The Artificial Moon
How long had it been since Serpina and Ayoung settled into their spots, watching the Sun Research Society members bustle back and forth across the beach? At last the preparations seemed complete. The society members scattered, leaving only the man who had greeted the pair earlier standing on the white sand.
The man glanced at the mages gathered around the perimeter and announced, "We're starting now! It's dangerous, so keep your distance! No matter what happens, we won't take responsibility!"
He turned away and began one final inspection of the magic circle. That was it.
Serpina crunched down on her grilled butter squid and muttered, "What? That's the whole show? No explanation of the experiment's purpose or anything?"
"Looks that way.... Wait, senior. Where did you get more squid?"
"They were selling it over there."
Ayoung looked where Serpina pointed. Sure enough, where there were people there were merchants—a food cart had appeared out of nowhere and was now hawking every kind of snack imaginable. Ayoung bought a tornado potato for herself.
As the two of them munched on their snacks and kept watching, Taein—who had spotted them—walked over.
"Oh! You really came! At this rate we might as well just stay together instead of eating separately. If you're free next time, how about we grab a proper meal?"
"I'll pass. Anyway, what exactly are you experimenting on right now?"
"Huh? You showed up without even knowing? The experiment we're preparing is... oh, the inspection's already finished. It'll be quicker if you just watch instead of listening to me explain."
Taein pointed at the white sand beach. Serpina and Ayoung followed his gesture and turned their eyes that way.
The Sun Research Society man stood at the center of the beach, a long staff held in his hand.
From what Serpina had observed so far, mages only pulled out such blatantly stereotypical staffs when there was zero chance of ordinary people seeing them—like inside Shinsi, where normals were forbidden, or during the guild master attack incident when all surrounding traffic had been shut down.
Yet this time it didn't seem to be for either of those reasons. The man didn't appear to care at all whether normals saw him or not.
I see. So he's crazy too.
It was the exact moment Serpina's prejudice against the Sun Research Society hardened into solid fact.
The man drove his staff into the sand and began chanting under his breath. At the same time, the magic circle drawn across the beach responded. Lines buried beneath the sand gave off a faint glow, and the engraved patterns vibrated as they drank in power.
"Hmm."
Serpina let out a small interested snort.
The Sun Research Society's magic circles had a slightly different style from those commonly used in this world. That said, they didn't resemble Myursel's circles either. The array itself was exquisitely delicate—far more than anyone would expect from the attitudes of Taein or the man currently using it. It was like watching a gorilla paint a pointillist masterpiece with a tiny brush.
Solar mana flowed from the man down the staff and into the circle. The vast, brutal power of the sun coursed along the lines, then was gradually shaved away and entangled in the countless delicate patterns until it grew tame bit by bit.
They had carved the circle with such precision precisely to refine solar mana that was otherwise too rough for humans to handle. After passing through every stage, the mana was purified from "impossible for humans" to "manageable with considerable effort."
And the people of the Sun Research Society were the sort who threw themselves into that effort with excessive zeal.
Of course, in the purification process some of solar mana's greatest advantage—its overwhelming quantity—was inevitably lost. Finding a way to preserve that would be their next homework assignment.
Eventually the circle reached full activation. A many-faceted sphere rose into the air.
The onlookers all thought of the same word.
...Mirror ball?
It looked like a mirror ball... and it functioned like one too.
The floating mirror ball scattered the midsummer sunlight in every direction. The constant flashing was so intense that even Serpina narrowed her eyes.
Yet it wasn't only light the mirror ball reflected. As the sunlight sprayed everywhere, mana began to rise across the entire beach—neither solar nor lunar, but something ambiguous in between.
A sphere that purified vast solar mana and spat it back out. Every mage knew of such a thing.
The moon.
The Sun Research Society's experiment this time was the artificial creation of a moon.
The mirror ball kept flashing, spreading mana across the sand. The artificial power, mysterious even to the mages, filled the entire beach.
"Wow..."
