A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 75 Sky Fortress

The day before the Holy Song Festival was a beautiful day, and for once, Cano arrived at the Tower of Stars very early.

"It's a real shame to miss the biggest and most important festival."

"I've been attending too many banquets lately, so I'm going home to have some peace and quiet. Goodbye, Professor Kano."

"Okay, okay. Be careful on the road."

Luo Xia walked out of the chief professor's office, out of the Tower of Stars, and out of Pastoral Street.

Horse-drawn carriages became readily available again, and the drivers served their passengers with beaming smiles.

"I'm sorry, sir, the price has gone up a bit. Would twenty copper coins be alright?"

"Okay, let's go."

Instead of leaving the city directly, Luo Xia went to the teahouse diagonally opposite the Pacharuca Trading Company, where the last transaction of the year was about to take place.

Rorschach ordered a hot honey tea and waited patiently. Although the bells of the Feast of Sacramento were approaching, it was fortunate that the Kingdom of Saint Valois's biggest festival wasn't held early; otherwise, he could foresee the streets and teahouses here being packed with people. Oh, and he didn't even know if the teahouses would be open.

"Would you like to buy some cigarettes, sir? Top-quality imported from Istani."

A young newsboy carries a small display case around his neck and a satchel full of newspapers as he tries to sell them.

"Want to buy stocks, sir? A formal contract, you can sign it right across the street, minimum investment of one livre."

"Huh?" This was the first time Rorschach had encountered a newsboy selling stocks.

The newsboy, assuming Rorschach was interested in stocks, quickly rattled off a list of stocks: "The trading company across the street can be sold in a stock split, Saliana Mining can be bought for one cent, and other stocks: Lowe Trading Company, Montau Transport Company, Valuvana Newspaper, and Senegal Daily Newspaper."

"No, give me a copy of the Morning Post and the Element Post, please."

"Elemental Report? I don't have one here, sir. How about the Crimson Butterfly Report?"

"Alright, how much?" Rorschach felt the informant was unusually slow today, but thankfully the airship was departing in the afternoon, so there was still time. Rorschach simply bought two newspapers and started reading.

The Valuana Morning Post has created a special section to report on stock price fluctuations, with gold mining companies naturally at the top of the list. Many other trading companies have also issued stocks, all of which are rising, with only minor or major increases. The scene of vibrant growth and thriving activity is still vivid in our minds.

"Master Luo Xia, you also invest in stocks?" The company's employee finally came down. After sitting down, he didn't even order tea. "Let's be frank. The company is short of cash right now, and we can't pay your salary."

Huh? I'm your informant, how dare you play like this?

"I'm here firstly to collect my money, and secondly to inform you that I will submit this month's report to the authorities myself—I'm setting off back to the Empire today."

The employee put on a fawning smile: "I understand, I understand. It's like this, Master Luo Xia, we are indeed short of funds, but we will definitely not shortchange you. We have already converted all the funds into stocks and put them in your account. Now you have one percent and one-fifth of the shares."

"That's great! You know, Saliana Minerals are in high demand right now. If you need travel expenses, just tell us, and we can squeeze out a couple of cents to help you out. We hope you can put in a good word for us with the boss."

A single share is hard to come by? I have ninety-five shares, how come I didn't know? To prepare for his return, Rorschach entrusted the guild to sell five shares and then asked Cano to help him exchange them for gold coins. After the loss, Rorschach received 70%, which is a "huge sum" worth about 2000 gold coins.

He took the newspaper and stood up: "Thank you for your kindness, farewell."

"Have a safe journey." The employee acted like a friend seeing Rorschach off, but Rorschach felt it was a waste of time and ignored him.

The central port area, whose core building is called "Sky Tree," is no longer just a stopover but a place to board an airship. Rorschach entered the base of this giant high-rise building, which is also the lobby.

The hall was extremely spacious, with small carts constantly delivering goods and security checks in place. All the lights used were magical lamps with the "Light" spell. Countless solid stone pillars provided a sense of security. If the gilded reliefs and wooden floors were replaced with simple solid colors and marble, it would feel even more like a transportation hub from a previous life.

