Magic Fan

"Whew—"

Xu Yi let out a long breath, set down the Tool Knife, and wiped the sweat from his face, only to find that his hand felt strange. Looking down, he saw it was covered in grease. That wipe had probably smeared it all over his face, making him look like a cat with mottled markings.

Xu Yi did not care in the least. He grinned, looking delightedly at the odd-looking hunk of metal standing before him.

Calling it a hunk of metal was not quite fair. It had a square base, with widely spaced steel bars forming an open cage around three evenly spaced blades.

Clearly, this was the fan he had successfully developed.

It had taken Xu Yi half a month to develop this Magic Array-driven fan.

The part that had taken the most time was not the crucial power source, but shaping the fan's exterior.

After solving the main problem of using a Magic Array in place of a motor, Xu Yi had run into a serious obstacle: he could not easily copy the casings of electric fans from Earth. This world had no mature techniques for producing plastics or alloys.

With no other choice, Xu Yi had used iron instead.

And because this world's metalworking was nowhere near as precise as Earth's, the finished desk fan looked peculiar. Ugly, even.

"Oh well. Can't expect too much. As long as it works." Xu Yi shrugged, consoling himself.

After two more careful inspections, Xu Yi picked up a slightly mottled Magic Crystal no bigger than his thumb. He carefully placed it into the slot on the back of the fan and sealed the opening.

The simple task had left Xu Yi sweating all over. He wiped his face again, then raised his right hand with a grave expression. He extended his index finger, hesitated for a moment, and pressed down.

Click!

The switch clicked. Xu Yi immediately sensed a faint current of magic flowing inside the fan. Soon, the pale cyan glow that signaled the Magic Array's activation shone through its gaps.

A moment later, the three blades gave a sudden twitch and began to turn slowly.

At first, they rotated sluggishly. Before long, they spun faster and faster, until the three blades blurred into one.

As the blades whirled, wisps of cool air drifted from the fan and washed over Xu Yi's sweat-soaked body, refreshing him at once.

Xu Yi enjoyed it in silence for a while, then pumped his fist.

Success!

Everyone in the research lab looked over curiously when Xu Yi walked in carrying the fan.

What was with him today? He had a silly grin on his face and some strange hunk of metal in his arms. What was he up to?

"Hey, Xu... Xu Yi, what's that?" Unable to contain his curiosity, Rem pointed at the fan in Xu Yi's arms.

"This? It's..." Xu Yi thought for a moment. Calling it an electric fan did not seem right. "It's a Magic Fan. I made it in my spare time."

"A Magic Fan?" Everyone around him looked even more baffled.

Rem studied the fan but could not sense a trace of magic from it, which only deepened his curiosity.

"What does it do?"

Xu Yi grinned, glanced around, and set the Magic Fan on the table in front of Rem.

"It's been hot lately, so I thought I'd make something to cool everyone down."

With that, Xu Yi pressed the switch.

Everyone in the lab was a mage, so they immediately sensed the flow of magic as the Magic Array inside the Magic Fan activated. But it was extremely faint. The Magic Array must have been a very basic one.

Then, to their astonishment, the three even stranger leaf-shaped things inside the odd contraption began to turn, spinning faster and faster.

"Whoa! Wind!" Xu Yi had set the fan facing Rem, so he was the first to feel its breeze. He cried out in surprise, "That feels great!"

"Wind?" Seeing Rem's mage robe flutter as though blown by a breeze, the others could not help crowding closer.

As soon as they reached the front of the fan, they felt the cool air.

It was another hot day, and everyone had been sweating to some degree. The breeze made them feel cooler all over.

After enjoying it for a while, they began peppering Xu Yi with questions.

"Hey, Xu Yi, how did you get it moving? Is it the Magic Array inside?"

"That can't be all, can it? A Magic Array is one thing, but how does it make this thing spin? I've never heard of a Magic Array that could do that."

"Xu Yi must have developed it himself. Right, Xu Yi?"

"Developed it yourself? Xu Yi, you're that skilled with Magic Arrays? You can actually create new ones?"

"Yeah, Xu Yi, if you can develop Magic Arrays yourself, why is your magical ability still so low?"

They asked questions for ages, but most were about Xu Yi's magical ability. Few asked how the Magic Fan worked.

