Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 93 - 90: Astrology

The sky grew dark.

"Does anyone else feel like... it got dark way too fast?" Ella asked, her brow furrowing.

Peterson thought his student was being a little too anxious. "It’s perfectly normal. It always gets dark quickly in forests and valleys." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"So when will the Beast Tide hit? Should we climb the trees?" This was what concerned Cavendish. Rorschach and the others were now walking through an undeveloped forest, and they didn’t have the same defensive fortifications as last night.

"There won’t be another Beast Tide. I haven’t sensed any large animals since we entered the forest." Master Humboldt’s expression was grim. He gestured for everyone to halt. "And ever since it just got dark, I’ve lost my connection with the nature here."

Druids, as well as Mages of this era who have delved deep into Natural Magic, can detect the disturbances that flora and fauna cause in the environmental Ether. The extremely rare Magical Beasts and perennial trees also possess a faint Endogenous Magic Power within them, which can respond to Natural Magic and a Caster’s perception.

There is also a theory that trees and other plants in a forest can connect and communicate through some method, and can even trigger a resonance in the environmental Magic Power, much like how human Nobility can command great armies of commoners. More radical natural scholars believe that a forest can nurture pure Vitality, some sort of spirit essence.

The above formed the basis of how Natural Magic was used to perceive a forest.

But now the Great Mage had lost his senses, a danger akin to a tightrope walker suddenly going blind. Their journey had been incredibly smooth until this point, thanks in no small part to Master Humboldt’s ability to control the scene and his "mini-map."

"As long as I had my senses, the path we took was correct. But now, I can no longer guarantee that."

Cavendish pulled out his compass, its needle trembling and spinning erratically. "It seems not only is the sky strange here, but the magnetic field is also in chaos."

He thought for a moment, dismounted, and took out his pocket watch. "I need to see the starry sky! Who can part these leaves or get me up higher?"

"Hold on tight," Rorschach said, using his Stone Shaping Skill to raise an earthen platform. It lifted Cavendish about ten-odd meters into the air, but that still wasn’t high enough among the centuries-old trees that towered over them like buildings. Kou Bo waved his hand, and the obstruction vanished into thin air.

"Alright, alright, damn it’s windy up here..."

He pulled out last night’s star chart to compare with the current night sky, then took out his pocket watch to make a rough estimate. He let out a long sigh of relief—although they had fallen into an unnaturally early night, the positions of the stars were correct. It meant everything was normal, except for the sun having clocked out early!

"We can still be saved, we can still be saved..." Cavendish set down his pack and began assembling his instruments on the earthen platform, then worked on measuring the position of the zenith star.

Finally, he locked onto the three most prominent and brightest celestial bodies besides the moon, recording their altitudes, with a focus on the morning star.

He had to be careful and precise. On an astronomical scale, the distance traveled in a day, even with magical enhancement, was negligible. Any slight deviation now would be continuously amplified in the subsequent calculations.

The latitude and longitude of these celestial bodies’ nadirs... Cavendish consulted his notes, then combined them with today’s measurements and began to calculate his own coordinates as the observer.

"The equation for the intersection of two planes and a sphere, nothing too difficult..." He muttered this to himself. He was now lying prone on the earthen platform, scribbling furiously on a piece of scratch paper, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead and the palm of his writing hand.

Magic. Thank goodness for magic.

Prophetic Spells, an art of profound and endless mysteries whose name often causes misunderstandings. Even the Masters of the Tower of Secret Techniques would never admit to being able to see the future.

But the existence of Prophetic Magic revealed one truth: information is also an element of casting. In a sense, information itself could even be one of the materials used to power magic.

Take Any Door, for example, a forbidden Teleportation Magic. A powerful Mage could use this spell to travel to a place on the same plane they had never been to before. It didn’t require a corresponding Teleportation Array or power source at the destination; the Caster only needed to be able to imagine or describe the target space.

However, few people ever used such a powerful magic. Unlike the penalties for other failed teleportations, if the Caster’s knowledge of the destination was not clear enough, they could be torn apart in the unstable transport channel, fused with existing matter in the target space upon arrival, or even dismembered. Conversely, the more precise the information the Caster possessed, the safer the teleportation would be.

And now, with Cavendish’s calculations, he had gathered enough information to create a resonant echo with yesterday’s survey.

The divine spirits, or some other existence, were satisfied with such effort. Including the complex calculations, it was all a ritual, a prayer for guidance. Cavendish unfurled the map of the Black Forest. He had received his revelation; the starry sky had illuminated his path and shown him the way—

A drop of Thoth Alchemy Ink fell. The map gained a temporary magical effect—starlight began to twinkle upon it. The shimmering point of light indicated their current position on this very map. If a Magic Constant Technique were to be applied, it would become a priceless Alchemy Map.

An unknown amount of time passed before the group heard Cavendish’s shout. "Alright, let me down!"

Rorschach carefully controlled the earthen platform, causing it to crumble away. The group saw the weary face of the Tower of Stars apprentice, who was clutching a map that glittered with starlight.

"The brightest spot of light indicates this map’s position relative to the forest. It’s linked to the symbolism of the morning star, guiding us so we will never lose our way," Cavendish said, calming the Endogenous Ether that he had used to communicate with the Star Realm. It was still "boiling," searing the apprentice’s mind in particular.

"That’s amazing!"

"Of course it is! I am an apprentice of the Tower of Stars, after all!" Cavendish couldn’t help but flash a proud grin.

’Wait, why are you all looking at me?’ Rorschach, the outstanding young instructor from the Tower of Stars, suddenly felt like he’d been hit by a stray bullet.

With the map to guide them, the party continued to advance cautiously, even without Great Mage Humboldt’s senses.

Although they had slept during the long rest in the afternoon, the endlessly repeating scenery in the darkness was making them drowsy, especially the three apprentices from the Tower of Forest and the greatly exhausted Cavendish.

Occasionally, a few strange cries would suddenly echo from the distant darkness. Rorschach guessed they must be from some kind of nocturnal bird. The sounds would startle awake anyone who was dozing off.

’We’re about to reach the ruins of the Elf village. I need to be careful; the forest’s anomaly might have affected the ruins as well.’ Rorschach recalled Deryats’s warning from his dream.

"Listen. Do you hear something?"

The party leader, Master Humboldt, once again directed everyone to stop. Now that the sounds of hooves and rustling leaves were gone, they could all hear the faint, sorrowful singing of a woman.

Having lost his sensory abilities, Great Mage Humboldt was a mixture of slightly annoyed and tense. He frowned and cast a spell on himself to enhance his hearing.

It was like a lingering echo among the trees; Rorschach couldn’t hear it clearly enough to pinpoint its location, but it was definitely there.

Repetitive. The singing was also repetitive!

’The monster from the first night again?’ Rorschach realized with a jolt. He desperately scanned the dark gaps in the trees on both sides of the party, a spell ready to be unleashed.

"AH!" A scream pierced the air. It was Ella. The sudden shriek actually stunned Master Humboldt, whose hearing had just been enhanced.

BOOM! Several large trees to Ella’s right collapsed with a crash. A long-limbed monster fell with them, a clean slice running through it, wisps of smoke rising from the wound.

"I am a graduate of the Empire Royal Magic Academy, a researcher at the Tower of Stars, and an instructor." Rorschach calmly spoke the words he had been holding back, meeting the gazes of the others.