Chapter 912: The Chill of Autumn
Night had deepened, yet no stars pierced the sky. A thin veil of mist hung over the entire city, shrouding the vast imperial capital in an ethereal haze.
The weather had turned cold. Though the Frost Moon was still days away, in Aldernan—the city most prone to fog—the mists had already crept onto the plains ahead of schedule. Over the past week, fog had blanketed the city on five out of ten days. Based on past climate patterns, the frequency of fog in the coming two to four weeks would only increase.
Daniel wrapped a coat around himself and stepped out of his room. He walked through the dark corridors of the mansion and strolled onto the balcony, gazing out at the fog-drenched streets of Aldernan in the distance.
The glow of the magic crystal street lamps pierced the mist, sketching out vague shapes in the night. Silhouettes of buildings emerged from the darkness, many windows glowing warmly. Patrol soldiers walked their dogs past nearby alleys, their shadows stretching long beneath the lamplight.
This was the wealthy district—top-notch infrastructure and security management led the entire city. Just a few blocks away, in the commoner neighborhoods, the number of patrol soldiers was halved, and the street lamps were dimmer. As for the slums… they remained much as they had been years ago, save for a few new lamps, some of which had already been vandalized by local gangs.
Still, ordinary citizens living in this city could clearly feel the gradual rise of prosperity. The entire era was flourishing—especially for those “citizens” who had the chance to attend performances at the Shadow Theatre, buy imported foods and shoes, or subscribe to fashionable magazines.
Daniel had witnessed this growth firsthand, watching it build piece by piece.
The old mage rubbed his fingers together, conjuring a nearly invisible protective shield around himself. In the chill of autumn, it created a small, warm, and comfortable space. He looked southwest, where bright lights flickered faintly through the night and fog, and the distant hum of bustling life drifted toward him.
That was the district of the “Vanlarion Salon,” a high-society enclave built at great expense by the visionary Count Vanlarion. There were casinos, theaters, shops, a stock exchange, and at its heart, the Salon Club. The wealthy of Aldernan—including the so-called “new bourgeoisie”—now treated this place as their earthly paradise in this age of prosperity. They indulged in novel social events centered on flaunting wealth and refined living, immersing themselves in these pursuits with endless enthusiasm. From the entrance to the exit of the Vanlarion Salon district, affluent citizens and minor nobles alike could find places to spend their money—it was truly astonishing.
Yet just one block away from this glittering hub lay Aldernan’s slums, swallowed by darkness as if erased from the night itself. The occasional building silhouette emerging from the shadows looked eerie, like specters.
The Vanlarion Salon might be seen as a microcosm of Aldernan’s rapidly expanding “new wealth class,” but Daniel had no interest in it and always forbade his apprentices from venturing near such places.
“Nothing but a crude imitation,” the old mage muttered to himself in the night, then stepped back from the balcony, leaving the cold autumn wind behind.
The next morning, instead of appearing at the government office or working in his study as usual, Gawain went straight to the Arcane Technology Research Institute. Kamail and Rebecca were already waiting for him.
Inside a spacious laboratory, various devices for controlling the rune system lined the walls. At the center stood a single wide metal platform, free of complicated instruments except for a calibrated crystal projection device. Above it floated a pale blue, semi-transparent schematic map, roughly outlining the territory of the Cecil Empire.
“Your Majesty!” Rebecca greeted him excitedly as soon as he arrived. “We’ve been waiting for you!”
“You’re hardly a child anymore—try to be more serious,” Gawain said with a wry smile, glancing at his ever-enthusiastic great-great-granddaughter. Though he knew lecturing was pointless, he couldn’t help but remind her.
Compared to when they first met five years ago, the once somewhat naive “fallen viscountess” had grown into a young woman who at least looked mature. Yet her personality remained much the same. Heddy worried about this, but Gawain thought it might not be a bad thing—after all, he was likely to elevate this silly girl to royalty someday…
Rebecca shrugged off the comment, and Gawain didn’t press further. Kamail broke the silence: “Your Majesty, we’ve finished calibrating the demonstration map.”
Gawain nodded and approached the metal platform. His eyes scanned the floating magical projection, clearly marking cities like Cecil City, Tenlin, Tamdull, Solinburg, Saint Suniel, and Winterhold. Bright lines connected these cities, with dimmer points scattered around.
“These points represent the magic network nodes where basic infrastructure is complete. The lines are the communication channels currently in use. Except for the southern region, most cities are connected by single lines. The triangles near the hub cities indicate construction progress—blue means completed, red means nearing completion…”
Kamail hovered beside the hologram, explaining the annotations while adjusting the projection to show various angles and details.
Gawain couldn’t help but marvel at the convenience of magic. His attention soon fixed on the last red triangle on the map.
“Only the Winterhold node remains unfinished,” he said softly.
