CHAPTER 112: CHAPTER 112: QANDA

Axelius was sitting cross-legged, holding a stick, and pointing at one of Owen’s neat drawings that showed a sports car with lines and arrows.

"This model right here has better acceleration," he said seriously, tapping the paper. "It’s lightweight, has a strong engine setup, and comes with dual-clutch transmission. You shift fast, no delay."

Ellory sat beside him, wearing her glasses again, holding a drawing of a different car. "Yes, but this one has smoother handling," she replied with a firm voice. "You don’t need too much power if you can control the road. It’s better for corners, and the suspension is more balanced."

Axelius raised an eyebrow. "It’s slower."

Ellory shot back, "It lasts longer. Easier to fix. You can mod it easily. There are so many parts you can change and upgrade by yourself."

"That’s only fun for people who like working in a garage," Axelius said with a small smirk. "My pick is already complete. It’s not something you build up. It’s something you unleash."

Ellory rolled her eyes. "But yours overheats faster. You need special parts just to keep it running."

Axelius shrugged. "That’s the point. It’s made for speed, not daily roads. Mine beats yours in track performance, top speed, even aerodynamics."

Ellory shook her head and pointed at her drawing again. "But mine beats yours in comfort, fuel efficiency, city driving, and tuning options. You can make it into anything. Street, track, even rally."

Owen sighed from the book pile. "You two sound like engineers arguing in a car shop."

Axelius grinned, proud. "We’re planning the future."

Ellory nodded, still holding her paper. "We’ll build both cars, and then we’ll race them."

Axelius stood up, raising a fist. "Yes. A battle of performance, balance, and pride!"

Ellory laughed. "And we’ll let everyone vote which one is better."

As they kept talking, the grass around them was full of papers with notes like "gear ratio," "air intake," "suspension magic," "manual vs automatic," "mod-friendly," "turbo tuning," and more. They were speaking a mix of car logic and magic theory, and even if no one else understood, the two of them were having the time of their lives.

"Just what the f-- in the world are you teaching Ellory?! She’s as if a car expert now!" Axelius kicked Owen making him rolled, Ellory laughed.

"Hey! I just told her how cars works. It’s not my fault, Lil’sis is a fast learner!" Owen said.

From far behind a pillar, Cyruz stood frozen, trying to understand what they were saying.

"...What in the world is a dual-magic clutch system?" he muttered.

The next day came quietly with soft wind blowing through the windows of Axelius’s study room, and everything was already prepared as usual. On the floor sat Axelius and Ellory, both with notebooks on their laps, while Owen stood in his dummy form in front of the large whiteboard.

So, with his chalk in hand, Owen started the lesson. "Today, we’re going to study something simple but very important," he said as he drew a basic symbol on the board. "The world right now only uses carriages pulled by beasts, but if we want to build something that can move on its own without using a horse or a bird or anything like that, then we need to understand mana circuits."

Axelius leaned forward, already interested, and Ellory kept writing neatly beside him.

Owen pointed at the symbol. "This is a basic mana line. It works like a road where magic energy travels. If you want something to move—like a wheel turning or a door opening—you need to connect a mana core to that thing using a simple circuit like this."

He drew a small circle and lines connecting it to a spinning gear. "This circle is the mana core. You can use a small one for testing. The energy flows through the path, and when it reaches the rune that controls movement, the gear will spin."

Ellory tilted her head. "So, it’s like making a tiny invisible hand that turns the gear?"

Owen nodded. "Yes, very close. But it’s not just invisible—it needs control. That’s why we use movement runes

. These runes tell the mana what to do. If you draw the rune wrong, the gear won’t spin right. It might turn too fast or break."

He began drawing a second diagram with glowing arrows and a tiny wheel. "This kind of design will be the foundation. Right now, nobody in this world uses magic to move carriages. They all depend on beasts—strong ones that pull heavy loads. But if we make something that can turn mana into motion, we won’t need beasts anymore."

Ellory nodded slowly. "I see. This is the first step. We build something small, make it move, and learn how to control it."

Owen smiled. "Right. And even though this sounds simple, many scholars have never even tried. They use mana for weapons or lights or healing, but not for movement."

Ellory tapped her notebook. "So we’ll be the first."

"Yes," Owen said proudly. "You and Axelius will be the first to make a working movement system without a beast."

The lesson continued for another hour, with Owen showing them the symbols for stop, start, spin, and turn.

***Few hours later

"Alright students! Let’s review engine core systems and magical combustion today. Question one: What is the role of an air intake spell circle in a magically-assisted internal combustion engine?"

Before Axelius could even finish scratching his head, Ellory raised her hand fast like an arrow. "It controls the amount of air going into the combustion chamber, and if it’s balanced with the mana-injection core, it increases efficiency and prevents overheating!"

Owen nodded his dummy head and clapped his hands. "Perfect answer! You get a point!"

Axelius blinked, staring at his little sister like he had just seen a miracle. "Wait... huh? Since when did you know that?"

Ellory giggled, tapping her notebook. "Since I read the book you told me to. I finished it yesterday."

Owen continued writing on the board. "Second question: What happens if the mana core is unstable during gearshift mode in high-speed engines?"

Again, Ellory raised her hand. "It causes a power delay or even a stall. That’s why the stabilizer rune needs to be placed near the clutch mechanism to reduce mana shock."

"Correct!" Owen said, circling the answer. "Amazing!"

Axelius slowly leaned back, putting his arms behind him. "What the heck... I didn’t even know that..."

Ellory smiled and gave him a nudge. "It’s okay, Brother. I’ll teach you."

Axelius narrowed his eyes. "No, I’m the teacher here! You’re just... too fast."

Owen chuckled as he floated back to the board. "Third question: When designing a suspension system with levitation runes, which rune type gives better weight balance on uneven roads?"