"We're drastically short on manpower!"
The story now returns to the era of the Great War.
More precisely, to the time when the true inhabitants of the satellite began descending upon the main planet, and their attacks claimed the lives of countless warriors.
As mentioned before, around this period the people of Alphauri's main planet were barely managing to hold the front lines, crushed beneath a growing sense of despair.
The reason was simple.
The Beta Planet species that had suddenly appeared were all exceptionally formidable combatants.
Ooooo-aa!
Ooooo-!
Damn monsters, they're too fast—my magic can't even hit them!
We're finished. How are we supposed to fight something like that...?
The mages of Alphauri died one after another without respite, even as their homelands were invaded.
They survived only through the efforts of the elite top 1% known as the Archmages.
If such crushing defeats continued, they might eventually be driven not merely into the lower layers, but all the way down into the core regions deep beneath the sea.
And if that happened, their weaker species could face complete extinction.
But at the very moment darkness seemed ready to swallow the future of the Alphauri people,
strangely enough, from the deepest trench of that despairing age, a beacon of hope appeared.
Could this one really not be a Mana Disease patient?
In a deep-sea nursery, an extraordinary genius had been born—one capable of hunting whales more than thirty times their own size.
Is there really such a prodigy!
The green infant possessed talent so astonishing that it left everyone speechless.
Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of magical studies could recognize it immediately.
An immense reserve of internal energy, so vast that one might mistake them for a patient whose mana was leaking uncontrollably.
And alongside it, the skill to manipulate that power with extraordinary delicacy, as though weaving strands of the finest thread.
Though still young, if their senses were already this refined, even a basic education would be enough to train them into a high-ranking mage!
And if their intelligence proved even moderately capable, they could easily surpass most young adults and grow into one of the great Archmages of the new era.
How could those who had suffered through the Great War possibly fail to rejoice at the appearance of such a prodigy?
I can only hope this little compatriot has enough understanding to keep up with the city's lessons.
Blood vessels carrying pigment of a positive hue.
Bubbles rising inside the body like champagne.
And a distinctly well-fed, bulky silhouette.
An orange-colored magnate, himself a powerful figure from the lower tier and possessing precisely those physical traits, visited the nursery and immediately reported the appearance of the prodigy to his nation.
But...
Hmm? You are...
Hello. I'm wearing completely new skin today, but since you still recognize me, I suppose you've heard my voice before.
Several hours later.
What unfolded before the orange magnate was a scene he could never have imagined.
Anyway, where is that genius newborn you mentioned over the communication?
By now, they're probably packing their things at the nursery. But surely you didn't come all the way to this shabby place just because of that little child?
Oh, what are you talking about? The deep-sea waters are the last stronghold of us Alphauri. Besides, with the Great War raging and everything in chaos, is there really any reason to draw a line between public and private affairs?
Fourteen hours later.
Near his residence, the orange magnate met privately with an unfamiliar visitor.
The surface of the visitor's body was so transparent that the surrounding water could be seen through it.
By contrast, the organs within were bizarrely conspicuous. The liver, heart, and other internal structures had been dyed in vivid, brilliant colors, making the individual stand out even among the strange inhabitants of this planet.
Why are you looking at me like that? Ah, could it be that you envy the skin I'm wearing today? If you'd like, I could perform the same surgery on you for a modest fee...
I appreciate the offer, but I'm rather fond of the skin I was born with.
Is that so?
Hmm.
The visitor's true identity was that of an infamous eccentric obsessed with modifying bodies.
He served as an aide to the leader of the nation.
Normally, someone of his standing would almost never appear in an insignificant deep-sea territory like this.
Yet hardly any time had passed since the prodigy's existence had been reported.
Could such a high-ranking noble truly have come all this way of his own accord?
Anyway, this is an important order. I will personally escort the new recruits to the training facility with this very tentacle. Please gather them for me.
The magnate couldn't help voicing a brief question at the leader's aide's sudden arrival.
Wait. Are you saying you're the one transporting the new recruits to the training facility this time?
The other person answered with an almost feminine air.
To be honest, it's a nuisance, but what can a worker do when the higher-ups give an order?
Ah...
