Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 61: Pride of Cecil Clan

The answer was too vague. Gawain frowned and asked, “More details?”

“This side of the yard is a line. The other side is another line.” Rebecca made large gestures with her arms. “With these two lines as a reference, I’m treating the entire yard like a piece of paper. Every line of the magic circle is separated into crucial points, and every crucial point can be calculated with the distance between the two sides of the yard… This is just enlarging the scale of the manuscript, and the calculation is a mage’s expertise!”

The calculation was indeed the mages’ expertise, but regular mages couldn’t calculate like this!

Gawain looked at Rebecca with a dumbstruck expression… The way this lass was speaking was so messed that not even Heidi could understand. Instead, it was Gawain who understood: she was setting up a coordinate system and using it as a foundation to enlarge the proportion of the magic circle.

There wasn’t a need to look from a high place. One simply had to calculate the positions of the crucial points before referring to the crucial points according to the manuscripts and connect them.

It wasn’t enough to merely think of this idea; it actually required Rebecca’s very incredible geometry imagination and calculative abilities in order to achieve it. Because this world didn’t have a comprehensive mathematic or geometry system, Rebecca would either have had to forcefully deduce it with arithmetic or perhaps even create her own formulas!

Of course, Rebecca’s method wasn’t the best. Gawain knew plenty of methods from Earth that could be used in this situation, but so what?

In this world and in this era, it was already a miracle for Rebecca to do this!

“Did you think of this method yourself?” Gawain felt as though he had discovered a rare treasure and was looking at Rebecca with sparkling eyes.

Rebecca scratched her head and replied, “Not entirely. I read some of it on the rogue mage’s notes. The other parts were thought up by me…”

So that was the case.

Gawain had a clear understanding. Gawain had also read the rogue mage’s notes thoroughly. There was indeed plenty of superficial geometry and mathematical knowledge. Even though there wasn’t an organized system, it could be said to be some sort of ‘foundation’. If Rebecca had this aspect to her talent, then it wouldn’t be weird for her to receive some enlightenment, allowing her to achieve such things today.

Even if she was enlightened by the rogue mage’s notes, her achievements were still unbelievable.

“Very good, a very good method.” Gawain nodded with satisfaction before saying, “Next… Why would you choose to bury the magic circle underground?”

“Oh, that is because Lord Ancestor said that this magic circle is to be laid down for the blacksmith store.” Rebecca nodded and said, “I thought that since the blacksmiths and their apprentices were different from mages, the way they do things would also be different from mages. During the process of shifting materials between the furnaces and creating the ironware, they could destroy the magic circle’s structure very easily. Furthermore, burying the magic circle underground wouldn’t affect its function and wouldn’t affect future constructions on the surface. As long as it is within the range of the magic circle, it would be very convenient to add in new furnaces, or to remove or modify the current furnaces. How should I say this…? It is simply more convenient this way.”

Function, allocated area, energy source, energy consumption, crucial system encapsulation, possible expansion… Gawain’s brain emerged with plenty of terms that could be used to replace Rebecca’s words. Finally, he had a thought that was even more important.

Rebecca had realized that this magic circle would be meant for ‘normal people’ like blacksmiths and had fixed her design on being ‘usable for normal people and also to be used in a safe method’. Even though she was just simply burying it, her thoughts were extremely appropriate.

A mainstream mage would never consider a magic circle meant for normal people to use, but Rebecca… She was a non-mainstream mage who had taken five years to learn a fireball spell. Her thoughts didn’t follow the thoughts of a regular mage!

Gawain suddenly came back to his senses after a short daze. He saw Heidi’s thoughtful expression and couldn’t help but laughingly ask, “Did you have such thoughts?”

“I’ve… never thought of such things before.” Heidi had a complex expression while replying. Rebecca’s thoughts were too irregular, but at the same time, Heidi was aware of the logic behind these designs. She could even subtly sense the importance of the magic circle being ‘usable for normal people’, and this seemed to be the direction that the ancestor was attached to. “This is indeed very amazing, but if you bury the magic circle, how are you going to monitor it? This magic circle might be formed with fundamental symbols and isn’t as precise or fragile as high-level magic circles, but basic monitoring is still required. Moreover, if it really broke down, how are you going to mend it?”

“I have left many stakes like this.” Rebecca pointed at those wooden stakes inside the yard. “The stakes with ropes are the monitoring points. Later, I will switch them with mithril-plated rods. The bottom part of the metal rods will be in contact with the most crucial parts of the magic circle’s symbols. If there is a problem with the magic circle, the corresponding symbols will be extinguished. Furthermore, after long-term use, mithril will turn black after losing its energy and will produce heat for a period of time. A single glance will be enough to see which part of the magic circle has a problem. When repairing it, only the corresponding section will need to be dug up… It might be a little more troublesome than traditional magic circles, but at least, the entire yard wouldn’t have to be dug up.”

