Mage? Magic Engineer!

As far as the others were concerned, no matter how Rorschach tried to defend himself, his ambition had finally been exposed!

It was an epiphany for Humboldt. Everything suddenly made sense. There was only one truth: this kid wanted to become a god.

Rorschach’s actions suddenly had a motive that made perfect sense in the context of the Otherworld, and Humboldt, for his part, didn’t really have a problem with it.

Looking at the huge symbol, the magnificent yet bizarrely shaped hall, and the cheering, almost comical "worshippers," Humboldt could only sigh. ’He’s young, after all. Dares to dream, dares to act.’

Even if he was an ambitious man aiming for godhood, at least he was taking the path of winning over the hearts of the people. That was far better than some antisocial lunatic who achieves enlightenment through slaughter. Humboldt wasn’t a god-hater like Feuerbach, so he was willing to turn a blind eye.

Rorschach couldn’t seem to get through to them. It looked like this misunderstanding was here to stay.

"I was just inspired by the Water Creation Skill. I’m borrowing some Power of Faith to maintain an anchor for summoning gases, so I left this symbol here to charge. It really does look like a Holy Emblem, doesn’t it? Hahaha..." Rorschach struggled to explain before letting out an awkward laugh, only to see the group giving him a look that screamed, ’Say no more. We understand completely.’

"I’ve only made a minor contribution to the natives here. Caroline knows this. I’ve always been opposed to personality cults..."

Just then, the Great Sage King, having heard the news, arrived at the "Holy Temple."

The last time Rorschach had seen him, the man was so old he needed young attendants to carry him around in a chair. Now, perhaps because his nutrition had improved, he was bursting with energy. The moment he entered the hall, he shrugged off his entourage of servants as if he’d been shot full of adrenaline, power-slid across the floor on his knees, and came to a stop before Rorschach, crying out:

"Great, wise, handsome, and supreme Lord Rorschach! This old slave has failed to welcome you properly! My crime is worthy of death..."

The others shot Rorschach a look, eyebrows raised, as if to say, ’Go on, keep up the act.’

’Long time no see. How’d your vocabulary get so big? You’ve been spending all your time learning how to kiss ass, haven’t you?’ Rorschach really wanted to kick the "old slave," but he restrained himself out of the virtue of respecting his elders.

"My good sir, you are the dignified King of a nation now. How can you call yourself an old slave? The floor is cold, please get up..."

"Thank you, my Lord..."

’No, no, no, the fact that you didn’t use any other ridiculous titles is reason enough for *me* to thank *you*, you old geezer.’

During the banquet, the Mages explained the purpose of their visit to the little blue people, and the "Great Sage King" readily agreed. The leader of the Tower of Forest’s investigative team even presented a few small trinkets, calling them a state gift for their esteemed nation. The Great Sage King was so moved he burst into tears and nearly passed out, while the other little blue people were also incredibly excited. All in all, it felt as if their clan had finally ascended to the grand stage of the great nations of the cosmos.

Rorschach’s assessment of this: ’This Alexander Humboldt is a real smooth operator.’

The only thing that made the little blue people uneasy was that these honored guests seemed to have some strange quirks. They treated every dish with extreme seriousness—first smelling it and taking notes, then tasting it meticulously, and finally collecting a small sample. As for any meat that was served, the Mages would scrutinize the bones for a long time.

"I’ll need you to host them here. I’m heading back first," Rorschach whispered to Caroline using his Communication Skill.

"Leaving in such a hurry?"

"I obtained a key piece of technology from the Tower of Forest... You’ll understand what’s going on once I’ve finished with it. You can also head back to the Prime Material Realm first. Let the Mages from the Tower of Forest conduct their investigation on their own, and just agree on a time to reopen the Teleportation Gate for them."

"Alright."

...

Rorschach still felt his artificial Magical Girl/Shonen project was more important. After leaving the Air Elemental Plane, he first entered the Boundary Land.

