Chapter 77: The New Furnace

Interference-type magic arrays—Admittedly, although Gawain Cecil was half a naturalist and, as a knight, shared many foundational principles of magic use with other spellcasting professions, when it came to those subtle, highly specialized fields, his knowledge was still somewhat lacking. After asking Hetty, he finally understood what made the arrays etched inside those antique crystals so special.

In short, they operated on a “range-based activation” principle.

These arrays could manipulate energy storage devices within a certain radius without needing to be inscribed directly on the surface or inside the device itself. In other words, as long as the key nodes of the array were connected to the energy source, the effect could be triggered. In this respect, interference-type arrays resembled the large-scale arrays commonly seen—those where a magic array was constructed, and energy crystals or similar power sources were placed at key nodes to serve as fuel. Although this setup didn’t involve inscribing the array inside the crystal, interference-type arrays were fundamentally different.

They were usually extremely compact, with a very limited range and a single, focused function. Their rune structures were actually incomplete on their own; the energy storage and the runic components had to be combined to form a complete “execution mechanism.” Because of this, interference-type arrays were typically used as “activation triggers” to simply control the on-off state of a magical power source—or…

To blow up the power source.

Gawain fully understood why the Gondorian mages of old had inscribed interference-type arrays inside these military crystals. Logically, since they had already embedded the runes inside the crystals, there was no need to go through the trouble of making them interference-type. But the reality on the battlefield was far more complicated. Not all military crystals remained intact throughout a battle; often, due to intense fighting, they would crack or break prematurely. In such cases, the core array inside the crystal might still function thanks to protective measures, but the crystal itself was effectively shattered.

Under these circumstances, the rune experts in Gondor’s military industry came up with a clever idea: at the very least, ensure that the crystals’ self-destruct function could still be used at the very end.

So the self-destruct mechanism was built using interference-type arrays, guaranteeing that even if the crystal shattered, any fragment thrown out could still be detonated—so long as it retained a trace of energy.

“I wonder what would happen if a large number of these crystals detonated simultaneously,” Gawain mused, stroking his chin as ideas began to form in his mind. “Or if we could bind them together somehow? Also, it’s still unclear how these crystals actually form. Out of the many samples Rebecca sent, only a small portion contained this type of crystal…”

Hetty watched Gawain’s expression and sensed his excitement was at an all-time high. She felt a bit puzzled. While she was glad these strange crystals might have practical use, she couldn’t imagine how these “magical crystals” that seemed good for nothing but explosions could be so valuable.

“Ancestor… you look really pleased,” she said cautiously.

“How could I not be?” Gawain glanced at her. “Don’t you think these things could be incredibly useful once put to work?”

“Well… if processed properly, maybe they could serve as explosive magical tools. For mages like Rebecca and me, who aren’t particularly powerful, that would be useful. They could even be issued to soldiers as auxiliary weapons,” Hetty said, stretching her imagination to its limits. “But beyond that, I can’t think of any other use.”

Gawain looked at Hetty’s slightly baffled face and opened his mouth to explain, but realized it would be hard for her to grasp the images forming in his mind.

Before witnessing the invention of gunpowder, mining explosions, and industrial mass production firsthand, no one living in a medieval world could truly imagine those scenes.

So he simply didn’t explain. Instead, he raised the leather pouch in his hand. “I’m leaving these samples with you. Honestly, there aren’t many. Try to determine all their properties before you use them up, and test whether the ‘detonation arrays’ from the Gondorian crystals work on them. I’m going to find Rebecca and figure out exactly how she managed to produce these things.”

Hetty took the pouch carefully, then suddenly remembered something and added, “Ancestor, Rebecca is a very hardworking girl, but she’s hardly ever been praised since she was little, so…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to praise her properly,” Gawain smiled, pointing at the pouch in Hetty’s hands. “I’ve even decided to call these crystals ‘Rebecca Crystals’—if that girl can reproduce them.”

After saying this, Gawain reminded Hetty to be very careful and take proper safety precautions when testing the detonation arrays, then left the magic laboratory.

Even after Gawain left, Hetty didn’t dare voice her true thoughts—that she hoped he would be a bit more gentle with his praise. The girl had never been complimented before; if someone suddenly praised her, she might just jump through the roof…

But oh well, since the Ancestor was so happy, it was better not to spoil his mood.

