"So it was no good..."
To be honest, Jin was more than a little disappointed that his requests hadn't been fully met. However, he didn't have time to wallow in it.
"Well, 'every little bit helps,' as they say."
Jin considered what he could do right now.
- Use the Moles to shave off even a small portion of the fragment and teleport it away.
- Gradually turn it into plasma.
- Construct additional large force generators.
"If I turn it into plasma, it becomes subatomic particles... or whatever they're called. In any case, it doesn't just disappear," Jin muttered.
He decided against the second option, fearing unpredictable side effects.
"That leaves options one and three."
Jin first instructed Laojun to manufacture additional large force generators. Next, he decided to deploy the Moles.
A Mole was a cylindrical machine, two meters in diameter and three meters long. It bore a resemblance to the shield machines used for tunnel excavation on modern-day Earth. They utilized two methods for digging: the Dig magic tool and physical excavation using hyper-adamantite bits.
The excavated debris would be discharged to the surface via a transporter, carried into the Adriana, and then sent elsewhere through a Warp Gate. Since they didn't have a specific dumping ground, Jin decided to simply transport it all to Hourai Island for the time being.
"Every ton we remove makes it that much lighter."
The plan was put into action immediately. Five Moles were sent to the Adriana via a Warp Gate and began their work, gnawing away at the extra-large-class fragment.
"Laojun, what kind of results can we expect from the Moles?"
"Yes, My Lord. The extra-large-class fragment is composed of stony material, specifically an andesite-like rock, so the excavation speed is high. I believe I can provide you with an average value if you can wait a few more minutes."
"Please do."
Three minutes later, Laojun reported back.
"My Lord, with five Moles in operation, we can excavate slightly over 200 tons of rock per minute."
"In that case, in a single day..."
"That would be 288,000 tons. Rounding up to approximately 300,000 tons—or 3 x 10^5 tons—the amount is negligible compared to the fragment's total mass of 3 x 10^12 tons. It falls within the margin of error."
"Ah... I see your point."
It was a discouraging figure; even after a year, they wouldn't have shaved off even ten percent of the mass.
"For now, keep them running anyway. We might uncover some useful resources."
Ultimately, adding more large force generators seemed the most effective path forward. If they worked for half a day, they could produce another 100 units. Adding those to the Adriana’s auxiliary thrust would, by rough calculation, push the fragment's bypass distance to approximately 100,000 kilometers from Ars.
While that was closer than the Moon—Uni—the fragment was a much smaller celestial body with far less mass. Jin felt that this might just be enough to ensure safety.
"But still... I can't exactly relax just because I 'think' it'll be enough."
Jin racked his brain for any other measures he could take.
"And then there's the defense of Ars itself."
He turned his attention to the micro-class fragments that would inevitably enter the atmosphere. A meteor shower—visible even during the day—would rain down, and some pieces might be large enough to reach the surface. He needed a way to eliminate them before they caused damage.
- Equip the aviation units with transporter cannons.
- Equip Konron 3 with transporter cannons.
By implementing these measures, they could teleport away dangerous fragments as they entered the atmosphere. Jin immediately set to work developing a small-bore transporter cannon. The key feature was a variable teleportation range.
Broadening the effective area consumed more mana, which in turn shortened the teleportation distance. To compensate, Jin decided to use mana bombes as swappable cartridges. For now, the destination for all teleported debris would be Hourai Island. Whether the materials would be repurposed as stone or discarded as waste was a decision for later.
With the design finalized, transporter cannons were sequentially installed on 500 Skylarks and 500 Raptors.
"Now then... the 10th is Marcia's birthday."
Calculations predicted the fragments would approach on the 15th. Technically, there was time for a celebration, but...
"No way! Absolutely not!"
When Jin broached the subject with Marcia, she turned him down in a panic.
"Ars is going to be in a life-or-death situation in just five days! You're the only one who can save us, Jin! This is no time to be worrying about my birthday!"
She was incredibly firm in her refusal.
"I mean, I'm really happy you were thinking of me, but..." Marcia continued, looking a bit bashful. "Could we wait until after all this trouble is settled to have the party?"
"You're right. I understand, Marcia. Sorry for worrying you."
Jin relayed this decision to the rest of the Jin Family.
"Now, what else is left to do...?"
Jin sat with Elsa, sipping tea brewed by Reiko while he pondered their next move.
"Jin-nii, just to be sure... Jack didn't know how to neutralize inertia either, right?" Elsa asked, more for confirmation than out of curiosity.
"Yeah. He said before that his masters found the asteroid, hollowed it out, and built the facility inside. He was told it was moved to its current position after that, but he was never told how they did it."
"That's a shame."
"It really is."
Jin mused that the Progenitors seemingly hadn't intended to leave that particular technology behind. It was a missed opportunity.
"Maybe on Hale..." Elsa suggested.
She wondered if the Progenitors' advanced technology might still remain on the moon, Hale.
"It would be nice if we could go there one day."
Yes—once this crisis was over. Jin affirmed the thought, but quickly pulled his focus back to the present.
"Laojun, what's the status?"
"Yes, My Lord. Everything is on schedule. Forty-seven large force generators have been completed."
"Understood. Once fifty are ready, send them as the first batch via the Adriana."
"Understood."
Jin wanted to increase their total thrust as soon as possible.
"Is there anything else...?"
"Please wait, My Lord. I have just received a report. Several crystals of Elradrite—no, Univasium—have been found in the rock excavated by the Moles."
That was excellent news.
"Oh? Is that so? I wonder if we can use those..."
The crystals, once called Elradrite, had been discovered about a century ago and were famous for their mana-amplifying properties. Standard crystals could boost mana by twenty times.
No. 700672 referred to the substance as Mityanite, and through their information exchange, it was established that the material was named Univasium, while the mineral itself was called Mityanite. It had a unique property of glowing light blue in sunlight and green under artificial light. Because they were so rare, they were almost exclusively used as gemstones rather than for technical applications.
While they provided "amplification," it was in the same sense as a transistor; they were useless without a power source. However, in Jin's hands...
"I wonder what the best use for them would be..."
Jin began to brainstorm.