#524

Second Thesis (2)

“A new path in the sky, huh...”

As if mulling over Lennok's words, someone murmured and asked,  

“Do you fully understand just how difficult and complex that wish is?”

“...”

“Do you realize the enormous amount of manpower and capital that has been invested in building an aerial network encompassing the entire city, and just how valuable and precious the resulting achievements are?”

The voice grew colder with each sentence.

“I don't care to hear such talk from someone who fails to grasp that fact. Let alone, questioning the fairness of this exposition in such a place?”

In the audience seated on the second floor, where the judges sat, the air force commander, Carrasco, glared with a fish-like gaze and spoke.

“If you fail to produce results that match such confidence, you'll face considerable consequences.”

As the air force commander and a major beneficiary of the city's countless investments, Carrasco was naturally perturbed by Lennok's words. Lennok understood to some extent why Carrasco reacted so sharply.

Some of the judges, likely from research backgrounds, shot him sharp, scrutinizing gazes, while a few elderly senators merely looked down at Lennok with lazy eyes.

They might think they were observing Lennok unilaterally from behind the scenes, but in truth, those who were truly trapped in the gap of information were none other than themselves. With this certainty, Lennok slowly turned his back.

“I understand.”

He extended his hand towards the magi-tech engine resting on the stand he had brought, asking,

“Then, may I begin the demonstration?”

As he spoke, he took the outline of his second thesis from his pocket and placed it on the podium.

“...Of course, but there's one thing to address first.”

As Carrasco responded, the curtain covering the first-floor audience began to draw open. Light started to slowly spill onto the podium, and Carrasco’s voice, laced with a slight chuckle, echoed from the second floor.

“We must also inform the citizens of Vulcan of what’s happening at this exposition.”

“...”

“A renowned genius researcher from Rabatenon University—surely such a prodigy could proudly showcase his accomplishments before a vast audience, right?”

As the hidden curtain opened, the murmuring of countless voices began to fill the space.

A faint warmth formed by the mingling of the body heat of the people moving in and out.

Behind the once-hidden first-floor seating, hundreds of people sat watching.

“This is…”

Apart from the exhibitions held in City Hall Square, these demonstrations within the building were also, in principle, open to the public. However, sensitive information like military security remained selectively disclosed at the discretion of the judges.

Although not much is being revealed, some of those attending the exposition have gathered at City Hall. Among them are citizens here out of curiosity, officials watching intently, and researchers who, despite participating in the exposition, don’t qualify for the demonstration.

In addition, dozens of cameras behind the first-floor seats capture the scene on the stage and broadcast it live to City Hall Square.

Lennok glanced at the cameras pointed at him and then, realizing Carrasco's intention, quietly chuckled.

“...What a petty move.”

What did it mean that Carrasco had decided to make Lennok’s presentation public before the evaluation even ended? It seemed that Lennok's earlier words had irked Carrasco, leading him to broadcast the presentation outside immediately. This unilateral decision, made without consulting the other judges, indicated Carrasco’s significant authority and influence. 

It was evident that Carrasco had considerable sway over the selection of this exposition’s winner. If Lennok made a mistake or his thesis failed to impress, his reputation as a researcher would be irreparably damaged. Even if the presentation went well, he’d only break even; any slip-up could lead to substantial harm.

Carrasco had deliberately thrust Lennok into this pressuring situation, making his presentation public from the start.

“Are they starting again? It’s taking longer than I thought.”

“They said they’d decide on public disclosure after the evaluation. There might’ve been presentations we missed.”

“They must be amazing researchers to give a live demo at City Hall. I’m excited...!”

Among the audience, citizens chatted while some experts watched Lennok in hushed curiosity. Lennok briefly listened to their voices, observing the crowd. He couldn’t see the entire audience, but combining his limited magic sensing gave him a rough impression.

Among the audience, he noticed familiar faces: Mila and Felix of the Antares Mercenary Corps, whom he had greeted earlier; mages from the Mage Tower who accompanied the presenters; government officials, and other spectators. As he surveyed the crowd, his gaze stopped on someone.

“...”

Despite the darkness of the seating area, a familiar figure with thick sunglasses and a beret stood out, the familiar short black hair unmistakable. Lennok could almost imagine the familiar green eyes behind the dark lenses.

Munching on popcorn and watching the presentation with keen interest, the person looked up at Lennok. Their eyes met, and they hastily looked away. This archer, who had unleashed monstrous bombardments just days ago in Byrutz, was here to watch Lennok’s presentation at the exposition.

‘...Evelyn knows I am Evan.’

Lennok had once explained to Evelyn that he was both Van and Evan. She trusted him and chose not to inform the Eyes of the Blue.

Although Lennok felt a moral debt toward her, he hadn’t expected her to visit him directly at this time. Evelyn had never sought him out in his public persona before. If her feelings had changed, it was undoubtedly due to the recent incidents in Byrutz.

