Episode 214 Transfer Gate
Erebos, the new president of the Hades Group and the second generation chairman of the conglomerate, was visiting the inner chamber of the Magia Cathedral. Of course, she wasn't alone; Hades' engineers and bodyguards were also accompanying her.
On the other hand, we were greeted by bishops and priest engineers.
"We've been waiting for you, Erebos-dono. You look just like the previous president of Erebos when he was young."
“Bishop, more than that.”
"Yes, that's right. This way."
The bishop guided Erebos and the others through several doors. These doors also function as bulkheads, making them difficult to open by force. This is a measure to allow only those with an authentication card to go inside, meaning that there is something hidden inside.
That's natural too.
Because this is a facility for researching space magic.
"We are grateful to Erebos-dono. He consulted with us at the same time as the development of space magic. If it had been announced in the paper first, we would have been in great trouble."
"I have no intention of lending a hand to the underworld either. I understand the strategic importance of spatial magic."
“Thanks to you, we were able to complete this development quickly.”
A metal arch was placed at the back of the laboratory.
There are pillar-like things on both sides of the arch, and various cords are connected to them. The end of the cord was connected to a large computer.
This is the gate that connects distant spaces.
If you just need to transfer the object, it can be reproduced using coordinate transformation and time magic. However, maintaining connections between distant spaces was technically extremely difficult. The idea was to create a very small subspace as a result and connect other spaces through it. The magic of the gate is activated by creating the same subspace from the entrance and exit at the same time, but it is necessary to activate exactly the same subspace, and in order to do so, precise control by a computer is essential.
As a result, the gate device became large-scale.
"Erebos-dono, give me an example."
"Yeah"
Erebos looks behind him.
Then, the accompanying technician opened a small case of baggage. Inside the case are two metal boxes, and when you open one of them, a pale square chip wrapped in a cushion is revealed.
"This is a composite chip that includes storage that incorporates the spatial connection gate technique and a dedicated operating system that deploys it. It is a completed product that has been tested."
"Oh, this is it. Let's incorporate it right away."
“Yes, please do it.”
The Hades engineer nods and walks towards the gate device. Researchers from the Cathedral Research Institute also began work to assist. After voltage checks and magic power transmission path checks, the magic crystal chip is installed into the gate. Years of research have succeeded in making magic crystals smaller and thinner, and when special magic formulas are encapsulated in magic tools, they are often made into chip parts combined with electronic parts for storage and control. .
The chip is installed in a short period of time, and a final check is then carried out.
"Bishop-sama, it's completed. This is the spatial connection gate."
"oh……"
"We will also attach the other chip to the gate in the back room. Then we can conduct experiments."
“This is truly the experiment of the century.”
"Yes. After confirming the activation, we will conduct material transfer and movement experiments using animals. In parallel, we will measure the magical power and electric power consumed, and then complete the project."
Although it cannot be made public yet, the Holy Grineer has gained great power. In particular, transportation through space travel is revolutionary, and it will be of great use in the development of the Dibro continent, where ships were essential.
Additionally, the gate method can prohibit unauthorized use of spatial magic.
Eventually, we plan to put up a barrier in each city that prevents spatial teleportation, and install a cryptographic method that nullifies the barrier only at the gate. This will allow Demonism to monopolize movement through spatial magic. In other words, the control of the continent by the Holy Grineer will be further strengthened.
Now that we are undertaking the big project of cultivating the continent of Dibro, we must ensure that our control over the continent of Sladda is absolute.
"Erebos-dono, I think you understand, but..."
“Yes, as long as you get a suitable reward.”
"If that's the case then that's fine."
For the demon religion, the Hades conglomerate, the king of the economic world, is an entity that cannot be controlled.
So much so that it needs to be bound by a contract.
Absolute secrecy is included in the contract for this gate as well. The nation with the most technological power in the world is undoubtedly the Holy Grineer, but the organization with the technological power that surpasses it is the Hades Conglomerate. Hades could create a gate by himself if he wanted to.
The bishop was also concerned about this and urged Erebos to be sure.
"Please abide by the contract."
“Yes, definitely.”
However, when Erebos answered, he had a suspicious smile on his face.
◆◆◆
The elite soldiers participating in the battle to subjugate the King of Gluttony, including Shu, were training and spending time at the dormitory in the First City. The order from the Governor-General's Office is to train to the extent that your body does not become dull and to stand by. Therefore, they cannot even go outside the first city.
However, the accommodation facilities are luxurious.
A large and sturdy training ground where you can try out magic and magical equipment, training equipment for guns, a dining room staffed by top chefs, a bath with hot water at all times, and a rotating staff of medical magicians who can heal any injury. There is a treatment center and even some entertainment facilities.
