Chapter 753: Some Changes

In the southern part of the Mage District, inside the newly established “Filmworks Studio,” Findel and the others were watching the recruited technicians assemble dazzling magical devices out in the open space.

Eleven’s gaze couldn’t help but settle on a quiet, serene girl wearing a simple coat, her flaxen hair falling long.

From what he knew, she had just started working here today. She and two companions seemed to have recently finished their studies at the General Academy and had come to apply for temporary work. And… she was mute.

Yet this mute girl possessed surprisingly advanced knowledge of magical engineering and could skillfully handle the tools, assembling complex magical machinery with a proficiency that rivaled technicians far older than her.

Findel’s voice suddenly interrupted Eleven’s observation from beside him. “Friend, watch where you’re looking. That young lady is a minor.”

“…Damn it, Findel, when did you get so crude?” Eleven shot him a sharp glance. “Have you lost your mind now that you’re out of the frozen North?”

“I’m just reminding you,” Findel raised his hands innocently. “We should start discussing Filmworks’ script.”

Eleven turned to look at Filmworks’ representative sitting across the table, who gave a somewhat helpless smile and pointed to the papers laid out before them.

“Alright, let’s figure out how to portray the daily lives of all the settlers aboard the Highlander in a series of scene transitions,” Eleven waved his hand. “Honestly, if this part isn’t handled well, the whole presentation will drag on endlessly and become unbearably dull…”

Pea kept her head down, deftly and swiftly inserting calibrated rune plates into the base of the magical network terminal. Watching the crystal embedded in the base gradually light up, she smiled with satisfaction.

Nearby, the voices of the three young people chatting drifted to her ears.

She didn’t quite understand what they were discussing. In fact, she still hadn’t fully grasped what this so-called “Filmworks Studio” was all about.

She only guessed from the conversations around her and the various sets scattered about the open space, along with actors dressed in all sorts of costumes reciting lines here and there, that this place was some kind of “theater”—though a rather strange kind of theater.

Theater was something she had never dared to imagine entering. Before meeting her foster father, she had been a merchant’s slave. Her only connection to theaters was standing near the stables, watching over her master’s horses and belongings while he went inside to watch a play.

After becoming the foster daughter of a knight and living a life she once thought impossible, she had been curious enough to visit a theater once—the one in Tansan Town, which was now Tansan City. She had gone there with friends on a trip, and a theater owner with a keen nose somehow heard about it and warmly invited her, the “daughter of an imperial general,” to attend a performance. But that experience was far from enjoyable.

It was a long, tedious show filled with incomprehensible lectures and confusing storylines. Pea only remembered the actor playing the prince standing on stage delivering line after line, while a few well-dressed people in the audience applauded. The theater was less than a third full, and she spent the entire time counting the seats and bricks on the roof around the stage.

This “Filmworks Studio” was nothing like the theaters she remembered.

She still hadn’t found any chairs for the audience or a clear stage.

Probably another clever person’s new idea, she thought, glancing at the magical network terminal before her.

In this city, new things always seemed to emerge one after another.

…

More and more novelties were being born in this young yet ancient kingdom, and for some, these changes meant more than just a shift in lifestyle.

Bright sunlight streamed through the large crystal windows, casting a warm glow on the winter snow outside, painting a beautiful scene. A new magical heat exchanger kept the room at a spring-like temperature. A girl in a white dress sat in a wheeled chair, her full attention fixed on the magical network terminal nearby.

The radiant sunlight bathed her, casting a shimmering glow over her scarred, burned skin, making her already bright eyes sparkle even more.

Above the magical network terminal, a holographic projection displayed the distant northern landscape. A “reporter” from Saint Suniel City was introducing the ancient city walls and the history behind the city to the viewers gathered before the terminal.

These distant images were things she could never have experienced or imagined from books or stories told by elders and teachers.

When the program ended, the girl’s expression turned a little disappointed. Footsteps approached from behind.

Ropeni Grant came to her daughter’s wheelchair, bending slightly with a gentle smile. “Patty, it’s time to rest.”

Patty puffed out her cheeks. “But I want to watch a little longer…”

“You’ve just started to get better. You can’t overexert yourself,” Ropeni shook her head. As the ruling lady of the Grant region, she was known to outsiders as a decisive and wise noblewoman, but before her disabled daughter, her tenderness was boundless. “Be good. We’ll watch again tonight.”

Patty thought for a moment and nodded softly. “Okay.”

Ropeni’s gaze lingered on Patty for a long moment.

That simple nod stirred her deeply.

There was a time when her daughter couldn’t even manage that. The frail child had to be strapped into her wheelchair with belts and cloth, and holding her head up for more than five minutes caused unbearable pain.

But now, Patty could nod and even sit up. The burned areas on her body no longer festered, and an arm once completely paralyzed had recently regained sensation.

