kscans

Chapter 131 - Episode 2: Part Two, The Two Projects

"The first, of course, is the analysis of sorcery. Specifically, how they achieve their magic efficiency and the compatibility between the user and the magic tool."

"I'll get right on it, no need to tell me. But this won't be an easy nut to crack."

Fulsy wore a grim expression. And for good reason. The Empire had already taken one of the Kingdom's major cities.

"I have some clues. First, I had someone copy the pattern from the battering ram the Empire was using. This should serve as a reference for their sorcery program... or rather, their magic formulas. The actual device should be arriving soon as well."

I handed Mia the paper with the copy of the pattern from the surface of the battering ram used by the Horse-Dragon Corps.

"That battering ram increased its power through spiral rotation, like a giant monster. That means this pattern must contain something that generates that spiral."

In other words, this pattern is a cipher that codes for a spiral formula.

"I see. Having a starting point like this makes a huge difference."

Fulsy and Noel nodded. Combined with Mia's mathematical prowess, I felt these two could pull it off.

"Likewise, here are the reins used by the Horse-Dragon Corps. Aren't these a type of magic tool as well?"

I took out the five leather reins I had received from Prince Craig. Fulsy stared at them so intensely it seemed like he would burn a hole through them.

"The design appears similar to the battering ram from before. This is likely a magic tool. I see, there were over two hundred horse-dragon riders, weren't there?"

Fulsy nodded. This would provide a clue about the interface used by a large number of people.

"Since we have several, we can use destructive methods for our analysis. As for the properties of the dye used to draw the patterns, I'm hoping to borrow Vinaldira's expertise."

Vinaldira, with her knowledge of dyes, might be able to figure something out.

"I think understanding the properties of the materials used to create the circuits, not just the circuit design itself, will give us clues about their magic efficiency."

"That's true," Noel said. "For example, Sorcery Gold conducts magic well, but it conducts it too well, making fine control difficult. That's one of the reasons it requires so much magic to process."

I see. In that case, there's one more thing I want... but it's still too soon. It won't mean anything unless my own project succeeds.

"That is crucial," Leonard said. "Their magic efficiency is a vital factor in gauging their ability to sustain this war."

No matter how high their efficiency, there was no doubt that the Empire was using a massive amount of magic crystals in this war. Determining how long they could wage a prolonged war, given that they don't produce magic crystals in the Kingdom, was critically important. It was easy to understand if you imagined Japan during World War II.

"Leonard-senpai, I have a request for you as well."

"Ah, yes. Go ahead."

"Yes, I'd like you to ask the Chancellor to estimate the Empire's magic crystal production capacity based on our past trade records. Of course, I know we won't get an exact figure, just as the Empire tried to restrict magic crystal trade before the war began. But by looking at data from over a decade ago, back when they didn't have the luxury they do now, we should be able to figure out a few things."

"Understood. I'll relay that to my father, the Chancellor."

With this, we could move forward with analyzing the quality and quantity of the Empire's sorcery. Just like Japan in World War II, no matter how many superior weapons like the Zero fighter they developed, they couldn't continue the war without the resources and fuel to build them. Though, in this case, the Empire is the one with the resources.

"And what will you be doing?" Fulsy asked me.

"I'll be analyzing the soil I brought back from the Red Forest."

I looked at the experimental equipment on the table. There were more than ten different types of glass and metal instruments. In my old world, they would be called petri dishes and test tubes. We had a much better collection of tools than I expected, but I would probably still need a lot of trial and error to achieve what I wanted to do.

"I understand analyzing sorcery formulas and magic circles. But what good will soil do?" Noel asked, tilting her head.

"The closest way to describe it is that I'm looking for a substance that reacts to magic. You know, like that black pigment covering this room. Would it be easier to understand if I said I'm searching for something like that?"

"I've said it before, but can you really find something like that so conveniently? The soil itself didn't register any reaction on the antenna, so even if there is something in there, it must be a minuscule amount."

"I have a method for finding that minuscule amount."

In the words of my previous life, it was called screening for useful substances. It was a technique mainly used to discover things like antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs. In this case, it would be closer to a search for a new catalyst.

Let's say, hypothetically, that Earth was transported to another world with magic. The two types of organisms that would adapt to magic the quickest would be humans and bacteria.

The reason is simple and shared by both. learning speed.

Bacteria have vast numbers and an overwhelmingly fast generational turnover. In the learning device common to all life, DNA, these two factors are extremely important. They randomly produce different types of offspring, and individuals with genes that are even slightly adapted to magic gain an advantage in the competition for energy. Naturally, they leave behind more offspring, and among those offspring, it becomes easier for even more magic-adapted descendants to be born. Then the cycle repeats.

Evolution and natural selection are forms of learning that use life itself. It's like a calculation to determine which arrangement of DNA is superior in a given environment.

Now, in terms of learning via DNA, humans are among the worst. However, we possess a learning device based on a different principle, the brain and written language. It is an overwhelmingly flexible and fast form of learning that doesn't rely on generational turnover or random mutations. It's a type of learning that can build complex structures by combining and accumulating knowledge, like intellectual genes.

