Volume 7, Chapter 25 – New Magic and the Mana Furnace

“It’s quite lively. Has something good happened?”

After passing through the noble district and the bustling city center, Fia and Anastasia arrived near the Witch Hall located in the outskirts. For some reason, the rural dirt road—which could normally be considered the countryside, frequented only by rare ox carts and farmers—was currently packed so tight with people it was impassable. There were not only magic casters in deep blue robes, but even nobles and Royal Guards. The number of magic casters outweighed the commoners, making it look at first glance like a magical convention.

Having not seen such a scene in a long time, Anastasia hesitated.

“The magic casters here all have the insignia of the Elemental Towers on their robes. When I came here last time, I saw the Witches tinkering with things I was familiar with. They looked like the Aetherology weapons discovered by Lady Calista.”

“Is that unusual?”

Anastasia bowed slightly as she explained.

“Your Highness might not be aware, but in my world, the Aetherology weapons discovered by Lady Calista were initially looked down upon by traditional magical academia. Traditional magic casters believed that Aetherology desecrated the mysteries of resonance between elements and mana. They formed a collective front to suppress it. It was only because Lady Calista had the support of Eternal Daylight mages—and because Aetherology performed brilliantly in the battles against Chaos—that it was finally able to stand on equal footing with traditional magic.”

Fia wanted to ask what “Aetherology” was, but since Anastasia wasn’t finished, she chose to listen to the rest of the explanation while avoiding the pushing crowd.

“If the Witches develop Aetherology weapons, it will definitely threaten the livelihood of the scholars from the Elemental Towers. They won’t just sit idly by. With so many magic casters from the Towers blocked up here, I suspect there might be a conflict between the Witch Hall and the Elemental Towers.”

“Well…”

Even if it were ostracization, they wouldn’t be this blatant about it, would they? Besides, everyone knew the Witches were under the protection of the Eldest Princess. The people of the Elemental Towers shouldn’t have that much courage.

Fia answered her own question in her heart.

Furthermore, looking at the current atmosphere, rather than ostracizing, these magic casters seemed more like they were curious or spectating something.

Of course, Fia wasn’t ignorant of the current relationship between the Witch Hall and the Elemental Towers. The Elemental Towers had been established in Blossom for a very long time. Not only did they hold absolute authority in the magical world, but they were also a place everyone dreamed of entering as a disciple. With such high status and significant barriers to entry, it was easy for an exclusionary atmosphere to form.

Take Laplace for example. Initially, Laplace had approached them with a learning mindset, hoping to exchange magic theories and borrow books from the scholars. The magic casters of the Towers didn’t even give Laplace’s letters a glance. It was only after Fia intervened that Laplace enjoyed the privilege of borrowing their books.

If Laplace had been someone with only half-baked magical knowledge, the rejection by the scholars would have been understandable. But Laplace’s research into the soul was second to none—capable of creating sentient beings like Milu. To reject a magic caster capable of creating life… Fia could think of no word for it other than arrogant.

Adding to that, the Witch Hall had recently created a mana-powered device similar to a locomotive. It was only natural for the magic casters of the Elemental Towers to feel that the Witch Hall threatened their position. A small place like Blossom couldn’t accommodate two massive magical organizations with the same niche.

Being stuck in one’s ways is never a good thing.

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With those thoughts in mind, Fia, who was being squeezed outside the crowd, reached out and grabbed a nearby Royal Guard. Because she was so short, Fia couldn’t see what was happening in the crowd even while standing on her tiptoes.

“What are these people doing?”

“Do you want to die?”

Perhaps irritable from the scorching sun, the soldier was quite impatient. However, before he could finish his sentence, he caught sight of Fia’s iconic black hair and red eyes. The expression behind his helmet froze instantly. In that moment, his cold sweat flowed faster than the sweat caused by the sun. He dropped to one knee, trembling.

“Y-Your Highness! Why didn’t you notify us in advance of your arrival? The… the military department would have sent someone to receive you…”

“Cut the pleasantries. What are these people doing?”

“This… a few days ago, the Witch Hall announced they would be testing new magic on a nearby hill and asked the city’s soldiers to help maintain a perimeter. Since you instructed us to respond to the Witch Hall’s reasonable requests as much as possible, Lady Erin Slate of the military department sent us here to stand guard. As for the magic casters of the Towers and the nobles… well, you know. Recently, there’s been nothing interesting besides the war at the front. Since the Witches advertised that even ordinary people with low mana could use this new magic, everyone is very interested.”

“So they’re testing new magic up ahead?”

“Exactly so.”

The soldier nodded repeatedly, terrified of offending Fia. Fia had no intention of making small talk; having heard the reason, she turned and left immediately. Anastasia paused for a moment. Her reputation among the Royal Guards was no smaller than Erin Slate’s, and the soldier—who had just breathed a sigh of relief—instantly stiffened again.

