Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 71: Abnormal Changes with the Ball

Amongst all of the experiment logs, close to eighty percent were failures.

This meant that while this world appeared to be very livable and the surface of its natural environment seemed rather similar to Earth’s, it was entirely different from Earth in its underlying physics. Supporting its operation was a system completely alien to Gawain. In this unfamiliar system, the various forms of supernatural powers, which included magical power, carried considerable weight.

No, perhaps he shouldn’t call them supernatural powers anymore. In this world, only chanting an incantation to call out to immortals while rubbing a fireball between one’s hands was considered ‘supernatural power’.

However, Gawain did not choose to wash up and go to bed. On the contrary, this mysterious world left him full of fight.

He believed that all laws could be interpreted. All things should have an underlying regulation; humans should be in awe of nature but should not stop moving closer to it because of this reverence. Since those supernatural powers truly existed in this world, he would treat and research supernatural powers as something definite. Just like the winds, rains, thunder, lightning, and universal gravitational force in his native world, the so-called magical powers here were merely part of nature’s cycle. Although his ‘Earth experiences’ could not be put to use, his mode of thinking… Could a mode of thinking polished in an era of information explosion not be able to compare to those conservative aristocrats and pedantic scholars constrained by the medieval life?

Moreover, some of his experiences could still be utilized.

Gawain picked up the two pieces of transparent lenses placed at the corner of the desk. They were cheap man-made crystals (the low-price was merely in relative terms to magic crystals), the most skillful craftsmen in Tanzan Town had spent two days to polish them into a convex lens and a concave lens according to Gawain’s requests. Gawain put the two lenses before his eyes, one behind the other. He constantly adjusted their positions until a clear image was presented to his eyes.

Although the speed of light could not be determined yet, at the least, light still adhered to a law familiar to him in its transmission.

Then at the very least, telescopes could be created; an inexpensive ‘Eagle Vision’ could be popularized for civilian use.

He just had to further lower the cost of constructing the man-made crystals and settle the problem of the low efficiency of manual polishing.

Besides optical phenomena¹, the successful operation of the waterwheel also proved one point — in this world, although the basic laws of the microcosmic field might be different from Earth’s, some direct, macroscopic laws of physics probably did not differ much from his native planet’s.

Hence, many things could still be attempted.

After noting down the entry related to telescopes in his memorandum, Gawain let out a long yawn. Only then did he notice that it had totally quietened down outside. Night had fallen; it was time to sleep.

Gawain’s ears were very sharp, and he could catch light snoring and mumbling while asleep coming from nearby. They were Betty and Amber, who were sleeping next door. Hearing Amber, who mumbled about getting rich even in her slumber, he could not help but chuckle with a shake of his head.

It was really time to wash up and go to bed now.

As the night deepened, the last bit of light in the camp was put out. A tranquil darkness enveloped them, just like the draperies of the legendary Lady Night which protected dreamers. Gawain tried to empty his thoughts while slowly sinking into dreamland.

And only when everything had fallen into darkness would some faint glimmer — which had originally been neglected by everyone — have the chance to flower. Beside Gawain’s desk, some extremely subtle rays of light slowly emerged. They came from the big basket by the desk, the pile of waste produced when Rebecca tried to make ‘cement’.

…

In the camp at night, there were some people who were still awake. They were not ‘workers’ of ‘Cecil Steel Works’. Gawain had renamed the blacksmith store and already given the craftsmen some information regarding the new production system; however, at the present stage where all key infrastructure was incomplete and where there wasn’t any electric lighting, no workshop in the camp could be operated round the clock in three shifts. Those awake were the loyal soldiers on night shift.

The militiamen wore armors and helmets as they walked down the paths with burning fire pans and did their handover at the various stations. A small group of militiamen passed through the warehouse area at the southern part of the camp and arrived at an independent tent set on the fringe of the camp. The squad leader was a middle-aged soldier with a full beard. He confirmed the command and identification token with the comrade he was relieving; he then looked towards the tent with a teasing look. “Is that thing sleeping?”

“Duh, what else can a piece of rock do other than sleep?” The squad leader who was about to go rest shrugged. “I really don’t see the point of us guarding here. It’s just a rock ball, and there hasn’t been a stir for so many days. Madam Heidi even uses all sorts of spells to stimulate it every day, but I don’t see any effect…”

“Watch your tongue.” The squad leader taking over reminded. “This is the Grand Duke’s decision. He gave orders to guard this thing. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Of course not, of course not,” The person across him hurriedly replied. Then he bowed his head, only to see the elaborate equipment on him that was full of magical brilliance. “I still got to thank the Grand Duke. I never thought I could be using such good equipment in this life. It feels like an illusion where I’ve become a knight…”

“Don’t look forward to the day when this comes in handy.” The squad leader relieving the shift patted his shoulder. “Get back and have a rest.”

