The Advance of Technology Was Always Accompanied by Dazzling...

The advance of technology was always accompanied by dazzling...

The Mythallar, the pinnacle of Netheril's archmages' craft and the crystallization of human wisdom, was like a jewel in a god's crown.

Its function was simple enough: it drew the most primal magical energy from across the multiverse through astral conduits linked to the Weave, then released it as a Mana Tide. This effectively gave all of Netheril an inexhaustible supply of energy.

Within a Mythallar's radius, this primal magic allowed all quasi-magical items to be used without limit. After creating such an item, Arcanists no longer needed to cast Permanency on it.

It was also the most important component that allowed Floating Cities to take to the sky.

In Li Wei's previous world, some scholars had proposed extracting limitless energy from gravitational waves. If it could be done, there was a certain similarity between that and the Mythallar. But even by the time Li Wei had crossed over to the Different World, he had only heard the term in passing. He had no way of knowing whether the theory was crackpot nonsense or a practical avenue of research.

With such a convenient creation for extracting endless magical energy, it was only natural that the Arcanists would overlook the more primitive, low-end development of kinetic energy. Studying it would be no different from wasting their precious time.

After inheriting all that knowledge, Li Wei had actually become quite interested in Netheril's Mythallar. He kept thinking that if he ever got the chance, he'd get his hands on one to study. Maybe he could even combine it with those useless Black Technology materials he had and spark some wonderful ideas.

Unfortunately, Netheril had long since disappeared into the dust of history. Even the few Mythallars occasionally unearthed could only be kept as curiosities, or used by the ambitious as a last resort to threaten others with mutual destruction. They lacked the operating bases needed to connect to the Weave.

Without any protective measures, a Mythallar was basically an unstable nuclear reactor exposed to the air. Anyone who touched it would be killed instantly. And if it exploded, everything within a hundred miles would likely be disintegrated.

Too bad he didn't have one now. He couldn't even play some radical fanatic, yelling "Anla Ah Hu Akbar!" as he smeared a bear's face. For now, he could only cobble together a half-finished conceptual model of a steam engine and try to bluff the mages in front of him.

"Quite right. The Mythallar truly is a masterpiece on par with stealing the Goddess of Magic's divine power. But even now, hardly anyone has heard of it. What about the contraption in front of us, Master Hogg? Could you tell us about it?"

The bald man in hemp robes spoke up first. He walked over and gave Li Wei a slight bow, then said with a smile, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm from Zalaser on the surface. I used to be a level-nine Evocation specialist and a level-two Arcanist. Ah, a Red Robe Mage. Fischer Taylor, Red Robe Mage."

At the infamous name "Red Robe Mage," the other mage with him showed little surprise, as if he'd already known. His own introduction was much more concise.

"Igg Om, from Water-Drawing City in the North. A level-three Arcanist. It's an honor to meet you, Lord Hogg."

Li Wei nodded, thinking that at last the real experts had arrived. Huozi couldn't tell the difference between Psionics and arcane magic. The Garvin he'd brought along might be good at breeding Cavens Rats, and his flexible mind could just about grasp how a steam engine worked.

But without any formal experience in spell research and testing, he couldn't offer any useful suggestions for improving it.

If Garvin hadn't helped solve the Cavens Rat breeding problem, Li Wei might have sent him back to the Cavens Rat Farm. He didn't want to discourage the man from doing his job, though.

He hadn't expected one of the two mages to be from the famous Red Robe Mage Association. They were Coriel's most active violent faction and biggest arms dealer, shunned by many good and righteous alignments and even regarded as a major source of trouble in Coriel.

But setting aside the Red Robe Mages' generally troublesome personalities, they were undeniably a group of scholars with a spirit of exploration and research.

As for the other man, Li Wei didn't know much about him. Water-Drawing City had originally grown out of a group of smugglers joining forces for mutual benefit, so it didn't have much of a magical tradition. Even if it had attracted some spellcasters with money, their abilities probably weren't all that impressive.

For the time being, Li Wei had therefore tagged him as another "filler," just like Garvin.

Li Wei didn't waste time. He got straight to the point with the two former mages. "Good. On behalf of Hogg Mining, I welcome you both. This isn't anything particularly profound, but it does involve trade secrets, so please sign this employment agreement first."

The two accepted the freshly drafted agreements from Remlu. After seeing the relatively generous compensation and the not-too-restrictive noncompete and confidentiality clauses, neither showed any dissatisfaction. They promptly signed their names.

"Excellent. Then let's get started. I need your help making a metal contraption that's already been invented. Its inventor was a blacksmith named Newcomen, but it never saw widespread use. It would, however, greatly increase mining efficiency here in Zelandia, so I've decided to build one and see how it works."