Could she have sensed something unsettling about Lennok’s identity during that ordeal?

When he had faced her as Victor, he believed he hadn’t left a single trace. However, if it was Evelyn, with her long history of working with Lennok, she might have sensed something familiar. Yet, Lennok, after briefly considering this, quickly dismissed the idea. If she had genuinely suspected him enough to take action, she would have contacted him immediately, exposition or no exposition.

With Evelyn’s straightforward nature, she wouldn’t have hesitated to question him about anything connected to Pandemonium. Lennok’s assumptions were further solidified as he glanced at Evelyn, munching on popcorn while stealing glances in his direction.

‘…Maybe she simply wanted to see the exposition.’

There wasn’t much time to dwell on it. Standing on the podium, Lennok suddenly felt the intense gaze of hundreds of people directed toward him and the magitech engine by his side.

“That man must be Assistant Professor Vylun from Rabatenon University, right?”

“My uncle works at the research institute. Apparently, he’s quite famous.”

“I know Professor Aris Richellen, but is that guy really that renowned too?”

“They say his papers have made huge contributions to energy systems research—enough to overturn existing theories.”

Naturally, citizens who weren’t specialists didn’t have a deep understanding of the paper, the technique, or magic. They only knew that such technologies and magitech research improved their daily lives. For most, visiting the exposition today was simply an opportunity to marvel at intriguing new technologies on the holiday that the city government had declared for the event.

Presenting a complex theme like entropy manipulation here would likely fail to hold the limited attention of the crowd. However, Lennok took a quiet sip from a water bottle beside the podium, then stepped forward and grasped the microphone.

“Good day, everyone. My name is Evan Vylun, a researcher under Professor Richellen at Rabatenon University.”

A polite round of applause followed.

“It is an honor to present my paper at this exposition. Now, let’s get straight to the point.”

With that, Lennok pulled the magitech engine beside him to the front of the podium. The engine, still faintly vibrating and emitting a slight wisp of smoke, hadn’t ceased its activity.

“It’s the same device other researchers have brought out a few times.”

“Doesn’t seem all that special…”

Ignoring the murmurs, Lennok continued.

“My presentation today covers entropy manipulation in mana arrays. It’s a theoretical concept where we disrupt the particle alignment indicating disorder to control diffusion rates artificially.”

“…”

“Rather than opposing the diffusion flow itself, we manipulate the ordering of the mana array to artificially regulate the diffusion rate. My paper’s core theory involves creating a temporary disruption in the physical laws applied to the object.”

A silence fell over the room.

No one seemed to immediately understand the summary of his paper, which Lennok had explained in just three sentences. Or rather, almost no one understood it.

In the audience, some people’s expressions began to change as they gradually understood the implications of Lennok’s words. It didn’t matter. Lennok had no intention of ending his presentation with just a few lines.

“What do you mean by that?” someone in the front row asked. Lennok smiled gently.

“In simple terms, by controlling the diffusion rate of the mana array... it means that we can artificially replicate specific physical laws.”

At that moment, he could almost hear a collective intake of breath from the second-floor seats. Evelyn, now entirely engrossed, had even forgotten to chew her popcorn as she watched Lennok.

Lennok glanced over the bewildered audience, and then gave a final look at the cameras broadcasting this scene beyond the plaza. He tossed the water bottle he was holding onto the floor.

Splash!!

“Ahh!”  

“Water’s splashing everywhere—what are you doing?”  

“Isn’t it dangerous if the engine gets wet? At this rate...!”

Water pooled quickly in front of the podium, splashing toward the seats and causing a stir. Ignoring the commotion, Lennok raised the engine’s output to its limit.

Vrrrrmmm!!

The engine glowed red-hot, emitting intense flashes of mixed mana and electricity. The entire area trembled, and people instinctively fell silent and took a step back. In that moment, Lennok suddenly shoved the stand holding the engine.

It was clear what would happen if an overheated engine hit the water.

“Aaaah!” People shut their eyes and ducked their heads.

Thud!!

With a mysterious engine hum, the auditorium fell into a quiet silence.

“What… what just happened…?”  

“Did it not explode?”  

“Look, do you see that?”

The overheated engine hadn’t created a massive spray by crashing into the water. Instead, it floated serenely above the pool, emitting a faint, glassy glow.

All eyes were on the magitech engine, gracefully rotating above the water, capturing the attention of the hundreds of onlookers. Standing before them, Lennok took a long-handled mop and gently pushed the water puddle aside.

As the puddle shifted, the engine glided along with it, hovering calmly above the water’s surface.

“It’s flying...”  

“It’s floating on the water?”

“Is it really possible for the engine to float in midair like that?”  

“Maybe he’s using magic or some kind of spell?”  

“…No.”

Evelyn, who had been watching blankly, absentmindedly murmured in response to the spectators’ words.  

“That’s not magic or a spell.”

