Chapter 261: The Illuminated Magic Radiance

At first, Hetty’s explanation was vague and unclear, but from her few words, Gawain immediately guessed the purpose of the device before him. He stood there stunned, his heart racing with excitement, while countless questions flooded his mind. Yet before those questions could fully take shape, Kamail’s voice pulled his attention back.

This ancient mage was steadier than Hetty. Seeing Gawain remain silent, he took the initiative to ask, “My lord, do you have any questions about this device?”

“How did you… make the breakthrough?” Gawain looked at Hetty. “I remember you and Rebecca spent a long time researching this, but you couldn’t find a way to stabilize the magical diffusion effect of the Holm crystal. Without stable parameters to measure, your research was stuck for ages.”

“It was an accident, ancestor. We owe thanks to Master Kamail’s arrival. Without him, we’d probably still be stuck at this bottleneck,” Hetty said, calming herself and smiling with barely contained excitement. “Rebecca and I were testing how to more efficiently stimulate the magic field when Master Kamail’s unique life form caught his attention. His sensitivity to magic is… extraordinary.”

“Indeed, very… sensitive,” Kamail buzzed. “I can sense precise changes in the magic field and even ‘see’ the crystal’s reactions when stimulated by magic. Especially after learning about its miraculous properties, I became deeply fascinated…”

Gawain quickly pieced together how Kamail had inadvertently become involved in Hetty’s experiments, and how their collaboration had finally overcome the challenge of precisely controlling the crystal. He couldn’t help but think: bringing Kamail out of the Rebellion Fortress was one of the wisest decisions he’d ever made.

“I applied rune design concepts from the Gondor era—though these arrays have been heavily modified. Thanks to Miss Jenny and Miss Rebecca for their help; without them, rearranging these runes by traditional methods would have been an unimaginable task,” Kamail said, pointing to the runes and engravings on the device’s metal frame with heartfelt admiration. “Also, I must thank my mutated body, which allows me to influence the flow of magic in ways I never imagined. This device before you is a mature prototype. After my initial tests, it can operate continuously and stably under controlled conditions.”

“Show me,” Gawain said without hesitation.

“Gladly.” Kamail floated over to the device and infused his magic into its base—since it wasn’t yet connected to the lord’s magic network, Kamail himself served as the power source.

As the magic flowed in, Gawain witnessed a scene he would never forget—

The device emitted a faint hum. The crystal core rapidly lit up, blue veins of light tracing its surface, pulsing like a living breath. The metal base and top cover trembled slightly, and with a soft “click,” the clasps holding the device snapped open. The top cover and the Holm crystal core lifted off the base, slowly ascending under the influence of magic.

What had once been a single unit now separated into three independent parts: the base firmly anchored to the ground, while the crystal core and top cover floated midair, radiating a mesmerizing pale blue glow as magical energy surged through them.

A stable, continuous magic field spread outward from the device, quickly filling the surrounding space.

Before Gawain could say a word, Hetty picked up another device from the table: a simple metal tray with a thumb-sized Holm crystal fixed at its center, and a depleted mana storage crystal slotted beside it.

As the crystal on the tray pulsed in sync with the central device, Gawain saw the storage crystal’s surface shimmer with a faint blue aura, brightening visibly before his eyes.

It was a receiver—charging the crystal!

Suppressing his excitement, Gawain asked quickly, “What’s its effective range?”

“This experimental device can cover an entire city block with its magic field. In fact, its range could be even larger, but beyond three hundred meters, the field’s strength drops off sharply, making effective magic output nearly impossible.”

“And what about load capacity? If many magical machines operate simultaneously within that range, can the crystal handle it? If not, are there safety measures to prevent accidents?”

“I’ve thought of that. This test crystal can theoretically support hundreds of the largest magic engines currently in use. With future improvements, that number will rise. But if the magic consumption within the range exceeds the crystal’s limit, the floating limiter above will activate. It’s held aloft by a suspension array etched into blackstone. If an excessive magic surge occurs, the fragile blackstone will crack, causing the limiter to fall onto the crystal. Upon contact, it forms a rune-triggered circuit that alters the connections on the crystal’s surface, forcibly reducing its output power. If that still doesn’t relieve the pressure, a second limiter on the base will self-destruct, causing the crystal to drop back into the base and cutting off all external output. The base would be ruined and need full replacement to function again—but that’s better than losing the crystal core or causing a catastrophic energy explosion.”

Gawain stared at the small metal structure floating above the crystal. “So this is the first-level limiter… You used blackstone in the limiter? That’s the ‘insurance medium’ concept from the magic network?”

