“Is that everything you needed to know?” The professor asked, slowly placing the blade back onto the stand.

“Not even remotely. I have so many questions …” I said, but trailed off in the distance as I wondered which I wanted to ask first.

“Go on, it is always a pleasure to teach someone interested.” The professor said and sat down on his chair again.

“Thank you very much. How accurate are auras?” I asked swiftly before I forgot to ask later.

“Within the epicentre, it is impossible to find out where the item is. This sword here has an epicentre of around ten metres … otherwise, it is fairly easy to pinpoint the direction and the distance.” That alone was probably the strongest drawback of any magical item above the trash tier. They were powerful, but their aura made them an easy target. Everything inside the trash tier though didn’t have that problem as they didn’t have any aura whatsoever for whatever reason.

“Alright. Please, do correct me if I´m wrong, but you haven’t used your own mana for creating the magnetic field. So in extension, this blade must have its own mana supply. How does it work, and how do these types of artefact deal with the Palm´s theorem, more specifically in regards to mana diffusion?” I asked and noticed in satisfaction how the professor opened his mouth wide.

“This is … we don’t even teach that in our courses. I´m honestly quite impressed … hmm … okay, Hannah, you know that only mana stones are capable of holding in mana over a longer duration?” Hannah nodded swiftly, even though the professor would eventually lose her later on. “Palm´s theorem is true for most items. It describes the rate of how stored mana diffuses into the surrounding based on a few factors like the mana richness of the environment and much, much more. This theorem is not true for S and SS class artefacts … we don’t know why this is the case yet, but I do believe they are entirely different from anything we can create. The only ‘object’ to which this theorem is false as well is …”

“Living creatures.” I concluded and eyed the sword suspiciously. If these swords were alive, they could use their own magic, and probably select a wielder fitting for them. Which means … there must be a soul inside these artefacts.

“Precisely. None of them has ever spoken or similar, but it would explain a few things.”

“Interesting. Is it possible to replace the theoretical maximal energy of such an artefact by using Darwin´s formula of mana replenishment?” And that was where we lost Hannah. For me, it was really interesting to discuss the problems modern magicians faced and fill in the gaps books couldn’t really provide, while the professor was getting more and more enthusiastic about the conversation as well. Only Hannah probably thought we were speaking a different language for three hours straight as we discussed the foundations of artefact crafting, magic, and the mathematical beauty behind everything.

Well, at least until I sighed loudly as the sun shone directly into the room and remembered there was still a lot of paperwork at home. I had a fun time, during which I completely forgot why we were here originally.

“Oh, yes. My mum needs to transport this … secretly. Is there any possible way to reduce the aura?”

“Certainly, even though the research hasn’t actually reached the books yet. It is possible to use the mana of the item itself to fuel a barrier, capable of holding off the aura. The beauty here is that it is completely failsafe. If the artefact is drained of all its mana, the magical barrier ceases to work as well, but the artefact isn´t generating an aura in this case as well.” So the mana correlated directly to the aura itself. Maybe we could drain the mana of the crown of thorns, but using the professors´ device was a safer bet.

“Hmm … I guess that would work. What do you think, Hannah?” I asked, even though it was completely unnecessary.

“Wouldn’t the weapon be hard to draw in this?” She asked me, surprising the professor about our teamwork.

“Precisely. You said it drains the mana of the sword? I presume it won´t be usable if I take it out then?” I questioned the professor, fearing some of the stunts I was already planning in my head were impossible.

“Depends on how long it is inside this black box.” They were impossible. Surprise attacks weren’t going to work like this.

“Hmm … we need one of them.” I explained and nodded towards Hannah who started wrapping the blade in the cloth again.

“This … this is still an experimental technology and it is very …” Costly? Whatever it takes, we needed that thing.

“This is a very important matter for the White family. So please keep this a secret.” I claimed.

“Certainly. I will write a letter shortly as I still need to calculate the actual price.” He said, a troubled expression on his face.

“Perfect. Another question: Is it really impossible to copy these auras?” I asked and tilted my head. This was absolutely vital if I ever wanted to steal the most secured magical artefact in this kingdom. Others would know immediately when the aura disappeared, so I had to replace it somehow. Sadly, I couldn’t find anything in books about this.

“This is … illegal, Miss White.” So it was not impossible. The kingdom apparently wanted to make sure every magical artefact above the trash rank, meaning S and SS, were genuine. I acted as if I was shaken by his answer, but in reality, I was quite happy. I already saw how everything would play out in front of my eyes after all.

“Oh. Then, please forget this question.” I said and stood up. Both Hannah and I curtsied and thanked him for his support while he bowed deeply and assured us he was glad to help us out. We thus left the room, satisfied and slightly hungry in Hannah´s case. It only took us twenty minutes or so until we were back in our carriage, driving back home.

“Hannah, write Tom a letter that professor Werkzeug needs to die in two months. And tell him to feed a possible stray dog called ‘Jacob Silberbaum’. ” I stated drily.

“Why me?” Hannah asked, which clearly showed she wasn’t entirely surprised. Slowly, she was beginning to understand how I worked, and how I cleaned up after myself.

“To show me the lessons I give you each morning aren´t for nought.” I said and looked out of the window, towards the sun which was slowly going down behind the horizon.