Kamail nodded. “Yes, the northern region’s cold climate delayed construction by about a month. The mountainous terrain complicates work, so progress is slowest there. However, under the call of Governor Victoria, many local adepts have joined frontline construction. Where heavy machinery can’t reach, skilled mages work with efficiency rivaling machines. All nodes have caught up, and Winterhold’s main hub will be completed within a week.”
“Excellent…” Gawain exhaled, feeling a rare moment of relief. “Once that’s done, the entire empire’s magic network will finally be interconnected—a true ‘network’ at last.”
Kamail’s buzzing voice carried a hint of emotion. “Indeed, Your Majesty.”
Gawain fell silent, staring at the flickering points and lines in the hologram, his mind restless.
The empire-wide magic network—this was one of his most ambitious projects, the longest-running, most resource-intensive, and most far-reaching plan he had ever undertaken.
Each glowing point on the map represented a magical energy obelisk or hub tower. Construction had begun even before the empire’s founding, some built by teams dispatched from the former Duchy of Cecil, others erected by local nobles during the Duchy’s technological outreach. Recently, under the highest government’s direction, these nodes had been standardized and upgraded. They were scattered across major cities and transport hubs, extending outward to cover “primary townships,” forming the embryonic shape of a “network.”
Individual “regional magic networks” and energy obelisks alone didn’t constitute a true magic “network.” They were small-scale energy stations and local communication points. Only by linking them all together could Gawain’s vision of an “Imperial Magic Network” become a reality—allowing commands from the highest government to spread instantly across the land, ensuring energy supply, protection, and communication for every city and the wilderness between.
This grand plan had begun when Cecil was still a duchy. Gawain had spent nearly three years building it—years in a world where magic was accessible and foundational technologies already existed.
A key component was the “main hub” devices installed in important imperial cities.
These were massive magical crystal arrays mounted on specially designed towers or even trees. Their coverage was broad, but more importantly, they coordinated and balanced all connected secondary hubs, which in turn controlled lower-level nodes. The final step in Gawain’s empire-wide network plan was to bring all these main hubs online.
Currently, major cities maintained single-line connections via relay towers—a level of “connection” insufficient in capacity, resilience, and efficiency for Gawain’s standards.
“Once the entire network is interconnected, the first phase of this project will be complete,” he said after a long pause. “Next, we’ll continue increasing the number of basic nodes and secondary hubs…”
“More?” Rebecca exclaimed in surprise. “I thought the coverage was already quite extensive…”
“Not nearly enough,” Gawain shook his head, eyes never leaving the glowing points and lines. “Not even halfway there.”
His words startled Rebecca, but he was utterly serious. To most people in this era, the scale of the magic network nodes was already an incredible feat. Yet Gawain knew that what he had built in three years was just the “foundation.” The seemingly vast coverage only included major cities and large towns; smaller villages and remote settlements remained uncovered.
But many in this era couldn’t grasp the necessity of extending the network further. Having every town equipped with constant magical power, strategic shields, instant communication, modern lighting, and arcane technology for entertainment and work was already beyond imagination. Extending coverage to villages or distant wilderness seemed unnecessary to them.
Gawain couldn’t help but recall a joke from his previous life: “Village internet access.”
Village internet access… that was truly a great achievement.
He sighed and said slowly, “We will keep expanding—cover every village, every inhabited place. That’s our next goal. It may take another three years or more, but it’s essential.”
Rebecca blinked, her talent in technology undeniable and her wits sharp enough in other areas, yet she still couldn’t quite match the depth of thought that Gowen brought—always thinking far beyond their current era. Still, that didn’t stop her from breaking into a bright smile and nodding enthusiastically. “What you say makes perfect sense! Let’s do it that way.”
Gowen gave the earnest girl a look that was part amused, part exasperated.
This kid… barely fit to be a viscount, let alone inherit the throne… No, better to just grant her a posthumous title.
Kamail, however, seemed to understand Gowen’s unspoken thoughts. His eyes, glowing faintly with arcane light, scanned the entire holographic map before him. Then he nodded slightly. “We need to make it as widespread as possible, cover as much ground as we can… This is crucial for the future of the nation, for every single person on this land.”
The mage from a thousand years past gave a wry, self-mocking smile and shook his head. “If only the old Gondor Empire hadn’t relied so heavily on the Deep Blue Wells. If back then we had the means to distribute and cover the entire realm with magic at will… we wouldn’t have lost everything just because one energy well was destroyed. Even facing the magical tides, humanity’s preserved civilization would have been far greater than what survived seven centuries ago.”
Gowen nodded softly, and for a moment, the room fell into silence.
After half a minute, he broke the quiet. “Once this matter here is settled, go find Veronica and bring her to the government office. I need to see her.”
…
Before noon, Kamail and Veronica arrived together at Gowen’s office in the government building.
As soon as they stepped inside, they noticed Hetty and Amber were already there.
“Have a seat,” Gowen nodded toward the chairs near his desk, addressing the two ancient rebels. “I called you all here because I’ve received some news about Typhon—now I suspect it might have some connection to the gods.”
(End of chapter)