Besides, Rebecca was tough and optimistic—if she really did jump through the roof, a good scolding would fix that…

After leaving the lab, Gawain headed straight to where Rebecca was trying to fire the cement, but found the place empty. Only a few workers were cleaning out the burnt residue. After asking around, he learned Rebecca had already gone to the “steelworks.”

The basic magic network was complete, and the first furnace was in its final installation phase. Rebecca had gone early to supervise.

Gawain inspected the waste residue from the kiln and confirmed there were no crystals mixed in, then set off for the “steelworks” on the east side of the camp—though it was little more than a frame at this point.

As soon as he arrived at what had recently been called the “blacksmith’s shop,” Gawain realized he had made the right choice entrusting this to Rebecca.

The yard, once riddled with trenches dug for laying magic arrays, had been leveled and compacted so thoroughly that no trace of the arrays was visible on the surface. The only evidence that arrays lay beneath were the evenly spaced, silver-white pillars standing every dozen meters or so.

These pillars were primitive magic sensors coated with a layer of mithril.

Besides these one-meter-tall “sensors” poking out of the ground, Gawain also saw many neatly arranged stone slabs scattered between the pillars, spaced evenly but covering only half the yard.

The slabs’ surfaces shimmered with runes.

Gawain had a vague idea of their purpose.

The entire project was beautifully and logically executed. Not only was the magic array carefully “sealed,” but the neatly arranged pillars and slabs were a sight to behold—so precise and orderly that even knowing they were handmade rather than industrially produced, Gawain’s perfectionist tendencies were deeply satisfied.

Orderliness was king! Rebecca had completely understood all of Gawain’s requirements—and even anticipated the need to expand production capacity in the future! The areas without slabs had reserved spaces, clearly for future use!

Many people were busy in the yard, moving tools and cleaning debris, but Rebecca’s figure was easy to spot. Gawain’s eyes immediately caught the large black furnace in one corner, and the fiery-haired, stubborn little ball of energy gesturing wildly as she directed the work.

“Careful, careful… this structure has to fit perfectly with the slabs! No sloppiness! Precision, precision—do you understand? If it doesn’t fit, no dinner for you this time! Got it?! Hey, don’t put that iron rod there yet. Wait until the sub-runes are installed… Where’s the drainage channel? Bring it over… Let me see the blueprints!”

Watching Rebecca so excited and absorbed in her work, Gawain couldn’t bring himself to interrupt. He stopped a few serfs who looked nervous upon seeing him and tried to bow, then looked up with admiration at the newly installed furnace.

It was a… very beautiful furnace. Compared to the old models barely over a meter tall, this one stood more than four meters high and was entirely black—this was because black stone powder had been mixed into the furnace materials to enhance magical affinity. It abandoned the traditional “pot-belly” design in favor of a rectangular furnace chamber as the main structure. At the top of the chamber were three parallel chimneys, and on the lower right side protruded a rectangular panel inscribed with a relatively simple rune array. Part of the array extended to the front of the furnace, where a metal plate appeared to be movable. Below the plate was a lever-like mechanism, seemingly a control device.

Because the controls were on the front, all openings for adding fuel, pouring in ore, removing slag, and extracting molten metal were located at the back and left side.

This design was unlike any furnace Gawain had known from his previous life on Earth, and completely different from traditional furnaces in this world. It didn’t even fully match the original blueprint he had handed to Hammer.

Clearly, the old blacksmith had put some thought into improving the design.

To Gawain, this improvement was excellent—both the result and the act of improving itself were very good.

Only then did Rebecca notice the sudden quiet and the reverent expressions on everyone’s faces. She looked around in surprise and finally saw the Ancestor pacing around the furnace.

The young girl was startled. “Ah! Ancestor! What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you about something—but I also got to see your progress,” Gawain waved his hand, a satisfied smile on his face. “Honestly… it’s even better than I expected.”

“Really? Really?!” Rebecca’s face lit up with joy. “You really think so?”

“If you couldn’t handle this, I wouldn’t have let you be in charge,” Gawain chuckled. “Have confidence in yourself. I’ve told you before—you’re the pride of the Cecil family.”

At those words, Rebecca’s face nearly soared to the sky…

(Damn, it goes on sale tomorrow!)

(End of chapter)