Chapter 628 - Chapter 559: Shou-kun, and Only Shou-kun
Argenta-san’s face stiffened at my words.
But, off the top of my head, which Ancient Ruins seem like they could be problematic?
"Azure. Do you know of any Ancient Ruins the demons would want to bring under their control?"
The Necropolis would probably be number one, but that's already broken, see? Second place might be the Southern Island's Hitomi-san?
"Eh? That place?"
There are all sorts of facilities in the Ancient Ruins, but the only place that produces Iris is there, right? Can't really go there now though.
Isn't there any in the other ruins?
Not that I know of, no.
So Iris is that rare of a metal.
Black Ants appear when you descend to the 11th floor underground. No one's managed to get past them yet, and it's supposedly an unimplemented area, but…
"What kind of metal is that Iris?"
Simply put, it's a metal that gets heavier or lighter, harder or softer, when you pour Mana into it. It's also found in Magic Polymorphic Steel.
"Ah, that's certainly amazing…"
Apparently, it's an incredibly excellent material for Weapons and Armor, and the demons would undoubtedly want it.
Azure. Continue to maintain vigilance regarding passage to the island.
Got it~
I'll have to tell Bell-san and Seth about this later.
As I was thinking that, Mion raised her hand slightly and said,
"Um, will restarting the sub-control room be alright?"
"Ah, we need to be careful about that too. If the Transfer Magic Circle's anchor is removed and it gets stolen…"
Azure.
But we're short-handed!
You're right. I feel a bit guilty about it.
Vermilion-san has to keep monitoring the demons along the border (?), and we really are short-handed…
"For a while, send Emera to the Southern Island."
"Feh?"
Emeraldia-san made a strange noise, a cookie still in her mouth.
It must have been surprising that the White Dragon Princess suddenly awakened, but being told to stay there for a while too…
"Is it really alright to leave it to Emeraldia?"
And then, Argenta-san was harsh.
"Normally, you just need to stay by the Kijimunaa. So you can act immediately if anything happens."
If it's just that much, I suppose we can manage.
First, you just need to protect the Kijimunaa, yeah?
It's certainly good that she'll protect Gaju and the others. In the worst case, they could even evacuate to our island in the Dragon Basket.
But Emeraldia-san probably doesn't know where the Southern Island is, so she'll have to go there at least once.
"How about we all go tomorrow?"
"Yes. Let's do that."
I'll introduce Emeraldia-san to Gaju and the others, and, well, ask them to look after her.
"That's about it for Argenta-san's information."
The demons' objective is Magic Stones, to gather them and create large Magic Crystal Stones.
Since it's information obtained through interrogation, its accuracy should be fairly high.
"This is the first I've heard that Magic Stones can be recrystallized…"
"Has anyone else tried it besides Shou-kun?"
I was wondering about that too.
I've demonstrated [Granulation] and [Crystallization], so it seems like there should be other people who can use them.
"I can't even use [Granulation] and [Crystallization] yet, you know? And it seems like the Alchemy Skill is involved too."
"Ah…"
My Alchemy Skill level went up, after all.
I don't know what level is required, but I still feel like I need to raise it to at least 5.
"Hmm. And on top of that, their aim is to restart some Ancient Ruins?"
"That's my guess, but I can't think of any other use for it."
"You're right, aren't you?"
However, there's a problem:
"The things created by recrystallizing Magic Stones are called 'Regenerated Magic Crystal Stones', but they seem to break down with use."
Poor quality ones break after just a few uses, and even regular quality ones break after about 30 uses.
In fact, when I repeatedly infused them with Mana and then used them, the poor quality ones shattered on the third use, and even the regular ones disintegrated during the 32nd Mana infusion.
"That's pretty inefficient, isn't it?"
"I thought so too. But if we're gathering tiny Magic Stones that have no other use to make them, then maybe it's worthwhile."
Right now, I can only make regular quality ones, but it seems like the number of uses will increase as the quality improves.
"So, is it alright to talk about this? Should we keep the recrystallization of Magic Stones a secret?"
"Oh, you can tell everything to people you trust. I mean, I already said I'd tell the people who captured the demons about gathering Magic Stones and making them into bigger ones."
The people who went to rescue Sabana and her companions and captured the demons also said they wanted to be informed if any information was obtained. That's natural.
Argenta-san consulted me because she wanted to respond to that, but I don't think she needs my permission…
"Hmm. Well then, it seems that news will spread by tomorrow."
"For now, I've asked them to keep the recrystallization process—making Magic Stones larger by combining them—a secret."
"Regarding that, if you're going to announce it publicly, it would be better to show it in a live stream."
I wondered if that was necessary, but I suppose there would be issues with credibility if I didn't actually demonstrate it.
And, if I show myself actually doing it, more people might try it themselves.
"Huh? Were there Alchemy books on the mainland too?"
"Yes, most of the books found in the Southern Island's Ancient Ruins are now available for purchase at the 'Library of Knowledge'."
"Oh…"
Apparently, not only Alchemy but also all types of Applied Magicology, Spatial Magic, Barrier Magic, and even Gravity Magic Grimoires are now circulating. I felt like I had monopolized them, so I'm a little relieved.
"So people on the mainland can now use higher-level Magic Skills?"
"Well, about that…"
"Even the closed beta testers, like Bell-dono, are lamenting that they don't have enough SP, you know? There's no other player with as much abundant SP as my brother."
"Right…"