Chapter 873: Three Hours To A Couple Of Minutes

Every head in the room turned toward Cassius.

Ragnora blinked in disbelief. "You’ll...do it? Sir Cassius, do you mean..."

Cassius nodded casually.

"I mean I’ll do it. Everything Sisi just listed out—all the theoretical math, the dynamic pathways, the resonance alignment—I’ll solve it."

"Sir Cassius, please, there’s really no need to accept this!" Brenda pleaded anxiously. "I know she challenged your ego, but don’t fall for her trap!"

"Please, Sir Cassius!" Another soldier added. "Let her to give you a normal test instead! One that can actually be done!"

"We might not have the brains for all this magical stuff, but even we can tell this is an uphill battle!"

The fairies were shaking their heads too, clearly trying to warn him off.

But Cassius simply smiled, taking a calm step toward Sisi.

"Nope. Sisi went out of her way to put this incredibly elaborate puzzle together for me. It would be rude to waste her hard work. I’ll solve it."

Ragnora stared at him, feeling a sudden headache coming on.

’Mages and their endless, stubborn pride...’

She figured his elite academic ego simply wouldn’t allow him to back down now.

But looking into his calm, piercing blue eyes, she realized there was no convincing him otherwise.

Sighing, Ragnora offered a gentle compromise to save his dignity.

"Very well. You may attempt it, Sir Cassius. But if you find it impossible to complete within the time limit, we will simply have Sisi provide a reasonable alternative. There is no shame in stepped back from an unfair challenge."

Everyone expected him to reconsider. Everyone, that is, except Isabelle.

She stood calmly by his side, that same small smile on her face, as if she already knew exactly how this would end.

"Very well." Sisi cleared her throat awkwardly before going on to say, "Such a process requires time and complete focus—a place free from distractions. We’ll wait in the adjacent room."

"You may use any tools, apparatus, and reference materials available. The shelves contain many texts relevant to the theories I described."

She was essentially giving him an open-book test, which was far more generous than the original challenge warranted.

"You may proceed however you wish." She continued. "As long as the final result matches what I’ve described, you’ll pass."

She turned and began floating toward the door, feeling guilty despite herself.

"Come along, everyone. Let’s give Sir Cassius his space. We’ll return in a few hours to check on his progress."

The fairies followed reluctantly, as did Ragnora and the soldiers. Isabelle lingered for a moment, giving Cassius an encouraging smile before trailing after the group.

—

In the waiting room, the soldiers settled in for what promised to be a long wait.

They discussed their options among themselves, trying to make the best of the situation.

"Lady Isabelle, is there anything you’d like to eat while we wait?" A soldier asked warmly. "There’s a fantastic bakery nearby called Vendetta—they make amazing biscuits!"

"I can run over and grab a box right now!" Brenda offered enthusiastically.

Sisi, desperate to make amends for her earlier hostility, floated over quickly. "I actually brought a box of rare tea leaves from the Western Ivory Estates! Let me brew a fresh pot for everyone!"

She turned to Ragnora, trying to sound as sweet as possible.

"What about you, Commander? Would you like some tea while we wait?"

Ragnora was about to decline as she wanted to focus on the test—when something caught her eye.

Her expression shifted to complete bafflement.

"Sir Cassius." She said slowly. "What are you doing here?"

Everyone turned and was shocked!

Cassius who was supposed to be starting the test was walking into the waiting room with them, looking utterly carefree. He might as well have been out for a casual stroll.

"Sir Cassius!" Sisi shot forward. "Did we not provide adequate tools? Is something missing?"

She slapped her tiny hand against her forehead.

"Oh, I’m such a fool! Of course! All our equipment is fairy-sized! I completely forgot to bring out the human-compatible apparatus. Let me just—"

"No need."

Sisi froze mid-turn. "...What?"

"No need for any of that." Cassius shrugged. "I’ve already finished."

"You...what?"

"I said I finished." Cassius repeated, as if explaining something simple to a child. He pointed back toward the laboratory. "The gauntlet you gave me—all those parameters you described—I figured out how to accomplish everything. The test is over."

Silence.

Complete, utter, baffled silence.

Then...Sisi exploded.

"WHAT?!" She shot directly into Cassius’s face, her tiny form vibrating with disbelief. "Your jokes have to stop right now, Sir Cassius! This is NOT funny!"

She began circling his head like an agitated hornet.

"If you find the task too difficult, there’s absolutely no shame in admitting it! Even I struggle with complex enchantments!"

"My mentor always told me never to feel shame in facing problems—to be open about my limitations! Only with a free and open mind can magical ability advance!"

She stopped directly in front of his nose, her expression a mixture of frustration and concern.

"So what you’re saying right now is simply ridiculous! If you can’t do it, just admit it! Why say things like this?!"

The other fairies chimed in supportively.

"We understand if you can’t do it, Sir Cassius!"

"There’s no need to pretend!"

"Even we couldn’t complete this task in the given time!"

Even the soldiers were nodding, convinced that Cassius was trying to save face.

But Cassius just shook his head with that same infuriating smile. "I’m telling you the truth."

Sisi couldn’t accept it. She flew back to the gauntlet, pointing at it accusingly.

"Look at this! You haven’t changed anything! You haven’t even applied the basic mana shield to the central nodes and that’s the most fundamental step!"

"How could you possibly claim to have finished?!"

"Ah, that. You see..." Cassius expression became slightly sheepish. "I’m still suffering from the residual effects of my wife’s spell. My internal mana circuits are a bit...scrambled right now. So I couldn’t physically make the modifications myself."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

"But don’t worry—I’ve written down everything you need to do."

