Chapter 160
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Mana Core Stabilization
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Made solely to control the mine's unstable mana flow, these mana cores wouldn't just have all other functions stripped away aside from durability and the obelisk's inherent protections—they were designed to seal them off completely.
Each mana core required a whopping 88 palm-sized moonstones.
I spread out a massive magic circle enveloping the entire mana core cluster and swung my hand forcefully. Hundreds, even thousands of interlocking magic circles spun like gears before my eyes.
Each one was entirely different.
Once a person gets into the groove and the path opens up, they end up trying all sorts of crazy things.
Back when I was researching mana stones in the Labyrinthos, after pouring in an incalculable amount of time, I'd finally grasped a clue to understanding unstable mana flows.
That led to the thought: maybe I could use this somehow.
I can't remember how much time I spent crafting mana cores back then, but now it only takes a few minutes per core.
If each one is unstable on its own, bringing them together creates harmony.
At least, that's what I suspect the Machine God's heart does for magic-related effects.
"Since I can do it now, let's ditch the complex security codes and boost the stability..."
I overlaid a command spell across the entire mana core cluster.
Analyzing this mana core's structure wouldn't be easy anymore.
Gazing at the finished mana core, a strange sense of pride welled up, along with the realization that my skills hadn't rusted yet.
After that, I gathered the mana permeating my body onto my palm and deliberately made it flow irregularly.
A tremendous repulsive force surged, and the mana began rampaging and condensing wildly on its own.
A slight miscontrol could shatter my body instead, but I maintained the form as naturally as breathing.
Then, slowly, I formed a simplified magic circle and observed the situation, testing the flow like checking a stream.
With just one out of four done, and only a basic magic circle at that, I couldn't fully verify the effects yet—but it was a pretty good start.
All that remained was to copy and paste the rest.
I scraped together the remaining materials and produced four more mana cores using the same method.
In the process, I made sure to disassemble them into modular parts for easy transport.
That was when it happened.
A fireball made of mana came flying from somewhere, passing right by me and hurtling toward the mana cores.
Boom!!
I didn't even react.
I needed to test the mana cores' durability anyway.
Kaboom!!
A heavy explosion rocked the air, black smoke billowing up, but I could clearly see what happened.
Hmm... it held up pretty well.
Of course, that didn't change how unpleasant the current situation felt.
"What is this?"
"I clearly told you to halt mine development immediately."
Turning my head, I saw a man in his thirties, clad in a robe, glaring at me coldly.
His gaze was icy and piercing.
A total stranger, but the robe he wore gave away his identity.
"From the Bergal Association?"
"...Then you should know why I'm here."
"Yeah, well. You had the entrance sealed off."
"...Isn't it normal to wonder why someone sealed it in the first place?"
They say even nobles get no mercy when it comes to disasters.
It sure looked that way.
His skill level was impressive for his age.
And the woman beside him, fidgeting with her head bowed, seemed just as capable.
Two 5th-circle mages.
"I had something to discuss anyway, and you got here faster than I expected. Let's talk inside."
I pointed to the nearby mine management office.
Despite narrowing their eyes at my confident demeanor, the two quietly followed me.
"Have a seat first?"
"I'm Raida, inspector from the Bergal Mages' Association. This is my twin sister, Ravena."
"Leon Cascadia. It's an honor to meet such renowned figures..."
I'd heard of them.
The genius twins who saved countless people from mana disasters.
They'd rejected invitations from the Magic Tower to travel the continent, investigating, preventing, and stopping mana disasters.
Given how long their exploits had been circulating, they'd been at it for quite a while.
"I explicitly told you to stop mine development, yet not only have you not evacuated—you're still working away."
"Yes, that's right. It's necessary work."
My response made his fists clench.
"You call that an answer right now? Young master. Do you even realize what you're doing?"
"Yes, I know full well. That's why I'm doing it."
"...Don't tell me you're squeezing out every last profit until it blows? Because there's still time before it erupts? The lives of the workers down there mean nothing to you?"
I shrugged at his question.
"No, I'll keep squeezing out profits. Why develop the mine if I'm going to stop midway?"
"How can you say that..."
"Inspector, do you know how many laborers are in the mine right now?"
"What?"
"Tens of thousands have gathered just to work the mines. Some came because they were starving, others chasing opportunity."
"..."
"You're telling me to take their jobs away?"
"Are you joking?! What's the point of earning money if you're dead! You can't buy lives with gold!!"
