Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Magic Tower Genius Hides Physics
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After finishing the wastewater analysis, I immediately reported it to the guard unit.
The guard unit promptly dispatched a combat-ready team to the problematic D-7 sector.
However, I wasn't being sent out.
I asked the guard captain.
"Can't I go?"
"No. You can't."
The guard captain's response was concise and firm.
"What's the reason?"
"By imperial law, recipients of the 1st-class medal are accorded officer treatment, and officers are top-priority protection targets. We can't send Uphills out to certain death."
"So, we're doing this by the book?"
"Yes."
"..."
His face was the type that wouldn't bleed even if stabbed. Staring straight into the guard captain's eyes, I began my pitch.
"Sergeant Marcus, Corporals Gillian and Dyke, Sergeant Ella for magic support..."
The guard captain's eyes went wide.
Of course he was shocked. I'd rattled off the deployment roster without being told.
Every time I named another team member, the captain's shoulders twitched faintly.
The guard captain muttered.
"How do you..."
It wasn't that big a deal, really.
Because the first time I'd come up to his office, I'd peeked at the "This Week's Combat-Ready Team" roster ahead of time.
I continued.
"Some of these people helped with my sample analysis. I don't want to remember them just as names on a casualty list."
"..."
The captain's pupils trembled.
"I'm a mage who can take down an orc solo, and the one who knows more about this incident than anyone else in the Empire. If I don't go, who will?"
Silence fell. The guard captain said nothing for a long moment.
Finally, his mouth opened.
"...I'll have to report to command that we lost the researcher."
"You'll get a formal reprimand for that. You okay with it?"
"For the price of hiring a hero? Cheap."
Capital underground, D-7 sector.
There were traces of orcs being bred en masse...
And fallen advance team members.
The blood-soaked scene made my breath hitch a bit. My delicate modern gut tried to heave, but...
P = F/A
σ = F/A
Fab = -Fba
I ramped up the stress on my lower esophageal sphincter and applied equal force in the opposite direction using my diaphragm and abs.
No more puking now.
Casting spells directly on the body can go wrong with one mistake, so I avoid it.
But this was an exception.
I checked the conditions of the fallen.
"Luckily, no fatalities..."
But they were injured.
Stomach, arms, legs, neck... Holes punched through everywhere, blood pouring out.
That blood had drained into drums piled in one corner of the room.
What the hell do they want with the blood?
"Planning to use it as endless blood packs, huh..."
I didn't know the intent, but I started dispelling the magic right away.
'Infusing mana into the bloodstream and extracting it like that.'
They'd altered red blood cells—meant to carry oxygen—into carriers for mana.
A spell that steals others' mana via blood as the medium.
Inefficient and inhumane.
First, I dispelled the bloodflow control magic.
With the spell undone, next came stopping the bleeding.
Same principle as holding back vomit.
Q = Av
Find the vessels gushing blood.
σ = F/A
Increase stress at the wound and seal the ends.
Then cauterize.
...Burn it shut with fire.
Sizzle.
The smell of charred flesh rose from the wounds.
If I'd studied medicine instead of physics, maybe I'd have a more elegant method.
Pain from the hemostasis woke one team member.
"Gasp!"
He shuddered violently and grabbed my arm tight.
"Bear with the pain. Still treating you."
"It's... my fault...!"
"Huh?"
What was this out of nowhere?
"I couldn't endure the torture and spilled everything. No face to show alive... Just kill me."
Now that I looked, this guy's nails were all gone from his intact hands and feet.
"...First, tell me what you spilled."
"I told them about the team member who went to rescue the captured kids through the back door."
"..."
He went on.
"If I hadn't said that, I could've saved them and died... "
"Who's dying? Sergeant Dyke will live."
"...How do you know my name."
"Tell me where the kids and team members are."
"That way... over there."
"Thanks. Rest up."
I laid Sergeant Dyke down on the ground.
Just like with Dyke, I applied hemostasis magic to all the other team members.
Now only Sergeant Marcus was left.
