"Topological Anchor V2: Deactivate."
"The 5 minutes have passed. And with that, your session in the Thaumiton Resonance Chamber has been completed. We congratulate you no matter the results attained. As we are to be stationed on the campus of EINA, retries or secondary testing will always be available with administrative approval."
"Understood. My results?"
"As proceeding:
THAUMITONIC PROFILE RECORD: MATRIX RESONANCE (TRC) RESULTS:
Candidate: Isaac Mun (EINA Student ID NO. 137)
Chamber: BianchetTharis κ-Synchronization Test Chamber (BTSTC)
Baseline Coherence Assay
Null-subject run: Chamber ambient within Reference Coherence Standard. Session valid.
Test 1: Cranial pulse (1 min):
- Boundary transmission coefficient (κ∂): 0.84
- Peripheral receptor count (Nₚ, units): 4,400
- Central receptor count (N꜀, units): 3,600
- Normalized receptor count (N̂): 0.80
- Distribution Index (D): 0.55
Test 2: Load Ladder (3 min):
- Steps completed: 20%, 40%, 60%
- Lattice failure: 66.26% (during the ramp toward the 80% step)
- Standard Load (80%) reached: No
- Load Slope: Knee recorded at 66%
Site Confirmation Sweep
Test 3: Selective Testing (7 Seconds):
Configurations tested: ζ (full array) only
Hold time: 7 seconds (ζ standard: 60+ seconds)
Load applied: 66.26% (Sub-Standard Load Waiver)
Personal decoherence rate (Γₔ,ₚ): 0.143 s⁻¹
Result: Not cleared
Calculated Values
- Harmonic mean (κ∂, N̂): 0.820
- Decoherence factor: 0.815
- κ Coherence Value: 0.668 ± 0.012
- κ ± 2σ: 0.644 to 0.692 (fully inside band)
Classification
- Resonance State: Stable Specialization (0.60 ≤ κ < 0.75)
- Eligible Path: Σ or Ψ
- Distribution check: D = 0.55 meets both Σ (D ≥ 0.40) and Ψ (D ≤ 0.60)
- Δ-Type Sync: Not achieved (κ 0.668 against a threshold of 0.75)
- ζ-Type Sync: Not achieved (κ 0.668 against a threshold of 0.95)
- Boundary Case: No
Configurations Cleared
ζ: Not cleared
Δ: Not tested
Σ: Not tested
Ψ: Not tested
Notes:
- ζ sweep was permitted by chamber discretion. The chamber AI considers all attempts, and a 7-second full-array hold is a credible showing at this κ. It is still well short of the 60-second average for a ζ-Type.
- The chamber ran the sweep at the candidate's 66.26% ceiling and waived the usual correction up to Standard Load. Under a strict chamber, this result would fall to κ ≈ 0.604 and register as a Boundary Case.
- The 66% load knee indicates a lattice that fails discretely under sustained use.
Recommendations:
- A second TRC session at least 48 hours later is recommended before declaring a Matrix.
- Include Σ and Ψ site sweeps in the next session. The declaration stage has no cleared configurations to offer until at least one is cleared
"Results displayed. As can be seen, we strongly recommend a secondary TRC session before declaring your Topological Matrix. These results will be temporarily uploaded to the Blacklist Registry's database. If you are to accept these results as final, your Pactum Passport will be required upon your TM Declaration for updating."
Isaac sighed.
"As well, we would like to ask for the Topological Matrix you hope to achieve."
With time to think, Isaac finally figured out the purpose of the last test.
"Before I answer, I would like to inquire. Permissible?"
"Yes. What is it that you wish to know?"
"The ζ-Type test… It was an attempt to see if the student could be a channel for 'Thaumitons' per se, right?"
"In layman's terms, simply put, yes, the saturation of 'Thaumitons' in your body would be so great while using a ζ-Type Topological Matrix that one could say you 'are' Noësis. To use a power like that would be to completely submit to it, be deprived of the 'magic' that makes you, you."
Isaac failed; the reasoning was simple, as is the vice versa.
How could someone outside of this world be a conduit for something in it? By his nature, Isaac would never be capable of being a ζ-Type, for he was a foreigner in this story. And beyond the metaphysics of the subject matter, could Isaac truly treat Noësis as a standalone?
