Meanwhile, Sam 1 through 10, who were investigating the Ruins in the western part of the Pandor Continent, made a new discovery.
"Oh... a teleportation magic circle, is it?"
Laojun determined from the design that it appeared to be the same type used in Avalon.
"It is an outdated model with poor efficiency. It looks capable of teleporting objects weighing at most two tons."
Even so, several golems could easily pass through it. The real question was where the corresponding circle was located.
"Could it be...?"
Using a Peeper, Laojun searched the 150-meter-class ship currently at sea, presumed to be the Neo-Magias flagship.
"There it is."
A mere twenty seconds had elapsed since the Sam units found the magic circle.
With the link confirmed, Laojun reported the findings to Jin and the others.
"And that is the situation."
"I see... So that bastard Larva can abandon those five 'people' and return to the Ruins whenever he wants."
Jin scowled. He had no stomach for the mindset of leaving ostensible comrades behind to die.
"I agree."
Reinhard frowned in shared distaste.
"If Markitus built the foundation, he likely knows how to use Trans Info or a similar magi-craft spell. Or perhaps something akin to a duplicator."
Laojun offered his deductions.
"Presumably, the memories of those five 'people' are stored in a 'master' somewhere."
Laojun went on to explain his theory that their data was likely copied from that master and loaded into automata or golems each time.
"Makes sense... So he took a page from Rokure's book."
Jin muttered to himself.
Rokure—whose formal designation was No. 600012—was a homunculus and servant created by the Progenitors, just like Elder No. 700672.
Realizing his biological vessel would not last, he had copied his consciousness and knowledge into an automaton while attempting to craft a new body.
Homunculi and automata were capable of duplicating their consciousness and knowledge in this manner, effectively multiplying individuals with the exact same persona.
Of course, from a philosophical standpoint, the moment multiple entities existed, unified identity was lost; they were strictly distinct individuals despite their similarities... or so one could argue.
"...Still, compared to Rokure, the quality of their control cores is like night and day. It's like comparing an adult to a child, or the moon to a softshell turtle."
"Huh? What is that softshell turtle thing?" Reinhard asked, catching Jin's mumbling.
"Eh?...Well... it's a type of turtle that existed in my old world."
"Comparing that to the moon? I don't really get it."
"In short, it's just a proverb that means 'there's no comparison'..."
"I see."
With that minor detour out of the way, Jin and Reinhard agreed on the conclusion that the craftsmanship of the control cores was shoddy.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
Not being well-versed in magi-craft, Saki chimed in with a question.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. It's outside your field of expertise, Saki."
Jin apologized briefly, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again.
"...How should I put this..."
"Well, to start with the basics, simply using Trans Info to copy the raw contents of a human brain directly into a control core won't make it work."
"Yeah...? Why not?"
Jin continued his explanation.
"Think of it like this: the 'brain' is built to steer a 'human body.'"
"Mm-hmm, that makes sense."
"So, what happens if you suddenly tell that 'brain' to steer an 'automaton'?"
"Ah..."
The analogy clicked for Saki.
"Kufu, I see. So simply copying a human brain's contents into an automaton won't do the trick."
"Exactly. That's why a control system is necessary."
This control system served the same role as an operating system on a computer.
A creator's personal habits and quirks were heavily reflected in it; someone of Jin or Reinhard's caliber, or the engineers of Onogoro Island, could easily identify the creator just by examining the control system.
"Because it's impossible to tell human memories to directly operate an automaton or a golem, you need an intermediary system to bridge the gap, right?"
Saki summarized her understanding.
"Right. Though if you're only using the knowledge itself, it doesn't cause any operational issues."
"Yeah, I get it now. Thanks."
Saki nodded with a smile.
"Now then... Reinhard, what do you think is causing that 'split thinking'?"
Jin and Reinhard steered the discussion deeper.
"Could it be that... the control system isn't properly optimized?"
Reinhard suggested, and Jin nodded in agreement.
"I think so too. But I have a feeling that's not the whole story."
"Jin, what do you mean?"
"It's just a hunch, but I suspect the quality of the control cores themselves is poor."
"I see..."
The core material was a magi-crystal.
The purer the crystal, the more efficiently it transmitted mana waves.
"If there are too many impurities, there's no telling what kind of malfunctions might crop up," Reinhard noted.
"When I first learned magi-craft, I was taught to always use the highest quality magi-crystals possible for control cores."
"Right... I'm sure the Predecessor—Adriana—paid meticulous attention to that as well."
In fact, she had gone so far as to reclassify Purely under magi-craft in addition to earth-attribute magic, establishing a precedent of using magi-crystals thoroughly stripped of impurities.
"...Which brings me back to those five 'people.' I can't shake the feeling that their incoherence is a malfunction caused by foreign impurities in their cores."
"Hmm. Coming from Jin, the Magi Craft Meister, that hunch carries a lot of weight."
"Kufu, true enough. Sometimes intuition and insight can leap straight to the heart of the matter."
Reinhard and Saki voiced their agreement, and Laojun backed them up.
"My Lord, I believe the probability of that being the case is high."
"Hmm. Does that mean those five 'people' are just experimental test units?"
"That is certainly one possibility... Assuming they were originally human, there is little doubt they were high-ranking executives in the Magic Federation."
Laojun laid out his deductions.
"It is likely that all of their brain data was stored in a magi-crystal either during their lifetime or immediately after death, and is copied into control cores as needed. The probability is seventy-five percent."
For Laojun to estimate seventy-five percent meant the likelihood was exceedingly high.
"In that case, did Larva craft bodies for the five 'people' and transfer their knowledge data into the control cores?"
"Yes, My Lord. Though there seems to be a more convoluted history behind it."
As Laojun pointed out, all the pieces of the puzzle were not yet on the table.
"I see. We need to gather more intel. Laojun, keep at it."
"Understood, My Lord. Leave it to me."
And so, Laojun continued monitoring Larva and the five aboard the vessel, while the Sam units pressed on with their investigation of the Ruins.