I set out to find him.
I found Sergeant Marcus in the deepest part of D-7.
But he wasn't alone there.
Kids huddled and trembling in corners all over the base...
And...
"Orcs...?"
Something a bit bigger than your average orc. And beside that massive orc stood a shady figure who looked like a mage.
That guy's the culprit.
He muttered.
"Judgment like a human's too. The perfect bioweapon. Soon the capital will be at my feet..."
Before his monologue could finish, my 'Memorize Pendant' activated.
Krunch-!
The iron ball leaving my hand exploded the monster's head.
At the same time, I devised a 'Iron Ball Launch' spell on the spot.
p = m * v
R = (v₀² * sin(2θ))/g
F= 1/2*ρ*ω*r*V*A*l
Magic construct complete.
Fire.
Crunch-! Krackle-!
Consecutive strikes shattered both arms too, and the orc's body collapsed limply.
I said to him.
"What a nauseating sight. Makes me wanna hurl right now."
"You... you bastard. How dare you to my blood ghost!"
"Naming your orcs?"
"It's not a mere orc! It's a blood ghost!"
With a gesture from him, the scattered orc blood and flesh gathered back into the burst wounds.
...How'd he do that?
"Let me tell you why the 'blood ghost' is called a blood ghost."
In an instant, the orc's head and both arms regenerated.
"Heh heh heh. Don't underestimate an orc's regenerative power."
Damn fantasy world.
I had no clue about the principles behind orc hyper-regeneration.
It felt like when I'd seen the dean's shadow teleport—key info missing.
I told him.
"Even so, it can't regrow a brain."
"Painful loss, but... I can just control it directly! Kneel before Blood Mage Malakai!"
Malakai climbed onto the blood ghost's nape and linked his mana directly.
"Go!"
At Malakai's command, the blood ghost charged.
Instead of finishing it off, I kept my distance and fought defensively.
Why not kill Malakai outright? Simple.
To save Sergeant Marcus.
Marcus's condition was dire. Even with hemostasis, he'd die from blood loss.
'Which means transfusion is the only answer...'
Antigen-antibody reactions were the hurdle.
Different blood types clotting up, that thing.
I watched the blood ghost's movements closely.
Because its blood lacked the 'antigen-antibody' reaction.
'I might not get the regen principle, but I can copy the antigen-antibody nullification...'
Thwack! Thud thud!
Iron balls shot from all directions checked the blood ghost's advance.
Thwack!
The blood ghost's limb burst.
"Don't run away like a coward—fight me head-on!"
Would you?
Malakai screamed.
"Damn it!"
'Blood controlled by Malakai' seeped into the burst limb again.
Dodging the blood ghost's attacks, I obsessively observed the regeneration moments.
'No magic defies the Second Law of Thermodynamics.'
Everything's transformation, not creation.
Figure out the transform equation, and I can reverse it...
'Damn, I don't get it.'
I'm a physicist, not a biologist.
I didn't fully understand antigen-antibody reactions at the molecular level.
But I couldn't give up. If I can't grasp the principle, copy the phenomenon wholesale.
I imprinted the exact mana waves and flows neutralizing antigen-antibody reactions straight into my brain as raw result.
6-circle as a magic circle.
Could compress to about fifteen words as incantation.
This'll do.
No more business with Malakai.
If it lives off blood, just drain it all.
∂u/∂t + u ⋅ ∇u = −∇w + ν∇²u + g
Navier-Stokes equations.
Manipulating fluids requires far more complex math than anything before.
Now seizing control of the system.
Bloodflow is described by vicious nonlinear PDEs tangled with viscosity, pressure gradients, and inertia.
Even approximations guzzle mana.
Magic construct complete.
Computation starting.
Spurt!
The blood coursing through the blood ghost's body defied orders and sprayed into the air.
Unlike normal spells, even now my brain crunched extra calcs.
"Wha... what?! How are you handling blood better than me?!"
"I solved the nonlinear PDEs. You didn't."
