Endless Silver Machine

The conference room is on the middle level of the bridge. When Aika and the others came to the conference room, in addition to Instructor Letika and Instructor Wilber, there were other instructors who were also sitting here. The only students present were five people from the investigation team.

After everyone said hello to all the instructors present, they took their seats in the seats reserved for them.

"The situation obtained by the investigation team today has been sorted out."

The person presiding over the meeting was Instructor Wilber. A simulated map was now displayed on the large screen hanging in front of the conference room. Compared with the map before departure, some annotations and more detailed information were now added to it.

The areas explored today are also marked on the map. Combining the general impression of the terrain and the simulated map, a rough scene can be constructed in the mind.

Instructor Wilber's group set out from the grassland toward the mountains. After ascending to the highlands, they could see a huge lake surrounded by forests, but this lake was not shown in the original simulation map.

Teacher Letika's group moved along the stream surrounding the forest, and was pulled into the barrier on the way back.

"Before arranging tomorrow's actions, I would like to hear what the students who entered the barrier think of this ruins."

Following these words from Instructor Wilber, the other instructors also looked at the five students present.

"Classmate Wei Xi said that kind of barrier is a 'domain', right?"

"Yes, it is……"

Wei Xi, who was asked by Tutor Wilber, hurriedly replied, and another tutor spoke.

"We have investigated the location in the report, and there are no traces of magic left. It is indeed a characteristic of the 'field'."

Tylua-senpai whispered to everyone that that person was the third-year instructor of the barrier department.

"The 'Field' is a space displacement barrier, and its existence may originate from the magic construction or exist in reality. Considering the characteristics of the ruins, the monsters encountered by the investigation team in the 'Field' should exist in the ruins."

The "field", a type of branch in the barrier, is a maze of independent existence and reality. Only when certain conditions are met can one leave the "field". The biggest threat is that the contents are unknown and cannot be cracked, and one will be trapped in it forever.

"Teacher, in other words, are there many fourth-level monsters like that in this ruins?"

"Aika, don't interrupt without permission."

Ling pinched Aika's waist hard under the table, forcing him to put down his raised hand.

"The fourth-level monsters do not live in groups, but we don't know how many there are. After all, there is too little information about the ruins."

The instructor of the barrier department smiled and answered Aika's question. Fortunately, he didn't dislike intellectually curious students.

The monsters that invaded Frost Moon Academy during the final practical test last semester were of the fourth level, and Aika was able to defeat them with the help of seniors Wei Xi and Lilith.

The reason why the burrowing beetle is classified as a fourth order is because it can move freely underground in any environment. In addition to the individual reaction of the cave beetle that was knocked down last time was below the population average, more importantly, it was not given the opportunity to sneak underground in Wei Xi's "domain".

Facing the ferocious monsters that may appear this time, everyone who is just a student may not necessarily have a chance of victory.

"Both Instructor Letika and I can defeat the fourth-level monsters independently. Principal Phyllis also considered this before letting us two lead the team, so tomorrow's operation will not be suspended."

"The personnel distribution of the team remains unchanged, so that balance can be maintained and individual abilities can be utilized."

Teacher Letika stood up from the seat next to Aika and continued what Teacher Wilber said.

"The 'field' may be the automatic defense mechanism of the ruins, but it has only appeared once so far. There is no way to determine the pattern of its occurrence. We can only respond to emergencies more cautiously."

The red forward route is displayed on the simulation map. Instructor Wilber's team sets off from the highlands towards the lake, while Instructor Letika's team no longer advances along the stream, but directly crosses the stream surrounding the forest to meet Instructor Wilber's team. Convergence.

If the two teams move forward together, they may feel safer. They are still divided into two teams so that they can lend a helping hand in time when one party is in trouble. The distance between the two teams is not as far apart as it is today.

Next is the logistics arrangement on the "Mystis". Information on the areas the survey team has traveled will be recorded in the instrument. This is the main purpose of in-depth investigation of the ruins.

Unmanned reconnaissance aircraft obtain general information about the terrain from the sky. The wide-area detection system plays little role in investigations that require detailed information. Moreover, it is the basic rule of exploration to try to avoid magic power fluctuations that alert things that should not be alerted.

In tomorrow's operation, the space distortion caused by magic will be monitored to the best of our ability. Even if it is a "field" that replaces space, the magic in the surrounding atmosphere will produce a discordant harmonic at the moment it is activated.

"Teacher Wilber, Teacher Letika, can I ask a question?"

As the meeting came to an end, Tirua-senpai finally raised her hand after seemingly worrying for a long time.

"Is there anything unclear, Tirua-san?"

"Teacher Wilber, isn't the task of exploring the ruins just to obtain information about the outer areas? Why take such a big risk to get close to the interior?"

