Magic was the greatest productive force

The North, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, House Flint's castle, council hall.

At that moment, in a secluded corner behind a stone pillar in the hall, the plump Parasite Demon mother had already laid more than twenty strange, fleshy eggs, each about the size of an ostrich egg. The mutated Lesser Demon hiding in the shadows with her had now been named a "Dragonglass Lesser Demon" by Eddard.

The Dragonglass Lesser Demon had become the Parasite Demon mother's midwife. Hiding in the corner, he fed her while removing the fleshy, ball-like eggs from her rear.

At one corner of a table in the hall, Maester Albert stared blankly at two demon eggs whose shells had already broken open. The two centipede-like Parasite Demons inside seemed to have lost all signs of life, and their bodies had turned into a strange substance resembling solidified lava.

Although he had been unable to collect suitable biological specimens, Maester Albert was very interested in these dead Parasite Demons. He wanted to investigate what material made up the flesh-like bodies of these disgusting creatures.

Meanwhile, Eddard was studying a Parasite Demon that had barely survived on a nearby table. Its entire body was dark red, and its bony claws had small, tube-like holes. It looked much like a centipede, only fatter, larger, and fleshier. Sometimes, it even seemed a little "cute."

On a table near Eddard crouched a Rock Mountain Cat with its fur standing on end. Its body and movements looked extremely stiff, as though some force were forcibly controlling it.

After examining the Parasite Demon's condition and sending his perception into its body for a while, Eddard placed it on the Rock Mountain Cat. This was a special feline native to the northern wilderness, the largest of which could grow as large as a Direwolf. Although these creatures were less famous than their distant relatives, Shadowcats, they were overlords of the northern wastelands.

"Yow..."

As the sound of flesh being pierced rang out, the Rock Mountain Cat cub let out a shrill scream. As the Parasite Demon's venom entered its body, its cries gradually weakened. Before long, it collapsed on the table, drained of strength, and Eddard released his control over it at the appropriate moment.

Eddard observed the Rock Mountain Cat's condition. With the help of the Golden Eye, he clearly saw the horrifying scene of the two creatures intertwining. Their blood, flesh, and bones dissolved into one another, merged, and twisted, looking like a disgusting mass of tumorous flesh. Finally, after about ten minutes, the somewhat listless Rock Mountain Cat let out a series of ingratiating cries toward Eddard.

Eddard then took out his notes and wrote down some observations and findings about Parasite Demons. Through bloodline modification, a Parasite Demon would cause the creature it parasitized to mutate, eventually drawing out its full potential, making the fast faster and the strong stronger. The White Holy Tree understood Eddard's intentions very well, which was why he had specifically had the Demonspawn that Demon B'lack had become create such an original organism.

Watching the Rock Mountain Cat continue to rub against his arm, Eddard gave a satisfied smile. As long as the biological experiments on these cubs succeeded, House Flint's animal husbandry would reach unprecedented heights.

Eddard then turned his gaze toward the Dragonglass rods nearby. They lay haphazardly in a wooden bucket, their blue and golden glow making the pitch-black Dragonglass look very beautiful.

However, anyone who had seen Eddard's earlier experiments would never have dared touch these beautiful-looking pieces of Dragonglass. A large scorched patch and a stone cracked by freezing still remained on the floor nearby, with fragments of shattered Dragonglass scattered around them. These were all the results of Eddard's recent Dragonglass experiments.

Dragonglass was indeed an extremely useful magical resource. The two extreme attributes of intense heat and intense cold actually existed within it at the same time. Activating it, however, consumed a great deal of mental effort, as well as Eddard's power of perception.

Dragonglass also required Eddard's support when it released its power in an instant. Using it as a weapon would still require his continued development and research. For now, however, Eddard had already found a way to use the mysterious power within Dragonglass: as a source of heat and cold that could be used continuously.

Fire and steel were the defining themes of this age. If Eddard wanted to build up Flint's Finger, he had to raise his territory's industrial standards. The Valyrian Freehold had once reached that level, but it had still used a primitive system of slavery. Not only had this method failed to improve the initiative of its inhabitants, it had also indirectly sown the seeds of its eventual destruction.

What Eddard wanted to do was change the systems of governance and production under his rule, striving to use magic to fundamentally transform his territory's productivity. As he saw it now, his most pressing task was to expand the planning and construction of his territory, and these matters were already proceeding in an orderly fashion.

The emergence of Fire-attribute Dragonglass gave Eddard's lime-burning and steelmaking plans a perfect source of heat. Making Fire-attribute Dragonglass was not particularly difficult. All he needed to do was infuse Dragonglass with a purified soul of one of the Children of the Forest to activate its attribute.

These souls of the Children of the Forest would gradually disappear as the heat was expended, allowing them, in a sense, to achieve complete liberation and break the terrible "divine blessing" of immortality that prevented even their souls from disappearing.

Twisted Souls, meanwhile, would produce some strange, uncontrollable attribute after being infused into Dragonglass. Those terrifying attributes of cold, death, and slaughter had left Eddard unable to think of a way to use them for the time being.

At present, the only use Eddard could think of for this Ice-attribute Dragonglass was as a cooling device, or to make an otherworldly version of a refrigerator. But these damned things were connected to the Others, so he could only leave it at that for now. After all, the most important task at present was to prioritize producing Fire-attribute Dragonglass.

This, however, left Eddard somewhat short-handed. In a world where even getting enough to eat was a problem, talented people had always been an extremely scarce resource. Fortunately, the White Holy Tree had more or less finished training "Housecat" Bran and "Eel" Ralf. If they merely assisted Eddard with simple tasks at his side, they could still be a great help.

After receiving Eddard's orders, Ralf and Bran left the Dream World. They did not seem to have adjusted yet, but after sensing Eddard's perception, with its different intensity, they understood where they were now.

