Chapter 94

Copper mine?

Fiona frowned. If a large amount of copper ore was needed, this matter would indeed require some serious consideration.

Most of the mines within the Ilrath Empire were controlled by the four noble families in the capital. Although copper mines were not magical metal mines and the output was small, to obtain a large amount of copper ore, it would be impossible to bypass those families.

"Alright, this is indeed a problem. Let's put it aside for now. I'll have Hilton pay attention to the news in this area."

Fiona jotted down the water supply project, wrote "copper mine" behind it, and made a key mark to remind herself to keep an eye on the news. Then she asked, "Apart from this plan, is there anything else you forgot?"

"Are you referring to the mass production of air conditioners?"

Tang En's lips curled. "Of course, I've already thought of a solution."

"Really!?"

Fiona suddenly stood up, her face full of surprise. "Can they be mass-produced!?"

"Exactly, but the consumption of magic dust might be quite high. With the magic crystals we currently have in storage, we probably can't produce much."

"Even if we can't produce much, with the recent hot weather, we can still make a fortune!"

Fiona was very enthusiastic about making money. "And we can go for the high-end market, selling directly to the nobles. An air conditioner should cost at least five hundred... no, one thousand gold coins!"

Fiona said fiercely, "Not making a fortune from this opportunity would be a waste!"

Tang En laughed, pondered for a moment, and said to Fiona, "Leave this to me. I'll discuss it with Brian and the others on how to solve it. We don't need to build a new factory; the blacksmith shop can handle the production."

"Really!?"

Fiona was taken aback. "The air conditioner needs magic, right? Can it be done there?"

Fiona was referring to Tang En's hidden identity as a mage.

"No need for me to do it myself; I've already solved this problem."

Tang En smiled, gave some instructions, and left the lord's mansion.

Upon arriving at Edgar's blacksmith shop, Tang En found Brian chatting and drinking beer with Edgar, while a few apprentices were sweating profusely, learning how to smelt ore nearby.

Tang En raised an eyebrow. "You guys seem pretty relaxed."

Brian's eyes lit up at the sound of his voice, and he jumped up. "Brother! Is the steel mill already completed!? Can we start producing steel!?"

This guy was really obsessed with steel...

Tang En laughed. "Haven't you been checking? You should know the progress better than I do."

"It's been too hot these past two days... Speaking of which, the air conditioner you made is really great. With this, I don't even want to go out."

"So you're staying at my place at night and taking up space?"

Edgar was full of complaints, but Brian glared at him, and Edgar immediately shut up. After all, he still needed to learn from Brian and couldn't afford to offend him.

"Do you like it?"

"Of course!"

Brian said without hesitation. "I'd say this is the best thing you've ever made since I met you!"

"Oh? Better than the press and steel?"

"Uh..."

Brian hesitated, his instinct as a blacksmith and the desire for comfort clashing intensely.

Seeing Brian's indecision, Tang En laughed. "Alright, no need to be so conflicted. I came here to add some pressure since you guys seem so relaxed."

"Lord, please give us your orders."

Edgar now followed Tang En's instructions without question, treating the blacksmith shop as Tang En's property. After all, clinging to the lord's support was a sure way to profit!

"What are we going to make next?"

"Here, this is it."

Tang En pointed to the air conditioner and said with a smile, "Fiona decided to launch the air conditioner as a product while the weather is getting hot, planning to make a fortune. Hilton will be back to pick up the goods in a few days. Do you have the confidence to produce enough air conditioners?"

"Huh?"

Brian was dumbfounded. "How are we supposed to make this thing?"

The air conditioner was something Tang En had created, and they had no involvement in it, not even knowing its internal structure. How could they make it?

Brian felt that it must involve magic, and he wasn't a rune dwarf, so he had no idea how to do it...

"Don't worry, I've already solved the key problem for you. You only need to do two things."

Tang En threw the blueprint to Brian and said, "Make the molds for these parts according to the blueprint, then press and form them for assembly."

"Is that all?"

"And this."

Tang En snapped his fingers, and a round plate appeared beside him.

"What's this?"

"A part for the press ram."

Tang En waved his hand, and Brian and Edgar followed him to the press machine. The press, cutting, and grinding machines were now treasures for Brian and Edgar, and they didn't let the apprentices touch them, keeping them very clean.

Tang En embedded the round plate at the bottom of the ram and pointed to the base plate on the blueprint. "The most important part is here. Embed this round plate on the ram, adjust the height of the press, and press the magic array onto the base plate. Then cover it with magic dust and activate it with a magic crystal, and it can be assembled."

Brian carefully examined it, suddenly paused, and stared with wide eyes. "Brother! This is..."

