Somehow, thanks to placing a fragment of the Ifrit’s flame in the magicians’ village of Babel, I was able to enter Babel without much resistance.
It seemed the Ifrit also pitied the humans living in such a scorching environment, as it absorbed the surrounding heat and lowered the temperature a bit too.
Thanks to this, I managed to establish some rapport with the village chief overseeing the town, which turned out to be quite a positive result.
After all, this is an extremely exclusive village, usually only allowing other magicians. Without this assistance, gaining access wouldn’t have been easy.
While pretending to be a magician might work, my actual intention wasn’t just to blend in but rather to take on the role of inspecting the mana stones coming into the village.
Ah, there’s no need for direct inspection. Creating some kind of magic or tool to check the mana stones would suffice.
Regardless, forming a connection with the village chief remains essential.
Through a bit of persuasion, I managed to secure the position of inspecting incoming mana stones after getting acquainted with the village chief.
The following is a summary of my conversation with the chief.
“Thank you for bringing us the Sacred Flame. Thanks to it, the village temperature has dropped significantly, making life more comfortable. But how did you manage to cross that blazing desert?”
“It’s a secret. In return for leaving the flame here, I have one request.”
“What might that be? If it’s within my power, I’ll grant it.”
“I’ve heard many external mana stones come into this village. I’d like to take on the job of inspecting them.”
“Why do you wish to do such a task? Mana stones are crucial materials for producing our main product, magic scrolls, and are tightly managed…but why?”
“Some mana stones carry dangerous energy—minute traces of dark power. Using them without care could lead to significant problems.”
“But…”
“If you refuse, I’ll have no choice but to take the Sacred Flame back. It would be unfortunate if the villagers suffer because such a simple favor couldn’t be granted.”
“M-Mr., please forgive me! Let me reconsider! I’ll arrange the position immediately!”
Thus, through appropriate persuasion, I secured the role of inspecting the mana stones entering the village—not alone, mind you, as the chief assigned someone else to assist.
“Did you bring that flame?”
“Yes, I did.”
The young mage stared intently at my horns.
Clearly wondering why someone with these features exists.
“Why are you trying to handle such a bothersome task as inspecting mana stones?”
“Hmm. Didn’t the chief explain?”
“What explanation?”
“No matter, you’ll understand soon enough once you see.”
With that awkward dialogue, we entered the warehouse where the external mana stones were stored.
A few wooden crates stacked in the corner of the tiny room held the current batch of stones.
“Don’t even think about sneaking some stones into your pocket. I’ll keep a close eye on you.”
“Don’t worry. These stones hold no value for me.”
The important thing is detecting the fragments of darkness hidden within some of the stones.
I opened one of the crates, revealing the numerous mana stones inside.
Hmm. Quite a lot. Checking each one individually…would surely be tedious.
Even if I search manually, it won’t be easy given how small the dark fragments are compared to my size. It feels like searching for a tiny black grain of sand on a beach—troublesome and exhausting.
In situations like this, tools are indispensable.
Let’s see…a design resembling a hand-sized trowel should do. Add a precise detection function to the blade part so it can sense even the faintest trace of dark energy, and set it to emit a warning sound upon detection. Include a control feature by adding an activation button on the handle so it only works when pressed.
With those modifications, the makeshift tool turned out decently well.
I scooped up a portion of the mana stones with the newly crafted device and pressed the button. No warning sound, so I transferred them to an empty crate.
Despite the youth watching curiously from behind, I continued sorting through the stones using the detector until…
Beeeep!
“Huh?! What’s that sound?”
“Finally found it.”
I halved the contents of the scoop, rechecked, and moved the unaffected stones to the cleared crate. Repeating this process with the remaining half eventually led to…
“Found it.”
A single stone, roughly the size of a thumbnail, containing a fragment of darkness.
“What makes this stone so special that you had to find it?”
“Watch closely.”
I took out a black diamond from my pocket and placed it near the stone. A minuscule fragment of darkness seeped out and flowed into the diamond.
“Something just left that stone, didn’t it?”
“Good observation. You have keen eyes.”
Given how small the fragment was, I doubted he’d notice, but thankfully, he did.
“A rare fragment of darkness. Found only in a very few mana stones.”
Indeed, considering we almost emptied an entire crate, finding it in just one stone suggests an incredibly low probability.
“It’s like impurities mixed in the stones. My job is to gather and seal these energies.”
“Seal…?”
The youth appeared skeptical despite witnessing the act firsthand.
“I can’t leave this energy unchecked. Since this village receives the most mana stones, it’s vital not to overlook these dark fragments. The consequences of neglecting them…let’s keep that a secret.”
“A secret, huh? That sounds awfully dramatic.”
“Whatever happens, it won’t benefit this world. Using stones with these fragments to create magic scrolls could lead to undesirable outcomes.”
“Undesirable outcomes…could they be related to defective scrolls?”
“Defective scrolls?”
Upon my inquiry, the youth calmly explained.
“Yes. Though rare, sometimes perfectly crafted scrolls fail to activate properly, trigger excessively powerful effects, or produce entirely different spells than intended. This has caused injuries and fatalities in the past.”
“Is that so?”
Defective scrolls, huh? I hadn’t known about those. I assumed the occasional magical explosions during scroll creation were due to failed attempts.
“Not certain, but it’s possible. Want to test it?”
Pointing at the uninspected crates, conducting tests could reveal dark-fragmented stones.
However, the youth shook his head.
“Testing personally feels…too risky. It could endanger my life.”
True, risking one’s life for testing isn’t wise.
Then, if removing all dark-fragmented stones before crafting scrolls prevents defective ones…it might confirm the theory.
“Anyway, if these dark fragments could cause defective scrolls, we can’t overlook this. Could you prepare more fragment-detection tools?”
“Hmm? More?”
“Yes. We’ll pay adequately. Reducing defective scrolls is worth the expense.”
Hmm. Payment isn’t really necessary… Ah! Right!
“Payment isn’t needed. Instead, please send the dark-fragmented stones to the Temple of Life.”
“The Temple of Life? Are you affiliated with them?”
“That’s…a secret.”
Raising my index finger to my lips for emphasis, handing over the stones to the Temple of Life under my control is more convenient than leaving them with others.
“You’ll store them until I occasionally retrieve them. After all, these fragments aren’t usable for you anyway…might as well save on disposal costs, right?”
Cleaner disposal is preferable to potential issues from misuse, from the mages’ perspective.
“That point…I’ll discuss with the chief. Likely, he’ll agree, as defective scrolls have been troubling him too.”
“Much appreciated.”
If everything proceeds smoothly, it’ll be highly convenient.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Thus, I provided several trowel-shaped mana stone detectors to the magicians, establishing a contract to transfer dark-fragmented stones via the Temple of Life.
Excellent. As expected, delegating tasks proves far more efficient than doing them myself. Truly, using one’s brain keeps the body at ease. Now, I simply need to occasionally visit the Temple of Life to collect the dark fragments from the stones. Clean and simple.
During the system’s creation for gradually recovering Erebus’s fragments, an important fact slipped my mind.
For monsters manageable by humans or Ain species, this recovery method suffices.
But what about monsters too strong for humans?
Should I wait until humans grow stronger? How long will that take?
Lizardmen and giants could probably handle most monsters, but their environmental limitations prevent free movement… Hmm…
Perhaps creating a lethal weapon for strong monsters to absorb the dark fragments from their mana stones would work?
Like, say, the Sword of the Hero.
