Mana Stone Bomb
by Afuhfuihgs
Three days had passed since I received the Imperial Guardian Golem from Bella. Whether the suggestion to modify the golem was sincere or not, she even made a copy of the golem’s blueprint, allowing me to examine it in more detail.
Comparing the actual golem with the blueprint, I wrote down any ideas that came to mind for improving it.
Perhaps it was because the setting was that the golem was created by the best magic scholars on the continent, but even I, who had obtained the essence of magic engineering, was already close to being satisfied with finding improvements for the golem.
If the golem’s original form was close to perfect, it would be more efficient to strengthen other parts. Adding an outer shell or equipping it with new weapons didn’t seem like a bad idea.
As I was transferring the improvements I had written down to a notebook, the closet door suddenly opened, and snow poured into the clubroom.
I quickly created a dimensional portal to send the snow, which was about to spill onto the table, elsewhere.
Thankfully, I was able to protect the blueprints. Looking around the messed-up clubroom, I wondered what had happened and headed to the snowy mountain beyond the closet.
As always, the snowy mountain was a completely white world. After looking around for a moment, I was able to find something orange in the pure white snowfield. It was the sole of a shoe.
Thinking, “Could it be?” I rushed over and dug through the surrounding snow, revealing an ankle wearing a shoe. Using formless breathing, I was barely able to pull out Kane, who had been buried upside down in the snow.
Still, it seemed he hadn’t been buried in the snow for too long, as he hadn’t lost consciousness.
At Kane’s awkward smile, I asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“What the hell happened?”
“I succeeded in an experiment… I just didn’t expect an avalanche.”
I was curious about what kind of experiment it was, but seeing Kane shivering all over from losing body heat after being buried in the snow, I took him back to the clubroom for now.
I gave Kane, who was covered in a blanket in front of the fireplace, a warm cocoa, and he thanked me while wiping his nose.
Perhaps feeling tired from the sudden change in temperature, Kane blinked his eyes before shaking his head vigorously and looking at me.
“Do you know which part of alchemy knowledge I obtained?”
At the question without context, I asked back.
“Part?”
“I obtained a ‘fragment’ of the Emerald Tablet, right? Of course, I obtained a portion of the knowledge stored in the tablet.”
Hearing that, it made sense. Because it was an abandoned setting, in cases where there were no detailed contents, plausibility created the content. As a result, there were many cases where listening to an explanation and thinking, “I guess so,” became the setting.
That was the characteristic of a setting created by plausibility. Since it was called a fragment, I thought that kind of setting was okay.
“So, which part did you get?”
Even if it was a fragment, the existing setting was that it could lead to the truth of alchemy.
Even if I obtained a certain part of alchemy, as Kane said… that meant Kane was the best alchemist in the world in that area.
Kane nodded, looking somehow impressed that I easily accepted his explanation.
“…It’s close to synthesis.”
At that answer, I inadvertently thought of Ellie’s specialty, synthesis magic. I speculated that it might be similar to creating new synthetic substances using alchemical reagents.
Since Kane had previously used mixed reagents to help in battles, it was fortunate that he had obtained something in a similar category.
“That’s good. Mixed reagents were originally your specialty anyway.”
At my lighthearted answer, Kane shook his head with a smile.
“It’s not just good. The existing reagent combinations are so basic compared to my knowledge that combinations not found in books are filling my head.”
I was also feeling a similar sense of genius, being able to find improvements just by looking at the Imperial Guardian Golem, so I could sympathize with Kane’s excitement.
But Kane seemed to have more to show, and with a face like a child bragging about their achievements to their parents and wanting praise, he placed something on the table.
I shifted my gaze to look at what Kane had placed on the table. It was like a stone with a mixture of blue and purple.
The shimmering, rippling pattern made it look like an ornament. Just by its appearance, it looked like something that would be sold at a high price in a tourist spot.
I picked it up and examined it from side to side before asking.
“What is this?”
“The most destructive thing I can create with the alchemy knowledge I have.”
At those words, I observed the stone more closely and was able to find something similar.
“Don’t tell me that’s a mana stone…?”
“That’s right. I had it absorb an explosive reagent synthesized with a mana stone.”
So, the thing in my hand was a bomb? I carefully put down what I was holding, and Kane laughed at the sight.
“It’s okay. It won’t explode unless you activate the mana stone by putting mana into it.”
