Exploring Technology in a Wizard World

On Richard's way to Jialan City, many things were happening elsewhere.

It seemed that each event had no connection to the others, but being in the same world on the same continent, there were always some hidden relations linking these events together.

...

In the morning.

In the western region of the Main Continent, among the mountain ranges, a rugged camp stood tall.

At the heart of the camp was a two-story wooden building. In its hall, a tall Bald Wizard sat in a high-backed chair covered with animal skins. His eyes were half-closed, as if he were resting or pondering some significant matter.

Suddenly, outside the wooden building, hurried footsteps erupted, causing the tall Bald Wizard to involuntarily open his eyes.

"Tap tap tap..."

Accompanying the footsteps, an old man dressed in grey walked in, holding a heavy lead box in his hands.

"What's wrong?" the Bald Wizard asked the old man, frowning slightly.

"My lord," the old man's voice was somewhat low as he reported to the Bald Wizard, "There has been an incident in the North Slope Mine, and now it has also occurred in the South Slope Mine."

"Hmm? Are you sure?" the Bald Wizard asked, somewhat agitated, rising from his seat.

"My lord, this is true. I wouldn't dare to speak carelessly. I'm certain of it before coming to tell you," the old man's wrinkles converged creating a look of concern, "I've had it tested, and indeed, in the mining tunnels where digging continues at the South Slope Mine, there are those disgusting energies with an evil aura, completely different from natural energies. Wizard Apprentices could resist to some extent, but not ordinary people."

"By the way, this is the strange gemstone found in the mine. If I'm not wrong, it should be this gemstone that emits the evil aura." As he spoke, the old man opened the lead box.

The Bald Wizard looked inside the lead box and saw a palm-sized gemstone.

The gemstone was beautiful, milky yellow in color, shining on the surface, and somewhat translucent, almost like yellow sapphires, but not exactly.

Stepping closer to the lead box, he took the gemstone and held it in his hands. The Bald Wizard felt the energy carefully; indeed, there was a weak energy emitting from the gemstone. This energy was starkly different from the Free Energy Elements absorbed from nature through meditation. If Free Energy Elements were gentle, this energy felt cold and uncomfortable.

The Bald Wizard's brows furrowed deeply as he placed the gemstone back in the box and slowly paced around the hall, pondering a solution. After a long while, coming up with nothing, he looked at the old man with some frustration and asked, "Can the ordinary Miners really not endure the mine's environment?"

"If we force them, they could stay and continue to extract the gemstones we need," the old man said, his expression bitter, "but after a while, be it half a day or two to three days, they will show collective adverse reactions."

"What kind of adverse reactions?"

"Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, and the like," the old man said.

"That doesn't sound too serious; a rest would suffice," the Bald Wizard retorted with a pout, "Any other adverse reactions?"

"This..." the old man hesitated a moment, glanced at the Bald Wizard, and cautiously said, "There were also reports of hair loss. Several Miners who had been in the mine could lightly pluck at their hair, and large clumps would fall out."

"That!" The Bald Wizard stiffened, a fleeting look of shock in his eyes, and he subconsciously touched his bald scalp, murmuring, "In that case, it does seem quite serious."

The old man inquired for an opinion, "My lord, in light of this... should we temporarily halt the mining operations at the South Slope Mine? After all, our Miners are not free of charge. If we keep this up and they all die, recruiting a new batch won't be easy."

"Ah," the Bald Wizard sighed deeply, "But if we do that, we'll have two mines shut down, and this year's output will certainly be greatly reduced."

Pausing, the Bald Wizard couldn't help but complain to vent his frustration, "Damn it! What I can't understand is, with so many mines in these mountains and countless big and small Wizard Powers mining, why does our mountain alone encounter such strange incidents? Why is it only in our mines that such evil gemstones keep appearing?

These gemstones are utterly useless. Removing them completely isn't easy and comes at great cost; we have no choice but to abandon them! Damn it all!

Could this be some kind of retribution? But, I've done nothing wrong, have I? Compared to those shameless Wizards, I've never killed anyone carelessly. I just want to earn a bit of money through hard work, to buy some potions, and see if I can get my hair to grow back. Speaking of which, I even saved two lives a few days ago. Why can't I have some good luck?"

The old man in grey didn't know what to say and after a long while, asked again, "Then my lord, what do you think we should ultimately do about the mine?"

"Let me think it over properly, and I'll inform you once I've made up my mind," the Bald Wizard took a deep breath. Then something came to mind, and he asked the old man, "Speaking of the two people I saved a while back, have they woken up yet?"

"Uh, yes, they have," the old man said, "but their injuries are still quite serious. They're bedridden and will need some time before they can recover."

"That's good," the Bald Wizard touched his bald head, "Since they're awake, I'll go see them and try to convince them to stay. The man is not of much concern; he's just a Wizard Apprentice, of whom we have plenty. But that young witch, heh, I can tell she has exceptional Talent, substantial potential. If we can keep her and help her grow, the benefits for us will be endless."

Saying this, the Bald Wizard strode out, the old man in grey hurriedly following him.

...

Outside the wooden building, in another wooden structure within the camp, Nancy and Gro were each lying on a bed covered in bandages, emitting a pungent medicinal scent.

Gro's expression was twisted in pain as he kept going "hmm hmm" with discomfort.

Nancy lay on the bed, supremely quiet, beads of cold sweat seeping from her forehead, clearly in more pain than Gro but enduring it silently. After a while, hearing Gro's ongoing groans, Nancy could not help but give Gro a sidelong glance, full of disdain as she scolded, "Stop that noise! Can't you keep your mouth shut!"

"It really hurts, okay?" Gro winced.

"Does shouting make it stop hurting? You're embarrassing yourself!"

"I…" Gro was at a loss for words.

At that moment, footsteps approached from outside, and the door creaked open as the Bald Wizard entered with the old man in grey.