Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: The Unseen (2)
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“Do you have something in mind?”
“Let’s set a psychological trap. Something like this.”
Shirone gathered his friends and explained the plan. After hearing it, Nade and Iruki were silent. Shirone, his confidence slightly shaken, added.
“Even if it's not exactly this way, shouldn't setting something up increase our chances of winning? Like using keywords, for example…”
Iruki shook his head.
“No, Shirone, I think it'll work. More than just work, it's bound to succeed. This is quite ingenious. With this method, we can use the presentation as foreshadowing.”
Once the overall picture was clear, Shirone's group began to plan the details.
“The remaining problem is this: How do we create the ghost?”
The technical aspects were Nade's specialty. He stood up from the sofa and cast Lightning Shadow, and another Nade, made of an electrical afterimage, appeared.
“Casting Lightning Shadow like this can create a realistic ghost-like form. But no one will be fooled by this. For one, it can't move.”
“Then let's start from there. What do we need to do to make the ghostly form move?”
“The first thing that comes to mind is this. For example, to make the Lightning Shadow move, you'd have to cast the spell at an incredible speed.”
Nade cast Lightning Shadow in quick succession as he walked. Although it was disjointed, the afterimage appeared to be walking.
“I see. So we can use an optical illusion to make it look real?”
“Right. But there's a limit to what magic alone can do. Besides, at my level, I can't even increase the number of entities.”
Shirone asked.
“What about using a mechanical device?”
“It's not as easy as it sounds. Even if we build a device, there's a mountain of things to consider. The biggest problem is that people won't be fooled by simple movement. To make it look like a real ghost, it needs to be responsive to external stimuli.”
For Nade, who had built a hologram device before, creating a ghostly illusion wasn't a problem. But if it couldn't react to people's actions, they would quickly realize it was fake.
Iruki, who had been deep in thought, spoke up.
“What if we… predict people's reactions in advance?”
“Predict their reactions?”
“We introduce complex systems theory. We analyze all the behavioral patterns of the masses and program them. It's a method to create the illusion that it's receiving feedback. But the amount of information is staggering. We'll need a medium to transmit the information and a control device.”
“Hmm. Information transmission. My electrical power definitely has its limits. In that case… Ah!”
Nade turned to Shirone.
“Photon Cannon! We have Shirone's Photon Cannon!”
“Aha. With Photon Cannon…”
Shirone also thought it was possible. It was a spell he had learned for the targeting test, but he had heard that at the cutting edge of the magical society, research on transmitting information with Photon Cannon was in full swing.
“Now it's all coming together. Nade, you build the hologram device. I'll write the program for it. Shirone's Photon Cannon will be what transmits my program to the device. It'll probably require a massive output. Can you do it?”
“I have to. It's an opportunity we can't afford to miss.”
It was a single ray of light in the darkness. Nade was thrilled just to have hope for something he thought was impossible.
“We can do it. We can protect the society. Assuming no major accidents happen, of course.”
“If we succeed, the school will be turned upside down, right?”
“It'll be more than that. It'll be utter chaos. I'm willing to bet on this. Besides, it sounds like too much fun. Hehehe. I can't wait to see the teachers' reactions.”
Shirone's group looked at each other and shared a meaningful smile. With the fate of the Paranormal Research Society on the line, an unprecedented event in the history of the magic academy was about to unfold.
* * *
Shirone dedicated his time to increasing the power of his Photon Cannon. The key was to increase the output's strength while also extending its duration. Since massless photons couldn't exert physical force, it couldn't be used as an offensive spell, but this time, that characteristic was actually an advantage. It meant he could train in any of the academy's empty warehouses.
Shirone focused his concentration with a magical action, extending both hands, and cast Photon Cannon. A single beam of light spread in a circle on the wall. First came the duration. If he couldn't hold it for ten minutes, increasing the output was nothing but a dream.
Firing a Photon Cannon for ten minutes was a feat beyond the level of a Class Five, but Nade's hologram device and Iruki's complex systems equation were equally challenging tasks.
‘I have to do this. I…’
Shirone gritted his teeth and endured. After three minutes, his consciousness began to blur. During the speed gun test, he had barely managed to hold a single burst of Photon Cannon for one minute. Compared to that, it was remarkable growth, but he was still far from his goal.
“Gasp! Huff!”
The time he managed to hold on by squeezing out every last bit of strength was three minutes and twenty seconds. He had to increase that to ten minutes within the next fifteen days. After timing himself, he always rested for exactly twenty minutes. It was the kind of training where neglecting rest could be life-threatening.
Shirone, slumped on the floor, listened to the noise coming from the next room. It seemed Nade had started welding. He decided to use his break to check on the situation there. Opening the door to the next room, he found Nade buried in all sorts of parts.
“Hey, you're here? How's the output time?”
“So-so. I added twenty seconds. What about you?”
“As you can see, I'm still working on the engine.”
“Think you'll make it in time?”
“I have to. Don't worry. Prototypes always take time. Once it goes into the production process, it's hard to fix errors even if you find them. That's why I'm taking my time to be thorough.”
“I see. By the way, what happened with that thing Iruki mentioned?”
“Oh, that? I got it yesterday. This.”
Nade tossed a finger-thick cable at Shirone's feet. The outer sheath was rubber, and a transparent membrane like quartz ran through its core. It was something Iruki had specially requested from his father, the head of Yongroe.
