chapter 160
Since it’s being made solely to control the unstable mana flow of the mine, I plan not just to remove but to completely block all other functions, except for durability and the protection of the obelisk itself.
Each mana pillar requires 88 moonstones, each the size of a palm.
As I spread a massive magic circle enveloping the entire mana pillar and stirred one hand vigorously, hundreds of thousands of magic circuits appeared before my eyes, interlocking and rotating like gears.
Every single one is different.
Once a person’s path is set and stubbornness sets in, they tend to do all sorts of things.
Back when I was researching mana stones in Labyrinthos, after pouring in an immeasurable amount of time, I had once found a clue to understanding unstable mana flows.
Around that time, I thought, maybe I could use this.
I don’t remember exactly how much time I spent crafting a single mana pillar back then, but now it takes only a few minutes to make one.
If each individual component is unstable, together they create harmony.
At least, I suspect the Heart of the Machine God provides that kind of effect specifically for magic.
“Since I can do it now, I’ll remove the complex security codes, add more stability, and…”
I layered a necromancy spell over the entire mana pillar.
Analyzing this pillar’s structure won’t be easy now.
Looking at the completed mana pillar, I felt a strange sense of pride and thought, my skills haven’t rusted yet.
After that, I condensed the mana permeating my body above my hand and deliberately made it flow irregularly.
Then, with tremendous repulsive force, the mana began to run wild and condense uncontrollably.
If I made even a slight mistake in control, my own body would be destroyed, but I maintained its form as naturally as breathing.
Then, slowly, I created a simple magic circle and observed the situation, as if testing a waterway.
Only one out of four was done, and the circle was just a makeshift one, so I couldn’t verify the effect properly yet, but it was a decent start.
Now, all that remained was to copy and paste the rest of the mana pillars.
I gathered the remaining materials and created four more mana pillars using the same method.
In the process, I didn’t forget to disassemble them into a prefabricated form for easy transport.
That was when it happened.
A fireball made of mana, flying in from somewhere, accurately passed by me and headed straight for the mana pillar.
**BOOM!!**
I didn’t bother to react.
I was meaning to test the pillar’s durability anyway.
**CRAAASH!!**
A heavy explosion rang out, and black smoke rose, but my eyes clearly saw.
Hmm… it’s holding up well, indeed.
Of course, separate from that, the current situation was quite unpleasant.
“What is this?”
“I believe I told you. To halt the mine development immediately.”
Turning my head, I saw a man in his thirties wearing a robe, glaring at me coldly.
His gaze was extremely chilling and cold.
Though we had never met, I could tell his identity from the robe he wore.
“Are you from the Bergal Association?”
“…Then you must also know why I’m here.”
“Yes, well. You had blocked the entrance.”
“…When someone blocks an entrance, isn’t it normal to at least think about *why* they blocked it?”
I’d heard that when it comes to disasters, even nobles are met with absolute non-compromise.
That certainly seemed to be the case.
His skill level seemed considerable for his age.
And the woman beside him, hanging her head and fidgeting, was the same.
Two 5th-circle mages.
“I had something to discuss with you anyway, and you’ve come sooner than I expected. Let’s go inside and talk.”
I pointed to the mine management office building nearby.
At my confident attitude, the two narrowed their eyes, glaring at me, but followed me silently.
“Please, have a seat.”
“I am Laida, an administrator from the Bergal Mages’ Association. This is my twin sister, Ravena.”
“I am Leon Cascadia. An honor to meet such renowned individuals…”
I had heard of them.
Stories about the prodigious twins who had saved countless people from mana disasters.
Who had rejected offers from the Magic Towers and traveled across the continent, investigating, preventing, and averting mana-related disasters.
Considering news of them had been circulating for a while, they had been active for quite some time.
“I clearly told you to halt the mine development, yet not only have you not evacuated, but you’ve continued operations.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Because it needs to be done.”
At my answer, his fist clenched with force.
“Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”
“Yes, I know perfectly well. That’s why I’m doing it.”
“…Don’t tell me you’re trying to extract as much profit as possible before it erupts? Because there’s still time until it blows? Are the lives of the people working there unimportant to you?”
At his question, I shrugged.
“No, we’ll keep extracting profit. If we were going to stop midway, why develop the mine in the first place?”
“Are you out of your mind…”
“Administrator, do you know how many workers are currently in the mine?”
“What?”
“Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered to work as miners. Some came because they were struggling to survive, some to seize an opportunity.”
“…”
“So you’re telling me to take away their jobs?”
“Are you joking?! So what if they earn money! You can’t buy lives with it!!”
Right. He can say that because he doesn’t understand.
“Your premise is wrong. I have no intention of letting it erupt.”
