When the train arrived in Luowei Town, it was drizzling.
The town is built between two hillsides. The upstream reservoir is already close to the top of the dam, and the turbid water is constantly crashing against the stone banks. Streams formed by melting snow are still flowing in from the mountains, and in another day, the lowest part of the dam may be flooded.
The person in charge of the commission, along with four local mages, waited at the station.
He first noticed the guild emblem on Lin Yuan's back, then looked at Mystogan, who was masked and carrying True Magic, and finally gazed at the empty platform.
"The others will take the next bus?"
"There's no one else," Lin Yuan said.
The person in charge thought he had misheard, "The letter of commission clearly states that at least eight high-level mages are required. Ten would be best."
"Let's check the formation first."
This answer wasn't very convincing. The person in charge tried to explain several times, but eventually led them up the stone steps on the side of the reservoir.
The flood control True Magic array was built inside the dam. At its central core was a circular stone platform embedded in the mountain, from which six magical pathways extended, connecting to six stone towers distributed around the reservoir.
When operating normally, the formation would send excess water into several irrigation canals at the foot of the mountain. After the central core stopped rotating, all waterways lost control.
Mystogan squatted down in front of the stone platform, his fingers tracing the now-faded runes.
Has anyone tried restarting?
"Seven mages from the town tried it together," the person in charge replied. "The central core lit up for less than ten seconds before the eastern sub-array started smoking. We dared not continue."
Mystogan did not ask any more questions and checked each of the six routes one by one.
Lin Yuan then extended his spatial perception into the dam. The magic pathways were buried inside the stone layers, and small cracks had appeared at several bends, but they were not completely severed. The real problem lay in the six sub-arrays themselves.
The first one is still intact, the entrance to the second one is blocked by mud and sand; the runes on the two on the east side are worn and can withstand less than half of the original magic power; the remaining two are significantly slower to start up due to long-term lack of maintenance.
"The same amount of magic cannot be injected simultaneously." Mystogan finished inspecting the last stone tower. "The complete array will activate first; the two damaged towers didn't have time to form a circuit. The excess magic is all stuck at the entrance, which is why it's smoking."
The mages in the town looked at each other in bewilderment.
They only knew that more people were needed to provide power simultaneously, but no one noticed the differences between the six sub-arrays.
The person in charge hurriedly asked, "Can it be fixed?"
"There wasn't enough time to replace the runestones, so we had to temporarily divert the traffic."
Mystogan removed the first True Magic from his back and planted it on the north side of the central core. As the staff landed, a circle of purple patterns lit up, connecting the first and second sub-arrays.
The second True Magic landed on the east side, responsible for limiting the magical power that the two damaged arrays could Take Over. The third and fourth wands adjusted the activation time of the remaining pathways.
He placed the last one horizontally on the central stone platform.
A new spell emerged between the five True Magic. The six originally independent pathways were reconnected, and the magic no longer surged out from the center at the same time, but first passed through the diversion array established by Mystogan, and then entered the various sub-arrays at different speeds.
Lin Yuan stood aside and watched the whole process.
Mystogan's familiarity with the array was not something he had learned on the spur of the moment. He knew almost without calculation where to place his True Magic and could judge the maximum capacity of each path by the brightness of the runes.
"Have you ever practiced this kind of formation before?" Lin Yuan asked.
I've seen similar True Magic devices before.
The answer remained unproven.
Lin Yuan did not press further.
After Mystogan finished adjusting the last connection, he placed a crystal used to measure magic power into the central core. The crystal lit up eight bars in succession before going out completely.
"The estimate in the commission is correct," he said. "If the magic power is provided by ordinary high-level mages, at least eight people are needed. Considering the consumption and replacements along the way, ten people are more prudent."
The person in charge immediately looked at the several mages in town. "I'll go contact the nearby guilds."
"Too late." Mystogan looked up at the water, which had already crossed the warning line. "The earliest reinforcements won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon; the dam won't hold out until then."
The person in charge turned pale. "Then why did only two of you come?"
Mystogan did not answer.
He wanted to know the answer to that question too.
Lin Yuan walked up to the central stone platform and placed his hand on the now-extinguished core. The structure of the six pathways had been rearranged by Mystogan; he only needed to provide magic power according to the other party's instructions.
"Are all the divisions ready?"
Mystogan confirmed the five True Magic in turn. Purple light flowed along the newly created spell, and the entrances to the six stone towers lit up simultaneously, but none of them were actually activated.
"Ready."
The town's mages stood around the outer edge of the formation. They had already divided into groups according to the original plan, waiting to take over as soon as Lin Yuan's magic power was insufficient.
Mystogan gripped the central True Magic and gave a final warning. "All six branch arrays will draw magic power simultaneously. Stop immediately if you can't hold on any longer."
Lin Yuan nodded.
"Open all."
Five True Magic lit up simultaneously.
The massive gap formed by the six branch formations instantly pressed down on the central core.