Twenty-four hours have passed, and <> has returned to the east coast region, east of the continent of Hale.

"Come to think of it, doesn't this continent have a name?"

Jin asked the , wondering about this after all this time.

<

Surely, if there is no other continent, there is no need to distinguish between them.

"Hmmm ......"

Jin also knows that the naming of <> is unique ......, and that they don't seem to be too concerned about the name.

"I'd like to name it eventually,...... because it will be hard to distinguish it from the continent of Ars."

And that his sense of naming is not very common.

For now, he puts the name of the continent behind him and waits in space for <>, who should be arriving any minute now.

reports back.

"Well, we're almost there. Did you find anything unusual on the way?"

<<

"That's good."

Ten minutes later, a kilometer away, was stationary in space relative to <>.

"Now we can finally start our plan."

Jin muttered hopefully.

< stands quietly in space, waiting for the time to release its hidden power.

The escort ship <<> was also nearby.

Jin contacts the control magic brain.

"<>, how was your trip?　Any problems?"

Yes, my lord. There was no problem at all. We can always start the operation.

"Okay, the position of <> is not the best, but it's a good position. First of all, please go slowly. Keep me posted on the situation.

Yes, sir. At our current distance of 34 million kilometers, it would take about four days to approach at 100 kilometers per second. It will take about four days to approach at 100 kilometers per second.

Now, if Hale is at 12:00 and Ars is at 6:00 from the celestial North Pole (the ecliptic North Pole, to be exact), then the position of Zipert is between 10:00 and 1:00. If Hale is at 12 o'clock and Ars is at 6 o'clock, the position of Gyppert is between 10 o'clock and 1 o'clock.

The direction of the orbit is counterclockwise, or leftward, from the celestial north pole (or, more precisely, perpendicular to the plane of the orbit, but an approximate direction will suffice), so the more time passes, the further Gyppert will be from Hale.

In this sense, Jin wanted to start the operation as soon as possible.

"Yes, that would be fine. <<> will accompany us as much as possible. However, as soon as you start to affect the navigation, turn around and stay at the distance where you will not be affected.

Understood.

And so, at last, the operation to procure resources from began.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The first two days were uneventful, and Jin was idle, so he spent his free time going around <> and doing maintenance work.

< is huge, there is no way that even Jin can maintain everything in two days.

But on the third day.

Master (My Lord), the destroyer <<<> has stopped its progress due to a malfunction caused by a sudden increase in the concentration of free magical element (ether).

Jin immediately went to the central bridge to take command.

Jin immediately flies to the central bridge.

"I see. So it's not noise?

Yes, my lord. There's no mistaking the surge in free-magic ether levels.

"I see. ......"

According to the information left by <>, there was some noise in the free magical element (ether), but I think it was either a misunderstanding, or it has changed over the years.

Although we had predicted it to some extent, the information left behind by the <> is scarce, and now, for the first time, we have raw data.

"So, how does it feel?"

Yes. It is similar to the etheric cloud we encountered before, but it seems to be more concentrated.

"I'm sure it is."

< was a thousand times higher than the standard concentration of free magical element (ether) around Ars, the force field generator (force generator) and other magical machines (magi) could not be used to generate a free magical element (ether). The force field generator "force generator" and other magical machines malfunctioned across the board.

The fact that the destroyers <<> that took countermeasures at that time withdrew from the area due to the danger must mean that the concentration was even higher.

You are right. The concentration is about 10,000 times higher.

"10,000 ......"

<, there is a possibility that magic tools and machines will go out of control even if countermeasures are taken. In fact, sensing the danger, the three convoys withdrew.

"I see... ......<> is still different from the record."

We don't know how many tens of thousands of years ago the survey was conducted, but it is reasonable to assume that the situation has changed in the meantime.

"How far is it from Serang?"

Yes, about 120 million kilometers.

Ars Hale is about 150 million kilometers and Zipert is 180 million kilometers. So it is a little closer to Celan than the middle of the two orbits.

"Why does the concentration increase so rapidly?"

Jin felt that it was strange for the intensity to change so rapidly.

"I don't think so, but the aggregation of free magical elements (ether) is not artificial, is it?

Jin feared that Zipert might have a civilization and might be collecting free magical elements (ether) for some purpose.

We don't know that at the moment.

We won't know until we get to Gipert.

But there are a few things that we can determine that it is spontaneous.

What are they?

First, the size of the area. It's too big. It's too large an area. Perhaps the entire spherical area with a radius of 120 million kilometers has this concentration.

"If you're right, then it certainly doesn't seem artificial."

Filling such a tremendous space with free magic element (ether) is insane.

Even before that, it was inconceivable that such a thing could be done by human hands.

We have <<<> measuring the area, and so far there is no doubt that the free magic elements (ether) are coagulated within a spherical area.

"Hmmm ......"

We don't even know the details of the formation of free magic element (ether), so we can't even begin to think about why it is in such a high concentration .......

"Okay. Keep measuring the range of high free element (ether) areas. And <> is safe?

Yes. It wasn't free-magic noise, but the measures we've taken are working.

"I'm glad to hear that."

At this point, Jin mentioned something else that had been bothering him.

"Is there such a thing as the concentration getting higher as we get closer to the dipat?"

To this question, answered immediately.

No, that does not seem to be the case. We are connected to < by sub-free magical element (ether) wave communication, but the concentration suddenly increases, and after that, it remains almost constant.

"Hmmm ......."

Jin groaned again.

"Reduce the speed of the <> to half and make it more alert to its surroundings."

I understand. I'll contact you as soon as possible.

Jin thought that he would have to act more carefully now that he did not know why the concentration of free magical element (ether) was so high.

The plan was for a little less than a day, but it will take two days. Is that all right?

"Of course."

Jin thinks.

It is almost certain that it is the sun's cerane that is generating this high concentration of free magical element (ether).

Free magic element (ether) is a clean energy source that can be converted into various physical energies.

It is very interesting to know what kind of reactions are taking place in the solar cerane.