Release that Witch

In the underground laboratory in the Third Border City

Roland immediately took Anna to the laboratory. Through the thick protection glass, he saw two activated Magic Ceremony Cubes at the center of the laboratory. The wall of the laboratory was plastered with lead plates. One of the Cubes looked quite normal while the other ejected much shorter red laser beams.

”Is the one that ejects shorter red light the new replicate?” Anna asked perceptively.

”That’s right. Actually, it was purely an accident,” Celine replied brightly. ”Normally, Slimwrist carves the patterns on the parts. If the materials are damaged, then it won’t be easy to duplicate the patterns, so we normally dispose those damaged stones. However, a week ago when Slimwrist was carving Part No. 236, we found the stone crack, which means this specific part is defective.”

Roland asked meditatively, ”But you didn’t throw No. 236 away?” As all the materials used to create duplicates were collected from the Southernmost Region, and since those tablets had been buried underground for 1,000 years, it was normal to have damage here and there.

Celine tapped her main tentacle and said, ”I thought it would be a waste to throw it away, so I kept it just in case. Then I installed it on the Magic Cube previously made to see whether it would function properly.”

Roland looked at Celine incredulously. That was a nuclear torture device!

”Don’t worry, Your Majesty,” Celine said as if seeing the thought in Roland’s mind. She raised her blobbed head and continued, ”I conducted the test in the Impassable Mountain Range. Nothing would happen to Neverwinter even if something went terribly wrong. This is a principle followed by the members of the Quest Society. You don’t need to feel sad for me in the event I’m killed. For the sake of truth, I really can’t care less about my personal safety...”

Looking at eloquent Celine, Roland realized his concern was unnecessary. He thus said, ”Now, your finding!”

”Ahem, sorry,” Celine said while clearing her throat. ”Anyway, just as what you’ve seen, the Magic Cube could still be activated, although the range of the red beam shortened by 90%. However, the tri-tank magic power unit could still transmit energies. I conducted a heating test to see whether the shortened red beam affected heat transmission. It took me two to three days to complete the test. When I examined the uranium chip, I was amazed to find that it did not change much. Also, it appears that much less magic power was consumed when the range of the red beam shortened.”

Anna asked thoughtfully, ”So, most of the magic power was used to maintain the red beam?”

”I now understand why you became a Senior Witch even faster than Agatha,” Celine praised. ”It took me quite a while to reach the same conclusion. If that beam is comprised of numerous tiny particles, it’ll be hard to direct them all to the same spot. The experiment indicated that the heat transmission on the front, left and right sides wouldn’t be affected as long as you didn’t touch the red beam. Therefore, I conclude that the decrease in the laser range did save a lot of power.”

”Hang on,” Roland interrupted suddenly. ”This means that Part No. 236 determines the radiation range?”

This was definitely a major discovery even more important than the sustainability of the power system. There were around more than 300 parts in one Magic Ceremony Cube. Nobody knew how magic power worked through those patterned stones. Now, there seemed to be a solution to analyze the power within the cube.

”Yes,” Celine assented, a twinge of excitement in her voice. ”Perhaps the patterns on each part have a specific function. If we could decipher those patterns, we could probably understand how magic power worked within the Magic Ceremony Cube.”

”Each part functions differently. It looks like the radiation clan shared the same mindset with us,” Anna said with a smile. ”Aren’t we lucky?”

”Of course,” Roland confirmed with a nod. He knew what Anna meant. Civilizations varied drastically in terms of language, mindset and appearance. It was almost impossible to find a similar one to learn from. The underground civilization, for example, could only operate the core device after transferring the soul to a carrier. Celine had spent hundreds of years trying to understand its mechanism, but the research was fruitless.

Therefore, each civilization, in a way, was lonely.

Although Roland had promised earlier that human beings could still learn from lost civilizations without the legacy shards, it was actually not easy to do so, especially when there was no guidance or assistance available. How could one learn about the other when they had different mindsets?

If Celine was right, then the radiation clan, which was the first civilization that shared some similarity with the human race, might enlighten them on the research of magic power.

”By the way,” Anna said as she suddenly grinned at Roland. ”Since the magic power unit has been finalized and we have also solved the sustainability problem, isn’t it time for you to fulfill your promise?”

Gazing at Anna’s bright, blue eyes, Roland found it hard to turn down her request.

”Yes, yes... Your Highness,” he said while smiling back. ”I’ll start working on it once I’m back to the castle.”

...

The dawn broke with loud noises.

Soraya sat up from her bed in a daze.

She yawned dramatically and fumbled for her clothes. These were the noises produced by steam engines that she heard every morning. They marked the beginning of another busy day.

But she noticed it was particularly early today. Soraya cast a glance at Echo who was still deep in her sleep, and put on her clothes quietly. She wondered who else in the castle got up earlier than her.

Then Soraya suddenly realized that this was not the industrial zone. Why were there noises of steam engines. It was weekend today, and most of the witches slept in. The castle would be empty until it was time for lunch. Was she dreaming?

The roar started again outside the window, and Soraya heard someone talk and laugh sprightly.

”This is so interesting!”

”Your Majesty, let me try it.”

”Me too, me too!”

”What happened?” Echo asked blearily as she rose.

”I don’t know. It’s probably Mystery Moon...” Soraya said as she stretched and pulled back the thick curtains. Sunlight spilled across the room through the window. It was actually not early anymore.

After she became more comfortable with the sudden brightness, she peered down from her window and was surprised at what she saw.

Many witches were congregated at the castle gate, staring at something at the center of the yard, looking excited.

Soraya then saw Anna sitting in a peculiar four-wheeled carriage. There were no horses, but the vehicle ran on its own. Anna’s face split into a big smile.

Immediately, Soraya’s eyes were glued to the strange vehicle.