Chapter 202: The New Ore

Gawain watched as the apprentices pushed forward the newly mined stones. From the very first glance, he could tell these ores contained substances related to magical energy.

They were a silvery-gray mineral, streaked faintly with blue-purple veins. Under certain lighting, they shimmered with a metallic luster, and those blue-purple stripes appeared hazy and ethereal when stared at directly. This was a striking hallmark of magical materials—especially those of high purity and excellent mana conductivity.

Discovering a brand-new mineral in the Dark Mountains with potential magical applications was undoubtedly great news. But Gawain’s greater concern was whether Nicholas Egg would suffer any lasting side effects from exposure to this “stimulus source.” He asked, “How long will your cold last? Is this kind of illness common among your kind?”

“No worries, no worries,” the large silver-white orb buzzed lightly. “It’ll clear up in two or three days at most—just a minor nuisance. And as long as I avoid direct contact with the stimulus for a while, I’ll adapt and won’t get sick again.”

“…Your species really is strange…” Gawain muttered under his breath, then refocused on the ores. After a closer look, he asked a nearby craftsman, “Has Hetty studied these ores yet?”

“Ms. Hetty already took some samples earlier,” the craftsman reported seriously. “Her preliminary analysis suggests a high metal content, so she sent some to the Mechanical Workshop, hoping the director could help with purification. But the director barely touched it before dropping it on the floor.”

“Alright, I’ll go see her myself,” Gawain nodded, then glanced at Nicholas Egg lying on the ground. “You should rest up these next couple of days. Most of the machine tools are already online, and we have a batch of skilled workers now. Routine parts production can be handled by the factories, so just focus on recovering. By the way, do you have any special requirements for your recovery environment?”

The big metal sphere wobbled slightly. “Just find me a sunny spot. Also, pile up some iron and copper scraps nearby—or quartz sand from your world will do. I need to replenish my body…”

That actually made perfect sense within their logical framework…

Gawain smiled inwardly, then stroked his chin as he looked at the large orb. “But with your size and weight, moving you to a sunny place won’t be easy. Wait here—I’ll ask Hetty to cast some kind of weight-reduction spell on you…”

“No need, no need. I’m not completely paralyzed. My suspension cavity still works—I just can’t float,” Nicholas Egg buzzed. “Just have someone push me around. Don’t worry, it’s easy.”

Dealing with an alien iron ball with such a bizarre personality was definitely a challenge to one’s worldview. Gawain had to work hard to keep a straight face. He barely suppressed a twitch at the corner of his mouth, then glanced at the craftsmen and apprentices nearby. “Who’s going to push your director out to get some sun?”

Two strong apprentices immediately stepped forward. “We’ll take care of the director!”

Gawain watched as the two apprentices rolled their round director out of Workshop No. 1. A large group of craftsmen and apprentices followed with worried expressions, watching them go. Soon, one craftsman was seen picking out metal scraps to help nourish the director’s body, quietly discussing with his apprentice as they walked: “Does the director prefer sweet or savory?” “No idea… Do iron and copper scraps usually need seasoning?” “…Anyway, just sprinkle some salt.” “Pick smaller pieces—they’re easier to eat.” “By the way, where’s the director’s mouth?” “Mind your own business…”

Gawain: “…”

He couldn’t help but feel that spending so much time with the iron ball alien had somehow warped the apprentices’ and craftsmen’s perspectives…

Shaking his head, he put those thoughts aside. After confirming Nicholas Egg wouldn’t have any serious problems and ordering the workers back to their posts, he left the Mechanical Workshop with Amber and headed to Hetty’s magical laboratory outside the lord’s manor.

Although the manor was completed and included Hetty’s quarters and two standard magic labs, not all magical experiments could be conducted inside. Considering the dangers and uncertainties involved in testing new materials and spells, Hetty had preserved her original lab on the estate, renovating it into a “Hazardous Spells and Materials Testing Center.”

Naturally, unfamiliar magical materials from the Dark Mountains had to be sent there first for analysis.

As Gawain and Amber reached the lab’s door and prepared to enter, a sudden explosion rang out from inside: Boom!!

The blast sounded like a massive firecracker. It wasn’t strong enough to blow a hole in the lab, but it was loud enough to startle anyone nearby. Yet the people moving around the clearing outside barely reacted, as if such incidents were routine.

