The dark of night cloaked the a chamber in Adventurer's Association tower, its stone walls lined with shelves of dusty tomes and arcane trinkets.
The 6-star mage, Master Varis, sat cross-legged on a woven mat, his long beard pooling like silver thread on the floor.
His eyes were closed as he cultivated, drawing mana from the surrounding. He continued this for a while before rising from the ground and approaching his workbench where Adrian's mana detector lay.
The room was still dark, so Varis raised his hand and intoned, "Ignis lumora!"
Flames sparked to life in the iron sconces along the walls, their warm glow casting flickering shadows across the chamber.
With darkness out of the way, Varis finally focused on the mana detector.
"Let's unravel your secrets," he muttered in a voice laced with obsession.
"Revela arcana!"
A wave of mana washed over the detector, probing its structure. Varis leaned closer, his eyes narrowing as he observed the intricate runes.
"Clever… runes, but not like any I've seen," he muttered, his voice tinged with grudging respect. His mana pressed deeper, seeking the device's secrets, when a sharp pop cracked the silence. The detector shuddered, and before Varis could react, it erupted in a violent explosion.
A blast of heat and light surged outward and shards of brass and quartz flew out violently.
"Scutum aetheris!"
A flaming barrier shimmered into existence, deflecting the debris and shielding his robes from the blast.
The workbench splintered, papers and tools scattering, and a faint smell of scorched metal lingered.
Varis stood frozen, his barrier fading as he stared at the smoldering wreckage.
"What in the abyss?" he snarled, his voice trembling with fury and disbelief.
"How… how does a device self-destruct like that?" His hands shook as he sifted through the ruins, finding nothing but twisted fragments.
"The creator is no common rune master... This is impossible!"
***
In Tulia, the faint chime of a notification made Adrian to flutter his sleeping eyes open.
[Superpublish activated. Mana detector destroyed due to tampering.]
A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face.
"Nice," he murmured, before rolling over and drifting back to sleep.
***
By morning, Adrian sat on his workbench, already considering his next moves.
His inventions were doing alright already, but he needed to create more.
'I have to prioritize Magic Inventions... Since they can't be copied thanks to [Superpublish].'
His thoughts drifted to his dream project: a magic gun, a weapon that could channel mana from a crystal to fire concentrated bursts of energy.
It would improve his combat power drastically. But he knew it wasn't possible for him to create at the moment.
"Tech Core," he said, tapping the quill, "Why can't I build the magic gun yet?"
[The magic gun requires advanced materials you don't currently have access to. Sourcing via the Adventurer's Association or House Borin is possible though, but the rune engraving for such a complex device exceeds your current skill level; so it might take you several weeks, if not months to complete one.]
Adrian sighed. He'd suspected as much.
"Too ambitious for now," he muttered. "I need something I can make today, something that uses magic crystals but doesn't need rare components. Something adventurers and townsfolk will pay a fortune for."
"Tech Core, give me a list of practical inventions I can build with what I've got. Prioritize high-value, high-demand items."
[Generating list: 1. Mana-charged lantern (long-lasting, adjustable light). 2. Crystal-powered heating coil (portable warmth for camps or homes). 3. Mana-amplified grappling hook (extends/retracts with crystal trigger). 4. Crystal-tuned resonance communicator (voice transmission via paired crystals)]
Adrian's eyes lit up at the fourth option: a resonance communicator.
'Wow, that's possible...'
He began going through the knowledge in his head and that made him realize.
"Yes, it truly is possible... I can make a communication device."
The device would use paired magic crystals to transmit voices over short distances by resonating their mana frequencies, similar to a transceiver on Earth.
Adventurers could coordinate silently in the Magic Forest, avoiding detection by beasts. Merchants could negotiate across bustling markets without shouting.
Villagers could call for aid during emergencies. The crystals didn't need to be high-grade, and the runes were within his skill, building on his mana detector's design.
"That's it," he said with a grin. "A Crystal Resonance Communicator. Small, reliable, crystal-powered. Adventurers will beg for it, and nobles will want it for their estates. Tech Core, download the blueprint."
[Downloading blueprints for 'Crystal Resonance Communicator.']
A flash of light illuminated the workbench, and a sleek, semi-transparent drafting paper materialized, its surface etched with precise schematics.
"Okay," he said with a nod after going through the blueprint.
"I'll make twenty sets before heading back to Eldergrove to deliver the detectors."
Adrian rose and headed to the forge to begin refining the crystals with the appropriate runes.
***
Meanwhile, in Eldergrove, the Association's council chamber buzzed with tension. Master Varis stood before the gathered heads and his face was squeezed in annoyance.
"The detector was a trap!" he snarled as he paced. "Runes that defy logic, a self-destruct mechanism no mage could conceive. There's no way that boy made those; there has to be a superior power."
The Director was tired of the Varis's rants but couldn't do anything about it. He was still the most powerful Mage in the branch after all.
"Can we salvage anything?"
"Nothing," Varis spat. "But we have fifty more coming. We'll use them as intended — no tampering until we understand their design. Distribute to scouts and test their effectiveness."
A 3-star officer, a wiry woman with a scar across her cheek, spoke up. "Should we confront the boy? Demand his methods?"
The Director shook his head. "He's no fool. Push him, and he'll sell align himself with other powers — nobles, guilds, even the Academy. We keep the partnership, we play his game."
Varis's eyes narrowed, but he nodded. Even though he had said that nothing could be done, he had other plans. His mind was already scheming on how to decipher the next one they'll get. Adrian was a puzzle, and Varis hated puzzles he couldn't solve.