Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 548 - 547: Earthquake?

The changes in society are complex, yet from another perspective, the changes within a specific timeframe and under certain conditions are predictable—just as the reforms of the Typhon Emperor are destined to affect the interests of the land nobility, just as the advent of industry will inevitably give rise to a new class based on machine factories rather than land as capital, just as minor nobles who invest in capital inevitably become estranged from the major nobles, and the old raw material sites are inevitably exploited by industrial groups... All of this is a complete chain, and even if no one propels it, they will naturally occur.

As long as you identify the key points of these chains, as long as you slightly push them... everything will suddenly accelerate.

What Daniel needs to do is to nudge these key nodes, or slightly guide them, thereby achieving the greatest outcome with the least effort.

However, even so, it is still very difficult to rely on the strength of an old mage alone to influence the entire development process of Typhon, and Gawain deemed it necessary to confirm whether Daniel can smoothly complete these bold plans.

In response to the doubts of the "Wanderers from Outer Realm," Daniel did not conceal his connections and influence in Typhon: "Although I’ve been away from the Typhon imperial capital for many years, I still have a number of useful contacts within the Royal Mage Association... some noble families in the capital share old friendships with me... quite a few lower-ranked nobles are keen to get closer to the non-affiliated mages of the Royal Mage Association, and I have already established connections with many of them upon my return to the capital..."

"Well done," Gawain nodded slightly, "as I once warned you, you need to build your own power; what I want you to do is far beyond what one person can accomplish."

"I have always followed your will," Daniel immediately lowered his head, then hesitated slightly before tentatively starting to speak, "My lord, regarding the increase of manpower, I have something to report to you."

Gawain nodded: "Go ahead."

"My apprentice, Mary, I believe she has passed the assessment," Daniel cautiously said, "She has a very high talent in the field of mathematics, and she has mastered most of the knowledge you bestowed on her, and her loyalty can also be assured. I think she meets your requirements."

Gawain pondered slightly: "Mary... you indeed mentioned her."

He knew of Daniel’s several apprentices, especially having some impression of the apprentice named "Mary." He had long ago instructed the old mage to select talents from among the apprentices and teach them mathematical knowledge to increase available manpower. The female mage known as Mary seemed to be the one Daniel was most satisfied with.

"In that case, bring her to see me at the next meeting," Gawain decided, "Coincidentally, we now have mastered non-implantable neural link technology, which can allow people to connect to the network without undergoing neural modifications or using Eternal Sleepers’ sorcery."

As he spoke, he waved his hand lightly, instantly causing a holographic projection of the Immersive Neural Capsule to appear in the air above the round table, along with its accompanying blueprints and detailed technical information.

Rebecca said proudly, "We used this to connect."

"This is..." Daniel stared fixedly at the holographic image floating in mid-air, a surge of complex emotions rising in his heart at that moment.

This is non-implantable connection technology that allows those without the aptitude of Eternal Sleepers to access the mental network.

He thought of his own body in the real world, of those implanted neural links that made him akin to a monster, of the side effects that nearly drove him insane, those hallucinations, that piercing pain, those maddening noises...

The neural links rooted in his spinal cord, connected to his brain—probably for his entire life, he wouldn’t be able to escape them.

But his "non-implantable neural link" had finally succeeded.

His thoughts, his theories, his research direction, were correct.

At least Mary wouldn’t have to, like him, bore so many holes between the spine and brainstem.

"All the information is here, and I’ll store them in this secure space for you to access at any time," Gawain’s voice drew Daniel back from his thoughts, "Some components here are made using Cecil Clan’s machinery. You don’t have corresponding processing equipment on your side, but I’ve annotated detailed processing conditions. I believe, as a powerful mage, you have the ability to manufacture them."

This is the advantage in the field of transcendence—although machines have many advantages, as long as Transcendents are willing to invest time and energy, they can often produce items that meet industrial requirements by hand. At least in the early stage of industrial development, Transcendents even have the possibility to manually create a few gears and levers, or even manually create a few engines, or a magic-guided vehicle.

Daniel bowed his head respectfully: "I will not disappoint you."

...

In the spacious and bright laboratory, Amber sat rather bored in the chair next to Gawain, fiddling with the small dagger in her hand while observing the immersion capsules, all in a closed state. Occasionally, she would glance at Gawain, who was asleep beside her, finally unable to help but mutter, "These people might just sleep until they die..."

A voice with a slight metallic tremor came from nearby: "That’s impossible, the Life Detection Rune shows that everyone’s vital signs here are quite normal."

Amber raised her eyelids to see a silver-white comical egg over a meter in diameter drifting around, checking the equipment situation between a few immersion capsules. She pursed her lips: "Nonsense, the Life Detection Rune on Kamel’s side is dim."

