novelFinal Pike (2)
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Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
"I request that you stop everything regarding the modification research of the mottled crystals from today onward."
"Huh?"
Lapis was stunned. Lize gazed dubiously from beside him. In fact, they knew how important this research was. But, why did Rhode... make such a decision?
"Why, Sir Rhode?"
Lapis knitted her brows and asked in discontentment. Rhode sighed inwardly because this was what he expected. Lapis had holed herself up for too long apart from society. She was like the scientists who appeared in the movies—indulged in their theory and research, where they didn't care if their work would destroy the world. Wrong; one should say that they didn't notice instead. They worked hard and craved to successfully create or resolve the tough tasks. Marlene clearly knew what damage magical weapons could bring to the world, but Lapis's only resolve was to tackle the problem of 'lowering the Final Pike's high consumption rate and using the lowest budget to accomplish the desired results'. The concerns about these weapons puncturing holes in innocent people had never been a consideration in her head.
If it were others, Rhode wouldn't be mindful. However, Lapis was different. Besides, he considered her background and understood the reason why she worked so hard. He didn't wish to see his capable subordinate regretting her decision in the future, mourning that everything she did would bring so much harm. Of course, it would be a waste if he lost her after she blamed herself.
Taking the vaccination early wouldn't be wrong.
"Lapis."
Rhode gazed at the young lady. He was aware of her dissatisfaction. However, this was fine. If she could listen to his words under such a circumstance, it would prove that everything he did was right.
"Let me ask you. Who were the ones who could use the Final Pike when Marlene brought it to you?"
"Hmm..."
Lapis pondered.
"... The ones who grasped spiritual powers. After all, the Final Pike doesn't require their supply of coalesced powers. They only need to activate the weapon with their spiritual powers."
"Alright then. You should be aware of the reason why the Senia Family abandoned this project, right?"
"Yes. High-purity magic crystals are too expensive and rare, so they couldn't mass produce."
Lapis gazed curiously at him. Didn't they just talk about this problem? This was why Marlene brought this weapon to her for modifications, wasn't it?
"So, let's say that your research is successful. The mottled crystals perfectly fit into your design. Can we mass produce and hand them to everyone?"
"That's for sure!"
Lapis turned excited and gesticulated for joy.
"No problem! Although triggering the mechanism requires magic crystals, they won't be as rare as high-purity magic crystals. If we succeed, anyone who grasps spiritual energy can..."
Lapis lowered her voice all of a sudden and puckered her brows as though something wasn't right. Then, she finally discovered the problem.
"That's right, anyone can use them as long as they possess spiritual energy."
Rhode nodded.
"Mottled crystals can be found all around the streets. If anyone were to get their hands on the blueprint, the Munn Kingdom, Country of Light, and even Country of Darkness can mass produce them. Right?"
"... That..."
Lapis nodded.
"... Is right, theoretically. B-But..."
Lapis stuttered with an excuse perhaps feeling unconvinced.
"... But I've changed the structure of this weapon and only I know how!"
"I thought I heard that you said Christie and your assistants have helped you with it."
"Yes... Sir Rhode."
Lapis lowered her head gloomily. Then, she quickly raised her head.
"B-But, they only purchased the materials and provided the design. I guarantee that they aren't sure of the contents!"
"You see, this is where the problem lies."
Rhode clapped his hands.
"Imagine... Alright, Lapis. Imagine the day you've created a sword that can instantly kill as long as it touches its target. Moreover, the production of this sword is extremely easy. As long as one gets one's hand on the blueprint, any blacksmith can produce it. What do you think will happen to this world? Everyone will want to purchase it, right?"
"That..."
Lapis couldn't answer, but her pale expression clearly explained her thoughts.
"Alright then, imagine this. If you're the only one who knows how to create it; do you think those people will let you or the people around you off? Such as Christie, who had given you suggestions? Or perhaps the others who assisted you? If they expressed that they weren't sure about the content, do you think those people will let them off with a "Oh, I'm sorry. We've made a mistake"?"
"I... I..."
"You're lacking consideration, Lapis."
