Chapter 289
Ancient monsters are incomparably stronger than present ones .
Similar monsters probably exist in the deepest parts of dungeons even now, but those types won't go above ground .
Human civilizations will collapse in a few months time if we leave those monsters alone .
Even though we would probably survive, coexisting with civilizations is imperative if we want to efficiently raise our forces .
We've a great need to remove the threat of [Broken Star] .
And I need to get close to it in order to accomplish that .
"G-great outbreak of Disaster class monsters . . . Mathi-kun, can you win?"
"I can manage somehow if it's 1-on-1, but jumping straight into the middle of a great outbreak is out of question . . . Though that's exactly what we need to do now . "
I'm really not eager to but that's the best option we have .
The more time passes, the more monsters will emerge around [Broken Star], making it harder to deal with .
"Right in the middle!?"
"Got to get close to the [Broken Star] if we want to destroy it . . . But Ruli and Alma, you two can stay somewhere farther apart . It's impossible for you . "
"Ah, Mathi-kun and Iris-san are going then . . . "
Ruli said in both disappointed and relieved tones .
I asked Iris while listening to her .
"Iris and I will jump right into the center of the swarm . . . Iris, you'll have to temporarily transform back into your dragon form, is that fine with you?"
Iris has had her magic circuits ruined due to the meltdowns of ancient civilizations' [Magic Fusion Reactors], turning back into dragon consumes a lot out of her .
I've been keeping her from turning back to dragon for when the time calls for it . . . And now is exactly [that time] .
" . . . Will about an hour do?"
"That's good enough . "
The girls rendezvoused with me as we were discussing .
No need to use comm magic anymore .
"How's your mana and condition looking?"
"All fine!"
<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka . com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel . >
"We only fought a bit in the end after all!"
"I can turn back to dragon anytime!"
The girls replied so .
I'd have liked to let them rest for a day at least before bringing them to a danger zone, but the situation doesn't afford us that .
I'd prefer to settle the problem when we still have time .
"Okay . Then let's go to where the [Broken Star] is right away . "
"Go . . . How?"
"There's a tunnel that goes straight to [Broken Star] . "
I walk inside the research facilities .
After walking a bit, Tunnel No . 3 comes into view .
"We'll arrive at [Broken Star] if we get on this . "
I point at a magic freight car parked in the tunnel entrance .
[Broken Star]'s location is too far to go on foot .
"This looks . . . like a very complex machine, can you even operate it?"
Ruli pointed at the driver's seat while getting on board the freight car .
So many meters, buttons etc . are installed there .
Moreover, these buttons and levers aren't labeled .
Anmorr brothers probably thought that it'd be fine so long as they alone could operate these .
"Yeah . I'll just randomly hit some of these stuff . "
It could prove challenging if our goal were to ride comfortably, but if it's just for going from point a to b, then all's good as long as it can accelerate and decelerate .
I could hazard a guess by looking at the magic device's structure, next I'll just figure it out as we move .
"Randomly . . . "
"It'll be fine, just gotta get down to it . I mean, all it needs to do is move forward right . "
After making sure that everyone was on board, I pushed a lever that seemed to be for accelerating .
Then, mana flew into the engine--only for an instant before stopping .
There must be some sort of procedure to start this thing up .
As the starting up process of magic tools is what consumes the most mana, there's usually a certain procedure you must follow with a highly efficient magic tool .
But when I try to force mana into the part where mana was about to flow earlier . . .
"See, it's moving . "
"D-did you just force your mana into the magic tool . . . ?"
"Yeah . There's probably a formal procedure for it, but doing this is way faster . . . However, I advice against mimicking what I did . "
Forcing mana to activate a magic tool is convenient, but one wrong step and it could end up destroying itself or going up in an explosion .
This method is not suited for anyone who is not familiar with inner structures of magic tools nor lacks experience in dealing with out of control magic tools .
I'm sure Ruli can manage something like this once she's learned a bit more about magic tools and started dipping her toes into creations of more complex magic tools .