I Pioneered Scientific Magic

Under Lynn's extremely "friendly" gaze, Darren struggled to swallow his saliva and immediately fell silent.

Lydia, as if remembering something, asked in excitement, "Professor Lynn, did Master Herlram send you? Have I passed the assessment?"

"My purpose here has nothing to do with Master Herlram," Lynn refuted the girl's guess, then continued, causing disappointment to flash across her face. "I came here because I want you to make something for me."

As Lynn spoke, he took out a parchment scroll from his pocket and handed it to Lydia, who took it and exclaimed, unable to contain her surprise, "It's so beautiful..."

The parchment scroll depicted a large and uniquely designed alchemical machine. The top resembled an inverted oval sphere, and the bottom had numerous ropes connecting it, resembling a ship's hull. Even the internal structure was intricately detailed, complex yet not chaotic, exuding a strange sense of beauty.

"What is this? The latest alchemical ship?" Lydia asked in astonishment, noticing propellers and a rudder, which were typically used on airships.

"This is called a skyship!" Lynn replied.

Initially, he had considered creating a hot air balloon, a simple method to ascend into the sky without the need for magic. However, after careful consideration, he abandoned the idea and decided to create a skyship that could travel far and wide.

His goal was not merely aesthetics. He had done his research in the past few days. While some third-tier wizards proficient in elemental and shaping magic could fly in the sky, the energy consumption was enormous, and their flying altitude and speed were limited. Only high-level wizards could stay in the air for extended periods, and it was not a common mode of transportation.

The island they were on was vast, with many mines, and the Wizard's City itself was built near a large magical ore deposit in the center of the island. Land transportation from various places was not straightforward. For example, transporting goods from Iyeta Harbor using camel-like creatures on mountain roads to the Wizard's City would take seven to eight days, with the possibility of monster attacks along the way.

However, things would be different if they could travel through the air. It could at least cut the travel time in half, even though the skyship's carrying capacity was not substantial. It was cost-effective for transporting essential materials or novel items not available in the Wizard's City.

Furthermore, a steam-powered skyship itself was a marketable commodity. By adding a couple of magic crystal cannons and protective spells, it could become a mobile aerial fortress. Such a vessel could easily fetch over a thousand magic gold coins.

As for concerns about technology leaks, there was no need to worry in the short term. If he could get the skyship up in the air and take it for a spin, he could apply for alchemical patent protection from the council.

In the Wizard's City, there was a mechanism to protect the formulas for various magical items, and it was only through such protection that wizards could publish their hard-earned research results.

In fact, this extended to high-level magic as well. Even in his capacity as a professor at the academy, he could only learn low-level magic for free.

In the long term, there was even less reason to worry. What he was bringing out now was merely a low-level toy. In a few years, after he had thoroughly understood the situation in the Wizard's City, he could simply create internal combustion engines, and the so-called steam-powered skyship would be as slow as a snail in the sky.

"A skyship, a ship that flies in the sky?" Lydia asked eagerly.

"Yes, that's about the gist of it," Lynn nodded.

Lydia immediately seemed as though she had discovered a treasure, her eyes sparkling with excitement. But she soon realized that the skyship design on the blueprint didn't have any wing-like wings; it only featured a small propeller, which seemed insufficient to keep the skyship afloat. Did it require some sort of magic to fly?

"Can this thing really fly?" Lydia asked curiously. Did it need some kind of magic to work?

"Of course, it can fly," Lynn assured her with confidence. He then continued with a smile, "Do you know why wood can float on water?"

Lydia shook her head in confusion. Isn't it common knowledge that wood floats on water?

Lynn explained, "It's because wood, with the same volume, is less dense than water. In other words, its density is lower than that of water, which means the buoyancy, or the force that pushes it up in the water, is greater than the force of gravity. You can try it. Not only wood, but anything with similar properties can float on water, and conversely, they will sink in water."

"And a skyship can fly into the sky for the same reason! As long as the density of the gas inside the cabin is lower than that of the normal atmosphere, flying will not be a problem."

Lydia listened attentively, nodding with a partial understanding. "So, when we sit on the skyship, it's like sitting on a boat, using this very light gas to ascend into the sky, right?"

"Your understanding is quite good, but your knowledge is still limited. If you could attend a few more of my magic classes, maybe you could design your own flying machine!" Lynn said, feeling nostalgic.

Upon hearing Lynn's words, Lydia's initially happy expression immediately froze, and she put on a mournful face. To learn this knowledge, she had to join the Iyeta Academy, but the catch was that she had to fly first to pass the entrance exam.

It seemed like an endless loop to her.

"If you can perfectly create the skyship according to the design, and if it successfully takes its maiden flight, I might consider letting you pilot it," Lynn said with a smile. "I remember your agreement with Master Herlram was to fly in the sky without using magic, and this would barely meet the requirement."

"Can I really pilot it?" Lydia asked excitedly, leaping up in joy. She bumped her head against the frame of the wing, causing her eyes to well up with tears, but she still stared at Lynn with hope in her eyes.

"Of course, you can. But one thing to note, my requirements are quite high," Lynn casually mentioned.

Even though one of his objectives this time was to, well, "recruit" this half-dwarf girl as his assistant to help him craft and sell those novel creations, saving more time for him to research magic, the method and approach were crucial. If he directly invited her and offered to help, it might raise suspicion and not achieve the desired effect.

Only by compelling her to earn the opportunity through her efforts would she truly value it, and she would be more diligent in her magical studies in the future.

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