Chapter 57: Airship

“Combination? Combination…”

“He was my first creation, I know there are many imperfections… However, relying on the advantage of height, his movement speed cannot be considered slow. Is it still necessary to reduce his weight?” Muttering to herself, the beautiful young girl in the blue robe finally lifted her head, her hood immediately sliding down, allowing her bright, piercing eyes to gaze directly at Constantine. “Weight can sometimes serve as a good weapon, while a shield’s effectiveness is sometimes not as great as direct physical defense… However, I am very interested in your idea of combined armor. If possible, I hope you can explain it in detail, Mr. Constantine.”

“Boy, you are lucky… This girl is not only the youngest Formal Mage but also the one with the most flexible thinking. This Golem was researched, studied from various documents, and created by her herself. It has gained considerable advantages in several battles with Golems from other Mage Towers.”

Archmage Vernal’s voice interrupted. The Archmage was still busy with his own work, not turning his head, and completely disregarding the derogatory terms and a hint of schadenfreude in his comment: “Of course. Showing off your pitiful bit of knowledge before the most famous knowledge fanatic in the Mage Tower. It’s enough to make me think you are even more of a freak than her…”

You’re no better yourself, crazy dog Vernal! Constantine curled his lip, grumbling inwardly.

But the Archmage’s reminder was enough to surprise Constantine. For a Mage to be able to create a Golem was definitely not an easy task, let alone directly from book theories… Golems in this world were extremely high-tech products. The difficulty of independently developing all components was not something that could be compared to the DIY planes, submarines, and even robots in the memories of the farmers from his recollection.

“The comment ‘freak’ is not very accurate… To be precise, it’s a different way of thinking.” Compared to the teenager rolling his eyes, Christine’s voice showed no change, seemingly completely unable to grasp the malice in other people’s words: “And as far as I know, none of the thirty-three Magic Masters in human history were individuals whose thoughts and ideas were not exceptional and independent. Therefore, this is not worth special emphasis.”

“If I recall correctly, you are not a Mage but a Sorcerer, and you haven’t even awakened your Sorcerer abilities for long… It’s even less likely you’ve come into contact with Golems.” After a brief explanation, the Sorceress’s gaze fixed on Constantine’s pupils, speaking in a tone of absolute seriousness: “Therefore, I hope you can explain your ideas in detail. To determine whether your comments are valuable.”

The underlying meaning is you want to know if I’m just talking nonsense, right?

“Ahem, simply put, it’s using standardized defensive armor attached to the base body… that is, a puppet without any protection, somewhat similar to how a person wears armor…”

So, clearing his throat, the teenager narrated…

Creating a Golem as an assistant was also a very good way to enhance oneself. However, Constantine was well aware that, given the current state of his power development, he himself would probably need too long a time to accumulate the Mental Power necessary to create a Golem. Moreover, that kind of Mental Power consumption was not something he could bear. As the saying goes, sitting on a gold mountain is not as good as investing and accumulating treasure. Since he himself was not capable enough, offering up some less crucial ideas now to gain favor was also a good idea. Furthermore, a person focused on research usually wouldn’t possess much cunning, but they likely had things he needed… For example, certain seemingly inconspicuous by-products, failed creations, or mature technical information.

What was swirling in Constantine’s mind now were those rotating Magic Arrays. Of course, perhaps it couldn’t be ruled out that, subconsciously, he had some desire to get closer to this beautiful young Sorceress.

“Weight is naturally necessary, but speed and flexibility are not the same concept, right? Situations in combat can sometimes be complex, so a flexible Golem is clearly more adaptable than a clumsy one. And combined armor is also easier to handle various sudden situations… If necessary, part of the defense can be sacrificed for explosive power… Also, regarding appearance, it doesn’t necessarily have to adopt a humanoid form. A quadrupedal movement method can not only provide relatively stable balance but also partially increase speed… Or adopt a more suitable vehicle design…”

“Sir, if what you said is a method you thought of yourself, then your way of thinking truly deserves to be called different from ordinary people.”