"We're all ears." When the two former mages heard it could greatly increase mining efficiency, their expressions grew serious. Garvin nodded along beside them.

"Look, this thing is mainly made up of a cylinder, a base, a piston, a Crankshaft Connecting Rod Mechanism, a flywheel, and so on. The conditions here are limited, so all I've made so far is a cylinder, but that shouldn't keep you from understanding it. Once water boils and turns to steam, it's fed into the cylinder and pushes the piston inside. The piston then turns the flywheel. If we add a connected turbine and drill bit behind it, we'll have a semi-automatic mining mule."

The principle was actually very simple—simple enough that even a former liberal arts student like Li Wei had heard of it.

Yet this simple machine had freed up human and animal labor in another world, driving humanity's first Industrial Revolution.

But here in Coriel, where supernatural powers were everywhere, its invention might not be as shocking as beings with the power to reshape the world. Still, the change it could bring to Zelandia, trapped under the Dark Magic Web, would be strikingly tangible!

"What a magnificent invention! It could change the lives of everyone in Zelandia!"

To everyone's surprise, the one who exclaimed wasn't one of the three mages in front of them, but a dwarf whose figure was hidden behind the oversized kettle.

"Oh! Tiger! Shouldn't you be keeping an eye on your Golden Miner Brotherhood? What are you doing at Hogg Mining? You're spying on our trade secrets. That alone gives me grounds to declare war on your Golden Miner Brotherhood!"

Li Wei had noticed the head of the neighboring guild sneaking over while he explained how the steam engine worked. He knew exactly why Tiger had come.

Tiger's self-deprecating remark a moment later proved him right.

"Commander Hogg, you've already played two trump cards. If I keep resisting, I'll only make things harder for myself, won't I?"

Li Wei continued with a smile. "You could always team up with the Drow."

Tiger shook his head. "The Drow can't be trusted. To be honest, I was a little nervous before I came here, but after seeing this machine, I've made up my mind. Anyone who can make something so ingenious must have a deep love for ore. Boss Hogg, we're cut from the same cloth. Name your terms. The Golden Brotherhood is ready to join Hogg Mining. But we can discuss that later. This unfinished thing is driving me crazy. Can we build a prototype first and try it out? I can hardly wait!"

"..." Li Wei wanted to say, "Who the hell loves those hard, smelly rocks except you dwarves? Me, Li Wei? I only love money!"

But saying something like that at a time like this would only make trouble for himself.

He hadn't expected Tiger to be much smarter than he'd thought. Seeing where further resistance would lead, he'd chosen to cut his losses and merge right away.

Even more surprising to Li Wei was that, as they went on to build the steam engine, the person who helped the most with the progress wasn't the Red Robe Mage. It was this dwarf, who looked old and clumsy.

Li Wei only had to describe parts like the piston, Crankshaft Connecting Rod Mechanism, Slide Valve Distribution Mechanism, and Speed Regulation Mechanism in simple terms, then add a diagram drawn in the dirt. This master of every trade, the equal of a fifth-level craftsman, could make them all by hand with nothing but a hammer and an anvil.

The steam engine took shape at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Li Wei had been worried that, since they couldn't smelt pure iron here, they might need to make some high-purity iron ingots and build a new cylinder. Tiger said that would take too long. They were only making a model, after all. He took a look and decided that although the Big Iron Box Li Wei had made was a bit bumpy, its seal was decent enough.

After half a night of work, Li Wei and the others finally assembled the world's first steam engine by hand in the mine.

"Quick, quick! Coal! Water! I can't wait!"

The dwarf Tiger looked even more impatient than Li Wei.

They poured river water into the Steam Chamber and lit the coal. Slowly, as the water boiled, a series of fine crackling sounds came from inside the Big Iron Box. The piston began to move, and at last the connecting rod set the flywheel spinning rapidly.

White vapor billowed from the top of the steam engine as it let out a piercing roar, like a hundred kettles boiling at once.

The group watched the machine run, their faces alight with excitement.

The dwarf Tiger was especially thrilled, his eyes blazing with fervor. "Hahahaha! So this is the power of the steam engine! Bigger machines, bigger mining mules, more ore—we're coming!"

But just then, Li Wei heard the fine crackling inside the iron box grow louder. A sense of unease welled up in him, and he immediately dragged Remlu away from the shaking Big Iron Box.

Seeing his Master's reaction, the quick-witted Huozi fled at once. The three mages were next, having sensed that something was wrong as well.

"Eh?" The old dwarf only began to feel a little uneasy when he noticed the crowd around him had suddenly vanished.

BOOM!!!

Amid a deafening blast, Coriel's first steam engine burst apart in a dazzling explosion, white vapor spraying in all directions.