Chapter 198 - Magi-tech!

After resting up back at the cultivation building, Cecil went over to the magi-tech building the next day.

He went straight up to the 5th floor where he found the vault that contained all the magi-tech crafting materials. He picked up some spatial rings inside the vault and stored every single material that he found into the rings.

He put similar types of materials inside one ring and separated them. The ores went into one ring, the magicite into another, and so on. Like this he cleanly swept through the vault.

No one was here to see him, so he didn't care at all.

"I'll do what I must! There's no way I'll just give up on all of this!"

Cecil proceeded over to the 6th floor where the workshops were at. He entered a room that was filled with all sorts of apparatus.

During the time he was copying the doc.u.ments in the magi-tech building, he was able to learn about the uses and functions of the tools. He also spent some time to learn how to use them.

He didn't have any experience, but with the abundant amount of materials inside the spatial rings that he hoarded from the magi-tech material vault, he could experiment all he wanted and gradually build up experience!

"Yosh! Let's get this started!!"

Cecil rolled up his sleeves and quickly got to work. He shut the door behind him and not long after the sounds of machinery began to echo throughout the entire building.

The once empty and silent magi-tech building turned lively and noisy once again.

It took Cecil over two weeks of repeated experimentation and failure to finally be able to proficiently use the apparatus.

He hadn't once stepped out of the room and to the people who were seriously cultivating, he was long since forgotten. Even Lucia was so immersed in her cultivation that she didn't even notice that Cecil had not once come back to the room.

Cecil ate and slept inside the workshop. All around the floor of the workshop were ruined materials that had runic arrays engraved on them. They were no longer usable and since Cecil found it a hassle to clean up, he just tossed all the ruined materials that he experimented with onto the floor.

There were even some arrays and materials that directly blew up in his face and this caused him to become all dirty, but he persevered and didn't bother to go back to the cultivation building to wash up.

He still had a couple of bottles of mana-rich water that he stored inside his numerous water bottles, so he just simply used those to wash and keep himself clean.

Cecil also had long since taken off his clothes. Since there was a risk of an explosion to occur, he didn't want to further ruin his uniform so he took it off and only left his pants on.

The golden markings of the World Tree were still present on his body, but he no longer cared and found them aesthetically pleasing now.

"Alright...today's the day!" He roared.

"Today's the day!!!"

Cecil calmed himself and brought out some magicite, black mithril, orichalc.u.m, and etherna ink from the spatial rings with him.

"Today's the day I finally create my personal MID!"

With a determined look in his eyes, Cecil quickly began to get busy. He used the apparatus inside the workshop and began cutting up the black mithril into very small identical pieces. Once he was finished, Cecil brought over the large piece of orichalc.u.m and cut it into a rectangular shape.

He cut out two identical pieces. Then he tossed the rest of the orichalc.u.m into the furnace next to him and melted it down. He also tossed in some of the magicite into furnace and quickly mixed the two together.

With this, he created a magic ore that supposedly had the same mana conductivity as adamantium. He brought out the ore and quickly cooled it down. Then he turned his attention back onto the small black mithril pieces.

He brought out the etherna ink, a high quality magic ink that was used to draw runes. He poured the ink into one of the hanging apparatus on the workshop's walls. He then lowered it over the small black mithril pieces.

He activated hyper-sensitivity and manipulated the tool with his hands to begin rune engraving. Cecil didn't need to use the pen-like apparatus to draw runes, but he needed to use it in order to create runic circuits on the black mithril.

Runic circuits were somewhat like computer circuits from back on Earth. Instead of using machinery however, the runic circuits were created by engraving runes onto the interior of a magic ore.

The apparatus he was using was able to draw the runic circuit directly inside of the small, thin piece of black mithril. That's right, not on the black mithril, but the inside of it.

He always messed up on this part, but after gaining enough experience over the past two weeks, Cecil was now confident he would be able to perfectly create the runic circuit without failing.

He didn't dare be hasty. Using his hyper-sensitivity, he slowly and carefully began creating the runic circuits. It took him 30 minutes to create the runic circuit on only one of the black mithril pieces...he still had 20 more pieces to create.

If all the runic circuits were the same then he would have been able to finish quickly, but unfortunately for him, all the runic circuits he had to inscribe on each of the mithril pieces were unique.

They had their own individual functions that would add to an operational feature for MID. In Modern Earth terms, those black mithril pieces were like an app. So Cecil had to be very, very meticulous.

He wanted to create a unique MID just for himself, he gleamed all the information about the ancient MID and the features he could make. In total there were 20 and he wanted all of them.

Cecil slowly completed the rest of the runic circuits. If he messed up, Cecil would simply trash the mithril piece, cut out a new one and try again.

Unbeknownst to the boy, it actually took him over 3 days just to finish the 20 runic circuits. He rested for a bit, and just as he was about to begin creating the MID's runic circuits, he heard a knock on his door.

Cecil opened the door and his friends were actually all waiting outside. Further behind them he could see the other academy students loitering around the floor. Cecil deduced that they all had finished their cultivations and were planning to head out now.

When they all arrived at the magi-tech building, the sounds coming from Cecil's workshop attracted them over.

