Chapter 81

Chapter 81

#81. Arad Radar

A detector. A magical device that Arad and Mary painstakingly crafted with great care back in the day of mana waves.

Melt magic stones into thin plates, then place a piece of whatever you’re looking for on it.

It could be a strand of hair, an object they usually use, or if those aren’t available, a similar energy source can also work.

The energy source is usually powdered magic stones.

For example, if it’s the doing of dark wizards, use shadow-attribute magic stone powder.

If it’s related to mischief involving mana from the mage tower, place greenhouse farm soil on it.

“This is truly an amazing magical tool!”

“It doesn’t just detect evil things. With determination, it can find almost anything.”

“My goodness! When we put mid-grade magic stone powder on it… look! It shows places where large deposits of mid-grade magic stones are located!”

“With this, we can drastically improve the efficiency of mining magic stones in the Northern Region!”

“Silver mines and gold mines too! This will make them easier to find!”

Though hastily made, the detector received no shortage of praise from the witches and knights who used it.

Whether human, curses, totems, monsters…

And even minerals.

The potential of the detector was truly immense.

“I didn’t expect such a good response.”

The happiest moment for a creator is seeing people get excited about what they’ve made.

Arad felt so good that he later upgraded the detector.

He improved its durability and lifespan, which were originally closer to disposable items.

“The name of this shall be… Radar! Let’s call it Arad Radar!”

Thus, the Arad Radar became a magical tool officially managed by High City and Frosthaven.

It was mainly used for military or resource exploration purposes.

“With this detector, finding the witch of bells and those dark wizard bastards isn’t even a problem!”

Its official name is Arad Radar, but the knights still called it the detector out of habit.

“Make sure to bring the detector for this extermination mission!”

“Always carry the detector while patrolling the entire Northern Region!”

That way, nearly all knights and cavalry in the north carried detectors as they patrolled the region, ready to cut down anything black magic-related with a fierce demeanor.

“These bastards… Where the hell are they hiding?!”

“They weren’t found in Haven City or the major cities hit by the plague, nor in Cadia, Shuen, or Remme!”

“What did the detector indicate?”

“It showed totems and magic circles set up by the dark wizards! They seem to be some kind of barrier that prevents the plague from easily disappearing.”

But neither the dark wizards nor Haran appeared.

In the major plague-hit cities of the north—Shuen, Narvik, Cadia, Remme, and Haven—all the detected dark energy came from totems and barriers secretly installed by the villains before they disappeared.

“How? Should we destroy the totems?”

“No, touching them recklessly might cause unwanted side effects.”

“Leave the totems and barriers to the witches! We’ll do our job!”

“Damn it! You bastards! Where the hell are you hiding?!”

“There’s no way these guys would just disappear peacefully given their nature!”

The knights tirelessly patrolled the northern region.

With bated breath and anxiety, they checked the Arad Radar several times a day.

“Hmm…?”

Suddenly, Valkyrie and the knights felt a chill run down their spines.

“Isn’t only the Great Witch of Spring and Sun at High City right now?”

“Can they handle the Bell Witch and the high-ranking dark wizards from Demon Den?”

“High City! Which mountain is closest to High City?”

Just in case, Valkyrie and the knights aimed the radar toward the direction of High City.

After a few hours…

“!!”

They could confirm faint lights glowing on the magic stone panel coordinates.

“Damn!”

“Hurry! Let’s go to High City!”

Realizing the villains’ true plan, Valkyrie and the knights spurred their horses and hurried toward High City.

“Winter Hawks! Summon Winter Hawks!”

While racing toward High City, Valkyrie sent separate letters via two Winter Hawks.

“To the Great Witch of Spring, I’ll inform her about the dark wizards’ real purpose, and to His Highness, I’ll just say I’m stopping by High City for maintenance!”

If it’s the Ariana Valkyrie knows, she’d surely try to get involved in the battle somehow.

I have to stop her from participating in this dangerous fight since she hasn’t fully recovered her strength yet.

