The next day.
Eugene Magnus returned to the main house after a long time and met with Jeffrey, the butler.
“It has been a long time, Young Master.”
Jeffrey greeted him with an inscrutable smile.
‘...He really is a person whose thoughts are impossible to read.’
Seeing him smile with those narrow eyes, Eugene could not help but think that.
“Hello, Uncle Jeffrey.”
Since Eugene was outwardly playing the role of a bright, well-mannered young master, he greeted him as though nothing were wrong.
“So, what brings you here?”
“I came to check my Merit Score. What Grade am I at now?”
A Merit Score was a point total assigned according to how much a member of the Magnus Family accomplished things that benefited the family.
It was a system in which the authority one could exercise within the family changed depending on one’s score.
“Your Merit Score? I was just compiling that information, so your timing is good. Here, I will show you.”
“Thank you.”
Eugene checked his Merit Score.
Thanks to the completed commission from the Kalibore Mage Tower being reflected, his Merit Score, which had originally been close to zero, had risen considerably.
And that score meant….
“You are now qualified to enter the next floor of the ‘Infinite Library,’ Young Master.”
He had gained the qualifications to enter the Infinite Library, where the countless pieces of knowledge accumulated by the Magnus Family over its long history were stored.
And that was why Eugene had returned to the damned main house after so long.
“Yes, please guide me there, Uncle Jeffrey.”
“Understood.”
Eugene followed Jeffrey toward the Infinite Library.
The Infinite Library was kept under strict guard in the deepest underground level of the Magnus Family estate.
As a family of alchemists, the Magnus Family understood the importance of knowledge. Accordingly, vast amounts of knowledge were stored within the Infinite Library.
After passing the guards, Eugene met Eloise, the librarian who managed the library.
Eloise was a gloomy-looking woman who wore thick gold-rimmed glasses.
“Have you been well, Ms. Eloise?”
“...More or less. Who is the person behind you…?”
“This is Young Master Eugene. He has earned enough Merit Score to gain entry qualifications.”
“Ah… I see…. With a score… like this, you may enter the Security Grade 2 area, which means up to the second underground floor….”
The materials inside the Infinite Library were divided by Grade according to their importance, from Grade 1 to Grade 10.
Grade 1 could be accessed even without any Merit Score, but the higher the Grade, the greater its importance. The highest, Grade 10, could be viewed by no one except the Family Head.
“Then I will grant you access authorization.”
When Eloise cast a spell, two key emblems appeared on Eugene’s chest.
“I will take my leave now.”
Jeffrey departed, and Eugene entered the library.
The library stretched from the first underground floor to the tenth underground floor. Each floor was divided into sections such as history, literature, religion, art, alchemy, and magic.
The easily accessible first underground floor could be entered with Grade 1 security authorization. But to go deeper underground, higher security authorization was required for each floor. Since all of these areas were protected by magic, anyone without the necessary authorization could not pass through.
If someone forcibly broke through the magic, the various artifacts and defense golems guarding the library would activate and attack the intruder.
The place Eugene chose after entering the Security Grade 2 area on the second underground floor was.
‘Magic.’
More specifically, it was the section where 2nd Circle spellbooks were kept.
Eugene had learned every 1st Circle spell in the Infinite Library, but because he had not been qualified, he had not learned a single 2nd Circle spell.
Spellbooks had their security Grades determined by their Circle, and the books themselves were protected by security magic. Without access authorization, one could not even read them.
There had been no way to learn them until now, since stealing and reading them without qualifications was impossible.
‘But now it's different.’
Now that he had authorization, Eugene wanted to read every book in this library and make it his own.
But.
‘...The world is never that easy.’
Eugene looked at the enormous price tags attached to the spines of the spellbooks.
To borrow books from this Infinite Library, it was not enough merely to meet the Merit Score requirements. One also had to pay according to the book’s value.
He had heard that this was the result of the mindset of alchemists, who pursued practicality far more than ordinary mages.