"Lord Eddard!"...

Eddard waved to indicate that there was no need for formalities, and the two walked over to him. He then handed them the Dragonglass and explained how to use and make it. Although the powers they had gained differed, they had already reached the threshold of using perception. Given time, they would surely reach Eddard's level of altering the Real World.

While the two studied how to use their perception to summon the souls of the Children of the Forest, Eddard had already walked to a corner of the hall. Looking at the Dragonglass Lesser Demon, who had now fully adapted, he examined his entire body again.

The Dragonglass Lesser Demon's body was extremely tough, and Eddard also discovered that his skin secreted a mucus-like substance that seemed very slippery. His keratinous claws were about as strong as steel. He could be described as the ideal creature for mining, truly worthy of being a demon species handpicked by the White Holy Tree.

It was just that this damned thing looked far too frightening. Let loose, he would probably scare off a great many people. Eddard therefore planned to send them to the mines once he had produced a suitable number. The Wights sealed inside the Blackstone Ruins probably would not last even a single round against these terrifying creatures.

For now, however, Eddard first had to train this fellow and test his physical strength. In time, this fellow, whom Eddard called "Number One," would become the foreman of Eddard's miners.

"My dear Maester Albert, that should be enough for now. I have something more important to discuss with you. If you like, I can send this little fellow over to you. Its intelligence is about that of a four- or five-year-old child."

"Uh, never mind! If it crawled near my head in the middle of the night, would it eat my head too? Forget it. You had better let this ugly fellow watch over it!"

Maester Albert glanced at the rather endearingly vacant-looking Parasite Demon mother and suppressed a certain impulse. Upon learning that Eddard had something else to discuss with him, he immediately set aside everything he was doing.

Maester Albert knew very well that Eddard might be about to show him something new again. What he had encountered today was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Had he not spent some time in his youth fascinated by the mysteries of the human body, he would probably have been frightened half to death long ago.

Maesters who could serve in castles had all studied medicine to some degree and had seen plenty of bloody scenes of every kind. Thus, Maester Albert's attitude toward these strange creatures Eddard had summoned was merely one of curiosity and excitement.

"This is a design concept of mine. I hope to incorporate fire Dragonglass and ice Dragonglass into this device, and then do this..."

Looking at Maester Albert's expectant face, Eddard handed him a roll of drawings, pointing to them as he began to explain.

This was a simplified "Stirling engine" that Eddard had recreated using certain memories from his previous life. It was a simple heat engine, also known as a "Hot-air engine."

A Stirling engine worked by heating and cooling the air inside a cylinder, repeating this cycle to produce power. Its principle sounded simple, but it placed very high demands on materials. Of course, with Dragonglass as its energy source, such an engine would become very simple and compact.

Without magic, Eddard reckoned he would have had no choice but to research steam engines. But with supernatural powers at his disposal, he could go a step further and use this new technology to obtain mechanical energy, enabling him to realize many designs he had never dared imagine before.

The Stirling engine in the drawings consisted of a large sealed vessel about one meter in diameter, with a piston in the middle and a connecting rod attached above it. Heat would then push the piston, driving the gears through its movement. This type of Stirling engine could be considered both the simplest modern technology and the one best suited to Dragonglass.

The reason this Stirling engine had left such a deep impression on Eddard was that, while working at a waste incineration plant in his previous life, he had heard about it from an engineer who designed incinerators. Eddard had therefore made a point of studying various engines in his spare time, especially this Stirling engine.

When reading novels in his previous life, Eddard had always thought protagonists who built steam engines were incredibly impressive. Only after studying the principles involved had he discovered how demanding these engines really were when it came to materials. Especially in an age sorely lacking in materials and manufacturing techniques, these powerful tools for developing a territory simply could not be realized.

But Eddard differed from certain protagonists. He had magic to use, as well as strange biological resources such as demons to exploit. And when it came to lightweight, wear-resistant metals, Valyrian steel had to be mentioned. As for adhesives and lubricants, suitable secretions could be found among certain demon species.

Valyrian steel was a very special magical metal from the era of the Valyrian Freehold, renowned throughout the world for its lightness and toughness. Among the great houses of the Seven Kingdoms, Valyrian steel weapons were treasured as family heirlooms.

Although Eddard had no way to make Valyrian steel, he could use existing Valyrian steel to apply a coating. Valyrian steel was rare, but what was truly rare were large Valyrian steel weapons and pieces of armor.

Jewelry and ornaments made of Valyrian steel could be found in many parts of the Seven Kingdoms. While Eddard was studying magic, his teacher, Archmaester Marwyn "the Mage," had once given him some Valyrian ornaments.

Moreover, Maester Bo'er of the Citadel had once researched the secrets of how the craftsmen of Qohor on Essos worked Valyrian steel. The maesters of the Society for the Study of Dragons and Magic had also learned certain things from him. Although they had attempted to melt down and recast Valyrian steel ornaments, every one of these experiments had failed.

Although the maesters of the Society for the Study of Dragons and Magic liked magic, they had neither the means nor the courage to melt down and cast Valyrian steel through blood sacrifice. After truly mastering magic, Eddard had finally understood what the so-called "blood sacrifice" technique for casting Valyrian steel meant.

What melting and casting Valyrian steel truly required were resentful Twisted Souls and flame, and Eddard happened to possess both right now. Thus, he only needed to take out the Valyrian steel ornaments in his possession and melt them down for casting.

With the materials problem resolved, what Eddard truly needed was for a specialist to improve and refine the drawings. Presumably, once Maester Albert had perfected them and Black the blacksmith had prepared the necessary materials, Eddard would be able to build a Magical Stirling engine of his own.