He's just relying on magic affinity for blood manipulation.
No way he beats me at honest stitch-by-stitch computation.
"Nonlinear...? What the hell does that mean?!"
"Then die ignorant!"
Blood fountains erupted from the blood ghost's body, shrinking it bit by bit.
"No!! My masterpiece! Damn you!"
No other magic worth bragging about? Malakai charged me bare-handed.
Idiot. Thinks all mages go down if you grapple 'em?
V = IR
I paralyzed him with electricity.
"Gurk!"
Malakai's body tumbled across the stone floor.
Shiver shiver.
Nerves messed up or something—he convulsed.
Good he's alive.
Could kill him no problem, but need him to dig up his backers.
I approached the fallen Marcus.
"Sergeant Marcus?"
"..."
No response.
Critical condition—needs transfusion ASAP.
I'd figured out the spell to nullify antigen-antibody reactions.
But blood supply was short.
My blood alone wouldn't save Marcus.
Could fetch from the other team members' site, but too slow.
No choice—recruit other donors.
I called out to the kids hiding throughout the underground base.
"Kids."
"..."
"Anyone wanna share some blood?"
Terrified, none of the hiding kids stepped forward.
I wouldn't either.
Plenty who'd died from similar scams before.
Then, one girl emerged from the shadows.
"Use my blood."
Skinny kid, not even half my height.
"S... sorry, but you look like you got none to spare?"
"I've lasted longest here. Probably healthiest too?"
"No way..."
Blood volume scales with body size.
But the girl's eyes didn't waver.
Got something up her sleeve?
I scanned her body with detection magic.
What?
Hematopoietic stem cells in her marrow were producing red blood cells at several times efficiency via mana.
Like an ultra-high-yield biofactory.
'They say super-high mana boosts natural healing...'
Didn't know it affected blood production too.
This level of ability? Safe for transfusion.
I told her.
"...Alright. Let's do it."
I lined up my arm, the girl's arm, and Marcus's, prepping the transfusion spell.
Didn't know the principle, but mimicked Malakai's mana pattern.
"Hemoglobin. Agglutinin. Flow. N-Acetylgalactosamine. Exclude..."
Incantation included my original tweaks.
Added scraps of chemistry knowledge for stability.
Then the girl flinched.
Probably overlaying Malakai's magic on my motions.
"Don't wanna? We can stop."
"..."
Could inject half my blood first, then fetch from the team site.
If I collapse after, disaster—but letting someone die? Grit teeth and push through...
Can't live doing only what you want. Especially not here.
At my words, she hesitated, then shook her head resolutely.
"No. I'll do it. That uncle... fought for us."
The girl rolled up her sleeve with her small hand.
As my blood and hers flowed into Marcus, color slowly returned to his pale face.
"Whew. Close call."
I sighed in relief and said to her.
"Thanks. What's your name?"
"Anna. Anna Uphills."
Tension broken, Anna plopped down beside Marcus.
"Same last name. I'm Uphills too. Isaac."
Snap. Anna's eyes lit up.
"You an orphan too, big bro?"
"Yeah."
My answer seemed to ease her guard.
'Recruitment timing?'
Mana high enough to stimulate stem cells.
Could reach Archmage Valerius's level, maybe?
Can't let talent like this slip. I'll get her to university somehow.
"...Why the weird look?"
"Nothing."
...Make her my assistant later? Would make a great subordinate... er, assistant.
Is this how my grad school-pushing prof felt?
I chuckled.
"Ever thought about high-pay, low-stress jobs?"
"...Followed one of those and ended up here?"
Anna shot me a look like I was ridiculous.
"Blood's thicker than water. Same Uphills—trust me."
"...True. Plus you saved me and this uncle, so I owe you."
"Owe?"
Wasn't planning to squeeze payment. Got plenty of cash—no hourly wage-pinching here.
Anna stared me straight in the eye.
"Then this is my last shot at trust, Isaac bro."
"..."
Last shot in life? Not kid talk.
Pretty heavy passion.