The Cornflower Witch

After her first meeting with Master Sagna, Sylutia was led by a staff member to the mansion arranged for her. The place was indeed spacious; even accommodating all forty members of her entourage was no problem.

Once settled in, the accompanying inspection team members first conducted a thorough sweep of the residence, while the rest inventoried the furniture, items, food supplies, and so on. After listing what was missing and needed, a few went out to purchase supplies, while the remaining crew cleaned the rooms they'd sleep in that night and unloaded their luggage.

In the evening, the chef who had come along prepared an excellent meal, and Sylutia shared dinner with everyone for the first time.

She sat at the head of the long table, first briefly asking about the situation, and also informing everyone of their current circumstances.

"For now, we've just arrived in the Mishil District. There's no rush to act. Everyone can first get familiar with the environment—visit the market, the streets, the local alchemy workshops, and the Task Hall to understand the situation and the lay of the land."

"I'll be delving into the materials Master Sagna gave me with a few people, to get acquainted with the system he's built as soon as possible. If you have any ideas or suggestions in the meantime, feel free to report them to me." With that, dinner officially began.

Many hands make light work—this holds true in any field. With the help of her accompanying team, she could focus her energy and time on studying the materials Master Sagna had provided, rather than spending a lot of time on socializing and gathering local intelligence.

For the following week, Sylutia mostly stayed in the mansion without going out. However, the people who had come with her quickly got familiar with the area.

They compiled lists of local prices, various industries, and the main goods flowing in and out, then calculated the approximate profits of each sector. They also looked into the major factions and powers in the area.

If Sylutia had to do all this alone, it might have taken her a month to finish. But with her entourage, it took about two weeks to get a rough picture.

On the tenth day of her stay in the Mishil District, Sylutia had finished reading the materials Master Sagna had given her. However, the content was vast and tangled, touching on many unfamiliar fields. She found it quite strenuous to fully understand everything.

A reasonable guess: Master Sagna wasn't good at teaching. When it came to "highlighting key points," it was as if every single page was a key point. Of course, he knew what to do himself, relying on subconscious habits and prerequisite skills he'd learned so long ago he'd forgotten when. But for these deputies who came to learn and take on tasks, it was a complete mess.

In the following week, Sylutia spent most of her time in the library, flipping through various materials, and questioning skilled personnel at the Mage Guild who had participated in Master Sagna's experiments and workflows.

Like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, she used context and the overall flow of ideas to fill in the missing pieces.

After all that, by the 18th day of her arrival in the Mishil District, Sylutia could roughly understand the content of the materials. But that was still a far cry from truly mastering it.

She rented a testing workshop at the Mage Guild and found a few engineers and mages who had participated in the local steam locomotive manufacturing. She began to replicate some of the techniques and things from the materials, comparing them with the most cutting-edge steam locomotive structures currently on the market.

It took her nearly another ten days to fully connect the entire knowledge system, understanding how each part and the whole operated, as well as the performance differences and characteristics between various structures.

A month had passed, and it was time for her report to Master Sagna.

During that month, the other "deputies" had learned of this girl from the "Mithril Clock" school. Of course, they were looking forward to a good laugh, because before Sylutia arrived, they had all stumbled at this stage, spending a great deal of effort and energy just to barely understand the vast and messy materials Master Sagna had given them.

At the end of the month, Master Sagna set aside his work and took a morning to check Sylutia's progress, assessing her level of mastery.

The two entered a workshop exclusive to Master Sagna, filled with various unfinished parts.

"Hedra, a month has passed. Have you finished reading the materials I gave you?"

"Yes, I've finished, Master." The girl nodded in response behind him.

"Very good. Then tell me about the structure of the 'Lion's Head' locomotive body, along with its advantages and disadvantages." Master Sagna decided to start with something simple.

"Alright." Sylutia recalled what she had learned over that time.

"The 'Lion's Head' body uses a frame structure, unlike traditional axle drive. The seven wheels can move up and down independently, allowing it to adapt to complex terrain. The downside is that it's prone to breakdowns and harder to manufacture."

