episode_0272

In the Southern District, the eyes of the people gathered in the isolation facility focused on one spot.

A strangely shaped crystal, trapped inside a sealed container, caught their attention.

A brown-haired woman standing nearby swallowed dryly in tension. From her hands, mana flowed out little by little, precisely. The mana traveled through various devices.

“—Beginning Phase 3 analysis.”

“All equipment ready. Proceed.”

Her eyes were bloodshot. Not from fatigue. Even with the magic circle and various defensive equipment, something threatening was pricking at the woman’s eyes, stimulating her optic nerves.

Carefully, as if lulling a child to sleep, the researchers analyzed, disassembled, and stimulated the artifact.

Failure. The twelfth attempt to interpret and understand the artifact ended in futility once again.

From the start, it was incomprehensible.

“It’s impossible.”

“Are you serious?”

The intelligence agent asked curtly.

“Are you really from Magnavis? You can’t understand this? Try harder, faster.”

“We need more time. And… this is truly impossible. We can’t grasp its structure.”

The agent grumbled. They had gone to great lengths to bring them here, only to yield no results.

The Federation was always strapped for cash.

It wasn’t that they lacked money. The military and the parliament had many sources of income besides taxes. It was just that the Federation’s direct control over territories had significantly shrunk since the civil war decades ago.

The Teatime Treaty had stripped them of many things. Business rights, assets, and privileges.

This was why Enis Lowell, a 29-year-old doctor of magic engineering who had been imprisoned, had gotten a chance to breathe outside air after a long time. Instead of paying fair compensation, the Federation had devised a way to exploit researchers for free.

There were surprisingly many intellectuals who lived by committing minor offenses. It was even better if they had committed actual crimes.

“Dr. Lowell. The Federation is facing many dangers. We need this.”

“…But, is it truly…”

“Your family seems to be suffering quite a bit.”

“I’ll do it…”

Enis’s hand unconsciously stroked her forehead. The spot on her forehead, where she had been hit by a military family member during a hearing, throbbed. At the time, her mind had been at ease, but these days, whenever she felt anxious, that spot often ached. Why?

Enis fidgeted with the necklace around her neck. This small device that dictated her fate. This was the second time she had worn it.

The first time was fake, but the second was real.

She observed it carefully once more. A complex, entangled pattern reminiscent of the human nervous system.

It could be seen, yet it was unseen. It could be touched, yet it was untouchable.

Had she ever seen something like this before?

Memories from her time working at Magnavis resurfaced.

Vanguard agents, who called themselves guardians of mysteries, often brought artifacts with such an aura.

The artifacts were always double and triple-sealed and moved to the deepest part of the artifact department.

This was her first time facing one directly.

Suddenly, she realized. Could this be something beyond human comprehension?

“You still haven’t interpreted it? Is that even possible?”

As the intelligence agent, arms crossed, urged them on, the necklace-wearing researchers hesitated. Enis muttered,

“One thing is clear.”

“What’s that?”

“This is… an artifact that transcends our understanding.”

She slowly moved the mana detector around the artifact. A beeping sound came from the device.

“Its mana emission pattern is irregular. That’s a characteristic not seen in ordinary artifacts.”

The Restraid administrator, who had been watching, grumbled.

“Don’t know, don’t know! Is that what you people should be saying now? How pathetic…”

Enis closed her eyes for a moment. Fatigue from continuous observation washed over her. As the urgings poured in, this time the Federation researchers who had been observing stepped forward. They seemed somewhat confident.

They busily prepared, taking out their respective equipment.

“Alright, let’s begin. Commencing Phase 1 analysis,” the researcher who appeared to be the team leader instructed.

Enis’s brow furrowed automatically as she watched their actions.

‘Is that right?’

Their approach was certainly systematic, and their fundamentals weren’t bad. But there was an unsettling feeling. Compared to the artistry handled by Magnavis’s mages, it was clumsy, like trying to dismantle a clock with a hammer.

It was fast. Not bad, but it seemed as if some crucial procedures had been omitted. They needed to bridge a subtle gap.

“Entering Phase 3. Initiating resonance frequency search,” a researcher shouted.

Enis bit her lip. Had they properly grasped the artifact’s basic characteristics?

It might be fine for an ordinary artifact. But this wasn’t just any artifact.

“Wait a minute,”

Enis interjected. They needed to slow down a bit.

“First, we need to collect more basic data. In this state, it’s dangerous—”

Before her words could finish, an unusual vibration suddenly emanated from the artifact. Simultaneously, the expression of the nearest researcher froze.

“What… is this…” he muttered. His eyes began to dart around rapidly.

Enis immediately realized the gravity of the situation.

“Everyone, step back! Now!”

It was too late. A sparkling starlight. The man had finally seen it.

“I can see it…”

The man, who had been muttering blankly, began to cackle madly.

“Hahahahaha…”

Now, the man frantically scratched his face, laughing hysterically.