“Captain… Captain Anastasia…”

“I don’t know if you treat everyone who asks for your help this way, but you know the penalty for insulting the Royal Family. Go to Erin Slate and resign after your shift ends, or this won’t be settled with just a word.”

“Captain Anastasia, please give me another chance!”

“I am no longer a member of the Royal Guards. Take your pleas to Erin Slate. Good luck.”

“How can this be…”

Ignoring the despairing soldier slumping to the ground, Anastasia left him with those cold words and hurried to catch up with Fia, who had already squeezed into the crowd.

Before long, Fia successfully made it through the crowd under the weight of her name as the Eldest Princess.

Crossing the perimeter line formed by the Royal Guards, the two of them arrived at a vast, open pasture overgrown with lush green grass. The Witch Hall was now quite well-developed, no longer the shabby organization where everyone was squeezed into a few large sheds. Looking from a distance from Fia’s perspective, the main building of the Witch Hall was straight and tall like a school building. The exterior walls were painted magenta without any carvings, looking completely out of place with the architectural style of the World Tree Continent—a clear sign of Laplace’s handiwork.

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It was worth mentioning that this style had sparked a trend among some people in Blossom. They believed it was a brand-new school of art that everyone should learn from. This had left Laplace quite speechless. Every action of the Witch Hall required a massive amount of gold coins, yet they lacked the savings to build a palace. Therefore, they were as frugal as possible when it came to construction. The simple exterior walls were a necessity for Laplace to save money; he couldn’t understand what this “trend” these Elves were chasing actually was.

If Calista came here, she would definitely think she had returned to Earth.

Fia couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is that you, Lady Fia? Why have you come as well?”

Friede’s surprised voice reached Fia’s ears. As always, the curvaceous Friede was dressed in a black gauze gown. Her black hair and eyes, combined with her Asian features, gave her a soft, traditional beauty—though her Victorian-style sunhat and black lace gloves made her overall style a bit peculiar. Of course, her beauty remained unchanged, and the surrounding men offered Friede smiles from time to time.

“What, am I not allowed to come?”

“Not at all! If I had known you were coming, I would have gone to the city gates to receive you personally.”

“You have your own work, don’t you? Is it alright for you to be talking to me here?”

Fia tilted her head toward the area behind Friede. It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed Friede; rather, Friede was busy at the gate registering guests and verifying their identities. Since the nobles there were all prominent figures, Fia hadn’t wanted to disturb her.

Now that Friede had run over to attend to her, the nobles and magic casters waiting at the gate had already begun to look impatient. However, once they saw her black hair and red eyes, their impatient looks vanished, replaced by them taking off their hats and bowing respectfully toward her.

Friede was all smiles.

“If those nobles and scholars knew they were delaying you, they wouldn’t be able to sleep for days. The way you purged Prince Schain’s faction is something even we’ve heard about. Ruth, take over the guest reception for me. I’ll take Lady Fia inside.”

“Yes~”

Was the ‘way’ anything more than just making up a crime and killing them? What ‘tactics’ are there to speak of?

Fia didn’t quite understand, but thinking that perhaps Erin Slate had arranged something, she didn’t take it to heart. She followed Friede through the school-like building toward the testing ground in the back courtyard. The so-called testing ground was actually a patch of undeveloped wilderness. Dozens of people were sitting in the cleared area, each holding a crude wand. Calling it a wand was a compliment; in Fia’s eyes, it looked more like a large water pipe, about as thick as an adult’s arm.

To Fia’s surprise, however, Friede didn’t lead her to sit with the nobles. Instead, she made a direct turn into the warehouse Fia had visited before—where Laplace was. The empty warehouse was quite desolate, with only Laplace and Lianne inside.

“My deepest apologies, Lady Fia. We are truly short-handed today. The apprentice witches have all gone to receive guests and tune the mana devices. Only Lianne and I can accompany you.”

“You two are the heads of the Witch Hall. It is my honor to be accompanied by you,” Fia said jokingly. “But why bring me here? Isn’t the testing ground the main focus?”

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“The testing ground is important, yes, but I suspect you didn’t come here to watch a test, but rather for Anastasia’s matter, right? So I brought you to see Laplace first.”

Friede’s black eyes were full of caution as she observed Fia.

Fia couldn’t help but feel helpless. A mature woman’s intuition was truly terrifying.

“It’s true that I wanted to ask about Anastasia, but I’m also curious about the test. The mana device refers to that thing that works like a locomotive, right? You’ve already finished the research so quickly?”

“Of course! With me around, there’s nothing that can’t be done!”

Laplace’s voice came from a distance, his cheerful tone making him sound as if he were dancing for joy.

“While mechanical structures and steam power are hindered by the world’s barriers, by borrowing similar principles, we can bypass those restrictions by creating a device fueled by mana. By engraving a magic circle that melts magic crystals into the combustion chamber—which should have been a furnace—and throwing the crystals in, they are melted into mana. Then, that mana is converted through a second magic circle into magic that drives the turbines, allowing the entire carriage to move. The power generated by a single high-concentration magic crystal is equivalent to a wagon full of coal! It’s a revolutionary product!”

