Mage Jerome's eye was not something James could be compared to. The instant psychokinesis appeared, Mage Jerome realized how much benefit there was in using spiritual power this way. If this meditation method could let apprentices master psychokinesis, it would inevitably raise their overall ability during the apprentice stage by a wide margin.
Yes—overall ability. If a piece of research could only be applied to combat, its significance would be greatly discounted.
Psychokinesis already possessed, to a certain degree, the effects of Mage-level spiritual power.
Adam thought for a moment, then said, "The way I envision psychokinesis realizing its value is control. For example, so long as my spiritual power is strong enough, I can achieve the effects of low-level elemental magic by controlling the elements—provided I'm in a suitable environment."
"Beyond that, psychokinesis has other applications. For instance, strengthening oneself—raising nearly every aspect of one's physical quality. It can create a repulsion field, and a vacuum layer. By distorting reference points, it can blur one's own position and achieve concealment. It can even be used directly as magic, to destroy an enemy's mind and body."
Adam stopped. All of this was conjecture, and could not be presented as conclusion; Adam disliked stating things he hadn't proven as fact.
Mage Jerome nodded. It was already very good that Adam could say this much; limited by an apprentice's horizons and knowledge, they could not discover the deeper applications. In Mage Jerome's view, psychokinesis could serve as a universal auxiliary ability, playing the role of precision instruments in every kind of research—a scalpel, a sorter, even a microscope. Perceiving directly through spiritual power and then completing such fine work was plainly more convenient than clumsy hands and body.
Mage Jerome said, "This meditation method is Adam's achievement, is it not?"
James and Adam both nodded.
"Then congratulations, Adam. Your wisdom will bring you great benefits. I will submit the 'Psychokinesis Meditation Method' to the Tower Lord. If you are lucky enough, this meditation method may enter the Fifth Elemental Tower; the reward and the follow-up benefits then would set even a full-fledged Mage's heart racing." Mage Jerome said with a smile, "Now, are you willing to make it public in the library? You may set a price for it, and you'll receive seventy percent of the cut from every person who reads it."
Adam's eyes lit up. This is a real, tangible benefit, and it will bring me enormous returns—maybe from now on I'll never have to worry about energy stones again.
"Of course, honored Mage Jerome. I think fifty units of energy stones is a suitable price."
Mage Jerome took out two contracts, and after watching Adam sign them, nodded. "Good. Then the contract is established. You must deliver the complete construction method to the library within seven days. As for everything else, if there's news later, someone will inform you."
The two bowed and withdrew from the Academic Department. James said to Adam with feeling, "I really never imagined it, Adam—that you could create something this amazing. The Fifth Elemental Tower, my God. But are you sure it's all right? Making it public just like that?"
"Why not?"
Adam had never had any thought of hiding it. As for whether someone might surpass him after learning psychokinesis—that was even less worth worrying about. A person's strength never came from hoarding some shabby treasure; only ceaseless progress through wisdom and unremitting study were the decisive factors. Of that, Adam was absolutely confident.
James was taken aback, then said with sincere admiration, "Well, geniuses always think differently."
Next was the Review Department, where the two needed to reapply to establish a laboratory.
The Review Department was not far from the Academic Department. James said to Adam, his feelings mixed, "I never thought I'd live through establishing and dissolving a laboratory in the same day."
Adam was rather curious about the process and asked, "Is the qualification review very strict?"
James shook his head. "A year ago it was. Back then the academy had a lot of senior apprentices, and they were constantly at each other's throats over a laboratory or a bit of funding—it ended with duels to settle things. Not now. The academy has a great deal of idle resources."
"Won't the Mage in charge of the Review Department stop it? Isn't approval supposed to depend on the value of the project?"
James stared at Adam in astonishment, as though he hadn't expected such a question. After a moment he said, "I forgot you're a rookie who doesn't understand the rules of the tower and the academy. Mages don't take laboratories set up by apprentices seriously at all, because most apprentices' wisdom and horizons won't produce anything of value. The tower lets apprentices build labs just to take a chance—like you, for instance. If some lab produces something on the level of psychokinesis, it will bring the tower enormous profit."
Adam still didn't understand. "But the funding is real. Doesn't the tower care about losing it?"
