A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 106 Even after transmigrating, working in a factory is still unavoidable.

At the end of the sinkhole is the factory entrance.

Even if Rorschach transmigrates to another world and becomes a spellcaster, he cannot escape the fate of being sent to the factory.

However, all of these jobs involve working in the factory as an "assistant operations engineer," which means working shifts day and night, climbing dozens of meters high distillation towers and shivering on the platform, getting fined for leaks caused by not tightening valves properly, getting fined for not memorizing all the safety regulations, and getting fined for not holding the handrail when going up or down stairs.

Now, intermediate mage Rorschach has joined the "Hercules" Alchemy Potion Workshop, a collaborative industry-academia-research project of the Alchemy Department that is about to go into production, as a "Supervisory and Management Specialist of the Magic Guild and the Tower of Stars".

Hercules, a demigod hero symbolizing strength, courage, and perseverance, suggests that you too can become him by drinking the "energy potion."

"Welcome, welcome! Are you the new representative of the Tower of Stars?" The manager in charge of welcoming guests was waiting at the factory gate.

As Rorschach stepped off the carriage, he saw a short, stout man with slicked-back hair, wearing a bright orange-red coat with embellishments on the collar that were even more extravagant than those worn by the guests at the King's banquet, while his inner jacket was taut because of his protruding belly.

Behind him were two other people, one frail-looking, presumably his secretary, and the other strong and fierce, likely his bodyguard.

As soon as he got out of the car, the winter breeze was still a bit chilly. Luo Xia observed that the factory was surrounded by red brick walls for security reasons, with rusty nails pointing upwards on them. It must be much better inside the factory since there was no wind.

Rorschach glanced at the manager, who was also sizing him up. The mage had neither a beard nor a bald head, and was even younger than the muddle-headed apprentice from a few days ago. He wore a mage's robe trimmed with purple, but the clothes underneath were very simple, neither flashy in color nor made of the currently fashionable corduroy.

A mid-level mage about the same age as his own son! What kind of guy is this? An arrogant genius?

"Rorschach, a student of Master Cano, comes on behalf of the guild and the Tower of Stars." Rorschach politely extended his hand.

The manager quickly shook hands: "Pierre Newsingen, the joint venture representative and the current head of the workshop. It's a pleasure to meet you! You are incredibly young. Both Master Snow and Mr. Pascal have mentioned you to me. You are the youngest intermediate mage in Valuwana in recent years! Although I have long admired your reputation, I am still amazed to see such a talented young man in person."

Could you please let go and let me in? Don't you feel the wind on the riverbank is cold? The factory needs water power, so it was naturally built along the river. Luo Xia felt that his face was about to freeze from flattery.

He forced a smile: "You flatter me, Mr. Newsingen. Let's go inside."

"Alright, alright. Just call me Pierre. Please follow me. With your guidance, our workshop will be greatly honored, and our business will surely proceed smoothly." Without batting an eye, although Rorschach returned the smile, Mr. Pierre's seasoned eyes could see that it was a forced smile. His flattery hadn't stirred the slightest ripple in Rorschach's heart. Truly worthy of being the youngest intermediate mage, he showed no trace of youthful impetuosity.

If this fatso catches a cold, can it be considered a work-related injury? The manager didn't know that Luo Xia was currently considering whether the Holy Kingdom had an "Employee Insurance Law" similar to the Empire's.

The storage area is right inside the entrance, with trailers and shuttle buses under the large tents. The stables are right next door, making loading and unloading very convenient.

A little further in was the semi-open-air production area, with a three-story-high cast-iron arched support covered by waterproof tarpaulin, sheltering the concentration kettles and mixing pots below from the wind and rain. The ground was the same color as the soil outside, but much firmer and smoother, leading Rorschach to strongly suspect it was the work of [Clay Sculpting Technique].

Factories that started construction at the same time were often still in the state that Rorschach saw from the observation window of Sky Harbor, still in the midst of a bustling construction period. As long as they were close to production, like the "Hercules" alchemy potion workshop, they were basically definitely assets of the magic guild.