After the teenager’s explanation paused, the Sorceress showed a thoughtful expression and spoke. Obviously, she didn’t have much experience in interpersonal communication. Perhaps her original intention was to compliment… but combined with her explanation from a few minutes earlier, it sounded almost like sarcasm. A somewhat embarrassed Constantine could only smile awkwardly:

In fact, that idea was a perfectly normal line of thinking for someone like Constantine who came from Earth. For a nerd, the active add-on armor on countless real-world tanks and from science fiction works was as common as rice on the table. The greatest advantage of this kind of thing was its strong adaptability, ease of updating and repair, and the ability to choose to discard it to reduce weight when necessary. At the same time, modularity was also an important manifestation of mechanized assembly lines. Things that could be simply mass-produced were the most time and labor-saving.

But for these Mages, this was undoubtedly a rather novel, almost never considered idea. In their minds, they would only habitually imagine Golems as moving statues, or even moving suits of Armor, rather than something that could be separated and combined like building block toys… Of course, it might also be because there was originally no such thing in this Plane, so the corresponding associations didn’t arise.

“If you don’t mind, I hope you won’t hesitate to visit my laboratory and explain your ideas further?” After her contemplation, the Sorceress suddenly issued an invitation with unusual seriousness.

“It was just a sudden strange thought, nothing remarkable… And, for now, that’s all I could think of.” Constantine certainly wouldn’t pour out everything he knew just like that. Although he clearly knew he didn’t have the ability to realize it, after all, these ideas were gifts from another world. It would be a real loss if he didn’t use them to exchange for an equal price.

“Sudden inspirations are not rare, but sudden inspirations that align with reality are scarce. As far as I know, they usually appear in professional individuals with a profound theoretical foundation…” The little girl’s face still didn’t show much expression, just her eyes staring straight at Constantine. The passion contained within them made the teenager a bit uneasy.

“If your concern is the exchange price for the idea, I think I can offer you any reward…” Fortunately, after a pause, she added the condition Constantine hoped for without hesitation.

“Any reward… Those are not words to be said lightly, Miss…” The inadvertent conversation clearly carried a hint of ambiguity. Constantine, having just experienced some events, couldn’t help but generate some wicked associations. He subconsciously glanced at her chest, where the surging curves couldn’t be completely concealed even by the large Robe of Magic. The teenager then reflexively shook his head, laughing bitterly inwardly.

Fifteen or sixteen years old, in Constantine’s mind, was still only a slightly older lolita. But on this Plane, it was already an age where one could become a certain Lady. Even to an extreme extent, holding a one or two-year-old child to feed them wouldn’t be unnatural.

Once again holding the little Sorceress’s hand as they emerged from a Teleportation Array, the muscles between Constantine’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Of course, this wasn’t due to the slight dizziness from teleportation, but because the teenager had noticed that over a dozen pairs of eyes were tightly fixed on him. The destination of this teleportation was Christine’s laboratory. Inside the room as wide as several basketball courts, various items of unknown purpose were also messily arranged, all without exception scattering light of various colors in True Sight. However, unlike Vernal’s lonely lab with only one person and one ghost, here there were several busy figures. The moment the two appeared, they had already, with great tacit understanding, stopped their work. The uniformity with which they turned to stare was almost comparable to a mime.

Hell… Are all the guys in this Mage Tower of the same inclination? Next time, I think I’d better be careful…

The owners of the gazes were all young boys and girls without exception. And the malice contained in those gazes, for a moment, truly gave Constantine a feeling of thorns on his back. The reason was probably the hand of this guy wrapped in black and gray Robes of Magic that didn’t look like a good person, being held by their idol in their hearts? However, perhaps this feeling of being envied was surprisingly enjoyable… So, the corners of his mouth twitching, the eldest son of the Connallyvis Family maliciously took a small step forward, bringing himself a bit closer to the source of the incident.

Fortunately, after experiencing two incidents, Constantine’s name was well known in this Mage Tower… at least among the lower-level figures. The kind of muddled, baseless provocation that happened when he first arrived was clearly impossible now… Everyone, naturally or unnaturally, kept silent… Even if the disdain in those gazes was enough to show their resentment, curses, and even murderous impulses towards this guy, the wisdom and rationality of the Mages were enough to warn them not to have a direct conflict with this individual with a deep background and strange powers…

Especially since among them there was already a standard negative example who had made a similar attempt—Constantine noticed at first glance. That young master who claimed to be from some family, who had had a big conflict with him before, was also one of those casting the hateful gazes.

Compared to his intense actions back then, the other party’s performance this time was quite subdued. Maybe it was because his three followers and a teacher weren’t present? He only stiffened slightly when his eyes met Constantine’s, and then, as if ignoring him, lowered his head, hiding his expression in the shadow of his hood. Only the tightly clenched fists revealed some of his inner turmoil.

