They didn't appear out of nowhere but where there was a lot of energy. Mainly electrical and life energy. That is, on the first day, most of them grew in large cities. And then monsters poured out of them, and people's lives fundamentally changed.
At first, of course, armies tried to resist, but it quickly became clear that wild crystals emit energy near which people feel uncomfortable; additionally, electricity shuts down and chemical compounds temporarily change. Which, at the everyday level, immediately deprived the inhabitants of the planets of gasoline, gunpowder, and other similar substances, without which it was impossible to resist the invasion.
Suffering enormous losses, people fled from the megalopolises, and the new centers became the estates of the strongest noble clans at that time, as well as small settlements.
And everything would have been fine, but soon it became clear that crystals grow over time and, multiplying, increase their zone of influence. And also, as they grow, more deadly creatures emerge from them.
All this led to troubled times when people fought among themselves and with monsters pouring out of the crystals. And it lasted until humanity suddenly learned that, along with the crystals, magic came into the world.
This was the first step on the path to civilization's revival.
The second step was the understanding that mages could destroy black crystals. To do this, they had to enter them and, after killing the monsters there, break the core. Moreover, interesting elements began to be found at the sites of destroyed crystals, which they quickly learned to use.
The third step was people's understanding that crystals aren't only wild. From time to time, very rarely, colorless crystals appeared, and if a mage cleared it, the crystal became one of the four elemental colors and began to be useful.
To put it crudely, green enhanced magic and all aspects of earth. Orange—fire. White—air. And blue—water. In reality, it wasn't that simple, and there were many more types of crystals, but people in this world hadn't yet come to discover the others.
The fourth step on the path to civilization's revival was the discovery that children of people who were good at magic received a significantly stronger potential.
And if we return directly to the red crystal, it kind of crowned all magical science. It increased the power of all existing types of magic, but its specificity was working with and on people.
"So magic is alive?" Kalthyra broke the prolonged silence.
"I have no idea!" I crunched on a pickled cucumber. "But the fact that it responded to my call, I personally consider a sign that I'm on the right path. And, actually, I have a question. Are you ready to help me?"
"Strange question, Your Grace!" Svylthor puffed up, offended. "I would for you... I would... I'd even go right now and to aunt Kaelia..."
"No need to be so sacrificial." I laughed, although, I must admit, my heart warmed.
Although I personally had known the redheaded assistant for a short time, memories of him were the brightest in the head of Draconis Mylarthel, who died during the assassination attempt. Perhaps Svylthor could be called the baron's only real friend. And in recent years, he had been replacing parents for him and his sister as best he could.
Damn, and there's this restless sister too! No, Ankara is a cool girl, of course, but right now, being at a distance from her, I was really resting. But still, sooner or later, I'll have to bring her here; at some point, it will become safer here than in the city. And the potential of a third-generation mage can't be discounted.
"I'm with you too," Veldor said thoughtfully, examining me. "Permission to speak frankly?"
"I don't permit, I insist, and this applies to all three of you. From this moment on, I want to hear only the truth, without any equivocation due to differences in status."
"Okay," Veldor continued, and now he didn't take his eyes off the red smoke swirling inside the crystal. "Two years ago, dying under a slab that had crushed him, your father asked me to help you at all costs. And I kept my word... But when I heard your idea about relocating here, I thought you had gone mad."
"I thought so too," Svylthor interjected. "And then I decided it would be fun!"
"And I expected that at best, we would all die, and at worst, you would flee, the family would be disgraced, and would finally disappear into oblivion... But, I must admit, during the month that has passed... since your illness, you have managed to surprise me. I doubt that even your father, and he was a very intelligent man, would have been able to handle everything so effectively. And now I don't consider this idea crazy. Difficult to implement—yes... But only by going through difficulties can one become truly great! And now I believe in you!"
With pathos, of course, he overdid it, but Veldor answered my question, and I turned to the only girl.
"What do you say, Kalthyra?"
"I understand this is a question about whether I'll run to tell everyone about this?" The girl narrowed her eyes slyly and pointed at the crystal. "If yes, then I won't run, if only because you'll be killed immediately after that, and I'll be left without the possibility of becoming the main assistant to a prince."
"Beauty!" Svylthor guffawed. "Give me five!"
The girl ignored the huge palm and continued to look at me.
"It's premature to think about princes," I smirked. "But I promise that all your girlfriends will look at you with envy. So, let's begin!"
In the end, we sat in the basement for about two more hours, during which I shared my immediate plans with my comrades, after which we sketched out and divided responsibilities.
"Why do you need this trash?" Svylthor, already standing on the stairs, pointed to two huge bags sitting next to the crystal.
In reality, the bags contained fragments of wild crystals, and the background radiation from them was supposed to help mine grow faster. In principle, any energy source and magical activity within the radius of action affected its leveling up, but nothing extra would hurt.
Ah, if only about three hundred top sorcerers would gather here now and arrange a deadly battle. Then by the time the last of them remained alive, my crystal would have gained at least thirty levels.
I shifted my gaze from the bags to the redhead waiting for an answer.
"So you would ask."
"Oh!" he broke into a smile. "Thank you for your concern, Your Grace! Good night!"
He turned and disappeared through the hatch, and a second later its lid slammed loudly.
