Chapter 267 — The Lights of Civilization
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
Without even stepping closer to examine it, he could easily see the magical power flowing within and around the device. Clearly the technicians' installation was flawless; it had already entered its optimal working state.
"Open the obelisk. Release the limiter," Karmel buzzed.
A mage-technician stepped forward, pressed the rune trigger on the obelisk's base, and fixed it in place with a safety pin. With a low hum, the great mana device immediately began to fill with a wondrous blue radiance; the deep-purple crystal core gradually brightened, and its components slowly floated upward under the levitation array, rising into their designated positions in midair...
A surge of magical energy swept across the whole plaza in an instant. Almost no one could feel the brush of that energy, but Karmel spread his arms wide within it and stood quietly, savoring the sensation of mana saturating the air.
Since he had adjusted his own arcane flow, he no longer felt the "itch."
The soldiers who had been waiting nearby stepped forward at once. After receiving confirmation from the technicians, one of them pulled out the "briefing materials" the lord had written earlier and began loudly explaining to the gathered crowd what the device did and what safety precautions applied while it was in operation. Karmel, however, paid no attention to what the soldier was announcing. He merely tilted his head back and looked at the sky over the Cecil domain.
A single pure white snowflake drifted down. Caught in the magical eddies, it spun and settled at the edge of the plaza—then came more snowflakes, one after another, drifting down from the sky.
It was snowing. Since the onset of winter, the southern region had seen several snowfalls, but in Karmel's eyes the flakes falling at this moment seemed to carry a different meaning.
"Do you mean to snuff out the lights of human civilization?"
The archmage from ancient times gazed quietly at the sky, at the thickening, swirling snow that kept falling and growing heavier.
"You cannot snuff them out."
In the middle of the first winter of the new Cecil domain, humanity's first mana obelisk was lit.
In the lord's manor across from the plaza, Gao Yang stood on the balcony, quietly watching the scene through the open window. When the mana obelisk lit up, a faint smile crossed his face—no excessive joy, for everything had been anticipated. The greatest surprise had already been experienced when the "prototype" was designed.
He turned, went back inside from the balcony, and casually picked up a "receiver" from the desk—improved until it was only half a palm in size. He fitted this receiver into a newly installed slot on the chamber wall. With a soft click, the receiver seated perfectly against the room's magical circuitry, and a mana-crystal lamp kept specially for testing mana fields lit up accordingly.
Hetty was already standing in the room. She looked at Gao Yang with a smile. "Progenitor, the first mana obelisk has been lit. Next we will follow the plan and retrofit the mana devices within range, adding receivers capable of picking up the mana field. From now on, new mana equipment produced in the factories will also come with a 'mana-field receiver' pre-installed. The mana-crystal lamps used as streetlights will not be retrofitted; they will continue to draw power directly from the old mana-net system."
Gao Yan nodded. "Very good. Proceed according to plan."
"Honestly, I thought you would preside over this 'switch-on ceremony' yourself, as you have on similar occasions before," Hetty said, watching Gao Yang with a smile. "After all, it is such an important moment."
"There will be many important moments to come. I need not be present at every one. Let Karmel have the spotlight this time—he needs the acceptance and recognition of the domain's people as well," Gao Ji said calmly. "Rather than go to the plaza and preside over a 'switch-on ceremony,' we have something more important to attend to right now."