Chapter 560: The New Plan

Inside the lord’s manor of Cecil City, Gawain looked on in surprise as Rebecca came rushing in, practically bursting with excitement. She carried a hefty stack of sketches and messy, scribbled plans.

“Your… new train design?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, yes!” Rebecca beamed as she set the papers down before the old master. “Look, look—our first simulation test was a success! All these are the related data!”

Thanks to the breakthrough with immersion pods, human brains could now interface directly with the magical network devices. After experiments in the “Origin Laboratory,” the data could be compiled and printed out immediately by a printer connected to the pod. So Rebecca had quickly gathered this mountain of information, then revised it according to her own ideas, and now she was practically bouncing with excitement as she presented it.

Gawain glanced at the topmost sketch and immediately realized this was a completely new concept.

What was drawn there… aside from the fact that it still looked like a train car, the rest of the structure was almost unrecognizable.

There weren’t even any wheels.

“Is this… a repulsion-based design?” Gawain’s attention was caught by the strange diagram. He flipped open the detailed notes beneath and grew more astonished the more he read. “You’ve scrapped the engine entirely… and the whole train is lifted above the tracks? Using adjustable repulsion generators to move forward and backward? The energy source… is mostly in the tracks?!”

“Yes,” Rebecca said proudly. “The mechanical structure is simpler than ever. The load is borne by the entire track system, so stability is extremely high. Even if a single repulsion point fails, it won’t affect the train’s movement. Of course, this is just a preliminary plan; we’ll make adjustments during actual implementation.”

Rebecca went on, listing the advantages of the new approach, while Gawain was already completely absorbed by this design that far exceeded his original concept.

Rebecca and her tech team had outright overturned the fundamental architecture of the original magitek train. They eliminated the engine, reworked the energy system, and transformed the train into a hovering vehicle.

She had designed a roughly “V”-shaped track, with a concave center. Along the inner sides were a series of repulsion points arranged at obtuse angles. The train’s chassis was made up of neat, continuous steel “load-bearing surfaces.” The entire train hovered about a dozen centimeters above the track, never touching it. The special V-shaped track helped stabilize the hover, preventing the cars from tipping or derailing during travel.

Alongside the track, she placed a series of evenly spaced “relay pillars”—vertical equilateral triangular metal or concrete columns fixed beside the track, level with the hovering cars. One edge of each pillar faced directly toward the train’s direction. On the train’s exterior, vertical repulsion generators with adjustable angles corresponded to these pillars. When the generators pointed backward, the train accelerated forward; when reversed, it slowed or even reversed.

These relay pillars not only propelled the train but also acted as a secondary safeguard against derailment. Whether moving forward or backward, the train experienced reactive forces from the pillars on both sides. The closer the train got to one side, the stronger the pushback, preventing the hovering cars from “flying” off the track.

To adjust the hover height during travel, Rebecca added extra repulsion units beneath the train. These could be controlled independently to balance the load of each car. If the overall load became too heavy, risking the train sinking, or if a major failure occurred in the track’s repulsion points, the train could rely on its own units to maintain hover or at least descend gently back onto the track.

“…This is… beyond what I expected,” Gawain murmured in admiration.

The hovering train concept reminded him of the “maglev” technology he’d known in his previous life, but the two were fundamentally different. At the same time, the propulsion method made him think of the magestone railgun—the railgun used inclined repulsion runes to propel its projectiles. But in Rebecca’s design, the repulsion units were built into the train cars themselves, not the track.

Seeing the old master’s satisfied expression, Rebecca couldn’t help but grin. “Because the thrust comes from the track, adding more cars means more thrust. As long as the track’s output limit isn’t exceeded, the train can add cars and still hover steadily. Plus, with so many repulsion points working simultaneously, even if some fail suddenly, the train would only drop slightly in height or slow down, not crash.”

She paused, then continued, “Based on current magical network power and repulsion unit interference thresholds, I divided the track into ‘sections,’ each about 1.32 kilometers long. Each section has a complete repulsion array, with independent power supply. If one section fails, it won’t affect the others. Also, about 30% of the repulsion units in each section are ‘safety reserves.’

“The train’s energy comes from two parts: the track powers the hover, and the train itself powers forward movement. Because the energy is split and the propulsion method is more efficient, the cars themselves are lighter, so the load capacity is much higher than the original design…”

Gawain nodded thoughtfully, listening carefully to every point Rebecca made, then reminded her, “Controlling a hovering car isn’t easy.”

“Of course,” Rebecca agreed. “The cars have to be very careful when turning or climbing slopes. Mr. Kamail often floats around and reminded me of this. The train’s turns must be very gentle to avoid hitting the track or the relay pillars due to inertia. So the route can’t have too many sharp bends. The slopes must be limited in gradient to prevent the bottom from touching the track. Also, the train must slow down when turning or climbing, so the density of relay pillars on slopes and curves must be increased to provide enough thrust at low speeds.”