In this entertainment facility, Shu, Gilbert, and Keene were sitting opposite each other, playing a board game. It is a strategy game similar to chess, in which players place pieces with specific roles on square cells to compete for the king. However, unlike chess, it is a game played by up to four people.
"Did you see the emails that were sent all at once?"
“Do you mean surrounding terrain information?”
Gilbert begins while moving the pieces. Shu answered while moving his pieces.
“I heard that you were going to subdue the King of Gluttony, but there is also a King of Greed in the north. It would be pretty unpleasant if the King of Gluttony got distracted and attacked you in the back.”
When it was his turn, Keene thought about his next move and gave his opinion.
He immediately moved his piece and took Gilbert's piece.
“Ah, you.”
"Games are fun because they're serious."
"It's just right. There's a hole in our defense, so let's attack that."
"Damn it...the two of you are colluding with each other."
The interesting thing about this game is that players can also fight together. Alliances and betrayals occur frequently depending on the board, and advantages and disadvantages change one after another.
Right now, Shu and Keene have teamed up to attack Gilbert.
Then, after moving the pieces, Shu opened his mouth again.
"So, getting back to the topic, it seems that there are expected to be quite a number of Ushioni-type monsters. Depending on the situation, a two-pronged strategy is also possible."
“Are we going to be turned into a wall?”
“If we were going to do such a strategy, I think we should have increased the number of soldiers.The standard practice is to suppress one side with a fort or something, and then crush the other side by concentrating our forces in the meantime.That would make it a little easier.However. It's impossible for about 6,000 soldiers, and I can't let them do something unreasonable like acting as a wall.''
That is an optimistic opinion from Hades Shu Arklight.
Even if there was a fortress fully armed with heavy weapons, I was confident that I could easily break through it. Even if we were to suppress a ``king'' that has existed since ancient times, we should take on the challenge thinking that we can do the same thing.
(Is the sacred Grineer's idea naive, or is there some kind of secret plan...)
However, it is not bad that they take into account the possibility of having two fronts.
If you let us know in advance, you can act quickly in an emergency. Rather than being told that things will be different when the time comes, the intention seems to be to prepare them now.
Considering the situation, there is a high possibility that he only noticed it recently.
"I see. You're like me right now. I'm being attacked by both Shu and Keene."
“That’s true.”
“How will Gil-sama move from here?”
"Once you block Shu's attack, you need to induce Keen to attack Shu. Even if you just defend, if you just crush Shu and Keen, Keen will take everything away... That's difficult."
Gilbert brings the pieces from the back of his own territory forward and creates a wall.
In response, Keene moved his offensive pieces and created an intimidating arrangement.
“Although we are across the river, the Ushi-oni will probably notice us. We will definitely run the risk of being caught in a pincer attack.However, if we take the time to build a base for defense, the Ushi-oni will notice us. I won't leave them alone. They are intelligent."
"If you wait... they'll detect it before you're ready. But if you don't take the time to prepare a base, you won't have the strength to survive. There's no way you can use the First City as a shield. ”
"There are ordinary people in the First City. I'll take the pieces there."
"Wow, it's a special attack."
Shu takes Gilbert's piece, and Gilbert also takes that piece. However, this caused Gilbert's position to crumble, and Keene then moved his pieces inside. Furthermore, Shu moves his pieces in the same way and ruthlessly destroys Gilbert's base.
"Oh...no mercy"
“Gil-sama, how will you fight back?”
“Is it really that tough to be attacked from two directions?”
"It's like being attacked with twice the force."
“Then it’s like this.”
Gilbert narrows the range of the wall and thickens it instead.
Pieces captured in this game are treated as dead and cannot be used again. Therefore, the attacking side also needs to attack while consulting with its remaining military strength. If you charge recklessly and lose your pieces, another player will attack you from the side.
In other words, it is imperative to build a base that forces attrition.
That way, even if attacked from two directions, the attackers can try to reduce their attack power by keeping each other in check.
"As expected of you, Gil-sama. In that case, I can't force myself. Let's say I also lower my pieces."
"If that happens, I won't be able to concentrate on the attack either..."
"Ah, that's dangerous."
"But Gil-sama doesn't have time to be complacent either, right? After all, even the attacking pieces were turned into defense and we were finally repulsed."
"I understand. But if we were to do this in a real battle, we wouldn't have it. It would be nice if they would just back off meekly, but if they just attack us, it would be a war of attrition. It's only a matter of time before we, who are inferior in strength, collapse. There are more monsters in terms of numbers, and I don't think the monsters will calmly back down.In the end, it's just the soldiers at the bottom being forced to do something they don't like.''
Gilbert was also prepared for death when he was sent here.
However, that doesn't mean I'm prepared to die.
“Are you scared?”
"I'm also a man from the famous Rayvan family. When I have to do something, I'll do it. You don't die easily, Shu."
