Early in the morning on the 27th, the fully equipped Vulcan set off three hours behind schedule.
Its first task was teleporting to the relay base. While the 300-meter-diameter Adriana was too large to teleport, the Vulcan’s 100-meter diameter made the jump feasible. The ship crossed the 212 million kilometers in an instant. From there, it was a straight flight to the Free Ether Cloud.
However, since the cloud was still some 75 million kilometers away, the journey would normally take seventy hours even at a speed of 300 kilometers per second. This was where the equipment Jin had insisted on—the cause of the three-hour delay—would prove its worth.
The new equipment was the teleportation barrier.
Whenever the system detected an object in the ship's flight path, the barrier would teleport it to the ship's rear. It was effective against everything from space dust to small meteorites. While massive obstacles still had to be avoided through visual navigation, the barrier could nullify collisions with small objects—something the previous passage barriers couldn't fully handle—and do so with a much faster response time.
In fact, reaction speed was the primary bottleneck for flight. The upper limit of a ship's velocity was determined by its ability to account for unavoidable collisions; since the barrier’s reaction speed had more than doubled, they could now accelerate to 800 kilometers per second.
This meant they would reach the Free Ether Cloud in just over a day.
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"The first shipment of ethenol should arrive from the Vulcan tomorrow."
"Yes, My Lord. I shall begin preparing the storehouse immediately," Laojun replied, anticipating Jin's needs.
Ethenol itself was non-toxic and carried no risk of explosion. Consequently, standard water tanks were more than sufficient for storage.
"Shall we construct them underground?" Laojun asked.
The island’s subterranean levels were riddled with shafts from past mining operations. While many had been backfilled with slag, several were still in use as warehouses or as farms for ground spiders and ground caterpillars.
In modern Japan, disaster-relief water tanks vary in size from 60 cubic meters to 1,500 cubic meters. Laojun decided to build ten tanks, each with a 100-cubic-meter capacity. They would be constructed from 18-8 stainless steel and plated with mithril on the inside to prevent oxidation or degradation. The plan was to complete the first tank by the time the ethenol arrived and build the rest sequentially.
"At the same time, we need to work on the Space Isolation Barrier generators..."
Jin set to work, noting that his to-do list was growing long. He remained occupied in his workshop until Elsa came to call him for lunch.
"Elsa, how is your morning sickness?" Jin asked as they shared sandwiches.
"Mm. I’m okay now."
"It passed quite lightly, which was a relief for me as well," Mine added. As Elsa’s biological mother, Mine had also experienced mild morning sickness. In contrast, Elsa’s foster mother, Marlene, was said to have suffered quite severely.
"Don't push yourself," Jin said. "And make sure you stay warm."
"Mm. I’ll be careful."
"Jin-sama, I am looking after her, so please rest easy," Mine said. "Please focus on your work to your heart's content."
"Thank you. But really, please stop calling me 'Jin-sama.'"
"I’m afraid I cannot do that."
Jin had made this request several times since learning of Elsa's pregnancy, but Mine remained stubborn. She had at least agreed to sit and eat at the same table as them.
"But you’re going to be the grandmother of our child," Jin argued, finally playing his trump card. "It won't be good for their education if you keep acting like this."
"T-That is a fair point... I shall try....Jin-san."
It seemed Mine couldn't argue with the prospect of having a grandchild.
＊ ＊ ＊
After lunch, Jin returned to the workshop. By the end of the morning, he had finished the primary components: the link boards, link cores, and operational cores.
"These parts are standardized, at least."
The units were small. The part that varied was the active core—the component that actually projected the barrier’s effect. Think of it like an antenna. By separating the active core from the main system rather than using an all-in-one finish, Jin could reduce the overall mana consumption. This was particularly effective for massive projects like this one. Moreover, it allowed him to push the reaction speed of the sensors to their absolute limit.
"First, we’ll install them on Hourai Island, then in Kaina Village."
"Understood," Laojun replied.
For barriers of that size, the island’s current stock of ethenol was sufficient. Jin carefully assembled two units, double-checking his work three times before instructing Laojun to install one at the summit of Mount Hourai.
"Yes, My Lord. I shall attend to it at once."
"Wait, I need to run a test, so don't install the second one yet. Just take it along for the ride."
"Understood."
Laozi personally piloted Raptor 2 toward Mount Hourai. Two minutes later, the report came in that preparations were complete.
"Alright, starting with the unit for Hourai Island. Begin test operation."
Almost the instant Jin spoke, a massive magic circle deployed in the sky above Mount Hourai. It measured roughly 100 kilometers in diameter.
"Success."
The test for the second unit was equally successful.
"Good. We’ll install one at Jin Castle in Kaina Village. I’ll handle that one myself."
Jin decided the top of the castle tower would be the ideal location. Thus, the Space Isolation Barriers were established on Hourai Island and in Kaina Village. It was worth noting that with a 100-kilometer diameter, the barrier also covered Toka Village, where Lishia resided.
With the tests complete, Jin finally had a concrete idea of the ethenol consumption.
"Generating a 100-meter-diameter barrier for one second consumes 0.1 liters of ethenol, huh?"
Since consumption was proportional to surface area, a spherical barrier large enough to cover the planet Ars would consume roughly 63,700 liters per second. That was nearly 64 tons.
It was a staggering amount, but not impossible. Laojun was already building tanks to hold 1,000 tons of the stuff. The real question was whether they could finish the preparations before the next space vibration hit the planet. Jin renewed his resolve; he would simply have to do everything in his power.
＊ ＊ ＊
Jin proceeded to install Space Isolation Barrier generators on the Adriana and every other spaceship in the fleet. By the time he finished, his current stock of ethenol was completely depleted.
But then, a message arrived.
"My Lord, the first shipment of ethenol has arrived. Approximately 100 liters."
It was more than he had just consumed.
"That was fast."
"Yes. Ethenol can be produced even without reaching the Free Ether Cloud."
"True enough."
By using ether condensers, they could synthesize ethenol even at normal atmospheric concentrations. In other words, the Vulcan was manufacturing fuel even as it flew toward its destination.
For the first time in a while, Jin felt as though he could see a glimmer of hope on the horizon.