Mage? Magic Engineer!

"This thing is... a lot bigger than the prototype ship launched by the Tower of Stars." Humboldt craned his neck to look at the starship under construction, and this was just its appearance while it was still horizontal.

All the sections of the Starship had already taken shape. Given the strength of the available materials, allowing such a large and heavy hull to remain horizontal would cause unacceptable deformation.

So, they had simply installed a Static Force Field in the workshop. Numerous arched pillars were positioned over the Starship, continuously emitting a field based on the Floating Skill.

Creating a true zero-gravity environment wasn’t quite possible, but both the hull and the personnel working within the Force Field could experience a low-gravity environment similar to that on the moon’s surface.

"Yes. The number of people we can transport can be increased to several dozen. Factoring in the built-in Space Expansion Spell, it might even be possible to accommodate several hundred people after we reach the Star Realm." Rorschach was quite proud as he made the introduction.

If the interior space, expanded by Magic, could remain stable while crossing the Transformation Dust Layer Flow, carrying a thousand people in the future wouldn’t be out of the question.

Of course, that only took space into account, not the load on the propulsion system. Fortunately, Transmuting Dust was a lightweight fuel, and its efficiency was far greater than the chemical fuels from Rorschach’s past life.

Humboldt didn’t understand any of it, but that didn’t stop him from liking it, just as the Natural Essence had taken a liking to the little mask.

"If it can really carry several hundred people... we could pack up all the members of our Tower of Forest and send them up in one go..."

’What? You dignified Earth Cultivators are actually part of the escape faction?!’ Rorschach was stunned.

Since the Master was so excited about the Starship, Rorschach naturally had to show him the price tag to cool him down a bit. Currency was of little importance here; after partnering with the Dwarves, everything from raw materials to manufacturing was handled through the organization’s internal operations, bartering, or trading technology for resources. Thus, what silenced Master Humboldt was the sheer quantity of resources consumed.

"You... you use even Mithril and refined gold by the ton?" He glanced at the chart’s header and saw that it was just the monthly consumption. He nearly fainted.

"We installed the Static Force Field last month, so consumption was a little higher," Rorschach explained. Even so, the industrial complex’s resource consumption and throughput were still beyond anything the Mages from the Tower of Forest could imagine, even for a Mage of noble birth like Humboldt.

He was worldly and knowledgeable... but this was something he had truly never seen before.

In truth, the industrial capacity of the Empire and Valois was probably on a similar scale, but their numbers were the result of combining several industrial clusters. Bayern was unique; a single region accounted for seventy percent of its industrial output, while the other two were just happily along for the ride. If the Air Car Factory hadn’t been established in the Munich-Nuremberg Region, that ratio would be even more absurd.

After touring the aerospace center, the inspection team was finally ready to enter the Elemental Plane.

Caroline, who hadn’t seen Rorschach for some time, was in charge of opening the Teleportation Gate. Humboldt was also very curious about the Teleportation Array leading to the plane. "Are there any restrictions on the Teleportation Array? Is it possible to construct a permanent Teleportation Gate between planes to transport bulk goods?" He was now surrounded by specialized knowledge that was foreign to him but necessary, so the Great Mage had to ask humbly for clarification.

"The energy consumed by teleportation can be considered the product of three factors: distance, throughput, and duration. Right now, a semi-permanent Teleportation Array can only be used for venting exhaust gas. Large-scale transport is... very difficult. Otherwise, we would never have developed the Summoning Skill."

Caroline added, "The Main Plane was originally sealed off, you could say, by a drifting layer of Transmuting Dust. However, the gods of old—especially Divine Spirits related to the elements—left behind pathways to the other Elemental Planes in their efforts to expand their Domains. We can still use those. But if the Transformation Dust Layer Flow were to one day disappear, and those Divine Kingdoms were all converted into energy, it’s questionable whether the existing pathways could even be maintained."

