The Monster-Maddening Artifact
A harsh grinding sound.
The rock's surface peeled away like gift wrapping being torn open.
Inside was more of the same blue hue, etched with unfamiliar yet oddly familiar letters and intricate lines.
"Haha, hahaha!!!"
Anyone could figure out what this was now that it was exposed.
These bastards hid it inside the mountains. And it's all mana stones? They're insane.
Palan had a rough idea of mana stone prices, and the sheer quantity before him could buy several mansions in the capital with plenty left over.
"Company commander, preparations are complete."
Sergeant Major Jerrun approached at just the right moment, and Palan immediately pointed to the rock fragments.
"Pull one wagon aside and load every single piece without missing any. This is extremely important."
"Yes…?"
"I'll explain the details later—just get to work. Actually, let's do it together."
"U-understood. Bring over a wagon!"
At Sergeant Major Jerrun's order, a soldier fetched a wagon, and Palan personally lifted the rocks onto it.
"C-company commander, isn't this mana stone?"
Sergeant Major Jerrun, who had pieced it together while helping move the fragments.
A calculator must have been whirring in his head just like in Palan's.
"Yes, mana stones. But don't even think about pocketing any. Look closely—they're already embedded with circuits."
"Y-yes… you're right."
Used mana stones lost much of their value.
Even so, this amount would still fetch an astronomical sum.
"Why would an ogre carry this for no reason? It has to be connected to the anomalies happening right now."
"Ah…."
Sergeant Major Jerrun looked like he'd just had a realization.
Palan added one more thing to seal the deal.
"Just uncovering this will earn you a commendation, so make sure not to miss a single piece."
"Of course! To be safe, let's just do it between us two."
Sergeant Major Jerrun waved his hands innocently as he picked up the fragments.
Good thing he doesn't seem tempted to do anything shady.
It was impressive that he could shelve his greed with a pile of pure gold staring him in the face.
Once this mission wraps up, I should give the platoon leaders some personal gifts.
Palan had no luck with siblings, but his knack for surrounding himself with good people wasn't half bad.
"By the way, any injuries?"
"None at first, but when the ogre showed up, two guys got their arms broken by a convulsing orc that lost control."
"Damn."
At least there were no fatalities.
"Honestly, I thought we'd lose a few, so this is a relief. It's all thanks to you boosting morale, company commander."
"Just my personal skills—nothing special from me. Guess I need to keep that promise when we get back."
"Haha! Looking forward to your generosity, sir."
He looked genuinely excited.
Palan's wallet was about to take a serious hit.
But hey, I'm something of an expert at that.
It was family money, but wasn't it his all the same?
"Expect the best. All loaded? Let's move out. I'll ride on this wagon."
"Understood."
The moment they returned and boarded the wagon, Palan summoned his deputy company commander and shipped the rock fragments straight to the Intelligence Agency.
And this discovery—their haul—stirred up far more waves than imagined.
"Sir!"
Major Lemin saluted as he descended into the basement, facing Colonel Orpia's back.
"What is it."
Her voice carried a hint of irritation—likely from having her focus interrupted.
"A call from HQ's situation room."
"Bring the communication orb here. I'll take it."
"Here…?"
"Got a problem with that?"
Major Lemin shook his head at her sharp tone.
"N-no, sir. Right away."
He must have sensed it instinctively.
Messing with her mood right now would end badly.
"Those old fogeys can't hold their curiosity."
Alone again, Colonel Orpia fixed her gaze back on the massive rock before her.
"They made this filth too damn well."
Exactly ten days ago, she'd received the rock fragments from Captain Palan Oclo.
Restoring their original form took three days, and yesterday— one day ago—they'd uncovered the effects it produced when activated.
"Mental disruption attack. Extremely similar to what Captain Palan asked me to look into last time. Eden picked a good successor."
She'd expected great things since it was someone Eden had trained, but this result far exceeded even that.
"Communication orb, sir! It's connected—speak whenever you're ready."
"Got it. Out."
"Yes, sir! Good luck!"
Major Lemin set down the orb and its stand before exiting the basement.