* * *

Whether it’s Earth’s science technology or this world’s arcane engineering, the ultimate tech tree always leads to arms manufacturing.

In this Arcanepunk era, I can produce weapons suitable for it.

Magic rifles, energy swords, shield armors, flying shoes, airships, mana-powered trains, etc… The possibilities are endless!

However, I can’t make them right away.

Even though I’ve made all sorts of things like golden carriages, elixirs, semi-permanent spatial cases, and mana potions, this one is extremely difficult for me.

Because there’s a crucial facility I absolutely need, and that’s missing.

That facility is called the Magic Circuit.

Not your average steam engine or diesel engine, or even nuclear power—it’s a whole different level of power generation.

It’s not just an engine for trains or airships.

It acts as a power plant to run factories.

With it, you can process materials like mithril, adamantium, and ether, which are impossible to work on with human strength alone.

To create this Magic Circuit, first…

‘I need rubber! Rubber is necessary.’

There’s a raw material that can’t be obtained in the north.

The problem is that the rubber is located in the southern continent.

The southern continent, where non-human races strictly prohibit human entry.

For the Northern Duchy, which doesn’t even directly trade with the Kingdom Alliance, let alone the southern continent, it’s like helium-3 on the moon.

“Mr. Arad? Are you done?”

Valkyrie snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Oh! Yes! Done! Fortunately, it’s not too damaged.”

I examined the pauldron worn by Sir Valkyrie and said.

“Is that so? What a relief. I was so startled when it suddenly stopped working, man.”

His pauldrons looked different from regular knight armor. There were magic stones embedded between the shoulder guards.

An artifact that defends against all kinds of curses, barriers, and ranged magical attacks up to three times.

“It blocks spells below the third circle three times, fourth circle twice, and fifth circle once. After that, it’s just a regular pauldron. And starting from the sixth circle, it won’t block at all, so please avoid them at all costs.”

“I’ve heard that so many times, I’m hearing echoes now.”

Valkyrie gave a slightly annoyed expression at my explanation.

I nag because I don’t want anyone using my creations to get seriously injured or die, but his reaction is disappointing.

There’s something else even more disappointing though.

‘It’s a shame it’s not rechargeable.’

The magic stone embedded in it was a high-grade magic stone.

Yet, it’s a consumable item, just like the mana potion.

If this wasn’t the mineral-rich northern region, I would’ve given up on acquiring materials at the very beginning.

‘If only it were made of mithril or adamantium, it could’ve been a semi-permanent rechargeable magical armor…’

I swallowed and moved on to the next person.

“Sir Duk’s shield is the same. It’s in perfect condition.”

Duk stayed behind to guard High City instead of roaming the north like Valkyrie and the high knights. Therefore, his enchanted shield was as good as new.

“Hmm.”

After briefly checking his shield and nodding, he silently stepped back.

“Next! Sir Eopte, please come forward.”

Following Valkyrie and Sun, I inspected the pauldrons of other high knights.

Time was tight, and the infrastructure was still poor. These magical armaments were the best I could manage under such conditions.

I could only hope they function properly in critical situations.

About ten minutes passed, and all maintenance was complete.

“But why did you all suddenly rush here?”

Once the task was done, I finally asked the question I had been most curious about.

Why did the gentlemen who went hunting the Bell Witch and dark wizards suddenly return here?

“We thought we figured out where the bastards might be. If it weren’t for the detector you made before, we’d have been in serious trouble.”

That reminded me naturally of Lady Ariana, the Duchess of the Northern Region, who is currently at High City.

Now I understand why they came here.

“Hurry, shouldn’t we head to the Palace of Glory? His Majesty is in danger!”

“That’s right. Sir Valkyrie, General Sun, we must head to High City immediately!”

“While Mr. Arad and the workshop are important, Her Highness the Duchess is much more important.”

Not just me, but the other high knights also urgently urged.