The strange feeling was fleeting. Compared to these little ones who could only express their dissatisfaction through silent signals, Constantine was undoubtedly more interested in the sources of the Magic Auras. This Plane did not popularize the way of thinking that focused solely on self-cultivation without external aids. One of the teachings of the Lich was: “Even an Archmage has limits to his abilities. Therefore, an excellent Magic Item is not only of high value to a Spellcaster, but also a powerful aid, able to save your life in many situations.”

It seemed different from Vernal, Christine did not understand the practicality of the proverb “Do not show off your wealth.” In her laboratory, all sorts of things, big and small, were messily placed openly on the surface, seemingly completely unconcerned about theft.

She also didn’t seem to have much interest in socializing or caring about others’ feelings. Pulling Constantine, she walked directly to a side experiment table, without any concept of introducing the people around them to each other.

However, the half-led Constantine had his gaze attracted by a massive object placed to the side… Magic Auras like stars scattered from it, incredibly dazzling. Constantine curiously looked at it, noticing it should be considered a ship… possessing the basic elements of a ship on this Plane. The wooden part, tens of feet long, was only closed halfway, revealing the contents inside which were also the cabins common in ordinary ships. However, the mast part was slightly shorter and thicker, and lacked certain necessary parts found on general ships, such as a rudder, etc.… But on every piece of wood that made up the ship, various patterns and designs were engraved. The teenager who had made half of a Magic Item naturally understood clearly that those were all kinds of Magic Arrays. Although he didn’t know what type, the quantity was enough to surprise him.

“A magical battleship?”

The teenager couldn’t help but utter a soft whisper. Although stories of large ocean-going ships were often heard on this Plane, the impression was still limited to a range of a few hundred to a thousand miles, small-scale cargo exchanges… Could it be that Mages had already started paying attention to sea hegemony issues? Considering the different concepts of magical civilization, this might not be an impossible thing.

“Although it’s not perfect yet… that is not a ship in the general sense, but a magical ship capable of flying in the air… This is one of Christine’s ideas.”

A casual tone sounded beside him, answering the teenager’s muttering. A senior apprentice with a head of brilliant blond hair standing by the table smiled and bowed to Constantine: “Pleasure to meet you. I am Thaddeus Odori. Sorceress Christine’s assistant.”

But this answer undoubtedly surprised Constantine even more. He even somewhat rudely forgot to return the greeting.

Airship? No way? This kind of high-tech is also something you’ve thought of… Am I the one who crossed over, or are you the ones who crossed over?

The strange feeling in the teenager’s heart at this moment was truly… difficult to describe.

“Ah, pleased to meet you, I am Constantine…” Startled, Constantine then remembered that his actions were somewhat quite impolite. He hurriedly returned a somewhat informal mage’s salute to the other.

This was a guy with a rather handsome face. Even when not speaking, his playful gaze casually swept over Constantine. The smile on his face carried a hint of aristocratic cynicism but also seemed like a precisely disguised mask. There was an indescribably strange feeling. Although Constantine wasn’t sure, in his memory, those who could have such a professional smile were usually old foxes who had been rolling in the fields of fame and profit for many years. Considering age… if not from a traditional noble family, it would be difficult to cultivate someone with such an expression. But a bit surprisingly, his robe was of ordinary linen material, the color was the most common brown—the style only chosen by Commoner apprentices.

On his mage’s badge, the dragon shape with spread wings indicated that he had also passed that bizarre Labyrinth exam. This was also the most ornate decoration on his person.

“No need for self-introduction, I think everyone here knows who you are.” Constantine’s small talk hadn’t finished when it was interrupted by another voice.

It was another teenager with grayish-brown hair. He also wore a simple brown Robe of Magic. However, he seemed to have prematurely picked up the bad habits of Mages. His pale, thin face combined with the slender build common to boys of his age made him look quite frail.

He performed a simple mage’s salute, but the haste of it made it seem like he wished to end it immediately: “Sir Constantine, your name has long been known to me like thunder. Almost everyone in the Mage Tower has heard of you and your formidable martial skill.”

Then, after a pause, he added with a cold sneer. “However, martial skill probably isn’t of much use in a place like the Mage Tower. This is a place for research into the Arcane Arts; clumsy dancing or fragile metal has no place here. Magic is the true source of power for Spellcasters!”

