A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 236 The Time for Mass Construction Has Arrived

"Why?" Are they really going to get rid of me? Luo Xia silently gripped his cane, ready to strike.

"Ding ding ding ding. Intermediate Mage Rorschach, please allow me to introduce to you—the Non-Magical Advanced Technology Laboratory!" Snow snapped his fingers, and the other guys quickly operated the system, and a large steel-framed shed appeared out of thin air in the wasteland.

Therefore, the non-magical laboratory needs to be covered with illusion magic. Anyone with Arcane Vision can see that there is a problem here, so Rorschach, who only blocks Muggles, thinks that the setting of this greenhouse is very problematic.

The two entered the greenhouse, and Snow explained to Rorschach, "Master Kano, for some reason, asked our Alchemy Department to research alternative technologies that can operate without magic, to ensure that the guild's basic functions such as remote communication and power supply can be maintained even under extreme conditions where magic fails. That's why we have this amazing laboratory."

Despite being called a laboratory, the interior of the shed was extremely spacious. The arched roof supported by a steel structure provided ample room. Luo Xia saw that the steam engine and generator that used to be in the power room of the research building had been moved here, along with some processing equipment and cables.

"I have to say, with the addition of the 'cannot use Ethereum' restriction, getting the previous technical specifications has become quite challenging. Although the difficulty has increased, it has also become more interesting!" This is what my brother truly thinks.

"Are you guys a bit masochistic?" Rorschach surveyed the bustling activity in the laboratory, quite moved. He couldn't help but wonder if Kano already knew the Empire possessed forbidden magic technology, which was why he proposed and vigorously promoted what seemed like an unnecessary project.

Clearly, the Magic Guild was not entirely unaware of the Empire's movements. Most of the people Rorschach met were mages, but there were also some former teachers from the Valuwana High School, especially the artillery academy instructors. To be precise, they were engineers specializing in battlefield applications.

"Mage Rorschach!" Andrei was also there, and he greeted Rorschach as he saw him. Upon seeing Andrei, Snow seemed to remember something and said to Rorschach, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, we built Unit 3 underground here to provide ether. Although we are developing technology that does not rely on magic, it doesn't mean that the research process cannot use magic."

The current lighting and illusions are maintained thanks to a continuous supply of ether. Rorschach rolled his eyes at the head of the alchemy department: "When did you inform me?" Back then, Unit 2 was also built and then acted without prior notice.

However, Rorschach knew that a new harvester had been built, the evidence being that the experience points gained from [Gods' Exile (Blue)] had increased faster, though he didn't know it was built here.

Luo Xia sensed his symbol slightly and indeed saw a bright spot in his field of vision located underground, slightly to the east, and a dimmer core in the symmetrical western underground, which should be unlit.

"Should we build another one?"

Snow was surprised: "Brother Rorschach, you guessed that? That's right, the funding is really too much. We plan to get another one and do some other things at the same time."

Snow did not elaborate on what the "other things" were, and Rorschach did not inquire further.

The researchers in the laboratory are grouped together and called the "Non-Magic Alternative Technology Research Group." It includes not only members of the Alchemy Department but also people from all walks of life, which was unthinkable before. It can be considered as Kano's "new era of good governance."

"Those artillery academy teachers are having a terrible time. Before coming here to work, they could only earn two new gold coins a week. Bringing them here is cheap and effective." Snow, taking advantage of the fact that Muggles can't hear [Communication], bluntly praised the "engineer bonus".

Looking down on his two-dollar buddy? Rorschach ignored the smug Snow; he was more concerned about Andrei: "Now that you've got the new currency, how about I double my funding for you?"

"No, no, no, Venerable Rorschach, I can't accept this."

"Don't be polite with him, this kid's got plenty of money." Snow gave Rorschach's shoulder a hard squeeze. The money came from the Fangda Company through the Magic Guild. Because it was in Imperial Gold Coins, and with the Holy Kingdom's currency devaluing, the purchasing power of Gold Coins skyrocketed, Rorschach's cash flow actually increased.

The first key project the lab is working on is "long-distance communication." The current communication system used by the magic guild has both advantages and significant disadvantages.

First of all, it is actually a teleportation network. Due to artificial power limitations, it only allows ordinary people to transmit lightweight carriers such as letters. However, when there is sufficient ether, it can also transmit other entities, including people, and the transmitted information will never be distorted.

The downside is that operation and maintenance both require spellcasters, which is extremely expensive, leading to exorbitant costs and overwhelming guilds when communication demands surge. The recent "stock market frenzy" caused a massive increase in the volume of messages sent and received, immediately exceeding the system's capacity.

Furthermore, both the sending and receiving ends must be fixed and require significant investment in construction. Expanding each node means solidifying a teleportation array and assigning a team of operators. The current communication network and system are the result of a century of accumulation by the guild. Portable teleportation arrays also require a complete receiving or sending end and can only communicate via a single line.

During his journey through the sub-planes, Rorschach had seen a transmitter similar to a radio, but it still required the caster to use ether and rely on the feedback of a vibrating crystal at a specific frequency to transmit the message.

Unfortunately, the Alchemy Department and other team members did not realize that radio waves could also fill space and become a carrier of information, just like ether.

Snow introduced the invention of a former artillery academy teacher, which he developed based on the army's command flags: "We can build signal towers in two locations and observe the different positions and placements of three different colored signal flags through telescopes, resulting in more than two hundred combinations."

Such a system is similar to a beacon tower. Signal markers enrich the amount of information transmitted. Of course, adding more colors will increase the amount of information transmitted, but the probability of error will also increase significantly. Three colors are the optimal value obtained from multiple trials.

Although it transmits very little information and is very inefficient, it works surprisingly well when used with a cannon-like telescope—its maximum range is 24 kilometers in good weather conditions.

"When the weather is clear, or at night with artificial lighting," Snow emphasized.

"You actually conducted an experiment?" Rorschach looked down on this communication method, saying it was only slightly better than a beacon tower, with equally high maintenance costs and subject to weather conditions.

"This is a huge business!" Snow explained. To prevent the guild's affiliated trading companies from going bankrupt due to the Holy Kingdom's dire economy, the Magic Guild had invested heavily in infrastructure development for those businesses. Once the new signal system was completed, it would be open to ordinary people, and the future market potential was immeasurable.

It's not just the Magic Guild that's contributing; the Valuwa Currency Issuance Committee (the official name of the new currency issuing institution) will join forces with the banks behind it to continue lending to the kingdom for repairing roads, renovating and building water conservancy facilities, thereby saving bankrupt businesses and absorbing unemployed and landless laborers.

What a miracle! Rorschach always felt that this "self-resolved dilemma" was the result of that man—Necker—devising the plan behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, somewhere within the empire.

"Hurry, hurry!" The dwarf's voice echoed through the valley. For the first time, something called "the Railway" appeared outside the Dwarf Federation. It started from the heart of the Empire and continued to extend southward.

Thank you for reading!

Because I have to get up early tomorrow, I'll wash up and go to bed after I finish writing this. Acknowledgments will be combined with tomorrow's update.

Yesterday, during the Spring Festival, I thought I'd send out red envelopes to my readers, so I released 100 recommendation vote red envelopes. But they were all snatched up by bots in less than a minute! I didn't see any real readers receive any. I'm so stupid, so TAT

(End of this chapter)