Rhode knew that she was aware of the point he was getting across judging from her depressing expression. It was apparent that she treated this matter as a 'research subject'. However, wasn't a nuclear reactor also a 'research subject' too? But it was fine because she was still young. Moreover, it still wasn't too late with his reminders, unlike the senior scientists who had poured their entire lives into their research and couldn't give up at the point of regret. That was the true meaning of tragedy.
"I'm fine with the creation of ordinary magic weapons and potions, but I hope you can be more cautious with such dangerous research. If possible, don't let anyone know and don't speak a word about it."
"Yes, I understand, Sir Rhode."
Lapis lowered her head pitifully. She was responsible for modifying magical weapons, so she knew how capable she was in this field. Rhode extended his arm and caressed her head gently.
"I hope you realize this, Lapis. You are valuable to us and also my very important subordinate. I don't wish to see you get hurt due to your negligence or other undesirable reasons. Do you know what I mean? This is important. I hope you can understand what you're doing before you start any research and be aware of the possible consequences. I will keep supporting you."
"Thank you... Sir Rhode."
Lapis pondered for a few moments before nodding with all her might. Then, Rhode revealed a gentle smile in his eyes.
"Good, Lapis. Alright then. From now onward, give up on the mottled crystals research. I remember you told me that ordinary magic crystals can achieve even better results. I hope you can research into this more like how the exploding magic crystals can turn into useful magic spells... Perhaps this will be much more effective."
"No problem, Sir Rhode. I'll get onto it now."
Lapis' eyes glinted with hope. In fact, many players in the game had achieved this—albeit, they didn't create a weapon as powerful as the Final Pike... The reason why it was so simple was because Rhode didn't seek perfection. Nothing good came out of crossing the finish line in a single step.
"Also, come up with a way to decrease its weight."
Rhode weighed the Final Pike in his hand before placing it back on the platform.
"Not anyone can move this thing around. Perhaps you can only get Anne to use the current experimental products."
"Got it. I will do it now!"
Lapis turned around and scuttled into the research room. Rhode shrugged helplessly and at this moment, Lize said, "Thank you, Mr Rhode."
"What for?"
Rhode turned around to see Lize's smile.
"Nothing, I just feel that... It is great that I met you in my life."
The young lady replied softly.
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Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Even though Rhode had successfully corrected Lapis's mindset, it apparently wasn't enough to count on her fully. Thereafter, he got Marlene to guide Lapis along. Unlike Lapis, Marlene understood the potential dangers of this research and agreed immediately. Rhode wasn't concerned about how she would go about doing it. As the heir of the Senia Family, she definitely knew the production process of the Final Pike. Of course, Rhode wasn't worried that she would tell them about the modifications. In fact, it also wouldn't matter even if she told them. At least for now, Lapis was the only one with enough skills to modify the Final Pike. To say the least, a large project like the Final Pike was the beginning of the Senia Family's rising. As a transmigrator, Rhode knew that basics were always the hardest to master. The Senia Family spent a whole lot of resources and finally created this product sample. Although it was rather flashy, yet not substantial, the theoretical effect had still been reached. Just like a man-made aircraft—costly, but at least it proved that humans could fly without a pair of wings, which was the most important result.
If it weren't for the foundation that the Senia Family built, perhaps Rhode wouldn't know how much capital he needed to come up with such a thing. Judging from this point, he didn't mind letting the Senia Family know of Lapis's modifications. But... He didn't think that the Senia Family was innocent. He believed that their patriarch might have already known about his relationship with Marlene. Initially, Rhode had prepared himself to be interrogated anytime, but he didn't expect that they didn't take any actions. Marlene had returned to the fortress for a long time and apart from seeing her writing daily updates to her family, he had never seen any representative from the Senia Family visiting her.
But Rhode knew that the Senia Family wasn't only odd about this... Yes. They definitely knew something about him, judging from Marlene's behavior. However, he didn't raise any questions. He believed that she would tell him the truth when the time was ripe. Right now, he had more important things on his hands.
"Here it is, Master."
Rhode came to a halt and gazed ahead at the six-meters-tall stela erected on the hill, with burning flames on its peak. But they weren't ordinary flames. After taking a closer look, one could see that a thin straight line winding around the flames, coalescing and merging into it, shining in a white radiance.
Order Flame Column.
