The Frivolous Prince

[7] Magic Research

“As you can see, there is a lot of information from the appraisal magic level 5. But on level one, it will only show what is the literal thing that you are appraising. So if I have level one magic, it will only show me that you are a human. On level two, the identity of the appraised item will be shown. On level three, the function or simple description will be added. On level four, things like age, titles, compositions and further description will be shown. And finally, on level five, the experience progress bar, level and attributes will be there. It’s a lot of work to make that far but level five is the farthest the humans have ever reached,” Rista explained.

“How many times should I use the appraisal magic so I can level it to 2?” I asked.

“To have level 2 appraisal magic, you need to use it approximately a hundred times. It actually deviates whenever you try to modify the spell but the average is still a thousand. For it to be level 3 you have to use it for another five hundred tries, then one thousand times for level 4 and finally, five thousand times for level five. From that pattern, maybe level 6 will be attained after another ten thousand usage. It’s really far but I want to pursue it,” Rista said.

“Geez, that’s a lot of work. No wonder no one wants to learn appraisal magic,” I replied.

“Yes, and if you don’t have high mana, it will be hard to live on a daily basis since everything here needs mana input to work,” Rista said.

Yes, from cooking to doing laundry, almost everything needs mana. Create Fire and Create Water are two of the basic magic spells that are widely used in this world. This is very different in my old world since those things can be done with just technology. Those who don't have the red or blue chamber have a hard time in their daily life and that’s the reason that there are other jobs aside from being a magician - to have a service for those who lack something.

“So that is all for the appraisal magic. Do you have any further questions?” Rista asked.

“That’s all,” I responded.

Those information are good enough for me, I will figure out the rest of it.

“Then, be careful on your way home. I wouldn’t be able to escort you back to the palace so make sure you won’t wander around. I might be punished if something happens to you,” Rista said.

I’m currently at the place where Rista does her appraisal thing where someone pays her to know their current level. I didn’t witness someone have their level appraise. Maybe because it took a while to level up and if you already appraise your level, you can estimate the day that you will level up. Some people don't even bother with their level. I’m glad that Rista’s family is still doing something like this. Anyway, it’s time to head back home.

I waved at Rista signaling that I’m going home. She saw me off until I could leave her workshop.

This is early as expected so I might try to see things around the kingdom. It’s my first time to be outside alone and since I used some of my mana early in this morning, it might not be full yet.

Most of the people here in the kingdom don’t know what my face is so as long as I wouldn’t bump into royal guards, I’m safe to wander around.

So what’s the first thing I want to see? Of course, the magic research building.

This team was created by the King to improve the knowledge about magic. They are a group of very smart scholars who are focused on creating new kinds of magic. As there are many types of magic, not everything is really known yet but they said that the magic list is almost complete. But I beg to differ, it’s impossible to know all kinds of magic. Even in my previous world, I was only able to know almost a thousand kinds of magic and there was still a lot more to research. In this Kingdom, I think there are only about two hundred magic spells.

After walking aimlessly, I was able to find the magic research building. It’s not really that hard to find since it’s one of the tallest buildings in this kingdom. I only have to walk for about half an hour. The palace is just on a far distance so I’ll be able to come back there right on time if I only spend an hour or so in this building. Well, considering that you would allow someone like me inside.

As I came near the building, two female guards noticed me and approached me politely.

“Are you lost, little child?” one of the guards asked.

“Oh, how cute? Do you want to come inside the building?” the other asked.

I just bowed my head.

“Hey, what are you saying there? You know that we should secure this place and not let any outsider inside,” the guard with red hair said.

“Oh, he’s very cute. Can we not just do that? He wanted to go in and what bad thing can happen if we let a child inside?” the guard with blue hair replied.

“Hey, what are the two of you are babbling about there?” a girl who seems to be a supervisor said.

The girl with blue hair hid me from their supervisor. She said, “Nothing, nothing. We are just talking about how good our lunch was.”

