Chapter 62: Liquid Crystals and Networks
"Observe freely for two hours. You must learn how to independently analyze a completely unfamiliar alien life form."
Baniel turned his head first, issuing instructions to his students in midair. Then, amidst the chorus of 'Yes, sir!' from the students, he stood beside William, listening to his friend enthusiastically share their discoveries.
"Perhaps ordinary people don't know, but for us Ancient Dragon chasers, the might of an Ancient Dragon lies not in its power, but in its life essence."
While slowly flying alongside Joshua, surveying the entire Writhing Forest, William spoke slowly. As he said this, he first pointed his right thumb at himself, then at Joshua. The legendary mage smiled and continued: "Just like you and me, their life essence transcends ordinary 'life'. It's just that Ancient Dragons are born that way. They are the initial condensation of Steel Force in the Mycroft World, the source of all life in our world. There's a theory in our field that all life today originates from the corpse of a dead Ancient Dragon. So, in a sense, even you and I are their descendants, countless generations removed."
"And the Writhing Forest has clearly been eroded by the life imprint of an Ancient Dragon. Its prototype was probably just some native plant of the Sixth Abyss, which then mutated under the stimulation of the Ancient Dragon's life force, becoming this massive and eerie form—that's right, this entire Writhing Forest is a single entity, a single life form."
Having said this, William temporarily stepped back, letting Baniel take over. The old mage pulled a spiral, cyan-blue test tube from his bosom, within which a dense mist swirled. He stared at the test tube, speaking with a hint of intoxication and confusion: "From the Writhing Forest, we extracted the information of that Ancient Dragon. But strangely, it doesn't match any of the currently known Ancient Dragons. It is a new, or perhaps more ancient, Ancient Dragon. Its existence transcends our understanding."
"This is truly unexpected."
Hearing this, curiosity also arose in Joshua's heart. Even the few known Ancient Dragons today have left no trace except in the Central Black Forest. And now, these two, Baniel and William, have found traces of a brand new Ancient Dragon outside the world? This was truly baffling.
"Could it be an Ancient Dragon from another world?"
The warrior proposed such a guess: "Ancient Dragon is just a name we've imposed on those primordial lifeforms. They don't even necessarily have to look like dragons—perhaps in other worlds, there are primordial beings like giant trees supporting the heavens, great serpents encircling the oceans, or giant turtles carrying continents on their backs."
"We have indeed considered this possibility."
Baniel nodded seriously. "As long as the Steel Force is concentrated enough, such creatures will be born during the initial period of creation. The Mycroft World is uniquely blessed, but other worlds might not be inferior to us—but that's a different research topic. The most important thing now is this."
Without finishing his words, the old mage decisively crushed the spiral test tube in his hand. The swirling, misty cyan-blue aura within immediately came into contact with the outside world. In the next instant, an extremely powerful magnetic field enveloped an area of several hundred meters. The potent electric current even materialized into tangible arcs in midair, constantly lashing at the air, producing booming crackles.
"That Ancient Dragon possesses the power to manipulate lightning—or rather, magnetic fields."
The old mage admired the dazzling electric sparks he had created. This seemingly powerful current was useless against the three legendary figures. William also spoke with a smile: "And the Writhing Forest has inherited part of this power. Look."
Following William's pointing hand, Joshua looked down at the Writhing Forest below. At that moment, large patches of forest, covered with scale-claws and tentacles, sensed the clear and distinct aura above, explaining to him the value of this forest.
"This is originally your spoils of war."
Joshua shook his head. He now clearly understood the value of the liquid crystals and highly sensitive magnetic organs in this forest. It was a groundbreaking discovery. He also roughly understood why these two legends, who didn't belong to any faction, still had ample funding after all these years. But the warrior wasn't short of money now. Why would he fight over it with these two discoverers and carriers? Besides, William and Baniel had already made it clear that this was their funding source for subsequent explorations. After all, even legendary experts couldn't conjure gold out of thin air.
No, actually, they could conjure it, but it would be more trouble than it was worth.
In short, for such a small amount of money and status, to fall out with two legends—no one was that stupid.
"Rest assured, Lord Count Radcliffe. After all, you went to the Abyss and fought the Demon Lord for our sake." In response to Joshua's reply, Baniel put down his pipe and said with a smile: "So you have a share in this too."
"Besides, the two of us wander the world and have no industries to develop." William said leisurely. "So, turning this discovery into actual value depends on you. As for us, we're especially curious about that unknown Ancient Dragon that passed through the Abyss—the traces in the Writhing Forest are too fresh, just from the last hundred or two hundred years. It does exist, and it might be wandering in nearby worlds."
The subsequent topics needed no further elaboration. Under the cordial and friendly exchange among the three leaders, the Moldavia Territory and the two legendary mages established a comprehensive, friendly cooperative partnership. They conducted a new round of discussions regarding the Writhing Forest located in the Great Aias Mountains. The final result was that Baniel and William would invest in two corresponding Mana Factories in the Northern Lands, but the specific construction would be handled by the Lord's Mansion of Moldavia. The subsequent distribution of benefits would be discussed by their respective agents.
After this, Joshua, who had returned to the Lord's Mansion, couldn't help but recall the possibilities the two legendary mages had shown him.
"Liquid crystal screens that can differentiate colors without requiring massive amounts of magic power, and communication arrays that can maintain stable contact even across half a continent?"
Sitting in his large chair, he closed his eyes and smiled. "The next few years will probably be about the popularization of light screens and the establishment of large-scale communication networks, right? The pace of progress in this world is really fast. It's just now industrializing, and unexpectedly, in a few years, we'll be entering the internet age."
Unlike the two legendary mages, Joshua clearly understood what Baniel and William had actually discovered. They possessed immense value that the people of the Mycroft Continent couldn't foresee. It could even be said that this might be one of the greatest inventions since the eighth century of the Era of Falling Stars.
Because, it was precisely the prototype of the internet.