Chapter 345: Chapter 97: Hydraulic Machine 1

It was hard to say if it was because Falan’s body was made of stone, or because his soul was that of a Level 10 Great Mage—or perhaps a combination of both.

Falan worked day and night on the blueprints, making progress at an incredible pace.

It had taken Falan only two days to design the previous, complex Magic Array, and he was even faster with this simplified version.

The request was made in the morning, and by evening, Falan had already arrived at Robson’s tent.

At that moment, Robson was discussing the matter of the Book Rulers with Gerard.

With over six thousand men under his command, it was only natural that Robson had a wealth of talent.

A recent survey had identified a few craftsmen among them.

Of course, there weren’t many; craftsmen were skilled labor, after all, and rarely ended up on a battlefield. But it was enough. It wasn’t that Robson had no craftsmen of his own—they were just still on the way.

Making a ruler wasn’t a particularly difficult task, especially with Robson assisting with Magic.

"Falan? You’re here! Take a look. What do you think of this ruler?"

Following a CREAK, Robson looked toward the tent flap to see Falan holding a piece of paper.

It was a great improvement from before—only a single sheet this time.

Falan saw the object in Robson’s hand and took it.

"Not bad. This should meet the Array’s requirements," Falan said with a nod.

"Great, as long as it meets the requirements. How about you?" Robson asked, turning to Falan.

"Oh... that’s what I came to talk to you about."

As he spoke, Falan spread the paper in his hand out on a nearby table, and Robson cast a Lighting Technique.

The two of them bent their heads to look at the blueprint.

This blueprint was many times simpler than the previous one. At least, looking at it, Robson no longer felt that Magic was some lofty, unapproachable concept.

Falan pointed to the blueprint and began his explanation.

"See? This is the simplified version I made.

I went over it and eliminated some of the redundancies in the Array.

The entire Magic Array now has only five parts. First is the elemental extraction, which is responsible for drawing water out of the lake. Next is this guidance system, which directs the extracted water elements into the irrigation channels.

This is the Magic Energy conversion system. Over here is the Magic interface system, which allows for the Magic Array to be expanded. I changed the original self-maintenance system into a diagnostic system. This will greatly reduce the Magic Array’s energy consumption."

"This Magic Array can cover roughly two to three hundred square kilometers. In terms of Book Rulers, the area of the original Array is about five hundred square Book Rulers."

"So? Are you satisfied? If you want any changes, I can still make improvements," Falan asked, looking at Robson.

Robson looked at the blueprint, then back at Falan, and couldn’t help but break into applause.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Falan, you’re a genius!"

Satisfied? Lord Robson was more than satisfied!

Aside from the coverage area being reduced from two thousand square kilometers to two hundred, Robson had virtually no complaints about this Array.

Besides, smaller had its own advantages.

An Array of this scale was much better suited to the territory’s current stage of development.

For instance, if Falan had actually gone ahead and included that self-maintenance system he mentioned, Robson probably wouldn’t have been able to afford its upkeep.

"No need for more improvements. Let’s go with this plan," Robson said.

He believed in leaving professional matters to the professionals. Lord Robson had great respect for technical experts.

Especially those like Falan, who possessed both theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

"Gerard, next..."

"No, I’ll personally select the people to construct the Magic Array."

Robson had originally intended to delegate this matter to Gerard, but then he remembered that not everyone in his domain was a quick study.

Drawing out the plans, especially on the ground on such a large scale, required a certain amount of quick thinking and intuition.

This task was best left to the newly established Lord’s Guard, Robson’s other contingent of personal soldiers.

Although this would slow down the territory’s development, it was nothing compared to the potential returns.

"Yes, if we build this, it will truly be a groundbreaking achievement!" Mage Falan’s voice held a hint of excitement.

Gerard, standing to the side, watched the two of them. He might not have understood Magic, but he understood people.

"My Lord, for such a groundbreaking achievement, why don’t we give this Magic Array a name?" Gerard suggested with a smile.

Wisdom comes with age. Although Robson now had several capable men under him, it would take them at least another ten years to master Gerard’s level of flattery.

Robson knew Gerard was laying it on thick, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

"An excellent suggestion. Since it’s for irrigating the fields, it’s a waterworks project.

How about we call it... Waterworks Unit Number One?" After some thought, Robson spat out a simple, easy-to-understand name.

After saying it, the more Robson thought about the name, the more he felt it was truly ingenious, possessing a certain industrial beauty.

Unfortunately, not everyone could appreciate industrial beauty.

Gerard was momentarily stunned when he heard the name. ’How can this noble lord’s taste be even more rustic than my own?’

"What? You don’t like it?" Robson asked, looking at the two of them.

"It’s wonderful! Of course, it’s wonderful! Simple and easy to understand! I often hear the craftsmen say that great skill appears artless—they must be talking about you, my Lord!" Gerard gushed.

Watching the two of them laughing, Falan scratched his head. ’Is my sense of aesthetics really that bad?’

...

Robson didn’t even wait for the next day. That very night, he rushed to the Lord’s Guard encampment and handed the materials over to them.

For the Extraordinary, staying up for a night or two was no big deal.

The Soldiers began their studies that very night.

Just as Robson had expected, the system panel had improved more than just their physical constitution.

The Soldiers of the Lord’s Guard had exceptional learning abilities.

Robson divided the blueprint into several sections, assigning each to a different group. He also used Magic to create several Book Rulers of various lengths for them.

Once he had finished his business with the Lord’s Guard, it was late into the night. Robson immediately rushed over to the Mages’ camp.

The Mages were not in a good mood after being woken in the middle of the night, but they could only force smiles when they saw it was Robson.

What Robson hadn’t expected was that after encountering no issues with the Lord’s Guard, he would run into opposition from the Mages.

Many of them felt that allowing commoners to participate in the construction of a Magic Array was utterly preposterous.

Robson was finally getting a taste of the kind of opposition Falan had said the Star School once faced.

In the end, Robson had to resort to his previous arguments, using a combination of threats and incentives, to get the group of Mages to willingly work for Lord Robson.

It couldn’t be helped. Even though Falan had simplified the Magic Array manifold, some of its more intricate parts were still not something a layman could learn overnight.

Walking out of the Mages’ camp, Robson looked up at the bright moon and couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

His troubles over the past two days had been caused almost entirely by this disobedient group of Mages.

Still, he couldn’t entirely blame them. After all, each of them had their own cultural background and worldview.

According to this world’s culture, Magic was the domain of Mages, and it had nothing to do with commoners.

If Robson wanted Mages who could fully support the development of his territory, he would have to train them himself.

Thinking of this, Robson felt an itch. If not for his lack of resources, he would establish a Magic School right now.

He even had a name for it. He’d call it... The School for Magic Professionals.

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