Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 698 Northern Border Exploration Meeting

Two days later, Harvey personally led a group of high-ranking officials from the capital to personally welcome the Alchemy Exploration Association at the military airship landing pad in the inner city.

However, when the leader of the exploration group, "The Man in the Mirror," stepped off the airship, everyone was stunned and froze on the spot.

Harvey coughed twice, stepped forward and took the other's outstretched hands, frowning as he said gently, "Didn't the Chief tell me in the communication that everything was fine? Why..."

The person in the mirror was completely wrapped in bandages, with a faint yellow, oily substance seeping through them. Although they were wearing a gorgeous and elaborate alchemist's robe, it was far from "all right" by any measure.

The person in the mirror, whose eyes shone brightly through the bandages, shrugged and laughed, "That's why I rushed to the Northern Border as soon as I received your invitation... Hehe, even if you hadn't asked, I would have come on my own after a while."

He paused, then his tone turned helpless as he said, "The Soul Fusion Ritual did indeed go smoothly. My current state is simply due to my body's inability to accommodate a more powerful new soul, so the disintegration of my flesh and blood is quite normal... If I weren't so reluctant to part with this original body, I could have followed your suggestion and had the Exploration Society recast an alchemical prosthetic body for me."

"I see..." Harvey nodded knowingly. "The disintegration of flesh and blood is almost irreversible. It will probably not be easy for Mr. Mirror Man to preserve his original body. Now that we have come to Starfire City, we have plenty of time to try to remedy the situation... Hehe, I have a lot of talented people here. With everyone's wisdom and efforts, we will surely be able to come up with a relatively feasible plan."

Dawson also stepped forward and teased his former "two" old friends, "Now we can only address each other by our forum nicknames... After all, the old Overley and Ed have become one."

The person in the mirror scoffed and said disdainfully, "Call me whatever you want, Chief Dawson... Hmph, we are me, and I am me. This slight confusion in self-awareness can no longer disturb my mind."

Salas chuckled twice and said calmly, "Since that's the case, we don't need to dwell on the issue of address anymore. I was there to listen to your communication with His Majesty earlier... I was very interested in the story of the Ship of Theseus that you mentioned. His Majesty is currently busy with official duties, so why don't you come with me and Dawson back to the New Union for a short rest and invite a few old friends you haven't seen in a long time to reunite?"

The person in the mirror waved his hand and turned to Harvey, "Before coming to the North, His Majesty mentioned that he wanted to set up a brand new branch of the Exploration Society in Starfire City. I already have some initial ideas about this... but I would like to meet my disciple Chris first."

Harvey nodded, gave the two chiefs an apologetic look, and said gently, "Chris is currently in charge of the Kingdom's Alchemy Experiment Center and is extremely busy every day... He should still be in the laboratory right now. Please come with me to see him!"

……

After settling the group of alchemists and apprentices from the Exploration Society into the Welcome Hotel, Harvey personally led the Man in the Mirror and several high-ranking alchemists, accompanied by his guards, to the Kingdom's Alchemy Experiment Center.

The unprepared experimenters and assistants were startled by the lack of prior notice. They all put down their work and bowed to the emperor. Many of them secretly looked up to examine the strange, tall figure wrapped in bandages standing next to Harvey.

Harvey beckoned to a familiar-looking lab supervisor and casually asked, "Where's your department head?"

"Your Majesty, Minister Chris went to the top-level R&D center early this morning to personally begin the final debugging of the Starfire Warrior's weapon system... If all goes well, it should be finished by this afternoon."

It wasn't a particularly important project. As soon as they discovered that the emperor was coming to inspect the area, a quick-thinking lab technician rushed up to report it.

"Then let's go to the lounge and wait for a while..."

The man in the mirror, who had remained silent, looked around and was surprised by what he saw. Whether it was the large group of people kneeling in the experimental center's hall or the official who had just reported to Harvey, their demeanor and speech clearly indicated that they were orthodox alchemists with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in alchemy. Yet, there wasn't a single older person among them; they were all young men around thirty years old, with sparse, short beards… He even spotted several youthful-looking teenagers and women who, despite wearing heavy lab coats, moved nimbly and had intelligent eyes.

"Chris...has trained so many alchemy apprentices for you?"

Harvey raised an eyebrow, not understanding what the person in the mirror meant. "Apprentice? No... those who can enter the Kingdom's Experimental Center are the best selected from other experimental stations. If we follow the assessment standards of the Alchemy Exploration Society, they should be considered formal alchemists."

A formal... alchemist?

Even through the thick bandages, Harvey could see the confusion and surprise in Mr. Mirror's eyes.

Indeed, if the strict standards of the Alchemy Exploration Society are followed, a young man deemed to have talent will generally undergo nearly ten years of training as an apprentice, passing through layers of assessments and selections before he can be qualified to become a formal alchemist.

These carefully selected talents are often assigned to alchemy workshops scattered throughout the Southern Territory, where they study diligently under more experienced high-level alchemists. Among them, the most outstanding individuals, like Chris, are fortunate enough to be chosen by the chief as a disciple and receive targeted and meticulous instruction.

However, there are not many such lucky individuals; they are basically treated as if they have achieved instant success.

To attain a prestigious and high-ranking status, one ultimately needs to create one's own unique alchemical formula. Many formal alchemists never achieve this goal in their entire lives, remaining trapped in experimental workshops, unfulfilled and frail, even in old age and with gray hair.

Therefore, it is truly unbelievable that the person in the mirror could believe that nearly a hundred people with the strength of formal alchemists could emerge in Starfire City in the North, which is under Harvey's control.

When Chris was tricked into coming here, he was just a novice alchemist who liked to take unconventional and unorthodox approaches.

Harvey immediately understood the leader of the exploration group's question and quickly explained with a smile, "You don't need to be so surprised... Starfire City is somewhat different from the other countries in the Southern Territory. With the support of magical technology, we have long since entered the stage of magical energy industrialization. The repetitive work that used to require a lot of manpower has been replaced by alchemical beasts with implanted soul cores. After liberating productivity... these young people with stronger learning abilities and a deeper understanding of new things have naturally become the main force in the research and development. In a sense, it is not an exaggeration to call them formal alchemists."

After all, the application of magical energy has become so widespread throughout Saint Valentine and the Northern United Kingdom that it has become a completely different field from the purely manual workshops of the past. Technological progress no longer depends on experience and mastery of formulas. In some key research and development positions, age can actually bring more advantages in terms of energy.

Taking the thick stack of weapon development blueprints handed to him by Harvey, the person in the mirror silently and carefully flipped through them... Magic-powered cannons, various types of magic-powered guns, airships, magic-powered trains, and countless other civilian alchemical creations.

The alchemical techniques involved in these unprecedented and wondrous creations are self-evident.

The person in the mirror gasped slowly and heavily, finally unable to hold back his sigh, "Your Majesty... forgive my bluntness, but the alchemy skills your people possess, and the scale of the laboratories in the entire capital, are probably far beyond what we... these outdated people are capable of. The Alchemy Exploration Society cannot compare to it in any way."

Looking at the somewhat dejected man in the mirror, Harvey shook his head and smiled, "That's not the case. Although we are fortunate to be at the forefront of technology, we are still lacking in talent reserves... If the Exploration Society is willing to join us and work together, we will be more confident in dealing with the invasion of the northern alien races in the future. Therefore, I urgently need your and the Exploration Society's help."

(End of this chapter)