Touko Aozaki was a similar case. She possessed only twenty magical circuits, but their quality was of the absolute highest caliber.
Wayland's own magical aptitude had always been mediocre, at best,roughly the level of an average human. Now, with his quality doubled, he still only possessed seven circuits, but his overall talent had transitioned from 'mediocre' to 'serviceable.'
Correspondingly, his overall magical ceiling would rise. He truly did possess the raw power of a 'Cause.'
It was an unexpected, welcome windfall.
Wayland deactivated his magical circuits, his mood brightening considerably. "Why is there a reward for reaching the 'Cause' rank? You never mentioned anything like this when I was a Frame or a Fledgling."
"Well... how do I put this?"
Irigal thought for a moment, then replied, ["Reaching the 'Cause' rank means you've officially become a recognized magus. It's a milestone worth celebrating."]
"I suppose that's true. Under normal circumstances, a magus studies for five years in General Fundamentals at the Clock Tower, and the graduation standard is reaching the rank of 'Cause' before they're allowed to join a specific department. In a way, I'm only just now becoming a proper student of modern magecraft."
["Mhm, exactly."]
Irigal let out a faint, internal sigh of relief. He'd almost caught on. She cleared her throat and continued, ["I've prepared ten potential rewards for you. You can choose one."]
"I get to choose? It's not a gacha pull?"
Wayland found it hard to believe. He'd lived in a world of mobile games; a system built by Da Vinci that didn't include a '10-pull' feature felt unnatural.
["That's right."]
Irigal understood the look on his face. ["Because it's currently impossible to obtain Saint Quartz in this reality. Saint Quartz are crystallized concepts,divine power given form to fix a specific path among infinite futures. They're also known as Pseudo-Spiritron Crystals. They aren't something you can just buy with a 518 top-up pack like in a game."]
"Well, I'm glad there's no gacha. With my luck, I'd just hit the pity counter every time anyway."
["But Master... your Luck rank is EX."]
"Yeah, and didn't I use up all that EX-rank luck just to meet you?"
["Eh? EH?!"] Irigal's voice actually seemed to tremble for a second.
"What? What's wrong?"
Wayland felt Irigal's aura suddenly become erratic. "Weren't you the one who said meeting you was the greatest stroke of luck I've ever had?"
The subtext, of course, was that his 'EX-rank luck' was mostly just a pretty label for show.
["Oh."] Irigal's voice suddenly climbed in volume. ["Master! Let's just focus on the rewards!"]
"Why are you so excited all of a sudden?" Wayland shook his head. It wasn't like she was the one getting a prize.
["I'm not... I'm not excited. Just look at the list. These ten items all have different functions. You should choose the one that fits your current situation the best."]
A translucent, golden screen materialized before Wayland's eyes.
[Communication Mystic Code: Crafted by Chaldea. A device that functions as both a communication tool and a mobile station.]
'This seems useless,' Wayland thought. 'I don't even know if Chaldea exists in this world.'
He moved on to the second option.
[Substitution Mystic Code: As the name implies, it allows the user to substitute themselves with a copy. Creates a temporary double.]
The description felt familiar. Wayland vaguely remembered an event where Ritsuka Fujimaru had used a 'Stay Elegant' CE to create a double just to skip a concert. But since he didn't have any actual CEs to use as a base, this was also a pass.
[High-Speed Divine Words E: The ability to cast spells without the use of Runes or a direct connection to magical circuits.]
Wayland stared at the 'E' rank, hesitant. This was undoubtedly a 'cheat' skill for any modern magus. Medea, with her 'A' rank High-Speed Divine Words, could cast massive spells in an instant, unleashing barrages of magical energy like an artillery strike. While she wasn't a True Magic user, she was the closest thing to it. However, 'E' rank was a long way from 'A.' He wasn't sure what the actual output would be.
He kept it as a 'maybe' and continued.
[Fou's Beast Ears: Crafted by Da Vinci for the Master. Makes the wearer 'cute' and forces a 'Fou' verbal tic.]
'What is this garbage?!'
'What the hell was that merchant thinking?!'
Wayland skipped it with a dark look on his face.
[Silver Key: A silver key covered in intricate, ARabic-style vine patterns that pulse like a secret code. Can be used to open the Ultimate Gate to meet Yog-Sothoth.]
"???"
Wayland was utterly baffled. Why would such a terrifying thing be on the list? Yog-Sothoth was an Outer God. How much of a death wish would someone need to have to go and see him?
Wait... wasn't this Abigail Williams' catalyst?
"Irigal, can I use this Silver Key to summon Abigail?"
["Not necessarily. There's a good chance you'd just summon her father instead. It was originally his, after all."]
"Then it's useless to me."
He moved to the next set.
[Translation Amulet: Crafted by Da Vinci. Translates any known language.]
[The Skateboard: Crafted by Da Vinci. Allows for seamless travel across snow and ice.]
[Peach Wood Sword: Crafted by Martial Master Li Shuwen. Does zero physical damage but is incredibly effective against spiritual entities.]
The next three weren't particularly useful either. He looked at the final two.
[No-Face King: A portable, miniaturized bounded field based on Robin Hood's 'No-Face King.' Provides both disguise and invisibility.]
[Ishtar's Jewel-Cut Star: A Valentine's gift from the Goddess to her Master.]
"Huh?"
"Wait, I took the wrong one."
Before Wayland could even ask, Irigal snatched the final reward away. ["Master, please choose from the remaining nine items."]
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]