Ayoung let out a soft gasp at the huge flow of mana wrapping around her. It was still too rough for her to manipulate with her current abilities, but she could at least sense the sheer quantity. To think this much mana was what remained after being refined and reduced. She could understand a little why the Sun Research Society was so obsessed with solar mana.
"Oho..."
"Not bad for a side experiment."
"The downside is that it only works under direct sunlight for now. Still, with a bit more refinement..."
The watching mages muttered their impressions and recorded the flashing mirror ball. The overall reaction was positive.
Taein wiped sweat from his brow with a towel. "Did it work?"
"Ah. Oh dear."
The instant Serpina heard those words she cast a spell. Sand at her feet surged upward, forming a solid wall. At the same time the mana pouring from the mirror ball intensified. Its roughness drew closer to raw solar mana—which meant a problem had appeared somewhere in the purifying circle.
A heavy vibration shook them to the core as sand shot into the air and pattered back down.
"Ptoo, ptui. Failed again? I really thought it was going to work this time."
Taein, now completely covered in sand, spat out what had gotten into his mouth and sighed in disappointment. That was all.
"That's your entire reaction?"
"Haha. What can researchers do if they're afraid of failure? We're just a little disappointed, that's all!"
Taein laughed heartily. In theory he might be right, but how many people could actually live by those words?
Looking around, most of the spectators were also coated in sand, yet no one seemed seriously hurt. Everyone had apparently come prepared for the experiment to fail. The rumor that Sun Research Society experiments failing was the norm seemed to be true.
When the towering sand had finally poured down and the dust had settled, only the mirror ball and the man remained on the beach. Fortunately the man appeared to have protected himself well enough. The mirror ball still sparkled, but now it reflected pure light.
The mages who had been quietly watching until then suddenly began shouting.
"Thirty million!"
"Thirty-five million!"
"Fifty million!"
The numbers kept climbing. It wasn't hard to figure out what they were doing. They were holding an auction—without even a host, just among themselves.
Serpina watched the scene and asked Taein, "What's that about?"
"It's an auction for the experiment's byproducts! One of our guild's sources of income. This time the target is that sphere!"
"That thing? Why?"
"No idea!"
Taein's bold expression was as clear as the blue sky. Not a single trace of intelligence could be seen on that bright, unashamed face. He showed not the slightest embarrassment at not knowing—as if the question had never even occurred to him.
Serpina sighed inwardly and turned to Ayoung instead.
"I'm not entirely sure either... but the Sun Research Society is famous for their technical skill. Maybe they want to take the result and figure out a way to use it?"
"Ohhh, so that's it!"
"No, I don't know the exact details..."
It was ridiculous that Taein—who actually belonged to the society—was the one asking Ayoung for clarification.
The man from the Sun Research Society called out to Taein.
"Taein! Come help clean up!"
"Ah, yes! See you later!"
Taein bowed to Serpina and Ayoung, then ran off toward the man.
Serpina tossed the last squid leg into her mouth.
"Looks like we've seen everything worth seeing. The auction doesn't seem like it'd be any fun. I'm heading back."
"Ah, senior! I'll come with you!"
Ayoung hurriedly grabbed her tornado potato skewer and followed after Serpina.
Far out in the deep sea, well away from the shore, a submarine hovered beneath the surface, watching the coastline.
"Hey. You saw that, right?"
"Hehe. Of course I did! The whoosh and then the kaboom! It was incredible!"
"Ugh, the level of your descriptions..."
"Wasn't the captain's any better?"
"It went pabababak!"
"That's exactly the same!"
The two men who had been giggling finally lowered their voices. It was only the two of them in the submarine, but they were still cautious in case anyone might overhear.
"It's just like the rumors. If today's side experiment was that intense, the main one is going to be insane. If we can just steal it, our fortune's made."
"No one will ever look down on us again!"
"Exactly. Just imagine the entire ocean lying at our feet!"
"Amazing! We'll be rich!"
"Rich? That's thinking too small! Come on, a man's dreams shouldn't be that tiny. By the day of the operation, come up with one properly grand dream!"
"Yes sir!"
They giggled again as they steered the submarine deeper into the ocean and vanished.
They were magic pirates.
Atlantis.