“I can see it! I can see it! I can see it! Ahahahahaha! I can see it! I can see it!”

He ripped off his mask. His goggles came off. Two fingers moved towards his eyes.

“Someone grab him! Aagh!”

Enis, who had rushed over, ended up tumbling to the floor. It was strength beyond imagination. Now, the man gouged at his own eyeballs as if feeling an unbearable itch.

“I can see it! I can see it! I can see it! Ahahahaha! Hahaha-”

The moment she met his blood-soaked, red gaze, she wanted to faint.

Fortunately, the commotion was short-lived.

-Thud!

An armored knight, who had been waiting behind, struck him on the head. The knight dragged the limp man outside. Enis, losing strength, was about to collapse but managed to grab hold of a nearby desk.

“Hey, what was that phenomenon just now?”

When the Restraid administrator asked, Enis, trembling with fear, barely managed to speak.

“…It’s a visual meme attack. It’s presumed to be a defensive system inherent to the artifact.”

The gazes of the two administrators from the Federation and Restraid crossed.

“Is that so. We’ll add more defensive equipment and facilities. You must interpret and disassemble it, no matter what.”

The researchers’ faces turned pale. The experiment continued.

**

After giving Ariel the gift, we Violets had a fun time expanding.

“Let’s pioneer uninhabited islands!”

“Construction!”

Truthfully, what they called construction was just crude planks, tents, and bricks clumsily stacked with cement, but construction it was.

The uninhabited islands, reachable only after a long boat ride from Rustrum. The Violets began pioneering these islands.

Of course, they had no intention of living there. What could they do in a place with no cultural facilities, only seagulls, rocks, seaweed, and occasional sea monsters?

There was only one conclusion.

“Backup power storage facility!”

As long as the mana exchange ratio of the clones was close to 1:1, theoretically, the mana required for clone creation was negligible. Unless they were making entirely new Violets, there was no strain in repeatedly creating and dismissing the existing number of clones.

“Infinite mana!”

In truth, it wasn’t infinite mana, but well, it was good enough.

So the Violets mobilized small boats and hang gliders to attempt pioneering each uninhabited island.

If they were going to build something, building it outside meant they would have time to prepare again even if ambushed or attacked.

First, they landed on the island, dug the ground, erected walls, and set up tents. If the island was too small, they simply buried Violet barrels.

If it was a bit larger, they set up tents hidden by camouflage netting and bushes, or dug tunnels.

“Ugh! Bugs!”

“Burn them!”

After adequately incinerating the interior with fire magic, they moved the well-packaged Violets inside.

Since it would be troublesome if they were buried in the soil, they set up supports and sprayed insect repellent.

“Seal it well! I don’t want bugs getting in!”

“Got it! Triple-wrapped!”

Sometimes, cockroaches or miscellaneous insects would crawl into the plastic packaging. That was quite unpleasant.

Though it was impossible for mere insects to erode an Awakener’s body, it was psychologically distasteful.

They pioneered the islands one by one.

Eventually, they found an island they liked. It was at the southernmost point, not marked on any map, but it wasn’t small. It was a pristine island untouched by human feet. It was densely forested and had a small stream.

“Wait, why don’t we set up our main base here?”

“Oh, right, the scenery’s great too!”

We should also farm, build an armory, and lay barbed wire and minefields.

While they were doing various chores, Unit 2512 came up with an interesting idea.

“Hold on! There’s no one here. Let’s build a village!”

Unit 1742 went a step further.

“A village? That’s all? Why not establish an independent nation instead?”

Independent nation. The moment we heard that word, our hearts pounded.

“Wait a minute, since this is an uninhabited island, there’s no one here!”

Yes, a nation just for Violets. They had thought about establishing one in a dungeon but gave up. The problem was that it was an eroded area. They wanted their own pristine land.

“Good! From now on, this is our land!”

Suddenly, a good idea came to mind. A nation would need a flag to symbolize it, wouldn’t it?

I took out a piece of white cloth from my inventory and drew a large ‘V’ on it. Then, in each of the four corners, I drew a smaller ‘V’.

“Done!”

The national flag of the Violet Nation was born.

They tied the fluttering cloth to a spear and waved it.

“Long live Violet independence!”

“Hooray!”

Our hearts naturally swelled with excitement.

“This is the land we pioneered!”

“Our territory!”

Our nation, the Violets’ own territory!

Their joy didn’t last long.

“…Hey, guys?”

“What, are those tents and containers?”

Thirty minutes later, the Violet scouting party, exploring the island, found traces of humans.

It was an uninhabited island that had been touched by human hands.

And then, thirty minutes later.

“Huh? What! A boat! A boat is coming!”

The Violets on the coast, seeing an unidentified boat heading their way, hid in the forest in surprise.

“Could it be? The island owner?”

“No…!”

The dream of the Violet Independent Nation ended in less than an hour.