"Record"
Day 12, first day of the experiment.
According to His Majesty Roland's requirements, a hazard test was conducted.
Thirty roosters were evenly placed around the experimental platform, with one directly in the path of the red light.
Irradiation time was five minutes.
The target rooster reacted violently, thrashing about in the cage, while the other roosters showed no reaction.
A slight burning smell was detected on site.
After irradiation, subtle burn marks were found on the target rooster's fallen feathers. However, such minor damage was not enough to cause the feathers to break off; they were likely shed during the target's struggle.
The owner of the feathers appeared somewhat listless, but was generally normal.
As such, its hazard is less than that of a torch.
Recorder: Celine.
...
Day 13, second day of the experiment.
The situation has changed somewhat.
The target rooster began to suffer from diarrhea and wailing, as if afflicted by some evil plague.
The other roosters remained normal.
His Majesty Roland seemed somewhat solemn (this sentence deleted from the official record).
No new tests were conducted today.
...
Day 14, third day of the experiment.
The target rooster died.
After dissection, it was discovered that the target's body was seeping water, its internal organs showed signs of blood impregnation, and subcutaneous putrefaction had occurred – symptoms that generally only appear one day after an animal's death.
Does this mean that the red light killed the chicken's skin in advance while keeping the target alive?
This is quite interesting.
Recalling the story of the Curse Temple and Thorn Town, as well as the scenes depicted in the murals, it does seem like something of the sort.
The cursed suffer while appearing unharmed, ultimately until their entire body rots. Though alive, they watch their bodies die bit by bit, a feeling that must be unpleasant.
I take back what I said earlier. While its lethality is still less than that of a torch, its method is far more bizarre.
However, His Majesty Roland has his own view.
He believes that the red light disrupts the lifeform's ability to renew itself.
At the microscopic level invisible to the naked eye, the body is constantly growing and decaying, forming a balance between the two. Therefore, ceasing growth leads to widespread necrosis. The so-called curse is essentially this.
Until more evidence refutes this claim, I concur (the following paragraphs are deleted from the official record).
The microscope is a fascinating invention.
Moreover, the data collected from the Dream World can corroborate the observations, indicating that organisms are constructed from continuously growing tiny cells.
The reason light can penetrate the body is that the seemingly dense surface is actually full of holes.
I feel like I am approaching a new field.
It is a pity that I cannot personally enter the Dream World.
I heard that to understand knowledge in this area, one must reach at least a "High" level, and the general study time is nine years.
Indeed, asking Phyllis and Elena to accelerate this process is still too much, isn't it?
...
Day 16, fifth day of the experiment.
All the roosters, dead or alive, were buried deep underground.
The laboratory underwent a thorough cleaning.
After a one-day interval, testing continued.
The target objects were changed to three dairy cows, aimed at testing the possibility of using the Ritual Cube as a weapon, as well as the target's size and resistance to the red light.
...
Day 20, ninth day of the experiment.
The results were terrible.
The three targets were irradiated for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and half an hour respectively.
But even the cow with the longest irradiation time
survived for four days.
Regardless of the demons' resistance, standing still to wait for a long irradiation is not feasible – even if the "curse" continues to cause damage, victory or defeat on the battlefield hangs on a single moment.
The scene in the temple murals of the Ritual Cube defeating the Colossus is likely an exaggeration.
Or... are they particularly vulnerable to this "curse light"?
...
Day 21, tenth day of the experiment.
Range test.
After confirming that the Cube would not spread harm to the surrounding area, His Majesty Roland approved the outdoor testing plan.
The test site was still selected at the bottom of the Impassable Mountain Range valley.
The conclusions were quite disappointing.
The red light's range could not exceed one hundred meters, and any obstructions further weakened its penetration distance.
Some metallic substances could even completely block it.
Like ten gold royals stacked together.
Even pure water had a significant blocking effect.
This conclusion almost negated its use as a weapon.
...
Day 26, fifteenth day of the experiment.
Taking advantage of Nana Wawa's return from the front line, a healing test was conducted.
