New chapter of Control Engineer is out! (1/2 chapters)

 

 

Joint Magic Art Practical Training (1): The Ace of the Magic Art Skills Department

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

It was the third day since the university term had begun.

The signs of autumn were growing stronger by the day. The trees were gradually turning yellow. Gazing absentmindedly at the scenery around me, I found myself standing outdoors. The first period was about to begin soon.

I was not alone. There must have been just under 60 people present. Students from both the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Magic Art Skills were gathered here. In other words, nearly all new students of the Faculty of the Way of Magic were assembled. The reason we were gathered in such a place, before the wooden command platform at the edge of the training grounds, was because today’s session was the Joint Magic Art Technical Training.

The Department of Science and Technology also offered courses related to magic art skills. This was because magic art could not be fully understood through theory alone, and even when creating a magical tool, one had to be capable of performing magic art, or else practical difficulties would arise. Still, I could not help but question whether there was truly any need to conduct a joint class with the Department of Magic Art Skills.

Hmm.

Something felt off, an indistinct sense of discomfort, perhaps due to the surrounding atmosphere.

Is it simply because there were so many students? No, that’s not it. Ah, there are Dia-san and Bell-san.

It seemed they had noticed me as well, for they waved in my direction. I waved back in return. I had felt as though someone’s gaze had been fixed upon me earlier, but so it was them. Looking around further, there was no one else of note nearby.

The bell signaling the start of the first period rang faintly from afar.

“Attention, everyone.” (Instructor)

The person who shouted so ascended the wooden platform. He appeared to be a lecturer from the Department of Magic Art Skills.

“Those of you from the Department of Science and Technology will not know me, so I shall introduce myself. My name is Gerald, Special Associate Professor of the Department of Magic Art Skills.” (Gerald)

He stood as though a vertical line had been drawn through his posture with a ruler.

He must have been the instructor Bell-san mentioned yesterday, the one who retained reserve status in the military.

Our eyes happened to meet, so I offered a polite nod.

“Now then, you shall all participate in a practical magic art exercise simulating combat.” (Gerald)

What kind of training could that possibly entail?

The instructor turned his head and raised a hand. That direction pointed outside the training grounds.

Hm?

From that way, a group of eight figures clad in dark navy military uniforms approached.

They marched in a single line into the training grounds and formed ranks before the command platform.

“These individuals are your seniors. They are currently with the Army but have come today to assist with the exercises.” (Gerald)

“Dean, are you certain about this? Allowing Associate Professor Gerald to do as he pleases?” (Midir)

In a room of the school building beside the training grounds, two men gazed out the window at the field below.

“You mean his inclusion of military personnel? Six, seven, perhaps eight of them. They must be graduates of our institution.” (Edward)

“Yes.” (Midir)

“I do not know precisely what he intends to conduct, though I can imagine his purpose. They must be desperate as well.” (Edward)

“To inspire the new students to aspire toward excellence in magic art combat. That is his goal, I presume.” (Midir)

“Yes, and from there, to guide them toward the cultivation of qualities desirable in soldiers. However, that approach ceased to be effective more than five years ago, Midir-kun.” (Edward)

“Indeed. Thanks to you, Dean. Such an educational policy is incompatible with the objectives of the Faculty of the Way of Magic.” (Midir)

“Even so, this year, I suspect that even our academic superiority may be in jeopardy.” (Edward)

Oh.

The senior magic art practitioner skillfully manipulated earthen-elemental magic art, maintaining four orbs of soil floating in midair. This was remarkable.

Each sphere, about 30 centimeters in diameter, did not merely hover but darted freely through the air above the training grounds. They defied gravity, accelerating and decelerating in three dimensions while perfectly retaining their spherical shape. I managed to capture a glimpse of the activation magic symbol and stored its image in my mind for later analysis.

As for today’s exercise, it appeared that the objective was to shoot down those four orbs. The goal was to destroy them in as short a time as possible, with a strict time limit of one minute per participant. We were now given time to plan which kind of magic art to employ.

The most mana-efficient approach would be to aim visually at each orb and strike it down with an impact-type magic art. However, that would take quite some time, perhaps 20 seconds. Far too slow. In terms of the destructive capacity I had been recently studying, this was decidedly unsatisfactory. Moreover, this exercise was conducted under unrealistically favorable conditions. The spheres would not retaliate or attack. Thus, taking 20 seconds posed no issue. Yet if this were an actual combat scenario, such sluggishness would be fatal. I would be struck down before completing the attack.

Still, the greater challenge of this task was not striking down the orbs but rather aiming at them. The pit viper targeting method I had been experimenting with, which relied on infrared detection, proved useless here since there was too little temperature difference between the orbs and the surrounding air.

Then, an idea came to me, to use motion analysis. I simulated it mentally, but it did not work. My concept had been to extract circular contours from the image data to predict trajectories and align the aim accordingly. Modules for both motion analysis and contour enhancement existed within the SimConnect system. I constructed a control program in my mind, but even then, it failed to lock on target.

No, it occasionally succeeded, but the aim quickly went astray. Even after increasing the tolerance for deviation from a perfect circle, it did not improve.

Why is that? Even roughly drawn circles on the ground could be detected. A sphere, from any viewing angle, should still appear as a circle. A circle should remain a circle… or wait, a drawn one does not move.

