ALL NOVEL Chapter 24
“Magic interference, ha!”
The sneer of the embezzlement branch chief echoed around. I understood that sneer.
The usage of magic interference is summarized as “using the same type of magic when a spell is cast.” But the detailed principles are much more complicated.
In order to use magic, one first needs the magic power that serves as the material for the magic, the will to use the magic, and a formula that shapes the magic power.
Magic power is expressed by will and materialized through the formula, ultimately completing the spell.
This is precisely why magic interference requires using “the same type” of magic at this moment. At the timing just before magic power is completed into a spell, there exists optimized magic power for that magic type.
For example, in the case of a spell that fires an ice bullet, the mage must gather magic power at some external point to create ice. That is the magic power infused with the will of “ice.”
When this ice property magic power, which has not yet been completed into a spell, is hanging in the air, what happens if another spell for summoning a snowstorm is cast from the other side?
Part of the magic power prepared for the ice bullet is snatched away by the snowstorm spell. Ultimately, magic interference is a technique that utilizes the opponent’s magic power for one’s own magic.
In other words, the faster the speed from the release of magic power to the completion of the spell, the exceedingly difficult it becomes to interfere with the magic.
Additionally, in the case of large-scale magic, it is common to prepare slightly more magic power than the minimum required for various emergencies. The more powerful the magic of a skilled mage, the exponentially more difficult magic interference becomes.
When it comes to a large-scale self-destructive formula prepared by the branch chief of Blasphemia, one might as well pray to the sky for help.
Unless you’re the head of the Ten Towers or Carisia herself.
And most importantly.
“I can’t use magic.”
The only magic I can handle is the magic-engraved drive or artifacts that come with magic from the start.
Of course, if it was a somewhat expensive drive rather than a mass-produced magic-engraved one, it wouldn’t be impossible to cause magic interference.
High-end custom-made magic-engraved drives come with an auto-charging option that absorbs external magic power to meet the activation requirements.
“It seems that guy has misunderstood this as a custom-made magic-engraved drive…”
That branch chief has had many misunderstandings. This time is no different.
If I activate magic using a magic-engraved drive and then chant additional spells, the odds of succeeding in magic interference might increase a bit. Because the number of attempts increases.
By about 0.1%?
I don’t like gambling enough to risk my life over that kind of probability.
With my eyes almost closed, I focused on that sensation.
I activated the senses I had sealed away one by one. I raised my heavy eyelids.
And I saw.
In front of me, the cables connected to the branch chief distort my vision. Instead of a smooth metallic body and fibers flowing with magic power, a shape formed of letters appears.
The size is erratic and the shapes twisted, like a child scribbling.
But my brain, accustomed to this strain, instinctively interpreted that shape.
Rumin- Magnetros Alloy. Optimal magic circulation amount 1854 ma/s. Maximum circulation amount 3000 ma/s. Magic formula during charging─
I turned my gaze. The branch chief surrounded by cables also looks like a human form created from clumps of letters.
I read the standout information from the tangled, distorted letters. Name Nardanit. Place of birth Elysion. A product of an experiment that enhances magical abilities by instilling mental problems.
The elements of existence of all surrounding beings inject information directly into my brain. Chaos digs into me as if my head were being crushed in a grinder.
It’s clear that behind my skull, the door that shouldn’t be seen, where this train’s name is Charlotte, and that there’s a maintenance base at the end of an abandoned line, floods my mind.
The longer I keep my eyes open, the wider the range of information I read. I must hurry.
An overwhelming information overload. The subjective experience of my brain processing too much information feels infinitely slow.
This is the moment.
In a world that feels endless and slow, I could see the magic power gradually completing into the form of magic.
The magic power fine-tuned by the mage’s will flows according to the formula, ultimately completing as magic. At the point where the blade is inserted into the pipeline, a branch of the self-destruct magic formula stretches out.
And when the magic power touches the blade tip, the magic-engraved drive activates.
*
A precise fit without a trace of error. The absurd technique of inserting another spell into the spaces of the original magic formula.
Usually, formulas are constructed from the mage’s imagination. They can only be inferred from areas where the gathering magic power is particularly dense or from the resonance of completed magic. This is why the formulas of magic are treated as secrets in the Great Temple.
