The Generator and the Devil's Artifact

“Wait, seriously? With this?”

That was the description from my Observation Eye. Honestly, I didn't care much about the technical details; I just needed something that could produce electricity. The biggest selling point was the 220V outlet attached to it.

“But this is incredibly heavy. Are you sure you can take it with you?”

It had wheels, but they barely rolled. Eventually, I’d have to carry it. “Hnnngh!” I tried lifting the generator. It was possible, but barely. “Wow, this thing is heavy.” Even with my stats boosted in Strength, it felt substantial.

“I can’t lift it. I’m an Ability User, but I’m more of a technician.”

A normal person would never be able to lift it. My Strength was C-rank—a level that easily surpassed professional weightlifters—and yet, if I felt it was heavy, then… ‘It must weigh at least a ton…’

“Huh? Is this heavy?”

Sera grabbed the handle with both hands and lifted it. It wasn't like she was lifting a sack of rice; she moved it as if it were an empty cardboard box. “…?” I could practically see question marks floating over my and Kim Hana’s heads. Ah. I’d forgotten she was A-rank because we hadn't fought together recently. She’d arrived late earlier, so she hadn't had a chance to show off.

“So, are you planning on carrying it like that?”

“Not exactly.” I shoved the generator straight into my inventory. Ignoring the stares of Kim Hana and the other researchers, I walked out of the lab.

I sold some of my magic stones to buy just enough cooling equipment and batteries. ‘I wanted to buy more, but my inventory is too small.’ It was stuffed with all sorts of things, so I had a hard time cramming it all in.

After that, I returned to Rainhart and attended my Herbology class. Since I had nothing better to do, I’d already memorized the repulsion combinations of the herbs, so the lecture was easy to follow.

“The next class is a practical session. We will be heading to the East Forest to collect herbs, so be prepared.”

After class, I went back to my dorm room. Aris looked quite surprised to see the large mechanical device I’d tucked into a corner of the storage area. “W-what is this!?”

“Hehe, this is called a generator. It can create electricity!” I said with a smug look, but… “Hmm….” Aris looked more perplexed than impressed. Ah. They didn't use electricity here. The energy source in this world was almost exclusively mana.

“But that’s why I brought this, too.” I connected a fan to the battery I’d brought beforehand. As I plugged it in—whirrrr. The fan began to spin, creating a breeze.

“Ah, this is the life.”

To be fair, the season wasn't exactly sweltering. It was just warm enough to be annoying. But I thought a fan would be perfect if I had some ice water.

“W-wind is coming out! And you didn't even use mana!” Aris pointed at the fan and shouted. “This is the power of electricity. I can even use it to operate this smartphone.”

Aris poked at the battery and even touched it with her wand, but she couldn't figure out the principle behind it. —Ababababa. She even tried making unintelligible noises at the fan. “Yumia, you’re amazing! To be able to handle something like this!”

She looked at me with sparkling eyes for the first time in a while. I felt a bit guilty. After all, I didn't know how it worked either. Modern people aren't all geniuses; only a tiny fraction are.

“S-so, what is that?”

“That’s to charge this battery.” Aris thought about my words for a moment and interpreted them in her own way. “So, you operate that to produce something like mana and store it here!”

A spot-on interpretation. I set the wall-mounted air conditioner box in a corner of the living room. “W-what is this!?”

“Let’s look at the generator first.” The air conditioner was basically useless without the generator. The battery wasn't fully charged, and if I used it on the AC, it would drain in a single day.

“Alright, let’s fire it up!”

Oil-burning generators had the massive disadvantage of being gas-guzzlers and producing a terrible smell. It was also a pain to carry oil in my inventory. But a magic-stone-eating generator was different. ‘If I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠use high-quality magic stones, I can at least fill up a few batteries.’ Magic stones could be sourced here, too. If I was in a rush, I could buy them at the school market or loot them from magical beasts in the West Forest.

“Behold, the greatest invention of the modern era: the air conditioner!”

“Ooh!!”

I shoved a few magic stones into the generator and started it up. —VROOOOOM!!!

“Waaaaaah!!”

I was met with ear-splitting noise. Ah, right. It was a generator. I’d forgotten that generators are inherently noisy. A magic-stone-eating one was no different. But at the same time, the charging indicator on the battery lit up. The generator ran for a few minutes, and the charging speed wasn't bad. But if I kept this on, I’d definitely get a noise complaint.

“How do you turn this off!!”

“What!!” I can’t hear you!!

“I asked how you turn it off!!”

Ah. I cut the power. “We have a minor problem.”

“I don’t think it’s minor at all…” Aris said, clutching her desk as her eyes spun in circles. I was used to noise from going in and out of gates and towers, but Aris seemed weak in that department.