James couldn't help laughing. "Adam, it seems you need to learn some common knowledge. Energy stones are the lowest-grade resource in the Mage World, of very little value. Any single planar campaign by a Transdimensional Mage yields vast quantities of energy stones. To a full-fledged Mage, ether crystals are what's valuable."
After thinking for a moment, he lowered his voice as far as it would go and said quietly to Adam, "Transdimensional Mage Moldo isn't very strong, and after losing the last tower war he lost a great deal of resources besides. In a powerful Mage tower, the gifted students recruited from richer regions all have plenty of resources and never worry about energy stones."
Adam understood; he remembered hearing Mage Blake talk about energy stones before. But: "Then why don't the full-fledged Mages go somewhere better?"
"Some are bound by contracts—they can't leave until they've served three hundred years. Some have reached the end of their path as Mages and have no room left to rise. All right, enough of this. We're here."
Adam took the hint and shut his mouth, and went into the Review Department together with James.
The Review Department was much larger than the Academic Department, and looked much emptier besides. Adam found that the Mage inside was another acquaintance—Mage Irene, one of the four who had guided them in.
From James's explanation, Adam guessed why Mage Irene was here. Among the four back then, Mage Blake was second rank and presumably the strongest, so he had taken on the relatively important work; the other three were probably all first rank, and so had stayed in the tower doing work that faced the apprentices.
Mage Irene still had that languid manner, though paired with her beautiful face it gave off a peculiar charm.
"James—oh, and Adam?" Mage Irene hadn't forgotten Adam. "What are you two here for? James, if I remember rightly, you applied to dissolve your laboratory just this morning, didn't you?"
After the two bowed, James said with his head lowered, "Yes, honored Mage Irene. My laboratory has been handed over. This time I've come to accompany Apprentice Adam in applying to establish a laboratory."
Mage Irene said to Adam graciously, "Little one, I hear you made a bit of a splash a few days ago?" But before Adam could speak, her expression turned stern. "Has it gone to your head? Do you know the consequences of deceiving a Mage?"
Mage Irene clearly believed that Adam and James had conspired to swindle funding: an apprentice who had dissolved his laboratory that morning when the deadline arrived, showing up a few hours later leading another apprentice to apply. To anyone, that looked abnormal.
James said respectfully, "You misunderstand. Apprentice Adam has already produced preliminary results."
"Oh?"
Adam stepped forward and placed the contract he had just signed before Mage Irene with both hands. After reading it, her expression softened again, as though she had never been angry at all, and she clicked her tongue at Adam in admiration. "I never imagined it. In the blink of an eye, that little one from back then can already do this much."
Irene had reason to be surprised—not because the Psychokinesis Meditation Method was so astonishing, but because, by a Mage's sense of time, three months really was the blink of an eye.
"You flatter me," Adam said with a bow.
With the possibility of fraud ruled out and a contract as proof, Irene did not care in the slightest about a resource allotment on the level of energy stones, and was about to approve it on the spot, when the doors of the Review Department were pushed open again and in came a senior apprentice Adam had never seen.
He too held a contract in his hand, his face full of excitement, and after entering he seemed not to notice the other two at all. He said to Mage Irene, "Honored Mage Irene, I have my proof. I apply to establish an Alchemical Body research laboratory!"
Mage Irene set down her pen with interest. "Heh. What a coincidence today. Two people applying to establish laboratories at the same time?"
The apprentice was startled—two people? Only then did he notice Adam and James, and his face immediately darkened. He ground out, "James, you piece of trash, you still have the nerve to stay in the academy?"
Adam was puzzled; he had never seen this degree of hostility between senior apprentices. What's going on between these two?
James looked deeply embarrassed at the sight of the man, and took the insults without a word of protest. He said quietly, "Frank, I..."
"Shut up, trash. And now you want to keep conning people? Waste other people's time with your stupid ideas? You damned piece of garbage!" Frank grew angrier as he spoke, until he could no longer suppress his own energy fluctuations and looked ready to attack James in front of a full-fledged Mage.
Mage Irene tapped the table, and an immense mana pressed down over them. She said, "Get out. This is not a place for you to run wild."