[Vol. 8] Chapter 181: Magic Crystal
“This is exactly why you must never use regular magic tools or try to cast magic in the Chaos Magic Valley. For races that rely on magic to live, this place is completely off-limits. Only people who are naturally immune to magic can move around safely here. So stop complaining about how hard things are. This spot is super rare and valuable! Do you understand how many scholars dream of getting this chance?!”
As they walked through the lush green valley, Rowan Nillin quietly listened to his elderly professor, whose beard had turned white. The professor was slowly explaining everything to him and the few other young students beside him. Rowan could only nod helplessly.
This professor was one of the most respected and knowledgeable teachers at the Royal Academy. Rowan had worked very hard just to earn the chance to do his graduation research under this man. He was excellent in every way, except that he talked way too much.
Just like the professor said, because of the valley’s special nature, everyone on this research trip had something in common, they were completely unable to use magic. Not just bad at it, but born with zero magical energy.
Sure, there are many creatures in the world who can’t use magic, but people who are completely cut off from it are very rare. If Rowan didn’t have this strange trait, he wouldn’t have gotten picked for this expedition.
Several months ago, they had set out from the capital city, Frederick City, and traveled a long way to reach this place.
Since no magic tools or magic-powered weapons could be used in the valley, they had to survive the old-fashioned way: making fires, cooking, hunting, and gathering every day. They had already been camping and researching inside the valley for over a month.
Even after all that time, they had explored almost every corner of the valley, but still hadn’t made any important discoveries. Now that the deadline to return to the academy was getting close, everyone was starting to feel nervous.
After all, if they couldn’t produce any real results, they wouldn’t be able to finish their thesis. That would mean staying in school for another year and taking the graduation test with the next class, which was not something anyone wanted.
At that moment, one of the young girls in the group couldn’t hold back anymore and whispered a complaint.
“Professor Malcolm, you’ve explained that theory at least ten times already. I could probably repeat it in my sleep. Can we hear something new now? Also, isn’t it just a hypothesis anyway? You talk like it’s a proven fact. If there really is this so-called ‘source of magic power,’ then why haven’t we found it yet?”
Rowan winced.
What she said was basically calling the professor’s carefully built theory wrong, even though most of the students were starting to feel the same way after weeks with no results. Saying it out loud was a whole different thing.
Everyone knows scholars have big egos. Especially famous, respected professors. This kind of thing was not a joke to them.
Sure enough, the old professor’s beard puffed up in anger as he stopped walking and turned around with wide, glaring eyes.
“What did you just say?!”
The girl didn’t back down. She seemed completely sure that this research trip wouldn’t lead to anything, and she replied right away:
“I just mean… theories are one thing, but reality is another. If something doesn’t exist, no matter how long we search, we won’t find it. Honestly, I think we should stop wasting time and just go back to the academy. I’ve had enough of living like a caveman out here!”
“You…! Hmph! Fine, if you want to leave, no one’s stopping you! Right now, you can just—”
“Ahem, ahem! Professor, please calm down! Don’t get angry, she’s just a little upset because we haven’t found anything for so long. We’re all your students, how could we give up so easily just because of a little setback in our research? Nidiel, hurry and apologize to the professor!”
Because their research had not shown any results for a long time, small arguments like this had already happened more than once.
Just as Rowan stepped in, once again playing the peacemaker, to try and calm everyone down, one of the students suddenly changed expression, as if they saw something, and quickly raised their hand to point at a spot ahead.
“Wait a second… Professor Malcolm! Look over there, what is that?!”
“What is it now? I’m telling you all, don’t try to change the subject! You’re young, but already so disrespectful to your teacher, I must really… hmm?”
Professor Malcolm wore a pair of crystal-cut glasses. Even though he had gray hair, his body was still strong and full of energy, and when he got mad, he was pretty scary. Still, his observation skills were as sharp as any of his young students’.
Even though he had just started scolding them, he immediately noticed something too. His face lit up in surprise at almost the same moment.
On the ground where everyone was looking, there was a small white crystal, about the height of a thumb, growing straight up from the soil!
“This is… a magic crystal formed from gathered mana?!”
This was completely unexpected, everyone knew that magic crystals don’t exist in the Chaos Magic Valley.
This wasn’t just a guess. It was a fact agreed upon by every scholar who had studied this place.
Why?
Because magic crystals only form when rich magical energy in the air gathers over a long time and slowly turns into a solid crystal. But in the Chaos Magic Valley, the magic is extremely unstable, even using simple spells causes violent reactions. There’s no way such chaotic energy could ever settle down enough to create a crystal.
However…
According to the theory that Professor Malcolm himself had proposed and spent years developing, the “World Center Theory”, there could be an explanation.
If the valley’s strange environment is caused by it being located right at the center of the world, and if powerful magic from the north, south, east, and west all flow through this spot and get tangled together, then somewhere in the valley, there must be a tiny area that is the true ‘center of the center.’
At that special place, instead of chaos, all the different magic elements would start to balance and form a unique, stable condition. In fact, the magic there could become ten or even a hundred times stronger than normal places, thanks to the land’s natural power. It would be a perfect paradise for mages and magical creatures.
This imaginary place was given a name by Professor Malcolm, the “Source of Magic.”
The professor had always believed that this “center of the center” had to exist. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for the Chaos Magic Valley’s strange magic to stay limited only inside the valley, almost like a small, sealed-off world. That would break all the usual rules of magic.
So this time, he had brought a few students on a long journey to the Holy Empire to find this legendary Source of Magic, to finally prove his theory, and to disprove all the other incomplete ones.
Professor Malcolm was already quite old. As a regular human with no talent for magic or martial arts, his health was getting worse by the day. This field trip was meant to be his final mission, the last project of his career.
He had already made up his mind. No matter how hard it got, he would find the Source of Magic before it was too late.
And now, after a whole month with no discoveries, they had finally found something at the very last moment. How could he not be overwhelmed with joy?