A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 132

As everyone knows, Jane could objectively be called an ‘eccentric’ without any reservations.

The invention of the Artificial Magic Stone, which was deemed impossible. Engineering technology far surpassing current standards.

Strictly speaking, she feels eccentric because she’s a genius who transcends her era.

To put it in perspective, it’s akin to inventing a lighter in a primitive age where fire was crucial.

The problem is, she invented the lighter just to make grilling meat more convenient, so she doesn’t realize how amazing it is.

It’s like she’s a genius with a touch of stupidity. Sometimes geniuses are treated like fools because of their odd ideas.

“You said I was chosen by Lord Chaos, but is this really all it takes to be chosen?”

“Of course. Sister Jane, you invented something to replace Magic Stones, didn’t you?”

After the series of events, Rize’s affinity for Jane skyrocketed to unimaginable heights.

Just a few minutes ago, she seemed ready to split her head open with an axe, but not anymore.

As she gradually got to know Jane, she became surprisingly close to her in no time.

“That may be true, but… I’m not sure if this is really that impressive.”

Jane adjusted her glasses and stared at the object resting on her palm.

Unlike the round, mineral-like Magic Stones, the Artificial Magic Stone she invented was a square plate.

On the plate, something resembling gold foil was densely packed, looking remarkably similar to semiconductors seen on Earth.

“I know Magic Stones are extremely rare minerals. But even making this is too expensive. I had to pour most of the investment fund Mr. Sivar gave me into it. It also took a long time.”

“Still, you invented it artificially, didn’t you?”

“That’s true, but wouldn’t it be better to just buy them on the market instead? It’d be less trouble and cheaper.”

Look at that. She has no idea what she’s invented.

By Earth’s standards, she’s essentially invented an alternative to oil, yet she’s completely unaware of it.

It’s an issue of being too smart for her own good. Jane’s thought process probably went something like this:

[Magic Stones are needed for production.]

[Magic Stones are too expensive, so let’s create a substitute.]

[Ta-da! I invented the Artificial Magic Stone!]

[Now let’s resume production!]

It’s no exaggeration to say that’s likely exactly how it went.

What would others do if they asked her how she did it? She probably wouldn’t even understand the question.

She’d wonder why they couldn’t do something so simple. Isn’t it just a matter of whipping it up?

In her mind, she likely thought it was too costly to make, not that it was impossible.

But it wasn’t that they didn’t make it; they couldn’t. If they could, they would’ve used it long ago.

“······I understand now why Lord Chaos chose Sister Jane. I’m glad I met you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Sister Jane, it’s hard to comprehend, but this is an extraordinary invention. There have been efforts to replace Magic Stones before, but they all failed.”

“Isn’t that because of money? If it were profitable, I would’ve patented it long ago.”

It’s truly fortunate she didn’t. I sincerely thought so.

Jane measures everything by her own standards. Add to that her near-destitute poverty.

As the saying goes, only those who’ve eaten meat know how to eat it well. Having lived in poverty all her life, she knows nothing of the world.

Even the Academy professors failed to notice her genius, so she was like a frog in a well.

But in that well wasn’t a frog—it was a dragon, completely unaware of its own nature.

‘Well, if you think about it, even Newton messed up big time with stocks······’

No matter how much of a transcendent genius one is, without learning, they know nothing.

What’s the use of having a top-tier computer if you only play low-spec games on it? It’s such a waste.

“So, are you considering filing a patent?”

“Not at all. Honestly, I barely managed to make this by scrimping and saving. If I had proper equipment, it might be efficient, but······ frankly, this isn’t good enough to patent.”

“In other words, with sufficient equipment and materials, you could create a much better Artificial Magic Stone than this.”

“Yes. But that would require a lot of money······”

Jane said this while cautiously glancing at me. It was an unspoken request for another investment.

Money isn’t an issue; I’ve made more than enough through stocks. As I mentioned before, nurturing Jane’s growth requires significant funds.

Even Iron Man wouldn’t have invented his suit without his financial resources.

Thanks to his brilliant mind, he managed to create a prototype in a cave, but beyond that, money was indispensable.

“I’ll give you more money.”

“R-Really?!”

“Yes. But take your time. Don’t file a patent. It’s dangerous.”

It’s better to file the patent slowly or not at all, at least for now.

Especially given the times, the patent system has too many loopholes. You could end up being stabbed in the back.

Combine that with Jane’s disastrous ability to assess the state of affairs······ and it wouldn’t take much for her to become an upgraded devil.