Their comrades who incessantly yawned finally left. The bearded squad leader took over the security of this area. Leaving two soldiers at the entrance, he lifted the curtain of the tent and stepped inside.

The ‘rock ball’ with a diameter of about 1.5 meters sat quietly in the center. A pit had been dug in the ground beneath it to ensure that the rock ball would remain well in place. And around it, numerous thick wooden stakes were planted. The original thick ropes connecting them had now been changed to ropes weaved with magic threads. These interlaced magic threads radiated a faint fluorescence in the darkness of the night, but its main function was to provide reassurance.

Besides that, there were also several wooden shelves and a desk in the tent. Some magical crystals and alchemical potions were displayed on the shelves, while a paperweight held down some scribbled-on manuscripts on the desk. The ordinary soldiers wouldn’t dare to touch these; they were the study notes that Heidi had left behind.

Pity there was absolutely no progress made in those notes.

“This thing hasn’t changed at all.” A soldier circled the rock ball, he restrained the impulse of using his rifle to tap the rock ball, which could be seeking death. He muttered to himself, “I heard that it’s a relic of the ancient Gondor Empire. I’d thought it would be really impressive.”

The squad leader slapped the head of this soldier. “Cut the crap. Check conscientiously whether there are any cracks on the surface and whether it has shifted. Leave after you’re done, and come in after an hour to relieve me.”

The soldiers began their checks while mumbling to themselves; meanwhile, the squad leader freely surveyed the furnishings in the tent. However, the moment his eyes shifted away from the rock ball, an indistinct feeling like static electricity began to spread on his skin, and some of his little hairs stood up.

Any person who could survive the Cecil catastrophe was no ordinary person. But despite being a squad leader of the militiamen, if placed in the territories of other noble clans, he would have just been a new knight in training. This middle-aged soldier with a full beard was instantly on alert; his hand gripped the longsword at his waist and unsheathed it slightly. “There’s a problem!”

However, in the next second, that ‘static electric’ feeling with all his hair standing on end disappeared. The two soldiers nervously held their long spears in a tight grip for a long time before staring at each other. One of them turned to his squad leader. “Chief… I think you’re too nervous?”

“No, I did feel…” The squad leader himself was also puzzled. He explained himself, but midway through, he noticed that the sheen of a magical halo on the soldier’s enchanted breastplate had gone out. “Locke! Your breastplate!”

The soldier named Locke lowered his head for a look and instantly cried out. “Ah!”

However, the moment he did, the initially dimmed enchanted breastplate returned to normal. A very dim magical halo covered his armor again as if nothing had happened at all.

Following that, the same changes happened to the other soldier’s breastplate — it first went out and then recovered; the squad leader also saw that the longsword in his hand had lost the halo of enchantment in that brief moment.

He immediately unsheathed the whole longsword. “Stay calm! Slowly retreat. This place…”

Before he could finish, a peculiar force came from the longsword, as if there was an invisible pair of hands tugging at it. The enchanted longsword which came from the ancient Gondor Empire was abruptly pulled in the direction of the rock ball in the center of the tent. The squad leader instinctively resisted against this force and exclaimed, “Quickly get someone! There’s a problem with this ball!”

The soldier Locke immediately rushed towards the entrance, but midway, a huge force came from his armor: strictly speaking, this force was towing his armor. He was dragged and thrown into the air as a result of this powerful attractive force, breaking past the surrounding fencing and ropes; his entire body was practically flying toward the rock ball.

Locke struggled in terror. He tried to remove his armor to free himself from the pull, but that powerful attractive force had caused the armor’s catch to be stuck together. He could not get out even after several desperate attempts. On the other hand, the squad leader sensed the attractive force on his longsword growing stronger. He finally lost his grip on his weapon; it promptly slipped out of his hand, let out a whistle in the air, and ended up stuck to the top of the rock ball with a clatter.

The tip of the sword and Locke’s head were only half a palm’s width apart.

Locke rolled his eyes and glanced at the sword above his head. He finally shouted at the top of his voice. “The rock ball has come alive!! There’s a problem!!”

His shouts spread through almost half of the camp…

The squad leader who’d lost his weapon stared dumbstruck at his empty right hand; he lifted his head to share a speechless gaze with the other soldier in the tent.

The armor he was wearing wasn’t pulled away, and the remaining soldier had everything intact.

This ‘rock ball’ picked and chose which items to attract?