Chapter 272

In the southern district, the gazes of the people gathered at the quarantine facility were focused on one spot.

There stood a strange-shaped crystal trapped inside a sealed container.

A brown-haired woman nearby swallowed nervously. Magical energy was gradually and precisely releasing from her hands, flowing through various devices.

“Starting phase three of the analysis.”

“All equipment is ready. Proceed.”

Her eyes were bloodshot. Not from fatigue, but because something threatening was stabbing at her optic nerves, despite her being equipped with magic formulas and various protective gear.

Step by step, the researchers interpreted, disassembled, and stimulated the relic as if soothing a sleeping child.

Failure. The twelfth attempt to interpret and understand the relic went to waste again.

It couldn’t be recognized in the first place.

“It’s impossible.”

“Really?”

An agent from the Information Bureau asked bluntly.

“Are you sure you’re from Magnavis? You can’t understand this? Hurry up.”

“I need more time. And… this is really beyond us. We can’t grasp the structure.”

The agent grumbled. They brought her here, and there were no results.

The Federation was always strapped for budget.

It wasn’t that there was no money. The military and Parliament had many revenue sources in addition to taxes. The significant reduction in the Federation’s directly governed regions since the civil war decades ago had an impact.

The Treaty of Tea Time took much from them. Business rights, assets, and claims.

The reason why the 29-year-old Mage Engineering Doctor Ennis Lowell, who was imprisoned, finally had the chance to breathe the outside air after a long time was this. The Federation devised ways to exploit researchers more with fair compensation.

Surprisingly, there were many intellectuals who lived by committing minor offenses. It would be even better if they had committed actual crimes.

“Ms. Lowell. The Federation is enduring many dangers. We need you.”

“…But, really…”

“I heard your family is suffering a lot.”

“I will do it…”

Ennis unconsciously touched her forehead. The spot where she was hit by the military’s bereaved family during the hearing throbbed. Although she felt at ease then, these days the place often throbbed with anxiety whenever she felt uneasy. What could be the reason?

Ennis fiddled with the necklace around her neck. This small device that determined her fate. This was the second time she wore it.

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

She observed it once more with care. The intricately tangled pattern reminiscent of the human nervous system.

Visible yet invisible. Touching yet untouchable.

Had she seen something like this before?

Memories of when she worked at Magnavis surfaced.

Vanguard agents, who claimed to be guardians of mystery, often brought relics that exuded such an aura.

The relics were always sealed double or triple times and moved to the deepest parts of the relic department.

This was the first time encountering it directly.

Suddenly, she realized. This might be an object beyond human cognition.

“Still no interpretation? Does that make sense?”

As the agent from the Information Bureau crossed his arms and urged, the researchers with the necklaces hesitated. Ennis muttered.

“One thing is clear.”

“What is it?”

“This is… a relic that transcends our understanding.”

She slowly moved the magical energy detector around the relic. The beeping sound from the device.

“The magical energy release pattern is irregular. It has characteristics not seen in typical relics.”

The manager from Restraid who was observing grumbled.

“I don’t know, I don’t know! Is that what you’re supposed to say? How pathetic…”

Ennis closed her eyes for a moment. Fatigue from prolonged observation surged over her. Pressing urges; this time, the Federation researchers stepped forward, looking somewhat confident.

They busily pulled out their equipment and finished their preparations.

“Alright, let’s begin. Starting phase one of the analysis,” the researcher who seemed to be the team leader ordered.

Ennis’s brow furrowed as she watched their actions.

‘Is that right?’

The approach was certainly systematic, the fundamentals were not bad. Yet something felt off. Compared to the skills handled by Magnavis’s mages, it felt clumsy as if trying to disassemble a clock with a hammer.

Fast. Not bad, but it seemed like a few essential procedures were skipped. They needed to bridge the subtle gaps.

“Entering phase three. Starting resonance frequency search,” one researcher shouted.

Ennis bit her lip. Have they properly grasped the basic characteristics of the relic?

Ordinary relics could afford that. But this isn’t just an ordinary relic, is it?

“Wait a moment,” Ennis interjected. They needed to slow down a bit.

“First, we need to collect more basic data. It’s dangerous in the current state—”

Before her words finished, a strange vibration suddenly emanated from the relic. Simultaneously, the expression of the closest researcher stiffened.

“What… is this…”

He muttered. His eyes began to move rapidly.

Ennis instantly realized the seriousness of the situation.