It was always expected…
Caelum and Turaiya…
Heh… How poetic.
I never truly belonged—and deep down.
I now know that I will never be able to accept 'Noësis'.
But that need not matter.
And his choice with a shout:
"Then… Δ-Type: π-Type!"
"Interesting… Aim for the nebulae, Student 137: Isaac Mun. TRC Session. Complete. You may leave the room."
Isaac stepped out of the chamber.
"Topological Anchor V2: Disable."
His worldview returned to color.
What a headache he was in for.
Still, he had completed a landmark point in the journey of being a Wave Binder.
Looking around, he noted that Alyssa was taking much longer than what was written in the lore.
Could something have happened?
Strange…
Isaac saw Caelum's face, calm and unreadable as usual. Yet the outcome was already clear; no words were needed. Still, for one who had only just become a 'companion' rather than a stranger, silence felt insufficient.
He squeezed his way through the uproaring crowd around Caelum and Turaiya.
The two talents who had achieved a ζ-Type build, marking an additional two in history.
Isaac managed his say, congratulating both of them. Of which Caelum graciously thanked.
Sigh… It made some sense now. If he was a robot or some artificial creation. Other than Turaiya's freakish genetics, it would explain how this bum achieved the All-Rounder Type.
I remember that his Mana Capacity was???/??? MP.
If anything, an engineered hyper-intelligent robot would be the perfect vessel of a higher power. Like the 5D Experimental Nanostructure Optical Data Storage, Caelum would be THE perfect vessel for the higher-dimensional Thaumitons I saw as a white dwarf.
Finally, the temporary conclusion Isaac comes to.
That settles it… Much evidence leads to this: Caelum being a Clanker.
As Isaac stepped back to his dorm, he reflected on his choice.
What's done is done.
I will continue onwards with my childish hate and ideals, as I assimilate this world.
Strength is tempting, seeing how badly I was crushed just by having some muscles fucked with.
But for me… it's not the best path.
I need to leverage what I know: Mathematics, Science, and Adaptability. I can sculpt the body with training and supplements. Hell, I could probably take PEDs if I need a boost of strength quickly.
2 days later, I need to retake the TRC. And after that, I'll have to undergo declaration testing to fully confirm whether my κ Coherence Value is truly high enough for an Alternate Type: Precision Type designation.
Yet, based on his performance in the TRC, it is highly likely to assume that, once Isaac retakes the test, there would be no significant change in results, let alone achieving the desired Matrix.
It's only 2:41 pm, and I'm still full of energy.
So how?
What is the sure-fire way I can achieve this Build?
No… no… no… I can already feel the change.
In terms of Magic, I've never been pushed to that extent before. After that, the alignment between thought and output, casting feels so much lighter. I want to test the boost in real-time: the increase in efficiency, the clarity of Projection, the refinement in how Mana now flows through me, the pure, unadulterated, corrupt mathematical Magic.
But most importantly… My ideals…
I… I just can't….
No. That's not it.
It shouldn't be a feeling… I've only ever compared the two ways in my head, never against someone who's put everything on the line. What kind of character would I be that doesn't test his newfound beliefs?
If I'm going to put my ideals down, I must do it properly.
That's the reason. I'm fairly sure that's the reason.
If the new way is light. It would win. I can already tell.
And then it would all run through the same hands, numbers, and the dream, and there would only be one of me. No kid in the back of my head still holding the door open, nor one left who believes it could have been done.
Just one more fight with him still in the room.
…Where would he go after that?
…
Alright.
"Topological Anchor V2: Activate"
The memories flood back.
I want to feel the new Build hum through my brain, not a Topological Matrix.
The true goal of Isaac heading back to the House of Esyphyr was not because he wanted to rest.
It was because he wanted to find a contrarian to his views.
To the training grounds, the walk was unhurried. Isaac allowed his body to carry him forward while his mind receded elsewhere. His eyes were half-closed, guided by memory of the campus alone. Muscle memory bore the burden of movement, leaving his thoughts free to spiral, revisiting what had transpired within the chamber.
All these extraneous variables aren't fucking helping.
Still, I'm gonna try… I need to overcome this paradox.
In the sterile chamber of the TRC, I could focus all I want. Out in the world, all that could bother me will bother me… Leading me to this dilemma:
I need the power to access the power.