Well, I suppose everyone's been a little tense since that incident at the first training facility.
The first training facility? Did something happen there recently?
Hm? News really does travel slowly down here, doesn't it? Then what did you think caused the sudden demand for reinforcements? Those cunning Beta beings seem to have caught on to what we're doing. Not long ago, a whale carrying children to a mid-level educational facility was ambushed. Every child aboard was killed.
Huh. I see.
That's why our leader has been so troubled lately. Talent in magical studies is scarce enough as it is. From now on, it seems they intend to assign top-tier personnel like me to protect the students whenever possible.
You really do enjoy calling yourself "top-tier" without a trace of embarrassment...
In truth, he hadn't wanted to come all the way down into the lower layers either.
But an order from above was an order.
He had no choice but to come.
And judging by the blatant irritation with which he complained about the assignment, who could possibly have doubted him?
Anyway, I understand. I'll contact the director of the nursery and have them finish preparing the child immediately. Just wait here for a moment.
It was an age of chaos brought about by the Upper Layer War.
And as in most wars, the enemy was far from the only danger.
There were countless security problems to contend with, including a sharp rise in crimes committed by citizens driven into panic.
To put it plainly,
the orange magnate was busy.
So even when a high-ranking Alphauri arrived without warning, he didn't think much of it at the time.
He simply entrusted the prodigy to the visitor, exactly as the state had ordered.
And just like that, the orphan of the deep sea was placed aboard someone else's transport and carried away.
***
We're short on manpower.
The same words were repeated like a parrot.
That was the dilemma faced by this particular marine species in those days.
However, another prodigy who represented the era, █, believed the problem would persist for much longer.
Not only now. We may remain short on manpower forever.
What?
The soldiers I'm talking about are simply obedient beings who follow the state's orders, eliminate its enemies, and remain loyal. But what happens if we teach magic to ordinary civilians?
Hmm.
They may be lower-class, but they possess intelligence and reason just as we do. Once you put the weapon of magic in their hands, do you truly believe they'll continue obeying the ruling class without question?
...
Will we still be able to treat them like obedient livestock—like crucian carp, dead fish, turtles, or white whales?
Of course, no rebellion would erupt overnight.
But the eccentric mage who changed skins every day was deeply wary of the political participation the common people might demand in the future.
Those in power had no intention whatsoever of sharing with the citizens the authority inherited from their ancestors.
And that was not their only concern.
Even without a popular uprising, the maritime nation in which the deep-sea genius had been born had always occupied an awkward position—usually third or fourth when the nations were ranked by military strength.
If, once the Great War ended, one of the superpowers attempted another self-serving campaign of unification amid the lingering instability, the nation itself might be swallowed whole and cease to exist.
A crisis on every front.
Anyway, I believe every one of our problems ultimately comes down to the same thing: a shortage of manpower.
I don't want to be overthrown by those beneath me, and I have no desire to be invaded by those above me either.
The eccentric mage █ insisted that they had to act first if they wished to prevent such outcomes.
What followed was the core of his proposal.
But don't worry. I have an excellent idea.
Inside an enormous chamber, the nation's most powerful figures sat gathered around the room, listening intently to the scholar's argument.
Honestly, is there anyone among the highest-ranking nobles who doesn't know that we've planted spies in the Eastern Sea territory?
Ahem.
Hmm.
I don't understand why you've suddenly brought up such a sensitive matter in a setting like this.
Allow me to explain.
...
The disciples I carefully raised in my laboratory have since been drafted into the Eastern "Magic Tower" as soldiers and incorporated into their ranks. And apart from them, we've had several other spies embedded there for the past few years.
Your introduction is rather long.
Yes, well... to get straight to the point, I stole several advanced magical principles from them and used those principles to devise a technology capable of producing the perfect military force.
For a brief moment, the eccentric scholar was irritated by the interruption.
But he allowed none of that displeasure to show and continued without missing a beat.
Let me emphasize this once again.
What I'm proposing is the creation of truly perfect soldiers.
Hmm.
No matter how much you increase their wages or fill their pockets, aren't intellectuals like mages always the sort to entertain foolish ideas according to their own whims?
...