The results were between curable and incurable.
For example, if only the skin and decaying organs of the irradiated cow were repaired, the situation would continue to worsen, and the healed areas would be re-infected with the "curse."
But when we selected a complete small organ, treated it, removed it, and transplanted it into another healthy cow, we found that it did not continue to deteriorate.
That is, a large-scale reconstruction of the body may be able to remove the "curse."
However, that has exceeded Nana Wawa's magic limit.
To confirm this, we would need to use Speer.Pasi's channel ability, so it can only be shelved.
For safety's sake, it is better to temporarily define it as "incurable."
By the way, Cow Number One finally died, surviving for ten days.
...
Day 28, seventeenth day of the experiment.
The Ritual Cube re-emitted red light.
The coins were completely depleted.
Fortunately, His Majesty Roland has another coin of the same kind.
But after all, this is the raw material for making "Sun's Radiance," which is not only scarce but also extremely difficult to collect. I feel like I am wasting the world's most precious resources.
In addition, the magic contained in the Cube is also running low, but like the runes, it can be replenished at any time.
Considering the consumption, such tests should not continue.
After the planned resistance project tests are completed, I hope to disassemble it.
...
Roland exhaled lightly and closed the "Official Version of the Experiment Record."
"You're looking at it again." Nightingale leaned against the recliner, chewing on dried fish, "Isn't the result obvious? The legendary ancient treasure is just a torture device, with no incredible use other than torturing prisoners."
Indeed, as engraved in the murals, its sole purpose was to torture enemies.
The principle is roughly similar to ionizing radiation, and uranium coins are the raw material – the cause of excitation is unknown, but the results are basically similar. The difference is that the Ritual Cube can regulate the direction of high-energy particles, equivalent to directional irradiation.
Roland suspected that the red light was only used to indicate the irradiation target, similar to a laser sight, and not equivalent to the ray itself – after all, being able to see beams or high-energy electrons with the naked eye would be too incredible.
Thus, the truth of the Cursed Temple and the mystery of the violent deaths of the residents of Thorn Town have been completely solved.
A civilization that worshipped radioactive elements used magic to create such a conversion device, with extremely limited functions. After filling it with
high-purity radioactive materials, it could stimulate a small amount of high-energy particle beams. As for why it failed after one hundred meters, it was probably related to magic as well.
However, this conclusion made him feel somewhat empty.
Having already touched on the higher levels of physics, he had thought this thing would be grander, but it was probably no different from whips and guillotines in the hands of the original owners of the relic.
This could be considered a difference between civilizations.
"Your Majesty," at this moment, the report of the guard Sean rang out outside the door, "The Witches of Taqila have sent the latest experiment records."
"Bring it in."
According to the plan, this test was the last one.
Irradiating different animals for the same length of time to determine the specific values of body size and tolerance.
After that, all experiments on the Cube would be stopped.
After all, uranium was hard-won, and there were more important uses waiting for it.
Roland opened the record book that Sean handed him and picked up his teacup at the same time.
Still Celine's handwriting.
Day 30, nineteenth day of the experiment.
The test has finally come to an end.
The result is clear: the larger the body size, the higher the resistance to red light. But expressing this in a numerical formula will still take some time.
In addition, there was a little trouble during the testing process.
This thing is simply laughable – I wanted to use the remaining raw materials to test whether it had direct lethality, so I aimed it at a fish placed in a glass tank.
After five minutes of continuous irradiation, the fish was still alive, but the water had started to steam.
That is, its lethality is less than that of boiling water – if irradiation continued, the Ritual Cube would boil the water first, and then scald the fish to death.
Perhaps, this thing can still be used to cook soup?
"Pfft!" Roland immediately spat out all the tea he had just drunk.
"What's wrong?" Nightingale looked at him in surprise.
"I actually forgot about this..." Roland murmured. He had been thinking about all sorts of grand possibilities and applications, but he had overlooked the most basic point: the essence of radiation is energy transfer, and with energy transfer, it can be used to boil water.
The history of human civilization's progress is itself a process of boiling water in different ways.