I need the clarity that only comes with the Build I'm still trying to earn.
So what did Isaac do?
A shortcut: A catalyst to force me to that edge of that state, just close enough that the System… Or I myself carry myself the rest of the way.
Now… The most reliable source…
Adrenaline and experience.
A subtle, or full-blown, jolt of fight or flight. Something sufficient to spike his brain, sharpen his perception, and enough vigor to lean back into the void.
Eidetic memory.
A lattice of quantum light hummed beneath Isaac's thoughts. Glyphs of shifting fractals drifted across a void similar to death— woven into the chromodynamic fabric itself.
Every motion Isaac made reshaped the field. A flick of the wrist sent luminous doors cascading open, realigning with his intent. Reflex and cognition fused into one another, each adaptation resulting in a seamless response.
The first steps to mastery.
A Path to the Pinnacle of Noësis.
But before that. I need my last piece.
My piece de resistance.
An opponent that will spike my adrenaline to high heavens and back… And an opponent who can go against my idealistic views.
The Perfect Noësical Duelist.
He stands right in front of him. A boy who was sparring the unseen, punches timed with his Earth Clause-Constructs. Through Topological Anchor, only then was Isaac able to notice the sheer number of Concordees he was fending off.
A Spirit Tamer practising his Earth magic while shadowboxing…
He's perfect.
"Hello… You're Zadial Ysarim, right?"
The boy stopped.
In one glance, he assessed Isaac.
"Pleased to meet you… You're Isaac Mun, yes?"
What an accent.
The boy was on the panel of judges facilitating the first duel of the matriculating cohort.
"Well, yes, I am. Might I say, you have some fantastic skills. How long have you been doing this for?"
"Ah?! Why thank you. I've been training for about 9 years. Interested in a quick spar?"
"I am. You could tell?"
"Yeah, you stiffed up when approaching me, y'know? People don't usually tense up that much when meeting a classmate."
"Huh… I see." My physiological tells… Tsk… I need to fix them. "Well, if you're in the mood for it, I wouldn't mind going for something more serious too."
He ponders for a moment. Isaac notices a second quick scan of his entire body.
No way he could have assessed me in that fraction of a sec一
"Do you have prior dueling or combat experience?"
"I do."
"Okay, great. I'm down. You wanna get the invigilator? … Or I'll go get one."
"Thanks for the offer."
Zadial Ysarim… Doesn't ring a bell.
Let's get prepared; eliminate those 'unnecessary' thoughts.
I've got 300 Mana Points in reserve. If he's anywhere between Apprentice and Intermediate-Class, then a 1-Star Spell should be enough to pressure him. 300 divided by 20 gives me about 15 casts of 1-Star Spells, Wind Slash or Gust; either will do, as long as I aim right.
He is still a Spirit Tamer… Let's see…
Soon enough, Zadial returned, with another student in tow. By the polished crest pinned to his uniform, Isaac could assume that he was an official invigilator. The game took these events quite seriously, so much so that more serious duels had to be recorded and stored in the Institute's archives.
Isaac was thrown a pair of gloves and shin guards from Zadial, which he promptly wore.
Once all was settled, the invigilator spoke with an authority one who had repeated this many times had. "State your name, classification, and rule preference for the duel."
Isaac stood straight. "Isaac Mun. Apprentice-Class Wave Binder."
"Ah? Even better. We're the same class." He turned back to the invigilator. "Zadial Ysarim. Apprentice-Class Concordant."
The invigilator's eyes scanned between us. "As First-Years, your duels are limited to three formats: first-strike, stop-short, or Point-Based Scoring (PBS). Choose your rule between each other."
"I vote for first-strike," Isaac says without hesitation.
"Same here," Zadial replies. "I don't mind anything except stop-short."
He begins stretching, Isaac noting how flexible he is.
He's been through this before.
"It is settled. Apprentice-Class Wave Binder Isaac Mun, record 0 wins : 0 losses, and Apprentice-Class Concordant Zadial Ysarim, 24 wins : 3 losses, will compete in a duel under standard first-strike protocols."
No wonder…
Isaac's heart began to race.
He truly found that one perfect duelist, the one to push his beliefs to the furthest ends of extremity.
Henceforth:
The duel between Wonder and Proof.