When Cecil's friends all saw his pale and unkempt appearance they gasped in shock. Just what happened to him?

Lucia was the first to ask him to explain his condition.

"Cel, what happened?!"

"Ehh...uhh...not much?"

"N-not much?! You haven't been coming back to the cultivation building have you?!"

"No...probably...3 weeks now?"

"...What're you doing?"

"D-don't bother me right now...I'm at a crucial point and I need to concentrate..." Cecil replied.

"...we're all about to head out of the trial grounds now..."

"Oh...okay...I'll head out once I'm done..."

"..."

Cecil turned around and sat back down onto the work bench. He readjusted his mind and activated Hyper-sensitivity. He began manipulating the apparatus and proceeded to create the runic circuits for his MID's main body.

The main body was created from the orichalc.u.m he melted down mixed with the magicite. The two cut out pieces of orichalc.u.m he made beforehand only served as molds. Cecil carefully began to create the runic circuits.

Lucia could only stare at him incredulously, but she couldn't stop him. She gave up and looked around the workshop.

The rest of her friends naturally grew curious of what their party leader was doing so they went into the workshop to see what was up, but they didn't dare go close to Cecil.

The vibe he gave off was so focused and serious. They also noticed that for some reason, the very air around their friend had condensed to form a flimsy barrier.

"Man...This place sure is dirty..." Ainz softly said.

He picked up the scrapped ores on the ground and noticed all the small runes on it.

"Just what has Cecil been up to I wonder~" Serilla commented with a giggle.

Everyone in the room turned their attention back to Cecil who was quietly working. He still had his upper body bare and this naturally attracted the gazes of both Lucia and Serilla.

The muscular build of Cecil's small frame was especially attracting towards the two young girls. The golden tattoos that now decorated his upper body also added a sort of charm and mystery. The two girls couldn't help but stare.

"...is it just me...but doesn't Cecil's body look... a little different?" Fina asked.

"Huh?"

"Hm~?"

The two girls' turned their attention towards Fina. Seeing their predatory gazes, Fina stiffened a little before she frantically explained herself.

"I-I mean just look at him! Don't you think he's a taller than before?! Also, I know this may be inappropriate, but he also smells nicer? A-a-and, his mana! Yes, his mana's also changed y'know!"

The two girls turned their attention back onto Cecil. Now that they looked at him, there was a significant change to his body. His skin was a little lighter and they couldn't help but think that it might also be softer to touch.

As for his height, they couldn't really tell since he was sitting down, but his sitting posture was much higher than before, so he might have grown taller.

Velicia came over to Fina and whispered to her playfully, "Huhuhu~ you almost stepped on a landmine there Fifi~"

"I-it's not my fault...I just couldn't help but notice you know...I mean...Cecil was originally the same height as me...but earlier I couldn't help but notice that he was almost a full head taller than me now..."

"Oh? Now that you mention it...when Lucia was talking to Cecil earlier she was no longer staring down at him..."

"Ye-yeah! Right! I told you! They're practically the same height now! Actually, Cecil seemed to be a little bit taller than her!"

"Hmmm..."

While the two were reveling in their discovery, the other academy students began to appear at the door of the workshop. Some even straightforwardly walked in.

Cecil was way too focused to care. He had his Hyper-sensitivity activated and had long since tuned out the sounds in the surroundings. Right now, he could only hear the sounds of the apparatus while constructing the runic circuits, his breath and his heartbeat.

'Almost finished...'

One of the beastmen that came in couldn't help but notice Cecil on the workbench. He noticed that the boy who was said to be the 'strongest' hadn't had any upgrade in his mana cultivation level.

He was still in the initial-level of the mana sea stage. Everyone who had been cultivating inside the cultivation building had all risen in level. Most of the stronger students had directly stepped into the initial-level of the Mana Core stage.

This was especially true for the Little Kings. Everyone besides Cecil had stepped into the Mana Core Stage. Lucia had also grown another tail and she had 6 tails now. She had reaped the most rewards during their 1 month cultivation session.

The beastman received some sort of signal from Reinhart, the Beastman Academy President, and he brazenly walked over to Cecil.

Just before got close, two figures flashed right in front of him and blocked his way.

"I wouldn't approach him if I were you~" Serilla said with a giggle. Her exhausted countenance was no longer present. Her complexion had turned rosy and healthy ever since she arrived at the last plaza.

She was very beautiful and charming. Without the presence of the bags under her eyes, her scarlet colored eyes were spirited and bright. There was a hint of a mischievous and playful glint in them.

Lucia was only staring coldly at the werewolf. She released a menacing aura as she stared at him.

"Turn back...if you don't want to die..."

Her words caused the werewolf to flinch. This girl already had a mana cultivation stage at the middle-level of the mana core stage. She had the highest cultivation level present amongst all the students.

With her blocking the way, the werewolf could only literally tuck his tail between his legs and make a quick escape.

"Hmph...Trash," Lucia scoffed coldly. She had seen enough deaths all throughout the trials. She no longer had an aversion to it and if she had to, Lucia had resolved herself to cut down anyone that tried to do something untoward to her or her friends.