Children’s Magic: The Key to the Black Stones

Vivian, seeing Thomas contact her, had expected good news. Instead, the moment the call connected, she was doused with cold water.

“Thomas, what’s the progress?”

“My Lord Demon King, we’ve encountered a slight issue in our workshop,” Thomas replied. “Fernando and his team hastily assembled a prototype, but our cannon barrel appears incapable of withstanding the concentrated and compressed energy. It seems to be a problem with the craftsmanship, materials, and structural integrity.”

Vivian’s expression subtly darkened.

Over the past day, the Human Coalition Army had not rushed to launch an attack. Instead, they remained camped, awaiting transport supplies and even fabricating engineering equipment on site, ensuring thorough preparations.

During this time, Vivian had also directed her Shadow Warriors to conduct night raids. However, the enemy seemed aware of the reasons behind the Rhine Holy Church’s disastrous defeat two years prior. Every thirty minutes, they launched a round of continuous colored flares, and their guards were exceptionally vigilant. There was no possibility of a stealthy approach or a camp raid, let alone dealing with the players whose lurking positions remained unknown.

“I understand. Is there any good news?”

Vivian exhaled a sigh of resignation before asking.

“Barely, I suppose.” Thomas let out a wry chuckle. “I was planning to report directly to you, My Lord Demon King, but I unexpectedly encountered Miss Luna on the way and discovered this stone in her possession. Its hardness and magical stability are exceptionally high.”

“Therefore, I believe our problem might be solvable with it.”

Hearing this, Vivian pondered for a moment before realizing something. ‘Was that the ore Luna had been holding and activating earlier?’

“I see. If you’re looking for this type of ore, I’ve had Elder Green research it. If you need to use it urgently, you can inquire about the results of his research.”

Thomas’s eyes immediately lit up.

“I understand, My Lord Demon King! I will quickly investigate this ore to refine the design and production of the magic cannon! I’ll report back immediately with any news!”

“Good. I look forward to your results.”

Vivian nodded, then cut off the communication. She let out a soft sigh and turned to leave the room.

****

Outside, the first rays of dawn slowly spread across the land, gradually illuminating the silent Evernight Domain and Blackrock Pass from the distant horizon. Simultaneously, the smoke from breakfast fires gently ascended from the Human Coalition Army’s vast camp.

It was as if death itself was about to descend.

A breath.

Vivian took a deep breath, her gaze fixed on the enemy’s encampment.

She knew that after a full day of preparation and rest, the mysterious practitioners from the Thunder Church were about to launch their assault.

****

Back in Evernight City, Thomas had no time to rest after his report.

Thomas rushed towards the research area of Evernight Academy.

He sped along, fearful of wasting even a moment.

If the magic cannons couldn’t be produced, the newly formed army and even the Lord Demon King might not last more than a few days. Any day now, the enemy could be at Evernight City’s gates.

Meanwhile, Elder Green’s laboratory was cluttered with various ore samples and experimental equipment: bubbling potion bottles, faintly glowing magic array diagrams, and several small experimental imps gnawing on ore fragments.

“Elder Green!”

Thomas burst in and immediately seized the old mage, who was busy recording data.

“Do you remember the black stone sample the Lord Demon King gave you to research earlier? The kind that absorbs magic to activate!”

Elder Green was startled by Thomas’s abruptness. After calming himself, he slowly flipped through the experimental log behind him, taking a moment to retrieve a wooden box labeled “Unknown Black Stone” from a stack of sample containers.

“Oh, you mean this.” Elder Green said. “We did indeed research it, but unfortunately, after nearly a month of testing, the progress hasn’t been very significant.”

As he spoke, he opened the wooden box, revealing several rough black stones, similar to Luna’s, yet unrefined.

“We suspect this ore has a very peculiar structure. Ordinary magic simply can’t activate it. Even if forcibly injected, the energy merely dissipates, failing to remain stable.”

Hearing this, Thomas, unwilling to give up, handed over the smooth black stone he held.

“But I just saw Miss Luna inject magic into it, and it transformed into this,” he insisted. “Its hardness and magical stability are excellent. I truly believe it’s useful.”

Elder Green took both black stones, compared them, and then shook his head with a sigh.

“Ah, I understand your urgency,” he conceded. “But we’ve also tried testing with magic of different attributes, even attempting to make the injected magic as gentle as possible. Yet, we couldn’t achieve this effect. Perhaps… Luna’s magic is simply unique, and this is just an isolated case?”

“An isolated case?”

Thomas murmured to himself, his hopes instantly half-extinguished.

“If it can’t be activated in bulk, no matter how good this stone is, it won’t fill our material shortage.”