Brian took a deep breath, looking at Tang En in shock. "Your method... really works!?"

"Of course, I've already tested it, and it's completely feasible."

Brian was speechless, pacing around frantically, muttering something in Dwarvish.

Tang En, who had the "Comprehend Languages" ability, understood what he was muttering, mostly along the lines of "impossible" and "how can this be."

Suddenly, Brian stopped and stared straight at Tang En. "Brother, do you know what your invention means?"

"Of course."

Tang En nodded slightly. "I'm very clear."

"Then why are you so calm!?"

Brian's eyes widened, waving his thick arms. "Do you know? This invention will change the entire world! It's not just for producing air conditioners; its uses and potential are truly terrifying!"

"I know, of course."

Tang En said calmly. "But so what? Just remember, for now, it's only for producing air conditioners, got it?"

Brian took a deep breath, calming down. He understood Tang En's meaning.

Brian said solemnly, "I understand, Brother. Your trust and guidance will be deeply etched in my heart. You will always be a friend of the dwarves."

Tang En smiled, feeling he had gained something valuable.

He didn't forget Brian's identity; the Undying Warhammer of the Mountains was a bloodline-limited item for the dwarf royal family, meaning Brian had dwarf royal blood, possibly even a prince.

His promise was quite significant.

"Leave this to us. If we use the press, we can make the templates today and start production tomorrow. We should be able to make quite a few air conditioners before Hilton returns."

"Alright, these bags of magic dust I ground up temporarily should be enough for you for a while."

Tang En handed the magic dust to Brian. He planned to visit Caspami Castle later to see how many herbs the owner of the Alchemy House, Owen, had collected.

Thinking of Caspami Castle, Tang En suddenly remembered the carriage that had tortured his buttocks for several days, and his lips twitched. He said to Brian, "By the way, there's one more thing. During the breaks from producing air conditioners, you can research this."

"What is it?"

Tang En took out paper and pen and drew a simple spiral compression spring and a spring plate. "This is called a spring, a type of energy storage device that can be used for shock absorption. Try to see which material—copper, iron, or steel—works best."

"Spring? Energy storage device? Shock absorption?"

Brian scratched his head. "What is this thing for?"

"It has many uses, but for now, it's intended for carriages."

Tang En sighed. "I don't want to torture my buttocks anymore when traveling."

Brian immediately understood the true purpose of this small device and was greatly impressed.

What's in this brother's head?

Why can he always come up with such brilliant ideas?

"Leave it to me!"

Brian patted his chest and promised, "I'll test it on a carriage after I'm done."

After discussing the matter with Brian and the others, Tang En left the blacksmith shop and returned to the lord's mansion. He briefly informed Fiona of the situation, then went back to his bedroom. The next moment, he disappeared and reappeared in a secluded corner of Caspami Castle.

After his last visit to Caspami Castle, he had anchored the spatial coordinates here, allowing him to teleport here at any time.

"Just a teleportation spell, it shouldn't draw their attention, right?"

Tang En glanced at the sky and walked out, heading straight for the Alchemy House.

When the owner, Owen, saw Tang En, he was overjoyed. "Lord!"

Tang En waved his hand. "I'm not your lord, don't call me that. Call me Tang En. How are the things I asked you to collect?"

"I'm truly sorry, Lord Tang En," Owen said awkwardly, "Due to Lord Duva's death, Caspami Castle has been under martial law, so I haven't had the chance to go out. My suppliers also find it difficult to enter, so I've only collected a small amount of common alchemical materials."

"I see, I understand. What about the elemental water?"

Tang En still needed to refine the magic awakening potion for the Elington Guard, and elemental water was an essential ingredient.

"Sorry... Lord Tang En..."

"I understand."

Tang En sighed. "Do you have magic crystals and magic dust here?"

"Yes!"

Owen finally smiled. "But I only have some low-quality and ordinary magic crystals. High-quality magic crystals are too expensive and no one buys them here, so I've never stocked them. As for magic dust, I don't have any. The mages and alchemists usually buy magic crystals and grind them themselves."

"Alright, what's the price of magic crystals? How many do you have?"

"Let me see... Low-quality ones are ten gold coins each, and I have 582 of them. Ordinary ones are one hundred gold coins each, and I have 366 of them. Of course, I won't charge you so much. Low-quality ones will be eight gold coins each, and ordinary ones will be ninety-five gold coins each..."

Tang En waved his hand. "Pack them up, I'll take them all."

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PS: Today's extra update. Based on the current increase in the Three Rivers votes, it looks like there will be one extra update. Let's keep working hard, everyone!