It's worth noting that in the Curtained World, unless in specific cases, mages typically transform natural or non-elemental mana into magic, which then manifests as various effects or elements. They don't directly utilize elemental mana, unlike Daniel who actualized spells directly from the card using elemental mana.
When Greed mentioned Sacred Grounds, Daniel had no knowledge of what they were. These were exclusive locations where elemental mana could be found, and there were fewer than 10 known sites worldwide, with 7 of them already occupied by various groups or organizations. The Hightower, in particular, controlled 3 of these locations.
Greed sighed deeply upon realizing that Daniel remained oblivious despite her explanations and frustrations. She lamented the unfairness of the situation, realizing that the person beside her, unaware of the significance of elemental mana, had unknowingly created a machine capable of converting normal mana into elemental mana, without understanding its implications.
"Hey, Daniel... You said it's not a big deal, right?" Greed asked.
"Yeah," Daniel nodded.
"If I told you that you've created resources tempting enough to incite a mage civil war, would you believe me? This war would likely surpass the scale of previous conflicts and could even escalate into World War 3. Elemental mana is precious and scarce, and only mages with distinguished service or significant influence in the Hightower receive such mana. The three Grand Councilors, influential High Councilors, and select Councilors with distinguished service records toward the Hightower are among those who obtain it," Greed explained.
"Huh?" Daniel tilted his head in confusion. "Is that possible? Isn't it just elemental mana? Why the exaggeration?" Despite hearing it from Greed, Daniel remained skeptical.
"I'm serious, Daniel. It's not an exaggeration; it's a harsh reality," Greed solemnly declared, emphasizing the gravity of the situation with a gesture. She continued,
"If I told you that the true reason behind World War 1 was the Hightower's desire to claim two Sacred Grounds from the Ottoman Empire, would you believe me?" Greed locked eyes with Daniel as she concluded her explanation.
Upon hearing this, Daniel let out a sigh. "Well, it's a good thing I didn't let this mana permeate into the other sections of the base and chose to send it as mere energy through the pipeline. Otherwise, the artificers from the Magic Harmony faction might have started spreading strange rumors," Daniel admitted, accepting the truth that he had unwittingly created trouble for himself.
"Yes, now I understand why the magic tools and artifacts here are significantly more efficient than those outside. It's because of the high-quality mana refined in this section," Greed concluded.
"Yeah, but that's just one thing I wanted to show you. There are two more things you need to know before we can discuss our business," Daniel said, brushing the matter aside.
"Wait... What!? There's more!?" Greed exclaimed, taken aback by Daniel's nonchalant demeanor despite the potentially mind-boggling revelations.
"Yes, please follow me," Daniel replied calmly. He then proceeded to guide Greed further into the expansive hallway, where the 'Power Plant' and 'The Test Plot' awaited.
Daniel opened the double doors, revealing the power plant inside the room labeled 'Power Plant 01 - 05.' Greed's eyes widened as she observed five large machines, each larger than an average truck, arranged similarly to the previous room. Groups of metal scarabs and construction golems diligently operated and maintained the power plant around the clock. At the farthest end of the room, a massive machine drew in pure mana from the pipeline on the wall, working tirelessly to create a thumb-sized prismatic crystal imbued with mana.
"That... that was the Philosopher's Stone!?" Greed exclaimed, her disbelief evident as she glanced at Daniel. Initially, she thought that Daniel must have resorted to sacrificing innocence to create a Philosopher's Stone. However, upon closer inspection, she noticed that the Philosopher's Stone emerging from the machine wasn't red but radiated with prismatic light.
"No... that was..." Greed began, but Daniel interrupted her by gesturing with his palm.
A radiant light emanated from Daniel's palm, revealing a small thumb-sized prismatic crystal resting on it.
"It's the same Philosopher's Stone I showed you back then when we were talking at the Veneziale estate. The machine before you is a prototype that I've been testing to gauge its efficiency in producing a Philosopher's Stone. However, it seems that it's not meeting my expectations," explained Daniel.
"A prototype?" Greed inquired.
"Yes," Daniel nodded simply, without elaborating further.
"Then, doesn't that mean your plan to establish an energy company has failed?" Greed asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Huh? Why would it fail?" Daniel asked, unable to comprehend Greed's line of thinking.