Nicholas Egg turned to glance at the ancient Mage quietly floating beside the immersion capsule, connected by over a dozen arcane electric currents, making a buzzing sound: "But Kamel himself is bright."

"You sphere really are serious in places that shouldn’t be serious, wasting your smiling face," Amber couldn’t help rolling her eyes, then looked at the metal-ball alien with some curiosity, "But speaking of which... don’t you feel pity?"

Nicholas Egg was puzzled: "Feel pity for what?"

"Many of the parts in these devices were made by you personally, but you can’t use them yourself," Amber said, "Even Kamel can directly connect to the network by sensing magic, but you can’t... Doesn’t that make you feel pity?"

Nicholas Egg was silent for a moment, swaying slightly: "It’s just something I can’t help—my life form is too special. I don’t have what’s called a ’nervous system’, nor can I sense any magic power fluctuations. When Pittman tested the neural link on me, I had no reaction to it at all. But then again... I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything."

"Oh?"

"I know what kind of world the psychic network is," Nicholas Egg slightly lowered his altitude, "It’s a world in human dreams... but those are human dreams, not mine. My world isn’t here, nor in any of your dreams."

This world has the shadow realm, the shadow realm, the elemental world, and many fragmented outer spaces. To those who can access this knowledge, "Wanderers from Outer Realm" is not an unimaginable concept. Yet, even so, a being like Nicholas Egg, utterly beyond common sense, remains unbelievable. When the territory was first established, to avoid attracting too much attention from the outside, Gawain arranged the identity of "ancient Master Mage" for this metal-ball alien. However, this was only the official statement. For the upper echelon of the Cecil Clan, who had gained Gawain’s trust, they more or less knew something about Nicholas Egg’s origins.

A marvelous guest from a foreign place.

Amber looked at this guest from a foreign place and couldn’t help but ask, "Hey, do you want to find a companion?"

"...Huh?"

"Aren’t you lonely?" Amber’s mind began to wander, "How about I talk to the old man and find you a companion..."

Nicholas Egg was a bit shocked all over: "Where are you going to find me a companion!?"

Amber immediately responded, "Turn one on a lathe..."

Nicholas Egg: "...Wait, I think you’re getting something wrong..."

However, Amber was not so easily stopped; "By the way, are you a male ball or a female ball?"

"No, I think I’m fine now; my days at the mechanical manufacturing facility are quite fulfilling..."

But by this time, Amber was already excited on her own. This intermittently excitable half-elf suddenly became very interested in Nicholas Egg’s personal matters: "You know, I always thought you were a male ball, but on second thought, do you even have genders..."

Just then, a slight tremor suddenly arrived, finally interrupting this goose’s ongoing chatter.

And accompanying the slight tremor was a distant rumbling sound that came from who knows how far.

Amber was the first to react; as a stealth user, she was particularly sensitive to any slight tremor, and the sound that followed made her ears perk up instantly. Nicholas Egg’s reaction was slower since he was floating in mid-air and could not easily sense the ground’s vibrations, so it wasn’t until the sound came that he curiously asked, "It seems there’s some movement?"

"Was it an earthquake..." Amber already stood up, her ears twitching sensitively in the air, turning to every direction where faint sounds were coming from, while her hand was already on Gawain’s shoulder, ready to wake him up at any time.

But the tremor lasted only a moment, and the deep distant sound quickly faded away.

"It seems to have come from far away and has stopped already," Amber looked at Nicholas Egg, "Stay here and watch, I’ll contact the sentinel towers."

The elf’s keen hearing allowed her to determine that the final movement came from the south, which gave her great unease.

Nicholas Egg wasted no words: "Okay."

Amber’s figure swiftly disappeared into the air but did not go too far—a communication terminal with a Magic Web terminal was installed within the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute, and she headed to the nearest terminal room, calling the sentinel tower set in the Dark Mountain Range.

A scene of the surveillance station appeared above the terminal, and a tall and slim soldier appeared in the holographic projection: "This is Dark Mountain Range Outpost One, greeting you, Director Amber."

"Sentinel tower, do you have any situation over there?" Amber immediately asked, "We just felt a tremor here."

"Yes, we were just about to report—there was a disturbance on the southern slopes of the Dark Mountain Range, at the boundary of the Black Forest. It might have been an earthquake or a landslide."

"Only on the Black Forest side? No movement from the great walls?"

"The great walls are all normal, the Sun Wheel observation is normal, and the magic-pervasive environment is normal."

Amber slightly sighed with relief, yet still felt something was odd: "Earthquake or landslide? But I think I heard a sound like an explosion..."

"We heard that too, but couldn’t see the source of the explosion—it may have been blocked by the mountains. Also, a sentinel saw an unknown flash in the southwest direction, but can’t confirm it."

"...Understood," Amber breathed, "Whether it was an earthquake or a landslide, stay vigilant and keep an eye on the great walls. I will report the situation to the leader."