“Of course. I have no intention of patenting this trash anyway. Oh! Come to think of it, I also need to update the contract······”

“Contract? Don’t tell me you’re talking about that Slave Contract?”

“Huh? I’ve never signed a Slave Contract······”

When Jane showed a puzzled reaction, Rize pulled a piece of paper from her pocket.

It was a contract she brought to expose a con artist. It was practically a declaration of her intent to become a slave.

Jane accepted the contract Rize handed her and read it slowly. Then, adjusting her glasses, she responded.

“This is indeed a contract I wrote. Is there a problem with it?”

“··· ···”

There are too many problems. Rize, at a loss for words, displayed an expression of utter disbelief.

She’s not easily flustered, but Jane truly is something else.

After painstakingly explaining the details of the contract one by one, Jane finally realized it.

“Oh, oh? W-Wait, it really is a Slave Contract?”

“Yes. You’re lucky it was Brother Sivar; otherwise, you would’ve been worked to the bone like a slave.”

“Thank goodness my first investor was Mr. Sivar······”

What if someone else had recognized Jane’s true worth? Would they really have exploited her as a slave?

In the Soul World, she wasn’t treated as a slave, but I heard she was thoroughly betrayed.

After that, she completely fell to the Demon Side, and the demons came out equipped with all sorts of gear.

“So, does this mean we need to draft a new contract?”

“If Brother Sivar is willing to invest, I can help. I don’t know much about contracts, but a pact should suffice.”

“A pact? What’s that?”

“Think of it as a contract directly mediated by a god.”

So this is how they plan to completely tie me down. They call it a pact, but it’s practically a Slave Contract.

As Rize explained, a pact is a contract directly mediated by a god. To establish one, you need someone with at least the rank of bishop.

If you break the pact, you’ll be unable to serve the god for the rest of your life. The label of Oath Breaker is just a bonus.

Of course, under certain conditions, a pact can be reversed. But it’s so strict that it’s nearly impossible.

‘That’s why pacts are usually used when someone is promoted to bishop······’

Pacts between individuals are almost unheard of. That’s why pacts are generally treated as contracts with gods.

Since Rize was a saintess, establishing a pact would be no trouble for her. I was curious about the kind of pact she would propose.

Since it’s Chaos, the pact might be somewhat lenient. In extreme cases, it could even justify murder.

Of course, as I’ve repeatedly mentioned, it wouldn’t bless a hedonistic murderer. Its disposition is fundamentally ‘good.’

“Let’s write the pact document later. For now, didn’t you say you had something to show Brother Sivar?”

“Ah, yes! Could you come this way for a moment?”

Jane spoke as if she had just remembered and began leading us.

Rize and I followed her to the place she guided us to. It wasn’t far.

When we arrived, we saw a pile of junk and a metal glove on the table.

There it was. The mechanical arm I had longed for so desperately was sitting there.

“This is the mechanical arm you mentioned, Mr. Sivar. Without mana, it’s just a chunk of iron, but with mana, it can produce incredible strength.”

“Did you use the Artificial Magic Stone in this as well?”

“Yes. It’s essential for channeling mana throughout the mechanical arm.”

The mechanical arm’s overall design was far from what I had envisioned. It wasn’t sleek but rather clunky.

Of course, this was inevitable given the limitations of the era. Moreover, with the equipment available, even welding would have been difficult.

But on the flip side, it meant she had achieved this level of precision with mere hammering.

With proper equipment, she could have created something far more impressive than this.

I stared at the mechanical arm for a while before slowly reaching out my hand. It was time to equip it.

“I will help you.”

“Hm? You even implemented finger joints. How did you manage that?”

While I was equipping the mechanical arm, Rize noticed something unique.

Finger joints are difficult to implement even with welding. It was unbelievable that this was crafted through simple hammering.

“Ah, this? I thought it required more delicate work, so I made another tool.”

Jane, as she helped me attach the mechanical arm, showed me a pen lying on the table.

It resembled a pen, but its tip was quite sharp, seemingly a tool used for soldering.

“When mana is infused, the tip emits intense heat. This allowed for more precise work.”

“You’re saying you converted mana into heat energy?”

“Yes.”

“··· ···”

I wasn’t sure if that was impressive, but judging by Rize’s silence, it must have been.

Creating something like this without a proper blueprint truly proved she was a genius.

Clang—

Finally, the mechanical arm was fully equipped. Since it was made of solid steel, it felt slightly heavy.

“It must feel quite heavy. The steel was something I begged and borrowed from the blacksmith at a bargain price.”

