There is an unavoidable ritual in the thesis review process for mages. The thesis defense. A bachelor’s thesis is torn apart by a master’s student, and a master’s thesis by a doctoral student.
In this intellectual duel, sharp words and magic are exchanged. Only when the presenter endures all attacks and proves their logic does the Magic Tower officially recognize the truth of the thesis. But here, a fundamental problem with the system arose.
Who reviews a doctoral student’s thesis? A regular professor’s thesis is handled by the chief professor, and a chief professor’s thesis is handled by the head of their school. However, the story changes when the subject is a Great Mage.
Simon, the Chairman of the Magic Tower Thesis Review Association, put a third cigarette in his mouth.
“Shit…”
On his desk lay a thesis that he dared not even open.
[Calculus – The Method of Series and Continuity] “Why… why did this have to happen while I’m the chairman?”
Simon was truly in despair. He recalled the catastrophe that occurred last quarter during a mere master’s thesis defense. The result of two master’s students from rival schools fighting with magic was one lost arm and a half-destroyed laboratory.
And now, it was Valerius’s thesis defense? Just imagining it made his stomach acid churn. The last time a Great Mage presented a thesis was before this ‘defense’ procedure was even created, so there was no precedent to follow.
“Is there no choice but to pass it off to the Dean…?”
The Dean, Magarta Magica, might be able to handle it. But in principle, it was impossible. Even the Dean, the pinnacle of mages, held the rank of Great Mage.
It was not right for someone of the same rank to judge another.
Hooo.
Thick cigarette smoke trickled from Simon’s mouth.
“Everyone. Who do you think should review this?”
Every employee in the association office pretended to be busy, as if by prior agreement.
“I’ll give 10,000 gold in discretionary research funds to whoever comes up with a solution.”
“…How about you just pass it to the Imperial Court, sir.”
At the words of the quick-witted youngest member, John, Simon pondered for a moment. Then he made his decision.
[Discretionary Research Fund Confirmation] [Recipient: John Smith, Amount: 10,000 gold (ten thousand gold).]
A few days after John Smith signed a contract for a brand-new carriage with his discretionary research funds, a stern letter was delivered from the Imperial Court to the entire Magic Tower.
[The attackers for the thesis defense of Great Mage Valerius shall be all school heads and the Dean.]
What the Imperial Court decreed, one had to obey. And so, all the powerful figures of the Magic Tower gathered in one place. Valerius stood before them and calmly explained the outline of his thesis.
“…Therefore, the significance of this thesis also lies in making the arithmetical calculations of the wave theory, previously raised by the School of Magical Surveying, possible.”
In a normal thesis defense, he would have been interrupted at least ten times by now. But today, everyone in this room maintained a breathless silence. Because magic could be used in a thesis defense.
Saying the wrong thing in a place like this and being carried out half-paralyzed was something to be avoided, even for a school head. After the explanation, Valerius asked.
“Are there any counterarguments?”
“…”
“…”
“…”
No one opened their mouths. In other words, there were no objections. Just then, Dean Magarta Magica spoke with a faint smile.
“Would you have any, if you were them, Valerius? How many people in this room do you think truly understand the significance of your thesis?”
“Wouldn’t there be at least ten?”
“No. There are five. You, me. And those three school heads over there with trembling hands.”
As the Dean said, the hands of several school heads were visibly shaking. Unlike the others, they foresaw the chaos this theory would bring. Bolton, the Head of the School of Magical Devices, thought to himself.
‘If I use this… I can dramatically change the heat loss rate of a furnace. The entire Empire’s steel production will be transformed.’
The Head of the School of Fire Element Magic imagined.
‘With this… I can calculate the precise ‘moment’ an enemy’s defensive barrier is at its thinnest. The concept of an impregnable fortress will disappear.’
The Head of the School of Classical Alchemy realized.
‘With this alone… I can predict the ‘critical time’ until two unstable reagents explode. Syntheses that were only theoretically possible will become achievable.’
They trembled at the infinite possibilities this theory would bring. This was not necessarily a good thing. They also foresaw the turmoil that calculus would cause.
The academic landscape of the Magic Tower would change, and the lives of the Empire’s citizens would be altered. And not even the experts in each field would be able to predict those changes. The discipline of prediction, calculus, had made the future unpredictable.
It was pure chaos. But the Dean saw beyond that. Having spent the last few hundred years at the Magic Tower, the Dean had come to understand something.
While change itself is important, sometimes who causes the change is even more important. Her eyes turned to the strangely angular equations written on the [Calculus] thesis. These were undoubtedly the same ones she had seen on Isaac Upperhills’s exam paper.
“…”
“…”
Magarta’s and Valerius’s eyes met.
“This concludes the thesis defense. I declare that Sir Valerius’s theory, [Calculus], is officially recognized in the name of the Magic Tower.”
After the defense ended and everyone had dispersed, the Dean summoned Valerius to her office.
“It truly is a remarkable theory, Valerius.”
A soundproofing spell enveloped the space.
“For you… it’s a very fresh and youthful idea.”
“I am a bit younger than you.”
“So that’s how you want to play it, is it?”
The Dean tossed Isaac’s exam paper onto the desk in front of Valerius.
“Does this not spark any thoughts?”
Valerius’s eyebrow twitched minutely. Just as the Dean had, Valerius had also noticed the secret hidden in the answer sheet.
