After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World-Chapter 1934: One Less Problem

She had to do the process several times in order to get it, and she also had to balance things out to make sure she didn’t accidentally erase the patterns instead.

They were patterns, akin to arrays, though none of them were valid arrays and were completely devoid of aether. This could mean that the array would dismantle itself when it is activated. Still, seeing some traces of it was a step forward.

So...the bombs must be special construction filled with materials as well as aether, combined into an intricate little item surrounded by arrays that could cause damage once it was triggered. After that, the array would lose its effect as if it were never there at all.

It was a fascinating concept, but what she needed to know was how to detect an active one.

For now, all she could do was lift the patterns in the bomb and hope to make something out of it. It was very unlikely she’d crack it in such a short time, but she would definitely do her best.

...

She called in all the array experts that were available (except for Melissa, whose tool was needed in the war; the rest of them could be pulled), and they studied the patterns she lifted together.

A new whiteboard appeared, and new sketches were displayed and stuck on it; notes were added as time went on. They connected the pieces and then tried to make sense of them.

They used the computer to assist them, though there wasn’t really a program analyzing arrays yet, nor did they have computers capable of that as of this time. Althea’s tablet could make some calculations once they input the patterns that they already collected, and what they had to do was translate them accordingly.

The art of Arrays wasn’t simple math, but it did have patterns.

For example, each line in an array had meaning, and every intensity of aether that traced along its lines also had its own functions. There were also variables like the differences in thickness and quality of aether, even in a single line. There were a lot of trials and errors here, and even then, there might not be results.

The array experts were then divided into two teams, but both were studying the same patterns. It was so there would be more than one set of eyes, but still methodical, considering how little time they had left.

With this, they soon found some more patterns here and there, as well as some similarities with what they already knew.

The patterns were varied, of course. They were used to arrays on flat surfaces—2D, so to speak. This one was engraved on a sphere, which was 3D.

It might seem like there would be no difference since there was only one surface, but the difference of a single curvature was actually immense.

Even arrays drawn in two dimensions had an effect on each other. For example, on two intersecting lines, having a variation of aether quality 1mm on the side could affect something on the intersecting line.

Similarly, a pattern moving in the three dimensions was far more complex, and one had to consider an extra dimension in calculations.

If their levels hadn’t increased their physiques, it was estimated several of them would’ve gained a few white hairs today.

Althea stared at the patterns, arranging them so they were properly arranged per piece. A single error would ruin the whole thing, so even she was very nervous.

Soon, the arrangement was done, eventually seeing them all converging to one point.

She put her aether there. As an array master, she could try to find the pathway at least.

She hoped that even if they couldn’t create something to stop their activation, they could at least figure out how to create an alarm before they ignited.

...

While they studied, groups of guards scoured sensitive areas and paths for any signs of bombs. So far, they have found none, which could be a good thing, but could also be a bad thing. What if the enemy had ways to hide them from detection?

In the end, after hours more of joint studies, the array group could not come up with a detection or a deactivation method in time. However, they found the closest thing they could get.

An alarm when a very specific use of the fire element was detected.

From the shrapnel arrays, the team found out that there was a pathway that the aether took, specifically for fire users, and a certain degree of mastery was required in order to actually activate it at all. It was how they were certain the fire user was a high-level one.

Now, every element has its signature, like temperature, concentration, and things like that. There were ways to detect this, and now that they had the exact requirements, they could get more specific as well.

They did not have materials for a manual tracker, nor did they have time to make a whole new magic tool, so what they did was make flares that would activate when those conditions were met, though naturally before a certain threshold.

What was the use of a flare if it activated around the same time as a bomb?

The best they could do was for the flares to activate when a bomb around 20 meters away was near-ignition, and it would even slightly tilt over towards the direction of the bomb. Hopefully, this would give enough time for people to run away or take cover, and for them not to run closer to the damned explosive.

The con was naturally that they could not make so many, nor could they cover so many places, so they could only place them near some very sensitive areas outdoors and give them to some key people who’d likely be targeted.

The indoors would be a bit tricky, because a flare would’ve also caused some damage, but it was better than lethal bombs.

Several groups from the pharmacy were pulled to make more of these, and every toolmaker was as well. There was no need for someone to have a system ’profession’ to make this. The skillset needed to make this was careful hands and attention to detail.

Like this, some hours before the official war, they had one less problem.