Observatory Norm?alization
Observatory Norm?alization
The sudden sight left the party standing there dumbfounded, completely at a loss. Having observed the situation inside, I knew what was going on, but I still wore an awkward expression.
Senior Daera scratched her head.
"...Should we go in and rescue them?"
[No, it's fine. Let's just go in.]
It was certainly a scene ripe for misunderstanding, but there was no real problem.
...Probably.
I gently stroked the unicorn's mane and resumed walking.
- Clank
As we approached the observatory, the door the man had been dragged through moments ago opened again.
Unlike before, it opened normally.
A woman stepped out calmly from within.
She wore the same black robe embroidered with stars, but unlike the man's, hers held many more stars connected by lines like constellations.
On her head sat what is commonly called a witch's hat—a pointed crown with a wide brim.
"...?"
Her gaze first fell upon me, seated in my master's arms.
She steadied her wavering eyes with a deep breath, then stared blankly at the unicorn Seo-yul was mounted upon, blinking in a daze.
"A unicorn...?"
[Good day.]
I dismounted lightly from the Black Snow Horse to offer my greeting.
[I am Lee Ha-yul, proxy to the Association Presidents. As previously communicated to Twin-Star Observer Bergol Durno, I have come to inspect the observatory.]
"My apologies."
The woman, who had snapped to attention at my greeting, grasped her hat with one hand and bowed respectfully.
"I am Bellomina Karzen, Seoseong Observer. I extend my deepest gratitude for the visit of Association President Proxy Lee Ha-yul."
Seoseong—that is the highest position among observers.
"I also extend my welcome to Hero Atra Clyde, Hero Daera Celeste, and Fairy Lee Seo-yul."
The woman, Bellomina, bowed her head to the rest of the party as well, then pointed to the door she had emerged from.
"Though I am an unworthy host, I have been entrusted with guiding you. Please, follow me."
[I am grateful for your kindness.]
"......"
I replied with a professional smile. Bellomina gave a slight flinch, then hastily turned and stepped through the door.
My master swallowed a sigh and stroked my cheek.
"Must you really wear the veil outdoors?"
[Please stop teasing me.]
I puffed out my cheeks at the playful jab, but the fact that it was, in the end, a compliment soon brought a quiet smile to my lips.
For some reason, my master did not smile.
.
.
.
We sent the unicorn and Black Snow Horses back through the gate, and the party entered the observatory as guided.
"It's more ordinary inside than I expected."
Senior Daera, glancing around, uttered a line that sounded rather ominous. Naturally, no ghosts or monsters jumped out.
I had been thinking much the same.
The observatory was a facility constructed by stacking house-sized square blocks in every direction.
The Tower of Observation sat at its center, and the blocks were stacked up in layer after layer, like the rings of a fortress wall.
At intervals along the walls, the blocks were piled high and thick like towers, broad at the base and tapering toward the top.
There were roughly ten such towers.
Its exterior looked more like a piece of modern art than architecture, but the interior, with its clean white design, evoked the image of a research laboratory. "The observatory is a facility composed of stacked blocks," Bellomina explained as she walked ahead.
"These blocks serve as the smallest unit, organically forming the observatory, and act as both the axis and the components of the barrier applied across the region."
"A barrier... so that's why there weren't any monsters around here."
"It is the Great Demon Seal, classified as a top-grade magic."
Top-grade magic referred to grand spells that required complex preliminary procedures and rituals to manifest.
Senior Daera, a layman when it came to magic, simply let out a murmur of admiration at the words "top-grade."
'It's more than just top-grade, though.'
I smiled soundlessly as I observed the spell formulas woven across the area.
Their structure differed greatly from the standard formulas registered with the Magic Council. They had been adapted to fit the environment and circumstances.
As a result, the depth and scope of the formulas were vast, but grasping them was not difficult.
Not because of the Authority of Observation or detection through Mana Affinity—I didn't need to go that far. The foundation of the formulas was simply familiar to me.
The barrier installed at the observatory was the work of Ariel.
It was only natural that the structure felt so familiar to me, who had been taught magic by Ariel.
Not everything was familiar, of course.
The elements added throughout the formulas took on forms entirely unlike ordinary spellcraft.
External formulas that were half-fused with the barrier spellwork, executed with a skill that commanded involuntary admiration.