The Order Flame Column was a simple presence used to maintain the stable Order space. When Rhode first accepted the Land of Atonement, the Order space in this territory was strangely unstable as it was close to the Chaos borders. Not only were the seasons undistinguishable, but the sun also rise and set irregularly. Moreover, dangerous creatures often emerged from the Chaos borders. After Rhode summoned Canary and Mini Bubble Gum in the fortress, they led the mercenaries in sweeping the entire Land of Atonement to eliminate the distorted Chaos locations, and placed the Order Flame Column thereafter. This way, it guaranteed the stabilization of Order, so Chaos couldn't infiltrate the territory again. All in all, the Order Flame Column was like a plaster over a wound and would only be effective until the Order that was corrupted by Chaos restored its original state.
But this time, Rhode's purpose in setting up the Order Flame Column near the border wasn't to stabilize Order.
"Boss, what are we gonna do here..."
Joey muttered hesitantly and scanned the place. Just ahead was the Land of Chaos and the scenery was entirely different there.
Although it was only a dozen meters away from them, it appeared like a totally different world. The sky was dusky like a sheet of paper stained by spreading ink and oddly-shaped holes emerged from time to time, emanating strange colors. Not only that, but the weather was also incomparably weird. Joey was sure that he witnessed winter and summer interchanging before him twice in just 10 minutes. Lush greenery grew over the land, but instantly turned into an endless desert as soon as strong gales blew...
What a strange place!
Rhode realized that everyone looked uncomfortable. Although it sounded as though the view was magical, in fact, the transforming scenes actually left them nauseous. It wasn't only a sense of discomfort, but also the instinctive hatred and disgust that the people of Order held toward Chaos.
Marlene and Lize didn't look better. As spell casters, they were much more closely related to Order, so they felt the effects of the Chaos presence more intensely than others. Lize gazed curiously at Rhode as she couldn't figure out why he brought them here. Besides...
Lize turned to the two chariots behind the group stacked with all sorts of goods—mainly food supplies, clothing, and weapons. Could it be that Rhode had a business deal with someone? What about that strange-looking, circular pattern at the feet of the Order Flame Column laid out by stones?
Boom... Boom...
At this moment, loud footsteps were heard.
Everyone was scared stiff and looked around in panic. The footsteps sounded so strange—they were so close, yet so far. Not only that, but they also seemed to be everywhere around them. Most of the people hadn't experienced such a situation before. Joey unsheathed his dagger while Marlene and Lize leaned towards Rhode subconsciously. They had never been this close to the Chaos border because they had heard about legends where people who approached Chaos out of curiosity had their souls extracted and never turned back as they headed into Chaos.
Then, several tall figures emerged from the indistinct Chaos.
"That is..."
Marlene widened her eyes in astonishment. There were around three to four burly humans with wild, barbaric appearances. Their style of dress was also unevenly sized. Lize witnessed one strong, muscular man clad in chain mail that couldn't even cover his stomach. She was sure that the chain mail definitely wasn't for him! Not only that, but they also carried enormous weapons and a torch burning with Order flames.
"..."
After they stepped out of the Land of Chaos, the strange, loud footsteps instantly returned to their usual volume. Rhode shook his head at the sight of everyone staring in disbelief. The Land of Chaos was truly a mysterious place.
It seems like it's necessary for them to familiarize themselves with that place.
Rhode was aware that in the near future, he had to lead this group into the depths of the Land of Chaos. Judging from their current state, they would surely be doomed.
"Did you light up the column?"
The mysterious figures arrived before them and their leader asked.
"Yes."
Rhode gestured for everyone to stay calm and nodded in agreement.
"Good."
The leader gazed in astonishment and nodded without speaking a word. Then, he lifted a large sack from behind and dropped it before him. Two of the men behind him drew their weapons and pointed forward, to which Rhode's group instantly tensed up. The group didn't know who these people were, but they seemed intimidating. The group readied their weapons and gazed at the mysterious men in uncertainty. Up until this moment, they still couldn't understand why Rhode came to this place. However... judging from Rhode's behavior, it seems like he knew those people.
The leader ignored their reactions. He simply pointed at the stuff on the ground and looked at Rhode.
"Deal."
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