The Least Common Denominator   CV.II Cotangent

*ruummbbllee...*The sound of a sputtering engine echoed from behind me as I drew up yet another set of circles on the board. While I kind of put the general purpose of the massive multi-circuit array at the back of my head, I really should try and solidify that stuff properly before making the main control array, shouldn't I...'Good thing you remembered that, Master.'I grumbled through the dull pain I was feeling at my knees as I focused myself back on the doodle that was supposed to be a defense system for the palace grounds. It was far too small of a circle, now that I thought about it. The size of the drawing did little to help me ascertain the types of circuits that I drew on it in the first place. Squinting even further, it felt as if I was reading my own handwriting from how jumbled and nonsensical it all looked with hindsight.

The Least Common Denominator   CV.III Cotangent

Fiiiineee... You win, my precious Ica.The stuttering that ensued at the back of my head was like a soothing tune as I looked over my work. The communication arrays were gonna stay, as would the Essence storage runes at strategic parts of the palace grounds. Hmmm.... Wouldn't the communication arrays be two-way anyway? So why even bother with surveillance runes like last time?My hand moved to remove the minor additions I added on the dirt parts of the grounds, leaving me with more space to work with in terms of... well... anything, really. What kind of runes would even work on shaky ground? Dirt couldn't hold anything beyond the basic types of runic arrays. Anything more complex than a three-layered circuit would blow up instantly from the strain. I could maybe run- wait... why not just do that?The charcoal streaked across the outskirts of the pa

The Least Common Denominator   CV.IV Cotangent

"Let's go crazy..."With a borderline manic whisper, I let my imagination cut loose as my hand moved on its own. Traps within traps, earthen sigils meant to sprout at a moment's notice, the world was my oyster as the goodies slowly accumulated with each stroke of my charcoal.'Don't get too carried away, Master.'I know. I'm not dumb enough to overload the thing before it even came to fruition.And that was the biggest risk to such a massive array as well. With so many moving parts, any wrong line or overlapping rune will pretty much make the whole thing explode. I couldn't stress it enough, even to myself. Do not make this thing more complicated than it already is.'And yet here you are having fun with it.'Don't test me, Ica. Or maybe I'll just assert me being

The Least Common Denominator   CV.V Cotangent

I don't even know what's happening anymore..."Huh... That looks far too complex even for you, Crimson," Phillipe snarked at my work. Technically Anne's as well, to be honest. "A square rune with that many parts? I don't think that'll work out in the long run.""You and me both," I rolled my eyes with the sarcasm of an overflowing dam. "Seriously, why are you here?""You're being annoying."I raised an eyebrow at the blunt delivery of his oh-so-important announcement. Giving him the best sarcastic inquisitive eyes I could muster, I let out a scoff as I began whatever this talk was going to end up as.'Right behind you there.'You always are, Ica. "And?"Phillipe smirked at me as if he knew exactly what I was thinking, "You're wasting

The Least Common Denominator   I.I Summation

The Least Common Denominator   I.II Summation

It's been five years. five years since I've been reborn into this backwater world. And while I didn't fault my parents, I was far from comfortable in living in a world without basic plumbing and electricity."C'mon, Cream~" Father beckoned towards the nearby stream, a ceramic jug under his arm as I blankly approached the heavily bearded man. "This is where we get our water."I nodded in understanding as I watched my father scoop out another batch of water for our usage. With our house being situated a good hour from the nearest market, we lacked the convenience of having a well to draw water from. As such, we had to get it from a small stream a few minutes north of our house."Can't we have a well of our own, Father?" I questioned, knowing full well just how good of a craftsman my father was. "You can build one, right?""Indeed, little Cr

The Least Common Denominator   I.III Summation

"Don't smile just yet, Crimson." Father shook me out of my newfound revelry as he hefted the newly made sword over his shoulder. "It still needs to pass the final test.""Which is?""Elemental Channeling," Father answered like it was the most basic thing in the world. "Unlike armor, Numerators have to be able to use the weapon for it to have value, little Cream."Numerators? Like the fraction kind numerators? What're those then?"Judging from your face, I bet you don't even know about the Fraction System yet.""Fraction System?" Like the mathematical kind? This was kinda confusing, especially since I made sure to pay attention to the lesson mother taught me. Was it some kind of class system or something?"I haven't taught that lesson yet Dear," I turned my attention towards the roo

The Least Common Denominator   Interlude I: Eul

"She's not a normal child.""I know that, Eul, but she's still our daughter."Eul sighed for the umpteenth time as she had another one of those worrying conversations with her husband. She knew that Crimson was their daughter. Hell, she carried her to term and birthed her into this world herself! But there were still times that she could hardly believe she was even a mother.Currently, little Cream was out tending to the garden outside; the redhead only had to tell her once before her little firecracker went into her chores like it was nothing. It was far from what she expected from a child. What's supposed to be an unruly, yet devastatingly cute little daughter was instead an obedient, curious, and frighteningly intelligent student."I know, and I still love her with all my heart," the young mother stared out towards the garden, watching