Gawain, however, tensed up and quickly pushed open the oak door inscribed with protective runes. As soon as it swung open, a cloud of smoke billowed out. Before he could see clearly, a sharp scream pierced the air: “Rebecca! Don’t move!!”

Amid the smoke, a smaller figure dashed out. Amber gasped and reflexively dodged aside, extending a leg to trip the figure. The person went sprawling face-first, letting out a startled cry: “Wah!!”

Gawain caught Rebecca just before she hit the ground, surprised as he glanced at Amber. “I get the reflex to dodge, but to follow it up with a trip? How do you even develop habits like that?”

Rebecca only realized what had happened once Gawain held her. She struggled to lift her head, her face smudged black with soot. “Wow! Ancestor!”

Hetty emerged from the smoke as well. “Rebecca, you—ah, ancestor!”

“Are you two alright?” Gawain looked at Hetty, whose face was equally smudged, and immediately noticed the arcane glow at the tip of her staff. “Uh… looks like you’re fine.”

“An experimental accident?” Gawain set Rebecca down and stepped into the lab, where the smoke was beginning to clear. His eyes immediately caught a large patch of ice shards on one of the workbenches—Hetty must have frozen the area to prevent further damage. “Did Rebecca throw a big fireball at the bench?”

He was puzzled. Although the scatterbrain did like throwing fireballs, she wasn’t usually reckless enough to do that…

Hetty shook her head. “No, she didn’t throw a fireball. But when she was channeling magic into the test sample, she caused it to explode! I still don’t understand how she managed that!”

“The test sample?” Gawain raised an eyebrow. “Is it the new ore from the Dark Mountains?”

Hetty looked surprised. “Ancestor, you already know about this?”

“I came because of it. There was a bit of trouble at the Mechanical Workshop—Nicholas Egg caught a cold after contact with the ore and can’t float. But don’t worry, it’s just temporary,” Gawain briefly explained the situation and his reason for visiting. “I wanted to see if you’d made any progress.”

“Egg got sick after touching the ore? And can’t float?” Rebecca wiped soot from her face nervously. “Could the new ore be toxic?”

“Unlikely. I used danger sense and other skills to scan the ore and found no harmful elements. It probably only affects Nicholas Egg’s unique physiology and is harmless to humans,” Gawain shook his head and looked to Hetty. “Have you found any hazards?”

“No, the ore itself is non-toxic and harmless. It also has excellent mana conductivity. If refined properly, it could become a new high-quality magical material,” Hetty summoned a water sphere to wash the soot from her face and hair, then gave Rebecca a similar water sphere to clean up. “But its mana conduction is strange… When magic is input quickly, the mana dissipates rapidly into the air. At slower input speeds, this loss doesn’t occur. Also, when two pieces of ore are simultaneously charged quickly, the dissipated mana forms a kind of magical field around them… though its nature is too unstable to measure.”

Quick mana input causes the magic to leak into the air? Two ores charged together create a magical field?

Gawain blinked. The strange properties of this new ore intrigued him. He instinctively felt it might have special uses beyond just serving as a conduit in magic arrays.

But he was more curious about how Rebecca managed to blow up the sample. “By the way, how did your magic input cause the explosion?”

Rebecca immediately shrank her neck. “I don’t know! Auntie was testing another sample nearby. I just followed her instructions to channel magic into mine, and it exploded before I even started…”

Gawain frowned. “You hadn’t even started?”

Rebecca ducked her head even lower. “Y-yeah… hadn’t started…”

“She wouldn’t lie in front of me,” Gawain said seriously to Hetty. “The accident must be related to some special property of the ore.”

“Special property?” Amber, a novice in this field, pretended to understand and asked, “What kind of property?”

Gawain looked into Rebecca’s eyes. “Think carefully—did the ore change in any way when it exploded? Was there anything placed near it?”

Rebecca lowered her head and thought hard. “Let me see… The ore seemed to glow a little. And… oh! There was a detonation rune base nearby…”

Gawain, Amber, and Hetty exchanged stunned looks.

After a moment, they all said in unison, “Why on earth did you put a detonation rune base next to it?!”

(End of chapter)