That was typical of the Sains Continent. On this continent of magic, mages rarely concerned themselves with practical applications.

In the end, it was Vena, who had been studying the Magic Fan in thought, who raised the question.

"Xu Yi, there must be a Magic Crystal inside, right? Otherwise, the Magic Array couldn't keep running for this long."

"Right." Xu Yi pressed the switch to stop the fan, opened the slot on the back, and took out the little Magic Crystal. Its color had faded noticeably as its magic was consumed.

Vena's eyes narrowed sharply at the thumb-sized Magic Crystal in Xu Yi's hand.

"If I'm not mistaken, that Magic Crystal isn't even intermediate-grade, is it?"

Xu Yi spread his hands with a rueful smile. "I can't afford a high-grade Magic Crystal."

Vena nodded, took the crystal from him to examine it, then pointed at the Magic Fan.

"Xu Yi, could you take this... Magic Fan apart so I can see the Magic Array inside?"

Xu Yi smiled and shook his head. "I could take it apart, but putting it back together would be a hassle." Seeing Vena's disappointment, he added, "If you just want to see the Magic Array, that's easy. I have the drawings and can show you anytime."

"Well..." Vena hesitated, then seemed to make up her mind. Pointing at the Magic Fan, she asked, "How about selling it to me?"

Everyone around them froze.

Rem could not help saying, "Vena, why buy it? If you're interested in the Magic Array, Xu Yi just said he'd show you whenever you want."

Vena shook her head. "It's not the same." Ignoring the others' puzzled looks, she fixed her gaze on Xu Yi and asked earnestly, "Name your price."

Looking at Vena's earnest expression, Xu Yi felt torn.

She really did seem obsessed with magic. One glimpse of something novel, and she had to get to the bottom of it.

But as for the price...

Counting materials alone, most of the Magic Fan's cost lay in its structure. The wooden base, steel bars, and other parts had cost less than thirty silver coins in total.

Even with labor included, such as the smith's fee, the total cost would not exceed one gold coin.

But the real expense was the research.

Xu Yi had spent more than half a month developing the Magic Fan, devoting nearly every spare moment to it. He had used over a hundred sheets of paper just working out a suitable Magic Array.

That was to say nothing of redesigning the entire structure to fit the Magic Array perfectly. It incorporated mechanical engineering knowledge from Earth that far surpassed anything on the Sains Continent. Its value was hard to measure.

Seeing Xu Yi hesitate, Rem grew annoyed and frowned. "Come on, Xu Yi. It's just an iron frame. How much could it be worth? If Vena wants it, sell it to her. Name a price and I'll pay."

Vena glanced at Rem with a frown but said nothing.

Curious as she was about the Magic Fan, she did not think the odd-looking thing was worth much money either.

But after a moment's thought, Xu Yi held up two fingers. "Since we're colleagues, if you really want it, two Gold Coins."

At that price, Xu Yi had effectively written off the research costs and treated the Magic Fan as an ordinary product.

He was not worried that Vena could uncover all its secrets as soon as she bought it. She might easily understand the magic array, but the modern mechanical engineering hidden inside this unassuming fan was beyond her.

Yet the price Xu Yi considered more than fair made everyone's eyes widen.

"Two Gold Coins?" Rem waved his arms dramatically. "Xu Yi, have you lost your mind? It's just a hunk of metal! It's impressive that you came up with it, but it can't possibly be worth two Gold Coins!"

The others chimed in. They, too, thought Xu Yi's price was absurd.

Vena said nothing, but her deeply furrowed brow made her thoughts clear.

Xu Yi sighed helplessly.

People in this world knew nothing of modern industry. Of course they would not understand its value.

From a mage's perspective, the Magic Array inside the Magic Fan really was not worth two Gold Coins.

But Xu Yi had been a senior mechanical engineer on Earth, and he had his pride. He refused to sell something he had worked so hard to develop for next to nothing.

So he could only shrug. "If you won't accept that price, forget it. I only brought it here because the lab was hot and I thought everyone could use it."

The others gave Xu Yi strange looks. If he was willing to let everyone use it for free, why not do Vena a favor and sell it to her cheaply?

Vena hesitated, about to try persuading Xu Yi again, when a clear female voice sounded from the research lab's doorway.

"Two Gold Coins. I'll buy it."