Those living in the modern wizarding society sometimes overlook the history that lies behind the numerous magical technologies surrounding them.
The advancement of technology has always been driven by “competition.”
The desire to be superior to others, the longing to get ahead, and the greed to possess more.
And at the extreme end of that competition lies war.
To gain stronger power than the opponent, more information, and a more certain advantage, technology has evolved.
Luke knew this obvious fact well.
Just as people had achieved great advancements in magic through wars, even if it meant death, 5000 years ago.
War is certainly not a good thing, but that is the nature of human history.
Even acts that would typically be unacceptable or absolutely unsupported are accepted in special circumstances, simply for the sake of “victory.”
Because for someone, it was an unparalleled opportunity.
At least, that’s how wizards saw it.
Wizards, who originally lacked emotional capabilities, could easily consider a battlefield as their own experimental site.
Combat wizards who had experienced and utilized war to grow their circles.
People called them this.
War Mage.
However, in this era, that term does not refer to people.
“War Mage, M-190.”
“This tank, armed with excellent mobility and powerful attack spells, has been produced since the early days of the World War for various uses.”
Looking at the elephant-shaped weapon used in past wars, Luke rubbed his chin.
The modern magic exhibition was a place that displayed the history of magical advancements in dioramas and timelines.
As always, the history of humanity is a history of competition.
And it is not surprising that competition can easily escalate into war.
“By the way, the World War…”
Apart from the invasion of the Demon Realm, there was a time when the entire continent became a battlefield. Was it 300 years ago?
The war between the two hostile races, elves and dwarves, as well as beastfolk and humans, broke out almost simultaneously.
The two wars soon merged and spread across the world, marking what we now call a world war.
Though I had read this in history books, seeing it presented in this diorama feels strange.
“Whatever the era, war is always the same.”
Sighing, Luke shook his head.
However, the difference lies in the scale of the damage.
As the war intensified and prolonged, Beriton managed to create the Absolute Destruction Field, abbreviated ADF, a great spell.
Using a part of the World Tree, the “branches of Yggdrasil,” as a “one-time” use, this spell could only be cast with great difficulty.
It burns all mana within the designated area and converts that energy into an explosion that annihilates matter from its very mana structure.
The range of that explosion could cover an entire city, and once used, it creates “anti-mana,” turning the area into a death zone.
It burns mana itself, completely nullifying magic—making retaliation and defense impossible.
Overwhelming magic that renders tactics, strategies, and troop differences meaningless.
A weapon of such magnitude that it could not have been imagined in the past was born.
After that, every nation began to develop magical technologies in an attempt to imitate ADF, leading to advancements in World Tree cultivation techniques and magical technologies at the same time.
And now.
In modern times, great powers have all created their own artificial World Trees, each possessing their own ADF, preventing the recurrence of world wars like before.
Imagine if every country had a great mage capable of indiscriminately destroying everything.
While conflicts may still arise, wars will not.
Ultimately, war must leave something behind, mustn’t it?
Ironically, the world has become this peaceful precisely because mutual destruction and slaughter are possible at any moment.
“…….”
On the other hand, Shirud felt little emotion as he looked at the diorama.
Well, he wasn’t from a generation that directly experienced war, and in this era where inter-racial conflicts and prejudices have vanished, war would not resonate deeply with him; knowing the horrors of war, being 11 years old was too young.
He merely thought the diorama was cool.
“Well, it is cool.”
Honestly, War Mages are cool.
Every boy has probably played with an elephant-shaped tank at least once.
I doubt there were many boys who didn’t plead with their parents to buy them a golem-shaped toy that could move around.
As Shirud thought this, he glanced at Luke, who remained focused on the diorama, wearing a serious expression.
Is it really worth that serious of a look?
Well, girls probably don’t care much for tanks or fighter jets.
Thinking of it, this doesn’t seem like a suitable place for Luke.
War, indeed, is not an environment for a 10-year-old girl to enjoy.
Shirud poked Luke’s arm with his finger and said, “Luke, I don’t think this place is that fun. How about we venture a bit deeper?”
Only then did Luke relax his expression, nodding as he replied.
“Ah. Sure, let’s do that.”
Having seen enough of the war now.
——
In a society where “war” has been eliminated, competition starts to take on all sorts of forms.
From here, the advancement of magic begins to get interesting…
“We sent a dog to space!”
“Then we will send a person!”
“Then we will send a person to the moon!”