Yeah. They wouldn't get it.
"Your premise is wrong. I have zero intention of letting it erupt."
"What... did you say?"
"Why would I let it blow when the losses would be catastrophic?"
"That's impossible!"
He spat out his fury without restraint.
At the same time, his elemental mana reacted to his emotions, pressing down violently on the surroundings.
"Mana disasters can't be stopped by human power. And the Cascadia mine is the largest I've ever seen."
"Hmm..."
"No more words. Cease operations and withdraw immediately."
"I refuse. The Bergal Association has authority over disasters from the Central Continent Alliance, sure—but enforcing it unilaterally without coordination is overstepping."
"..."
Raida gripped his staff and stood.
"Looks like you don't grasp how dangerous this is, young master."
"You're no different, inspector."
I stood as well.
"Just to be sure— if you evacuate everyone and seal it off right now, what changes?"
"..."
"I'm asking if you can stop that situation."
Answering my question was Ravena, the sister, not Raida.
"Disasters... can't be... stopped... but... we can... prevent... loss of life."
"Isn't that because you can't do it yourselves? Should I bear the material losses for that?"
"Y-You... are... a... person?"
Confusion colored Ravena's face.
In their eyes, I must look like a money-grubbing monster grinding lives into dust.
Of course, I had no intention of letting that misunderstanding stand.
"So if I just prevent it from erupting, there's no loss of life or property."
"That's not realistically possible!!!"
Raida finally snapped, launching magic missiles into the air around us.
"The Bergal Association has been granted enforcement authority by the Central Continent Alliance. Thus, per that agreement, the Cascadia mine is now under full closure. Resist, and we face no penalties even if we use force—don't forget that."
As tension thickened between Raida and me, on the verge of blows, Berus and Ravena stepped in to intervene.
"Calm down first! Young master! The Bergal serves the continent's greater good—killing them would..."
"B-Brother! Even so, using force like this... W-Wait! Are you saying we'd lose to him right now?!"
The room erupted in chaos, but Berus scowled instead.
"I know you're called genius mages and all, but that has nothing to do with this."
That old man Berus had some bite to him.
In the midst of the uproar, Raida, the brother, mediated everyone.
"...I warned you. The more you tamper with that mine, the higher the explosion risk. If you want to die, evacuate everyone else and do it alone."
They weren't backing down either.
Naturally, this land belonged to House Cascadia right now.
That was when it happened.
A strange flow began emanating from the undead I'd stationed in the mine.
The torrent felt faster and more violent than anticipated.
Left alone, the chance of explosion in short order was only about 10%.
It had plenty of time before certain detonation.
But at this detected rate, a mana disaster was estimated in mere days to weeks at most.
"Young master?"
"Dragging this out will just complicate things."
I'd planned to take it slow, but if it was ahead of schedule, better to wrap it up quickly.
Even unstable, it shouldn't be like this.
Sure, there were variables, but this turbulent flow ultimately followed specific laws.
Like how a person walking suddenly doesn't fly off.
After pondering, I pinpointed the cause.
"Inspectors, did you mess with anything inside?"
"Mess with what?"
"I'm asking if you tampered with the interior while installing the blocking magic circle."
They exchanged glances at my question but said nothing.
They had no clue, but based on my knowledge, there was only one cause for this phenomenon.
"Did you install a mana anomaly fusion magic circle inside, by any chance?"
"H-How... did you..."
"Did you?"
"...Yes. The torrent looked severe, so we needed to mitigate it..."
I sighed.
"Don't you know this isn't a normal unstable mana torrent? Never install that kind of magic on quadruple reverse-flow mana currents. Berus, assemble all the laborers and follow me."
"Wh-What do you plan to do?"
"What else? You gonna let this precious mine blow? We need to stabilize it now. I've got all the mana cores ready, so let's start the work."
"Understood."
Then Ravena, who'd been peeking nervously until now, shouted urgently.
"Wait! You said you'd evacuate the laborers! Do you know how dangerous this is..."
"Sorry, but I need every hand I can get—even an ant's. Shut it and help."
She must not usually act this worked up, but with this level of torrent, adding a blocking circle and anomaly fusion circle would make the state extremely unstable.
For most, it'd be beyond saving at this point.
But it was familiar territory for me.
I'd botched every kind of mistake imaginable, thanks to my lack of talent.
From now on... mana vein surgery begins.