With a clatter of metallic collisions, Stark emerged, wobbling as he laboriously dragged a large, dust-covered crate.
As he drew closer, Starlight noticed that the crate, which stood taller than the dwarf himself, had no visible opening; it looked more like a massive block of metal than a box.
Stark panted for breath and carefully wiped the dust from the metal box. He excitedly introduced it to the group. “Come, look at this! This is a prototype I made a long time ago. I call it the Magic Crystal Resonance Transmitter Type 12.”
Po Kong leaned forward instinctively and asked curiously, “Why don't you tell us more about this... magic crystal box?”
Stark nodded and pressed a button on the side of the metal box. The front cover immediately popped open, revealing a dense array of parts and buttons.
Hundreds of tiny gears were meshed together, and numerous shimmering rune arrays surrounded a fist-sized magic crystal block in the center, which was emitting a faint glow of energy.
“Watch closely!” Stark rubbed his hands together in excitement. “First, a high-purity magic crystal is cut into equal parts and embedded into two separate transmitters. Through this improved rune array—”
He pointed to a ring of glowing lines inside. “We cause the two magic crystals to produce a resonance effect. Finally, we use this translation device... to convert the resonance frequency into readable text messages...”
Starlight listened to Stark’s introduction while carefully examining the internal structure of the machine.
Although he didn't quite understand the complex principles Stark was talking about, he could grasp one thing: the logic behind this machine bore a striking resemblance to the way certain high-level magic formations linked together.
Given Stark’s cultivation level, it was obvious he couldn't engrave such high-level magic formations himself. However, he had cleverly used the unique runes of the dwarves and combined them with those constantly rotating gears to actually mimic the functions of a formation.
“This guy... is truly a genius!” Starlight marveled inwardly.
Even for a high-tier mage, it was difficult to shrink an entire magic formation down to the size of a tabletop, let alone doing it in such an unheard-of way.
“So, how far can this transmitter communicate?” Starlight quickly followed up.
“Sigh, I’m ashamed to say it, but with its current efficiency, it can only communicate within a range of about two kilometers.” Stark scratched his head sheepishly. “I originally wanted to give this transmitter to the brothers going out to mine, but no matter how I modified it, I could only shrink it to this size. It’s really not convenient to take down into the mines.”
“Moreover, the cost of using this thing is too high. Its core requires the highest grade of magic crystal blocks, and they have to be large enough. Coupled with the range limitation, it was eventually shelved.”
“Two kilometers? That is indeed a bit short. For that distance, you could just send someone to run the message. And the cost is also a major issue. Is there no way to improve it?”
Po Kong walked around the large box, asking thoughtfully.
“Theoretically, it can be improved, but I haven't found the right materials yet~” Stark spread his hands and said helplessly. “Actually, magic crystal blocks aren't the ideal core material. If I could find a mineral or metal with an exceptionally high resonance degree, I could reduce its power consumption to an extremely low level.”
“If the precision of the magic formation could be higher, even if the size is reduced, the communication distance wouldn't shorten, right?” Starlight suddenly extended a finger and slowly traced along the edges of the gears, outlining a rough shape.
Now it was Stark’s turn to be surprised. He clearly hadn't explained any details about the internal formation just now, yet this young human he’d only known for a few days had seen through it at a glance?
“How did you know? Have you studied dwarven runes? Or...” Stark jumped up in excitement, his rough, large hands grabbing Starlight’s wrist.
Starlight was startled by the dwarf’s sudden enthusiasm and quickly waved his hands to explain. “Don't misunderstand, I haven't specifically studied dwarven runes. It's just that when I saw these mechanical structures, I suddenly thought of some magic formations that produce resonance effects.”
“Are you talking about the teleportation formation used by the Rift Dragon King?” Moen’s eyes lit up as she turned to look at Starlight.
“Now that you mention it, that’s exactly it! Isn't a long-distance teleportation formation the best example? And a teleportation formation has to handle the transfer of physical matter, which should be much harder than simply sending text. Why has no one ever thought of this before?”
“I don't know. Perhaps our predecessors in ancient times never considered it~” Starlight said somewhat indifferently.
While Starlight didn't think much of it, the expression on Stark’s face was extraordinary.
Stark slapped his forehead hard, producing a crisp sound. “How did I not think of that? If I apply the principles of spatial teleportation and simplify the part about matter conversion...”
The next second, he lunged at his workbench like a madman, grabbing a charcoal pen and scribbling frantically on parchment, muttering to himself, “I only need to keep the information resonance layer... remove the mass conversion module... then add a frequency stabilizer here...”
“Uh... did you guys just give him an impossibly difficult task?” Xia Duo watched with a mix of amusement and concern as Stark practically buried himself in the blueprints. “At this rate, I feel like his head is going to start smoking~”
“Perhaps, but if Stark actually succeeds, this would be a super invention capable of changing the world’s landscape!” Starlight smiled and looked toward the workbench.
Once in his working state, Stark seemed like a different person. His thick eyebrows were knitted tightly, the charcoal pen made a scratching sound on the parchment, and he occasionally picked up tools to hammer and tinker.
The four of them didn't disturb him. Instead, they moved aside in silent agreement, and Moen even quietly cast a soundproofing barrier to isolate Stark from any external noise.
The dwarven engineer was completely immersed in his own world, and the scattered sketches around him piled up at a visible rate.
Sometimes he would jump up and rush to the storage shelves to rummage for a specific part; other times, he would remain as still as a statue, with only his eyes darting rapidly.
Most amazingly, he could actually reach out and accurately grab the mug at his feet without looking, draining it in one gulp.
After an unknown amount of time, the workshop door was suddenly thrown open, and a frantic Maela rushed in.
“This is bad! This is bad! The Stone Trolls are actually attacking!” She bent over, hands on her knees, shouting breathlessly.
When she saw Stark still buried in his work, she stamped her feet in frustration and immediately walked over. “You bookworm, why are you still tinkering with these things? Get to a shelter immediately!”
Only then did Stark look up as if waking from a dream, his face stained with oil and charcoal dust. “Ah, Maela... what did you just say? Wait—”
His eyes suddenly went wide. “The Stone Trolls are here?!”
A moment later, Stark gave a sudden jolt and nearly tumbled off his high stool; Po Kong was quick enough to catch him before he hit the floor.
“Miss Maela, what exactly is the situation?” Xia Duo stepped forward quickly, her brow furrowed. “Didn't we travel day and night? How could the Stone Trolls have arrived so quickly?”
Maela took a deep breath to calm her ragged breathing. “They haven't reached the city walls yet, but while I was reporting to the Council, I ran into a scout squad returning from the front. I learned that the Stone Trolls' vanguard has already advanced to within twenty miles of Cinder City.”
Moen exchanged a worried glance with Starlight and asked softly, “Is there anything we can do to help? Based on the scale of the encounters we've had, this attack is definitely no small matter...”
“If you could help, that would be wonderful. I thank you all on behalf of the Council.”
Maela bowed solemnly to the four of them. Throughout their journey, she had witnessed the strength of this four-person team; having them assist would undoubtedly be a godsend for Cinder City.
Rate on N.U.