Constantine’s mouth twisted into a sarcastic curve. The childish nature of the other’s provocative words actually made him lower his estimation of the threat level a few grades. However, some other emotions in his eyes made Constantine uncomfortable—it was an inherent pride and disdain of those in higher positions, from deep within the psyche. It was like the feeling of disdain a newly joined, self-proclaimed talented PhD student might occasionally feel towards his mediocre but highly-paid superior… or perhaps it was called extreme self-esteem mixed with an inferiority complex?

“Although not a Mage, like all mortals, I certainly admire the great power of Magic. However, under permitted conditions, I still prefer to use available weapons… Or perhaps it’s just because I like the feeling left in the palm, the certain feeling of conviction when a fist or sword hits its target…” Seemingly casually clenching his hands a couple of times, Constantine quietly advanced, his gaze sweeping over the other’s nose bridge… as if looking for a moment to strike.

Thus, as the other raised his hand, the aloof teenager with brown hair panicked. Only then did he remember that, according to legend, the current distance between himself and the other was precisely this terrifying guy’s most proud…

He immediately retreated several steps. With a few indistinct murmurs, a layer of dim light flashed over him and disappeared instantly!

His spellcasting speed was extremely fast, and the chant seemed to have been simplified to some degree… For an apprentice, this was undoubtedly something to be proud of. But this excessive vigilance led to an embarrassing situation—the other’s raised hand was just pretending to wipe his nose bridge… The unconcealed mockery in Constantine’s gaze directed at him made the teenager, who realized he had been tricked, furious with shame! His pale face instantly flushed a deep red—the change was so fast it made the unscrupulous crosser recall the legendary Peking Opera actors in his memory who had special skills and could portray Guan Gong without makeup.

“Ahem, this is my classmate, Billy Talbot. Well, Sir Constantine, may I ask what brings you here today?”

The blond teenager hurriedly stepped between the two, speaking to defuse the awkward situation. He knew very well that if a conflict broke out, the one to suffer would definitely be his companion. Mages might be the Deity’s darlings; under royal protection, even a Duke’s power might need to forgive their small offenses. But a mere high-level spell apprentice trying to bare his claws before a Griffin was not something that could be resolved with just a setback. The guy who served as the warning example might be fine, but that was because behind him was also a force the Griffin feared. His impulsive companion had no such backing. Nobles’ hearts were never known to be broad. If it dragged on, the one to lose wouldn’t be this kid a few years younger than them.

“I invited Connalyvis to give some suggestions on Golem improvement… Sir Constantine, please.”

The cause of the incident finally spoke up. She presented a thick stack of Parchment and also handed over something that glowed brightly in Constantine’s eyes.

“Sorcery ring! A good thing…” The Lich, who hadn’t spoken for a while, suddenly said, the abruptly increased volume startling Constantine. He then noticed it was a simple ring shimmering with threads of black light. It looked overly plain on the surface, even somewhat close to a thimble, and seemed inconspicuous.

But the Lich’s subsequent explanation slightly surprised him.

The ring was called Primary Sorcery, a ring that could double a Spellcaster’s first-level Spell Slots. This explanation might not sound very strong, but for a Spellcaster, increasing the number of spells they could cast per day, even if only first-level spells, was quite convenient. Even a Sorcerer like Constantine could use the increased Spell Slots to act as a spell cannon without restraint, so this kind of ring was very popular.

According to the Lich’s explanation, if sold, the price of one such ring would be over ten thousand gold coins, equal to the value of a Miss Nirwen… Of course, this was considered low—as the effective spell level increased, the value of such rings would double. A highest-level fourth-level Sorcery ring would be worth over eighty thousand gold coins… That was almost a month’s worth of taxes for the entire Hayton.

“It seems this business of selling patents really needs to find the right buyer…” Constantine secretly rejoiced. Since the reward was so rich, he stopped holding back.

Drawing was Constantine’s strongest skill, especially for such sketches that didn’t require precise measurements. It was an easy thing for the teenager. The quill danced on the Parchment, the various parts of the add-on armor gradually appeared on the paper. For detailed parts, such as hinges and the mortise and tenon for detachment, he also added detailed small diagrams—although some parts were considered fanciful, for Constantine, who had assembled hundreds of various models and studied industrial design, this wasn’t too much of a headache.

