Chapter 416: Travelers to the Unknown

To be honest, the communication device that Kamail and Rebecca had created—and the level of completion it had already reached—far exceeded Gawain’s expectations. Not just in terms of technology, but also in design philosophy.

Technically, Gawain could understand it. After all, this world had its own unique technological path. Some things that seemed incredible to him might be little more than simple tricks in the realm of magic. And with the Sleeper’s existing research as a foundation, the “advanced functions” of the communication device were actually quite conceivable. What truly surprised Gawain were Kamail’s mature design concepts.

This device not only had a system for mutual recognition within the network, but also allowed for relatively simple “dialing.” It could both receive broadcasts and communicate over long distances. To ensure its long-range communication capability, Kamail had even designed a plan to use magical energy obelisks as “relay stations.” These relays must have incorporated complex functions like information forwarding, signal amplification, and channel management—all of which Kamail developed without any prompting from Gawain.

Gawain couldn’t help but praise Kamail’s design, marveling at how he managed to realize such incredible features. But Kamail responded with a shrug, as if it were nothing special: “Isn’t that just the basic requirement for long-distance communication?”

Gawain was momentarily taken aback. Seeing Kamail’s matter-of-fact attitude, he suddenly realized he had fallen into another mental trap: he had once again underestimated the technological level of this world—and forgotten the heights reached by the Gondor Empire in the past.

While the lower strata of society here might be primitive and underdeveloped on average, the pinnacle of technology and the historical peaks of achievement had never truly lagged behind.

Convenient, cheap, stable, and reliable general-purpose communicators might be a brand-new thing in this world, but the devices themselves—and the communication technology—were not.

Back in Gondor’s time, humanity had already established an information network spanning the entire empire. Even today, the Elven Star Temples still provide convenient broadcast services throughout the Silver Empire. And even the seemingly backward and dark contemporary Ansu had advanced holographic video communication technology in limited areas—wasn’t that just the court mages’ message spells?

For those who had experienced these technological pinnacles, certain cutting-edge things weren’t a matter of “exist or not,” but rather “how widespread” they were.

Of course Kamail would have mature design ideas—he had used similarly advanced things back then.

Gawain quietly studied the mage for a moment and suddenly understood: perhaps to outsiders, everything Cecil had gone through was a rise, but to Kamail, most of the technological achievements on this land so far were merely a “revival.”

A revival of human civilization.

That said, “mature design concepts” were only relative to this era. As a new invention, the communicator still had vast room for improvement in Gawain’s eyes—how to encrypt information, how to prevent the network from being eavesdropped on or exploited by enemies, how to ensure network control, whether the network could remain stable as the number of connected terminals grew huge, how to solve the shortage of “numbers” when terminals became too many, how to calculate the “bandwidth” of magic-based communication, or what exactly limited that bandwidth… All these detailed issues would need to be addressed gradually in the future.

Gawain knew Kamail and Rebecca hadn’t thought about these problems yet, because many of them only emerge when the network reaches a sufficiently large scale and when destructive technologies targeting the network become advanced. Even at its peak, the Gondor Empire’s information network couldn’t compare to any modern nation-level network on Earth. Just as the Sleepers, who had only recently built their psychic network, couldn’t imagine someone hacking their “servers” through brain-machine backdoors, Kamail couldn’t fathom how complex a network with hundreds of millions of nodes would be, or what kind of intricate design it would require.

But that was okay. These things could come in time.

“We should get these devices into operation as soon as possible,” Gawain turned to Hetty and said, “First, set up communication stations quickly in the Cecil and Kant regions, at least to ensure communication for key departments like government offices, outposts, and military camps. Then we can establish civilian communication stations. Both regions have plenty of magical energy obelisks, so information transmission shouldn’t be a problem. Once the devices are in place, contact can be established immediately…

“Next, we need to solve communication with the Hosman region, where a secondary government office is under construction. A communication station there will ensure we stay informed of developments. Hosman itself has enough obelisks, but the Count of Hosman died too early—he didn’t get a chance to expand the magic network. We could consider setting up relay points between Hosman and the Leslie region, which would also help establish contact with Leslie.

