[A/N: Next couple of Chapters, I'll focus on building the territory and giving some background to characters. Oh, I skipped a couple of years, so Daniel is now 13 and Helena 12]
'Captain, move it to the right! Now, a bit more, it's going to work! Connect the final rune!' shouted Jon in the mind of the 13-year-old boy -- Lord Daniel Thanatos.
They were currently at the edge of the Endless Forest, the territory's border on the west side. This mana-rich area gave birth to many magical beasts and was a good source of income for the territory. Adventurers would hunt and collect resources and magical crystals from the beasts. The Barony would get taxes on them.
However, in a restricted area on the outskirts of the forest, the Lord of the territory was known to run strange experiments that made even the bravest adventurers shiver. It was said that unexplained noises and explosions could be frequently heard, and even great magical beasts avoided the area.
Once, a group of adventurers was being chased by an Arktos, the so-called king of the forest. A magical beast that looked like a bear with the rare ability to wield two elements, earth and wind. The panicked adventurers entered the Lord's restricted area by accident and were stunned to see the great beast frozen in fear. The beast turned around and ran, while whining, to the forest. Rumours spread even faster after that.
"Are you sure it won't explode again?" asked the boy, adding, "Last time, I almost lost a hand".
'I'm sure! (sort of...) Do it now!' squealed Jon.
The boy groaned but connected the final rune. A humming noise was heard, and the hundreds of runes around the room glowed. The walls were lined with intricate symbols, and characters interconnected with mana-channelling lines, parallel and series connections, and multiple subsystems in standardized blocs. With his fists clenched, waiting for an explosion, the boy watched in awe as the structure whizzed and buzzed.
"It worked?" Daniel was the first to speak. For once, the voice in his head was speechless.
'Do you know what this means, Captain?' said Jon, finally breaking out of the trance.
The boy nodded, "Yes, you explained a thousand times in the last two years."
'We just made history, Captain! More than that, we probably made history in multiple worlds!' Jon kept shouting.
In this world, the magical devices were powered by magical crystals. These crystals were harvested from magical beasts and used until drained. Then, the empty crystals were nothing but shiny rocks and were discarded. Often, people would throw the empty crystals away or gift them to the children to play with.
Since the beginning of history, there has been an undisputed law: only magical beasts can refine mana, condense it, and store it in a crystal. Today, the unusual duo proved them wrong. After more than two years of studying runes, or magical circuits as Jon called them, and hundreds of experiments, they succeeded in building the first magical crystal charger. The apparatus would collect ambient mana, condense it, and recharge empty crystals! It was revolutionary.
'Sustainability, b*tch!' Jon yelled in a rare moment of profanity. 'Captain, we'll be rich!'
The boy nodded. This would be a significant boost to the territory. They had secretly imported empty crystals of different purity and size from other territories for the past six months. They had stockpiled thousands of them. They could now recharge and export or use them to power devices in the barony.
In these years, Jon developed many circuits to replicate Earth technology. He would frequently shout, 'this is an op-amp!' or 'this is a transistor!'. All things unknown to the Captain, but he needed to respect their contract: Help with the Baron's responsibilities in exchange for 2 hours per day of 'Jon time'.
The Captain had to admit that some magical devices were useful. A device to ward off magical beasts was already trialled in this facility successfully. At the mansion, they had a device supplying hot water at all times. They had first introduced running drinking water throughout the city, and Jon added the hot water at the mansion only. Helena and Annette increased their visits from school after that!
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Another major breakthrough, according to Jon, was the mago-mechanical conversion device. He designed the device following principles from the electromechanical conversion devices back on Earth -- or simply, motors. These devices could convert mana from a crystal to circular movement. They were a step closer to having an actual car!
Many other random inventions were loitering in the securely protected facility.
'Captain, do you know what we have unleashed onto this world?' asked Jon.
"A geek?" chuckled the boy, leaving Jon speechless for a second time. The Captain never joked.
"Mhmm. We need to head back. Helena and Annette are coming back from school today," said the boy, not letting Jon recuperate from the blow.
They left the facility with a hundred empty crystals in the charging locations. This was a mana-rich area, so in a day, they should have the first batch for trial.
= * =
"Brother, you knew we were coming, and you were still late!" pouted the 12-year-old Helena.
