Billy frowned when he read that message… It seemed that demi-humans on that continent didn't leave in peace. Billy had considered that one or two reincarnated individuals had been reborn among them, and considering what he had just learned, it wouldn't be weird if the necromancer was a demi-human and was trying to gain some power and win some battles there. They either wanted to protect their people, or they wanted to become the leader of all the demi-humans. Those seemed the most obvious possibilities. Either, some more investigation had to be done before he could really reach any conclusions.
Billy asked for more details, but it was hard for Icarus to find time to write anything. While he was fast, using his speed in most things would destroy them. It was a bit annoying, but Billy knew that the failure of a core he gave him wouldn't last long, so he told him to retreat while he prepared some new tools to help him.
"Icarus is really suited for scouting, but I need to learn more about the people of that continent," Billy thought while rubbing his chin.
After thinking for a while, Billy recalled how old cameras worked on Earth. A digital camera takes light and focuses it via the lens onto a sensor made out of silicon. It is made up of a grid of tiny photosites that are sensitive to light. Each photosite is usually called a pixel, a contraction of "picture element". There are millions of these individual pixels in the sensor of a DSLR camera. Digital cameras sample light from our world, or outer space, spatially, tonally, and by time. Spatial sampling means the angle of view that the camera sees is broken down into the rectangular grid of pixels. Tonal sampling means the continuously varying tones of brightness in nature are broken down into individual discrete steps of tone.
Billy couldn't use flash to burn an image… But maybe he could use the effects of Mana Dominion to burn what the tool might see around in some kind of memory disc. That way, Icarus will have the chance to move around and find more places to check instead of stopping to see them with his own eyes. They could always analyze the data once they return…
Without wasting time, Billy began to work on the next magic tool. It might be dangerous to use a tool that uses mana as a basis to store images around, but Billy didn't know what else he could do. As long as Icarus don't use them near the people of that other continent, he probably won't be found.
"Let's see… something that he doesn't have to learn how to use should be easy and it needs to be charged with mana to began to work," Billy thought. "He will need some extra mana for this as well… As for how the date will be stored… I will create a small crystal that will store the images of the surroundings in the moment the tool is fed with mana."
Billy began to test many ways for all of those things to work, and much to his surprise, he made progress quite soon. Since Mana Dominion worked with his senses, when the skill was added to something inorganic, it practically stored automatically the image of the surroundings. The only downside was the fact that Billy had to make small crystals for each shot, and they would be destroyed after reproducing the image that had been recorded… he had to work a lot on that, but for the time being, it was enough. In any case, two days later, Icarus showed up.
"Phew… that place is really something, hot as hell and the humidity tires me out pretty fast," Icarus said.
"It must be because of the mana levels there, they are probably a lot higher than here, creating many difficult environments," Billy replied. "Anyway, this box is a tool that I made. I will skip the details, but it essentially activates a tracking spell to record the data of the environment around you in a range of five hundred meters. We can analyze everything more carefully here, so don't take your time sticking for too long in those kinds of places. I made some data spheres for you to put on the boxe when you collect a filled one. I think that a few dozen should be enough for the time being."
"... how do you make those things so fast…" Icarus said while frowning. "You probably are able to create a giant magic robot by now with those skills of yours."
"It would take too much time to build one and I like more stealthily things," Billy said.
"That is the problem you have with that idea?" Icarus asked. "Anyway, I will take a day off and then depart again."
Billy nodded and then watched Icarus leave. There was no point in hurrying him when he had spent several weeks working on scouting that new continent. In any case, the more time passed, the more Billy confirmed that the necromancer didn't want to fight him… Trying to get his powers and the magic hammer was supposed to be a good step, but defeating Lucyna and Icarus also was, and yet, the necromancer showered no interest in them so far.
"Maybe then don't have the resources and the time to fight us, or maybe they know that we are more or less allies and picking a fight with one of us would be the same as wishing to fight the three of us," Billy thought.
With that in mind, Billy decided that it would be wise to give Icarus a core that would last longer… He wouldn't let his powers be taken by anyone. If someone had to take them, that someone would have to be Billy. Call him crazy and self-interested, but he couldn't think of anyone else that obtained those powers and planned to use them for world domination.