Could that be it?

Replaying the activation magic symbol’s perspective in my mind, I observed the simulated video.

Ah, so that is the reason after all. The outline of a moving sphere does not appear circular. Though a video is merely a sequence of still images, each pixel’s capture timing differs slightly.

The scanning of this video occurred from left to right, descending line by line. Consequently, the contour of a stationary sphere remained circular, but once it moved, the outline stretched or compressed diagonally. Moreover, since the direction and velocity constantly changed, the rate of distortion varied. This made it impossible to recognize consecutive frames as the same object, preventing accurate positional tracking.

If only the frame rate, the number of frames captured per unit time, were higher, then the distortion would lessen and the contour would approach a true circle. However, reducing skipped frames would cause the trajectory prediction calculations to fall behind.

Perhaps I could replace the trajectory prediction with a surrogate model (*).

“Three minutes remaining for planning.” (Gerald)

No good. There is not enough time for machine learning. Is there any other way to aim?

 

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(POV switch – Claudia)

“Time for preparation has ended. Student number 25, Department of Magic Art Skills.” (Gerald)

“Yes.” (Bell)

Bell beside me responded, sounding startled.

She, then, walked forward to stand before the command platform.

“You are forbidden from activating any magic art before the signal. The duration of the trial will be measured by that chronometric magical apparatus. Any irregularities will be detected, so bear that in mind.” (Gerald)

“Understood.” (Bell)

“Ready?” (Gerald)

The question was directed to the seniors.

“All ready.” (Senior Officer)

Gerald-sensei’s lips curved upward slightly.

“Then, begin.” (Gerald)

Long-range offensive magic art becomes exponentially more difficult when the target is in motion.

The demon world intensity around Bell began to rise, and soon the tip of her staff shimmered with white mist. It was an impact-type magic art.

“Ohhh.” (Students)

A white streak cut through the air and struck one of the floating orbs. It shattered into dust.

Well done, Bell.

I instinctively applauded, and soon others joined in. Three targets remained. However, her initial momentum did not last.

“Accelerate.” (Gerald)

What?

At the instructor’s command, the speed of the floating spheres doubled.

“Ahhh.” (Bell)

I heard Bell’s sigh.

She fired several more impact-type magic arts, yet every one missed.

“Cease. One minute has passed. One target destroyed. Hm, for a freshman, that is acceptable.” (Gerald)

Bell hung her head in disappointment.

When she returned, I greeted her with applause, though this time, it was sparse.

“To increase the speed halfway through like that.” (Claudia)

“Dia, there is no need to console me.” (Bell)

Indeed, Bell was prouder than she appeared.

“Next, student number 12, Department of Magic Art Skills.” (Gerald)

“Yes.” (Georgiy)

The lieutenant. He was the next to be called.

I wondered how he would fare. Certainly, his mana was strong and his activation speed impressive. Yet this test did not seem suited to him. No amount of mana could compensate if one failed to aim properly.

Lieutenant Georgiy stepped forward before the command platform.

“Ready?” (Gerald)

“All ready.” (Georgiy)

The corners of Gerald-sensei’s mouth lifted again.
“Begin at maximum speed from the start. Commence.” (Gerald)

The four targets hovered and darted irregularly in the air.

Even hitting one of them is no easy feat. Like Bell, he would have to strike them one by one, but how fast could he manage?

As I wondered, the demon world intensity surrounding him surged rapidly.

“What is he planning to do with so much mana?” (Claudia)

Bell seemed to have thought the same.

It was an excessive amount of mana merely to destroy earthen orbs, yet the demon world intensity climbed even higher. Then, he calmly leveled his staff.

Is he not even aiming?

He suddenly broke into a run, positioning himself directly beneath the targets.

“Impact Seeliny.” (Georgiy)

At the instant the radiant activation magic symbol appeared at the tip of his staff thrust toward the sky, the air turned white.

*Boom.*

I instinctively clapped my hands over my ears.

That white shockwave expanded swiftly, spreading through the air above.

When I looked up, the spheres were gone.

Rather than saying he shot them down, it would be more accurate to say he obliterated them completely with a massive shockwave.

“Hmph. Was that meant as an insult to me, to use the same magic art?” (Bell)

“What was the time?” (Gerald)

“11 seconds.” (Assistant)

11 seconds.

An astonishing display of brute force. Yet such a time could never be achieved by striking each one individually. Cheers rose and applause followed. Looking around, I saw the military-affiliated students grinning smugly.

“Excellent. Quite good indeed. Even as freshmen, the Department of Magic Art Skills does not disappoint. Perhaps we should now have someone from the Department of Science and Technology attempt it. Is there anyone confident enough?” (Gerald)

Oh no, why provoke them like that?

The students from the Department of Science and Technology, gathered to the left, all bowed their heads. Naturally so, after witnessing the lieutenant’s performance, even the Magic Art Skills students seemed daunted.

Is he trying to incite competition between the departments?

“Then, student number seven, Department of Science and Technology.” (Gerald)
“Yes.” (Leon)

The one who responded was none other than Leon.

 

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Author’s Note:

(*) Surrogate model: A model in which physical simulations are replaced by machine learning. While it shortens the time needed to obtain results, it requires prior training.

 

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