“Communication is critical. We need a dedicated agency to manage it. I have some suggestions about this agency’s role, basic functions, and coordination with other departments…”

At this point, Hetty had already summoned a shaping hand and grabbed a stack of blank paper and an ink pen from a nearby lab table, furiously jotting down everything Gawain was rattling off with such practiced speed it almost hurt to watch.

Meanwhile, Rebecca, still connected through the communicator and not yet disconnected, whispered quietly to Kamail, “See? Our old ancestor has started again—he acts like he’s already thought up a whole set of supporting systems, just waiting for our device to come out so he can instantly give you a management and application plan…”

Kamail didn’t reply. He simply floated silently beside the communicator, his face unreadable, seemingly lost in thought.

On the other hand, although Rebecca tried to keep her voice low, every word reached Gawain’s ears. But he didn’t want to trouble the girl—Rebecca had once again proven her worth in research, and Gawain was eager to reward her.

After briefing Hetty on some general issues, Gawain turned back to Kamail beside the communicator. “If this device can already operate stably, arrange for a trial production batch. We need to see how it performs in actual use to identify any problems. Don’t forget to compile a report on any new issues regarding production cost, manufacturing time, and difficulty.”

“Understood.”

After completing the acceptance of the communicator, Hetty left the research institute first to study how to establish the “Information and Communications Department” Gawain had mentioned. Rebecca finally reluctantly ended the call—mainly because she hadn’t had enough fun, but no one was paying attention to her on this end anymore.

Gawain and Kamail walked down the spacious corridor of the research institute.

“This will change the entire era. You should understand the significance of that communication device,” Gawain said without turning, walking forward. “I think I should erect a monument for you.”

“For a researcher, exploring the unknown is already the greatest reward,” Kamail shook his head. “We succeeded in creating the communicator, but in truth, we still know very little about the full truth behind it… I only know that magical oscillations can transmit information through the mana field, but I haven’t cracked the fundamental secrets of magic itself. I think only by unraveling those truths will I receive a true reward.”

“A traveler to the unknown…” Gawain couldn’t help but sigh. “It’s a noble endeavor.”

“Yes, traveling to the unknown. But it’s not only researchers who journey there,” Kamail suddenly stopped and turned toward Gawain. The arcane glow around him softened and brightened. “Many see you as a shrewd or brilliant ruler, but I see more… As someone accustomed to venturing into the unknown, I recognize something familiar in you. You’re challenging some unknown frontier, trying to create things this world has never seen before. Even the Cecil domain, developed as it is, is only the tip of the iceberg… You remind me of my comrades back in the Rebellion Fortress.”

Gawain hadn’t expected Kamail to share such reflections and didn’t know how to respond, so he simply said, “…That’s quite a compliment.”

Kamail’s voice carried a hint of a smile. “It’s well deserved, my lord.”

Gawain smiled in return but said nothing. He looked up and suddenly caught sight of something through a white crystal glass panel embedded in the corridor wall.

On the other side was a large engineering lab of the Arcane Technology Research Institute. Inside, Gawain saw rows of amplifiers and magic network energy receivers installed on a metal base. Nearby were curved metal rails, rings, and crystals—clearly parts of an unfinished assembly. From what was already completed, Gawain couldn’t help but associate it with some kind of “weapon.”

“What is that?” Gawain furrowed his brow, curiosity lighting his face.

“Do you remember when we first designed the ‘cannon’ weapon? We had two simultaneous plans,” Kamail said proudly, “A physical giant cannon, and an energy-concentrating weapon based on the arcane pulse principle.”

“That’s the product of the second plan?”

“Yes. It’s a prototype prismatic device. Of course, it’s not ready for use yet—I’m still trying to solve its key cooling problem,” Kamail explained. “But its main structure has passed inspection. Perhaps soon on the battlefield, you’ll witness its power.”

Gawain pondered, “…You used the data you collected at the ‘testing ground’ on the south city wall for this?”

“Yes,” Kamail’s voice trembled with a strange energy. “The sacrifice of those invaders was not in vain—I hope my research will aid you as you journey into the unknown.”

Gawain’s gaze lingered on the unfinished prismatic device in the center of the lab through the white crystal embedded in the wall.

Today truly was a delightful day.

(End of chapter)