Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 119 Magic Stone Steam Engine

In the early morning, Jackdaw Town was still shrouded in mist, and the cold air brought by the melting winter snow made the whole town look particularly deserted.

A caravan of carriages slowly drove out of the town and headed towards the hunter village closest to the foot of Jackdaw Ridge.

The leader of the caravan was sitting in a four-wheeled carriage and saw from afar several people standing on tiptoe at the entrance of the village waving at them.

"President George Santos! I didn't expect you to arrive so early." The middle-aged man in the lead stepped forward and greeted with a smile.

The chubby, slightly bloated Vice President of the Dragonstone Chamber of Commerce shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Mage Harvey... uh, no, Lord Harvey rejected my request to go to the Frontier Territory, but then contacted me to meet you at the warehouse..."

The business environment in those days was not as safe and convenient as in later generations. Most caravans with weak defenses did not dare to easily cross the borders of their respective countries and travel around to trade.

There are not many large chambers of commerce as famous as the Dragon Stone Chamber of Commerce in the southern continent. The main reason is that they have their own bloodline warrior bodyguard group and have close relations with the nobles and federations of various countries.

The middle-aged man's smile remained undimmed as he invited Santos into the warehouse to rest for a while. At the same time, he whispered mysteriously, "Master Harvey invited you here because he has something good to share with you. After all, when it comes to making money through business, you're a true expert..."

Santos took a sip of warm beer and said reservedly, "Lord Harvey's relationship with our Chamber of Commerce goes without saying. However, if it's a deal like the soap deal last time, I think it's more appropriate to negotiate in person. After all, the profits are huge, and the contract needs to be negotiated repeatedly..."

The middle-aged man chuckled and said, "The wilderness is bitterly cold. You know that Lord Harvey is a delicate spellcaster. Recently, due to overwork, he unfortunately caught a cold, so he sent me as his representative."

He turned and nodded slightly to the young clerk in the warehouse, who immediately brought a wooden box and placed it on the table in front of them. After the man opened it, two magic stones with photos were revealed inside.

"Magic Stone? What does this mean? Lord Harvey bought Magic Stone from me some time ago, so why does he want to sell it to me now?" Santos frowned slightly and asked in confusion.

The magic stone business involves violating the Federation's monopoly interests, so they generally won't get involved easily, unless it's a case of high-priced purchases like Harvey's, and the total amount is not large. After all, any large chamber of commerce has some special smuggling channels privately.

"No, if it were just magic stones, I wouldn't have bothered you all this way." The middle-aged man gently picked up one of the stones and showed it to Santos. "Please look..."

It was a metal box-like object placed on the ground. It was pitch black and seemed to be assembled from multiple mechanical parts. A man who looked like a technician stood beside it, skillfully pulling a long-handled joystick on the box.

The huge and heavy metal box immediately made a roar, and a thick white steam spewed out from the top. Then a huge wheel installed on its surface began to rotate slowly.

It caused the oil-soaked belt attached to it to rotate rapidly, pulling a huge mining cart half a person's height next to it, approaching the machine at an extremely fast speed.

"This... is this an alchemical creation? The latest invention of the Exploration Society?" The knowledgeable vice president of the Dragon Stone Chamber of Commerce stared at the video with wide eyes, a little surprised.

Then he said with a slightly teasing smile, "Lord Harvey wouldn't want to use this thing to replace the manual labor in the mines, would he? Our Chamber of Commerce also has several well-run mines in Orland, but how much does it cost to hire a miner?"

He pointed at the metal machine on the screen and said, "Purchasing one of the Exploration Society's alchemical artifacts would probably be enough to pay hundreds of miners' salaries for several years. Cost-wise, this is simply not feasible..." The middle-aged man didn't immediately argue. He continued to smile and refilled his glass with warm beer. Then he slowly asked, "President Santos, I wonder how much a similar alchemical artifact from the Exploration Society would cost?"

Santos thought for a moment and said cautiously, "A conservative estimate is at least 500 gold pounds, and there are also the subsequent repairs and maintenance and other troubles. Moreover, this kind of machine that can replace human labor without sleep and non-stop work is not something that can be purchased with just money."

He whispered with a hint of disgust, "Master Harvey is well aware that the Exploration Society is a group of alchemists who rely on connections to get things done."

The middle-aged man did not respond, but instead picked up another magic stone that could record images and showed the image content to Santos.

This time, Santos finally saw Xavi himself.

"President Santos! How are you doing recently?" In the picture, Harvey was sitting in a study-like room with two thick dark circles under his eyes, which was very consistent with his identity as a spellcaster. He was smiling.

"I'm sorry I can't invite you to my territory. You've been traveling frequently between Grizzly Castle and Daeus lately, so I'm afraid you've heard that I recently suffered an armed attack by someone suspected to be a neighboring noble..."

"You've probably seen the mechanical creation I wanted to show you, haven't you? What do you think? A powerful machine that can replace manual labor and enable round-the-clock work without sleep. Do you think it has commercial potential?"

Santos curled his lips imperceptibly and muttered to himself, "It's indeed technically comparable to the mechanical creations produced by the Exploration Society, but the cost is probably not as high as directly hiring miners..."

Harvey, still smiling in the video, continued, "I imagine you're considering the cost and subsequent maintenance, right? From what I understand, a similar alchemical artifact from the Exploration Society would probably cost no less than 300 gold pounds, and they probably wouldn't be able to mass-produce it."

"So, if I honestly tell you that the machine I made costs only one-fifth of what the Exploration Association produces, and there's no need to worry about subsequent repairs and maintenance... would you choose to buy it? Would the owners of the large mines in the southern region think it's great value for money?"

Santos' eyes widened suddenly, and he jumped up from his chair. "What? 100 gold pounds per unit? An alchemical artifact that can replace human labor and complete transportation work is so cheap?"

He tilted his head in disbelief and looked at the middle-aged man in charge of the warehouse, "Lord Harvey, you are not kidding me, are you?
The other party seemed to have anticipated his expression and attitude. "President Santos, the Lord has always worked happily with you. When has he ever had the leisure to entertain you?"

"This alchemical machine is not simple to manufacture. The cast iron and various parts required are also quite laborious to produce. The price of 120 gold pounds is actually a special offer just for you, our high-quality partner."

"It's very simple to operate, and its power source is quite cheap. A low-level magic stone can keep it working continuously for over twelve hours. You can calculate how much operating costs the mine can save by replacing human labor."

The middle-aged man slowed down, took a leisurely sip of beer under Santos' anxious look, and continued his introduction.

"Furthermore, this machine's applications aren't limited to mines. It can also replace windmills and waterwheels, grinding wheat flour in mills. It can also be used to lift and transport all kinds of large cargo in the large warehouses of your Chamber of Commerce..."

Santos was already getting impatient and interrupted the other party's chatter, "Lord Harvey has produced so many of these machines so far! I want to buy them all!"

(End of this chapter)