I made up magic and taught a world-destroying witch?

Can you sense that his experimental tower is about to become a passenger transfer station in Grey Pigeon Town?

Joseph pushed open the office door and walked down the stairs. As soon as he reached the experimental tower hall, he saw that the once spacious entrance was now blocked by several large boxes.

Several people wearing short jackets from the Dwarf Merchants Association were moving things, with various small tools hanging from their waists. The clattering sound as they walked made them look like a group of mobile toolboxes.

Penny stood in the doorway, looking down at a list.

She still looked as capable as ever today, with her light brown hair tied back. The slightly inhuman-like features at the tips of her ears were even more noticeable in the morning light.

Grace stood aside, quietly watching the boxes being brought in, while Mia was completely different; she had already circled the boxes several times.

"Sir!" Mia waved to him as soon as she saw him.

"Miss Penny really brought so much stuff! There's a magic fluctuation recording disk, and something that can draw lines on its own!"

"It can draw lines because this is a magic reaction trajectory plotter." A slightly hoarse voice came from behind the box.

"To the untrained eye, it would look like it's just scribbling on its own."

  

Joseph looked in the direction of the sound and saw a dwarf craftsman with a pale face emerge from behind the box.

The man was much shorter than the box, and he wore goggles on his nose, making him look somewhat weak.

Mia immediately introduced:

"Sir, this is Mr. Buck from the Dwarf Merchant Guild!"

Buck? Joseph glanced at him. Wasn't this the one who was trapped in the well?

Buck stuffed the small wrench back into his waist pouch and strode over to Joseph.

He looked up at Joseph and said excitedly:

"Professor Grantham! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Joseph: "?"

Buck suddenly bowed deeply, so deeply that Joseph almost thought he was going to bury his head in the floor.

Speaking of which, if a dwarf and a short man were in the same room, who would be taller?

The thought only flashed through Joseph's mind for a moment before he forcibly suppressed it.

Now is clearly not the time to study racial average height.

"No need for that," Joseph said instinctively.

Buck looked up, his eyes a little red.

"If it weren't for your new magic burning away those things below, we probably wouldn't have survived until we were discovered."

People from the church told me that the red and gold light broke through the black lines first, and then the patrol team noticed the sound below the old diversion well.

I also heard from Knight Allen that you were the one who rescued them from the well today!

Joseph: "..."

Does Allen have some kind of amplification magic in his mouth?

In two more days, will the gods really resurrect him and stick him back on?

"It just happened to work by chance; the real rescue was carried out by the church knights and the patrols," Joseph said.

"You're too modest!"

Buck was about to say something more when he suddenly bent over and coughed twice.

Penny immediately frowned and said:

"Buck, I told you you didn't need to come today."

"I'm fine." Buck waved his hand, then coughed again. "Really, I'm fine. The priest and nun checked me over; they said it's probably because I was frightened and stayed down there for too long."

As you know, the air down there is terrible. I think we'll probably need to rest for a few more days.

As he said this, he couldn't help but cough twice.

"You should still get some rest, or you'd better go see Sister Evelyn for a check-up," Joseph said, just in case he coughed up something that caused problems.

"I'll go over after this is finished," Buck nodded.

"We can go now," Penny said. "The equipment isn't going to grow legs and run away just because you're not there."

Buck muttered to himself:

"That's hard to say. Older sync recorders can sometimes really move on their own."

Joseph: "?"

"Don't worry, it's just a slight movement on the desktop," Penny said calmly. "It won't affect its use."

This doesn't sound reassuring at all...

"Why is it moving?" Mia asked curiously.

"There's a problem with the internal counterweight," Buck said immediately.

"The old-style synchronous recorder was originally used for mobile experimental vehicles, and we designed a self-balancing structure inside it."

However, these were later converted into desktop models, so sometimes when the recording needle returns to its original position, it causes the base to slide slightly to the side.

Mia listened with a look of awe.

"That's amazing!"

Buck perked up immediately upon hearing this.

"Of course it's amazing! Many people see it being moved and immediately say it's broken, but they're completely ignorant."

Anyone who truly understands mechanics knows that something that moves isn't necessarily bad; it's when it stops moving that there's likely a real problem!

Joseph: "..."

This attempt to save face sounds a bit too much.

So, is it because the Dwarf Merchant Guild was willing to send these devices over because storing them in their own warehouse would take up space?

But that doesn't matter. He needs these things right now. As long as he can record even a little bit of fluctuation, all other issues can be rephrased.

"Let's get the box inside first," Joseph said.

"Okay, Professor."

Penny turned and instructed the porters to carry the first batch of boxes into the experimental tower, and Mia immediately followed to help lead the way.

Buck wanted to go over too, but Penny grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"You stay here, and if you cough, don't move around."

Buck had no choice but to sit obediently on a wooden crate next to the steps, watching the workers move the equipment crates into it, still looking somewhat unwilling.

"I originally planned to go back to the Minok Hills to rest."

"Minoch Hills?" Joseph asked.

"This is where we dwarfs mainly live."

Buck said:

"It's in the northwest of the empire, very far from here. Before, when there were large teleportation portals, it could be a round trip in a day, but now it takes at least two or three transfers."

He sighed as he spoke.

"The railcar broke down again recently, so I can't go back home. I can only stay in Beijing for now."

"A railcar?" Joseph asked.

Mia had already reached the door, but upon hearing this, she immediately poked her head back in.

"It's an iron snail!"

"Don't call it Iron Snail," Buck said, somewhat disgruntled. "Its official name is Low Magic Composite Wheel-Rail Transport Vehicle."

"But it really does run like a snail," Mia said.

"That's for stability!"

Penny stood to the side and explained:

"After the old-era teleportation portals failed, the Chamber of Commerce spent many years building a rail line. It wasn't fast, but it was capable of transporting people and small goods reliably."

"Do most of the dwarfs live there?" Joseph asked.

Penny said:

"Yes, there are many natural wind tunnels under the Minok Hills, where dwarfs used to build workshops in earlier years."

Wind power also facilitated the removal of furnace fumes. Later, more and more workshops were built, and the underground levels deepened, eventually transforming it into the present-day Minok Underground City.

Mia's eyes lit up as she listened.

"Is there machinery everywhere there?"

Buck immediately said proudly:

"Of course! The entire hillside is full of workshops! Gear bridges, wind tunnel lifts, and even self-lubricating drive shafts—we have it all!"

"Can it apply oil to itself?" Mia was completely stunned.

"Of course," Buck said proudly, "though sometimes a little more."

Joseph: "..."

Joseph always felt that the dwarf race had survived to this day probably because of their incredibly strong ability to adapt to accidents...

The entire residential area will be transformed into a workshop.

"But lately, I don't know what's wrong, things keep breaking down for no reason," Buck said, then sighed.

"The main drive ring of the wheel-rail vehicle cracked again a few days ago."

"The Chamber of Commerce is still investigating that matter." Penny glanced at him.

"I know," Buck said, frowning. "But this is too much of a coincidence."

As he spoke, the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

"I haven't heard of the dwarves having so many problems lately."