“Don’t worry. We still have time. Besides, isn’t the Great Witch of Spring also at High City? By the way, did you give her any magical armament? Giving something like this to a great witch could be a big help in battle.”

“All the magical armaments I could give were blocked by the damn curse. At least the magic pipe seemed to have no adverse reactions, so I made her a new one with maximum effect and gifted it to her.”

“Thank goodness.”

Both me and the high knights were anxious, but Valkyrie and Sun remained unusually calm.

“You two aren’t acting like Sir Valkyrie and General Sun.”

I kept urging them.

“Hurry to the palace and protect His Majesty. How will you bear the grief if something happens?”

“Alright, it’s about time we go.”

“If you keep saying that, we have no choice but to leave.”

Finally, unable to resist the continuous urging, Valkyrie and Sun prepared to leave.

“I’ll go too, I’ll go too.”

At that moment, Mary, who was standing beside me, suddenly expressed her intention to join the fight.

She must have noticed something from the attitudes of Valkyrie and Sun.

“Mr. Arad.”

Ignoring Mary’s opinion, Valkyrie called out to me.

“Yes?”

“Will you be somewhere tonight?”

“I’ll probably stay here at the First Factory.”

“Good, that’s reassuring.”

“I guess I have a feeling too.”

“Indeed, excellent intuition. That’s why you’ve prepared accordingly?”

“Yes, I generally prepare like this wherever I stay for a long time.”

“Indeed.”

My answer visibly relieved Valkyrie.

“Let me ask you one favor.”

“Speak your request.”

“Just as you said earlier, absolutely do not leave this place. Especially stay here with Lady Mary at all costs.”

“Understood.”

“Though it may sound strange since I’m asking, swear to me. Swear that you will not wander outside the factory with Lady Mary.”

“…I swear.”

This behavior from Valkyrie is the first I’ve seen since the Abyss of the Magic Realm, and unknowingly, I swore.

Of course, I understood why Valkyrie was being so serious.

‘Even though she’s a bastard child, Mary still has the blue blood of the Lenslet ducal family.’

“…”

As the conversation progressed, Mary didn’t open her mouth again.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

“Wishing you luck.”

That way, Valkyrie, Sun, and the high knights of High City left the workshop one after another.

It seemed like part of the nearby Frosthaven forces guarding me also departed.

After the knights left…

“Boss, aren’t you going?”

Mary asked with a firm voice.

“Where to?”

“Don’t you need to protect Her Highness the Duchess?”

“Me?”

“Yes!”

At that moment, Mary completely failed to understand my expression as she stared at me.

I also gazed at her with a similar look.

“Huh, but…! Boss, didn’t you go alone into the depths of the Magic Realm when Her Highness was in danger before? I’ve heard about the magic flail you used then.”

“Ahh… that thing?”

I think I understand why she’s reacting this way.

“At that time, I acted because I was the only one who could save Her Highness. But it’s different now. There’s no existence in this continent that can match the high knights of Lenslet armed with magic armor and sword masters. Not even Duke Doom of Darkness or Yulkaneis, the Gold Mage Tower Master could do it.”

Unless it’s a dragon from legend.

But a dragon that didn’t even appear in the Silver Age game wouldn’t suddenly show up now.

“Still… Boss’s participation will definitely be a big help.”

Despite my explanation, Mary didn’t give up.

‘She must be worried about her sister. Isabel must be worried too.’

I respected Mary’s feelings.

“Will our participation really be helpful? Have you ever considered that we might hinder rather than help?”

But respecting her feelings doesn’t mean agreeing with her opinion.

“If we go to High City now, both me and you will be in danger.”

“……!”

“Valkyrie, Sun, Isabel, and the other high knights would struggle to protect us two who suddenly appeared, preventing them from performing at their full potential.”

The more decisive my words became, the more Mary’s shoulders slowly slumped.

“Most importantly, I’ve already sworn an oath to Sir Valkyrie. I cannot break that oath.”

Regardless of empathy, impossible is impossible.