Chapter 216: Expensive Communication Technology
At Black Forest Island’s port.
A ship from the Silent Shore had already docked.
After more than three months, the Messenger Passage connecting Black Forest Island and Sea Cliff Castle was finally in its last stage.
Flint, a Knight under Baron Cruz, was in charge of the project.
He carried an iron cage, inside which six Silver Gale Birds chirped and chattered, seeming to long for the freedom to fly in this new land.
"These are the most energetic and least shy little birds I’ve ever seen."
Duane looked at their streamlined, spindle-like bodies with great admiration.
It was hard to imagine. These small birds, with a body length of just half a meter and a wingspan of only 1.5 meters, could reach a top speed of 220 kilometers per hour.
"You’ve worked hard, Flint. How much longer until it’s all finished? To be honest, I have a letter I’m dying to send!"
Flint smiled and said, "We’re on the final step, Baron! Right now, I need you to provide a permanent small building or house to serve as a nest for the Gale Birds. I need to train their homing abilities."
As he spoke, he raised his head, his gaze sweeping past the port toward Lingang Village, which was currently being transformed into Dawn Town.
"Preferably somewhere a little quieter."
Duane pondered for a moment before finally choosing Forest Village Castle, located deeper within Black Forest Island, as the location for the nest.
"Come, I’ll take you there!"
He extended a warm invitation, "You all must be exhausted after being at sea for so long. I’ve already had a luncheon prepared. Everyone, please relax."
"Haha, thank you so much!"
Flint handed the cage to one of his subordinates. "Baron, there is one thing I need to make clear to you."
Duane was taken aback. "Please, go on."
Flint said, "The construction of this Messenger Passage was fully sponsored by Count Kais and Baron Cruz, free of charge. They also agreed to gift you one Gale Bird."
His tone then shifted. "However, generally speaking, to be on the safe side, I would recommend you raise six Gale Birds. Each time you send a letter, you can send two or three together to ensure it arrives safely."
Duane nodded slightly.
Although the Gale Birds were fast and could put on bursts of speed, there was always a chance of an accident.
For particularly urgent or important letters, it was definitely better to send several birds out.
At the same time, he understood that Flint’s words meant a fee was coming.
"Please, speak freely. I won’t be a single Gold Coin short on any fees I owe!"
He had just received five thousand Gold Coins from Baron Jick for the purchase of a thresher, so a little extra money was no problem.
Flint relaxed slightly. He had been genuinely afraid that Duane would try to dodge the payment; after all, Black Forest Island was known for being rather poor.
In reality, there were some things he didn’t know.
"It’s like this, Baron. A single Gale Bird costs 100 Gold Coins. If you want to have a full flock of six messenger birds, you’ll need to pay an additional 500 Gold Coins."
"But there is one thing I must remind you. Although you are purchasing the Gale Birds, you only own the right to use them. If a female bird has chicks, we will reclaim the young birds without any additional payment to you."
Duane was a bit surprised. Their rule was rather domineering.
But there was nothing to be done about it.
The training and rearing of the Silver Gale Birds were in their hands. Even if an outsider got ahold of a young bird, it would be very difficult to train.
Even if one were to succeed, the nobility led by Count Kais would certainly intervene.
After all, they were currently the only ones who used Gale Birds as messengers.
"No problem!"
Duane agreed, then asked, "Are there any other fees?"
Flint hadn’t expected him to agree so readily. He was both surprised and pleasantly delighted.
As a result, he became even more enthusiastic toward Duane.
"The only things left are their food, nest maintenance, cleaning, and so on, which will be your responsibility. At most, it’s five Gold Coins per bird per year, so thirty Gold Coins for six."
Duane was secretly taken aback.
’Good heavens,’ he thought. ’Not including the cost of buying the birds, just raising them costs thirty Gold Coins a year.’
It was a good thing Duane had earned some money. Otherwise, a noble in a poorer situation would find it hard to afford even a single messenger bird.
"Pardon my asking, but if there was a fee for setting up the Messenger Passage, how much would it be?"