As if to prove it, he punched the mana stone with all his might, and I inadvertently cursed and quickly grabbed Kane’s arm.
He punched it so hard that the blanket covering Kane’s shoulders fell to the floor.
“You crazy bastard. Don’t you know we’ll all die if that thing explodes?”
“Hey, I told you it won’t explode. Don’t you trust what I made?”
“Is that why you caused an avalanche and almost died? If it weren’t for me, you would have frozen to death.”
“…Thanks for that.”
Seeing him sipping cocoa as if he had nothing to say, I sighed. I felt like I now understood Ellie’s heart a little, as she had warned me about safety so many times.
I knew that Kane was acting with the confidence that it wouldn’t explode, but scary was scary. Just like with the avalanche, you never knew what could happen.
“So, what’s the destructive power?”
“Enough to cause an avalanche on a snowy mountain with just one?”
Kane, who had answered playfully, stroked his chin and pondered seriously.
“Is that too vague of an expression? Hmm, think of it as enough to blow away the clubroom with just one.”
“…You punched something like that.”
“I told you it won’t explode.”
I sighed at his nonchalant shrug, but I could realize how amazing Kane’s invention was. The magic engineering knowledge obtained from the Quantum Jump also included alchemy and magic.
Thanks to that, I could also understand the value of Kane’s invention. The mana stone bomb itself was a new invention that couldn’t be found anywhere else.
“How long does it take to make one?”
Drinking the remaining cocoa, Kane fell into thought for a moment. As if calculating in his head, Kane, who had been tapping the mug he was holding, opened his mouth.
“Since it was made for experimental purposes, if I were to make a proper finished product, it would take about 5 minutes per bomb. If I were to create an alchemical workshop that could produce them in large quantities, I could make up to 5 bombs every 5 minutes.”
I inadvertently exclaimed at Kane’s explanation. If we could steadily produce these, it meant that it would be possible to face an army alone.
If Bella and Raellan heard about this, they would definitely kidnap Kane and make plans to mass-produce mana stone bombs.
The most important thing was that the method of using the mana stone bomb was simple. Just inject mana into the mana stone and throw it like a grenade, and that’s it.
Simple to use with tremendous power. Kane could become the new Nobel of this world.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that this mana stone bomb would be a great help in future battles. I suppressed the excitement that made my heart race as much as possible and offered a proposal to mass-produce mana stone bombs.
However, Kane seemed reluctant to mass-produce the highly dangerous mana stone bombs.
The continent had been unified a long time ago, and no wars had occurred for a long time, and on the surface, it seemed like peace would continue, so it was a natural reaction from a student’s point of view.
It was natural that he didn’t want his invention to harm people.
But what if it was used not to harm people, but to save them? I persuaded Kane, focusing on that point.
Monster invasions were still frequent at the northern wall and the eastern border.
I persuaded him that people could live safely if we used mana stone bombs, and that there would be no harm to ordinary people if we strictly managed the purchase and use of mana stone bombs.
After a long period of contemplation, Kane finally nodded. The decisive factor was that it could reduce the casualties of soldiers fighting monsters.
There were also many Transcendence Academy seniors working at the northern wall and the eastern border.
Whether that was the only reason or not, Kane muttered while looking at the fireplace.
“I received a great help from you that I can’t repay, so I have to repay you at least a little.”
“You don’t need to feel that kind of burden.”
At my brusque answer, Kane only smiled and shrugged. Kane, who had finished all the cocoa, put down the cup and asked.
“So, how are you planning to mass-produce mana stone bombs? It costs a lot of money to build an alchemical workshop, and it’s difficult for us, who have no connections with the Magic Tower, to purchase a large amount of mana stones, which are the raw materials.”
Now that he had made up his mind, he seemed to be seriously planning the business. At the very least, to start a business, we needed seed money to withstand half a year of losses. Because it takes time for a business to establish itself.
Fortunately, thanks to the uniqueness of the mana stone bomb, there was no need to worry about this problem.
“We can get investment from the place that needs mana stone bombs the most.”
Because I already had a good business plan in my head.
“That would be nice… but will there be anyone who will invest in us when we have nothing right now?”
At Kane’s puzzled face, I nodded confidently.
“If it’s the best family in the North, they’ll be a sufficient business partner.”
We could use the Frax family, who would be our biggest customer.
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