A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 422 The Four Musketeers

The prime minister, surrounded by three sorcerers, boarded Rorschach's black and red carriage. The carriage's appearance caught the attention of both the master and the prime minister.

To avoid being seen, the prime minister, holding his top hat, climbed into the carriage first. Humboldt curiously took a look around. The large magic lights at the front and back, and the windshield, were quite different from those of a horse-drawn carriage. Most importantly, the design reminded him of a beetle.

He was the last to get on the bus. Rorschach sat in the passenger seat, while the Prime Minister had already casually drawn the curtains in the back and was quietly pressing the leather seat to feel its elasticity.

"No horse? No construct either?" Master Humboldt was very curious about Rorschach's vehicle, looking at it from left to right and touching it.

"The power source is in the front of the car."

Humboldt thought of the protruding space in front of the vehicle's cockpit: "Is the structure inside?"

No, why do you keep thinking about biomimicry? Do you mean there's a magic puppet in the front of the car pedaling or running on a hamster wheel? Rorschach generously revealed the principle: "The power source is a set of alchemical devices."

"The cylinder has a built-in magic array that can compress air and then release it to push the piston embedded in the cylinder."

"The piston drives the crank, converting its reciprocating motion into circular motion, which in turn drives the hub through the bearings. However, there is also a flywheel, which uses inertia to allocate a portion of its power to drive the system for the next cycle."

"The magic circle's power source comes from a special alchemical potion, which is pumped into and out of the cylinder's outer wall layer within a cycle to power the magic circle."

Rorschach's explanation was basically a direct copy of the internal combustion engine principle. After all, if you don't understand the principles of these power engines, you can't be considered a good thermodynamics student, and if you don't understand thermodynamics, you can't be considered a high-quality chemical engineer.

However, this "air engine" does not involve the fuel vaporization and combustion process. Instead, it uses the magic circle of [Rorschach's Air Cannon] to compress air in an extremely short instant. The [Air Cannon] itself is also an instantaneous spell, replacing the combustion process. This is the method Rorschach has found to create the maximum torque while avoiding the harsh conditions of the combustion chamber, naturally lowering the requirements for technology and materials.

Other spells that can output kinetic energy are either too powerful, causing steel components to be unable to withstand long-term impact, or their instantaneous power is insufficient, resulting in torque and peak power provided to the vehicle that do not meet requirements.

The pneumatic motor doesn't "burn" oil, but rather a specially made alchemical potion—based on "slurry" obtained from the death of highly concentrated cultivated aquatic bacteria. After being completely inactivated, it is immediately added to transmutation dust powder, melted, and stirred evenly to obtain a relatively thick, blue-purple pearlescent liquid. As the contained magic is released, the consistency gradually decreases.

Of course, even if the process standards are set low, there are still limitations. For example, the pneumatic motors that Gaopo Precision Factory currently produces can only reach a maximum of 13 horsepower with two cylinders. If more materials are added, the slight differences in the stroke of each cylinder will be exposed, and the entire system will not be able to operate stably.

In general, this thing can be called an "air-powered vehicle," using air as the medium, which is very environmentally friendly.

Rorschach gave a long explanation from the passenger seat, while Humboldt, sitting beside him, remained silent, nodded, and then smiled: "Okay, most of it... I didn't understand."

Otto rarely listened to two mages (who treated the Imperial Chancellor like air) conversing. He listened silently, feeling both puzzled and impressed. However, he was surprised that even the Archmage couldn't understand what the junior was muttering, and even more surprised that the Archmage so frankly admitted it. The different styles of mages and politicians always gave the Chancellor a small shock.

He took out his pocket watch to check the time, then coughed in the back seat: "Excuse me, gentlemen. I have an appointment with His Majesty Albert. Could you please take me to the palace?"

Humboldt nodded. "As you wish, sir." Then he turned to Rorschach and asked, "Why isn't the carriage moving? Where's the driver?"

"You're sitting in the driver's seat. The driver has been locked out." Andrei's hands were numb from banging on the door. He kept using the [Communication] spell to call Rorschach, hoping he would remind Master Humboldt to change seats.

Humboldt nodded again: "I see." Then he got out of the car at a leisurely pace, walked half a circle around, and sat in the back seat.

