The next morning, Princess Caecila arrived at the villa once again.

“I apologize, Miss NSLICE-00P, but we are still deciding what to give you from the treasury. If you don’t mind, may I ask you some questions to help us determine what is most suitable for you?”

“Affirmative.”

“Thank you.”

After speaking with NSLICE-00P for a bit and learning all that NSLICE-00P was authorized to share about her capabilities, Princess Caecila turned to Ateia and Taog.

“We are still arranging for your estates, I apologize for the delay. In the meantime, I would like to offer the services of my tutor to help you acclimate to your new role and status.”

Ateia and Taog glanced at each other and then at Agedia. Agedia nodded and they turned back.

“It would be our honor, Your Highness.”

Princess Caecila giggled.

“Please, call me Caecila, or Princess Caecila if you must. I, too, did not come from a highly prestigious background, so I prefer a more casual address, especially from two Inquistors of the Patrician class.”

Ateia slowly nodded.

“Well, if you insist, Princess Caecila?”

Princess Caecila smiled and nodded, then turned back to NSLICE-00P.

“I have been appointed as the Imperial family’s liaison to you all, so please do not hesitate to let me know if there’s anything I can assist you with.”

“Request: This unit would like to conduct research at the Imperial Academy of Magic. Please guide this unit to the facility.”

Princess Caecila nodded.

“But of course. The Academy is located in its own settlement, so you may wish to prepare for a day trip. Please let me know when you are ready to depart.”

A while later, and Princess Caecila brought the group to the plaustrum subterraneum station, where the Empire’s underground transports moved in and out of Corvanus. She brought them aboard the Imperial family’s private transport, which sank into the ground and shot forward. NSLICE-00P analyzed the function of the transport. Similar to the ships, the craft wrapped a bubble of dirt around itself and launched it forward, pulling itself along with the ‘projectile’. As a result, it was not actually digging through the ground itself, but rather moving through it as a magically compatible medium for the spell.

After an hour, the craft broke the surface and reached their destination. Princess Caecila led the group out of the station, and they caught their first sight of Academiae Civitatem.

A Legion keep gathered the entrance to a massive wall that wrapped for miles around. The tips of towers with shining cores on top could be seen peeking over the wall, and NSLICE-00P detected powerful barriers protecting the wall and the air above. On their side of the wall was a small city.

This was Academiae Civitatem, home to the Imperial Academy of Mages, the largest such academy in the Northern Empire.

Princess Caecila led them past the gate through the walls, and into the Academy proper. What they found was practically a second city, with countless buildings and roads spread out within the walls. To their right was the Theoretical Academy, with densely packed structures housing libraries and classrooms containing the gathered mystical knowledge of the Empire. The left side was spread out, with large courtyards and glowing barriers breaking up the large structures. NSLICE-00P caught sight of young mages casting basic spells under the tutelage of an older instructor. This was the Applied Academy, where mages practiced their craft and tested the hypotheses of the Theoretical side. It was also perhaps the most heavily warded location in the Empire. No one wanted another Great Accident, after all.

Princess Caecila led the group into a reception area. A middle-aged receptionist scoffed at first, until she recognized Princess Caecila and rushed to apologize. A few minutes later, the Magister Arcanum himself arrived. He was a wiry old man wearing colorful robes and jewelry with glowing gems.

“Greetings to you, Your Highness Princess Caecila.”

“Greetings to you, Magister Arcanum Cnaeus Marcius Volusenus.”

Magister Cnaeus glanced around at the group, raising an eyebrow.

“May I ask the purpose of your visit today?”

Princess Caecila nodded and motioned.

“I am here to present NSLICE-00P, Queen of the Dobhar and Amiciti Populi Elteni. She has some personal research to conduct here and we would like to share the knowledge of the Empire with her.”Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Magister Cnaeus nodded, though his eyebrow remained raised.

“But of course. We have prepared an assistant, as ordered by the Emperor. Apprentice Callisunus, come here.”

Apprentice Callisunus was a young man, about Ateia and Taog's age or just a bit younger. He was on the shorter side, and a bit frail on first glance.

Princess Caecila raised an eyebrow.

“An apprentice? NSLICE-00P is an Imperial Friend the Empire owes a great debt to, Magister. The Emperor expects no effort to be spared in assisting her.”

Magister Cnaeus waved his hand.

“Be at ease, Your Highness. Apprentice Callisunus has had trouble advancing due to struggles with practical application, but he was very well versed in the Academy’s facilities, perhaps more so than some of our Senior Mages. I have no doubt he will be able to attend to any need the visiting Imperial Friend may have. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am to oversee an experiment. I apologize but the matter is both delicate and time-urgent.”

With that, Magister Cnaeus left, leaving the bunch with the apprentice. Apprentice Callisunus stepped forward with a frown on his face.

“Greetings, Your Highness. I’m Apprentice Nonus Aedinius Callisunus. I’m sorry for the Magister, he doesn’t like it when outsiders come to the Academy. But I definitely know my way around, so I should be able to help you.”

Apprentice Callisunus then frowned.

“Well, as long as you don’t need practical help, that is.”

Princess Caecila smiled and nodded.

