Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 597 - 596: Daniel’s Code of Conduct

In the eastern area of Anzu, deep within the Profound Palace, Beltira Augustus walked into a special room covered in various magic symbols and mysterious signs.

Compared to the spaciousness of the rest of the underground ruins, this room could almost be described as narrow and cramped, with a length and width of only two or three meters. There was no furniture, only a magic crystal lamp quietly embedded in the center of the ceiling. Under the glow of the lamp, one could see the walls, floor, and ceiling covered with the Eternal Sleepers’ symbols.

Beltira moved to the center of the room and casually waved her hand, and a gentle sound followed as the door closed, an invisible magic barrier encapsulated the room completely.

She then quietly glanced around at the intricate and dazzling magic symbols in the room, gently slowed her breathing, and began releasing her magic power.

The symbols in the room lit up one by one and started to subtly fluctuate in brightness rhythmically. Under the priestess robe’s hem, which erased all holy symbols, vine-like and root-like plant structures began to expand and spread, with a rustling sound, the vines slowly merging with the circle of symbols on the floor...

Beltira opened her eyes and saw a middle-aged man in a black robe, tall and strong, with a serious and composed expression standing in front of her.

The black robe differed from the pure black cloak commonly worn by Oblivion Association believers, its structure was more complex, with symbols and symbolic threads on the surface, more like a fusion of a magic robe and priest’s robe.

Beltira knew that the man before her wasn’t truly standing there; it was just a hallucination projected into her senses. The serious and composed face might not even be his true appearance, likely just a product of imagination, a technique the Eternal Sleepers excelled at, something she had grown accustomed to.

”I hope this communication won’t have any irrelevant interference,” Beltira said flatly. ”Regarding the situation we faced last time, have you reached a conclusion in your investigation?”

In her vision, the middle-aged man, possibly thousands of miles away, nodded slightly, ”We have reached a conclusion—your communication was not polluted or invaded.”

Beltira’s eyebrows slightly raised, ”That conclusion doesn’t reassure me.”

”Don’t worry, there’s a detailed interpretation.” The serious-faced middle-aged man continued, speaking with the reliability of an expert, ”The mental Projection Technique is a highly advanced secret technique; its principles are very reliable. But as a new technology, it does have certain flaws—the user’s mental impressions are amplified during the projection process, and unexpected phenomena may occur within the consciousness domain. Trained Eternal Sleepers can counteract these effects with spells and willpower, but those not versed in Eternal Sleepers Sorcery might create voices and images that shouldn’t exist during mind projection.”

Beltira frowned, ”So you’re saying that ’intruder’ was merely a figment of my imagination?”

”Indeed, but no offense meant, solely because it is true,” the middle-aged man calmly said, ”Madam Beltira, please recall whether similar imaginations or worries exist in your mind, even concerns that might reside in the subconscious. During the mental projection process, deeply hidden matters can also surface. Please carefully remember—did you imagine what you saw?”

Beltira’s face was like water.

She imagined that scene: Gawain suddenly appearing before her, the once closest and revered elder brother angrily questioning her, disappointed by her choices, even drawing his sword...

She didn’t think her current self would be troubled by such ”shadows,” didn’t believe she had worried about similar scenarios in daily life.

But... the subconscious? What about the deepest corners of the subconscious? Even though she completely controlled her deeper thoughts, did the souls and memories of countless individuals she devoured over the past seven centuries accidentally mix with her memory, creating a slight hidden danger?

She began to analyze calmly, and the more she did, the more she believed that such a probability existed.

Perhaps in some deleted dream, in some nightmare, she indeed dreamed about her brother being revived in anger, then wielding a sword to attack...

”Okay, I accept this explanation,” she finally exhaled lightly and fixed her gaze on the middle-aged man before her, ”Then I need confirmation, will this phenomenon continue to occur?”

The middle-aged man nodded meticulously, ”I can’t guarantee that it will never happen, but if the user prepares mentally and gives themselves enough psychological cues beforehand, the chance of ’extra hallucinations’ appearing can be greatly reduced.”

Seeing the trace of doubt possibly lingering on Beltira August’s face, the middle-aged man straightened his posture slightly, displaying a proud and undeniable demeanor, ”Madam Beltira, you need not doubt—Eternal Sleepers have always valued the interests of allies. We’ve analyzed the issue you encountered with utmost professionalism, and what I said was the conclusion reached through rigorous study by the Oblivion Association’s highest Chief of Security, Master of the mental Network, Archbishop Daniel himself—any Eternal Sleepers can prove this master’s wisdom and meticulousness.”

Beltira folded her arms over her chest, ”I’ve heard of this name; I have no further questions.”

”Then, I wish you a pleasant day.”

The image and voice projected into her consciousness disappeared, and Beltira immediately deactivated the magic circle in the room.

”Merely a subconscious fantasy...”

The Archbishop muttered quietly to herself, her face turning icy.

Perhaps Eternal Sleepers were correct, perhaps what she saw that night was indeed just a hallucination, but she still didn’t want to completely put her mind at ease.