High-ranking mages can reverse-engineer the formulas from the flow of magic, but that requires time and resources.
At the moment magic power flows into a specific point of the formula, by attaching another spell to the structure of the formula at exactly the same moment, this technique of twisting magic into a monstrosity is what Orthes himself called formula overwriting.
It is a trick that couldn’t be attempted without eyes capable of perceiving the imagination. The twisted flow of magic power, grotesquely distorted by the forcibly attached formula, ultimately rampages.
At the end of the twisted formula, the magic power that could not be completed into perfect magic goes wild.
“What the—”
Nardanit, the user of the magic, felt the anomaly first. The self-destruct magic had to explode simultaneously without a trace of error, enveloping the entire train.
However, at some point in the formula, magic power leaked out.
Right here.
An incomplete explosion erupted with a flash. Flames surged from the location where Orthes had inserted the High-Frequency Blade.
The seeds of the explosion, scattered brazenly throughout the entire engine room, detonated upon contact with the floor or furniture, tearing apart the space.
Orthes’ sword was the focal point of the explosion. The black High-Frequency Blade engulfed in flames became a pillar of fire belching white explosions.
Nardanit calmly assessed the situation. The self-destruct had failed. He needed to shift targets. At the very least, he had to pass the information about that guy to his comrades. If he was lucky, he might aim for a double suicide or a kill.
First, he assessed the capabilities of the inspector. He didn’t know how it was done, but the inspector had interfered with the casting of the magic.
No. It was more than that.
The engine room, overflowing with flashes and explosions, transformed into a battlefield. Nardanit gathered magic power and blocked the scorched air first.
Now, the engine room was at a temperature that could scorch lungs with just breathing, and the interior, filled with noise and smoke, made it impossible to perceive the enemy’s movements with sight or hearing.
It was a counterattack.
“Where is that guy?”
The moment he activated the magic-engraved drive, that guy didn’t hesitate to hide. The activated magic must be the assassination technique of the inspector.
Nardanit poured magic power into his hair. The ultra-high-density hair, made of biological fibers, spread out in all directions, swallowing the room.
He searched for his position, piercing through the heat and smoke. The moment anything brushes against a hair extending in three dimensions, magic will be shot towards the inspector.
And in the meantime, data is transmitted through the auxiliary brain. Data transmission through a cable directly connected to the nervous system.
It was a warning that the secret inspector had caught on. The transmission order for information sent to the magical engine train’s central processing unit would alert his comrades of the danger.
As Nardanit focused on the vibrations being transmitted through his hair, he realized something was amiss. Data transmission shouldn’t take this long.
Unless it was video data, the message he sent was just, “Orthes. Secret Inspector. Caution.”
“Why hasn’t the transmission finished yet?”
*
Ssshhhh.
A metallic spider, smaller than a fingernail, was crawling along the cables.
As Nardanit revealed his true colors and connected with the engine room’s cables, Orthes released the spider given to him by Arabella.
Checking the signal, Arabella saw Orthes in a strange standoff with someone who seemed half machine in a place she couldn’t quite discern.
It was bewildering, but what needed to be done was simple. The strange distortion of the screen. This phenomenon must be due to the extraordinarily high density of magic.
Whenever the cables connected to the mysterious figure creaked, the screen shook, indicating the source of the magic was over there. A cable continually supplying enough magic power to distort the screen just by release?
It’s the power line connected to the Mage Tower Core.
At the end of the power line would naturally be the Mage Tower Core, and it would be connected to the processing units and databases controlling the Mage Tower Core.
Arabella’s spider crawled along the train’s power line, beginning to hack into the central processing unit’s data.
During the process of overriding the information barrier, a data transmission attempt occurred from within this branch. Arabella blocked the transmission of that data.
Whatever the nature of that data was, it would likely have been information transmitted by Orthes’ enemy.
Having intercepted the data midway, Arabella displayed the details of the intercepted data on one side of the Ether Space.
“Orthes. Secret Inspector. Caution.”
‥‥‥?
What is this? What is happening?
Arabella became engulfed in confusion.
*
“Damn it.”
I never thought my sword would melt like that.