“I understand, Apprentice Callisunus. I will talk with the Magister if necessary, but let’s check with my charge first. This is NSLICE-00P, a friend of the Empire we wish to assist. NSLICE-00P, will Apprentice Callisunus’s help be sufficient for you?”

NSLICE-00P’s robotic eye flickered as she looked over Apprentice Callisunus. She detected an anomaly in the boy’s mana that seemed to disrupt its flow through his body. As stated, he would likely be unable to assist with any practical applications of mana.

But that didn’t matter to NSLICE-00P!

“Response: This unit has logged Apprentice Callisnus’s inefficiency at practical application, and will account for this in future calculations. At the moment, this unit’s priority is access to theoretical knowledge and data from prior experimentation. If Apprentice Callisunus can provide said data, this unit finds said assistance sufficient.”

Apprentice Callisunus sighed at that, then nodded.

“Right…well, do you know what you’re looking for? I could show you to the Library, or if you have a specific question we could check with the appropriate department?”

“Response: This unit is investigating the Banishment spell, the Divination spell, the fundamental nature of mana and its relationship to the foreign system and the physics of this location, and stealth enchantments, particularly enchantments that would conceal a unit’s mana signature.”

Apprentice Callisunus blinked a few times.

“Well…that’s quite a spread. Um, maybe we should start with the Library then?”

“Affirmative.”

“Well, this way then.”

And so Apprentice Callisunus led them out of the reception hall. They walked down the streets of the Academy towards one of the largest buildings in the area.

Inside, they found a wide open area with tables and scroll holders for easy reading. Around the wide area were towering shelves filled to the brim with scrolls and books. NSLICE-00P calculated that despite the massive size of the structure that the interior was even larger than should be possible.

A woman walked up to them. A towering nine-foot tall woman with massive muscles under her mage’s robes and a scar over her eye. She crossed her arms and scowled at the group.

“Apprentice Callisunus, here to research again?”

Apprentice Callisunus shook his head.

“Hello Librarian Volaginia. No, I’m guiding Princess Caecila and a friend of the Empire.”

Librarian Volaginia looked them over.

“Well, you know the rules. Make sure they follow them, Princess or not.”

Apprentice Callisunus nodded.

“Of course. Thank you.”

Librarian Volaginia then nodded and left. Apprentice Callisunus turned to the group.

“That’s Librarian Volaginia. She doesn’t mess around when it comes to the Library, but she’s actually pretty nice if you follow the rules.”

Ateia gulped.

“And, um, what are the rules?”

Apprentice Callisunus rubbed his chin.

“Well, if you want to get detailed there are over a hundred, but I find it boils down to two main things. Don’t cause a ruckus, and don’t harm the material. If you avoid those, you should be fine.”

Ateia glanced at the Librarian.

“And, um, what happens if you break them?”

Apprentice Callisunus smirked.

“Librarian Volaginia casts her special Fist spell.”

Apprentice Callisunus chuckled at the group’s faces and then turned to NSLICE-00P.

“Come on then. Hm, given what you said, maybe we should start with general lore and the basics of mana? That section should be over here, An Introduction to Mana by Julianus the Red is the Academy’s recommendation but I find Braemmass’s Mystic Arts for Imbeciles to be more informative if you can get past a Sun Elf author and his more…eccentric prose.”

A few minutes later, Apprentice Callisunus was staring with his mouth wide open, along with Princess Caecila and her entourage. As were several other mages who had stopped their own research to gape.

NSLICE-00P sat at one of the tables, in front of a scroll reader with two stacks of scrolls to either side of her. She placed a scroll from one pile in the reader, and then spun it as fast as she could, her robotic eye flickering the entire time. Within a minute, she had gone through the entire scroll. She then released it from the reader and placed it on the other pile. Ateia returned and grabbed a bunch of the scrolls to put back on the shelves, while Taog brought in a new batch.

“Not a ton on Holy magic it seems but here’s what I found, Seero.”

“Acknowledgement: This unit thanks friendlies Ateia and Taog for the assistance.”

Apprentice Callisunus finally closed his mouth.

“What…what are you even doing?”

“Answer: Reading.”

Apprentice Callisunus narrowed his eyes.

“Really? That fast? Let me see that.”

He grabbed a scroll from Ateia and opened it up.

“Ok, what are Aulus Hosidius Fulvianus’s thoughts on the Source?”

“Recitation: Others believe the Source is some sort of power generator, like a mana core at a universal scale. I prefer to think of it more as a big tangled ball of mana-wana stuff. That is to say, that the Source is not some constant flow like a waterfall. It is significantly more chaotic than any mana-core we have observed. The mana there is unattributed but that doesn’t mean it is homogenous. All attempts to reach the base Source, beyond the Realms of Mana, have experienced unintended side effects to every action taken. This leads me to believe the mana is connected, ‘tangled up’ and flowing in ways we cannot yet determine. As a result, it is impossible to predict the exact outcome from applying any given stimuli to the base Source…”

Apprentice Callisunus’s eyes widened.

“Oh, ok. You’ve made your point.”

He glanced over at Librarian Volaginia, who was watching with her arms crossed.

“If she’s reading, she’s reading. Don’t disturb the readers.”

With that, she glared at the observers, who jumped and returned to their own studies. Apprentice Callisunus shook his head.

“What exactly is she?”

Princess Caecila did not respond.