Exploring Technology in a Wizard World

Bobbobovic finished his story without pausing and looked at Richard, his gaze a bit trance-like as he continued, "You know, Wizard Richard, the missing guy, his name is Mike. He could barely be called a friend of mine; actually, we didn't get along well, and we took completely different paths.

If he were really dead, it wouldn't matter much. But he owed me a lot of money, so I have to find out whether he's truly dead or just hiding to avoid paying me back.

He's not like the others; when other people die, they just die, but when he dies... he might play possum. Anyway, I must find out his situation and can't... let him off easily, no!"

By the end, Bobbobovic somewhat lost his composure, but he quickly regained his usual demeanor and asked Richard seriously, "Alright, Wizard Richard, I have told you the real reason why I'm here, now it's your turn to tell me yours, right?"

"I told you already," Richard responded calmly, "I just couldn't sleep and took a walk, that's all."

"Your estate is not at all close to here, even farther than my Ash Academy," Bobbobovic frowned, pointing out the inconsistency.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Richard remained calm and unhurried, "Is there a rule that says one must walk right at their doorstep? I like to walk far when I take a stroll. Is there a problem with that, Wizard Vici?"

The serious and solemn expression on Bobbobovic's face couldn't hold, and he burst into an exasperated silence. He realized that Richard just didn't want to tell him, not even bothering to fabricate a reason.

If that was the case, why had he been so forthcoming with his own reasons?

Was he an idiot?

Seemed like it, a bit.

Damn it!

At that moment, Richard continued, addressing Bobbobovic, "Wizard Vici, whatever my reasons for coming here may be, they aren't important. Because either way, our goals align; we both want to understand this Truth Society clue, infiltrate the inside, and gather some information."

"This... is indeed the case," Bobbobovic acknowledged.

"Then that settles it; on this front, we could cooperate temporarily," Richard said.

Bobbobovic furrowed his brow, "But how exactly should we proceed? I thought this castle might be one of their temporary strongholds full of clues, but it doesn't seem so now. Everyone in the castle has vanished, so there's no one to catch and question. How can we learn any clues or investigate further?"

"It's actually simpler than you think," Richard stated, "Whether or not they have disappeared by now, they were here earlier in large numbers. Such a large group of wizards appearing suddenly in Jialan City wouldn't be too secretive; a thorough investigation will reveal quite a bit of information.

Moreover, as you said, this is just one of their temporary bases, and we can try to deduce their origin from some of the details. We go back to where they came from and search for clues there."

"Really?" Bobbobovic asked, half in doubt and half in amazement.

"Of course," Richard assured.

"Like what?" Bobbobovic pressed on.

"Like this," Richard said, picking up a glass cup from the table, left behind by a wizard of the Truth Society.

Richard spun the glass cup slowly in his hand and asked Bobbobovic, "Wizard Vici, what can you tell from this glass cup?"

"This…" Bobbobovic analyzed the glass cup for a moment, struggling to discern, "First of all, this glass cup is finely crafted which indicates it wasn't cheap. I... I probably couldn't afford it. Also, there are many wear marks on the surface, suggesting that its user did not cherish it much, which in turn denotes that they must indeed be wealthier than me. So, the conclusion is, a wealthy wizard long used this glass cup."

"Is that all?" Richard asked, with a peculiar tone.

Sheepishly, Bobbobovic replied, "For the moment, that's all I can glean. Why, have you discovered anything else?"

"A very obvious point, this glass cup is of special material and not produced in Jialan City," Richard spoke up.

"Ah, is that so?" Bobbobovic suddenly understood, then frowned again, "But that doesn't say much, does it? It doesn't really prove anything."

"No, it does prove something," Richard replied, "Glass is extremely fragile, and on the Main Continent, apart from some high-value glass art pieces, other low-value glass products are rarely transported over long distances, resulting in distinct regional differences. Based on that, by analyzing the specific glass material, we can determine where this glass cup came from.

I have familiarized myself with the glass from Jialan City and several surrounding cities in order to build something. So, if I'm not mistaken, this glass cup comes from Delan, and the people from the Truth Society are likely from Delan too."

"Delan?" Bobbobovic's eyes lit up, but then he doubted, as it seemed far-fetched to garner so much information from a single glass cup. He looked at Richard for confirmation, repeating, "Can you be certain?"

"Of course," Richard said and then reached into his pocket to take out a small glass bottle, placing it next to the glass cup. He asked Bobbobovic, "Can you spot any differences between these two glass items?"

"This…" Bobbobovic looked closely for a while, pointing at the small glass bottle, "This one seems slightly greenish."

"Exactly right," Richard affirmed, "The greenish glass bottle is produced by Marquis Vian's glass factory in Jialan City. At Marquis Vian's factory, the glass is made from silicon dioxide, which is sand. The sand also contains traces of iron, which is difficult to completely remove during the manufacturing process, leading to the glass adopting the color of divalent iron—green. Although this doesn't affect usage, it does impair the aesthetic, hindering the production of high-value glass art pieces.

The glass industry in Rand, however, is better developed than here and has started to solve this problem. You see, the glass cup is only slightly greenish, but if you don't look carefully, it resembles white. They've probably used purer sand, and they likely added some sort of purple dye, such as manganese dioxide.

Purple can be considered the complementary color of yellow; mixed with green, based on the principle of primary colors of light, the result appears white. Of course, since purple and yellow are not completely complementary, the resulting white color will deviate somewhat.

Additionally, controlling the exact amount of dye is nearly impossible, so the glass cup has an imperceptible greenish hue. Considering that it isn't a high-value art piece, it is acceptable. In conclusion, this type of glass is indeed only produced in one place: Rand."