Greed turned her attention to the nearby generator that converted the mana extracted from the Philosopher's Stone into electrical power.
"Wouldn't it fail? You can't personally create Philosopher's Stones to sustain its energy consumption all the time, can you? And your prototype doesn't meet your expectations either. I believe it takes around two to three months to create a prismatic Philosopher's Stone, right?" Greed sought confirmation.
It was common knowledge that regular Philosopher's Stones, fueled by human blood and souls, took at least a month for an average artifact to refine one from these macabre components.
This meant that if Daniel's prototype took two or three months to create a prismatic Philosopher's Stone, it fell short of the standard. Though not an artificer herself, Greed and Sloth had previously developed prototype generators relying on regular Philosopher's Stones for energy generation, and those prototypes were considered inadequate for commercial use.
Hence, Greed had been skeptical of Daniel's plan from the start.
"Wait... I think you've misunderstood, Miss Greed. It may not meet my personal standards, but that doesn't mean the plan has failed," Daniel clarified, raising his hand to halt any further misconceptions.
"Hm?" Greed tilted her head in confusion.
"Each generator you see here can produce up to 2000 megawatts of electricity using only one Philosopher's Stone, and a Philosopher's Stone can last for one month," Daniel explained, gesturing towards the generator.
"I see... So your plan is feasible," Wrath muttered, then proceeded to ask another question.
"But as a businesswoman, isn't this plan quite risky? Your prototype takes three months to create one prismatic Philosopher's Stone, while each generator consumes one stone per month. How do you plan to manage this risk... huh?" Greed shifted into businesswoman mode, but as she spoke, she noticed an unusual expression on Daniel's face, as if he had heard something inconceivable.
"What? Why are you giving me that look?" Greed asked, starting to feel a tinge of irritation at Daniel's behavior.
"Ugh... That's why I said you misunderstood. Did I say that my prototype produces a Philosopher's Stone at that horrendous rate? The production rate is much better than what you mentioned. It actually produces..." Daniel attempted to correct the misunderstanding and then held up a finger for Greed to see, indicating the production rate.
Upon seeing this, Greed was immediately taken aback.
"What!? Are you telling me your prototype produces one stone per month!?"
"No... that would be too terrible... it's..." Daniel tried to explain, but Greed interrupted.
"One week!? Are you out of your mind!? You call that..." Greed's surprise and excitement grew, her eyes wide with anticipation. However, Daniel quickly grabbed Greed's cheek and pulled it widely.
"Can you wait for me to finish what I'm about to say!? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm???" Daniel exclaimed in frustration, his grip on Greed's cheek slightly tightening.
"Geeeehhh, sorry! Sorry!" Greed repeatedly nodded, and Daniel slowly released her cheek, which now resembled a ripe tomato.
"It's one stone per hour! For God's sake, can you please listen to me first?" Daniel couldn't help but vent his frustration.
Upon hearing this, Greed's face displayed a mix of emotions. "And you still think one stone per hour is not up to your standards? Daniel, what production rate would meet your standards? Should the machine be able to transmute a Philosopher's Stone as efficiently as you do it yourself?" Greed's tone turned slightly sarcastic as she spoke, growing more irritated with Daniel.
"Hey! I understand what you're thinking. Even if you think it's unreasonable for me to expect the machine to transmute a Philosopher's Stone as efficiently as I do, the prototype should at least produce one stone every 15 minutes! If it can't achieve that, then it should use fewer resources than it currently does," Daniel explained his standards to Greed, who listened with a mixture of surprise, irritation, and frustration.
After hearing that, Greed ceased her exchange of words with Daniel. She took a deep breath, slowly exhaling to calm her state of mind.
"Well, I suppose there's one more thing you want me to see, right? Lead the way! I don't think I could be any more surprised than I already am," Greed said confidently, ready to follow Daniel towards the 'Test Plot'.
As they entered, Greed was greeted by rows upon rows of test plots, filled with flowers that bloomed with five prismatic petals. These flowers emitted rich and pure mana, rivaling the mana refinery she had seen in the first room.
"These plants, I call them Prismatic Flowers. If used correctly, they can produce mana and gradually generate mana in the surrounding area," Daniel began to explain to Greed. However, her mind had already escaped from reality, unable to comprehend the extraordinary sight of plants producing mana before her very eyes.
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