Kays Translations

Chapter 29: Prototype of Functional Circles 

"I see. So it's divided into parts for generating the required magic power, the part to activate the magic, and the part that controls the whole... When you put it that way, it seems quite efficient, but no one could have ever predicted such a thing. Deciphering it would have been impossible..."

As Eto assisted with the prototype work while receiving explanations from Isamu, he spoke thoughtfully.

"Well, it's all about principles and ways of thinking. I happened to have a similar way of thinking in the world I came from, so I understood it quickly. But reaching a new concept on your own is a very high hurdle."

Isamu replied while also sketching out the functional circle for the prototype. Many parts of the original functional circles were directly copied, so he delegated that to Eto, while he focused on re-writing the parts that needed it.

"Now, this part connects to the activation circle, so I'll use this functional circle as a reference..."

Isamu said while working on it. Because the connection part from the Heat Enchantment circle was missing, they decided to adapt the Fire Ignition circle for this purpose.

"It seems that the magic power conversion and variable count needed to activate the functional circle are slightly different from the activation circle. I'll make adjustments here first... Yeah, that should do it. For now, we can substitute the activation circle with the lantern’s. How about over there, Eto-san?"

"Yeah, I'm almost done."

And thus, after about half a day, the prototype of the magic tool using the Heat Enchantment was finally completed.

The magic tool they had produced this time was something like a stove that directly utilized the effects of the Heat Enchantment. The Heat Enchantment provided the ability to add heat to a designated object upon contact, making it highly versatile. As the simplest application, they envisioned placing a copper plate with high heat conductivity for heating, similar to an electric stove. They created two prototypes, one with the original numerical values from the functional circle and another with half of those values, since they had no knowledge of the actual magic power consumption and heat generation. They also prepared a pot filled with water to test its performance as a stove, along with Fire Elemental Stones and the non-attribute stones for activation.

"Fufufu... finally, the moment has arrived. The historic moment of fulfilling the dream of a magic tool craftsman—creating one's own magic tool!"

In front of the assembled prototype, Eto's face expressed boundless joy as he exclaimed.

"Just a little while ago, I thought I had just created an activation circle, and now we're even making functional circles... Honestly, it's beyond words."

"Yes, indeed. And you helped cure my expedition sickness on the side. I can't thank you enough."

The lord and lady of the domain had rushed to witness this historic experiment. Selfers, although not in perfect condition, was able to move enough to be present at this occasion.

"Now then, here we go! Eto-san, I'll leave the activation to you."

"Sure, leave it to me!"

"Alright, then, let's start! I'll count down. 3... 2... 1... Activation!"

At Isamu’s signal, they simultaneously touched the non-attribute magic stone of the activation circle. The activation circle lit up with a faint light, and that light was finally connected to the functional circle.

From this point on, it was uncharted territory. As expected, the conversion and acquisition of the necessary magic power should happen, but...

With bated breath, everyone watched as the magic circuit connecting the activation circle and the functional circle lit up faintly.

Then, in the next moment, as a faint vermilion light lit up on the Fire Elemental Stone, the entire functional circle emitted a soft glow, accompanied by a small sound.

Next, the magic circle that triggered the Heat Enchantment's effect also radiated a vermilion light, similar to the magic stone.

"All right. It seems fine up to this point. The Heat Enchantment should be activated properly!"

"...That's right. Now let's see how much the copper plate can be heated."

Observing the prototype's behavior, Isamu and Eto nodded in agreement. They continued to observe for a little over a minute, and steam began to rise from the pot of the prototype with the same magic power consumption values as the original.

"I-Isamu-san! Hot water, hot water is boiling! This is amazing..."

Upon seeing this, Annemarie grabbed Isamu’s arm and exclaimed in delight.

A minute later, steam also began to rise from the prototype with half the magic power consumption values.

"All right, it seems fine on this side too."

"Yes, but just to be safe, let's keep an eye on it for a little longer. We particularly want to see how high the temperature goes, especially for the one with the higher magic power consumption.” 

"I see. I don't think there is enough heat to melt copper, but if it were to be high enough, it would be dangerous."

What Isamu and Eto were most concerned about was that aspect. They couldn't find any logic for managing and controlling the temperature; the magic circle simply quantified the amount of magic energy extracted from the magic stone and the amount poured into the magic circle. 

The balance between input and output was completely unclear. While there was a safety feature in place, it wasn't clear what threshold would trigger it. If the underlying function of the magic circle had any military purpose, there was even the possibility of it reaching extremely high temperatures.

About 15 minutes of careful observation. The water in the pot on the default settings side had completely evaporated. Isamu then observed it in a dry state for a while, but neither the copper plate nor the pot melted nor did they become red-hot. The side with reduced magic power eventually had the pot's water completely evaporate as well, and, naturally, there was no melting here either.

"Well, I may have gotten overly excited for my age, but can't we consider this experiment a resounding success?"

"Yes, it was almost as expected, so it's a great success!"

Eto and Isamu exchanged triumphant smiles and gave each other a high-five. 

"Next, it's urgent to investigate the continuous operating time and the relationship between magic power and heat."

"Indeed, without understanding that, we can't use it as a magic tool. On the other hand, if we can figure that out, we can use it as a magic tool almost immediately."

"Good grief... do those two have no feelings of being impressed or savoring the moment? They've just accomplished a great feat since the dawn of the New Magic Era, and yet they're already thinking about the next experiment."

"Craftsmen and engineers are like that. They're driven by what comes next, rather than dwelling on the past."

"Yes, their current faces look like they've just gotten their hands on the most exciting toy and can't contain their joy," 

Nicolette said, chuckling as she watched the two.

Finally, Isamu, who had created functional circles that worked, was now going to fully demonstrate the true value of his magic ability skills.

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