Let's return from that hypothetical to this world. The basics are the same, but the length of the learning period must be considered. There's no doubt that several transfers from Earth to this world have occurred. If so, bacteria could have arrived here as far back as billions of years ago. Dinosaurs, on the order of tens to hundreds of millions of years ago. Humans, on the other hand, at most a hundred thousand years.

What I'm about to do is an attempt to use intelligence, my cheat-like learning ability, to borrow the fruits of the bacteria's learning.

Of course, the road ahead is difficult. I learned the gist of it in classes on venture businesses and intellectual property, and I'd done simple experiments in my university student labs. Thanks to a former mentor who served as a consultant for such companies, I even had the chance to tour a compound library.

What's important are the tools, raw materials, and procedures. The materials and methods. Naturally, they don't sell experiment kits here, so I have to prepare everything myself. And by myself, I mean relying on others.

"Noel. Were you able to have that thing I asked for made?"

"...The pipette, you mean. I hesitate to even call this a pipette, but it's done."

Noel took out a tool shaped like a laser gun from an old sci-fi manga. The core was made of Sorcery Gold, with a cylinder and a screw attached. Furthermore, it had ten suction nozzles also made of Sorcery Gold. In my past life, it was called a micropipette.

I've heard it's a cursed item that can turn even PhD holders into slaves in any biology lab.

"You said you wanted to measure small quantities precisely. Your unreasonable demands gave me a lot of trouble. First, I made it thin with Sorcery Gold so it could draw up small amounts, and then I added the screw to allow for fine adjustments. Thanks to you, my eyes are so tired they won't stop twitching."

"You've been a huge help."

There were even markings next to the screw corresponding to the number of rotations. The more accurately I could handle small volumes, the more the efficiency of the screening would skyrocket.

"My, my. And what will you do with this?"

Fulsy's eyes sparkled like a schoolboy seeing a model gun. It's more like a water pistol, though.

"I'm going to extract organisms that I predict are living in the soil of the Red Forest, organisms adapted to magic. Does it make more sense if I call them various types of Mucus, all too small to see?"

"Hoh. Well, here we go again with another one of your stories that I've never seen or heard of."

Fulsy's eyes, which had been darting between the horse-dragon reins and the pipette, narrowed slightly.

"It will take some time, but I'll show you. I don't want to open the Red Forest sample carelessly, so I'll start with soil from the garden."

I took out a jar of soil. Inside this jar lived a host of bacteria and fungi, their numbers likely greater than the entire human population, or at least certainly greater than the human population of this world.

"Assuming such invisibly small Mucus exist, how do you handle them? Even with that pipette, it would be impossible."

"That's where the ingenuity comes in. By the way, when will the research institute be completed?"

"I've heard it will be another ten days or so."

Fulsy stroked his chin beard, looking happily out the window. Leonard's eyes darted around. Just how much did that cost?

"As you requested, I had that confectioner's son arrange for an oven and an icehouse to be built. He asked me if I was planning to open a restaurant."

So more than half of it was my fault. Maybe Plural's smile from earlier had been a bit strained.

"Ten days is surprisingly fast..."

Alright, I'll use that time to practice the experimental procedures and check the equipment.

I opened the pot I had taken off the fire. A pleasant aroma filled the director's office. Inside the pot were two round, petri dish-like glass containers. The dishes held an amber-colored jelly. It was something I had asked Dalgan to make.

I touched the lid to confirm it was cool. I shook it gently to make sure it had solidified. I carefully moved it to the table, making sure not to displace the lid.

"That smells nice. Is it a new dish?"

Noel said the same thing Dalgan had. Well, it was probably a little lacking in salt, but I doubt it would be inedible.

"It's food not for humans, but for the minuscule Mucus. I'm going to grow the Mucus on this until they become large enough to be seen."

Simply put, it was a jellied broth made by simmering gelatin, meat juices, and blood with sugar. In reality, I had them simmer it down as much as possible and then dry it for preservation. It was an incredibly labor-intensive process. This was probably the most expensive soup base in the world.

When I first came to this room, I had cut four small pieces of that dried broth, placed them in the petri dishes, and added water. Then, I heated them in the pot with some water to reconstitute them.

Now, how to explain this.

"The scale is completely different, but please think of this jelly, this meat juice culture medium, as the magic vein region where the Empire sowed the Mucus spores. Even if each individual Mucus is too small to see, if you grow a huge number of them, they'll become visible to the human eye, right?"

Technically, Mucus is a slime mold, which is a eukaryote, while bacteria are prokaryotes.

"Hmm..."

"...It's not unusual for me to not understand what you're saying, Vinder."

Both of them were racking their brains. They didn't have the concept of microorganisms here. Explaining with words that they're not just invisibly small, but can double their numbers in as little as twenty minutes through fission, probably wouldn't help.

"Um, this preliminary experiment will take some time, so please go ahead with the work on the magic circles, Director."

I opened the lid of one of the two petri dishes and spoke. For now, this was all I needed to do.