Ch.100Freshwater gushing forth

The seawater desalination magic circle, like all large-scale magic formations, is created by layering multiple spells.

One is a purification spell. Another is a transfer spell that relocates the “impurities” that have been purified…

Then there’s a reinforcement spell that strengthens the magic circle against tremendous water pressure and various impurities, and a collection spell that draws in the mana needed for this ultra-large-scale magic formation.

Drawing a formation that “operates all 4 spells simultaneously with perfectly identical timing and output” was such arduous work that even Bladek, who had reached the ranks of archmages, had to pour out buckets of sweat.

Being a seawater desalination facility that needed to sustain two cities of a nation and three large industrial complexes, its scale was enormously vast, and naturally, the scale of the magic circle was tremendous as well.

They had dug a hole visible even in satellite images, mobilizing 200,000 people over a year, so it was only natural that Bladek’s back became soaked with sweat as he had to densely draw patterns across this vast pit.

Of course, Bladek wasn’t drawing the magic circle alone; hundreds of apprentices from the magic tower had joined forces to help create the seawater desalination magic circle.

But they were still just children who had barely mastered basic magic, and since it was impossible for them to work for extended periods under the blazing sun of this damp and humid coast, Bladek ultimately spent four months sweating profusely as he personally drew the ultra-massive magic circle.

If not for the breakage of the embankment holding back the seawater, which washed away 80% of the magic circle they had drawn so far, they might have finished in two months, but that was now irrelevant.

The way Bladek wailed to the heavens as he watched the magic circle being washed away will go down in history as a legendary lamentation.

*

A few days after the completion of the seawater desalination facility. At the impurity purification complex, which was built with a slight time lag, thousands of workers were recruited and learning how to use the facility under the guidance of work supervisors.

“Now, you just need to extract the ‘impurities’ from here. Simple, right?”

As the work supervisor spoke while showing the inside of a warehouse, the workers looking at the transfer magic circles densely engraved inside the impurity storage warehouse tilted their heads in confusion.

“Um… what exactly are these impurities?”

“What else? Why do you think seawater is salty? It’s all because of salt. The salt will come here through the transfer magic, and you just need to scoop it up and send it to the purification facility.”

“But if it’s just salt, can’t we just scoop it up and store it? Why do we need to go through the trouble of purifying it again?”

“Oh, you fool. That’s because it’s not just salt that comes through. All kinds of floating matter and sediment get pulled in too. We need to sort out the edible salt and distill it. Do you understand now?”

“Ah, I see…”

That’s right.

After water, salt was the most abundant component in seawater, and the rest were trace elements that were currently unusable, unnecessary, or impossible to utilize.

So they would separately collect the salt, which was the most versatile of the impurities, and return the rest, which had no particular use, back to the sea.

Since the salt used here would eventually return to the sea anyway, there would ultimately be no change to the ocean.

Human civilization had flourished in this world for 10,000 years, and the impact of human activities on the environment was already known in advance through the wisdom of ancestors (called “environmental pollution” in the Giyeol Ssaje language).

In fact, since the sea was teeming with monsters like the Kraken, there might really be a salt-producing millstone somewhere, but that was beyond human knowledge.

There were still many lands to conquer and many beings to subjugate, but even if such things existed, it didn’t necessarily mean that humanity could truly conquer them.

*

Three months passed, and time moved toward January of the year 16 in the Amurtat calendar.

One might wonder why it took so long, but there were reasons.

First, they had to dig precise and sturdy waterways to draw in seawater without overflowing into other areas, and they also had to compact the ground to make it solid and impermeable enough to inscribe magic circles.

Even just this much made it seem like building a small dam might have been better, but anyway, this was more efficient, so no objections would be entertained.

“Now. Open the floodgates!”

“Yes! Open the floodgates!”

“Floodgates opening!”

And finally, after two years of waiting, the floodgates holding back the seawater began to open, and the icy seawater started flowing through the waterway toward the reservoir inscribed with magic circles.

KUOOOOO!!!

As the seawater rushed down at a speed that would kill a human from the shock wave before drowning, the spines of those watching the rough descent of seawater from above the waterway began to dampen instantly.

As the fishy seawater splashing on their faces instilled fear that it could engulf them at any moment, the safety personnel began to slowly back away, but no one rebuked them.

The sight of humans controlling the flow of the vast sea was unfolding before their eyes, so they were witnessing awe beyond fear.

And finally, the massive flow reached the reservoir.

KUTZUZ! KWAAAA!!!

At last, as water gradually filled the reservoir, the magic circles, detecting pressure and moisture, began to glow blue and slowly started purifying the water.

KIIIIIING!!!!

The magic circle emitted a loud resonant sound as it glowed, with the indigo seawater rising above it…

And the archmage and his aide, watching this, opened their mouths wide, straining to keep their eyelids from closing as they witnessed the desalination process they had created.

“Amazing…”

“It’s spectacular.”

Though the archmage and his aide looked utterly exhausted as they exchanged trivial banter, their expressions couldn’t have been brighter.

They had now acquired an infinite water resource in the form of the sea, and as a bonus, they had also gained salt as a profitable resource.

KURURURU….

And finally, when the progress officer saw the indication that the water level had reached the appropriate mark, he blew a horn to signal the closing of the floodgates, and upon seeing this, they hurriedly began to close them.

There was still some margin left in the reservoir, but when combined with the water in the waterway and the extra seawater that would flow in until the floodgates closed, it would slightly exceed the reservoir’s safe water level.

GUUUUNG…!

CLANK!

Soon, the floodgates closed, and as the water inflow stopped, the reservoir instantly became calm.

More precisely… it began to boil.

Bubble, bubble…

The reason why the water gathered in the reservoir was bubbling up was simple.

Heat was generated as the magic circle reacted with mana to produce the installed magical phenomena, and naturally, the heat generated was proportional to the scale of the magic circle. So despite being seawater from the northernmost region, and in the coldest month of January at that, it began to boil rapidly.

And the water level started to decrease gradually. This was because, along with evaporation, the inorganic salts dissolved in the water were separated from the moisture by the purification magic, and these separated inorganic salts were transferred to the warehouses of the impurity purification complex through transfer magic, rapidly reducing the volume of water.

Eventually, when there was nothing left to purify, the purification magic circle stopped operating, and when there was nothing left to transfer, the transfer magic circle also ceased functioning. What remained in the reservoir now was pure, purified water that could be used by millions of people.

As if wanting to say that the word “clean” was born for this sight, the water, sparkling in the sunlight, shone transparently, and when the progress officers drew water in buckets for a taste, it was indeed the very essence of clean, pure water.

“It’s finished now.”

“This is my first time actually building a seawater desalination facility, and seeing it work well makes me feel good.”

“It’s good for the magic tower too, isn’t it? At least the mages have a place to find employment.”

“Haha. That’s true.”

While it’s still uncertain how long the maintenance cycle of the seawater desalination facility will be, the creation of a massive facility that can absorb manpower is one of the most encouraging developments in Amurtat.

“Well, I’ll be off to deliver this good news to His Majesty. Farewell, Tower Master.”

“Farewell to you too, Aide. I’ll be heading back now.”

With those words, Bladek disappeared through a teleportation spell.

The aide left the facility with his subordinates, smiling awkwardly, and returned to the palace of Amurtat via the fastest carriage drawn by thoroughbred horses to deliver a detailed report to Tiberius.

Needless to say, Tiberius’s mouth stretched from ear to ear upon receiving the report.