"Furthermore, the reason it's called 'Lion's Head' is that the engine is positioned at the front. The excess heat it emits spreads along the carved metal lion's mane, forming a fierce, layered wave of fire. Guided by the patterns on the lion's mane, those flames effectively reduce air resistance, refining the body's aerodynamic profile and greatly decreasing drag at high speeds."

"Very good. Now, here's a prepared piece of 'Chromium Silver' sheet. Turn it into a side panel for a 'Blue Sparrow Feather' body."

This task not only tested theory but also demanded high skill in rune carving and metalworking. Even experienced carvers or mage enchanters would struggle to succeed on the first try.

Sylutia raised her hand. A blue spectral wrist appeared behind her, lifting the metal plate. Then, four larger "Steel Shadow Magic Hands" simultaneously processed and carved the plate. About half an hour later, a metal panel shaped like the single wing of an enlarged sparrow bird took form.

In a real, high-end steam locomotive, this lifelike bird's wing would serve as the side door and armor. It would not only provide excellent side defense for the vehicle but also grant it brief gliding capability and prevent it from easily tipping or veering off course in crosswinds.

Holding Sylutia's masterpiece, Master Sagna carefully felt and inspected it, then nodded.

"Very good. It seems you've mastered this quite well over the past month."

Afterward, he asked many more questions, each more tricky and complex than the last. Twice, he had Sylutia manually replicate things to verify her true grasp of the material.

By evening, Master Sagna, having finished checking Sylutia's progress, was quite satisfied.

"Now I understand why Master Ge Zhen recommended you so highly."

"Truth be told, I've given similar assessments to the other deputies before. But they could answer at most three questions. When I pressed deeper into more profound and complex matters, they couldn't answer—full of holes."

"Your learning ability is remarkable. Your talent is something I've rarely seen in my life." He stroked his not-so-long, graying beard, thinking about how to arrange Sylutia's next steps.

"Since you've done so well, it's time to begin the second task." He summoned his assistant and had them bring out five more Memory Gems stored separately.

"As you can see, most of my skills come from the Carving and Casting School, especially its 'Beast Body Carving and Painting' technique."

"In the past, this was a technology used to carve and cast enormous beast-shaped Golems, creating colossal war machines."

"But I am the first person to miniaturize it and integrate it with the steam locomotive industry."

The steam locomotives I design don't adopt the traditional streamlined look. Instead, they feature various beast-like body structures. These locomotives have peculiar appearances that attract people's attention and also possess abilities ordinary steam locomotives lack.

"Over the years, I've tried many refined templates. These five are the most perfect models. Choose any one of them. I'll then assign you a workshop specializing in that model. On the basis of my design, you'll make some small improvements and innovations, and finally produce a finished product."

"You have at most three months to complete this test. If the results are outstanding this time as well, I'll recognize your talent and strength. Then, I'll begin to teach you more secret arts and the insights I've accumulated over the years." He spoke slowly.

So this was the second test. And after this, she could truly become this master's deputy and begin to step into the local inner circle.

The process seemed quite easy, Sylutia thought. Before coming, she had imagined it would be as difficult as building a rocket, requiring her to fight through countless obstacles to reach the finish line.

After this assessment, Master Sagna seemed to have gained more patience. He began to patiently explain some questions to Sylutia and tell her about the current mainstream development directions of steam locomotives, as well as the characteristics of each school.

"Currently, the main production areas for steam locomotives within the Alliance are concentrated in the 'Terez District,' 'Angodra District,' 'Connors District,' and 'Mishil District.' Among them, the 'Terez District' is the garrison of the 'Solar Furnace' school. They produce various types of 'fire seeds' and possess numerous super-mechanical creation workshops. Steam locomotives are just one smaller project branch there."

"The 'Angodra District' is the garrison of the 'Mountain Copper School.' They excel in metal smelting, especially producing the precious metal 'Mountain Copper,' one of the three most perfect and powerful metals to date. War Wagons made with Mountain Copper are unstoppable beasts on the battlefield."

"The 'Connors District' is the garrison of the 'Fire Essence School.' They specialize in gunpowder and explosive techniques. Their most cutting-edge masterpiece is the 'Fire-breathing Dragon-class Airship,' a new technology capable of rewriting war patterns. They've also transplanted some of that technology onto steam locomotives, adding flame jets at the rear for high-speed travel and brief gliding. At the same time, the jet system allows for rapid directional adjustments, granting powerful turning capabilities, making them nearly unrivaled in high-speed domains."

