Reincarnated as a Genius Prodigy of a Prestigious Family

8. It Was a Pleasant Time (1)

“Indeed, you have a good eye. The potion’s reaction is excellent for use as a sample.”

“Then, moonroot and Cornwell berries would be good. Let’s see…”

While the two discussed the ingredients, my gaze remained fixed on that nondescript stone.

After some hesitation, I approached and placed my hand on it.

A strong resonance, as if reacting to my mana, surged through the stone.

Interestingly, neither Sidraine nor the shop owner seemed to notice.

I decided to pick up the stone.

When I suppressed my mana, the resonance stopped, which I found fascinating. So, I asked the shop owner about it.

“What is this?”

The shop owner glanced at the ‘stone’ in my hand and looked puzzled.

“Where did that… Ah, it’s just a decoration.”

“A decoration?”

Despite its plain appearance, the resonance was quite strong.

The shop owner sighed.

“Oh, that thing drives me crazy just thinking about it.”

“Got scammed, did you?”

“Exactly! A few years ago, on my way to the capital, a peddler sold it to me for the price of five loaves of bread, saying it was a money pouch. When I opened it, this was inside.”

“Wow.”

“Yep, that stone cost me five loaves of bread.”

For something that resonated with my mana, it seemed quite cheap.

“I had it examined by a wizard and looked into it myself, but the conclusion was that it’s just a stone. I kept it there out of sheer frustration.”

The shop owner, still venting his frustration, then asked,

“Young master, if you’re looking for interesting items, here are some magical artifacts. They aren’t as abundant as in the capital, but we have a decent selection.”

I glanced at the artifacts.

Compared to what my sister would casually give me on my birthdays or whenever she thought of me, these were nothing special, but I had plenty of space in my dimensional pocket.

“I’ll buy a few of these. Could you recommend some? And I’ll buy this stone as well.”

“Huh? Why would you want that useless rock… Oh well, I’ll just give it to you.”

The shop owner clearly had no idea about the stone’s true nature. Not that I knew either, but if it reacted to my mana, it certainly wasn’t just a regular rock.

“Let’s see… This is a good one. It’s a business card holder. You know how everyone in the capital carries ‘business cards’ now? You put a card in here, and it automatically reads and stores the information. You just say the person’s name, and it displays their card! And also…”

Following the shop owner’s recommendations, I picked up a few artifacts. I wasn’t sure when I’d use them, but it couldn’t hurt to have them.

I chose three useful-looking artifacts and asked,

“How much for all of this?”

“Altogether, it would be one gold crown… But honestly, I don’t want to charge you.”

“No, I should pay for it.”

A gold crown.

A hefty price, but reasonable for magical artifacts.

Most importantly, it included the stone.

“Here you go.”

“Ha, I could close up shop for the day.”

The shop owner, visibly moved, trembled as if the gold crown was a precious gem.

“Young master, please visit anytime! I’ll throw in extra items for you!”

I simply smiled.

Sidraine got the ingredients he needed for teaching about potions, and I got some artifacts and a seemingly worthless stone.

Sidraine then asked,

“I didn’t think you had a hobby for collecting art or decorations… Did you develop a sudden interest?”

I smiled back.

“Did you notice?”

“Yes. Someone like you buying useless decorations along with artifacts seemed odd.”

I had no intention of hiding it. In fact, I planned to bring it up once we got back.

After explaining that the stone resonated with my mana, Sidraine stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“If that stone indeed reacts only to your mana… the nature of your mana might be different from what I thought.”

The nature of the stone.

I pulled out the stone and infused it with mana.

It resonated again, and I could feel something about to change.

“We shouldn’t do this here.”

We needed to return to the estate.

Sidraine agreed, nodding.

“It seems the potion class will have to wait.”

* * *

Back at the estate, Sidraine cleared a corner of his room with magic and began setting up various tools from his dimensional pocket.

More like apparatus than tools.

“These are experimental tools. I didn’t expect to use them outside.”

He took the stone from me and placed it in the center of one apparatus designed to channel mana.

“The shop owner said it had been examined but found nothing unusual.”

