Nice to meet you, Ivrin noona.”
“…That’s a bit embarrassing to hear.”
Correct answer.
Then—
“Wait… Magnus? The workshop?”
“Yes. I manage Magnus Workshop 43.”
“…Did you make aluminum?”
“Yes.”
“That’s insane. At your age?”
She looked amazed.
“Thank you so much. Without this, I might never have been able to do this experiment. If I save humanity, it’ll be thanks to you!”
She grabbed his hand.
“Ah… it’s nothing…”
Yujin scratched his head awkwardly.
‘…Save humanity?’
“…What do you mean?”
“Penguins can’t fly.”
“…Right?”
“Exactly.”
“…Let’s not question that.”
Instead—
‘A flying machine… interesting.’
The approach was strange—
but not entirely wrong.
Light metals were the right direction.
‘But why electricity?’
“…How does lightning come into play?”
“Oh, that?”
Ivrin spread her hands—
and a spiral current formed between them.
“I made this magic. If I shape lightning like this and control it properly, metal floats.”
She demonstrated.
The aluminum plate rose—
slowly—
with heat causing faint smoke.
‘That’s incredible…’
Controlling current in air like that—
forming a dense spiral like a solenoid—
creating a directional magnetic field—
was extremely difficult.
‘And she’s controlling induced currents too…’
“…That’s amazing. I never thought magnetic force could be controlled so precisely.”
“Magnetic force? I’m just using lightning magic.”
Ivrin laughed.
“I just applied lightning differently. But… it does resemble magnetism… Some metals are attracted, others repelled…”
Her expression slowly stiffened.
“…Wait.”
Her voice trembled.
“…Is this actually magnetism?”