The place hadn’t changed. The Tree of Law stood as it always had, the scurrying points of light upon it having almost completely filled the nodes on its lower and middle sections—a clear sign that the number of users was growing.

Even Casters who could perform Magic on their own had grown accustomed to using the Spell Cloud, especially for spells that were slightly more difficult for them. They could use their daily quota to cast with the aid of the Tree of Law, allowing them to familiarize themselves with how to perform more advanced Magic.

Of course, for ambitious Casters, it served as an auxiliary learning tool. But for the unmotivated... ’If the Spell Cloud can do it, that means *I* can do it. What do you mean, "auxiliary"? This is just unlocking my own innate wisdom!’

After confirming the Spell Cloud was operating correctly, Rorschach uploaded his copy of Summon the Spirit of Nature.

Once he had the spell prototype, he deconstructed it into "Summoning," "Connection," and "Natural Essence Condensation."

"Summoning" was to be expected, but the latter two components were quite interesting.

"Connection" didn’t just establish a link between the Caster and the summoned Essences; it also created links between the many Essences themselves.

Before this component took effect, these beings—existing somewhere between energy and life—were scattered and separate. They would sometimes gather spontaneously, but more often they were found freely distributed in areas with a high density of life, particularly plants, such as forests.

Only when these small, connected units accumulated to a certain number would a qualitative change occur. Once a certain threshold was reached, the third component would activate.

"Condensation of the Spirit of Nature." The mechanism was similar to "Magic Concentration." Observing the branches of the Tree of Law, one could clearly see they were adjacent, both subordinate to the main branch of "Magic Control."

However, in this spell, gathering the Essences actually produced a Melting and Casting effect. They would finally merge into a single entity. Only after this transformation from quantity to quality was complete would the entity gain the ability to execute simple commands from its summoner.

But at this point, it still couldn’t perform Magic.

Everyone was in their Spirit Body in the Boundary Land, but that didn’t stop Rorschach from referencing the methods of his predecessors. Back in the Prime Material Realm, Andre had set up an altar, activated a circuit that pointed to Rorschach, and then placed the mask on it.

A flash of Spiritual Light, and the package was delivered.

Upon arriving in the Boundary Land, the mask underwent a strange transformation. Its surface gained a lustrous sheen, its old patina replaced by the texture of what seemed to be living wood. Small green roots sprouted from its back, knotting together.

Now, Rorschach began his first experimental modification. He would replace the Spirit of Nature by blending Magic Power with the power of the Tree of Law, then performing an "Activation" to create a simulacrum of an Essence.

Then, following the sequence of the original spell’s components, he condensed a proto-summon and brought it close to the mask.

The roots on the back of the mask sensed it and began to unfurl, like dried goods swelling up as they rehydrated. The moment they touched the counterfeit, the mask hesitated.

Just as Rorschach thought his counterfeiting skills weren’t up to snuff and he’d failed to fool the Elven mask, the roots suddenly sprang into action, plunging deep into the Energy Body. Rorschach quickly molded its form, ultimately creating a small pet that looked similar to the one he’d seen in the Tower of Forest.

However, its face was now the mask itself. While it had looked charmingly simple on the large Spirit of Nature, it was rather bizarre on the head of a small, rodent-like beast.

But this didn’t stop the experiment. Rorschach observed the roots begin to extend in a regular pattern, forming a network similar to the Magic Circuits found in intelligent lifeforms.

Here in the Boundary Land, a place between reality and illusion, this network was visible. Back in the Prime Material Realm, both this network and a creature’s Magic Circuits would be invisible, unless the being possessed immense Magic Power, like a Dragon or a Great Mage.

This was the prerequisite for granting the Spirit of Nature a Casting Ability... Rorschach was very satisfied with the result.

Another rootlet sprouted from the mask’s forehead, whipping about as if searching for a Caster.

If this were in the Material Realm, where he wouldn’t be able to see the corporeal roots anyway, Rorschach would have accepted the contract without a second thought. But seeing the thin tendril trying to burrow into his body with his own eyes... it was still a bit unsettling.