Gawain couldn’t think of any more questions for the moment, so he lowered his head and continued studying the fascinating plan.

A magitek train hovering in midair… it was undeniably bold.

But bold didn’t mean unsafe. As long as the technology kept pace, bold ideas could be highly practical—especially in a world where magic existed.

And really, the boldness was just his personal impression. Ordinary people in this world probably wouldn’t see much difference between a train running on wheels along tracks and one magically floating above them. After all, mages could fly around with levitation spells—magic made flying seem perfectly normal.

As he studied the plan, Gawain suddenly realized that its feasibility depended heavily on one crucial factor: the magical network infrastructure within Cecil.

Compared to the original engine-driven train, the hovering train had a major difference: the energy to maintain its lift came from the track.

This meant the entire route had to have uninterrupted magical network power.

The engine train carried all its energy onboard, so it could run on tracks without magical coverage. The hovering train, however, had to run within the network’s range—or it simply couldn’t float. Thanks to the duchy’s ongoing magical network expansion, with connections already established between major cities, Rebecca’s new plan was practical.

Gawain sighed softly, “Infrastructure really does determine the limits of development…”

Rebecca immediately leaned in. “Huh? What did you say, ancestor?”

“Nothing, just talking to myself,” Gawain said, pressing her forehead gently and pushing her back. Then, curious, he asked, “But how did you come up with this plan? It’s completely outside the previous framework, isn’t it?”

“Well, actually, it wasn’t my original idea—I was inspired by Daniel.”

Gawain was surprised. He hadn’t expected Daniel, who had just recently come into contact with the Cecil tech team and learned about the magitek train project, to have such a big influence. “Daniel inspired you?”

Rebecca nodded eagerly and then recounted the entire process of how Daniel’s unexpected perspective had unlocked the breakthrough.

Someone who didn’t even know what a magitek train was had found the key from an angle no one else had considered.

“Thinking inside the box, thinking inside the box,” Gawain muttered self-deprecatingly after hearing her story. “I thought I was so self-reflective that my mind was open…”

Then, looking at the track schematic, his mind suddenly sparked. “In your plan, the track is fully energized along the entire route, right?”

“Of course,” Rebecca nodded. “Not only fully energized, but Master Kamail also set up small magical network relay points in each section to monitor if any section suddenly goes offline—after all, the train runs at high speed, and a sudden drop would be disastrous.”

“If the track is fully energized…” Gawain stroked his chin thoughtfully, “then we could install shield generators along the entire track, right? Would that add too much extra load?”

“Shield generators? That’s possible…” Rebecca paused, then caught on. “Ah, you’re worried someone might steal metal parts from the track?”

Before Gawain could answer, a sudden “BB” sound came from the air beside them.

“Who’d be interested in that stuff? It’s heavy and hard to dismantle!”

…Apparently, the goose’s professional instincts were sharp.

“No one said it was you,” Gawain said without turning, then looked back at Rebecca. “Protecting the track from theft is one thing. Another is defending against beasts, monsters, even… aberrations. The wilderness isn’t safe, right?”

“I understand,” Rebecca blinked, her expression turning serious. “I’ll verify this plan. Also, should we set some explosives near the track…”

Gawain exploded in anger. “Get that ridiculous idea out of your head! No one in their right mind blows up their own railway!!”

He scolded inwardly but couldn’t help being a little curious: was this girl’s daily routine to get scolded? How was there not a single day she didn’t get into trouble…

Soon, having completed her daily task (1/1), Rebecca left the study. The large room was left with only Gawain and a hidden Amber.

As a shadow flickered in the air, Amber’s form gradually appeared. She walked over to the stack of documents on Gawain’s desk, her voice tinged with admiration. “Impressive… Your original plan was completely overturned. Don’t you regret it?”

“I’m just relieved,” Gawain shook his head. “Luckily, someone could thoroughly reject my plan. And luckily, Rebecca and the other engineers didn’t stubbornly stick to my original, difficult idea. This Daniel… he’s a real talent.”

“You really are talented,” Amber said, glancing at Gawain with genuine puzzlement. “So I’m curious—how does someone as gifted as you end up so utterly devoted to him?”

Gawain smiled.

“At first, maybe it was respect. After that… well, that’s the power of knowledge.”

He shook his head. “An old man’s secret.”

Amber rolled her eyes discreetly. If you don’t want to say, just don’t. And ‘old man’s secret’? The stories about him courting over eighty princesses are already in the books—what secrets could there possibly be?

But having been metaphorically slammed against the wall more than once, she wisely kept her thoughts to herself.

Gawain, unaware of the many thoughts Amber was holding back, carefully tidied the documents on his desk. Then, from somewhere on his person, he produced a small object.

A silver ring.

Amber’s curiosity got the better of her. “Hmm? What are you going to do with that?”

Gawain traced the ring’s surface with his fingers, speaking slowly and deliberately. “A secretive old man is about to meet another who might be hiding secrets of his own…”

(End of chapter)