"Compared to the first three, our 'Carved and Cast Locomotives' in the Mishil District combine rune carving and casting with the locomotive's power system. They transfer the old Golem techniques onto steam locomotives, granting them various specialized enhancements."

"Apart from these four major production areas, there are other regions and workshops that produce steam locomotives. But their strength is far inferior to these four. They can only produce common, popular models and find it hard to innovate or create high-quality works."

After Master Sagna finished outlining the situation of the steam locomotive industry within the entire Mage Alliance, Sylutia understood why he was so anxious.

Compared to the first few schools, which had obvious and irreplaceable advantages, the "Carved and Cast Locomotives" style, though distinctive, was also the most likely to fall behind.

The "Solar Furnace" school mastered the Alliance's top and most powerful "fire seed" production techniques. Whether for large machinery or high-end steam locomotives, they all needed the "fire seeds" produced by this school. It was like the best battery technology company in a past life transitioning into making new energy vehicles—an inherent advantage.

The "Mountain Copper School" was similar. They controlled the best metal smelting techniques and production capacity. Such excellent raw materials would naturally be supplied first to their own faction's creations. The mechanical creations they produced easily surpassed the strength of other schools' works.

Although the "Carved and Cast Locomotives" of the Mishil District had many merits, their rune carving and casting techniques weren't absolute. At least in Sylutia's view, the rune enchanting technology of the "Mithril Clock" school was stronger than that of the "Carving and Casting School," and they could produce extremely precise parts and structures—something the rough-and-tumble style of the Carving and Casting School could hardly achieve.

Other schools also had similar rune carving and casting techniques. Given enough time, they could imitate the "Carved and Cast Locomotive" model and catch up. So, they didn't have an irreplaceable advantage.

In fact, if the "Mithril Clock" school weren't burdened with multiple duties for the Alliance and couldn't spare the manpower to delve into this not-so-profitable steam locomotive field, it probably wouldn't have been Master Sagna's turn to develop the Mishil District's steam locomotive industry.

Sending Sylutia this time might have been with the thought that if she succeeded, they could directly take over the Mishil District's technical system, absorb it into their own school. With the "Mithril Clock" school's strength, they could push the technology to its limits and easily contend with the other major schools.

As she pondered, Sylutia gained new insights and understanding of the Mishil District's current predicament.

After this assessment and conversation ended, her reputation quickly spread throughout the local area. It wasn't because of her identity or appearance, but because of the astonishment that this girl had actually managed to master the vast materials Master Sagna had given her within a month.

Faced with this result, the other deputies, who had been expecting a good show, reacted differently. Some couldn't sit still and began discussing whether they should do something to eliminate Sylutia from the competition early.

"I still don't believe it. She must have obtained the materials through other means beforehand, studied them in advance, and then came to the Mishil District to take up the position."

"But the old man is quite fond of her now. According to information from his assistant, he unconsciously mentioned her quite a bit during work today. Anyone who knows the old man's ways would recognize that this is a sign of great satisfaction and appreciation."

"The Mithril Clock school sure plays a dirty game. They deliberately sent an exceptionally cute and outstanding girl as a deputy, and even prepared the materials for her to memorize in advance to win the old man's favor." He shook his head as he spoke, his tone full of emotion.

"I'd fall for it too, I suppose. After all, aside from her, we senior deputies are all ordinary-looking, engineering-type mages who inspire no interest."

"But technology is still technology. I don't believe that someone who's never gotten their hands dirty or spent time toiling in a workshop can be a qualified expert in this field."

"We can't let her cut corners anymore. Find a few people to get planted in the workshop she's going to cooperate with. I want to see how this young lady manages to innovate and personally craft her work."

"Then collect evidence of her secretly cheating or having others create work for her. Spread it around and amplify the public opinion. Even if Master Sagna appreciates her, facing a wave of public scrutiny and doubt, he'll start to suspect something."

"Yes, Sir Paves." A group of people nodded in agreement and began to take action.