"I'm a magician, so I just shoot magic from behind. I don't think there will be a situation where I'll die."
“If you say so, Keen and I are both long-range magicians.”
However, they were not the only ones who were worried.
Many soldiers felt fear at the fact that they had to fight two ``kings''.
◆◆◆
It was the night of the day when there were only 20 days left until the operation.
In the inner room of Magia Cathedral, the Pope and Bishop gathered and held a debriefing session.
``--As you can see, the spatial connection gate has succeeded in material transfer and animal transfer, and it has been found that there is no problem in human experimentation using death row inmates.With this, the gate is considered complete, and this morning we took a ship to the continent of Dibro. We are starting transportation.”
The decision to use space magic in actual combat had been decided for some time. From then on, one of the bishops became the person in charge and proceeded with development in cooperation with the Hades Group, which had developed spatial magic technology.
It has been decided that one side of the gate that was completed after the experiment will be placed in the basement of the Magia Cathedral, and the other in the Governor's Office of the first city on the continent of Dibro.
"Also, the parts for the third and fourth gates have been completed. Once the gates are connected, they will be sent over there and used for logistics transportation."
“Although it was a sudden request, it was a wonderful job. However, the other space magic requested by Governor Sink...has the trap been completed?”
"His Highness is understandable to be worried. But don't worry. That has already been completed. The magic that enables area transfer by synchronizing with observation magic was devised at the stage of theoretically considering the gate. That's why Hades Group completed it in a few days."
"Good. So you're ready?"
"yes"
The Pope nods with satisfaction.
When Sink proposed the strategy, I was worried whether I would be able to secure spatial magic within this year, but I was lucky to be able to do it in time. We have to provide the best backup for Sink, who forced us to do it by the end of this year. This means that I have fulfilled my duty.
Next, another bishop spoke.
“I also have a report. The mass production of Elyut has stabilized, and we have been able to secure a sufficient amount of divine spiritual water. Orha Pharmaceutical has provided the technology for this. However, we have added healing magic to the Elyut extract. We currently do not have enough magicians to give it, so we are considering hiring magic students as part-time jobs.We expect that there will be enough for the operation at present, but we do not have the capacity to do so. I am thinking of doing so.”
“Is a student part-time job enough?”
"Anyone can do this if they have healing magic registered in their Sorcerer's Ring."
"No, that's not it. Is that enough?"
"I heard that it takes at least three magicians to pour out their magic power to make one bottle of divine water. It's not a lot, but it's enough, right?"
A mysterious recovery medicine was born from the accumulation of Elut's magical structure. This healing medicine, which can heal any wound, is being stockpiled in preparation for the upcoming battle with the King, and it is being sent little by little to the First City. However, it was expected that a large amount would be consumed in the operation that would begin in twenty days, and one of the bishops was in charge of large-scale production.
Although it is truly a powerful divine water, it has the drawback of requiring a huge amount of magical power to produce. This is because it is necessary to continue applying healing magic to Eryut's extract and accumulate magical structures with healing effects. Therefore, it is not originally suitable for mass production.
The Pope was also well aware of this, so he expressed the same doubts.
"I guess we'll have enough time for the next operation. But what should we do from now on? It's not like defeating the King of Gluttony and the King of Greed is the end. That means there are still five of the Seven Great Demon Lords. And the Seven Great Demons. Although it's different from the Demon King, there is also a Hades on this continent. The production limit of divine water will eventually be reached. It would be pathetic to rely on the power of an S-rank Holy Knight to secure magical power."
As if in advance, he denies the production of divine spiritual water by the Awakened Magician.
As the Pope, he doesn't want to entrust chores to S-rank holy knights. They are heroes to the demon religion, and they should not be made to use their magical power to make medicine. It wasn't a mistake from a rational point of view, but it was impossible for me to do it face-to-face.
But at this point, another bishop raised his hand.
“Um, are you okay with that?”
He is the bishop who is in charge of managing the church's budget, and because of that relationship, he is also familiar with the research being conducted by the research institute in the basement of the church. In other words, he was a man who knew the cutting edge.
“Actually, I received a budget request from Dr. Norman, and I thought it could be used for this case.”
“What kind of research is this?”
“I think you may remember that His Holiness the Pope mentioned Magia’s garbage problem before.”
"Hmm"
"I asked Dr. Norman if there was anything I could do about it, and he made a suggestion."
Everyone, including the Pope, wondered what was wrong with that.
The garbage problem and the magic power problem are two different things. It seems like there is no relationship. However, everyone turned their attention to him, unable to believe that a man who could be considered a bishop would say something meaningless.
"It decomposes garbage and turns it into magic power. It also creates all kinds of energy from magic power. It was proposed to build a perpetual motion machine that can completely convert energy."
This was good news for the country of Sacred Grineer, which was suffering from a lack of magical power.
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