“Yes, I referenced the ‘insurance’ devices you designed for the magic network,” Kamail admitted sheepishly, then sighed thoughtfully. “It’s a concept worth pondering and learning from—low-quality materials have their uses. When applied correctly, their fragility itself becomes a form of value…”

“As far as I know, in Gondor’s time, safety devices in magical facilities usually embedded a saturated charged crystal at circuit break points to blow up out-of-control arrays… The ‘fuse’ concept is similar, but the cost difference is huge.”

Kamail sighed again. “Back then, magic was cheap and charged crystals were abundant.”

Gawain shared the sentiment but was more thrilled to see the crystal device still operating steadily. Since Kamail hadn’t stopped supplying energy, the device floated steadily, continuously emitting power.

One of the magic network’s longstanding problems had finally been solved.

The problem of energy transmission—or rather, “wiring.”

Magic is a unique form of energy. Though it’s becoming the foundation of Cecil’s industrialization, it’s fundamentally different from electricity, which underpins Earth’s industry: magic cannot be transmitted through “wires.”

Magic can only be conveyed through runes, passed along arrays of connected runes. So-called “magic-conducting materials” are merely components shaped into parts of these arrays to conduct magic. There’s no way to fashion these materials into thin strands to transmit magic over long distances. Before Hetty and Kamail’s device, the only way to transmit magic far was to lay the magic network units all the way there.

What does that mean? It means that to supply magic to every corner of a place, you must cover every corner with the magic network—at least a “row” of network units.

Even if each “honeycomb unit” is cheap, the resource cost is staggering. Laying rune plates one by one is far more expensive than pulling metal into wires.

Moreover, with more high-rise buildings appearing, magic supply faces height differences, making simple network laying even less practical—you’d have to cover floors and walls with magic arrays. Even if Gawain dug up King Charles I’s grave, he couldn’t afford that!

Gawain had told Rebecca he wanted to spread the magic network worldwide, but not like this…

Of course, due to magic’s diffusion, even without direct contact, a network unit can supply energy to nearby objects—but the range is pitifully small: a single unit only radiates magic a few centimeters, and even factory-grade networks only extend a few meters. Completely impractical.

But with this device, the transmission bottleneck was finally broken.

Cheap, convenient, and able to transmit magic without laying the network all the way—this technology was right before Gawain’s eyes.

After a long moment, he withdrew his gaze and looked at Hetty and Kamail beside him. “What’s this device called?”

“It doesn’t have a name yet,” Hetty shook her head slightly. “This experimental device was just made by Kamail—I only learned about it when I returned to the lab, so I brought it here to show you immediately.”

She lowered her head, a little embarrassed. “I know it’s not very rigorous… this kind of thing should undergo more testing and detailed data collection before reporting to you. But I couldn’t help wanting to share the good news—to… show off a little.”

“That’s fine, I understand your excitement,” Gawain smiled and waved it off. Hetty seemed mature and steady, but around Gawain, she occasionally let her childish side slip through—that was part of her charm. “Since it has no name yet, let’s call it… the Mana Obelisk. A simple, clear name for a device that transmits magical energy. How about that?”

“Ah, that’s a good name,” Kamail approved, his whole demeanor brightening. Then he gradually stopped feeding energy into the Mana Obelisk, letting its parts gently descend and reassemble. “I’ll complete the remaining tests as soon as possible and hand the data to the Mechanical Research Institute. Mr. Egg will arrange production.”

“Excellent,” Gawain nodded approvingly, pleased to see Kamail adapting quickly to the domain’s customs and apparently getting along well with Nicholas Egg. He took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “But while we revel in this joy, let’s not forget to consider some other issues.”

Hetty looked puzzled. “Consider other issues?”

“Ask a few more ‘whys,’” Gawain said calmly, gazing at the now-dormant arcane obelisk. “Have you ever wondered why magical energy can be transmitted remotely and steadily without any runes making direct contact? Why can’t the magic that leaks out from the arcane network do the same? Why is it that magic is everywhere in nature, yet only the energy extracted through the network and then released via these obelisks can actually be harnessed? From these questions, we can start to explore the very nature of magic itself. What changes does natural magic undergo once it enters the network? These are all puzzles worth pondering.”

Seeing the confused looks on Kamail and Hetty’s faces, Gawain paused briefly before continuing, “And beyond these long-term questions, we can also consider this—what else could this remotely transmitted magic be used for, aside from just transferring energy?”

(End of chapter)