CH 305

Chapter 305 – Of Course, There Are Pioneers

“Oh…”

“…Yeah.”

When I told them about my concept, the two mages looked at each other and nodded, and began to create an atmosphere of… ‘What to tell me and how to tell it.’

“From the way you two reacted, that’s it, right? You’ve already done all the research or something like that?　And the results aren’t very good.”

“Yes, well, it’s true. Everyone can come up with it. The idea of taking the magic element that is inexhaustible in the atmosphere and using it as magic power is a good one.”

“Mana? Odo?”

“The magic power that exists in the atmosphere and whose quality and wavelength are not fixed is called mana, and the magic power that exists in the mage’s body and can be used freely is called odo. Usually, both are referred to as magic power.”

When I tilted my head and asked them, they both explained mana and odo in great detail.

“I see, so it’s been studied after all. Well, we know that magic power is inexhaustible in the atmosphere, so it’s only natural that we would want to take advantage of it.”

“Hmm. It has been studied for a long time. For example, the staff used by mages is also a kind of mana trap, as Kosuke calls it. The staff has the effect of collecting a small amount of magic in the atmosphere to help the holder recover their magic, though it is more noticeable as a focal point for converging the mage’s magic and releasing it to the outside and as an amplifier that amplifies the magic when releasing it.

“However, the effect is not very good. To use an analogy, it’s like waving a cloth around in a fog to moisten it and squeeze out a small amount of water. As Kosuke has thought, there has long been research on magic tools that efficiently collect magic power in the atmosphere using drain-type magic, but in order to collect magic power, you have to exercise drain-type magic, and no matter how efficient you make it, the amount of magic power consumed will be more.”

“I see. Let’s hear the details.”

I asked them briefly about the mana trap-related research that has been conducted so far. It seems that neither one of them has ever been enthusiastic about mana trap-related research, but they told me everything they knew about the research materials they had read and the stories they had heard from mages who had done mana trap-related research in the past.

First of all, mana traps studied in this world can be broadly divided into two types.

One is to turn drain-type magic into a magic tool to collect the magic power that exists in the atmosphere. The problems with this type are the difficulty of using drain-type magic and the increase in the amount of magic power consumed when it is turned into a magic tool.

In fact, drain-type magic is used by mages to incapacitate mages or by outlandish mages to usurp magic from helpless civilians or sacrifices and is not very efficient for the difficulty of using it. Of course, this is not the case if the mage’s ability as a mage is not so great.

“When you turn it into a magic tool, you can only use magic at a certain strength, so there’s a lot of waste.”

“If you operate it in a magic pool or a vein hole, it will be more efficient to a certain extent.”

“In the first place, there is no need to operate such a thing in such a place.”

“Hmm? Wait a minute. That magic power in magic pools and vein holes is also so-called mana, so it can’t be used so easily, can it?”

The way Iphrita says it, it sounds as if the magic power in the magic pools and vein holes can be freely utilized. That would destroy the assumption that magic power in the atmosphere is something that cannot be used freely.

“The density of magic is different. Normal mana in the atmosphere is inexhaustible, but it is very thin. Like a drop of sweet honey in a glass of water is unrecognizable. But the magic in a magic pool or a vein hole is different. They are places where the honey itself is bubbling or gushing out. The quality may not be consistent, but there is enough density to make it readily available as an odo.”

“I see, so it’s a matter of density… Hmm.”

This is another indication of the direction in which I should go. I was thinking of a method of collecting magic power in the atmosphere and returning it directly to the device or the magician, but if that doesn’t work, I can think of a method of condensing the magic power in the atmosphere to create a so-called magic spot.

If that doesn’t work, then we could try to create a kind of mana trap by condensing the magic power in the atmosphere.

“So, tell me about the efficiency of staff that have already had some success in collecting magic power. What kind of staffs are more efficient in collecting magic power, and what kind of materials are used to make them perform better?”

“We’re not experts either, so we could be wrong, you know?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll just use it as a guideline for the initial response. After that, I will accumulate my own data through repeated prototyping and experimentation.”

“Hmm, okay.”

The two of them talked about the performance of magic staffs and found that, basically, the longer and bigger the staff is, the more efficient it is in collecting magic power. It is interesting to note that a staff made of a silver alloy containing mithril, even though it is less pure, or a staff made entirely of spirit tree, which is a good conductor of magic, is more efficient in collecting magic power than a staff with a head made of high-purity mithril.

“So a long staff made of pure mithril is probably the most efficient way to collect magic power?”

“If such a thing can be made, then yes, it would be. If you can make such a thing, though.”

“I can make it.”

“Kosuke can make one.”

“Of course, you can! But that’s too expensive to make it widespread, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

The goal is a world where everyone can use magic and magic tool at a low cost. Using expensive mithril in abundance would go against that goal.

“Pure mithril is overkill, but we should consider using mithril alloys. Even a small amount of mithril would greatly increase the efficiency of magic power conduction, wouldn’t it?”

“Hmm, mithril-copper alloys are excellent. Mithril silver alloy is even better.”

“A little bit might be good, but you should always consider cost-effectiveness. If you intend to benefit not only the rich like us but all the people below us.”

“I’ll do my best.”

The sword of pure mithril is a thing of such value that it could become a national treasure by itself, so using such pure mithril in abundance would certainly be a distraction from the main goal of improving life by spreading the use of magic tools and magic power widely.

Not that I’m going to weigh myself against it while it’s being developed! If I dig it myself, it’s practically zero cost.

“I won’t be restraining myself from doing it.”

“I think I’m beginning to understand what this guy is thinking these days, too.”

That’s absurd. To read my poker face… no, it wasn’t a poker face at all. I wasn’t trying to hide my expression at all.

“Well, well, well. I’ve got an idea of where we’re going, but I’m not sure. Let’s hear a little more.”

“Hmm.”

“Okay.”

By further inquiring about the staff’s efficiency in collecting magic power, I learned a few more things. First, the staff is ineffective if it is not equipped.

No, I’m not kidding, right? In other words, the staff is ineffective unless it is in contact with the body, either held in the hand or carried on the body. There are two things that can be inferred from this information. The magic collected by the magic collector will not be conducted unless it is connected to some kind of “magic conductor.”

And one more thing. The human body has the property of attracting magic power. This is something known from the fact that magic power that has been depleted through the use of magic will naturally recover over time, but this property of attracting magic power is likely to be a roadblock in the future.

If a material with high magic conductivity attracts magic power by itself, then magic tools made of such materials will malfunction a lot just by being left alone.

The first task will be to artificially create this “property of attracting magic power.”

“Okay, I’ve decided on a plan. Let’s try to make it right away.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing what Kosuke will create.”

“What are you going to make?”

“I think that the performance of a very primitive mana trap depends on the conductivity and surface area of the magic.”

“”Surface area?””

Isla and Iphrita both tilted their heads. Yeah, I’m going to make a lot of things right now, so wait for me. It’s probably faster to show it than to explain it.

So, I set up the golem workbench from my inventory in Iphrita’s private room, which was being used as a temporary lecture room.