Chapter 202 — New Ore

Gao Yang looked at the ores the apprentices had pushed over to him, and from the very first glance he could tell that these ores contained substances related to magic.

It was a mineral of silvery grey laced with faint blue-violet streaks; under certain lighting it took on a metallic sheen, and those blue-violet streaks seemed hazy and illusory when gazed upon—an unmistakable hallmark of magical material, and moreover the sort of hallmark found only in material of high purity and excellent conductivity.

The discovery of an entirely new mineral in the Dark Mountains, one potentially usable in the magical field, was unquestionably excellent news, but Gao Yang was more worried about whether the Nikoxi Egg might be left with some lasting ailment after being affected by this "stimulus source": "How long will your cold take to clear up? Is this illness serious among your... kind?"

"No problem, no problem, don't worry," the great silvery-white comic orb buzzed, "two or three days at most and it'll be gone—nothing but a trifle. And so long as I don't come into direct contact with the stimulus source again for a while, I'll adapt to it after some time and won't have another attack."

"...Your species really is strange..." Gao Yang muttered under his breath, then turned his attention back to the ores. After observing them for a while, he questioned the craftsman beside him, "Has Hedy studied these ores?"

"Lady Hedy already took a portion of the samples in advance. Her preliminary analysis suggests a very high proportion of metal content, which is why she sent some over to the Mechanical Workshop—she wanted the director to help refine it," the craftsman reported earnestly, "but who'd have thought the director had barely touched the stuff before it dropped to the floor."

"All right, then I'll go see her myself to get the details," Gao Yan nodded, then looked at the Nikoxi Egg lying on the ground, "You rest up well these next couple of days. Most of the machine tools are already online and we've got a batch of skilled workers now; routine parts production and processing can be handled by the various factories, so just focus on recovering. By the way, do you have any requirements for your recovery environment?"

The great metal sphere rocked slightly: "Just find me a spot where I can bask in the sun. And pile some metal scraps containing iron and copper around me—or quartz sand from your world would do too. I need to replenish myself..."

That really is consistent, tightly reasoned worldbuilding...

Gao Yang marveled inwardly, then rubbed his chin while looking at the big sphere before him: "But with your size and weight what they are... getting you out into the sun won't be easy. Hold on, I'll go find Hedy to cast a weight-reduction spell or something on you..."

"Hey, no need, no need—I'm not completely paralyzed, my levitation chamber still works, I just can't float up, that's all," the Nikoxi Egg buzzed, "Just get someone to push me along, don't worry, it'll be easy."

Dealing with an iron-sphere alien whose aesthetic was so utterly peculiar was a real challenge to one's worldview. Gao Yang had to work hard to adapt to the other's bizarre appearance and physiological traits just to keep his expression from collapsing. He finally managed to suppress the twitching at the corner of his mouth and turned to glance at the craftsmen and apprentices nearby: "You... who wants to push your director out to bask in the sun?"

At once two sturdy apprentices stepped forward: "We're willing to look after the director!"

Then Gao Yang watched as the two apprentices pushed their round, rolling director rumbling out of Workshop No. 1, a great crowd of craftsmen and apprentices seeing them off the whole way with worried expressions. After that, a craftsman took his apprentice to pick out metal scraps to nourish the director's body, and Gao Yang even heard them discussing in low voices as they walked: "Does the director eat sweet or savory?" "No idea... by the way, do iron and copper chunks really need seasoning sprinkled on them?" "...Well, let's just sprinkle some salt." "Pick the small ones, easier to bite into." "By the way, where is the director's mouth anyway?" "Why are you worrying about that..."

Gao Yang: "..."

He couldn't shake the feeling that the apprentices and craftsmen of the Mechanical Research Institute had spent so long with the iron-sphere alien that they all seemed to have undergone some change in worldview...

He shook his head and thought no more of it. After confirming the Nikoxi Egg was in no serious danger and ordering the other workers back to their posts, he left the Mechanical Workshop with Amber and headed for Hedy's magical laboratory outside the lord's manor.

Although the lord's manor was already complete and contained Hedy's room and two standard magical laboratories, not all magical experiments could be conducted within the manor. Considering the danger of many experiments and the uncertainty involved in testing new materials and new spells, Hedy had deliberately kept the laboratory she had first established on the territory, and after renovating and rebuilding it, continued to use it as a "Testing Center for Hazardous Spells and Substances."

Unfamiliar magical materials gathered from the Dark Mountains would naturally have to be sent to this testing center first for identification.

Gao Yang and Amber arrived at the laboratory door and were just about to push it open when a sharp report suddenly rang out from inside: Bang!!

The report was like the ignition of an oversized firecracker. Though it hadn't blown a hole in the laboratory, it was enough to startle anyone outside—yet the people moving about the surrounding open ground barely reacted at all, as though everyone living nearby was long accustomed to such things.

Gao Yang, however, was somewhat alarmed. He hurriedly pushed open the oak door of the laboratory, which was inscribed with protective runes. The moment the door swung open, a gust of smoke rushed at his face, and before he could make out the situation inside, he heard Hedy's shriek: "Rebecca! Stand right there and don't move!!"

Amid the shriek, a rather petite figure came charging out of the smoke. Amber started at the sight of it and, almost by reflex, dodged to the side while thrusting out a leg to trip it—whereupon the figure went sprawling flat on its face, a short yelp caught in between: "Wah!!"

Gao Yang casually scooped up Rebecca, who was about to brake with her face and flatten her chest in the process. At the same time he shot Amber a startled glance: dodging to the side when someone came charging at her was an understandable reflex, but instinctively sticking out a leg to trip them afterward... how on earth had that habit been cultivated...

Only once Gao Yang had her in his grip did Rebecca realize what had happened. She strained to lift her head, her face blackened with soot: "Wah! It's Ancestor Yan!"

Hedy came dashing out of the smoke as well: "Rebecca, you give me... ah, Ancestor!"

"Are you two all right?" Gao Yang glanced at Hedy, whose face was likewise grey-black with soot, and immediately noticed the staff in her hand and the arcane glow at its tip, "Er... you look all right."

"An accident during the experiment?" Gao Yang set Rebecca down on the ground and stepped into the laboratory, where the smoke was gradually dispersing. The first thing he saw was a large patch of ice shards on one of the workbenches—ice Hedy had presumably frozen in a hurry to keep the damage from spreading, "Did Rebecca throw a fireball at the workbench?"

At the same time he felt a little puzzled: though the silly doe did have a fondness for lobbing big fireballs, she shouldn't be quite that reckless yet...

But Hedy shook her head: "She didn't throw a fireball. But when she channeled magic into the test sample, she blew the sample right up! I simply cannot understand how she managed it!"