Obsidian Research (2)
Only three weeks remained. Until the day I would participate in the Iron Hammer Exhibition after accepting the invitation from the Dwarf Allied Kingdom. The timing was razor-thin. No matter what, I had to complete my entry piece, Returned Honor, before the departure date. But at that moment I was completely stalled on one critical problem. I still hadn’t figured out the exact principle behind how Obsidian generated its black mana.
“Hmm… At least I’ve succeeded in mixing positive emotions with mana.”
It wasn’t entirely without progress. After spending the entire weekend shut in the workshop with Fix—sleeping no more than four hours—I had finally managed to fuse emotions such as courage and valor with mana instead of rage and hatred. The first prerequisite for transforming the blade into a holy sword had been met.
The problem was that the sword’s core mana stone only accepted the “red haze.” The “golden haze” born from courage and sacrifice wasn’t even recognized. On top of that, I still had to resolve the issue of the black mana itself. Obsidian continued to treat black mana as its primary power source. It was a far cry from the dwarven artifact that had once radiated brilliant holy energy. There was no chance the dwarves would welcome such a half-finished product.
“Haa… Just what is the issue here? I’ve tested nearly every hypothesis I can think of.”
My anxiety grew by the hour. The deadline loomed closer, yet both the modification and the research refused to move forward. What on earth was I overlooking?
“You look like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
A voice suddenly slipped into my ear. It was Elena.
“…Master.”
“What’s the problem? If it involves formulas, I’ll help.”
Elena spoke in her usual sisterly tone as she stepped right beside me. I quickly summarized the core issue. She nodded thoughtfully.
“Hmm… Then we should examine the main power magic stone.”
She activated her Blue Eye. A clear azure light flooded her pupils. After studying the formulas engraved on the core mana stone, the corners of her mouth curved upward.
“Ed, this is different from what you described, isn’t it?”
Different? That couldn’t be right. I had drawn every symbol precisely for her and asked what kind of formula it was. She had clearly answered that it was emotion-related. Yet now she was claiming otherwise.
“Hehe. That confused face is understandable. Without opening your Blue Eye, the ‘overlapping’ formulas are invisible.”
So that was it. There really was a difference between normal vision and sight enhanced by Blue Eye.
“Then what is the overlapping formula?”
“It appears to be memory-related. A powerful grudge is embedded within it. You could say this grudge formula is the dominant one. It’s suppressing the emotion formula.”
A memory formula controlling the emotion formula. A light bulb flashed in my mind. I finally understood what memory this demonic sword carried.
The memory is why it rejects other emotions. Because it’s filled with painful ones.
Memory and emotion were intimately linked. Recalling any memory inevitably summoned its corresponding feeling. When you remembered kissing your ideal partner, you indirectly relived the sensation and the thrill that came with it. That indirect experience triggered hormones and genuine emotion. Simply remembering was enough to make you feel.
The grudge inside this sword only accepts hatred and rage. Which means…
The memories that summoned rage and hatred had become a grudge, seizing control of the blade. In other words, if I could remove that grudge, I could restore Obsidian to its original state.
“Master.”
“Yes?”
However, I had no intention of simply erasing it. I knew every trivial detail about this sword. I planned to separate the grudge intact and preserve it. That way it would prove extremely useful at the Iron Hammer Exhibition.
“Can you separate the grudge formula from the emotion formula?”
“Hmm…”
Elena pondered for a moment, then nodded.
“It’s possible. Though there will be intense resistance.”
“Resistance?”
“Yes. The grudge itself is the sword’s will. The black mana will try to kill me.”
“…Will you be all right?”
“Of course. Who do you think I am? I’ll simply crush it with raw power.”
Her expression was brimming with confidence. True, she could be a bit scatterbrained, but a grand mage was still a grand mage. The next request I made, however, would push even her limits.
“Then, after detaching the grudge without damaging it, can you convert the memory into video form?”
“……”
Elena’s face crumpled into a deep scowl. She scratched her head.