Lennok hadn’t used any magic or spell to make that engine hover. Simply by pushing the output to its limit, he created an artificial mana updraft over the water, successfully levitating the engine. And Evelyn was well aware of where such a unique mana updraft naturally occurred.

The Philenom Autonomous Region, where the main base of the Eyes of the Blue was located.  

“The floating island cluster in the Sea of Understanding.”

Only there could one find such an extremely light and efficient mana updraft that caused objects and even the ground to float. Lennok had succeeded in artificially replicating that updraft from the Sea of Understanding, showcasing it here.

“By artificially controlling the output pattern of the engine, it’s possible to produce this effect. The output loss in the process is almost negligible.”

Lennok spoke, holding the microphone with one hand and using a mop to move the water puddle with the other. Each time the water moved, the engine followed, floating along with it—a strange and fascinating sight. As he watched the audience's eyes track the engine’s movements, Lennok opened another bottle of water and poured it onto the floor.

With the increase in water, the engine rose higher, reaching the eye level of those in the second-floor seats.

“Since this phenomenon replicates the updraft from the floating islands, naturally, the more water there is, the greater the buoyancy.”

Though it rose quickly, the engine’s movement remained remarkably stable. It floated silently and smoothly, difficult to believe it was riding an artificially generated updraft. The council elders surely understood the significance of this theory and its immense value.

Leaving the astonished judges behind, Lennok firmly grasped the hovering engine.

“This isn’t the end. If we amplify the engine output beyond its limit and temporarily remove the output cap, we can achieve this…”

Whoosh!!!

At that moment, the water pooled beneath the engine swirled with a glass-like radiance and shot upward into the engine. The water at his feet seemed to be sucked into the engine, and its vibration quieted into a calm hum.

Wooong…!

The audience members, who had been staring up at Lennok in awe, felt their bodies start to lift, one by one.

“Huh?”  

“Wait, just a second!!”  

“What on earth…?!”

Starting from the front row of the first-floor seats, people began to float in place, as if lifted by a wave. The glassy updraft filled the entire space, gently pushing the audience members above their chairs. A silver-white ripple emanated from the engine, spreading through the seats and bestowing the same levitating effect on everything within its reach.

This mysterious sight, as though gravity had ceased to exist, was broadcast in real time to the plaza outside through dozens of cameras.

Hundreds of people floating in midair, flailing as they rose. Lennok glanced at the audience, their eyes fixed on him, and faintly smiled.

“I call this phenomenon ‘Resonant Levitation.’”

“Commander Carrasco.”

At that moment, one of the senators, a dignified elderly woman who had been silently observing, spoke for the first time. Her calm gaze fixed on Carrasco without even turning toward him.

“Stop the external broadcast of Assistant Professor Vylun’s presentation immediately.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Commander, can’t you see? This isn’t some mere parlor trick mimicking flight spells.”

The elderly woman turned her head slowly, her wise violet eyes gleaming. “We may be witnessing the most perfect demonstration of anti-gravity technology in history. Do you truly not understand the significance of this?”

“…!!!!”

A technology the city government had long sought to monopolize for aerial supremacy. Something that surpassed all the city’s investment and research efforts to dominate the skies of Vulcan was now being broadcast to tens of thousands of citizens in real-time.

Carrasco’s expression, which had been blankly watching Lennok’s presentation, twisted as if he had swallowed poison. He whipped out his phone and shouted, “Stop the broadcast immediately—this is an order!”

[Broadcast system isn’t stopping. It’s as if the camera control program has been hacked…]

“Damn it!”

Something had gone terribly wrong. From the moment the broadcast began, from the instant his proposal had irked Carrasco. Perhaps, from the time they predetermined the themes and winners of this exposition.

“No… no… this isn’t happening…!!!”

Realizing the disaster unfolding, Carrasco could no longer hold back, sprang from his seat, and bolted out of the second-floor audience section.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of citizens gathered in City Hall Square stared in astonishment at the giant screen displaying Lennok’s presentation.

[Stable levitation capability, unaffected by environmental conditions.]

Lennok’s calm voice echoed across the plaza, carried by the cameras and microphones.

[Energy efficiency surpassing that of any flight spells.]

A mix of shock and delight appeared on the hundreds of floating faces, realizing they were momentarily free from gravity.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!!

Not only the people but also seats, ladders, bags, and various objects in the first-floor audience rose and floated in midair.

[A new means of transport previously unpermitted in Vulcan’s skies.]

Whooooosh!!

The vast City Hall lobby filled with people and objects drifting and rising, as if in a grand chorus, all lifting upwards as though defying gravity itself. Only one person remained grounded amid this grand levitation resonance.

Lennok, standing with both feet on the floor, at the center of the resonant levitation phenomenon, held the microphone and stared at the camera. It was as if he were meeting the eyes of the tens of thousands watching on screens.

[With this second thesis, I aim to offer a new path for everyone living in Vulcan.]

In the silent plaza, only Lennok’s voice reverberated softly.

[A path through the skies.]