“Wh…at?”
“The loss would be too great. Why would I let it erupt?”
“That’s impossible!”
He spat out his anger without fail.
At the same time, as if reacting to his emotions, his elemental mana violently pressed down on the surroundings.
“Mana disasters cannot be stopped by human power. Moreover, the Cascadia mine is the largest we have ever seen.”
“Hmm…”
“I will say no more. Halt operations immediately and withdraw.”
“I refuse. It’s true the Mages’ Association holds authority over disasters from the Central Continent Alliance, but exercising that control arbitrarily without consultation is an overreach of power.”
“…”
Laida stood up, gripping his staff.
“It seems you fail to grasp the gravity of the situation, young lord.”
“You’re no different, Administrator.”
I also stood up.
“Let me ask you just in case: if we evacuate immediately and seal that place, what changes?”
“…”
“I asked whether you can stop that situation.”
It was Ravena, the sister, not Laida, who answered.
“The disaster… can’t be… stopped. But… we can prevent… casualties.”
“Aren’t you just leaving it because you don’t know how to handle it? Must I bear the material losses from that?”
“A-Are you… even human?”
Ravena’s expression showed bewilderment.
In their eyes, I must look like a money-crazed monster willing to grind up people.
Of course, I had no intention of letting them misunderstand that way.
“So, if we prevent it from erupting, there will be no casualties and no property damage.”
“That is realistically impossible!!”
Laida, finally exploding, conjured Magic Missiles in the air around him.
“The Bergal Association has been granted compulsory execution authority by the Central Continent Alliance. Therefore, according to that agreement, the Cascadia mine is hereby ordered to be completely sealed effective immediately. Do not forget that even if we resort to force, we face no restrictions.”
As the atmosphere between Laida and me grew tense, seemingly about to erupt into a fight, Berus and Laida’s sister Ravena stepped between them.
“Calm down, young master! The Bergal Association works for the public good of the continent. If you kill someone from there…”
“O-Oppa! Even so, using force like this is… W-Wait a minute! Are you saying we’re losing to this man right now?!”
The place became noisy in an instant, but Berus frowned instead.
“That you’re called genius mages is your business. That doesn’t matter here.”
Berus, that old man, has a bit of a temper too.
It was Laida, the brother, who mediated amidst the commotion.
“…I warned you. The more you tamper with that mine, the higher the chance of an explosion. If you want to die, evacuate everyone else and do it alone.”
They also couldn’t back down.
Of course, this land currently belonged to Cascadia.
That was when it happened.
A strange flow began to be detected from the undead I had stationed in the mine.
The torrent felt faster and more violent than I had anticipated.
If left alone, the chance of an eruption in the short term was only about 10%.
There was quite a bit of leeway before a definite eruption.
But according to the current readings, if left as is, a mana disaster was estimated to occur in a matter of days to a few weeks at most.
“Young master?”
“The longer we drag this out, the more work we’ll have.”
I was thinking of taking it easy, but since it’s faster than expected, it’s best to get it done quickly.
Even for an unstable flow, this shouldn’t be happening.
Though there are many variables, even this unstable torrent ultimately moves according to certain rules.
Just as a person suddenly walking can’t just start flying.
After thinking it over, I could infer the cause.
“Administrators, did you perhaps do something inside there?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m asking if you touched anything inside while installing the barrier circle.”
At my question, the two merely looked at each other and said nothing.
They didn’t seem to have a clue, but based on my knowledge, there was only one way this phenomenon could occur.
“By any chance, did you also install a mana anomaly harmonization circle inside?”
“H-How do you know…”
“Did you?”
“…Yes. The torrent state seemed severe, so we needed to mitigate it…”
I sighed.
“Don’t you know that this situation is completely different from a normal unstable mana torrent? Don’t arbitrarily install that kind of magic in a quadruple reflux mana current. Berus, gather all the workers and follow me.”
“Wh-What do you plan to do?”
“What else? Are we going to let this precious mine be destroyed? We need to stabilize it quickly. The mana pillars are all ready, so let’s start the work immediately.”
“Understood.”
Then Ravena, who had been fidgeting and watching the situation, urgently shouted.
“Wait! You said you would evacuate the workers! How dangerous the situation is right now…”
“I’m sorry, but we’re in a situation where we need to borrow even an ant’s hand, so could you please shut up?”
They probably don’t usually act this pushy, but with a torrent of this magnitude, if both a barrier circle and a harmonization circle are installed, the state becomes extremely unstable.
Normally, if it gets this tangled, recovery would be impossible.
But I’m quite familiar with this.
Because lacking talent, I’ve made every conceivable mistake.
From now, we begin the mana artery surgery.