He handed the paper to Sisi, who had to spread her arms as wide as they could go just to hold it.

Her eyes swept across the page—

And went very, very wide.

The paper was covered in complex sigils and runes, densely packed together in configurations she had never seen before.

Some of the symbols were familiar—standard enchantment notation that she recognized immediately.

But others...others were completely alien.

Strange geometric patterns that seemed to bend the eye.

Intricate formulas that defied conventional logic.

Components arranged in ways that should have been impossible.

But as a master enchanter, she knew instantly that Cassius hadn’t just scribbled random gibberish.

The sheer mathematical elegance and structural logic laid out on the page was something no one could possibly make up on the spot.

His theoretical knowledge was undeniably real—and terrifyingly vast.

Yet, as she read further, her brain began to hurt. It was written in a completely revolutionary methodology she had never seen in any textbook.

Sisi slowly lowered the paper, staring up at Cassius in utter shock.

"What...What is this?"

"The solution. Like I said." Cassius replied simply.

Sisi shook her head slowly. "No. I mean—I don’t understand what I’m looking at."

She flew around Cassius, the paper fluttering in her grip.

"I’ve studied magic since I was thirty-five years old."

Cassius raised an eyebrow. "You’re thirty-five?"

He couldn’t believe it since she looked like she was just in her twenties.

Sisi explained saying, "Ah. Fairies age differently. Thirty-five is quite young for my race—similar to elves. We have extended lifespans."

A look of realization crossed Cassius’s face.

"I’ve been studying magic and enchantment for more than forty years."

Sisi continued with a serious expression.

"During that time, I’ve studied the foundational works of the great enchanters of the Spirit Kingdom. Principles of Thaumic Resonance. The Sevenfold Theory of Rune Architecture. Mandalic Structures of High Enchantment."

"I’ve read the original treatises of Master Elveth, Professor Maerith, and Arch-Enchanter Solvane."

She tapped her chest proudly

"I’ve also published twenty-seven papers. Three were accepted into the Magic Academy’s annual symposium. Two received the Silver Sigil Award for advancement in applied enchantment."

She adjusted her spectacles.

"That’s precisely why I was assigned to the Holyfield Mines—my specialization is complex inscription architecture. Multi-layered rune systems. Mana-regulating enchantments."

She looked back down at the paper.

"And after forty years of studying all of that...I have never seen anything like this."

She pointed a tiny finger at a top section.

"You see, this...this is wrong."

She dragged her finger across to another diagram.

"And this is wrong too! This sequence shouldn’t terminate here! It should loop through the secondary harmonic channel before returning to the primary stabilizer!"

She flipped the page over, her eyes wide with panic.

"And you’ve placed a polarity inversion right here! Why?! If this activates, the third circuit will attempt to synchronize with the fifth instead of the fourth!"

"That would produce recursive mana accumulation, forcing the stabilization lattice into a compensatory cycle!"

The soldiers, who had been listening with increasing bewilderment, exchanged baffled looks.

"What’s she saying?" One whispered.

"I have absolutely no idea." Another admitted.

"Something about circuits and pressure?"

"Sounds bad?"

The fairies, however, were nodding along with Sisi’s analysis.

"She’s right—that would definitely cause a feedback loop."

"If the purification sequence activated at that stage, the whole system would destabilize."

"But look at this notation here—if you inverted the harmonic resonance..."

"No, that would make it worse!"

Sisi slowly lowered the paper, looking up at Cassius with a expression of pure, unadulterated bewilderment.

"I...I genuinely have no idea what you’ve written down here."

"There are theoretical concepts here I’ve never even heard of...and standard concepts implemented in ways that seem completely insane..."

Cassius met her gaze firmly. "But you can replicate the process based on my instructions, right?"

Sisi swallowed hard. "I...I mean, I could...but—"

"Then do it." Cassius commanded softly.

The entire room gasped.

"Just follow every single detail I wrote down to the finest line." Cassius said with absolute, unshakeable confidence. "Do that, and you’ll get the exact result you asked for."

Sisi stood frozen. She looked desperately toward Ragnora for guidance.

Ragnora studied Cassius’s unwavering expression for a long moment before finally nodding to the fairy.

"Go ahead, Sisi. Execute Sir Cassius’s design."

Sisi swallowed hard. Even though she didn’t fully understand what she was about to do, she couldn’t refuse a direct order from her Commander.

But she wasn’t about to be reckless.

"Everyone needs to step back to a safe distance."

She announced, her voice regaining its professional edge.

"The configurations Sir Cassius has provided are completely unorthodox. There’s a possibility of reactive explosion."

She flew toward the gauntlet, her expression grim.

"The laboratory’s protective wards will contain any blast, but I want everyone behind the observation barrier."

Brenda looked at Cassius with concern.

"Is this really safe, Sir Cassius? If it’s dangerous work, maybe we should reconsider—"

She turned to Sisi. "She may have a sharp tongue, but she’s actually a good person! And she just got married, you know! Her husband would be devastated if something happened!"

But before Cassius could respond, Isabelle spoke up.

"Trust in my husband, Brenda." Her voice was calm and certain. "He’s never made a mistake when it comes to someone else’s life. If he promises nothing will go wrong, then nothing will go wrong."

The absolute confidence in her voice silenced any further objections.

So they retreated behind the observation barrier, watching through enchanted glass as Sisi prepared to execute Cassius’s instructions.

She studied the paper obsessively, committing every detail to memory, checking and rechecking each step.

This was her life on the line, and she wasn’t about to gamble it on a stranger’s unproven theories.

Finally, after nearly an half an hour of preparation, she was ready to risk her life all for the sake of a test.