SWNOVELXO Chapter 81.1
Arad Radar
A detector. A magical tool painstakingly crafted by Arad and Mary during the past Mana Wave.
To use it, one would melt magic stones, spread the liquid onto a thin plate, and place a sample of the target on it.
The sample could be a strand of hair, a commonly used object, or, if those weren’t available, a similar energy source.
Typically, ground magic stones served as the energy source.
For example, if the target was tied to dark mages’ misdeeds, dark-attributed magic stone powder was used.
If the mischief originated from the Magic Tower’s mages meddling with intellect, one would place soil from a greenhouse farm.
“This is truly an incredible magical tool!”
“It doesn’t just detect the unholy. If you set your mind to it, it can locate nearly anything.”
“My goodness! I put some mid-grade magic stone powder on it, and look! It’s pinpointing a site with a vast deposit of mid-grade magic stones!”
“With this, we can drastically improve the efficiency of northern magic stone mining!”
“Silver and gold mines too! With this, they’ll be so much easier to find!”
Despite being hastily and roughly assembled, witches and knights alike showered the detector with praise.
It could locate people, curses, totems, monsters, and even minerals.
The detector’s potential was astonishing.
“This is getting better feedback than I expected.”
For a creator, nothing is more satisfying than seeing people enthuse over their creation.
Feeling elated, Arad decided to upgrade the detector.
He enhanced its durability and lifespan, transitioning it from a disposable item to something long-lasting.
“I’ll name this… Radar! Arad Radar!”
Thus, the Arad Radar was born, becoming a magical tool directly managed by the High Tower and the Frost Knights. Its primary uses were military operations and resource exploration.
“With this detector, finding the Bell Witch and those dark mage scoundrels is a piece of cake!”
Although its official name was Arad Radar, knights continued to call it simply “the detector.”
“Make sure to bring the detector for this extermination mission!”
“Always carry the detector while patrolling the northern regions!”
Nearly every knight and cavalryman in the north carried the detector, scouring the region with a menacing intensity, ready to cut down any trace of dark magic.
“Where are these bastards hiding?!”
“We checked Haven, as well as the major plague-stricken cities—Cadia, Shuenn, and Remm—but there’s nothing!”
“What exactly did the detector show?”
“It marked totems and magic circles left behind by the dark mages! They appear to be barriers designed to keep the plague from dissipating.”
However, neither the dark mages nor Haran could be found.
The dark energy discovered in the northern plague-stricken cities—Shuenn, Narvik, Cadia, Remm, and Haven—turned out to be remnants of the totems and barriers the enemies had secretly set up before disappearing.
“What do we do? Should we destroy the totems?”
“No, touching them recklessly might trigger unintended side effects.”
“Leave the totems and barriers to the witches! We’ll handle our job!”
“Damn it! Those bastards! Where the hell are they hiding?!”
“There’s no way they’d just vanish without a trace!”
The knights tirelessly scoured the northern region. Anxiously, they checked the Arad Radar multiple times a day.
“Could it be…?”
A sudden chill ran through Balzac and the knights.
“Right now, aren’t only the Spring Grand Witch and Sun at the High Tower?”
“Can those two handle the Bell Witch and multiple high-ranking dark mages from the Devil’s Den?”
“What’s the closest mountain to the High Tower?”
With a sinking feeling, Balzac and the knights aimed the radar in the direction of the High Tower.
Several hours passed.
“!!”
Faint signals began glowing on the radar’s coordinates.
“Damn it!”
“Hurry! Head for the High Tower!”
Realizing the enemy’s true plan, Balzac and the knights spurred their horses and rushed towards the High Tower.
“Winterhawks! Summon the Winterhawks!”
As they raced towards the High Tower, Balzac sent messages with two Winterhawks, each carrying a different letter.
“To the Spring Grand Witch, inform her of the dark mages’ real goal. To Her Highness, simply say we’re stopping by the High Tower briefly for repairs!”
Knowing Arina as he did, Balzac was certain she’d try to join the battle no matter what.
Preventing her from participating in a dangerous fight while her strength hadn’t yet recovered was essential.
***
Whether it’s Earth’s advanced technology or another world’s magical engineering, the ultimate development path always leads to the defense industry.
I had the knowledge to create weapons suited to the Arcane Punk era: magic guns, energy swords, shield armors, flying shoes, airships, mana trains—the possibilities were endless.
But for now, they were out of reach.
Even someone like me, who had crafted everything from golden carriages and elixirs to semi-permanent subspace bags and mana potions, found this task daunting.
Why? The required facilities simply didn’t exist.
The key facility was called a Magic Engine.
Unlike Earth’s steam engines, diesel engines, or nuclear power, the magic engine was on a completely different level. It wasn’t merely an engine for trains or airships; it also powered factories.
Without it, materials like mithril, adamantium, and ether—impossible to process with human effort—couldn’t be manufactured.
To build a magic engine, the first essential resource was…
“Rubber. I need rubber.”
Unfortunately, rubber was a raw material unavailable in the North.
The problem was that it existed only on the Southern Continent, where access was strictly forbidden by the non-human races living there.
For the Northern Grand Duchy, which couldn’t even engage in direct trade with the Kingdom Alliance, let alone the Southern Continent, rubber was as unattainable as helium-3 from the moon.
“Sir Arad? Is it ready?”
Lost in thought, I snapped back to reality as Balzac interrupted.
“Ah! Yes! It’s ready. Fortunately, it wasn’t too badly damaged.”
Inspecting Balzac’s pauldron, I replied.
“Really? That’s a relief. I was so startled when it suddenly stopped working.”
Unlike ordinary knight armor, his pauldrons had embedded magic stones.
They were artifacts capable of blocking up to three curses, barriers, or ranged magic attacks.
“Magic below 3rd Circle can be blocked three times, 4th Circle magic twice, and 5th Circle magic once. Anything above 6th Circle is impossible, so avoid it at all costs.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it so many times I hear it in my sleep.”
Balzac looked mildly exasperated, his face betraying his weariness from my constant warnings.
I nagged only because I couldn’t bear to see anyone get seriously injured or killed while using something I had made, yet his reaction was disheartening.
What was even more frustrating, though, was something else.
“Such a pity it’s not rechargeable.”
The magic stone embedded in the artifact was a high-grade one, but it was a consumable item.
Had it not been for the abundance of magic stone mines in the North, I might have given up at the materials procurement stage.
“If only I could have made it with mithril or adamantium, it would’ve been a rechargeable magic armor usable semi-permanently…”
Smacking my lips, I moved on to the next item.
“Sir Sun’s shield is in the same condition. It’s perfectly intact.”
Sun had remained stationed at the High Tower instead of wandering across the North like Balzac and the senior knights. Consequently, his enchanted shield was as pristine as the day it was made.
“Hmm.”
After a quick inspection of his shield, I nodded, and he withdrew without a word.
“Next! Sir Eote, please step forward.”
Following Balzac and Sun, I examined the pauldrons of the other senior knights.
Time was tight, and the infrastructure was still lacking. These magical artifacts had been crafted with the best methods I could manage under the circumstances. I could only hope they would work flawlessly in critical moments.
About ten minutes later, I had finished all the maintenance.
“Why did you all suddenly gather here?”