“Now, all that is left is Ma-sh-ter’s weapon.”
Anne spoke as she looked over the newly completed reinforced suit.
“‘Water Jet’ and ‘Laser’ are powerful, but they are intended for medium to long range. You should carry a weapon for close-quarters combat as well.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Anne’s suggestion was sound. However, Jin knew nothing of martial arts.
“I guess that means swinging some kind of staff would be best...”
Jin tried to picture himself swinging a staff. It didn't feel right. He just couldn't see himself doing it.
“Then a sword? But they say you can't cut anything with those unless the edge is aligned perfectly. Besides, adamantite is too heavy.”
Even with his strength doubled, it wasn't quite enough to swing an adamantite sword with ease.
“Hmm... if it has to be light or it’s a no-go, then a physical object might not work at all...”
Thinking that far, he recalled the swords of light from a famous movie.
“That might actually be doable.”
Jin began to sketch out a concept in his mind.
“Confining plasma... no. As an anti-personnel weapon, that would be too savage. Using lightning-type magic... it’s the same problem.”
Jin continued to rack his brains.
“Hmm, I thought it was a good idea.”
“Ma-sh-ter, if that is the case, please equip your defensive barrier first.”
Anne offered a suggestion. Her words were just the lifeline Jin needed to spark a new idea.
“That’s it! A barrier! I’ll use the same force field as a barrier to make a sword!”
While geometric shapes like spheres and discs were simple, molding one into the shape of a blade was an incredibly daunting task.
“Yes! I can do it! I can make this work!”
However, Jin's magical knowledge and his experiences on Earth made it possible.
“I just need to make the pole for deploying the magic barrier in the shape of a blade.”
A magic barrier was, essentially, a wall made of free ether. The principle behind it was simple: a combination of attraction and repulsion acting on the free ether. An invisible wall was constructed at the point where those forces reached equilibrium.
To be more precise, the attractive force pulled in free ether while the repulsive force pushed it away. They collided, and at the point where they balanced out, the density of the free ether became tens of thousands of times higher than in normal space. If those ether particles could be linked together, that 'ether mesh' became a magic barrier.
The strength of a magic barrier was determined 50% by the density of the free ether and 50% by the linking strength of the mesh. Since the gaps in the mesh allowed free ether to pass through easily, there was no concern about a magi inside suffering from ether depletion.
The poles used to generate the attractive and repulsive forces could be rings or virtual points created in space by a magi. Since specifying virtual points also required mana, it was far more efficient to use magic tools like rings.
Jin’s idea was to shape that 'pole' into a sword.
“Usually, it’s radiation from a single point, so it forms a spherical surface.”
In other words, the ether mesh formed at an equal distance from the point of origin.
“If I shape it like a blade and vary the strength across different parts... Oh, this looks promising.”
By varying the strength, the distance where the forces balanced would change. Controlling that with a single point would be nearly impossible, but with a sword shape, it was relatively simple—at least for a Magi Craft Meister.
It still needed fine-tuning, but the sword-shaped magi-crystal in Jin's hand was now emitting a faint, blade-like glow about fifty centimeters long.
“Alright, let’s adjust this here, and that there.”
Jin went about revising the Magi Language inscribed on the sword-shaped magi-crystal.
After three rounds of adjustments, Jin let out a cry of joy.
“Finished!”
“If I change the output... Oh!”
At its shortest, it was about forty centimeters; at its longest, it extended to over two meters.
“Now, how is the sharpness?”
Jin tried slashing at a piece of scrap wood nearby.
“Huh?”
Contrary to his expectations, it didn't cut.
“Hmm, I guess it’s because it’s just a rod-shaped barrier right now...”
He surmised the reason and formulated a countermeasure.
“If I convert part of this linked free ether into flame... no, into heat energy...”
He made some minor revisions and tested it again.
“How’s this?...Ow, hot, hot!”
Heat was leaking from the blade.
“I need to reduce the amount of free ether being converted into heat energy a bit more.”
Then, the third attempt.
“Yeah, this is it!”
The magic sword glowed with a bluish-white light. Its temperature likely exceeded ten thousand degrees. When he slashed the wood this time, the cross-section didn't just char; a portion of it actually evaporated.
Next, he decided to test it against an iron bar. Jin put on his helmet just in case and called for Reiko.
“Reiko, try to strike me lightly with that iron bar. Remember, just lightly.”
“Yes.”
Duly cautioned, Reiko swung at Jin with an iron bar about two centimeters thick and eighty centimeters long. Jin intercepted the blow with his magic sword.
Since the base form was a sword-shaped barrier, it could parry physical objects.
The iron bar melted at the point of contact in about a second, splitting in two. If he parried a sword with this, the opponent's blade would be ruined instantly.
“Alright, what about electrical energy?”
He adjusted the Magi Language, setting it to generate electrical energy using lightning-type magic.
“Now, let's see.”
He activated it. The blade glowed with a flickering light that was part bluish-white and part yellow.
“Well, it’s far too dangerous to have someone touch this... Reiko, stand that iron bar up in the ground.”
“Yes, Father.”
Reiko thrust the sixty-centimeter iron bar into the dirt.
“Alright, here I go.”
Jin swung the sword toward the bar. The moment the sword drew near, an arc discharge occurred. With a sharp crack, the area was filled with a momentary, blinding flash.
If not for the helmet's light-shielding function, his eyes would have been damaged.
An instant later, the sword made contact. Sparks flew like an electric welder as it sliced through the iron bar. The metal turned white-hot and splattered.
“To turn white-hot in an instant... just how many millions of volts is this...?”
Jin stared intently at the sword. He felt as though he had created something terrifying. If the electrical energy hadn't been magic-based, Jin—being the closest target—would have been the first to be struck.
“I’ll have to make it so I can control the voltage, too.”
Muttering this, Jin added further improvements so that the sword's size, heat, and electrical energy could be adjusted. Finally, he had two completed magic swords.
“I’ll call them ‘Masamune’ and ‘Muramasa.’”
Masamune was the heat-type, and Muramasa was the lightning-type. His naming conventions were as predictable as ever.
“Ma-sh-ter, thank you for your hard work.”
“Father, would you like to take a bath?”
Anne and Reiko called out to him as he finished. Jin gave a deep stretch.
“Yeah, I think I’ll go for a soak.”
He headed for the Mansion. Reiko followed after him, while Anne stayed behind to tidy up.
“Ahhh, the fatigue is just melting away.”
Soaking in the Mansion's hot spring, Jin let out a groan that sounded remarkably like an old man.
＊ ＊ ＊
“We have arrived in Dali.”
“Good. Proceed as planned.”
“Understood.”
＊ ＊ ＊
That night, Jin was waiting for a call from Reinhard. When the scheduled time passed without a word, his concern began to grow.
Suddenly, an urgent report arrived from Laozi.
“My Lord, we have contact from Sage. It appears Lord Reinhard has been kidnapped.”
“What?!”
He had just increased the number of Secret Mobile Units specifically to prevent this.
“They went to Dali via the Fort Ruins Base, but it seems they missed the incident by a hair's breadth.”
“Those Unifilar bastards... they didn't listen to my warning.”
Jin's anger began to burn with a quiet intensity.
“Hourai Island, prepare for sortie.”