"Someday you'll joke unsuccessfully, and they'll blow up the house from above and bury you here," remarked the Fox sitting next to the stairs.
"I'll find a way out somehow," I dismissed, spreading my bedding right by the crystal. "What do you think about the guys?"
"They need time to process," the guardian sat down nearby and wrapped her paws with her tails. "But they will definitely work hard. It's a pity you can't tell them about the nuances of how magic works in general and the red crystal in particular."
Yes, indeed. And I couldn't because kidnapping and torture had not yet been abolished.
And the specifics of magic itself aren't always pleasant... elemental magic is one thing; here everything is simple. The more powerful the crystal, the faster mages of the corresponding element progress near it. Additionally, corresponding productions work better or, as in the case of earth, plants grow better. But explaining shadow magic, illusion, or control to people right away is much more difficult. Especially if they themselves won't be able to apply it, but will expect it from you. And if we consider that absolute magic is like the quintessence of everything... although it works a bit differently...
In general, let this be my little secret for now, and we'll see later.
"Set the radius, or you'll fall asleep now," the Fox reminded.
Right!
I was about to extend my hand, but then remembered that as the owner of the most powerful (because the only) red crystal, I have access to an auxiliary feature.
For convenience, I closed my eyes and called up the Interface!
It didn't work right away, but soon a red menu was flashing before me.
[Unavailable.]
[Unavailable.]
[Unavailable.]
...
In general, there were many unavailable sections here. And the reasons for this were both the weakness of the crystal and my own.
▼Owner's Leveling Up
▼Influence on Creatures
▼Crystal's Working Radius
I opened the first item.
[Temporary Increase in Magic Power.]
[Temporary Increase in Magical Energy Reserve.]
[Training of Magical Channels.]
[Increase in Magical Reserve.]
[Muscle Mass Building.]
[Unavailable.]
...
[At the current level of crystal development, you can choose only one of the items.]
So this section is responsible for how the crystal affects me. Temporary effects allowed me to more effectively solve current problems, for example, repel a monster attack or, if I learn control magic, hypnotize someone.
By the way! In my native world, control magic was hardly used. Rather, it was actively used at the dawn of the magical era, and then they stopped, as any self-respecting mage first studied ways to block mental influence.
Here it will certainly be a great help, but honestly, I knew this type of magic much less than others.
But let's return to the crystal.
Besides temporary effects, I could also choose a permanent effect. So, for example, when choosing the item "increase in magical reserve," the crystal will help me in the background to develop precisely this characteristic, and over time my mana reserve will increase.
Of course, such a small crystal won't have a big impact, but it won't remain this small forever. Plus, in the future, additional items will open up, and I'll be able to choose more than one.
Actually, for now, I chose the increase in magical reserve, after which I opened the next section of the menu. Influence on Creatures.
And this was my favorite section.
[Industriousness.]
[Emotional Attachment to the Owner.]
[Susceptibility to the Owner's Influence.]
[General Improvement of Magical Abilities.]
[General Improvement of Physical Abilities.]
...
[Unavailable.]
[At the current level of crystal development, you can choose only one of the items.]
That is, this section was responsible for how those who find themselves in the crystal's area of effect would develop, behave, and what they would feel.
Few inhabitants of this world would now understand the full potential of this section. But I have seen with my own eyes how residents of a multimillion megalopolis, built around a hundred-meter red crystal, work around the clock at the owner's desire.
And I've also seen how several tens of thousands of scrawny sixteen-year-olds are brought to the city from all over the country, and a week later, athletes ready to conquer sports records are taken away. Or mages capable of destroying mountains and reversing the course of rivers.
Phew... I pushed the distracting memories out of my head and chose general improvement of magical abilities. After all, in any case, it's necessary to acquire a group of loyal battle mages as quickly as possible, and what if some natural talents are very close by?
Having finished with the second section, I opened the third, the crystal's working radius, and instead of the current maximum of one kilometer, I set three hundred meters.
Properly speaking, I could have set two meters, then energy wouldn't be wasted on the villagers and would all go to strengthen my magical reserve, but firstly, people are a valuable resource, and secondly, we would lose in security.
After all, the fox, capable of warning about danger in advance, can move and control only the established zone of action.
And yes... heading here, I was already sure that I could create a red crystal, promising me a huge advantage through the leveling up of new mages, warriors, creating a large industrial hub, and developing agriculture. But I couldn't even think that as a bonus, I would get such a powerful ally as this white fox.
"And what's your name?" I "timely" asked.
"Akai Kiri."
"Is that Japanese?"
"What the heck Japanese? It's the ancient language of the guardians!"
"Hey! You're a higher being! Why do you use words like 'heck'?"
"Whatever I found in your head, that's what I use! Go to sleep!"
"Besides moral satisfaction, what do you get from helping me?" I asked, already closing my eyes.
"Life," the fox replied quietly after a pause.
"You mean, if I die, you'll die too?"
"That too." I felt a light touch—it was the energy of the fox settling down beside me. "And besides that, if someone gets another red crystal that surpasses yours in development, I'll transition to them... Only with cleared memory. That is, essentially, I'll die too."
"I see." I turned my head, and it turned out I was looking directly into the swirling mist of the guardian's eyes. "Don't worry. Others don't stand a chance."