“Creating new weapons requires constant experimentation and refinement. The amount we have now is simply insufficient.”

His shoulders slumped, like a frostbitten eggplant. “Well, thank you, Elder Green.”

“Wait.”

Elder Green looked at Thomas, considered for a moment, and then asked, “You’re inquiring about this material, so it must be related to the new weapon the Lord Demon King ordered, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Thomas nodded, then realized something, and with a glimmer of hope, he asked, “Elder Green, may I ask…”

“Hmm… actually, I have a theory.”

Elder Green stared at the two black stones, stroking his slightly long beard in thought. After a long pause, he continued, “Perhaps it’s simply that the magic of us old folks isn’t suitable.”

“What do you mean?”

Thomas’s eyes widened, anticipating Elder Green’s next words.

“What I mean is, no matter how cautiously we mature demons try to inject our magic, it’s likely too volatile for this type of ore.”

Elder Green shook his head, sighing helplessly. “The power of demons is inherently wilder; our use of strength is often driven by instinct. So, no matter how careful we are, we likely inject too much magic. This type of magical stone requires neither too much nor too little—just precisely the right amount of magic to activate.”

“Too little yields no reaction, while too much overloads it, rendering it unusable for processing.”

“…Since adult demons are unsuitable, could we perhaps try with underage children?”

At this point, Thomas pondered briefly, then suggested, “Since little Luna can do it, perhaps other children can too?”

“That’s precisely what I was going to suggest.”

Elder Green nodded with a smile at Thomas, who had quickly caught on. “However, I was previously worried about disrupting the children’s lessons, so I was still searching for other controllable methods. But now that the situation is urgent, we have no choice but to try this.”

“I understand! I’ll go find Miss Luna right away! The school recently started classes teaching children how to inject magic! I’ll go try!”

After receiving the answer, Thomas, without resting, continued his relentless dash outside. Soon, he spotted both Luna and Luya in front of the council hall.

“Oh, Thomas, you’re back so soon?”

Seeing Thomas reappear before her, Luna couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Miss Luna! I need your help with something!”

Thomas, breathless, looked at Luna and spoke in a rush.

“What is it?”

The little succubus was taken aback, not expecting him to come back to her after all that.

“I want to ask you to gather the children from Evernight Academy to help!”

“H-help?”

Luna paused, taken aback by Thomas’s words.

“But what could the children possibly help with?”

‘But what could the children possibly help with?’

“It’s like this…”

Thomas swallowed, then relayed Elder Green’s conjecture to Luna Te.

“…I see. I understand.”

After hearing him out, Luna Te nodded thoughtfully. “Children… their magic is indeed much more stable compared to adult demons. This is an excellent method; I’ll give it a try!”

“Good!”

After their brief exchange concluded, Luna Te quickly took Luna and hurried towards the academy.

From the classrooms on either side came the sounds of students reciting arithmetic formulas and magical theories. However, Luna Te had no mind for these distractions; she merely muttered to herself as she walked.

“Miss Luna, when we meet the magic class teacher later, you must explain it clearly to her,” Luna Te instructed. “This is a crucial matter concerning whether our Evernight Domain can produce powerful weapons!”

Luna, her small face tilted upwards, tightly clutched Luna Te’s finger with her chubby little hand, her large eyes filled with earnestness.

“Don’t worry, Big Sister Luna Te, I know!”

The two soon arrived at the magic class classroom door, where the magic teacher was demonstrating basic magic injection techniques to the students with a magic wand.

Seeing Luna Te and Luna enter, she put down her magic wand and inquired.

“Teacher Luna Te, little student Luna, why are you here?”

Luna Te quickly stepped forward, rapidly recounting Elder Green’s conjecture and Thomas’s request, adding more details.

“My apologies, but the front-line situation is extremely urgent. Elder Green believes that the younger children might be able to activate the ore I need. Could you please help gather the lower-grade students in the academy?”

The magic teacher’s expression instantly turned serious upon hearing this. She glanced at the curious students peeking around her, then looked at the black stone clutched in Luna’s hand, and nodded immediately.

“No problem at all! This is a serious matter. I’ll have the teaching assistant notify everyone immediately to gather at the academy’s practice plaza. It’s spacious there, making it convenient for the children to try.”

Before long, the practice plaza was filled with children aged seven to thirteen. Among them were shadow demons, little succubi, and even minotaur calves with tiny horns.

Simp, hearing that Luna was also there, mingled among them and came over.

Since Luna hadn’t attended class for the past two days, he hadn’t seen her. So, the moment Simp spotted Luna, he immediately pushed his way to the front, his eyes sparkling with adoration.