‘Fucking capitalist bastards.’
As someone who had come from a world where libraries were basically free, Eugene could not understand it at all.
‘Damn it, borrowing a 2nd Circle spellbook costs this much…. I can probably borrow only one, so I need to choose as carefully as possible.’
Since it cost so much, his best choice was an elemental spell with high utility.
And the elements generally considered the most useful were the Five Great Elements: fire, water, earth, light, and darkness.
Among them, alchemists found the three great elements of fire, water, and earth the most useful.
An alchemist’s work was fundamentally growing plants from the earth, putting them in water, and boiling them with fire.
But.
‘...Why are they so expensive?’
The problem was that spellbooks for those three elements were fucking expensive.
His current funds were not enough, and he would have to go into debt.
‘I can't go into debt just to learn one spell….’
He considered learning relatively cheap ice or wind magic, but after looking around, it did not seem like learning just one spell of those elements would have any dramatic effect.
As Eugene pondered, a spellbook caught his eye.
[Lightning Field]
It was Lightning Field, one of the 2nd Circle lightning spells.
As the name suggested, Lightning Field was a spell that allowed lightning to continuously flow through the area where the spell was cast for a certain period.
Basically, lightning flowed outward from a central point. As one’s mastery of the spell increased, one could freely adjust both the direction and intensity of lightning within the area.
Because of those properties, it was generally used as a trap spell for ‘stopping soldiers carrying metal armaments.’ Its uses were extremely limited, so its value was rated low and its price was very cheap.
‘Lightning….’
Eugene contemplated it.
The Lightning Element had impressive magical power, but it was considered undervalued because, by its nature, mana scattered in all directions and made it difficult to control. It could also be easily blocked by dry timber or natural resin.
Naturally, its practicality was very poor.
But.
‘...I succeeded in electrolysis this time by applying the Lightning Element as well.’
By applying force-field magic to a 1st Circle lightning spell and creating ‘voltage,’ he had made electrolysis possible.
‘And the only way I have to get ahead of the others now is the Lightning Element.’
Lightning was, in practical terms, electricity. Electromagnetism was a subject that every physics student had to learn, and even Eugene, who had studied chemistry, had learned it after his professor told him that he should if he wanted to become a better scholar.
But in this world, the understanding of electricity remained at a primitive level, barely advancing beyond “lightning.”
At the very least, Eugene’s understanding of electricity had to be higher than anyone else’s in this world.
‘If I am going to delve into one element, it makes sense to delve into the Lightning Element.’
In modern physics, electromagnetic force was regarded as a fundamental force behind all interactions, alongside the weak force, strong force, and gravity.
He did not know whether those laws would apply in full here. But even if things did not turn out as he expected, he would at least achieve improvements such as much faster and more stable electrolysis.
‘...Yes, this is the answer.’
After thinking for a long time, Eugene picked up the Lightning Field spellbook.
At the Magnus 43rd Workshop.
“What book is that, Young Master?”
Workshop Master Edgar asked as he looked at the book Eugene was reading.
“Ah, it is the 2nd Circle spellbook for ‘Lightning Field.’”
“...Lightning Field? Is that not rather difficult? Perhaps because I have no aptitude for lightning magic, but I found it difficult even when I tried to learn it myself. It is dangerous as well…. Anyway, please be careful, Young Master.”
Edgar spoke with a worried expression.
But.
‘This is easier than I expected.’
As he read the spellbook, Eugene was instead surprised by how simple it was.
The theoretical portion was especially so.
This world’s basic understanding of electricity was merely at the level of imitating “lightning.”
They regarded lightning as the movement of the Lightning Element and used mana to recreate it in a similar way.
He did not know about the other elements, but the theoretical portion did not even reach the level of middle-school science. There was almost no need to refer to it.
That did not mean his money had been wasted.
‘The mana-control portion is something I do not know….’