“Ugh… It’s doable, but it’ll take time. It’s incredibly delicate work. If I had to compare it, it’s like trying to move every single grain of rice from a full paper bag using only chopsticks—and counting them—while a gale-force wind tries to scatter everything. Extremely stressful.”
In short, possible but she really didn’t want to do it. The words “I don’t want to” were written all over her face.
Unfortunately for her, I needed it done.
“Master! This is your disciple’s desperate plea!”
I grabbed both her hands in mine. Her shoulders twitched. A deep blush colored her cheeks.
“W-why are you suddenly—! I-I have class…”
“Cancel it. Declare it a free period.”
“Huh?”
“This is a critical matter. If we succeed, we can immediately resolve the diplomatic issues with the dwarves.”
At those words, Elena’s eyes changed. After a long pause she spoke.
“Really?”
“Yes. Replace the lecture with supplementary assignments. For now, I need your full focus here.”
After all, I never attended her regular classes anyway. Substituting them with assignments would cost me nothing. Elena thought for a moment, then let out a long sigh.
“Fine. If it’s that important, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
She finally agreed. When I released her hands she cleared her throat and shot me a sideways glance, cheeks still faintly red.
“Ahem. Then…”
She quickly refocused on the core mana stone of Obsidian. The stone rose gently into the air. Still staring at it, she spoke without turning.
“Ed. While I separate the grudge, go tell my assistant professor. Give him a suitable excuse, cancel today’s class, hand out the materials, and assign appropriate homework.”
And so the class ended in sudden assignment hell. I felt a twinge of sympathy for the students, but what could I do? Better them than me.
CLASS CANCELLED — ASSIGNMENT DISTRIBUTED
After delivering the “bomb” to Elena’s assistant professor and returning to the workshop, the place was in chaos. Black mana rampaged wildly in every direction, thrashing like a living thing.
“Oh, you’re back?”
Yet Elena’s expression remained perfectly calm. She suppressed the black mana with her own power as gently as one might soothe a tantruming child, all while continuing the delicate formula-separation process. Only a grand mage with her monstrous mana capacity could even consider such a brute-force approach.
“How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Hmm? Roughly nine hours?”
Nine hours of this insane labor. The fact that she could sustain that much mana output proved once again that her capacity operated on an entirely different scale from ordinary mages.
“Thank you for doing this. Only Master could pull it off.”
I offered my sincere gratitude and sat down. I still had plenty of other research to tackle.
Some time later, while I was studying computer sorting algorithms, Elena finally spoke.
“Whew! Finished.”
She wiped the sweat from her brow and gently set down the floating core mana stone. Just as she claimed, the two overlapping formulas had been cleanly separated. The memory formula containing the grudge now resided in the spare mana stone I had prepared.
“Thank you. You worked incredibly hard.”
I fetched a cold drink from the refrigerator and handed it to her. She drained it in one go, set the glass down with a refreshed sigh, then glanced at the clock.
“It didn’t even take nine hours. I finished in four.”
“That’s because it’s you, Master.”
“Puhuhu. Flattery will get you everywhere.”
She grinned, clearly pleased by the praise. Now that the memory formula had been isolated, it was time to test whether Obsidian could accept other emotions.
I drank the custom “Potion of Courage” I had brewed, generated a golden haze, and placed my hand on the core mana stone.
—Vwoooooooooong…
The core began to absorb the golden haze.
It worked. The stone was accepting the energy. Obsidian was finally functioning as the holy sword it had once been.
Elena beamed.
“Congratulations. You did it.”
“All thanks to you, Master.”
We laughed together, celebrating the breakthrough. What had seemed an impossible problem just yesterday had been solved in a single day. The synergy between specialists in different fields truly was remarkable.
“Then shall we see what this separated grudge actually contains?”
I had no intention of resting just because we had finished early. If the memory matched what I suspected, I would need to prepare a proper stage so it could be experienced effectively.
“Yes. I’m curious too—what kind of memory could turn a holy sword into a demonic one? Let’s play it back.”