Since 300 hologram devices were to be installed in key locations around the school, it was impossible for Shirone alone to cast Photon Cannon on every single one.
At first, Nade thought of using mirrors. The idea was that when Shirone cast Photon Cannon, the property of total internal reflection of light would be used to transmit it to the mechanical devices. But to implement this in reality, there were too many sections where the light needed to bend.
Nade wondered what would happen if there were many more mirrors. He concluded that by lining a small tube with mirrors to create a tunnel for the light to pass through, he could effectively bend the beam, as if differentiating a straight line.
Nade proudly announced this discovery. He added that if he could actually make it, he'd be rolling in money from that day on.
But Iruki rained on his parade. His father's monthly letters contained various issues from the magical society, and a letter from a few months ago had already introduced an item identical to what Nade had described. Its name was ‘fiber optics.’
Nade's disappointment was beyond words. Even Iruki felt it was a shame, as it was a field that was just beginning to be developed even in the Ivory Tower, which was at the forefront of magic.
However, once he received the item and analyzed it, Nade shook his head. It incorporated delicate engineering technology that was absolutely impossible for him to create at his current level.
‘Still, he had the same idea as the Ivory Tower. Nade is really amazing.’
Shirone picked up the optical fiber and examined it up close. Just by looking at it, he couldn't tell what was so amazing about it.
“Still, it's amazing you got your hands on it.”
Nade, finished with his welding, stood up, rubbing his reddened eyes.
“It's in the very, very early stages even at the Ivory Tower, so we can't expect great performance. Let's do a demonstration first. I've made a tester.”
Nade handed a modified optical fiber to Shirone. Unlike the one he had shown before, this one had a transparent orb attached to the end.
“What do I do with this?”
“Just hold it and cast Photon Cannon. I'll calculate the efficiency, so try it now. But you have to pour everything into it. It's important to measure the maximum output.”
Shirone gripped the crystal orb and cast Photon Cannon. His break time was over anyway, so there was nothing holding him back. A light source formed in his hand, and the crystal orb glowed palely. On Nade's device, connected to the optical fiber, a needle began to waver. Nade, who had been watching the gauge until the three-minute output limit was reached, spoke in a dejected voice.
“Hah, Iruki was right. This is a really early prototype, isn't it? Then again, I guess I should be grateful for even this much.”
“Is it that bad?”
“The efficiency is only 18 percent. That means only 18 percent of the light you send out reaches the destination.”
“Eighteen percent…”
The moment he heard that, Shirone felt a sense of defeat. In a situation where even maintaining Photon Cannon for ten minutes was a distant goal, an 18 percent transmission efficiency meant he would have to increase his output fivefold just to reach 100 percent.
“Shirone, can you do it? If you can't increase the output, we'll never succeed. High-output magical energy is impossible to replicate even with machines.”
Shirone nodded as if his back were against the wall.
“I'll try. With practice, I'm sure I'll manage somehow.”
“You can really do it, right?”
“Yeah. Don't worry. I'll figure something out. Well, I'm going back to practice.”
“For real? You're really going to do it?”
Shirone, on his way out the door, turned his head and shouted.
“I said I would!”
* * *
Shirone was spread-eagled on the warehouse floor, panting for breath. The aftereffects of casting Photon Cannon for half a day were affecting not just his mind, but his body as well.
“Hooah! Hooah!”
His last record for Photon Cannon was three minutes and twenty seconds. It was no different from the record he'd set in the morning. However, reaching that time with his mental energy depleted was an achievement in itself. Considering his time had dropped to two minutes and thirty-four seconds an hour ago, his last-ditch effort had paid off.
‘Even so, it's still far from enough. How am I supposed to reach ten minutes like this?’
It might have been an impossible task from the start. As a continuous-emission spell, Photon Cannon drained mental energy far more rapidly than single-cast active spells. Maintaining such a spell for ten minutes was something only possible in the world of professionals.
“Hah, I don't know. I'll have to try again tomorrow when I'm in better shape.”
Nade opened the warehouse door and came in.
“Shirone, are you done?”
“Yeah. I'm done for today. I couldn't do another second. I really need to rest.”
“I'm dead tired too from staring at sparks all day. It's past midnight. Let's tell Iruki we're heading back.”
Had it gotten that late already? He calculated that he had been doing nothing but Photon Cannon for over seven hours. It was a life-threatening amount of training. If the school found out, they would surely ban him from practicing magic.
Shirone struggled to his feet. Nade looked just as haggard. His eyes were sunken, and his face was blotchy from prolonged exposure to the electric flashes.
When they returned to the society's room, Iruki had a bird's-eye view map of the school spread out and was moving his pen rapidly. He was translating behavioral patterns into equations, considering the variables that could occur on the day of the operation.
Nade watched him with a worried expression. Like Shirone and himself, it seemed Iruki hadn't moved once since sitting down.
“How's it going, Iruki? Are the calculations coming along?”
Iruki replied without taking his eyes off his notebook.
“So-so. I'll make it in time, so don't worry.”
Nade felt a pang in his chest, as if his own excessive ambition was harming his friends.
“Was it too much to ask? Honestly, calculating the behavioral patterns of the entire student body is…”
“I can do it. I said I can. Don't talk to me. I'm busy right now.”
With that, Iruki fell silent. Equations were being written in his notebook at a frighteningly fast pace.