Separate from the theoretical side, the practical side—the part about using mana to manifest the spell Lightning Field—was certainly a great help.
Like baseball players changing their pitching form to learn the physical sensations needed to pitch faster and more accurately, such things belonged purely to the realm of sensation.
And through the spellbook, Eugene could follow the methods of mana control one by one in detail, allowing him to quickly learn how to use the spell.
‘So this is how it feels.’
After learning how to use the spell, Eugene tested it in an empty lot near the workshop.
He designated a specific area in the air and imagined lightning flowing inside it.
When he controlled mana accordingly, bolts of lightning extended outward in a sphere from a central point.
‘It could be considered a spell that creates a kind of electrical sphere. But wait….’
A thought suddenly occurred to Eugene, and he closely examined the electrical sphere.
Its shape looked very familiar.
It was as though he had seen it in an electromagnetism textbook….
‘Wait, depending on how I interpret this, could this not also be a spell that creates an electric field?’
At the same time, an idea flashed through his mind like lightning.
‘If I can create an electric field…?’
Eugene immediately ran to the electrolytic cell.
***
Workshop Master Edgar of the Magnus 43rd Workshop had many worries these days.
‘Young Master Eugene should take some time to rest….’
He was worried because Eugene had recently been working almost without rest.
Edgar did not understand exactly how Eugene used that thing called an electrolytic cell to make a metal called aluminum, but he understood that Eugene was doing something incredible.
The problem was that it was so incredible that no one but Eugene could do it.
To make aluminum, Eugene had to stand in front of the electrolytic cell filled with hot solution all day, pour mana into it, and cast magic.
Various protective artifacts blocked the heat and toxic gases, but using magic all day in front of a hot electrolytic cell was more exhausting and difficult than the work most blacksmiths did.
Seeing him study magic as well made Edgar feel sorry for him.
‘How nice would it be if I could operate that electrolytic cell too….’
With that thought, Edgar entered the metal-processing facility inside the workshop.
And then.
“Huh?”
He was startled to see the electrolytic cell operating on its own with no one nearby.
Even though Eugene was not standing by it as usual, aluminum was being deposited at the ends of the electrodes on its own.
‘What is going on? Did something happen?’
As he stood there in confusion.
“Ah, there you are, Workshop Master.”
Eugene entered the metal-processing facility.
“Young Master, this electrolytic cell suddenly started operating on its own. Do you know why…?”
“Oh, is the spell maintaining itself well? That is fortunate!”
Eugene happily checked the electrolytic cell.
“Yes, it is operating well. But how did this happen…?”
“I applied the Lightning Field spell I learned this time.”
“The Lightning Field spell?”
Edgar was shocked because he had only known it as a spell for electrocuting people who attacked while wearing metal armor.
‘Magic can vary greatly depending on its user, but can it really change this much?’
Eugene gave a lengthy explanation to Edgar, who stood there with a blank look on his face.
“Lightning Field can fundamentally be considered a spell that creates an electric field. An electric field ultimately arises from the gradient of electric potential, meaning the slope of potential. If I apply that principle and properly control and maintain the electric field, it naturally creates a potential difference between the electrodes and maintains the conditions needed for electrolysis….”
Eugene explained at length, but Edgar could not understand what he was saying.
Still.
‘Our young master will finally be able to rest more comfortably….’
He felt relieved at that thought.
“Anyway, thanks to this, the speed of aluminum production should increase as well, Workshop Master.”
That was the conclusion.
Hearing that made Edgar think of something.
“Young Master, since production speed has increased, I think it is time to make our aluminum more widely known. There may be demand at Mage Towers besides the Kalibore Mage Tower, so how about sending samples to them?”
He had considered suggesting it earlier, but had hesitated because Eugene was working so hard to make the aluminum and Edgar did not want to send it away for free.
Now, however, he thought the time had come.
“That is a good idea! Let us begin immediately, Workshop Master.”