From now on, unless necessary, she’s decided not to use the mental Projection device anymore.

...

In Typhon Imperial Capital Aldinan, within a private resting room of the Imperial Construction Association, Daniel in a black robe woke from his meditation, blinking slightly.

He received a message from a lower priest within the cult, knowing that the negotiation with ”Beltira Augustus” had successfully concluded.

The cautious and cunning priestess may not completely believe it, but she will believe most of it. At least, the effect the master requested is certainly achievable.

The rest period is almost over; meditating too long during the day might attract unnecessary prying eyes.

Daniel glanced at the mechanical clock hanging on the wall not far away, then stood up.

The artificial nerve cord behind him squirmed slightly, then settled very comfortably in a place that wouldn’t cause discomfort. The old mage felt energized and in very good condition.

The maddening noise and stinging pain hadn’t appeared in a long time, and even though he hadn’t looked at those ”pleasant patterns” recently, there was no sign of the headaches and auditory hallucinations recurring.

”Thank you for the master’s gift...”

Daniel almost habitually whispered to himself, then left the lounge.

Along the way, lower-ranked mages bowed their heads in respect to him, craftsmen of lower status stepped aside voluntarily, and scholars and assistants bowed to him.

But Daniel rarely responded to these greetings. He just walked briskly through the corridor, finally arriving at a project laboratory he was currently focused on.

In the spacious and bright laboratory, dozens of craftsmen or mages or assistants in short robes were busy everywhere, with long tables piled up with scrolls, calculation tools, and writing materials arranged around the room, while on the large experiment table in the center, complex mechanical devices and magical devices could be seen spread open, seemingly in semi-finished states.

This was a setting completely different from a traditional mage’s laboratory; it was more like some kind of engineering and alchemy workshop rather than a place to research magical mysteries. In fact, even within the Imperial Construction Association, there was only this one research site of its kind.

—In other laboratories, it is rare to see even the lowest-level craftsmen participating in the development of magical devices. Although Emperor Rosetta set up a facility where people of wisdom work together, the strict hierarchy, transcendent division, and talent barriers are still deeply rooted in everyone’s heart, and only in the projects led by Daniel, are these barriers forcibly eliminated due to the old mage’s own strong influence.

He was imitating what he saw at the Origin Laboratory, imitating the ”Mage Technician” system.

”Master Daniel,” some craftsmen who were busy beside the experiment table noticed the arrival of the old mage and immediately stood up to salute, ”You have arrived.”

Daniel nodded and looked at the mechanical parts on the experiment table: ”How is the progress?”

The craftsman looked nervous, bowing repeatedly: ”We are trying to achieve separate rotation for the two rear wheels, still without a clue, but it should be soon, very soon...”

Daniel looked at this craftsman, who clearly had outstanding mechanical talent but due to environmental influences habitually became servile, and subtly furrowed his brow but said nothing.

He merely glanced at those semi-finished products on the experiment table, nodding slightly: ”Don’t rush it, precision is more important.”

Then his gaze swept around, seeing several sketches pinned to the edge of a wooden frame on a rack not far away.

On those blueprints, something presently still in the concept phase was depicted (at least, that’s how it was here):

A vehicle driven by repulsion mechanisms, powered by mechanical devices, able to move without relying on animal traction.

When Daniel followed the master’s orders to come to Aldernon to showcase the magic web skills to the Empire’s rulers, he also brought some other technologies.

Including simple propulsion devices driven by repulsion magic symbols.

The master hoped to use these foundational technologies to accelerate Typhon’s ”industrial revolution,” and indeed, these foundational technologies achieved the expected effects, but as they gained attention from Typhon’s technical workers, subsequent developments would become inevitable—

The principles of repulsion mechanisms are not complex, the simplest gears, levers, bearings, etc. have long existed, and when the craftsmen and mages of the Imperial Construction Association had their minds opened by the magical ”repulsion mechanisms,” they naturally thought of applying this technology to more fields.

Today, Typhon’s self-produced magic-powered engines have been applied in mining machinery and spinning and weaving machines, merchants and aristocrats are lying on the machines counting the stream of gold coins, while those with more foresight and intelligence are pondering further development of these machines—a palace advisor realized the factory operations would inevitably place higher demands on transportation. Following the palace advisor’s suggestion, Rosetta Augustus ordered the Construction Association to develop a means of transportation powered by magic-powered machines.

Daniel gladly accepted this task. As a ”remarkably talented mage” in the field of magic-powered machinery, he established this engineering laboratory.

Then, he cleverly stalled the project—this project really had too many areas that could be delayed: differential, shifting, transmission, braking, cooling, shock absorption... Daniel had seen complete magic vehicle information in the Origin Laboratory, so he confidently believed he could stall this project for three to five years without arousing anyone’s suspicion.

He was waiting for the master’s next order, waiting for the command to ”invent” or ”replicate” a magic-guided vehicle to arrive naturally.

The master was already preparing to meet with Rosetta Augustus, so the next order would likely arrive soon.