After a peaceful night of rest went by, Alternis and his helpers had once again started working on the Unique Quest's tasks. Though, it wasn't without its complaints...

"Gah! I'll never get used to the smell of this!"

"You're not the only one who has to put up with this. Now shut up and keep working."

"I want to go back to the dorms and take a shower..."

As the dignified assistants were cleaning up the gunk from the mana channels alongside Alternis, the Sage was teaching him about magic on the side.

"As I'm sure you already know from reading the numerous books from our facility's library, the runes each serve as small instructions to direct the mana, the shapes surrounding these runes serve as algorithms to execute higher purpose functions or spells, and the mana channels transport the mana to these runic enchantments."

"From what I understand, these enchantments don't serve to execute spells, but to gather mana from the atmosphere around us, purify and condense it, and transport it to the unused mana channels."

"Correct, it's obvious that you worked hard on your library aspect. The next set of mana channels transport the condensed mana to the central pillar. The pillar will then deliver the purified mana to your body for you to use for your own spells. Do you know the difference between mana and purified, condensed mana?"

"Well, that's easy. The condensed mana amplifies the effects and prowess of the spells compared to the incantation magic executed with ordinary mana. The extent of this amplification depends on how condensed the mana is. As the mana tower aspect we're working on is for Tier 1, it'll only be 1.5x the initial power levels at most."

"That's assuming that we complete all of the quest's tasks, but you're correct on all counts! You truly worked hard to read all of my books and incorporate them into your library! If I didn't know about your situation, I would've been very jealous!"

"Thanks for your help. If I didn't learn about the [Mana Analysis] technique, I wouldn't have been able cover all those books' pages in your personal library and read them within one night. But I do have one question..."

"What is it? Tell it to me! It's not like you to hesitate, especially since you're abnormally obsessed with spending your time wisely..."

"Why aren't there any [Mana Array]s, much less a [Mana Mark] in this room?"

In the process of reading Adelle's and the Librarian's books, he learned of how magicians in the previous civilization established Magic Towers to help research and execute new spells more efficiently. He didn't come to seek the Mana Tower aspect just to get higher-quality mana, but to obtain a flexible means of logically calculating spells more swiftly. He wanted a structure that could help him conjure up old spells with more prowess at the same or even lower costs.

Inscribing a [Mana Mark] is usually done within a mage's heart and help accomplish any one function the user desires; if the user wanted to strengthen their fire spells, inscribing a [Pyromancy Mark] would increase the power of their fire spells by 15% within Tier 1. If the user wanted to conjure up spells faster, the [Casting Acceleration] could cut down any calculations or chanting by 15% within Tier 1.

Inscribing a [Mana Array] within one's heart could do what many other [Mana Mark]s could do, but in a much smaller time frame with a significantly bigger payoff. It also had the nice addition of automatically creating a suitable circuit within one's body, which also helped with casting spells. Therefore, why would his ancestors mostly inscribe [Mana Mark] for each tier? Despite all of the benefits it brings, creating a [Mana Array] puts a severe test on one's INT, WIS, DEX (to a lesser extent), [Mana Sense], [Mana Manipulation], [Memorization], [Inscription], and [Concentration]. Even Alternis wasn't entirely prepared for this venture, but the tasks in this Unique Quest has helped him take numerous steps in his arrangements. He just needs to continue completing them even late at night.

"It's because we usually do it in the heart-"

"I know that, but for a bastion of everything related to magic, I thought there would be more to it than just gather and refine mana."

"Interesting idea. However, arrays are made up of numerous spells and supporting runes connecting it all together into an array. There isn't enough room to inscribe all of them within this aspect."

"...I see."

Seeing as he was disappointed, Adelle decided that this was the perfect time to give him the good news.

"By the way Alternis, I managed to get 20 more helpers. Your classmates decided that getting together and attempting to play football with my assistants' heads was a good idea. I guess they missed out on some well-done piggy. Luckily, this only got them smacked around with [Telekinesis] and a week-long stay in jail. It's a good thing I constantly made sure to prepare my cute little students for sudden combat~~."

"...That's far from the worst I've seen."

"...Yes. We both had to witness even worse tragedies. Which is why I slowly burnt them to a crisp~~. They must be traumatized, even after being revived and put behind bars."

"...Which means I'll have to be careful when dealing with the twenty new assistants."

As much as he enjoys watching a live-torture session starring some idiots, Alternis knows that it's not the case with other people. Some can't appreciate the beautiful sight of pretentious jerks having their bodies slowly mutilated in a variety of ways. Therefore, when the new teammates came inside his aspect, he was careful and courteous when introducing himself. He thanked them for coming and quickly assigned them to their posts, where they can converse with their colleagues.

Thanks to the addition of co-workers, they were able to finish clearing up all of the room's mana channels. After thanking them, the helpers and his teacher began leaving for their rooms. As he was standing alone in his future aspect, he closed his eyes turned his full attention to within his very being. He found the connection between himself and his mindscape and dived into his [Last Cradle of Wisdom]. When he opened his eyes, a room twice the size of the aspects the unique quests started him off with entered his sight. He could instinctively feel everything within this library; the signs contained perfectly legible labels, the ebony tables and chairs were without any dust, the reference desk with the many files and drawers gave him an organized feel, and the bookshelves and books were in perfect condition.

Every time he came here, he experienced feelings of pride for having his hard work paid off. He also felt nearly omnipotent over the control he had in his library. He willed for the book he was looking for to reveal himself. At that moment, one drawer opened up and the rustling of the files were heard. Soon, one file lifted itself, plopped down on top of the reference desk, and opened itself to reveal the names of books and their locations. Afterwards, one book pulled itself out from the sea of other books and plopped itself down onto a nearby table. After walking over to the book, he confirmed the title, 'Comprehensive Guide to the Mana Tower's Unique Quest' and felt gratified for the umpteenth time.

Although he found the book instantly, he could have easily recall the contents of all the books he automatically comprehended in his library or immediately find the book and search its contents of the book without diving into his mindscape. The reason he keeps doing this is that he feels safe and calm within; he could easily focus and brainstorm in such a place. Watching the whole process with his own eyes helps him feel firmly in control of himself and his own mindscape.

He opened the book and thought to himself, 'Time to be creative'.