***
A few days later, in the operations office of the Magnus 35th Workshop.
“Brother, I heard that the half-commoner made something like this.”
Raisha spoke to her older brother Cassian while holding a silver-gray metal.
“...What is this, Raisha?”
“I heard it is a metal called aluminum. A Mage Tower that does business with us sent an inquiry. They said that the half-commoner’s workshop had sent them this and asked us to confirm whether it was a fraud.”
To sell aluminum, Eugene had sent samples to several Mage Towers.
Among them were Mage Towers that did business with the Magnus 35th Workshop, and a mage without the ability to appraise metals had commissioned the workshop to determine whether it was genuine metal.
“Hmm….”
Cassian frowned for a moment as he received the aluminum.
Then.
“It is trash. Dispose of it.”
“Pardon? But should we not find out what that half-commoner is doing…?”
“There is no need to worry about it, Raisha. Reducing weight alone can be done easily through enchanting, so why would anyone seek metal that is this light and weak?”
It was indeed possible to reduce weight through enchanting.
Of course, enchantments tended to fade over time, and changed metal properties could cause the flow of mana to become tangled. But Cassian did not consider such problems at all.
“You are right, Brother! Then what should we write in the reply…?”
“There is no need to send a reply either. The very fact that such an object entered our workshop is unpleasant. I would not want anyone to learn that we even rated something like this as ‘trash.’”
“That is true as well. Workshop Master! Dispose of this awful object at the dump immediately!”
Raisha spoke as she threw the aluminum at the Workshop Master who had been working nearby.
“It feels like the air has become dirty. We should air the place out, Brother.”
“Do so.”
Cassian spoke with an indifferent expression.
“More importantly, that half-commoner bastard is doing something that is not even funny.”
Cassian muttered.
“Pardon?”
“I thought he might open a forge after borrowing the furnace, but even a grub has the knack of crawling. To think he made metal….”
Cassian muttered that, then soon shook his head.
“But it is pointless. If he had opened a forge, he could have at least sold weapons. Instead, he makes such useless metal. To operate a workshop, one needs to make things people seek, like we do. Even if he makes something new, it has no meaning if no one wants it.”
Cassian spoke with an evil smile.
“Seeing him make something no one will seek, it seems that the half-commoner bastard’s end is not far away.”
***
“Young Master, a visitor from the Katiere Family has arrived.”
Workshop Master Edgar came to Eugene, who was in the workshop’s management office, and spoke.
“The Katiere Family?”
The Katiere Family was one of the Empire’s leading families of jewel merchants.
As a family ranked among the five greatest in this industry, many noble families did business with them and received supplies of gems, precious metals, and accessories made from them.
Accordingly, they were highly skilled at setting trends as well.
‘But why has such a family come to our workshop? I believe I only sent aluminum samples to Mage Towers….’
Eugene was puzzled, but he needed to check.
“Understood, then….”
Eugene received the visitor.
“Greetings, Mr. Eugene Magnus. This order form was sent by Ms. Ellen Katiere.”
“Ah, yes….”
Ellen Katiere was the Family Head of the Katiere Family.
‘The Family Head sent an order form herself…?’
Puzzled, Eugene checked the order form.
[...Our family intends to make new accessories using the precious metal called ‘aluminum’ produced by your workshop. We have enclosed the order form and a deposit, so please deliver it as quickly as possible….]
In short, they wanted him to supply aluminum so that they could create new accessories.
‘Huh? They are making accessories with aluminum?’
That did not make much sense according to Eugene’s common sense.
‘Well, they must be making them as a trial.’
A Mage Tower was one thing, but Eugene did not think aluminum used in accessories would hold much value.
“Ah, a contract has been enclosed as well, so please review it.”
“Understood.”
Without much expectation, Eugene checked the contract.
And then.
“....”
Eugene froze in place as he saw the contract amount.
It could not be helped.
‘...They are offering this much?’
The unit of money was far beyond what he had expected.