Is it because one has practiced natural magic for a long time that one either has to return to simplicity or become naturally naive? Rorschach discovered that Master Humboldt's previous "composure" could also be understood from another perspective.

However, it cannot be ruled out that he did it on purpose. The evidence is that as soon as the master got in the car, he touched this and that, and then gripped the steering wheel tightly, seemingly having mastered the "driving posture" without any instruction. Moreover, even if the car windows were soundproofed, Humboldt would definitely have heard Andrei knocking on the door and window.

As Andrei got into the car, he used the [Communication] spell to complain to Rorschach: "Professor Rorschach, why didn't you remind the master?"

"You can remind him yourself; double-glazed windows are soundproof but don't block [communication techniques]."

"I tried! But the master ignored me," Andrei complained as he drove. "I think the master must really want to try driving it; he's interested in this car."

"Yes, I'm interested." Humboldt's sudden entry into the [Communication] conversation startled Andrei. Rorschach, having experienced this before, remained calm.

"I told you, [communication techniques] are not absolutely private."

Humboldt asked many more questions, gaining new knowledge about terms like "suspension" and "differential gears." However, he was most concerned about metrics such as horsepower and speed. Andrei, using real-world road conditions, gave the Grand Master a live demonstration and instruction on acceleration, steering, and braking.

Although the three mages were chatting animatedly using the [Telecommunications] spell, our great Imperial Chancellor, Mr. Otto, couldn't hear a thing. With his hearing deteriorating due to old age, he felt the carriage was excessively quiet.

He should have remained silent, but remembering his mission here, he coughed to break the "tranquility." The Prime Minister's cough interrupted the three mages' lively conversation. Rorschach turned his head to look at him, Andrei looked at the Prime Minister through the rearview mirror, and Humboldt even raised his hand to cast a small healing spell.

The prime minister, who had been struck by the green light, said, "Thank you, Alexander." Mr. Otto realized that he was far less adept at dealing with these spellcasters who thought differently from normal people than the crown prince. The prime minister also chose to start with the strange vehicle: "Is this alchemical chariot expensive? Can only a mage operate it?"

"The driver doesn't need to know magic; any coachman who drives a horse-drawn carriage or oxcart can learn to drive it, sir. The price of the vehicle will decrease once the craftsmanship is perfected, but it requires alchemical potions to operate, which we must provide."

Chancellor Otto nodded: "That's very worthwhile to promote. Perhaps some nobles and wealthy people who crave novelty will acquire such a gold-plated vehicle."

"Ideally, every family in the country could own one of these cars." The Beetle belongs to Volkswagen!

The prime minister dismissed the young man's joke, pointing out that not every household in the city could afford to buy and maintain a carriage, let alone a gold-plated one: "Master Luo Xia, I've discovered you have a talent for being a politician, adept at constructing beautiful visions for the people." With such low emotional intelligence, the prime minister felt as if someone was farting in a closed carriage.

"You have excellent judgment. However, it's my friend who wants to be a member of the Imperial Council, not me."

Does Rorschach have pro-imperial factions around him? Otto silently noted down the other person's casual remark.

After the car arrived at the royal palace on the outskirts of the city, Otto alighted. His secretary, guards, and a large entourage were already waiting expectantly at the palace gate. The Chancellor shook Rorschach's hand for the second time: "For the first time, I wished the journey could be longer. Rorschach, you are a very interesting young man. I look forward to seeing you again."

"I have a feeling it will happen soon." Clearly, the prime minister had investigated him, and the old man had come prepared.

"Yes." After saying that, the prime minister stepped onto the red carpet and entered the palace gates of Byrne, flanked by guards.

Humboldt climbed back into the car, and he followed. Rorschach was slightly surprised; the master simply instructed him to drive to Kempson: "There are only vineyards nearby; go to your place."

The vehicle started, and indicator lights showed that the magical concentration of the alchemical potion had reached a low point. Although driving didn't require a mage, having a spellcaster inside offered one advantage:

Rorschach gripped the gearshift lever in the passenger seat, pumping magic directly into the alchemical potion from the mithril alloy rod embedded within it.

"Alright, teacher, if you keep charging it, the engine will explode again." Andre reminded Rorschach to stop, then restarted the car and drove towards Kempson.

(End of this chapter)