“Humph. Do you think their equipment is as advanced as mine? This one cost me almost my entire fortune. It’s state-of-the-art. It can analyze hidden properties with just a mana infusion.”

I see.

My reaction was less enthusiastic, making Sidraine sigh.

“Most people get excited just seeing this. Your talent must make everything seem mundane.”

Well, not much surprises me anymore.

Sidraine then infused the stone with his mana through the apparatus.

Mana shot out from eight directions like needles, enveloping the stone. It was quite a sight.

For twenty minutes, the apparatus hummed.

When Sidraine pressed a button, the machine stopped, and mana-formed letters appeared above it.

“Well, I’ll be…”

Sidraine, reading the letters, gestured for me to come closer.

“Take a look.”

The letters were written in runes, forming a kind of…

“A code.”

“Yes, a code. But not just any code.”

The arrangement, rules, and structure were unlike any I’d seen before.

There were an overwhelming number of them.

This wasn’t something like the 2nd-circle magic I learned today. It was more comparable to a 6th or 7th-circle magic code in terms of complexity and volume.

“So this stone is sealed by a magic code.”

“Exactly. And your mana is the key to unlocking it. Since it only reacts to your mana.”

My mana as the key.

What could this stone be hiding?

“What could it be…?”

Sidraine muttered, considering the puzzle.

“Unlocking the seal will reveal what this object truly is.”

I nodded.

Once the seal is broken, what will emerge?

More importantly-

“We might also discover why my mana is different.”

That was what intrigued me the most.

* * *

Highest grades in the history of the Imperial Academy’s Magic Department.

Achieved the 6th circle at a young age.

Sought after by every magic tower.

On top of all that, unmatched beauty.

Arabella Sogress had it all. Many sought her out in hopes of gaining her favor.

“Have you decided which magic tower you’ll join? If not, the tower master is visiting today. How about meeting him?”

“Arabella! My experiment went wrong! Can you help?”

“Damn it, Arabella. You’re our only hope. Please. Come with us to the excavation site.”

Magic towers, professors, alumni.

Many people sought Arabella’s time and attention.

Her knowledge rivaled that of seasoned professors.

Her experience seemed beyond her 26 years.

And underpinning all this was her exceptional magical prowess.

“Sorry, but I can’t today.”

But today, Arabella declined.

For a simple reason.

‘I think the analysis will be done today.’

She was awaiting the results of an analysis on her younger brother Dane’s mana.

No matter how busy she was, family came first. Especially her beloved brother Dane.

Arabella hurried to her personal laboratory.

Having a personal lab was rare unless one was a professor.

A friendly professor had loaned it to her while on sabbatical at the magic tower.

This alone showed how much the professors valued and adored Arabella.

“Alright, let’s take another look.”

Arabella recalled Dane’s words.

She already knew Dane’s mana was special.

But based on what he had told her recently, it seemed extraordinarily unique.

She had Dane infuse a mana stone and send it to her for this reason.

Vrrr…

Arabella observed the codes output by the analysis device.

Though the results hadn’t differed much from yesterday, detailed analysis was beginning to reveal differences.

Indeed-

“As I thought, it’s different.”

Dane’s unique mana code contained special qualities she had never seen before.

Special mana is occasionally discovered.

For instance, mana that is particularly suited to certain types of magic.

This is why magic specialties are so diverse.

But Arabella had yet to determine what Dane’s mana was suited for or what it specialized in.

She had tried matching it with codes from various fields like potion-making, magic gates, magic engineering, magic seals, siege magic, but none had matched.

“Alright, let’s try this.”

Arabella decided to input codes she hadn’t tried yet.

Unlikely, but she had to try everything.

“Alchemy, divination, necromancy… Am I going too far? Still, let’s try. Summoning, primal magic…”

These were almost lost fields of magic.

Arabella added the codes and activated the analyzer.

Vrrr…

Arabella thought that if none of these matched, she would have to pause her experiment.

But her thoughts were interrupted by a beep from the machine.

Beeeeep-

Within five minutes, the machine indicated a result.

Arabella rushed over.

‘What could it be? Alchemy? Divination? Please, not necromancy.’

But the result left her stunned.

“Oh my god.”

Arabella’s face was a mask of shock.