The flip-board timetable shows that the main flights are now between Valuana and other regions of the kingdom, with people coming and going in a way that evokes the enchanting beauty of the Spring Festival travel rush.

Arriving in the capital, arriving in the capital, arriving in the capital. After searching for a long time, Luo Xia finally found his train number. As planned, he took the train to the capital first, then went back to the academy to finish his report with Baldy before going home.

"Is this your first time on an airship?" A middle-aged man in uniform walked up to Rorschach, drawn by his mage robes.

Luo Xia's entrustment of the Tower Spirit was essentially an entrustment of the Magic Guild to buy tickets, and the guild automatically sent over first-class tickets.

Wear a mage's robe to board the airship. That was Kano's suggestion.

Rorschach nodded: "Yes."

"Welcome, I'm a staff member here. May I see your ticket? I can guide you. It's definitely easy to get disoriented on your first airship ride."

Rorschach hesitated for a moment, then, remembering that this wasn't the old train station and that he still had the [Hand of the Mage], handed it to him.

"What a coincidence! I am Ted, the co-pilot of the 'Sky Fortress' spellcaster. First-class tickets allow access to a private elevator, and since we have the same goal, please follow me."

Sky Fortress was the name of the airship Rorschach was traveling on. The two chatted as they walked, boarding a small, exquisitely crafted passenger elevator next to the large one. "A spellcaster co-pilot?"

"Don't let my attire fool you, I'm a level one mage. This place and the airship require spellcasters to operate. I graduated from the Tower of Stars, what about you?"

Rorschach put on the "ID card" from the Tower of Stars: "I am a new researcher and teacher this year."

"You're so young!" The co-pilot looked at Luo Xia again. He had thought this young man was a nobleman's son who was going to the Empire for training: In recent years, it has become fashionable for the sons of nobles and merchants to travel around the world and squander their wealth, under the guise of training.

"Why don't elevators go straight up and down?" Whether it's a freight elevator or a passenger elevator, or the passenger elevator you're currently riding, you have to switch elevators every ten floors or so, which means there are two elevators running alternately.

"Because when Skytree was first in operation, the large elevator plummeted from the top floor to the bottom floor, carrying five tons of cargo. The foundation was almost breached, and the guy in charge almost jumped off the top floor himself. In addition to being handcuffed and shackled, he was also tied up and locked up in a cell," the co-pilot explained with a smile, as if he were telling an interesting story.

Penetrate it? Luo Xia couldn't imagine it. This building was about a hundred stories high. The passenger elevators were fine, but the freight elevators were extremely slow and cumbersome. But now Luo Xia felt it was necessary.

"Is there no speed reduction device?"

"There was a [Featherfall] spell array and electromagnetic damping components, which were all in place when the dwarves and the guild designed and built it, but none of them worked when the fall occurred." Co-pilot Ted shrugged. "So shouldn't the person in charge be arrested?"

The wind howled on the boarding platform: "It's dangerous here, please hold onto the handrails the whole way."

Rorschach saw up close the nearly 300-meter-long "aerial fortress." The cigar-shaped gas chambers, coated with grease, reflected the sunlight, and magical circuits throughout the hull flickered in and out of focus. Only when standing before this veritable fortress-like "beast" could one truly feel its immense size and the insignificance of humanity in the face of its own creation, especially for dwarves.

She was now secured by numerous cables, the boiler preheating and spewing out massive amounts of steam, and the load-bearing section, resembling a ship with its deck sheared off and suspended under airbags, had a maximum load capacity of twenty tons, according to Ted. Rorschach finally felt the visibly different results of the other world's technology tree—knowing that a similarly sized airship had only been manufactured before World War II in his previous life and exploded.

The co-pilot noticed that Rorschach was very interested in the airship, just like he had been when he first saw it. The man straightened his clothes and boarded the airship, inviting Rorschach: "Master Rorschach, if you would like to learn more about the airship, you can come to our cockpit after you've put your luggage away. It's very close to the first-class cabin. Just tell them my name is Ted."

(End of this chapter)