Flint didn’t hide anything. "Over land, the starting price is fifty Gold Coins. The farther the distance, the higher the fee."
"And from Sea Cliff Castle to Black Forest Island?" Duane asked.
"At least one thousand Gold Coins!"
Duane’s heart skipped a beat. An ordinary baron truly couldn’t afford something so expensive.
He finally understood. His Majesty Eric had asked Count Kais to help for free precisely because he was worried Duane wouldn’t be able to afford the cost.
Duane thanked His Majesty Eric over and over again in his heart. ’He saved me such a huge expense. What a good king.’
But then again, he had received quite a few benefits from Count Kais one way or another. The Count was a good person, too.
In truth, if not for Eric’s request, Count Kais would have at most given Duane a discount, not provided the service for free.
After all, the matter also concerned the interests of the nobility under him; he couldn’t just waive the fee as he pleased.
He suddenly thought of Magic Energy Puppets.
’If I could make the puppets into flying messengers and use Soul Stripping and Will Infusion to give them the command to deliver letters...’
’Then building my messenger network would be much simpler than using Silver Gale Birds.’
’After all, Gale Birds have their own consciousness. Magic Energy Puppets have a consciousness too, but when given a command, they follow it absolutely.’
’Using the principles of Magic Energy Puppets for communication... if that day ever comes, it would probably overturn the entire communications industry!’
Over the next few days, Flint and his assistants continuously trained the Gale Birds’ homing ability.
Caring for the Gale Birds would eventually be assigned to someone else, but that didn’t stop Duane from feeding them platters of shredded meat to increase his Skill Level in Basic Breeding.
After all, aside from Fur Ball, these six Gale Birds were the only Demon Beasts he had.
The only way to quickly level up his Mastery-level Basic Breeding was by feeding Demon Beasts.
Finally, on the fifth day, Flint excitedly received a message from his colleague in Sea Cliff Castle. The Messenger Passage connecting Black Forest Island and Sea Cliff Castle was now officially open.
Duane paid the money and immediately sent out the letter he had prepared long ago.
It was a letter for Natalia. Aside from a few words of greeting, it contained two requests.
Duane needed to learn about Rune Coils and Magic Net Energy Field Reaction Runes from Natalia.
These were key to creating a Power System.
In addition, he wanted to use her connections to buy some Basic Enchantment Formulas and sell a batch of longswords with the "Blazing Fire" effect.
After all, the one hundred Basic Magic Crystal Stones he had purchased from High Priestess Sara had already arrived.
After killing several hundred Frog Fish Monsters that day, Duane had no fewer than a hundred Demon Cores in his possession.
He could easily use Extraction to create "Basic Water Energy Essence."
If he had Enchantment Formulas for effects like ice or gale, these Demon Cores could be put to good use.
A trip from Black Forest Island to Sea Cliff Castle would take at least six days at the speed of Duane’s ship.
But with the speed of a Gale Bird, five or six hours was all it took.
「In a garden courtyard.」
Having finished her Magic Class, Natalia was now in the courtyard, tending to her Magic Plants.
As an extremely talented Mage, she excelled not only at using magic but also at planting Magic Plants and refining Magic Potion Essence.
Outside the courtyard, Eleanor took a letter from a servant and walked inside.
"Miss, a letter for you."
While mixing some Magic Spring Water, Natalia asked nonchalantly, "For me? Who’s it from?"
She knew quite a few friends from out of town and occasionally exchanged letters with them.
"It’s from Baron Duane. I heard the Gale Birds are now able to fly back from Black Forest Island."
Natalia immediately stopped what she was doing, the corners of her mouth turning up unconsciously.
"So he’s a man of his word after all!"
The two of them had agreed to write to each other once the Messenger Passage was established.
She wiped her already fair and clean hands. "Here, let me see it."
As Natalia’s personal guard and an experienced woman, Eleanor naturally understood the reason for her mistress’s change in mood.
But as a guard, there were some things she could only pretend not to know or see.