Fia walked over to Laplace, who was constantly flashing with light. She crossed her arms and teased.

“And the downsides?”

“Uh…”

The light on Laplace’s body dimmed instantly, like an inventor scratching his head in embarrassment.

“Well… the downside is that currently, only high-concentration magic crystals can be used as fuel. If we use low-concentration crystals, the mana required for the magic circle to melt the crystals is more than the mana the crystal itself provides. However! As long as the magic scholars of the Elemental Towers cooperate with us to improve the magic circles, we can definitely lower the requirements for magic crystals. If we can improve it in the future so that throwing in a basket of low-concentration crystals works, it could be used just like a steam train on Earth—perhaps even more efficiently!”

“Only if it can actually be improved. And how do you plan to tell the nobles outside the practical value of this thing? This is a world with magic; they’ll definitely think that if something can be solved with flight magic, why bother developing such a troublesome machine?”

“Hehe, that’s why you’re here. You definitely know the value of this in war. Traveling from the south of Silvar to the north in a few days is a miracle only flight magic can achieve, but with this mana-powered locomotive, even ordinary people who haven’t reached the third tier can travel a thousand miles a day. If your neighboring countries knew Silvar had a vehicle that could transport ten thousand soldiers to the front lines overnight, their kings would be unable to sleep from terror.”

“And the mana devices aren’t just for transport; they can also allow people with low mana to use high-tier magic. It’s opened my eyes as well.”

Lianne, appearing as a black mist, drifted toward a mana device beside Laplace. Compared to the two-man-high mana devices Fia had seen before, the rectangular device before her was about the size of a calf—something an Elf soldier could easily carry on their back.

“Is this a mana device too?”

“Yes. This is the product of Laplace and the Knowledge-Seeking Demon General shrinking the mana device. With this device, one can release powerful magic while consuming very little of their own mana. Currently, it only allows a first-tier person to release second-tier magic, with an upper limit of third-tier spells. But the advantage is that the magic requires no incantations. If the mana device is made large enough, it wouldn’t be a problem for a second-tier magic caster to use fifth-tier spells—though the magic crystals consumed would increase exponentially. It’s a money-burning machine.”

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Lianne’s voice was full of helplessness. She knew the value of this thing; as long as the consumption of magic crystals could be lowered, it could practically replace the status of traditional magic casters. However, how to lower it was a real problem.

“If it weren’t for a country with the scale of the Kingdom of Silvar, no one could afford the consumption of magic crystals. The difficulty of the mana device lies in how to melt the magic crystals and how to utilize the mana formed after they melt. We Witches assisted Laplace and the Knowledge-seeking Demon General, spending several months in total to achieve our current results. We’ve hit a bottleneck now; no matter how we improve the magic circle, a large portion of the mana dissipates. The portion that can be utilized is pitifully small. That’s why we want to ask the magic scholars of the Towers for help; their research into magic circles is more thorough.”

Following Lianne’s words, Laplace added sentimentally.

“Every field has its specialists; professional tasks should be left to professionals. I’ve spent the last hundred years focusing my time on the soul; looking back, it feels like such a waste.”

Improving magic circles? Isn’t that the specialty of [Hyper-computation]?

Fia’s expression became subtle. [Hyper-computation] was a magic that couldn’t pave new paths, but as long as one had the basics, they could master them immediately.

She was the nominal leader of the Witch Hall, after all; she might as well study it tonight.

“A magical item that allows even ordinary people to use magic… isn’t that just Aetherology…?”

Looking at the small mana device beside Lianne—calling it a small-scale mana furnace was more accurate—Anastasia’s expression was complex.

“To think it appeared ten years early. In the past, Lady Calista said that if Aetherology had appeared ten years earlier, the situation wouldn’t have been so dire. It might have even allowed us to push back the Chaos. It’s practically like a prophecy…”

“Anastasia, is this the Aetherology you were talking about?”

Fia tilted her head. The mana furnace was inspired by the steam engine, and Calista was someone from Earth; it wasn’t too surprising she could research it in her role as a Holy Son with the help of Eternal Daylight mages.

Anastasia swallowed hard.

“Yes, this is the foundation of Aetherology. However, Lady Calista’s Aetherology was much cruder. I never even dreamed of a first-tier person being able to use second-tier spells. If this continues, will there even be a reason for magic casters to exist? No, wait—if I could take something like this back to my world, everyone would definitely be saved!”

“I understand. Lianne, let me try this device.”

“Alright, but please be careful when injecting mana. The device is very fragile; if too much mana is injected, it will explode…”

Under Anastasia’s hopeful gaze, an interested Fia approached the mana furnace and began operating it according to Lianne’s instructions.