"Much better than yesterday." He pointed at nodes twelve through fourteen on the inner wall of the ring. "But these three consecutive turns are too sharp. When ether flows through them, it'll create vortices. Over time, they'll wear the nodes thin."
Elonore quickly jotted notes beside it.
"And here." Su Li moved his finger to the end of the second spiral line on the outer wall. "The return channel is too narrow. If three people's auras pour in at once, the outlet will clog and the whole ring will heat up."
"The material at pressure-bearing point thirty-seven is wrong too." He tapped it again. "Mithril is too hard. This spot needs elasticity—try a silver-copper alloy."
Elonore's pen scratched across the paper. When she reached the third issue, her hand paused.
"The melting point of silver-copper alloy is three hundred degrees lower than mithril's. The temperature window during forging is very narrow..."
"So we have to be quick." Su Li stuffed the flatbread into his mouth and said indistinctly, "I'll heat it. You watch the temperature."
The firewood room door was pushed open a crack.
Saina stood outside with two bowls of hot soup, nudging the door panel with the tip of her foot.
"Drink the soup first."
Su Li took a bowl. A few slices of scallion and bits of minced meat floated on the surface.
Saina never skimped on ingredients when making soup. Elonore cradled her bowl in both hands and drank in small sips, her eyes still fixed on the blueprint.
"If you can't understand it, don't look." Saina glanced at the blueprint on the anvil. To her, those densely packed lines looked no different from ants fighting.
"Sister Saina, this is the stabilizing ring I'm making for Mr. Su Li..."
"I know. Finish your soup before you