"You're going to need this."
Morgan said it as she placed a box on the table. From its shape and size, it looked suspiciously like the packaging for a laptop.
She looked at me.
"I've got you a new catalyst."
"Ah," I said, lightly touching the plastic wrap covering the box. "About time I upgraded."
A bit of warlock 101, dear readers.
Runes are the language that allows warlocks, particularly Coders and Linkers, to control ardor.
When configured and arranged in specific ways, runes form sequences. Those sequences can then be combined to create codes.
It was simple enough.
The problem was actually doing all of that.
Arranging runes and combining sequences requires an absurd amount of focus and mental calculation.
A Coder has to account for things like output, range, duration, stability, and countless other parameters while simultaneously keeping the required sequences in their head.
As you can probably imagine, that was a truly hectic job.
That was why most early warlocks were Spikers.
Why bother with all those complicated calculations when you could simply imbue your weapon with ardor and your strand and whack something until it stopped moving?
Only those who were exceptionally intelligent and capable of handling the mental workload became Coders.
And Linkers?
They were even rarer.
Unlike Coders, Linkers could combine the physical enhancement and weapon imbuement techniques of Spikers with the long-range casting capabilities of Coders.
It was an absurdly difficult form of ardor control.
Most warlocks simply couldn't handle both.
Linkers had existed since ancient times, long before the invention of catalysts.
Bran the Conqueror himself had been one.
The first catalysts were created when Coders and Crafters began working together to solve one of the oldest problems in warlock history.
How do you make a Coder's and Linker's brain less miserable?
The answer was magical computation.
Using clockwork mechanisms and ardor engineering, they created the first true computational devices capable of processing runes.
The finest marvel of ardor engineering was born.
The Catalyst.
By linking their minds to a catalyst through ardor, Coders and Linkers could provide it with the parameters and ardor required for a code.
The catalyst would then arrange the required runes into sequences and combine those sequences using a pre-imbued formula or by referencing sequences recorded within it.
In other words, it did the boring and hectic part for them.
And that changed everything.
Sequences were remarkably versatile. Codes could be modified to expand their range, increase their power output, alter their shape, and even change how they interacted with their targets.
A catalyst only needed the basic sequence for a code.
It could then add the necessary sequences to modify it.
The problem was that early catalysts were made from clockwork.
They worked, but they weren't exactly fast.
It could take considerable time for one to process a complicated code, resulting in long casting times that left the user dangerously vulnerable.
They also required enormous amounts of ardor to operate, forcing the user to devote much of their focus to drawing ardor from the environment and feeding it into the catalyst.
Not exactly ideal when someone was trying to kill you.
Modern catalysts, thankfully, are millions of times faster than their ancestors.
The rise of high-performance computing and vast improvements in ardor engineering transformed them into something almost unrecognizable from those ancient machines.
Modern catalysts require only minimal amounts of ardor to operate and process information.
The ardor required to actually execute a code, however, is another matter.
A catalyst still needs the amount of ardor necessary for the code itself.
In other words, the catalyst makes the process of creating and running a code vastly more efficient, but it doesn't make the code free.
Once supplied with the necessary information and ardor, modern catalysts can perform calculations, arrange sequences, refine codes, and even optimize them on their own.
That was what made them so revolutionary.
Nowadays, catalysts take countless forms, with their designs often personalized around the user's ardor control and strand.
Coders with more traditional tastes might use staffs or wands.
Others prefer book-shaped constructs called grimoires.
Some use jewellery.
Linkers who also rely heavily on weapons often use jewellery or catalysts designed to be attached directly to their bodies, allowing them to use their codes without interfering with their fighting style.
Catalysts are so phenomenal that even Spikers use them for basic codes such as healing.
Something that would have required considerable amounts of ardor and time to perform with the earliest catalysts can now be done almost effortlessly.
In the Shield, Deathwalkers received standard-issue catalysts in the form of their personal bracelets.
They were quite good.
But they weren't exactly world-class.
I learned that the hard way.
When I unleashed my ultimate code, Advent of the Scarlet Prince, my bracelet simply didn't have the processing power to handle its constantly changing structure.
So I had to perform the calculations myself.
I arranged some of the sequences in my head and continuously adjusted the code while maintaining it.
It was exhausting.
