I became the slime toy of the evil dragon girl?

Inside the pit, an invisible magical flame began to burn. The air distorted due to the high temperature, but strangely, almost no heat could be felt outside the pit.

Ian used the [Ice Barrier] magic to create an insulating layer, locking the heat firmly inside the pit.

Sometimes you have to admit that the right magic is much simpler in these situations than climbing a tech tree from scratch.

However, once the tech tree is unlocked, it is far more efficient than a good spellcaster.

Moreover, apart from monsters and other creatures that are born with magic, it takes humans or elves several years or even more than a decade to train a magician.

This is also why Ian has always wanted to develop the technology tree.

……

Through the perspective of the [Analysis], Ian could see a clear temperature gradient inside the pit: about 800 degrees at the entrance, 900 degrees in the middle section, close to 1400 degrees at the deepest point, and the temperature began to drop at the exit.

The mixture of limestone and clay powder is evenly distributed in the pit under magical vibration and then subjected to high-temperature calcination.

Ian said, "Now we need to wait, it will probably take about two hours."

"Two hours?" Vivian pouted. "That's so slow."

"That's how it started," Ian complained. "This isn't modern times; this is a heretical magical industry, so the efficiency is already quite good."

"Modern?" Vivian caught the key word. "Little Jelly, you keep saying 'modern,' what kind of place is that?"

Ian paused for a moment.

"A magical country without magic, but with many strange technologies," he concluded.

"No magic? That sounds boring," Vivian commented.

Bored? That's where the real fun begins! Ian is already missing his e-sports room and the female masseuse at the foot massage parlor he hasn't had a chance to save yet...

Ian looked at the steadily burning magical flames in the pit: "It's not boring at all, and it's very efficient. For example, cement; they can produce billions of tons there every year."

Angered gasped, "Hiss! Billions?"

He couldn't grasp the concept of this number.

Lilith also looked shocked. Although she wasn't interested in math, she knew what billions meant.

"What's the use of so many stones? We can't eat them." Vivian was uninterested; she was more curious about another question, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Ian.

"Are there many slimes like you there?"

"..."

You silly dragon, all you know is how to crave slimes, right?

Okay, discussing the significance of infrastructure with a dragon is like casting pearls before swine.

The waiting time was boring.

Vivian quickly lost patience and returned to the rock to continue eating fruit.

Lilith stood dutifully behind her, but her eyes kept glancing toward the experimental pit.

The Angry Horned and Minotaur squatted in the distance, whispering about things like, "The Earth Mother seems to know everything. Can I have her make me a wife?" It seems the male-to-female ratio in the Minotaur tribe has reached a dangerous level.

Ian lay on the ground, using [Analysis] to monitor the situation inside the kiln while considering the next steps.

After the cement clinker is calcined, an appropriate amount of gypsum needs to be added and ground together to obtain the final cement product.

Perhaps we can continue using magical shockwaves.

He also needs to design a quality inspection method.

This reminded him of the novels he had read in his previous life about "time-traveling and making cement using primitive methods".

The protagonist is always able to reproduce modern industrial products with rudimentary conditions, but now that it's his turn, he has somewhat underestimated the complexity of these technologies.

Without the overpowered ability of [Magic Vein Weaving], I would probably have been eliminated in the very first step of temperature control.

Time passed second by second.

The magical flames inside the pit began to weaken slowly. This was pre-programmed by Ian, and the fire would automatically enter the rapid freezing phase after the calcination was complete.

A few minutes later, Ian felt that the temperature had dropped enough, so he cut off the magic channels.

"Okay." He jumped to the edge of the pit.

The bottom of the pit was a layer of grayish-white, lumpy material that did look a bit like underbaked bread.

Angry Horn leaned closer and poked it with his thick finger: "Hard as a rock... really turned into a stone?"

"One more step." Ian used his tentacles to pick up a piece of cooked food, and activated [Analysis].

[Name]: Cement Clinker (Primary)

[Assessment]: Calcination is basically complete, but stability is poor. Further optimization of the calcination process is needed.

Ian frowned.

Poor stability is usually caused by insufficient calcination temperature or insufficient residence time. But the temperature and time just now should have been sufficient.

unless……

Ian suddenly thought of a question.

The limestone in this world has the exact same composition as that on Earth.

But... this world has magic!

Under the influence of magic, wondrous magic-conducting metals such as mithril and adamantite will be created.

Similarly, if magic is involved in the firing of cement, situations that Ian could not have foreseen could occur.

Ian concluded, "The recipe needs to be adjusted. The ratio of limestone to clay may need to be changed, or some magical properties, such as water-based magic, may need to be removed."

"Failed?" Vivian had somehow gotten closer again.

"It's not a failure, but it's not good enough. This cement is barely usable, but its strength won't be very high, and there's a risk of it cracking." Ian rolled up the clinker.

"What should we do then?"

"Keep experimenting. Adjust the proportions, optimize the process. This kind of thing is meant to go through countless trials and iterations."

Ian looked at the layer of grayish-white clinker at the bottom of the pit.

He breathed a sigh of relief, even though the magic did have an unpredictable effect on the firing of the cement.

Fortunately, the impact was minimal; at least what came out of the furnace wasn't just pure waste.

Although this lump of stuff doesn't look perfect, it is indeed cement, the first prototype of magical cement from another world.

The hardest step, from zero to one, has already been taken.

The next step is to gradually adjust and then complete the process from one to one hundred.

Perhaps we could let those unusually energetic goblins test the optimal ratio for the next steps?

Anyway, those green-skinned guys are full of energy... so give them some tasks to prevent them from causing trouble again.

Since I've already laid out the plan in advance, it's time for me to step back and relax.

"I'm going to use this to lay the foundation for the Pleasure House!" Vivian was already enthusiastically planning. "Or, maybe we can try building a bathtub first!"

Ian said helplessly, "Vivian, this is only a half-finished product, and the effect won't be very good. If you don't want your happiness house to suddenly collapse one day in the future, I suggest..."

"I don't care!" Vivian kicked him away. "You just keep grinding! I want to see results!"

Ian tumbled two and a half times in the air before crashing to the ground with a thud.

Look at you, in such a hurry again!

Ian struggled to straighten his body and began to think about how to use magic to grind the cement clinker.

Just as he was deep in thought, a languid and alluring voice came from beside him.

"Wow, it's getting lively here?"

Everyone turned their heads.

A tall, mature woman was seen wearing a black short skirt, with her crystal armor appendages on her back being very eye-catching.

Iris, the former leader of the Crystal Spiders.

She watched everything in the room with great interest.

The freshly fired cement clinker, the wondrous magical veins at work, the bewildered minotaur, the pretentious Lilith, Vivian eating fruit, and the dark blue slime in the middle.

Iris chuckled softly, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"I heard Dragon Territory is up to something new lately, so I came to check it out..."