They were not merely supporting the barrier. The components placed throughout were assisting something else, centered on the block-stacked towers.
'Astrology, then.'
Astrology is the art of reading the stars to divine the future.
'Using the observatory facility itself as an astrological formation to maximize the efficiency of observation, is it?'
The Tower Master of Observation was said to have been a master astrologer.
A Foresight-type unique ability—an Innate Manifestation still exceedingly rare in the modern era. It was said they had even acquired a Detection-type unique ability later in life.
Foresight, astrology, detection.
They had not taken the title of Observation's Tower Master without the requisite qualifications and aptitude.
Following Bellomina's guidance, the corridor gradually widened. Soon we arrived before a great gate.
It was the entrance to one of the block-stacked towers.
"This is the place."
Bellomina placed her hand upon a hologram floating in the air. The magic formulas engraved on the gate shimmered, then slid aside to the left and right.
"Oh..."
Senior Daera's mouth fell slightly open at the sight within. My master and Seo-yul too raised their heads in wonder.
The interior had no ceiling, for it was not divided into floors.
A sky that narrowed into a conical peak.
At its center floated a deep-blue sphere.
Dozens of rings spun furiously around the ceaselessly luminous sphere, as if encircling it. Magic Stones were piled like mountains upon the floor, which was etched with intricate spell formulas.
The rings rotated without rest, drawing mana up from the Magic Stones and gathering it together.
"This is a Large Observation Device currently in operation at the observatory."
A device that the Tower Master of Observation had left behind, thickly engraved with Authority. It was the foremost contributor to modern humanity's ability to detect the signs of disasters and calamities.
The Large Observation Device was an imposing and majestic sight.
Senior Daera, who had been gaping at it in wonder, quietly lowered her gaze.
Beneath the Large Observation Device, outside the ring of spell formulas etched on the floor, people lay sprawled about.
Every last one of them wore black robes embroidered with stars.
They were One-Star Observers, who made up the bulk of the observatory's personnel, and all their Innate Talents were of the detection type.
"Ugh, uuuuhh..."
"Detection, detection, detection..."
"Monstersandnumbersanddungeonsandgradesinmyheadmonsterranksaredescendingdungeongradesareascendingwhyaretheysortedinoppositeways."
...Every single one of them was far from normal.
A person slumped on the floor twitching feebly, a person mumbling the same word over and over with vacant eyes, a person spewing words at a rapid-fire pace like a Gatling gun...
"Ah, that person..."
Senior Daera's gaze landed on the man who lay collapsed with his head rammed against the floor just outside the spell formulas.
It was the very man who had bolted through the door earlier and been dragged back in...
"Is this some kind of torture chamber?"
"Their condition is worse than I thought."
Senior Daera muttered in disbelief. My master stared up at the Large Observation Device with a grim face.
"It is as Hero Clyde says."
Bellomina nodded readily.
"It shames me to admit, but the observatory is currently unable to function properly due to the diminishing lifespan of the observation devices."
"Lifespan... The Tower Master of Observation has been in seclusion for decades, hasn't she? Has it simply gone unmaintained all this time?"
"Thanks to the superb devices and environment the Astronomy Chief left behind, it endured for decades, but starting last year, the devices' lifespans finally began to show their limits."
Bellomina joined my master in looking up at the observation device.
"In an effort to push those limits back even a little, the observers have been sharing the burden of the observation devices' functions, but..."
"And that's what reduced them to this state..."
"...Yes."
Lowering her gaze to the observers who were letting out groaning cries, Bellomina wore a bitter smile.
It was not only them—Bellomina's own face was caked with chronic fatigue as well.
She had stepped out to guide us, but I had observed earlier that she too had been assisting the Large Observation Device.
"The observatory possesses a total of ten Large Observation Devices. Currently, three of them have ceased operation."
So that was why the accident observations had occasionally shown errors lately. They were squeezing every drop out of the observers, but the limits were approaching.
I drew Purification from my subspace and spoke.
[Then let us begin repairing the devices that have ceased operation.]
"You have only just arrived. It would be best to rest from your journey before proceeding..."
[We did not undergo any hardship on the way here, so do not worry. I can proceed immediately.]
At my words, Bellomina—who had offered the perfunctory consideration without real feeling behind it—had her eyes light up.
"Wha...?"
"Repair... fix...? The observation device...?"