Luna, surrounded by older children not much taller than herself, unconsciously tugged at the corner of her clothes. For a moment, she didn’t know how to speak.

Seeing this, Luna Te quickly knelt down and gently ruffled Luna’s hair, comforting her. “Don’t be scared. Just tell everyone how you activate the black stone, exactly as we discussed.”

Luna took a deep breath, raised the black stone in her hand, and spoke in a sweet, childish voice.

“Look, everyone! This stone is very special. You need to put your magic into it to activate it! But you can’t use too much magic, and you can’t use too little. You have to put it in little by little, like petting a kitten!”

As she spoke, she opened her palm, and a faint wisp of gray magical mist slowly enveloped the black stone’s surface. The previously dull stone instantly glowed with a soft blue light, and patterns flowed across its surface like tiny streams.

“See, it’s like this! The magic needs to flow slowly, like water. If you push too hard, the stone will become hard and hot! Then it won’t work.”

At her words, the other children couldn’t help but giggle, and the tense atmosphere instantly dissipated.

Simp listened most intently, his small brows furrowed in concentration. He even pulled out a small notebook and scribbled crooked notes with charcoal, muttering to himself.

“‘Luna said… magic must be gentle, like petting a kitten… don’t use too much force, or the stone will get angry…'”

Not only Simp, but the other children were also excited, treating this as a practical lesson. Luna Te observed the scene with a faint smile, then pulled out a pile of black stones from the cloth bag she carried and distributed them to each student.

“Don’t be afraid, everyone! We’ve already arranged for more black stones to be collected. So, each of you will have a piece to try, following Luna’s method. Don’t rush; it’s okay if you don’t succeed immediately.”

Upon hearing that it was okay even if they didn’t succeed, the children excitedly took the stones, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began attempting to inject magic, mimicking Luna.

Immediately, a chorus of murmurs rose from the plaza.

“Hey, why isn’t my stone reacting?”

“Did I use too little magic?”

“Wow, it lit up a little bit!”

Luna moved among the children, occasionally bending down with Luna Te to offer guidance.

“Your magic is too rushed, like pouring boiling water—the stone will get scared!” Luna instructed. “Lillian, be a little gentler, yes, like feeding your pet.”

Luna, with her short legs taking small steps, would occasionally go up to other children and touch their black stones with her tiny hand, mimicking Luna Te’s instructions.

“This magic is too faint! Add a little more, but not too much!” Just as she finished speaking, a little goblin named Toby suddenly jumped up, holding his black stone, and shouted excitedly.

“Teacher Luna! Look! My stone lit up! Is this right?”

Luna quickly ran over, seeing Toby’s black stone glowing faintly. It was much paler than her own, and its patterns were intermittent.

Luna Te also came over, her small hand gently covering the black stone as she sensed the magical fluctuations within. Then, her little brow furrowed. “It’s somewhat similar, but the magic is too weak. The stone isn’t ‘full.'” As she spoke, a faint wisp of gray magical mist gathered at her fingertip, which she carefully injected into Toby’s black stone. The previously faint blue light instantly brightened, and the patterns fully emerged. “See, this is how it should be!” Luna instantly understood what was happening. She patted Toby’s head, smiling, and said, “Toby, you injected too little magic. It’s like in our practical class, when you watered your bean sprout with just a little bit, so your sprout wasn’t as big as others’. You need to put in a little more magic!” Toby nodded seriously, took another black stone, and tried again. This time, he slowed the speed of his magic injection, adjusting the amount bit by bit. Before long, the black stone once again lit up with a stable blue glow. “It lit up! It really lit up!” Seeing this, Toby jumped up excitedly, nearly dropping the black stone from his hand.

With Toby’s success story, the other children also quickly found their knack. More and more blue lights appeared across the plaza, followed by continuous cheers.

Simp, seeing everyone else succeed, pushed himself even harder, constantly adjusting his magical output. When the black stone in his hand finally glowed with a dazzling blue light, he excitedly waved to Luna. “Luna! Look! I succeeded too!”

Luna heard him and smiled, waving back, her small face filled with joy.

However, some children were still unable to activate the black stones, but the number of successful activations was still considerable. Luna looked at the scene before her, and the massive stone weighing on her heart finally settled. She pulled out her magic communicator and eagerly sent a message to Thomas.

[Thomas, it worked! Some of the children can activate the black stones!]

Meanwhile, in the Magic Crystal Workshop, Thomas, who had just closed his eyes for a short rest, nearly jumped up with excitement upon hearing the news.

[Excellent! We desperately need these new materials for experiments. Send them over quickly!]