"That’s not something to worry about. Worst case, we just build our own pathways," Rorschach said, always insisting on looking at problems with an eye toward future development. ’If the layer flow can’t stop people from reaching the Star Realm, that means the highway is open. Why worry about some back alleys?’

"Easy for you to say... That’s right, you’re so amazing. Nothing is too difficult for you."

Master Humboldt wasn’t sure why their exchange was so charged, so he quickly intervened. "What do you mean by that?"

"You’ll understand once you see it for yourself."

...

Fertile City, the sky-base stronghold of the "Devourer" clan.

Layers of fortresses and palaces floated around the "Blessing Well." When the well discharged precious gases and certain wondrous acids, the substances were collected and sorted. The clan members, filled with reverence and gratitude, would make careful use of everything, not daring to waste a single drop. They used the gases to feed the fungi in their fields and to manufacture fuel, glue, and paint.

These little blue people had now moved beyond their reliance on animal hides and bones. They used lightweight polymers for coverings and sails, and the most luxurious buildings in the city were not only made of plastic materials but also supported by hollow aluminum structures.

At their port, many other clans came to trade for extremely precious resources, including "fabric bestowed by the upper kingdom," salt, spices, and all sorts of things they had never seen before. The treasures and produce of every other tribe paled in comparison, but fortunately, the benevolent Great Sage King generously accepted all manner of trades.

The entire clan had entered a state of civilization, evidenced by the fact that all its members had mastered a simple common tongue. This was a royal decree pushed by the Great Sage King, requiring everyone to speak only the "Holy Word" in their daily lives. The decree also influenced the clans that came to trade, prompting more and more of them to begin learning, clumsily haggling in the language of the Main Plane.

The city’s reputation for fertility spread throughout the entire atmospheric cluster, but no one dared to covet the wealth of these chosen people. For everything they had—not just their wealth, but their power—had been bestowed upon them by a powerful being from the Main Plane.

Hostile tribes, their heads turned by material temptation, had attempted various raids in the past. But as soon as the banner of the Devourer clan was raised and the symbol representing that great being appeared on the battlefield, it meant their advanced weapons would join the fray and the clan was about to claim another victory. The Divine Artifact in their hands, known as a Crossbow, possessed an accuracy, range, and power that far surpassed any slingshot.

A pitiful slingshot could never penetrate the clan’s ultimate warship—a mobile fortress so enormous it seemed it could never be brought down. Even more pitiful were their challengers, who were either destroyed or forced to submit. And, of course, there were also those who willingly joined the Devourer clan...

’Holy shit, when did our decommissioned Airship get sent here? And are you guys using plastic sheeting from a greenhouse?’ Revisiting this place, Rorschach was completely dumbfounded.

The group teleported to the spot where Rorschach and Caroline had first arrived. But now, it was no longer in the open air but inside a great hall that was open to the sky. They could see an old Airship drifting slowly past, adorned with many distinctive decorations.

The clan members had used the greenhouse plastic sheeting to create a sense of solemn beauty; it draped in light, white sheets from the high, vaulted ceiling all the way to the floor. Turning around, Rorschach saw that his hexagonal Rune had been painted on an enormous scale. Below it was an altar, where quite a few of the little blue people were currently prostrating themselves in worship.

"It’s the saint! The saint has descended!" "Lord Rorschach!" "Quick, inform His Highness the Great Sage King!" The little blue people immediately erupted into a cacophony of chatter, and what’s more, they were all shouting in their clumsy common tongue.

The expressions on the faces of Humboldt and the other members of the Tower of Forest turned peculiar as they looked at Rorschach. "The *Ecological Report on the Air Elemental Plane* certainly didn’t mention any of this... interesting situation." Their looks clearly said, ’Little brother Rorschach, you’ve really been having a wild time here, haven’t you...’

"Can I just say that I’ve never seen any report, and I have no idea what’s happened here? Seriously, you have to believe me!" Rorschach’s expression twisted in agony. He wanted nothing more than to drill a hole and hide in the deepest layer of the plane. ’Caroline absolutely did this on purpose!’