“I’m going to need a solution for this.” Even so, there was no way to solve it with science. If science doesn't work, use magic. But the only magic I’d learned was basic attack and defensive spells. I needed someone to help me.

“Hmm. This is better made than I thought. Oh, I’ll enjoy the snacks.”

I had taken it to Isabel’s lab. I’d given her tea leaves and macarons from the modern world before, and the reaction was better than expected. I’d originally taken it to Karnarof, but he’d just said, ‘This isn't my specialty. Take it to Isabel,’ and kicked me out. He’d stolen the tea and macarons, too.

And now, here we were. “Wait, really?” Honestly, I would have been happy just not to be insulted, since Isabel had very high standards. “Well, that’s assuming we look at it from the perspective of someone who hasn't studied a single bit of magi-engineering!”

“Figures.” A cold human being. But that’s why her evaluations were accurate.

“Could you bring that person here? I’d like to have a chat with them.”

“That’ll be tough.”

“Even later on?”

“Forget it, then.”

Maybe it was time to actually try putting a person in my inventory. I’d finished the animal testing. If so, now was the time to apply it to a real human. As I was thinking that, Isabel pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Anyway, you said noise and heat were the problems?”

“Yep.”

“The heat shouldn't be an issue if you vent it outside.” Ice magic wasn't even a consideration. Because of the high mana cost and the fact that it was an instant-cast type, it was unsuitable for cooling a single object continuously. I’d just have to move the outdoor unit outside with it. Who would do that construction and how? I’d think about that when the time came.

“Now, about the noise.”

“Is there a good way to fix it?”

“It would help if you could use barrier magic. It’s a third-year subject, but there’s a spell in the library that might work.”

“Can’t I borrow it?”

“I’ll write you a permit.” Isabel pulled a fancy, stiff piece of paper from inside her desk. She wrote out a permit in an instant and signed it with mana-infused ink.

“Thanks.” Now I just had to learn barrier magic?

“Localized barriers are difficult, but if you learn them, it’ll help when you take the third-year course.”

My to-do list just got longer. And if I didn't finish it by summer, I’d have to spend the season with just a fan. Of course, that was better than nothing. But hey, I’d found a solution, so that was something. Good things are good.

Then, I looked down at the generator. ‘But how do I move this to a hidden spot?’ I was being as careful as possible not to show my inventory in front of professors. I was already exhausted from pushing it here. *Sigh.*

I had to use it eventually anyway. I went to the library, gave the permit to the librarian, and checked out the book. [Basic Barrier Magic]. The book itself was very thick. But as is the case with most textbooks, I only really needed to master the basic introductory parts. I could find the spells I needed after that. I shoved the book into my inventory.

I spent some time exploring the nooks and crannies of the school, looking for places to hide or skip class. This was actually quite important. The people I’d befriended here were all study addicts; if I didn't find places to hide, they’d drag me out and force me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to study.

‘Should I head to the East Forest this time…’

I headed toward the East Forest, intending to give Professor Sila some tea and macarons, when I spotted someone. Professor Georgia of Imperial History was stomping toward a secluded corner of the East Forest.

“Ho.” I felt intrigued and followed him.

“Damn it, why do I have to clean up that guy’s failures…!” Hmm. “When you think about it, it’s all the fault of that brat who handled the werewolf…” Hmm. He sure had a lot of complaints. Wait, wasn't he talking about me? I leaned in slightly to peek.

—Rustle.

“Wh-who’s there!” Professor Georgia looked around. I immediately blended into nature.

He felt relieved and went deep into the forest. Then, he pulled an egg-sized stone from his pocket. “In Code, Maximize.” When he touched it with his wand, the stone grew to the size of an ostrich egg. And… I felt filthy mana. A very unpleasant kind of mana. Hmm. Something was fishy.

He buried it right in the ground and hurried away. A while after he left, I dug up the spot. The stone was buried there.

My status window was going haywire. What was this? My status window had never reacted to anything outside of my own abilities before. It was probably because of this object, which had inverted runes inscribed on it.

Is that so? It was definitely spreading filthy mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into the ground. Plants were dying, and something else was growing. This wasn't a good sign. I raised my wand. “Casting, Bullet.”

—Clang!

As expected, it just bounced off. “Should I just give up and report it to the professors?” But the filthy mana was spreading rapidly across the ground. “N-no!!” If this happened, I wouldn't be able to screw over that dog-like Professor Georgia… no. I couldn't just stand by and watch this filthy mana spread through Rainhart!!

“Hmph.” Professor Georgia’s face flashed in my mind. That voice that would always insult me for being a commoner whenever he saw me. He’d even given me demerits yesterday, while the other noble students hadn't received any. “Time for you to get a taste of your own medicine.”

—Bzzzt.

Dark red mana gathered at the tip of my wand.