Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thor’s Stone

The overall make was simple enough. The insides of this gadget were almost bare apart from the components shown to me. I can’t imagine just how such a structure can cause flames.

“What exactly is this part?”

I pointed at the flame adjustment lever as I asked.

“It’s used in conjunction with the magic wire. I’ll explain in detail later.”

“First, let’s talk about the magic stone. You do know about magic stones, right? The magic stone here and the magic wire need to be constantly in contact for the tool to work properly. The magic wire is an ordinary but tough string that was soaked in a kind of special liquid which then hardens and covers the string’s entire surface. Please try touching it for yourself.”

I did so and felt the item’s rough and stiff surface.

“What is that special liquid?”

“It’s called magic fluid, and its exact components and production method is another one of our Magic Guild’s top secrets. But, basically, it’s made up of used magic stones which have been emptied of their magic energy, which are then crushed into powder and processed into liquid form.”

“Can I buy magic fluid from the Guild?”

“Of course. A bottle of this size is priced at one large silver. Oh, but Guild members can purchase it at eight ordinary silvers.”

The bottle she showed me looked to be about one liter. So this bottle is eight silvers, huh? It sure is expensive for just a material used to make a component of a magic tool.

The high price may be a substitute for a proper patent system. If someone ever wants to develop and make a magic tool of their own, they would inevitably still need to purchase the raw materials sold in the Guild. In other words, it’s a system that ensures the Magic Guild’s profits whenever a new magic tool is developed and made.

This may be one of the reasons why the Guild is still okay financially even if there are hardly any clients who come by.

“I will explain how it’s possible to adjust the intensity of the flames with the lever later.

The magic circle is a magic tool’s heart, so to speak. This magic circle determines the type of magic released, its strength, and the range of the magic effect that comes out from the magic conducting stone.”

“So what exactly are these things written on it? Some form of letters? Symbols?”

“It’s mostly made up of magic symbols, but some of them are also derived from ancient characters, so you can’t really say it’s completely made up of just symbols. It’s important to note that the correct way to create a magic circle is to start drawing the symbols from the outside towards the center, which is then connected to a single magic wire.”

“I see. Is there any meaning to that?”

“Of course. In summary, every component inside a magic tool, from the magic stone to the magic conducting stone is connected by a single thread. This is generally called a magic path.”

So it’s something similar to an electric circuit.

“And the material which provides all the magic power is the magic stone, right?”

“Correct. Every component, including the magic output stone, basically makes use of magic stones as one of the main materials.”

“What kind of material was used to make this magic output stone?”

“It’s also made from magic stones which have been emptied of their magic power. You can also buy these from the Guild shop, and they cost eight silvers apiece.”

It kinda feels like a rip-off, but I guess shaping the stones into this form did make for some hard labor.

“Does the shape of the magic output stone always have to be in this cone form?”

“It doesn’t have to be a cone in particular, but the shape needs to be able to efficiently conduct magic power and let it flow out unimpeded.”

“So the ink used to draw the magic circle on this paper also makes use of crushed magic stones?”

“Correct. We just used crushed magic stone powder and added some color to it.”

“How exactly does a magic tool activate?”

“That’s a good question. This isn’t info readily given out to common folk, but magic power has the tendency to get drawn into even more powerful clusters of magic power.”

I knew of that, actually.

“Basically, magic wires are made of materials that do not contain any trace of magic power. And magic circles contain less magic power on the outer portion of the circle, which grow more and more in amount as you draw near to the central portion by using ink that has more magic power contained within. That’s why a magic circle is drawn from the outside in.”

“What is the effect of drawing a magic circle correctly?”

“The flow of magic power will become smoother, and you can activate even more powerful magic.”

“I still can’t grasp the process of a magic tool’s magic activation.”

“Well, of course, you can’t. I haven’t even explained it yet, you know. Let’s take this step by step.

First, when this lever is in this downward position, the magic will not activate.

However, since the magic stone and the magic circle are connected, the magic power inside the magic stone is drawn to the magic power present in the magic circle, but the magic stone still contains more, so it won’t flow properly.

Once the lever is pulled, the ignition spell is activated, and at this point, the magic power will begin to flow out.”

“But isn’t the magic power contained in the magic stone greater than the magic power used by the ignition spell?”

“Yes, that’s right. However, the magic power suction effect brought about by activating the ignition spell trumps the innate tendency of magic power to get attracted to other stronger sources of magic power, and is forcibly drawn out.”

“What the heck? Something like that happens?”

“We don’t know the exact reason for this. But it is widely believed that this phenomenon is similar to the way us mages cast our spells.”

“So that’s how it is.”

The chief moved the lever. The ignition spell activated, and flames appeared about ten centimeters above the magic output stone attached inside the magic tool.

“Once you pull the lever, the ignition spell gets activated, which sucks up the magic power from the magic stone.”

“Earlier, you told me that the magic circle determines the strength of the magic spell that’s activated, but just why is the amount of flames released not fixed, but variable instead?”

“The strength of the magic spell inscribed in the magic circle is definitely fixed. But the output of the flames in this magic tool is actually controlled via the magic wire.

In other words, the magic wire connected to the magic stone is also fixed on the middle portion of the lever. And that magic wire is actually connected to this plate here.

This surface of this plate is coated with magic fluid with varying amounts of magic power per section.

We’re now at the lowest flame level. The magic wire connected to the magic stone is now in contact with a part of the plate where the magic fluid used to coat it has a lot more magic power compared to the ink used to draw the magic circle.

In other words, instead of a proper magic path where the magic power flow gradually increases in output, the magic wire that does not contain any magic power is connected to another piece of magic wire which has magic power already flowing to it and is furthermore connected to a magic circle which does not have any magic power flowing through it as well. It creates an improper magic path.

This type of path will not allow any magic power to flow through. That’s the reason why you can get a flame output which is lower than the spell activated by the magic circle.”

“I see.”

I kinda get it, but kinda not at the same time.

(Did you actually understand that explanation?)

「Affirmative.」

No problem then. I’ll just update that in the info database later.

“Whenever you move the lever, the contact point between the magic wire and the plate changes, and gets connected to sections of the plate where the magic power contained in the magic fluid coating gradually decreases. When you turn it all the way to the end, a correct magic path is created, and the output of the flames released is increased to the highest possible level.”

I see. I somehow get it now, I think. To put it simply, the system makes use of the difference in amounts of magic power contained in the magic fluid coating of the plate and performs a function similar to a variable resistor in electronic appliances.

“I see. I understand it now.”

“Ara, to think you understood something from my explanation. You’re quite the excellent student, Alan.