Over the next few months, I religiously refined the designs for my project and began building prototypes. I had made sure to document every step of the process down to the last detail so that when I was done, I would've just had to organize my notes and submit it to the publication. 

‘Well, that was easier than expected.’ I was done. 

I thought translating and balancing the runic arrays to achieve maximum efficiency would take more time, but I was wrong. We were in the last month of our first year of the royal academy, and it was now the time to submit the project. 

‘Well, you could always submit the project earlier.’ Some proactive top students had done so to try and get some sort of a leg up on me in class. I would know because they made it known. 

I waited for the last class of the day to be over before I walked to the staff office area. It took a bit of searching before I was able to find what I was looking for, Mr. Colbert’s office. I knocked on the door and waited for a reply.

“Come in.” I went in with the documents necessary for my presentation, but I noticed that he was not alone. A man I couldn’t recognise was sitting in front of Mr. Colbert and I assume in the middle of a conversation with the teacher.

“What can I help you with Mr. Whitefyre?” I looked at the extra person in the room.

“This is Nicolas Flamel, Alchemist extraordinair and former principal of this very academy. I’m sure you’ve heard about him.” My eyes widen and I’m genuinely shocked for the first time in this life.

‘Fuck!’ Legend, a living legend. Red hair, brown eyes and a chubby cheerful appearance. A fossil that, with the creation of the philosopher’s stone, had achieved immortality and while he was still an 8th circle wizard, his magic had expanded well beyond that. 

Normally, the size of magic can be determined by the number of rings surrounding the heart and this has always been the case. However, magic never actually stops growing with age. That is how longed lived races who never bother to build circles have their magic increase. Also, as a rule of thumb, larger amounts of mana usually result in greater rate of growth. There are exceptions though, and different races have different peculiarities. 

In the case of Flamel, his capacity to hold magic has expanded to such a ridiculous degree that some of the greatest wizards cannot get a solid grasp on his magic. His being was so great that it had also ‘stained’ his mana with his peculiarities over time, well more so than others, and it is said that he can perform any stage of the alchemical process with just a wave of his hand. 

‘But I digress.’

Nicolas Flamel created the philosopher’s stone before the founding of the empire and he has been a constant through the ages. When the emperor wanted to grow the strength of the populace and open a school of magic, he went to Flamel who agreed to help him build it in exchange for research opportunities. He came in as the first principal who reigned for centuries, millenia really, before the school found its footing and he demoted himself to teaching alchemy. He hasn’t had an active role in the academy for the  last few centuries though. 

“Mr. Whitefyre?” I was so in shock that my teacher had to snap me out of it. Flamel just chuckled and waved his hand a little.

“You’ve just shocked the boy, let him gather himself a little.” 

“It is an honour to meet you professor Flamel, your work  in the field of alchemy has been a constant inspiration and one of the reference points for my project.” Laying it on a little thick, but I was a little starstruck and that rarely happens. 

“Hoh, good to meet you too young man. Now, by project, do you mean your end of year runes project. I hope you don’t mind me listening in?”

“Not at all sir.” I straightened myself up before I began. 

“Professors, I’m here to present my end of year project and request your help sending it in for publication.”

“You’ve finished it then? I’m interested in what you have for me. Begin when you’re ready.” Mr. Colbert said, extremely interested. 

I walked over to his desk and dropped the documents I had on his desk. It included some dense calculations and the arrangements of the runic array for my two projects, the battery and the perpetual floatation array. The battery itself was ‘stolen’ from one of the other realities I inhabited, a mythallar it was called. I thoroughly broke down and understood one before I could even think to rebuild it in this reality with runes. I renamed it the Whitefyre orb. 

The perpetual floatation array, on the other hand, was something I considered basic but was not achievable because the magical battery technology in this reality was not advanced enough. They had yet to achieve a truly perpetual battery that could support something for the scale I had planned. 

‘Well, they do not go the physics and chemistry route here.’ The subjects were available, but it had not occurred to them to harness electricity when there is perfectly clean magic around.  

The two of the professors looked through the documents together, both their brows raising and eyes widening as they progressed through the report. I waited for them to completely go through it so I would just answer the questions as they come. By the time they were done, they both looked up with serious expressions. 

“Is this tested?” Mr. Colbert began.

“Yes, fully tested and working. I have the prototypes here.” I provided a mid sized dirt mound, a mini mountain really, from the box I was carrying. 

I inverted the mountain before placing what seemed like a crystal ball holding a bluish white ever moving clump of mana on top of the now inverted mound. Something clicked into place and on the surface of the orb, a runic array glowed in an ethereal light. At the same time, from where the orb and the mound touched, runes stretched out in a circular fashion on the mound and began glowing as well. The mound immediately started to float in place unaided by anything but the runes. 

Both professors stood up and surrounded the project and started to prod around. They referenced the paper and asked me questions when something seemed to elude them. This went on for about 3 hours before both were satisfied. They both resumed their seats before looking at me.

“You know, I’ve always wanted a floating castle. But it has always been seen as fantasy, something that can never be a viable option no matter how much you innovate.” Mr. Flamel started.

“So many projects, so much research, stalled just because it was never something that could ever be maintained in perpetuity.” He looked at me in silence for a few seconds, then he started laughing maniacally, eyes glowing with insanity. Suddenly, it felt like I was in front of a being as old as I, a being I might refer to as my peer at my peak. The air got saturated with mana so dense I found it hard to breathe and at the corner of my eye, I saw some objects taking a golden sheen as his innate alchemy magic seemed to spill out. 

“Boy you don't know what you’ve done for me, for my research. But you will, don’t worry. I will make sure this paper of yours gets published before the semester is over. HAHAHAHA, YOU EVEN ADDED CALCULATIONS TO SCALE IT UP. BOY! BOY!!!! BE PREPARED FOR YOUR LIFE TO CHANGE. HAHAHAHAHA!!!” Then he looked at my teacher.

“Austin!!! You know what to do, and keep this to yourself.” Then he begins to leave, before turning to me one more time. 

“I don't know how you did this in only your first year, but I won't ask. I already heard you were exceptional and you’ve proven the rumours right. Goodbye boy.” He closes the door behind him. 

My teacher just looked at me in silence, as if he couldn’t believe what just happened. 

‘Today was a good day.’