“Everyone, step back! Right now!”

It was too late, the twinkling starlight. The man managed to see it.

“I see…”

The man mumbled blankly as he began to laugh maniacally.

“Hahaha…”

Now the man started to scratch his face with a mad smile.

“I see! I see! I see! A hahahaha! I see! I see!”

He took off his mask. His goggles came off. Two fingers pointed toward his eyes.

“Someone stop that guy! Ahh!”

Rushing over, Ennis stumbled on the floor. His strength was beyond imagination. Now the man seemed to claw at his own eyeballs as if feeling itchy.

“I see! I can see! I see! A hahahaha! Hahaha—”

The moment she faced those bloodshot eyes, she wanted to faint.

Fortunately, the commotion was short-lived.

– Whack!

The armored knight waiting behind struck him on the head. Dragging the limp man, the knight pulled him outside. Ennis, feeling drained, almost slumped to the ground but barely managed to grab onto the desk beside her.

“Hey, what was that phenomenon just now?”

When the Restraid manager asked, Ennis trembled in fear but managed to speak.

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

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

“Is that so? We’ll add more protective equipment and facilities. Be sure to interpret and dismantle it. No matter what.”

The researchers’ faces turned pale. The experiment continued.

After handing a gift to Ariel, our Violets had a joyful time expanding.

“Let’s develop an uninhabited island!”

“Construction!”

In truth, the construction amounted to little more than a few planks and tents, cement and bricks haphazardly piled together, but it was still construction.

The uninhabited islands only appeared after a long boat ride from Rustroom. The Violets began their development.

Of course, they had no plans to live there. What would they do in a place devoid of cultural facilities, filled only with seagulls, rocks, seaweed, and occasionally appearing sea monsters?

There was only one conclusion.

“Backup battery storage!”

With the clone’s magical power exchange ratio approaching 1:1, theoretically, the magical power required to create clones was minimal. It wouldn’t be an issue to create multiple clones within the already created numbers, but creating new Violets would be another story.

“Endless magical power!”

In truth, it wasn’t endless, but still, good is good.

So the Violets mobilized small boats and hang gliders to attempt to develop every uninhabited island.

Since they were building anyway, they would have time to prepare again even if attacked or ambushed.

First, after landing on the island, they dug the ground, erected walls, and pitched tents. If the island was too small, they would limit themselves to burying Violet barrels.

If it was larger, they would pitch tents hidden by camouflage or dig tunnels.

“Yuck! A bug!”

“Burn it!”

Mixing in fire magic appropriately, they scorched the inside once before moving well-packaged Violets in.

They propped up support beams since being buried in dirt would be troublesome, and sprayed repellent.

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

“I got it! Triple sealing!”

Sometimes roaches or various bugs would worm their way into the packaging. That would be quite unpleasant.

Though bugs nibbling on the Awakened Ones’ bodies was impossible, it was still psychologically unsettling.

Thus, they developed each island.

In doing so, they stumbled upon an island they liked. The southernmost one, not marked on the map but not small either. A clean island without the footprints of a cleaver. It was lush with forests and had a small stream.

“Wait, how about we set up our base here?”

“You’re right, the scenery is nice!”

They’d grow crops, set up a weapons store, and lay barbed wire and minefields.

While they were doing various odd jobs, 2512 suggested an interesting idea.

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

1742 topped that.

“A village? That’s all? Then why not try building an independent nation!”

The moment they heard the word independent nation, our hearts raced.

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

Right, a country for just the Violets. They thought about establishing it in a dungeon but gave up. The issue was that it was an eroded area. I wanted an entirely unique piece of land.

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

Suddenly, a great thought struck. A country needs a flag to symbolize it.

I pulled out a white cloth from my inventory and drew a large V on it. Then, at each corner, I drew smaller V letters, four in total.

“Done!”

The flag of Violet Nation was born.

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

“Long live Violet Independence!”

“Long live!”

Our hearts swelled with joy.

“This is the land we developed!”

“Our territory!”

Our nation, Violet’s very own territory!

But the joy didn’t last long.

“…Hey, guys?”

“What is it? Tents and containers?”

Thirty minutes later, the exploring Violet search party discovered signs of human presence on the island.

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

And thirty minutes later.

“Uh? What’s that! A ship! A ship is coming!”

The coastal Violets, seeing the mysterious ship approaching, hid in the forest.

“Could it be? The island’s owner?”

“No…!”

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