As Rebecca was speaking, she revealed a pleased smile and waved the stack of paper in her hand. The papers were filled with symbols and lines which were obviously sketched by her. “Moreover, this magic circle isn’t going to break down so easily. Lord Ancestor, please take a look. I have rearranged the symbols’ structure… Of course, I didn’t change the fundamental parts. I simply extended the symbols from the rogue mage’s design that could stack functions and connected them layer by layer…”

Goddamnit, a redundant system…!

The corner of Gawain’s eyes were twitching before he looked at the stakes that Rebecca had prepared in advance to use as monitoring points… Primitive sensors!

Once Rebecca started blabbing, it was very hard for her to stop, especially when she was showing off her achievements. At this moment, she even said, “… This way, the entire self-sufficient magic circle’s efficiency will be slightly improved. Furthermore, even if a part of a symbol is damaged, only the energy supply will be lowered. The consumption parts that are connected to the magic circle will not have a huge impact… Because the magic circle is constructed with the standard to produce more energy than required…”

Rebecca spoke a bunch of words with excitement before finally stopping. She seemed to have realized that she was speaking by herself; as such, she looked at Gawain with an anxious and frightened expression. “Lord Ancestor… are my ideas too reckless?”

Gawain didn’t know what kind of expression he should make right now. After some thought, he pressed down on the young lass’s head and said, “No, you are a genius.”

“Ah?!”

“Furthermore, I have a suggestion.” Looking at Rebecca’s sketches, Gawain pointed at some redundant connecting parts and said, “The symbol connections at these parts can be easily severed and merged together. If the symbols are damaged, the connections can be directly severed during repair and connected again after the repair. This way, the entire magic circle won’t need to be stopped during the repair.”

Rebecca’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that…? Lord Ancestor is indeed very intelligent!”

Gawain’s eyes twitched. He knew that Rebecca was speaking sincerely, but he still felt very diffident…

Young lass, you are the most intelligent one!

After dazing for a moment, Gawain couldn’t help but turn to Heidi and ask, “Didn’t anyone notice Rebecca’s talents?”

“Her calculative abilities and imaginative ideas have always been very… outstanding.” Heidi was considering her words. “But these abilities had never been put to good use. The standard of a mage’s strength has always been determined by spellcasting, and in this aspect, she has always been a… bottom feeder.”

“What a waste of talent.” Gawain frowned and didn’t reserve himself while giving an evaluation. “Is spellcasting really the only standard? Then, why not compare strength only to gorillas?!”

Even though Gawain said it, he knew very clearly that it was actually reasonable and logical in the current state of affairs.

In an era when technology was unable to facilitate a leap in civilization, it was very normal to judge a person’s value by their individual capabilities. Especially in a world where extraordinary powers and demonic beings existed, exceptional combat strength that would guarantee survival was a prerequisite. When one’s survival was still at risk, was there a need to talk about technology and innovation?

If individual strength was the standard, it wouldn’t be a big problem for generations to continue. At the same time, the intelligent communities lacking strength would also be unable to transform their intelligence into power, or perhaps, they just weren’t able to generate enough power. If that was the case, then the current standard of judgment might continue forever.

‘You are unable to prove that your intelligence will make you strong in the future, but I can already prove that my strength can guarantee my existence.’ This was what was happening.

But didn’t this mean that humans would need to arm-wrestle with gorillas forever?

Rebecca had extraordinary talents indeed. Gawain had finally confirmed this point.

She was an unconventional viscountess that everyone looked down on. She had been ostracized by the aristocrat community… because she was a descendant of the Cecil Clan. She had been scorned by the mage community… because she couldn’t even execute the illumination spell. She had been the topic of gossip for the merchants and residents of other territories… because she was truly a terrible leader who issued bold and imaginative decrees but was unable to make her territory or herself prosperous.

It was because no one could see her talents. In fact, they couldn’t even understand.

In a society where people made a living relying on nature and where the poor would retrogress, no one was able to value her calculative abilities. In a society where mages could be hired, especially mid or high-ranking mages in the upper echelons, no one required her calculations… ‘Convenient’ magic could indeed solve everything, and if it couldn’t solve something, one simply had to use stronger magic.

With Eagle Vision and Eye of the Mage, was there a need to calculate the coordinates on the land? Professional mages could simply use their senses to control large-scale magic circles. Why would there be a need for sensors? Furthermore… an inferior mage who only knew how to use Fireball wouldn’t have the chance to take charge in the construction of a magic circle.

It was why Rebecca was so happy when she obtained the approval from Gawain. This was the first time in her life she had been given the authority to do the thing she specialized in.

“Lord Ancestor…” Rebecca looked at Gawain with an uneasy expression. “Do you think that I—”

Gawain smiled and placed his hand on her head. “You are the pride of Cecil Clan.”