"Who... who did you say came...?"
The observers who had been lying about like corpses creaked their heads upward as well. Was I imagining the gleam that flickered through their dim, dead eyes?
Under the oppressive weight of their expectations, I hurriedly urged Bellomina to lead us elsewhere.
"This is the place."
We arrived at a block tower three structures away.
Unlike the one before, the deactivated Large Observation Device here had lost its inner light, appearing as nothing more than a transparent crystal orb. Its rotating rings were still.
[Please stand back a little.]
I stepped up firmly onto the spell formulas, which had likewise lost their glow without mana being channeled into them.
Bearing the earnest stares of Bellomina and the several observers who had followed us boring into the back of my head, I aimed Purification at the Large Observation Device floating in the sky.
- Boom!
I thrust Purification firmly into the empty air, and the Large Observation Device shuddered with a thud, a faint light kindling within it.
I poured in pure white mana.
- Ooooooong...!
The light within the Large Observation Device intensified. The halted rings creaked into rotation, and mana flooded along the spell formulas on the floor.
Screeeeech! In moments, the rings began grinding again. The light within the crystal orb wavered.
It was because the Authority engraved upon the observation device had grown faint.
'Manifest, Authority of Observation.'
I flowed Authority directly into the spot. Without unfurling the manifested Authority, I let it flow in as it was, together with the mana.
- Oooong!
The wavering light blazed bright in an instant.
The observation device emitted a pure white radiance, and the grinding rings let out a resonant hum, then smoothly accelerated as if freshly oiled.
At that point, I twisted Purification and pulled it free.
I stepped back a few paces, but the observation device did not stop operating.
- Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Soon, holograms unfurled around the observation device in a cascade—complex numbers, graphs, and maps.
"Ahh...!"
"It's working, it's working! That thing is actually working...!"
The observers who had been watching from behind shouted at the top of their lungs, throwing their arms up into the air.
Those who had come running breathlessly at the news even wept openly, tears streaming down their faces.
- Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
"Oh shit, thank God! It's really normalized!"
"It's back! Liberation from the hell of 24-hour shifts...! Back to 16-hour shifts...!"
- Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
"......"
How much time passed? The cheers gradually subsided. But the alarm sound characteristic of hologram generation continued unabated.
"...How long is that going to keep going?"
No one answered the muttered question. Instead, the holograms were slowly reaching the point of completely covering the observation device.
'It's working well.'
I nodded to myself and examined the observation device and the contents displayed on the holograms.
Observation applied on a global scale.
It primarily collected information on risk factors—dungeons, monsters, permanently warped terrain, and turncoats.
Naturally, this single device could not encompass the entire world, but the information it output was serviceable, so I diligently stored it away in my mind.
"Um... Association President Proxy?"
[Yes.]
While I was absorbed in this, Bellomina hesitantly approached from behind.
When I turned my head as if to ask what it was, she was staring up at the observation device with bewildered eyes.
Soon, her eyes wavered. The hologram her gaze had fixed upon was outputting dungeon information for the central region of the African Demon Realm.
I had heard that, until now, the interior of the Demon Realm had not been measured by the Large Observation Devices, but by taking Small Observation Devices directly inside.
"First... I wish to express my deepest gratitude for the assistance of the Association President Proxy."
[I only did what I was tasked to do.]
"However, the performance seems somewhat different from the observation devices we previously knew... I wished to inquire about that."
[As for the performance, I simply saw points that could be improved and refined them.]
"Pardon...?"
The Large Observation Device was, of course, an extraordinary tool. The way it suppressed and contained Authority, and drew out enhanced performance by utilizing the surrounding environment and components, was remarkable.
The astrology was still beyond my level to tamper with.
But it was still a piece of work from decades ago, was it not?
Many technologies had advanced since then, and aside from the astrological elements in particular, there were quite a few corners that needed touching up.
So I fixed them.
And while I was at it, I'd packed it full of my mana, which was rather excellent in quality.
- Dingdingdingdingdingding!
The alarm sound rang without end. By now, the holograms were not merely covering the observation device but spilling out into the surroundings.
An observer with his mouth hanging open muttered blankly,
"We're not going to sleep for a while if we have to sort through all that...?"
"......"
The other observers said nothing in reply.
[Let us move on to repair the next one immediately.]
At my words, their faces drained starkly white.