“It’s fine.”

“Now, I’ll infuse it with mana.”

Wooong—

Jane said this as she placed her hand on the mechanical arm. It seemed she intended to infuse the mana herself.

Then, a strange noise began emanating from the mechanical arm. I moved my fingers in that state.

Creak—

The finger joints moved very smoothly. Although there was noise, it was negligible.

As I looked around, my eyes landed on Ragnarok, the axe that had become significantly heavier than before.

I wondered if the mechanical arm would aid in enhancing my strength. With that thought, I carefully lifted it.

“Oh?”

The moment I lifted the axe, I was amazed. Except for the weight of the mechanical arm itself, it didn’t feel heavy at all.

This confirmed that the strength support ability was indeed functioning. That alone was an incredible achievement.

“How is it?”

“It’s incredibly light.”

“Haha!”

Jane laughed energetically at my admiration. She seemed quite pleased with herself.

Then, with the same bright expression, she made a request to me.

“Let’s finish it up now. Do you see the groove in the palm?”

As she mentioned, I looked at the palm and saw a circular hole in its center.

It seemed to be crafted as per my earlier request. So, this is where the beam would be fired from.

“Brace yourself. When I tested it before, I was sent flying far away.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll press the activation button. Please aim it at that wall over there.”

Click!

Following her instructions, I aimed at the wall. It was an empty wall with nothing on it.

Jane nodded and then pressed the button on the table. It was connected to the mechanical arm via a cord.

Vrrr!

Soon, a noise came from the mechanical arm, and then—

Boom!

A beam of blue magic power shot out of the palm, quite literally like a laser.

Thanks to Jane’s advice, I had braced myself firmly, so I didn’t get blown away.

However, I couldn’t completely prevent my body from being slightly pushed back. The recoil was immense.

“Whew! Isn’t it amazing?”

“I’m buying this.”

Every man’s dream was now attached to my arm. How could I resist this?

Jane responded to my request with a delighted voice.

“As per our contract, this belongs to you, Mr. Sivar. You can take it anytime you want.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I should be thanking you.”

That’s Jane for you. If you pay her, she always delivers results beyond expectations.

As I was thinking about continuing to invest in her, Rize, who had been observing from afar, voiced her opinion.

“A mechanical arm that consumes mana… It sounds quite appealing, but it seems like it would drain a lot of mana.”

A valid point. Jane had indeed infused a considerable amount of mana into it. Since I was wearing the mechanical arm, I could tell.

Jane’s goal was to create something even ordinary people could use. However, this was impractical for anyone but knights.

In essence, it was a case of the cart before the horse. Jane seemed aware of this as she nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. It does require a significant amount of mana. But there’s no need to worry. I’ve already thought of a solution for this.”

“What is it?”

“Well… Honestly, I got scolded by my professor for this, so I’m not sure if it’ll work…”

Jane scratched her head, looking at us nervously. It seemed this was the one thing she wasn’t confident about.

But even the Iron Man suit is just an expensive piece of junk without energy.

Any machine requires energy. And Jane was planning to invent it.

‘I don’t know how she’ll do it, but she’ll figure it out.’

I slowly removed the mechanical arm. I should take this back to the dormitory.

Meanwhile, Jane looked around and brought over some paper and a pen. It seemed she intended to explain it to us.

“Since neither of you are familiar with this field, I’ll explain it simply. Do you know the relationship between mass and energy?”

“No, not at all.”

“······?”

What was this? Why did I already feel uneasy?

It wasn’t some wild instinct; just hearing those words naturally made me anxious.

“Let’s start from the beginning. Mana is essentially no different from energy for us. In other words…”

Jane began writing down all sorts of symbols as she explained to us slowly. But there was no way we could understand.

As I mentioned before, Jane set her standards for people way too high. It was a habit born from her low self-esteem.

She firmly believed there were many people better than her and worked tirelessly to improve herself.

Considering her professors had scolded her, it wasn’t strange for her to think this way.

“If this formula holds true, we can conclude that mass can be converted into energy. In other words, an object with mass can be transformed into mana.”

“··· ···”

“With the right equipment and techniques, it’s possible to generate massive energy from a small amount of mass! This means we can easily operate the mechanical arm and even the steel reinforced suit of our dreams!”

Damn.

“What do you think? Do you understand?”

“······No? Not really?”

“Hmm. Did I explain it too complicatedly? Let me try again…”

Why is Oppenheimer here?

[Faith Increases!]

Do you want to witness the end of the world?