“Lunch? Why do you have to talk about that? We have our lunch together and we already talk about it. Are you hiding something from me,” the girl replied.

The girl walked closer until she could see me. She gasps.

“You are hiding a child from me? Is this your child? Woah, he is very cute,” the girl said.

“Ahm, no. He is not my son nor anything. Actually he just lost his way and we are now making him go back to his home,” the blue-haired girl said.

“Oh, I’m the only one saying that. You even want to make a tour for him inside the building, right?” the red-haired girl said.

The blue-haired girl nudged the red-haired girl. She said, “No way, why would I think that way. This building is like a fortress, no one can enter it with us standing around the entrance.”

“Ohhh, little boy, do you want to check what’s inside?” the girl that looks like their supervisor said.

I nodded. If they are being charmed by my cuteness as a child, I will deliberately use it so I can see what’s inside the magic research building.

“You should have said it immediately. Then, let’s go inside. I’ll make the tour myself,” the girl said.

“Wait, what? I’m the one who wanted to give him the tour,” the blue-haired girl said.

“Eh? I thought you wanted him to go back home? So what happened to the thing you said that this building is a fortress?” the girl asked.

The blue-haired girl bowed to the girl. She said, “I’m sorry, Ma’am.”

“It’s fine, just make sure that you will not let anyone enter without my permission,” the girl said.

So she’s really the boss here.

“Anyway, before I show you around. Can you tell us your name?” the girl said.

“Zen, I’m Zen,” I replied.

I should not use my real name or else they will just judge me.

“What a cute name? I’m Stella. Nice to meet you, Zen,” the red-haired girl said excitedly.

“Why did you have to go first?!” the blue-haired girl said.

“I’m Gwen, I’m the head researcher of the magic research team,” the girl said.

“Why do I have to be the last one? Anyway, I’m Frey,” the blue-haired girl said.

I look inside the building. The design is very modern which is very contrasting to their technology. Maybe it’s because building materials are created using mana.

“You’re really curious about what’s inside, huh? Then, let’s go now,” Gwen said.

She walked while holding my hands. It feels like she’s my mother. She stopped and looked back. Stella and Frey were walking behind us.

Gwen smiled at the two. She said, “You have your duty, right? And I didn’t remember inviting the two of you inside. Do you have any idea what can happen if you leave the entrance unguarded?”

The two bowed down and apologized. They went back to the gate and I can hear them grumbling about not being able to tour me. Anyway, that’s their matter to think about. Now that I’m inside this building, I can observe how they do things in this world.

“Hmm, how should I tour someone of your age?” Gwen asked.

“Do it how you tour someone of your intellect,” I replied.

Gwen laughs. She might think that I’m joking around. But I really wanted a detailed tour.

Gwen stops laughing and becomes serious. She said, “Are you really a child or did you use shapeshift magic to be your younger self?”

《Spell Destabilization》

“Oh, you’re not. You made me worried about what you said. But as you asked, I will do that for you,” Gwen said.

“Thank you,” I replied.

“Anyway, the spell that I cast to you earlier is one of the magic that was recently discovered. From the spell name itself, you could realize that it destabilized a certain spell. Every magic spell that a person casts on himself will be removed for a certain period of time. So if ever you do a shapeshift spell, it will be negated and your true form will be exposed. But since it didn’t happen, it makes me sure that what I’m seeing now is the real you. It also works on increasing one’s attributes such as increased strength. Sorry, that I cast a spell on you without your permission. I was so distracted by your cuteness that I forgot to take some precautionary measures,” Gwen explained.

“It’s fine, Ms. Gwen,” I replied.

So they just discovered it. This would be a huge setback in magic research if many people discover it. The anti-magic spells. In my old world, a crisis started when a lot of anti-magic spells were created. And it still hasn't happened in this world. Before this goes on, I need to get to the part where I could counter anti-magic spells. I haven’t even progressed that much but I’m already getting another thing to take care of.