If it hadn't been for the abundant ardor of the Abyss constantly replenishing my focus, Advent of the Scarlet Prince wouldn't have lasted even a minute.
Even with my truly genius intellect.
Looking back, things might have been very different if I'd had a high-end catalyst back then.
I glanced at the box sitting in front of me.
This is going to be awesome.
"Ooh," Iris looked quite impressed as she stood rather close beside me.
Her blue eye sparkled as she looked at the box containing my new catalyst.
"The Hecate LS41 Pro Max," she whistled, looking at Morgan. "You are pampering Mordred, aren't you?"
I had to agree with her.
Hecate was the catalyst manufacturing division of Pantheon and was considered the finest in the world when it came to making catalysts.
And the one sitting on the table before me was its latest catalyst in the L series, exclusively made for Linkers.
Morgan crossed her arms. "It was Gawain's idea, and besides, Mordred is an S-ranker, and this is the best for him."
"Well," I said, appreciating the smooth texture of the box. "It's very good."
I looked at her and Gawain. "Crimson series?"
"Tuned for Haema," Gawain said with a nod.
My gaze drifted from the box to the two of them.
"Thank you."
Morgan's expression softened. "You don't have to thank me. This is the least I could do."
I opened the package.
Inside was a device shaped like a flattened spine, roughly the length of a large smartphone. It consisted of five connected segments, each following the slight curvature of the next.
The device was matte black, with crimson accents running along its sides.
I pulled it out of its protective cover and held it in my hand.
It was about a millimeter thick and surprisingly light. Its segmented construction also gave it enough flexibility.
"The LS41 is a spinal module," I remarked, examining the metallic contact points along its underside.
Morgan nodded.
"Spinal modules are the best for Linkers," Morgan said. "They provide a much more direct connection to the nervous system while remaining incredibly light."
"Yep. Still weird," Gawain said with a chuckle. "The earliest models had to be surgically implanted onto the spine."
Morgan rolled her eyes. "You Spikers could never understand a Linker's pursuit of optimum performance."
She looked at me with a smile. "I use a spinal module as well. The LS38 Pro Frost series."
"That's quite an old one." Iris tilted her head with a frown. "And not the Pro Max version?"
Morgan shrugged. "It's the best one I've used so far."
"Huh," Iris raised her eyebrows. "Well, I've heard the 38 series is still the benchmark for raw performance."
She glanced at me with a smile. "I use a spinal module as well. The LS40 Pro Max Obsidian series. Best catalyst for Tenebris users, in my opinion."
"And you chose that despite saying that the 38 series is a benchmark?" Morgan asked with narrowed eyes.
"Well," Iris replied. "Despite being the benchmark for performance, there were quite a few kinks with the 38 series."
"Oh really?"
"Morgan, it freaks out if it goes even a lick above its maximum operating temperature."
"The Frost series has no problem with thermal performance," Morgan replied with a frown.
"That's because you're a bloody ice user," Iris countered with an exasperated sigh.
"And that is an engineering insight! Using the user's strand for cooling is a genius decision!"
"Right then."
Gawain appeared beside me and guided me out of the room as the other two continued their debate.
"They always get into a debate every time they have a difference of opinion," he said, closing the door with a sigh. "It'll take some time to end, hopefully without them trying to kill each other."
I looked back at the door before turning toward him.
"I didn't know Morgan could be so… spirited."
Gawain smiled.
"She's not being so hard on herself nowadays. Morgan's become more… relaxed."
He glanced at me.
"Ever since Iris came around, Morgan was able to be herself. Even she didn't realize that."
"Iris Lefay is an incredible person," Gawain remarked and gave me a small smile. "No wonder you fell for her."
His smile slowly faded, replaced by concern.
"How… are you two?"
I met his gaze. His worried green eyes seemed even more vivid than ever.
"We're working it out," I replied. "She challenged me to woo her again."
Gawain chuckled. "Yeah. I could see her doing that."
"Now then," he guided me to another room. "Let's get this catalyst on you and get you ready to face Elaine."
"Be careful, Mordred," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I can't lose you a second time, and I can't lose Elaine."
"And also," he added. "Finish this quickly. I just got a message from my teacher in Lyris."
He winced. "He said if I don't return soon, he'll start hunting me down."
I stared at him, and I felt an evil smile spread across my face.
"Oh, I'm definitely dragging this battle out."