"Greetings, my Lord," added Annette, now almost 15 -- an adult in this world. In a few months, she would be graduating the school.
Daniel had moved them to a different school where students were allowed to live outside the premises -- and one that his uncle hadn't infiltrated. He rented a house in the capital for them to stay and assigned guards to protect both girls.
"How was your trip back?" asked Daniel, ignoring his sister's long face.
"It was amazing, brother! These 'air suspensions' that you added to the carriage made the trip unbelievably comfortable!" squealed Helena. Annette nodded and added,
"My Lord, we should consider commercializing this device. It will be extremely popular with nobles and merchants!"
"Hmmm. OK, Annette. Talk to your mother, Shein, and the mansions cartwright that made the prototype. Put together a business plan, negotiate costs, and present a proposal to me. If it goes forward and becomes successful, you'll get 20% of the profit. What do you think?" answered the boy.
Annette was amazed; this was an excellent opportunity for her -- especially since she would become an adult soon. Without thinking, she bowed and said,
"Thank you for this opportunity, my Lord. I promise you'll not regret it!"
Helena smiled and grabbed her brother's arm. His heart was slowly warming up. In the beginning, she was afraid that what came back to her from the sanitarium was a monster with only death in his mind. The last two years have shown her that her brother is indeed a good Lord. Many people said he was the best lord they ever had, and even people from other territories started moving to the Barony.
"Shein and Aunt Secilia say that the changes you have introduced saved the Barony. After what Uncle did, there was a good chance we would lose the territory, and people would go hungry," Helena said. She then added,
"Oh, on our way here, I saw people creating a new path next to the existing road. What is all that about, brother?"
"Railway tracks," said Daniel.
"What? Is that another of your weird devices?" asked a confused Helena.
'Who are you calling weird???' complained Jon, whose idea was to build a transportation system throughout the Barony, based on a railroad system and magic as the driving force.
"Let's go for a demonstration. Call Shein, Aunt Secilia, Annette, and Robert to the back of the mansion," said Daniel. He then left Helena, trying to gather everyone together.
"Brother, everyone is here. What are these metallic rods in the ground?" Helena said, pointing at the pilot railway tracks spanning 2 km behind the mansion towards the Endless Forest.
"You'll see. Get on the carriage, everyone," said Daniel, pointing at a carriage located on the tracks. This was the prototype train that they had built a few months ago. The problem was the magic crystal consumption. Without the charging station, it would simply be too expensive to operate. It was a gamble to start building the tracks before getting the charger to work, but it finally paid off.
Once everyone got on the cart and sat on the comfortable seats, Daniel activated the train. Artificial light came from inside the carriage, and a humming noise could be heard. Everyone except Daniel were shocked and quickly grasped on the sides of their seats.
"Is this a magical beast?" asked Aunt Secilia.
"No. I made this," said Daniel while activating the drive system.
The train started moving forward, and screams were heard from the passengers. Robert was white from the shock, while Aunt Secilia and Annette closed their eyes and screamed. Shein was looking at the moving carriage and said,
"But, there is no horse!"
Helena was excited and stood next to her brother. She smiled and started shouting,
"Woohooo! This is amazing, brother!"
This one comment was enough to pay for all the hard work of the Captain and Jon.
They quickly reached the end of the track, and Daniel used the bypass to turn the cart back. They all disembarked and watched closely as Daniel coupled a cargo carriage behind the leading wagon. Robert and Daniel loaded the carriage to the top with rocks, and everyone embarked on the leading carriage again.
"So, it can carry cargo and people? How many carriages can it pull?" asked Aunt Secilia, breaking the silence. She clearly understood the ramifications of this invention. If the new roads the Lord ordered through each village were 'railway tracks', it would revolutionize the transportation system.
"Using this design, maybe 10. I can make a more powerful driving cart if needed," answered Daniel. They all nodded in awe.
"So, it will connect all the villages with Fini???" asked Helena, who just started to comprehend the significance of this project.
"And the Endless Forest, the iron mine to the southeast, and the fishing village in the northwest," answered Daniel.
The people with him stared at each other. This would revolutionize everything!
[https://www.dropbox.com/s/4y609vsa3tpyx2e/map2.jpeg?raw=1]