So this time, let's do away with inefficient biological soldiers altogether.
The speaker immediately presented his conclusion to the country's most powerful figures.
Why don't we replace them with machines?
In this age, long before artificial robots would become commonplace elsewhere, a genius mage was already proposing that wars be fought by artificial proxies.
The internal and external mana compounds produced by our lungs can already be reproduced in laboratories. We've also prepared all the machinery necessary to simulate respiration. At this point, all I need from you is the 'brain' that will be inserted into the system.
A brain?
Magic is activated through the mind and magical power, after all.
?
Now that I've laid all the groundwork, it's somewhat embarrassing to admit this, but the truth is that creating an intelligence sophisticated enough to rival that of an actual mage—in other words, a proper computational system—is currently impossible.
The calm voice continued.
What I'm saying is that we simply don't have the luxury of building a usable artificial intelligence from scratch.
...
Then we'll use the natural materials this planet has already given us. By combining the brainwashing magic stolen from the Magic Tower with my own modification techniques, we can create the perfect sorcerer—one that faithfully obeys nothing but the commands entered into it!
As befitted an Alphauri of noble blood, the eccentric sorcerer carefully avoided speaking too bluntly, wrapping the true meaning of his proposal in layers of euphemism.
Of course, everyone present was accustomed to such rhetoric.
They understood him immediately.
You mean to turn the living mind of a mage... into a lifeless machine?
Whether or not it was actually possible, the idea itself sounded deeply unsettling.
Yes! Unlike us, machines possess extraordinarily long lifespans and exceptional durability. They're ideal for rapidly expanding our military strength!
But the thick-skinned researcher continued persuading the capitalists without the slightest hesitation.
He looked perfectly relaxed.
After all, this was far from his first time securing funding for a massive research project.
What's more, this project will become the salvation that puts every one of your fears to rest. You are afraid, aren't you?
Explain.
Afraid?
Swish.
The leader seated in the place of honor narrowed their eyes at me.
There's been considerable concern about rebellion ever since knowledge of magic began spreading among the population, hasn't there?
...
Patriotic education, hostage schemes—no matter how many tricks you try, concepts that aren't even magic will never be enough to control an armed populace...
...
But now, you can stop worrying!
...
With this new form of magic I've devised, I can control a specific individual's thoughts for the rest of their life. Why? Because once our brains are stripped of their protective shells and left exposed, they become extraordinarily vulnerable to all external stimuli.
Hmm.
Their disposition becomes completely different from that of a mage who still possesses flesh and tentacles. They can barely resist another person's magic at all.
You sound remarkably confident.
Surely you didn't think I'd come before all of you and make such a proposal without conducting animal trials first?
...
The basic experiments have already been completed. At this point, allow me to explain the project's single limitation—and its greatest advantage.
Noticing that everyone's attention was now firmly fixed on him, the eccentric scholar moved his main tentacle with satisfaction.
Unfortunately, only organisms whose brains have undergone preliminary processing from a very young age can be converted into devices.
What?
Once the brain has fully developed, we can no longer force the necessary structure into it. Hmm... but if we use an immature mage immediately, other malfunctions arise. So we must wait until the organism reaches its prime before completing the conversion—which makes the process somewhat troublesome.
Then...
In any case, everyone here has already undergone secondary sexual development, so none of you will ever become one of the sacrifices. Just imagine how delightful the emergence of this technology must be for the rulers of this era, hmm?
Swish.
He spread every tentacle wide.
It was a gesture of surrender, resembling the symbol of a certain planet and making it perfectly clear that he had no intention of secretly drawing a magic circle.
Now that I've finished explaining, make your decision.
What followed was spoken in a surprisingly gentle tone.
Please grant me permission.
From this day forward, allow me access to the magical power records of every unfortunate infant born within this country.
Allow me to make use of the talents that blossom within them for the sake of our nation's future.
My only dream is for our country to remain the final ruler of this planet.
Swish.
The leader's eye rolled once more in the opposite direction.
The royal bloodline's innate magic confirmed that every word the speaker had uttered was true.
Soon, an indifferent yet unmistakably greedy voice echoed through the castle.
Then let it be so.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter