Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 518 - 517: Pittman’s Assistance

The future described by Gawain seemed to open a new door for Rebecca.

Across the vast fields of the southern borders, iron tracks stretched toward the boundless distance. The magic-powered locomotive pulled hundreds of tons of cargo as it raced across the land. The mechanical gears and levers roared, the powerful magic-powered engine roared. This creation, far beyond the capabilities of human strength, was like the artery of the Cecil Principality, capable of transporting supplies and personnel to distant places within a matter of days—a journey that might have taken a month in the past, with the possibility of dangers to life.

She really wanted to see the scene depicted by her ancestor.

"We can give it a name," Gawain said. He initially wanted to say "train" outright, but after thinking it over, he decided not to trouble the compilers of the Mage industry textbooks any further—the respected scholars were already pulling their hair out trying to explain why a "Magic Capacitor" had an inexplicable "electric" word involved. "Maybe call it a Magic Train to distinguish it from the Magic-guided Vehicle. Its working principle is completely different from the Magic-guided Vehicle. It can transport much larger loads with higher efficiency, though it can only travel along fixed track routes, its efficiency makes up for this limitation."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "And the Magic-guided Vehicle has its own applicable areas. It’s more flexible and convenient, can function effectively in short distances and small cargo transportation. Together with the Magic Train, they form a perfect complement. The transportation network they create can cover every corner of the southern borders."

Rebecca’s eyes sparkled. She was already outlining in her mind just how such a mode of transport should be realized: "It would first need a Magic-Powered Engine with extremely high output... we don’t currently have one of such scale... but we could consider linking several engines together... or distributing engines across several carriages as a power unit. We also need to set up a large-power Magic Web on the train to power the engines... there might not be enough space in the locomotive, will need to distribute the Magic Web Units across those ’carriages’... The braking system will need to be redesigned, and the tracks need designing... Aah, so many things to consider!!"

"I’ll give you a conceptual document with more detailed descriptions, which should provide some inspiration," Gawain looked at Rebecca and then quickly shifted his tone. "However, this is a large project and will demand a lot of effort. You mustn’t let it interfere with the ongoing research and production of the Magic-guided Vehicle and other projects happening concurrently. To my knowledge, the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute recently expanded its personnel; you might take this opportunity to form a new research group."

The concept of the Magic Train is very important, and of course, Gawain was looking forward to it, but he knew human energy was limited. Even with Rebecca’s gifted mind, it wasn’t as simple as handing her a plan and hearing a ’ding’ for a result. Besides, although the Magic-guided Vehicle was already shaped, it didn’t mean the related technology research was completed—there was still plenty of follow-up technical work for someone to undertake. Frankly, Gawain wondered exactly how many threads were in Rebecca’s head and whether she could handle so much work...

After all, given this girl’s consistently stubborn remarks and mindless way of doing things, she probably didn’t have many...

"I understand!" Rebecca nodded vigorously, clearly not calmed down from her eager mood yet. "I won’t neglect the important work!"

Looking at the excited gleam in her eyes, Gawain knew his earlier reminder was probably in vain.

...

In the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute, inside Master Mage Kamel’s laboratory, a Mage Technician dressed in a white researcher robe was helped off a peculiarly shaped chair and staggered over to a nearby resting chair with stiff steps.

The Mage Technician’s eyes carried a hint of confusion; his muscles remained tense for a good ten seconds before his state finally normalized. Then, he looked towards Kamel, who was floating not far in front of him: "Master, I’ve recovered."

Kamel immediately floated half a step forward: "Good, how do you feel?"

"Dizzy, witnessing a jumble of complex illusions, hearing meaningless noises, and occasionally hearing broadcast—seemingly Magic Web broadcast programs," the Mage Technician described his sensations. "Sitting in that chair continually felt like my muscles were tensed, even when my brain wanted to relax, it didn’t help—seemed like something was interfering with the connection between brain and body."

Kamel listened closely to the experimenter’s description, sighed (though he no longer breathed): "...It seems neural interference and information injection functions indeed have been realized, but there are issues with connectivity and compiling, and the ’immersion’ process is quite unreliable."

Then, he floated towards the center of the laboratory, to the strangely shaped chair the Mage Technician had been sitting on before.

This chair was undoubtedly a magic creation, yet it differed from any magic-conducting machinery produced by the Cecil Manufactures—it was a recliner that could half-lie down, with the entire lower portion of the chair being an extraordinarily complex structure, a metal base surface covered in flashing magic patterns. The base’s symbol structure somewhat resembled that of the Magic Web Communicator’s base symbols, but was clearly more complicated, more profound. On the upper part of the chair, behind the backrest, many metallic arc structures extended from the middle of the backrest up to where the neck and back of the head would rest, each stretching like elongated, curved spine and extending all the way down into the base of the chair.

On the front of the chair, the surface for lying down was covered by a layer of deep blue leather-like wrap. The leather "cushion" had a neatly arranged matrix of metal contact points, extending upwards from the waist area, corresponding roughly to the structure of a human spine, forming a matrix.

It appeared strange and mysterious, almost verging on eerie. An ordinary person who hadn’t seen much of the world would probably not dare sit on such a chair that looked like some sort of sacrificial tool.

"It was crafted according to the materials provided by the leader, including the basic symbol array and each neural connection point. We merely reset its connecting direction to point toward the Magic Web," another Mage Technician said from beside him. "But it seems ordinary people sitting on it can’t link their consciousness to the chair, let alone project outwards."

Another Mage Technician took over: "Even without clothing, letting the skin directly contact the nerve points doesn’t improve the connection effect, but intensifies the side effects instead."

Kamel said nothing, just hovered in front of the chair, the two arcane fire points at his head position fixedly "watching" the flickering symbols on that chair.

This oddly unsettling device was created at Gawain’s behest, a technology that might seem terrifying to most common people—

It’s the creation of the Eternal Sleepers, a variant of a magical array known as the "Neural Interactive Mind Network Connection Array." The leader found this complex and profound array within the knowledge of the Eternal Sleepers and instructed the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute to use new technology to recreate it.

The researchers were not deterred by the source of this technology—for those qualified to work here, it’s at least understood that "technology is innocent." Yet, when they finally constructed these complex and profound magic symbols and made such a chair, they found it did not meet the leader’s expectations.

"Perhaps we’re missing some crucial elements," said the Mage Technician who had tested the chair after a moment of silence, his spirits somewhat recovered, his voice steady and strong. "I’ve heard that the Eternal Sleepers not only use sorcery magic but also employ various terrifying methods to alter themselves, similar to the fallen Druids. I suspect this chair also has requirements in this regard: it’s useless for ordinary people to sit on it; one must have undergone some ’modifications’ like the Eternal Sleepers."

The Mage Technician standing next to him immediately shook his head, "That’s not good news..."

Kamel listened to the discussion of the other researchers, unable to suppress a silent sigh—

If only his nervous system was still intact, perhaps he could truly feel what was wrong with this chair, but unfortunately, now, not to mention a nervous system, he doesn’t even have eyes or facial expression...

He shook his head, emitting a buzzing voice, "Continuing the discussion is pointless. Let’s readjust the position of the connection points and the state of the arched spinal bridge and try again."

The Mage Technicians immediately sprang into action, beginning to readjust the state of that chair, while a new tester stepped forward, ready to conduct a test after the chair was restarted: with Kamel, the Legendary Mage, overseeing, there was no need to worry about personal danger; direct human testing was the simplest and quickest solution.

This could be considered an "efficient mode" unique to a laboratory with exceptional strong individuals in residence.

But just as a group of Mage Technicians were busy repositioning the chair, ready to begin a test at Kamel’s order, a voice suddenly came from the direction of the laboratory door, interrupting their work.

"Trying a few more times won’t change a thing—there’s a critical aspect that’s not right."

Kamel lifted his head, looking towards the direction the voice came from, and saw Pittman, hunched over, slowly walking into the laboratory. This little old man remained dressed in his dusty Druid’s Robe, his hair and beard messy, with a grin that somewhat invited a slap on his face.

Whenever Pittman smiles, it seems to always invite that kind of response; hence, Kamel decided to ignore his expression.

"Critical aspect?" He looked at Pittman, who had already approached, "Also, how come you have time to come over here?"

"I previously heard about your research project from Miss Rebecca; she seemed to think this Druid could be of assistance to you—and I believe she has a point," Pittman chuckled twice, then circled around the oddly shaped chair, "The technology of the Eternal Sleepers is about establishing a connection between magic creations and the human brain. Note, it’s the human brain, as well as magic creations. You seem to have only focused on the magic creation part but overlooked the subtle role ’biological structure’ plays in this process. You’re missing the guidance of a professional Druid..."

Kamel nodded slightly, speaking in a serious tone, "The institute’s budget is limited."

"...I haven’t even asked for money yet!" Pittman glared, then looked askance at Kamel, "Speaking of which, this old undying fellow has learned to joke?"

"I’m not joking, I’m merely aiming to reduce the financial loss for the institute," Kamel replied with an expression as complex as his blue-green self, "Last time you provided guidance, you directly caused us to lose a team’s budget for half a month. Of course, if you can truly help us, I wouldn’t mind inviting you to a meal as an individual."

"...Forget it, anyone who dines with you doesn’t want to repeat the experience. I sit eating while you float nearby chopping in eighty different colors a minute; I couldn’t eat a bite," Pittman waved his hand, then pointed to the chair at the center of the laboratory, "The design itself isn’t flawed, but I fear even the leader isn’t aware of a technical detail in it—what’s used to connect the basic rune array behind it, is something called an artificial nerve cord, not just ordinary magic-conducting materials."

Kamel’s tone was filled with curiosity, "Artificial nerve cord?"

"A mixture made from biomass and magic-conducting metal; you can think of it as being alive, though it’s practically closer to a magical puppet," Pittman said unhurriedly, "I’m not sure if I can make it, but perhaps it’s worth a try."

Kamel cast a discerning glance at Pittman, who never seemed to act seriously, "This isn’t knowledge that ordinary Druids would possess, is it?"

Pittman smiled subtly, "Who knows? I happen to be a natural philosopher."