“A man of your stature wouldn’t steal another’s achievement. You’re protecting it until Isaac Upperhills can make a name for himself, aren’t you?”
“…”
“Young man. It’s a useless effort.”
Magarta wiped the smile from her lips.
“How can you hide an awl in a cloth sack?”
I was screwed. I muttered to myself as I looked down at the ‘high-precision clockwork parts’ I had just ordered.
“The specifications are different from what I wanted…”
I had bought them to modify the “Excel” device, but the sizes were all over the place.
“I ordered one-centimeter parts, but how is this one centimeter in any way?”
To me, 1 cm is defined as ‘the length of the path traveled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1/29,979,245,800 of a second.’ Anything else is not 1 cm. Margin of error?
I’m not an engineer; I don’t know the meaning of compromise. At this rate, I had no choice but to carve them down with magic. Just as I was about to formulate the equations, Giuseppe spoke up.
“It must be today.”
“…What is?”
“The day of the thesis defense for calculus.”
“Ah.”
For the record, I had told Giuseppe that I was the originator of calculus. It seemed more convenient for the future in many ways.
“A storm of money is about to rain down on you, my young friend.”
Hahaha.
Giuseppe laughed as he patted my back. What was this all about?
“A storm of money?”
“You don’t know? According to the customs of the Magic Tower, anyone who uses a recognized theory must pay a ‘theory usage fee’ to the original author.”
“…”
Did I hear that right? They released the patent for the magical measuring device into the public domain, calling it a public good, but they charge royalties for pure theory? Putting aside my belief that knowledge should belong to everyone, this was just plain crazy.
I shook my head.
“I have no intention of accepting that money.”
“Ho ho, it’s not something that can be decided by your refusal. This is in accordance with the ‘Intellectual Property Protection Act,’ established by His Majesty the Emperor himself, which transcends the laws of the Magic Tower.”
“The Emperor?”
Just like with the system of units, I’ve never seen anything good come out of something with the word ‘Imperial’ in it.
I frowned.
Giuseppe’s face turned pale as he spoke.
“It’s fine in front of me, but never say such things outside…”
“Is there something like a lèse-majesté law?”
“Of course. The punishment is being drawn and quartered.”
“…”
Damn this medieval age. It needs to be modernized, and fast. A few days later, after a special lecture, Valerius called me aside.
I said to him.
“Was there any trouble during the thesis defense?”
“Of course there was trouble. Thanks to you, the whole Magic Tower has been turned upside down.”
He answered with a grin, but there was something unsettling about it.
‘He’s not usually the type to speak so kindly…’
Just as I was about to ask something else, he cut me off.
“Speaking of which, we need to talk about the theory usage fees.”
“…I’m not going to accept them.”
“That won’t do. Let’s stick to the contract.”
“…”
“If you refuse to accept it until the end, I won’t abide by the confidentiality agreement either.”
Damn it.
When I wrote the contract, I never dreamed something like ‘theory usage fees’ would exist. A clause I’d written out of habit from my past life was now strangling me. I need to be more careful in the future.
“Starting next week, the amount deposited to you will easily exceed 100,000 gold per week.”
100,000 gold.
A house in the capital costs 50,000, so that was like getting two new houses every week. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about passing down a house to my children if I had any.
“…If all this money ends up in my account, it’ll cause a big problem, won’t it?”
“Of course. The tax collectors, scarier than ghosts, will come for you.”
“I’ll just pay the taxes.”
“And after that, you’ll become a target for the underworld and get quietly disposed of without anyone noticing.”
“…”
“You might not know, coming from the countryside, but the Empire’s underworld is controlled by ‘unauthorized mages’ who don’t belong to the Magic Tower or the Academy.”
“Can’t I fight them?”
No matter what, I was a mage of the Magic Tower. There was no way I would lose to some unauthorized riffraff. But Valerius shook his head.
“Do you know what the main duty of a Great Mage is?”
“…Traveling around the Empire writing travelogues?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“…”
I was just joking, but that was harsh.
“We travel across the Empire and perform ‘underworld clean-ups’.”
By clean-ups, he surely meant assassinations.
Valerius continued.
“I know from fighting them often. Those bastards operate outside the law, and they’re skilled in ancient curses and mind manipulation spells forbidden by the Magic Tower. Is there any guarantee that they, having caught the scent of money, won’t try to extract all the knowledge from your head?”
If it were a matter of destroying mountains and filling seas with magic, I might have fought. No matter how strong a mage is, they will die if a steel ball pierces their heart. But enemies who could steal the knowledge from my head were a different problem.
Maybe because I didn’t major in neuroscience, I couldn’t even begin to guess the principle behind it.
‘Enemies inside and outside the Magic Tower…’
This was something I would have to investigate slowly over time. Of course, after I figured it all out, I would crush them all at once under the most optimal conditions. So for now, I shouldn’t fight.
Don’t fight, just take the money.
“I think I’ll have to create a ‘fake merchant guild’ to launder the funds.”
“Hmm… that’s a decent idea. Do you have anyone trustworthy around?”
Someone trustworthy.
For a moment, the face of a man with a sly smile flashed in my mind. Hans, the former mercenary who had come to the capital from the same rural village as me. With his knowledge of the underworld, he would be able to help me.