Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 71: Idea

Iron ore contains more than 60% iron, almost a lump of iron itself—iron rust contains only 70% iron.

Would this kind of iron ore still count as a rock? Could "Fossil to Mud" work on it?

Or, taking a step back, if "Fossil to Mud" does not work on metals, could it be used to turn the rocky impurities in the ore into mud, leaving behind the pure mineral?

"Try using ’Fossil to Mud’ again."

This time, Hughes did not stand far away to observe. He and Ash approached a rock together.

The rock appeared to be basalt, covered in dense small pores, a common sight near volcanoes.

Ash placed her hand on it. The solid rock seemed to melt, gradually turning into a viscous, flowing liquid, it truly became "mud."

Hughes took a wooden stick and poked at it. The mud was thick and had a resistance similar to dough.

As Ash’s spell ended, after a while, the "mud" slowly solidified back into stone.

"So, it does not permanently become ’mud.’"

"Yes, as long as I stop channeling mana, it gradually reverts to stone."

"Reverts to stone?"

Hughes smiled and handed the stick to Ash. "Take a closer look."

Ash picked up the stick, carefully examined the solidified stone on it, and then looked at the original rock.

Her eyes gradually widened.

"The pores are gone?"

Basalt often contains many pores, formed when small gas bubbles or vesicles get trapped as lava solidifies.

These vesicles give basalt a porous appearance and affect its physical properties.

However, the basalt affected by "Fossil to Mud" and then re-solidified no longer had those pores.

Hughes stroked the surface of the stone.

"These pores mostly come from gas bubbles, which leads me to a hypothesis."

"’Fossil to Mud’ does not actually turn stone into mud. The stone remains stone, but this spell..."

"Lowers its melting point."

"Melting point?"

"Yes, though this explanation is not strictly accurate. The rock we hold is not a single substance, nor has it turned into liquid, so ’melting point’ may not be the best term. But I cannot think of a better one. You could consider it as turning into magma at room temperature."

Ash took a deep breath.

She looked at the black rock in disbelief, then at her own hand.

Is this... the true nature of her magic?

"It is worth mentioning that magma is not actually hotter than molten iron. Magma is typically around 1,000 degrees Celsius, while steel can reach over 1,500 degrees."

Hughes looked at Ash. "You mentioned before that the power of magic can be enhanced through extensive practice, right?"

Ash’s eyes lit up. "Yes, my lord. Nini is the most proficient spellcaster among us. All of her spells are stronger than ours. I will have her try!"

Nini was quickly summoned. Hearing Hughes’ explanation, her beautiful eyes widened. "So ’Fossil to Mud’ works like this?!"

"This is just a hypothesis, which is why I asked you to test it."

"Alright! I will try it right away!!"

She excitedly picked up a metal plate from the ground.

"Wait!!" Hughes stopped her. "Do not test it here. Go somewhere far away, at least ten kilometers from Castel, I recall there are some uninhabited islands to the east?"

"You are worried this could trigger cognitive interference?"

"Yes. ’Fossil to Mud’ is still just our theory, and we have not fully figured out how cognitive interference works yet. It is best to be cautious."

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"I will go right away!"

Nini grabbed the metal plate. Her snake-like tail coiled like a spring and then suddenly straightened—she arced through the air and dove into the seawater below the cave.

"...Why is she so impatient?"

"Nini always gets like this when it comes to magic,"

"Send a few people to follow her. Whether she succeeds or not, tell them to return in a day, that was the timeframe for the last cognitive interference outbreak. Then, come with me to the stone cavern."

Ash nodded, connected to the Mind Link, and opened the work group chat.

Not long after, in a stone cavern on the eastern side of Castel—

"Ash, I know you are not afraid of contamination now, but you still need to activate Flesh Magic."

Ash nodded and activated the spell. She looked at Hughes. "It is done."

Hughes looked toward a nearby pit. All the solid contamination from the last cognitive interference incident had been gathered and stored here.

These pollutants resembled living creatures, exhibiting weak activity—though just barely.

In other words, they were quite dumb.

The Sirens had little trouble luring them here, directing them into the pit.

Unfortunately, the walls of the pit were not smooth enough, allowing the pollutants to attempt to crawl out.

Monica had come up with a solution. The Sirens had not let her participate in the evening operations, instead assigning her the relatively safe task of guarding the contaminants.

"...So, this was your idea?"

Hughes looked at the wolf suspended above the contamination pit, his eye twitching.

Monica nodded. "These solid contaminants instinctively chase living creatures, so I asked Sister Ash to catch a wolf. We tied it up and suspended it above the pit. This way, the contaminants keep reaching for the wolf..."

"But they cannot reach it, so they just stay in the pit."

Monica shrugged.

The wolf hung motionless in the air, its eyes empty and dull.

"At first, it was terrified and howling constantly, but after a day, it calmed down. Now it is very obedient and does not move at all."

Monica gave the wolf an encouraging look. The wolf showed no reaction.

"The only problem is that it refuses to eat. Even when I put food in its mouth, it spits it out. I had to feed it from the other direction for it to eat."

"Alright, enough about the poor wolf. Ash, maintain Flesh Magic and try capturing a bit of contamination. Be extremely careful!"

Ash nodded. Using her snake tail, she wrapped around a protrusion on the stone wall, suspending herself upside down.

Carefully, she reached into the pit to grab some of the solid contamination.

The amount had neither increased nor decreased since yesterday. Now, the contamination wriggled like worms, looking utterly disgusting.

Ash took a deep breath and quickly scooped up a handful, then used her tail to lift herself back up.

"My lord."

Hughes observed the writhing contamination in her hand, suppressing the unease he felt as he examined it closely.