Yes, up to this point, it was an evolution of teleportation methods.
“That’s funny, then we will mine ‘moonstone infused with mana’ from the moon!”
However, this becomes a problem of a different dimension.
As is well known, mana is a resource that cannot exist beyond space and time, so to obtain moonstone with mana, one either has to gather fallen meteorite fragments that have broken away from the moon or “bring them directly” from the moon.
Therefore, mining “moonstone infused with mana” literally means one must arrive on the moon through pure travel, without a jump in space.
Everyone laughed, saying it was impossible…
Finally, Beriton succeeded in sending humans to the moon “physically.”
Was that only 50 years ago?
And right here, as if to showcase the evidence from those 50 years ago, it was exhibited for all to see.
“This is that…!”
With a deep blue glow, the stone was indeed “moonstone.”
The ‘moonstone directly mined from the moon’ boasted a level of purity that was light years apart from the moonstone that had once fallen to Earth in meteorite form.
The sun, the moon, and the constellations.
These are the three elements that constitute magic.
As mentioned before, the number three is quite significant in magic.
Hence, these three celestial bodies are treated specially, each symbolizing something distinct.
The sun symbolizes time, as it divides the world into day and night.
The stars symbolize space, as they signify the vastness and distance of the world.
So then, what does the moon symbolize?
It symbolizes matter.
Therefore, the songs of the moon have historically been powerful commands over material control, and the shadows of the moon have served as the sharpest blades in material creation.
Substances imbued with the power of the moon naturally make for powerful magical materials.
“Beautiful beyond words!”
So how could Luke not be excited?
‘With this moonstone, I might be able to glean the shadow of the moon with just my current abilities! If I can do that, I might just reopen my personal dimension by slicing through the stars…’
Perhaps he can recreate the ‘dimensional shadow/key/sword’ he made before.
A key that can cut through space and pry it open!
Thus, Luke’s mind was filled entirely with thoughts of moonstone.
However, Shirud, watching from a distance, sighed as he thought.
‘Is it because she’s a girl that she likes jewels so much?’
But Luke’s antics didn’t stop there.
As Luke surveyed his surroundings, he spotted a guide and approached without delay to ask.
“Um, I have a question.”
“What is it, kid?”
“How much can I buy that gem for?”
Following the child’s finger, there lay the first “moonstone” ever mined directly from the moon.
And, needless to say, that was not for sale.
Looking back down at the child to answer, I found it difficult to keep speaking as I saw the glimmer of expectation in his eyes.
“Um, kid, I know it’s beautiful, but that’s not for sale…”
“Is that so? Still, is there really no way?”
“I’m sorry, but that’s a national treasure…”
Even though it’s currently on display in a museum, selling a national treasure is out of the question.
Luke knew this too, so he soon realized that further negotiation would be meaningless.
“A national treasure…if it’s a national treasure, I can’t do anything about it…”
The child’s expression visibly fell, his ears droop as if he had done something wrong.
The guide was simply telling the truth and felt aggrieved, but what could be done?
Moreover, Luke wasn’t concerned about the guide’s feelings in the slightest.
Thus, Luke turned back to stand before the moonstone.
If he couldn’t get it, it was best to let it go without regret…
“Ugh…”
What a pity.
If only he could open a personal dimension that hasn’t fallen yet with this moonstone, if only he could find even some of the artifacts or spellbooks I left behind, becoming a great mage would be a piece of cake.
Luke’s gaze swept the area around the moonstone in an instant.
He had already identified the weaknesses of the protective spell surrounding the moonstone.
Just lightly scratching it with a nail imbued with magical power could make the moonstone his.
And if he enchanted the exhibition area with illusion magic, no one would notice it missing for a while.
Then…
Hesitation.
Luke shook his head.
‘No, no. I can’t steal.’
He chastised himself.
To think he would impulsively entertain thoughts of committing a crime…!
Ah, indeed.
This must be the greed of a dragon.
Yes, throughout history, dragon greed has sparked wars.
Shirud asked.
“Did you really like it that much? To ask about the price?”
“Ah, well…”
Luke couldn’t finish his sentence.
Denying it would mean ignoring how much he truly liked it.
A wizard can’t lie, after all.
After taking a deep breath, Luke finally managed to turn his body.
“Shirud, if we’ve seen enough, let’s head back.”
“…Yeah.”
Luke’s expression, as he walked away from the moonstone, looked quite pained.
Does he really like jewels that much…?