Besides that, there were several possible modification plans for the appearance. Constantine had a good understanding of the pros and cons of humanoid weapons, so the several redesign principles were all reasonable… However, the teenager didn’t get carried away and bring out tanks, which were more suitable for combat—with magical assistance, producing those would be too low in cost and too effective in outcome. If really invented, it could easily change the Continent’s landscape.

Having finally come to a world of swords and magic, Constantine had no interest in making it resemble his own world.

A few sketches, a ring, the transaction was completed.

“If I’m not mistaken, Christine, your Golem should already be completed. Even the famous Golem master Wilkin from the south praised it highly… saying it already possessed quite comprehensive combat capabilities.” Finally snapping out of the engrossing drawings, the brown-haired kid seemed to try to recover the face he had just lost from another angle. “If modifications are made according to this method, the results might not be ideal, but the material cost loss during the modifications is quite large. It might even require changing some magic circuits. At this moment when the competition is imminent, making such large-scale modifications, I think it’s not worth the cost.”

“I think this method is very feasible… Don’t let extra emotions influence your intelligent thinking, Billy. With your ability, you should clearly understand that Sir Constantine’s proposed suggestions are all very sound.” The blond teenager this time opposed his friend. Then a big discussion began.

But the originator of the matter had no interest in participating in this discussion. The teenager slipped the ring onto his ring finger, feeling that strange power. Then his attention shifted to that flying ship that had just greatly surprised him.

This aircraft seemed very different from those in his impressions. The core idea was probably to use huge floating Magic Arrays to make it ascend, sailing under magically made sails.

“I truly admire these little ones’ courage… With their abilities, they actually want to attempt something like this?” The Lich’s flat voice betrayed no schadenfreude, though his tone suggested it. “Giant Flying Magical Devices have long been attempted. I remember, when I was young, the Luka Empire had a genius Mage who claimed his invention was completely successful, shocking the mage circles of the entire Western Continent… However, because the Magic Array’s volume exceeded a critical value, it was extremely unstable. The 97-foot long, over 2000-pound Airship created by that genius Mage exploded into a huge fireball at a height of 300 feet above the ground within just half an hour of its first successful lift-off into the air! Since then, no one has tried to make such a hugely expensive thing again. Similar research made no further progress.”

“They are considered clever, seemingly not attempting something that huge… However, as far as I know, the denser the Magic Arrays are engraved, the easier it is for them to interfere with each other. Although I only recognize one-tenth or one-twelfth of the Arrays on this ship, I can certainly say it absolutely won’t work! I hope they won’t get burned too badly after it’s made…” The unscrupulous Lich concluded: “But before that, they’d have to figure out how to start it. With so many Magic Arrays combined, even if that little girl sacrificed half her Soul, she couldn’t activate them all.”

“Sir Constantine… What are your thoughts on humans flying in the air?” With the same calm voice, Miss Christine appeared rather irresponsibly beside the teenager, leaving her subordinates at the table arguing heatedly over the modification plan for the drawings.

“Huh? Ah, I yearn for it. Free flight has always been one of humanity’s greatest dreams.” Constantine was momentarily stunned. Soaring into the blue sky using one’s own power was indeed exciting, but Constantine was more inclined to learn the Flight Spell. Being carried by something that flies wasn’t exciting to him at all. Only free-flying like a bird better suited his mindset.

“A third-level Mage can use the Flight Spell to soar in the air. But even so, the Human body’s fragility still prevents flying too high. The strong winds, low temperatures, and lack of oxygen at high altitudes are enough to kill even the strongest human. But I have always wanted to go to the higher skies to see, to see the realm where only Celestial Beings can fly freely. That is my dream.” The Sorceress’s hood was down, revealing brown hair. Clearly, as a researcher, she didn’t pay much attention to her appearance. A few strands of hair fell messily on her face, but it only made her expression seem more relaxed and composed—not the usual indifference and seriousness, but more like a state of relaxation.

“Is it very childish? But, I’ve been working hard for it…” The Sorceress reached out, stroking the unfinished hull of the Airship. The corners of her mouth unconsciously curved into a beautiful arc: “This is my method to realize my dream… Although there’s quite a gap, I believe I can complete it within my lifetime…”

When a beautiful woman who usually shows no expression suddenly smiles, is it necessarily devastatingly charming?

“Although I don’t want to discourage you, this thing seems to only explode…” That expression made Constantine’s heart quiver for no reason, so he said casually.