Science/Magic

3Despite how crazy the club seemed, Bloed had to admit its facilities were amazing.     

From the laboratories to the testing grounds, each place of the building was of the highest grade. Worthy of being the headquarters of one of the top clubs in Academy City.     

But at the same time, Bloed realized why the people of this club were considered crazy.     

Many of the laboratories seemed like the lairs of mad scientists, with strange potions and parts of animals lying around everywhere.     

Even the classical eye in a bottle could be seen. When Bloed asked Andre about it, Andre told him it was the eye of a basilisk, a monster that had the ability to petrify its victims with its gaze.     

Finally, Chorius and Andre led Bloed and Regina to the room containing the spell that caused the incident just now.     

"It's the spell," Andre said while pointing at a magic circle in front of Bloed. "As you can see, we modified the [Explosion] spell a little bit, but the results we got were worse than we expected.���     

Bloed nodded and started to study the magic circle.     

As Andre said, he could recognize the spell as the typical [Explosion] spell, however, many parts of it were different. In fact, there were several runes Bloed could not recognize.     

However, the idea behind the spell was understandable. It detonated mana to create a powerful explosion and use it to injure the enemies.     

"What is the problem?" Bloed could not help but ask.     

"The effects of the spell. The [Explosion] spell is very powerful, but the area it affects is too wide. Due to that, you can't use it in urban zones or when there are allies nearby, diminishing its utility greatly."     

Bloed raised an eyebrow. The destructiveness of the spell was the reason it was so popular. He could not understand why he wanted to modify it.     

As though understanding Bloed's confusion, Andre smiled proudly. "If we succeed, it means we will make the spell much easier to use. Imagine, the destruction of the [Explosion] spell, but the control of a [Fireball]. Using it in combat will be amazing!"     

Bloed smiled wryly and nodded.     

He was a bit of a crazy scientist himself, but even he could not deal easily with Andre's enthusiasm.     

"Unfortunately, we have been unable to succeed. To be honest, I'm already out of ideas." Andre sighed disappointedly before looking at Chorius. "Teacher, can you help me? I have been stuck here for a few days already."     

"Hmm…" Chorius put a hand on his chin and stared at the magic circle for several seconds. Afterward, he smiled and looked at Bloed.     

"What do you think, Bloed? Do you have any idea?"     

"Huh? Him?" Andre looked at Bloed in surprise, but Bloed just focused on the magic circle.     

"… Actually, it's not as though there is no way to make the [Explosion] spell more controllable, but it will make it much more complicated as well. It's not worth the change."     

"Oh?" Chorius smiled playfully and nodded. "You are right. What do you suggest then?"     

"Simple. Change the nature of the explosion. Instead of detonating the mana, we can ignite and expand it, creating a ball of fire in place of an explosion. And because the mana is not being detonated, the shockwave it causes will be much weaker. Something like that, I think."     

Chorius gazed at Bloed for a few seconds before chuckling.     

"What do you think, Andre?"     

"That is… possible. Right, if we change the rune 'detonate' for the rune 'ignite', we can reduce the shockwave… No, the rune 'ignite' by itself will diminish greatly the power of the spell… Is that the reason behind the rune 'expand'? But even so…" Andre muttered to himself with an expression of wonder. Then, he glared towards Bloed and grabbed his hand firmly. "Bloed, right? You must definitively come to this club! I will not accept a no for an answer!"     

"About that…" Bloed looked at Andre with an awkward smile.     

At that moment, someone suddenly barged in the laboratory.     

"Andre, where are you!?"     

"Shit! The dogs of the headmistress are here!"     

"Who are you calling a dog!?" A young man entered the laboratory with a livid expression. "You…! It has not been even two days since the last incident! What is with this explosion!?"     

"Hahahaha, sorry sorry, it was just an incident. It will not happen again."     

"You said the same last time! Do you know that the students of the city are afraid of approaching this place!? Where is your president, I need to talk with him!"     

"The president is busy with an important experiment…"     

"Is that experiment more important than the fact your building was almost destroyed again!?"     

Andre's expression turned awkward.     

Only at that moment, the young man that just arrived realized Bloed, Chorius, and Regina's presence. He wrinkled his brows when he saw Bloed and Regina, but when he saw Chorius, his expression turned respectful.     

"Teacher, you are here."     

"Hahaha, Roya, it looks like you have it hard."     

"Is it not due to your club?" The young man, Roya, said with an exasperated expression. "Do you know how many incidents related to your club the sentinels attend each month?"     

Chorius's expression was a bit awkward, probably because he was aware of how troublemaker his students were. He then looked at Bloed and Regina with a forced smile.     

"The two of you, what do you think about following me to see the rest of the club?"     

Roya frowned. "Teacher, are you going to fool another two students? Hey, you two, coming to this club is suicide!"     

Chorius's face stiffened.     

Bloed wanted to burst out laughing, but he forced himself to keep a straight face.     

Actually, he found Andre and Chorius's personalities rather likable. Of course, he did not think he could deal with their craziness each day.     

However, they seemed like good candidates as friends.     

After that, Bloed and Regina followed Chorius to the rest of the building, leaving Andre inside the laboratory as Roye scolded him.     

The two of them seemed very familiar with the scolding, though. Probably because they were used to it already.     

After they finished the tour around the building, Chorius smiled at Bloed.     

"Then, Bloed, what do you think about the club? Are you going to join it? I'm not sure about Miss Liu Ying or your other friends, but I'm confident this place is perfect for you."     

Bloed smiled wryly. To be honest, he liked it here a lot.     

However–     

"I'm sorry, I will have to decline."     

"I see," Chorius said with a soft smile, as though he already expected it.     

He did not ask about the reason, neither he continued insisting. Instead, he smiled gently and nodded.     

"Well, I hope you can visit us occasionally at least. I'm sure you are alright with that, right?"     

"I am."