Chapter 124: Magical Connector?
Chapter 124: Magical Connector?
“For now, how long can we hold out with the current resources?”
“Ah. Yes. Since connections are gradually increasing, we estimate that the available resources will run out in about a month.”
Fortunately, there was quite a lot of leeway. It seemed the investment they had poured into the servers had paid off. Since Persple had come in person and spoken as though the situation were urgent, Ras had thought things might explode within the day, but that was not the case.
Then again, this was the first time this world had faced a situation like this, so their standard for urgency was probably different.
“In any case, we need to find out exactly what kind of problem this is first.”
The best network specialists in this world were all in Ras’s company, so there was no need to investigate further on that side. Because of that, Ras immediately decided to hire a wizard.
Of course, Ras was also a wizard. However, he had learned the basics through private lessons and taught himself most of the rest, and since he had dug into ancient magic, he knew nothing about this kind of modern magic system.
He did not know whether this comparison was accurate, but it might be similar to the difference between modern medicine and traditional Korean medicine. Ras was like a traditional Korean medicine doctor, and one without a proper license at that.
He was thinking of how traditional Korean medicine still treated people, covered areas modern medicine did not reach, and had once been the mainstream.
“Understood. Then I’ll look for a skilled wizard.”
Wizards nowadays did not live hidden away in cabins deep in magical forests or inside dungeons like in old stories, so finding one was not especially difficult.
After all, universities had magic departments that trained them professionally.
Of course, it was not an easy field of study, so not every magic department student became a wizard. Still, when there were many inputs, there were bound to be many outputs in one way or another.
After leaving the chairman’s office, Persple opened a phone book and began looking for a magic office.
Wizards in this world had various career paths. Many found employment at companies just like other people did. There were quite a few industries that used magic. Even the computer industry used magical devices right away.
One of those career paths was the magic office. In other words, it could be seen as something similar to a lawyer’s office or a judicial scrivener’s office.
(Translator’s Note: Judicial scrivener — A legal document specialist who prepares and files legal paperwork. The comparison is used to explain how magic offices provide specialized professional services.)
Since magic was not an easy field, they used their expert knowledge to provide services to individuals or companies struggling with related problems.
“Ah. So you want me to track someone who used magic to connect to a computer?”
“Yes. For now, that’s right.”
Of course, not every wizard at a magic office was proficient in every kind of magic. Just as doctors did not know every disease and had specialists in each field.
Because of that, several wizards initially heard Persple’s request and refused with troubled expressions. It could not be helped, since servers and networks themselves were still unfamiliar in this world.
However, he soon found someone who understood him, at least roughly.
It was a place called Tata Magic Office, and since its description said it handled matters related to the latest technology, it indeed showed strong confidence in computers and communications.
“Understood. Then would it be all right if I visited today?”
“Ah. Yes. Please do.”
Since the office was in Kames City, the same city as Meta Soft, the wizard arrived in a little over an hour.
Because the wizard was a modern person, he was not wearing a long robe, carrying a staff, or wearing a wizard’s hat like in stories. Ras had heard that some wizards occasionally dressed that way to suit customer needs, but usually, they wore ordinary clothes.
“Ah. Hello. I’m Tata.”
This wizard was also wearing a checkered suit and large glasses. If there was anything unusual, it was that he had dragged along a large carrier case.
It contained magical reagents and equipment. These were the things old wizards used to stuff into their robes, but these days, they carried them around in cases like this. If Ras had seen it, he might have looked a little pleased.
That was because Ras had also bought one after hearing that this kind of carrier case was something wizards commonly used.
“So this is Meta Soft.”
“Ah. You know our company?”
Persple did not tactlessly correct the wizard, who was looking around with interest, by saying this was not Meta Soft but the Server Management Team under Meta Hardware. They were in the same building anyway.
“Yes. I’m enjoying Spirit Stone too.”
Tata grinned as he said this.
“Ah! Thank you.”
Persple greeted him with a pleased expression and shook his hand. He was far removed from game development, but he felt a sense of belonging to the company, and he also liked Meta Soft’s games, so he felt happy to hear it.
After they exchanged greetings in a good mood, Tata was guided to the server with the problem. Then he immediately began tracing through magic.
He took out unknown equipment and reagents from the bag and began doing something.
However, the equipment and reagent cartridges all looked like ordinary machines or chunks of metal, so rather than magic, it felt more like a specialized technician was doing something. Only the short incantations he muttered from time to time barely reminded them that he was a wizard.
“For now, it is definitely magic.”
“Ah. So it was as expected?”
Since this was something Persple had already expected, he was not very surprised. Still, he felt a little relieved that it was confirmed not to be their own fault.
“What about tracing? Is it possible?”
“Ah. Tracing. Well, it is possible, but...”
Persple brightened at the answer that tracing was possible too. But Tata’s tone sounded as though there was a catch, and Persple’s pleased expression quickly faded.
