The Witch Hunter System

Each year, all academics within the academies from across the kingdom were required to submit a thesis on a topic of their choice.

Regardless of the viability of the theory within their thesis, they had to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of magic to prove that their magic theory may work.

While most theses lead to dead-ends, the opinions of the academics that came up with the theories provided unique perspectives, which may aid in the advancement of magic.

As such, the theses of academics were all valuable assets, no matter how seemingly useless most of them ended up being.

At the same time, the successful theses are undoubtedly rewarded and recognized.

Vaan was quite familiar with how the academies operated.

After all, Vaan helped Eniwse submit a valuable thesis, which ultimately allowed her to receive the title of Wise Scholar and advance up the ladder in the world of academics.

After Vaan picked up the scattered research papers on the desk, he rearranged them neatly together before flipping through the papers slowly as if he was skimming through them.

Of course, Vaan could read much faster.

But for the sake of not overwhelming Dahlia Payne with surprise due to his heaven-defying reading and learning speed, Vaan chose to go slower.

“Flight Efficient Theory for wind-attribute witches, huh? You’ve picked a rather simple yet interesting topic, my Lady,” Vaan commented before adding, “You’re on the right track. Still, your theory needs some refinement.”

“There are some points that you did not consider. Some of these points can even be fatal if your flight efficient theory is performed recklessly, my Lady.”

“What? Don’t tell me you have already finished reading through all of it? I thought you just skimmed through them, Vahn,” Dahlia Payne uttered with surprise.

“Not at all, my Lady. I gave it a thorough read, and I must admit that I admire your creativity,” Vaan praised.

“You proposed the idea of manipulating the air within one’s body to fly instead of using the normal Flight spell, which requires pushing one’s body with strong winds. This would indeed cut a lot on the mana expenditure.”

“However, you didn’t consider enough about the human body, my Lady,” Vaan mentioned.

After listening to Vaan talk, Dahlia Payne was able to confirm that Vaan had indeed read through all her research papers, which surprised her.

However, Dahlia Payne was more surprised when he could even offer his insights on the subject. And because of that, she could not help but be more interested in hearing more from him.

“You thought about the suffocation problem that would arise from using breathing air for flight power. You also considered the high risk of organ rupture from air pushing against the lungs and other fragile body parts where air flows,” Vaan mentioned.

“That’s why you found another alternative way to use flight with the air in the human body: the air that flows in through our countless pores like mana. But even this choice comes with multiple risks, my Lady.”

“What kind of risks?” Dahlia Payne inquired seriously.

At the same time, Dahlia Payne quickly sat down at her desk and picked up a pen and paper to take notes as she listened to Vaan.

“Although the risk has been greatly reduced, there is still a chance of rupturing the fragile organs within the body,” Vaan stated.

“After all, the air entering the pores still pushes against the body to produce flight power. The greater the flight power exerted, the greater the strain on the body. The air can easily slip past the flesh and muscles, putting pressure on the veins, heart, and other vulnerable places in the body.”

“Of course, there’s also another problem with this alternate method to consider,” Vaan added.

“We also must consider that we are practically pumping air into our body, my Lady. While it is true that we breathe air, the air is also divided into good and bad. And too much good air can also become bad air, not to mention bad air. It would be no different from poisoning ourselves if we don’t filter the air.”

“In essence, your theory would only work if the caster had a very high degree of control to overlook the risks. Or if the caster had a resilient body to withstand the strain, my Lady,” Vaan stated.

After Dahlia Payne listened to Vaan’s analysis, her eyes lit up with excitement—not because she never thought of such problems, but because Vaan was able to see them in such a short time.

It was something she had spent almost an entire year trying to figure out, yet Vaan saw through it all almost instantly. And that was only the problem. She still hasn’t found the solution to them.

But seeing how insightful Vahn was, perhaps he could help her.

Dahlia Payne felt excited when she thought about that.

“It might be too much to ask, but do you know any solution to these problems, Vahn?” Dahlia Payne sincerely asked like a student willing to learn.

“Of course, I know how valuable knowledge can be. I won’t ask you to help me for free. I will do my best to repay you in any way I can. This year’s thesis is very important to me. I could lose my job,” Dahlia Payne mentioned helplessly.

The annual thesis wasn’t just a method to collect the intellectual perspective of all academics in the hope of advancing the study of magic. It was also used as an assessment to review the progress of the academics.

If an academic show no sign of improving their magic research and knowledge after five years, they will lose the qualification to continue receiving the benefits that the academy and kingdom provide.

“It’s that bad, huh?” Vaan muttered wryly.

Although Vaan did anticipate it would be the case due to Dahlia Payne’s worrisome expression, it still amazed him that she would be in such a situation.

After all, Dahlia Payne only needed to show some improvement in her thesis to reset the counter.

But since she was concerned about her disqualification, it implied that she had already submitted bad theses consecutively for four years.