Having magic is amazing.

With its rapid development, thriving distribution channels across the continent, and preferential tax rates in the Holy Kingdom and Istani, the Magic Guild's trading company possesses tremendous advantages. Therefore, Mr. Pierre, with his savings, went to great lengths to establish connections with the Alchemy Department through an apprentice. As the general manager, he was completely willing to fawn over the mage Rorschach without any complaints.

"This is our refining section. The old equipment has been installed and should be ready for trial operation this afternoon if all goes well. The new equipment hasn't been fully installed yet," Pierre explained to Rorschach.

The production line, which was only set up yesterday, has not yet started production. At this time, there are small groups of workers playing Taroki in the factory. They are skilled workers who were there when the production line was still in the research building. They will become foremen when new employees arrive.

"Could you explain the refining process?" Rorschach didn't become a senior member of the alchemy department in this life, but he knew it all before!

"This...this is my nephew, let him introduce us." Manager Pierre only handled sales and management, and knew nothing about these things, since the technical aspects were handled by the alchemy department. His nephew, however, was interested and had learned some things from his old friends while working on projects.

The frail-looking young man behind Manager Pierre stepped forward to introduce Rorschach.

"The main ingredient of gentian violet is the juice of ox gall grass, which is extracted and then filtered." He pointed to a machine at the far end of the shed, which was probably an iron frame. The material was fed from the top, passed through iron plates, and then discharged from the bottom. Judging from the screw on the plate-like structure, Rorschach guessed that it was some kind of plate and frame filter press.

"The filtered juice is concentrated in the first pot. After removing one-third of the volume, it is cooled and then poured into the next pot to mix with the water boiled from the mallow fruit. The color then turns purple. The remaining process is to let it stand to clarify, and then bottle the clear liquid from the top."

He also inquired about parameters such as the temperature of the concentration vessel, which his nephew answered correctly. Rorschach nodded; this young man was cut out for this line of work. "May I ask your name?"

"Antoine, my name is Antoine Newsingen." The young man answered the question with a sense of being tested. This mage seemed very familiar with these devices on his first day here, as if he were an expert. Could it be that his uncle's information was wrong, and that the mage Rorschach was actually from the Alchemy Department?

"Thank you for the introduction. Could you take me to the raw material processing workshop?"

"Okay, the pretreatment and filling workshops are both fully enclosed buildings. Follow me." The workshop is a two-story red brick building, and the height of just one floor is equivalent to two floors of a residential building.

Why does it seem like Mage Rorschach really admires that kid? Pierre has become a follower behind the two young men, pondering that it's a pity Antoine is too old; becoming a magic apprentice is too late.

Ox gall grass, also known as "the god's /gao/wan/" by ancient humans, was discovered long ago to have the effects of increasing energy and even aphrodisiac, and is a frequent guest in the pots of alchemists in this world.

One of the Alchemy Department's secrets lies in watering these plants with alchemical water mixed with spiritual substances before they mature, making the pods and stems exceptionally large, bursting with deep purple veins in the green.

As preparation for the afternoon's trial run, a group of workers were pressing juice. Just like when Rorschach had seen rapeseed oil pressing in his previous life, they wrapped the cleaned grass in gauze, placed the packages in the trough, and stacked them up with wooden boards between them.

However, water power was used for pressing. A thick screw was connected to an external water wheel, and the pressing began under the foreman's command. As a tooth-grinding sound rang out, turbid brownish-green juice flowed out from the guide channel.

The air was filled with the scent of grass and earth, and an indescribable odor.

After juicing was finished, Rorschach took the filtered cake. He broke open the pulp; the juice had indeed dried up, but the smell of the pulp was still very strong: "It seems like a lot of components are still left in the pulp."

"Yes, the price of ox gall grass is getting higher and higher. We hope that the extraction rate of the raw material can be increased."

"You guys are really lucky to have me here, Kano! You'll have to pay extra for the fieldwork!" Rorschach, already having his own ideas, couldn't help but rub his hands together.

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(End of this chapter)