“The thing is, there are too many traces. Even at a rough glance, there seem to be hundreds of people. Well, if you want me to trace them one by one, it’s not impossible. Should I do that?”
“Ah...”
Persple was briefly at a loss for words. Of course, he knew there were many abnormal connections. Still, he had vaguely assumed that if he called a wizard, they would be able to trace the one person who had caused this situation. Now that this result had come out, he did not know what to do.
“Um...”
As Persple hesitated, Tata quietly watched his reaction and spoke first. Persple turned to him, wondering whether there was some other solution.
“Actually, I’ve heard something about this issue too.”
“Yes? By this issue, you mean?”
“Spirit Stone’s Network Mode.”
Spirit Stone supported chatting. Being able to talk with other users this way meant that, although it was inconvenient compared to Earth’s systems, an anonymous community could still form.
Since there were no bulletin boards, information spread slowly. Still, it passed from one person to another through friend lists and somehow circulated.
Most of it was strategy information for Spirit Stone, but sometimes mysterious rumors of unknown origin spread too. Among them, some sounded tempting but hard to believe.
“I heard there’s a device that lets you use Network Mode without worrying about phone bills.”
“What?”
Communication fees were a huge topic among Spirit Stone players.
That was only natural, since Spirit Stone’s Network Mode operated through telephone lines. If it were an ordinary phone call, that might be one thing, but when people played games, one or two hours passed in no time. Once they became absorbed, there were even people who played for ten hours at a time.
Then, in many cases, a fee bomb would be dropped into their mailbox. Because of that, quite a few people’s bankbooks were truly devastated.
Even while gnashing their teeth over this, many players could not quit Network Mode because it was so fun. If they could enjoy Network Mode without paying those phone fees, nothing could sound more tempting.
Of course, sensible people would think it made no sense. Or they would regard it as a scam. However, scammers had existed since the beginning of history and still existed in the modern age. That meant there was never a shortage of people who fell for them.
So quite a few people paid money to obtain that supposed method.
“I thought it was a scam too.”
“...”
Persple glanced at the server without realizing it. Even Tata, a specialist wizard in this field, had thought it was a scam, yet here they were, facing actual connections caused by magic. He wondered what this situation even was.
“Yes. According to my calculations, connecting through magic itself should not be impossible, but I thought the cost would never work out.”
Tata spoke with a bitter smile. As someone who prided himself on being an expert, the reality that differed from his expectations left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“If it were only one or two people, we could say some eccentric was spending more money than the communication fee to connect through magic, but seeing hundreds of them, that probably isn’t the case.”
“Then?”
“Yes. There must be some remarkable technology beyond my thinking.”
After hearing Tata’s answer, Persple reflexively thought of an archmage. A classic archmage with a long white beard, a white robe, a solemn expression, and a heavy staff.
But when that image shifted into the archmage sitting in front of a computer and playing Spirit Stone, it felt far too strange.
No, even beyond that, the thought of such a person whispering through chat and selling illegal connection devices to innocent gamers was even stranger.
“For now, I understand. I think we’ll need to report this before proceeding further, so we’ll contact you again later.”
“Yes. Understood.”
After sending Tata away, Persple considered reporting it immediately, but then his thoughts turned to that connection device.
He was simply curious too, but having the actual item would make it easier to report and help them come up with countermeasures. So he mobilized employees and began searching the community. Since there were no bulletin boards, they had to speak one by one to people on their friend lists, so it was not exactly easy.
But it was not extremely difficult either.
<Oh? I’ve heard of that too.>
First of all, it was a fairly famous story, and they could often find people who said they had bought it. Actually buying one was not that difficult either.
“We found it!”
“Huh? Really?”
When an employee shouted, Persple immediately ran to his computer. There, a transaction was taking place through the Spirit Stone messenger.
<Yes. It’s 1,000 Del.>
<One thousand Del? That’s too expensive...>
<Come on, if you use this, you won’t have phone fees. Ah, but you do need to fill the magic cartridge. Even then, it’s only about 10 Del a month, so compared to phone fees, it’s practically free.>
The ID was Dual Class. Whether he had always been that way or had become more eloquent while diligently selling these connectors, his tone was completely that of a skilled merchant. Persple thought the person beyond the monitor was definitely not a solemn archmage.
No, since chat tone doesn’t necessarily match what kind of person someone really is, maybe not?
Persple also enjoyed Spirit Stone multiplayer quite a bit with people from the company, so he had some understanding of online personas.
“Charles.”
“Yes?”
“Ask this person whether he made that machine himself. Make sure it doesn’t sound like an interrogation.”
“Ah. Yes!”
He had only planned to secure the device, but now he began to hope that they might be able to catch the root cause of the whole incident. Phone data remained on the server, so once they confirmed it, tracing would not be very difficult.
On Earth, everything would be encrypted in the name of protecting personal information, making it impossible to identify, but this world did not yet have such a concept. In the first place, names and phone numbers were recorded in phone books and sold at bookstores, so there was no way such a concept existed.