Without the magic equipment that originated from the ruins, there would be no way to enter the ruins. It is natural for Tiruya-senpai to have such doubts.

"Or do we have a way to enter the ruins?"

The implication is that he is asking whether Shuoyue Academy has obtained the information about the magic equipment "Mechanical Alchemy".

Among the students present, only senior Tirua was still unaware. When she raised this question, Aika and the other three people became nervous.

"Current research is not completely sure that only magic equipment can open the interior of the ruins. This is also the request of Principal Phyllis."

It can be seen that Teacher Wilber himself is a little confused about this decision, but this reason is irrefutable.

"Don't worry, everyone. Instructor Wilber and I will do our best to protect you!"

Instructor Letika also danced and tried to ease everyone's tension. After all, there was an accident just today, and she was also in a dilemma.

"I'm sorry, I believe in the strength of the instructors. In fact, this is the case. Instructor Letika protected us from the fourth-level monsters. I just want to know the reason why Frost Moon Academy persists."

As a student representative, Tylua-senpai would never agree with the reason for putting students in danger for no reason. She had been thinking about this issue while taking a bath.

"If you go deep into the ruins, it will undoubtedly be more dangerous than the outside. There may be monsters that are more difficult to deal with than the fourth level. If they, who have just entered the second grade, are also involved, it is too early."

The instructors present all heard the reason for Senior Tiruya’s doubts. Instructor Wilber, who presided over the meeting, was silent for a while, and then handed over the decision-making power to the second-year students.

"Do you have any ideas? It's exactly what Tiruya-san said. Although Principal Phyllis chose you, you can also join the logistics team, and the members of the investigation team can also be replaced by other instructors."

"We can already answer this question." Ling, who is Tiruya-senpai's junior in many relationships, stood up on behalf of the second-year students, "Since we have come so far, no one wants to give up halfway. So we will definitely stick to it until the end.”

…………

After the meeting, Instructor Letika retained the students who were about to leave.

"Is this really okay? In fact, Teacher Wilber and I both hope that you can stay in "Mystis". Although Principal Phyllis has her own reasons, we still want to respect your opinions as much as possible. "

Everyone can relate to this sentiment, and it is human nature to want the people you care about to stay in a safe place.

"Teacher Letika, although we can't defeat such a big monster yet, we can still protect ourselves. At this time, we must rely on the power of adults."

It seemed that it was the first time for Tutor Letika to lead a student on a dangerous task. She was even more overwhelmed than the student, so Aika had to comfort Tutor Letika in turn.

There is no doubt about her strength. Aika did not see her defeat the fourth-level monster, but she heard from Wei Xi that Teacher Letika only used one blow.

“Is Teacher Letika’s magic costume called ‘Jing Hua Aurora’?”

"Oh, yes." Teacher Letika was slightly startled, "Originally I didn't want to use it..."

"This name sounds familiar. Is it a famous magic costume?"

Ling had long been worried about where she had heard this name, but she never remembered it.

"'Kinghua Aurora' is a magic costume of the Gods. I inherited this magic costume from Principal Phyllis."

"By the way, that's it! Principal Phyllis was called the 'Aurora' of the Gods during the cross-border war. She got her name from her magic outfit, 'Kingka no Aurora'!"

There are countless stories based on cross-border wars, and the heroes who ended the war are even more the subjects of the stories.

Not only Ling in childhood, Aika and Luoluo at that time were also fascinated by this kind of fantasy story for children.

"Teacher Letika... turns out to be a relative of Principal Phyllis..."

Even Wei Xi, who had "infiltrated" into Shuangyue Academy from the Holy See early on, knew nothing about this secret.

"No, no, Principal Phyllis and I don't have the special relationship you imagine, although we do receive a lot of care from her..."

"But doesn't it mean that magic equipment must be related by blood before it can be used?"

"Generally speaking, as Luoluo said, magic equipment is restricted by blood relationships." Teacher Letika breathed a sigh of relief, and then said something that subverted common sense, "But in fact, this is just a kind of misunderstanding."

According to Instructor Letika, there is a contractual relationship between the magic equipment and the user. There is a blood relationship between the two users, so there is no need to re-contract the magical equipment during the inheritance process.

"But if you can be recognized by the magic costume, you can make a contract even if you have no relationship with the original user. I only found out about this fact after inheriting Principal Phyllis's magic costume. It's a bit like bragging..."

This fact revealed by Teacher Letika was so shocking that the students present could not say a single word.

"Principal Phyllis's magical costume cannot actually be considered as my strength, but I will use the power of 'King Hua Aurora' to protect my students."

Teacher Letika’s words are particularly reliable at this moment.

…………