His Majesty King Gawain had kept his promise without compromise. Since the Battle of Rock Fortress and the South’s return to Cecil’s rule, a new order had been established in the land. The Grant territory had received the protection and aid of the Cecil family, and Patty had been undergoing treatment from druids sent by Cecil.

A druid named Pittman and his team had devised a detailed treatment plan for Patty. Over two and a half years, they healed her festering wounds and gradually restored her strength. In the past two weeks, they introduced limb regeneration technology, miraculously restoring some of Patty’s mobility.

The treatment was not yet complete. Patty still needed her wheelchair, bore many scars, and her disabled legs had yet to recover. Pittman had confided to Ropeni that Patty’s injuries had exceeded the limits of medical science. Even the current “biological regeneration” techniques couldn’t guarantee a full cure. Yet, despite this, Ropeni felt unprecedented joy and satisfaction—this situation was far better than she had ever dared to dream.

Patty noticed her mother’s gaze lingering on her but was used to it by now. She blinked and asked curiously, “Mom, when will Uncle Gawain come again? He seems so busy; it’s been a long time…”

“You have to call him Your Majesty,” Ropeni gently ruffled Patty’s hair. “His Majesty is busy with important matters. He has a vast empire to govern, and we can’t trouble him too much. Besides, didn’t he send you the magical network terminal? It can keep you company.”

“Yeah, I like the magical network terminal,” Patty smiled brightly. “It shows things happening far away… Mom, will I be able to travel far someday?”

“As long as you take good care of yourself, you definitely will,” Ropeni said earnestly. “But you can’t watch the terminal for too long every day.”

Patty quickly nodded. “Then I’ll take a nap now, Mom.”

Ropeni smiled, and a maid who had been quietly standing by stepped forward, holding an intricate, delicate headpiece.

It was the headpiece that had helped Patty fall asleep over the past few years.

Due to severe burns and psychological trauma, Patty couldn’t sleep like a normal person. She relied on the headpiece’s hypnotic and dream-inducing effects to enter sleep and rest her mind in the “perfect dream world” of the Everrest.

Now, Patty’s body was gradually improving, and her heavy emotional wounds were slowly healing. But she still couldn’t fully give up the headpiece. Most of the time, she still needed its power to fall asleep.

Ropeni couldn’t help but glance at the elaborate magical device.

It was a creation of the Everrest.

Though she had grown accustomed to it over the years, at this moment, looking at the headpiece, she felt a subtle unease, as if it was no longer entirely safe.

She withdrew her gaze and looked at Patty. “We won’t be using this today.”

The girl looked at her mother, puzzled. “Mom?”

“His Majesty sent us a gift,” Ropeni smiled and motioned to the maid to put the headpiece away. Then she moved behind Patty’s wheelchair, unlocked the wheels, and slowly pushed toward the door. “I’m going to show you something.”

The noblewoman pushed her daughter’s wheelchair out of the bedroom with its large floor-to-ceiling windows and into the adjacent room.

This room also had large windows and bright sunlight. The most striking feature was a complex device placed near the window.

It was a “chair,” but far more complicated and larger than an ordinary one. It had a rune-covered base and a semi-enclosed shell resembling a container, with a lid that seemed able to close and several softly glowing “tubes” behind the backrest.

Patty’s eyes widened with curiosity the moment she saw it. “What is this?”

“An immersion pod,” Ropeni said, smiling as she stroked Patty’s hair. “His Majesty specially sent it for you—the headpiece isn’t a good thing. We won’t use it anymore.”

As she spoke, she pushed the wheelchair beside the pod, then bent down and gently lifted her daughter.

The girl was still frail, lighter than most her age, but much heavier than a few years ago.

Patty was placed inside the immersion pod, the comfortable curvature of the backrest allowing her to recline. She blinked. “Mom, this is pretty comfy.”

Ropeni tapped Patty’s nose and then, following the technicians’ instructions, pressed a button nearby. “Get some good rest.”

…

As brilliant points of light scattered and danced before her eyes, a sudden sensation of falling jolted Mary awake from her dream state.

The dark-haired apprentice blinked, sitting up inside the immersion chamber—her mentor’s own creation, resembling some kind of sacrificial vessel. She gently stretched her neck, easing the stiffness that had settled in her muscles.

The glow from the magic crystal lamp illuminated the area around the chamber, casting light on the hidden underground room.

She spotted her mentor sitting not far away, seemingly having waited there for quite some time.

Mary quickly climbed out of the chamber, stepped forward, and bowed slightly to her mentor, habitually beginning her report. “Master, in the Origin Lab, I assisted Master Kamail in completing the neural thorns—”

Daniel waved his hand, cutting her off. “We’ll discuss that later. I’ve brought them here.”

For a moment, Mary was at a loss. “…Them?”

“Your family,” Daniel said, glancing at her with his yellowed eyes, unreadable and emotionless. “Didn’t you decide last time that you wanted to see them at least once? I’ve brought them here from the countryside.”

(End of chapter)