"Colonel Orpia speaking. Can you hear me?"
She spoke into the orb, and a reply came immediately.
The voice from the orb belonged to none other than Lieutenant General Kalun, head of the Intelligence Agency.
"Sir! I hope you've been well."
-Getting on in years—wellness isn't in the cards. Anyway, the staff are listening in on this meeting, so keep that in mind. It's a highly sensitive matter.
"Understood, sir."
-I've read the report, but could you give a brief explanation?
"Yes, sir. Ten days ago, an ogre appeared in the sector under Captain Palan Oclo's command."
From the ogre's emergence to how it had angrily left the rock behind.
She relayed everything exactly as reported by Palan into the orb.
-That guy's either a magnet for incidents or has killer instincts always putting him at the center. Who knows.
No captain's name had come up this frequently in Lieutenant General Kalun's long career.
"He suspected a magic tool even before the ogre showed, so I'd call it ability."
-Fair enough. So, analysis complete?
The core question, and Colonel Orpia nodded.
"Yes, sir. Reconstruction shows it's a mental manipulation spell. The principle disrupts the mental focus of living beings within a certain range near the magic tool."
-Nasty ability. Works on humans too?
"Not at that intensity—it only affects low-intelligence monsters."
-But further development could make it possible.
It was natural to be wary; militarily, it could shift paradigms.
"Theoretically possible, but the gap between monsters and humans is too vast for practicality."
-Good. Continue.
"Yes, sir. It then implants a suggestion on the disrupted monsters to kill humans."
-So that's why they came down from the mountains.
"Exactly."
-Existing circuits?
"The second suggestion mixes and evolves several pre-existing ones; the first seems entirely new."
Colonel Orpia's answers flowed without hesitation.
Her circuit analysis looked easy, but it wasn't.
The rock was filled with unprecedented circuits.
Even experts with PhDs would need at least two months.
-I see. And 200 kilograms of mana stones in one unit. They're loaded.
The fragments totaled exactly 211 kilograms—top ten most expensive if revealed.
"Which means the enemy can't mass-produce them easily."
-Not so. Recent reports show massive funds flowing into Duke Abiel's family. Likely for this.
Orpia bit her lip hard.
-You didn't expect Duke Abiel's involvement?
"I suspected, but mass production…."
Even roughly calculated, failure's fallout was unimaginable.
-Once they got a taste, they've been trying fun things since Rimir Castle. Know the circuit designer?
"Nothing links to Duke Abiel's style from the methods used. Probably a recent external hire."
-Got it. We'll investigate that angle.
Leaving talent capable of such dangerous circuits in enemy hands was unacceptable.
-Your follow-up plan is to find and destroy them, right? How?
As written in her report: Smash the installed magic tools.
"We'll craft a tracking magic tool that reacts to these circuits. Use it to enter the mountains and destroy them directly."
-Necessary, but risky.
Gork Mountains: No one entered except mad herb gatherers chasing gold; they just killed descending monsters.
"The enemy took risks to install them, so we must too."
-Speaking of, we should address this: Didn't the enemy install these right in our backyard?
"Yes, sir. Pre-anomaly, Gork borders were virtually unguarded—they slipped in easily."
Winter was busy; other seasons, peaceful.
Minimal patrols meant anyone determined could enter.
-Not that. I mean, odds their lab is inside the Empire.
"A lab…?"
Duke Abiel's labs were naturally in their magic tool holy land, Abiel territory.
-Would they risk borders hauling huge, heavy rocks? Doubt it. Mass production makes it even less likely.
The situation room buzzed through the orb at Lieutenant General Kalun's piercing words.
-What do you think, Colonel Orpia?
"Your point makes it highly plausible."
-Launch searches at once. Top priority—form teams.
-Yes, sir! Dispatching immediately.
The gravity spurred the room into action.
-When will the tracking tool be ready?
"Analyzing and integrating circuits—about a month."
-Fast, yet long.
A month for one magic tool was insanely quick, but operationally, non-negligible.
"I'll shorten it as much as possible."
-No rushing. Don't want to see another frenzy outbreak.