Chapter 189: A Necessary Interruption

Adrian didn’t think over the spear for too long. This was the second time he was obtaining an S grade for an invention’s Practicality, and just as with his latest mana gun, he understood what it signified.

The System deemed that he had performed above his average when designing the weapon, not in terms of raw complexity, but in its perfect suitability for its intended user and purpose.

It was a different kind of genius, one of custom-tailoring and empathy, and that acknowledgment made Adrian glad.

He tossed the spear into his [Inventory] and checked the hovering panel in his vision.

Access Time Remaining: [05:16:56]

"Should be enough time," Adrian told himself before approaching the design studio once more.

His next project was the Proclamation Orb he had promised his council. It was a far more complex invention to go about, an undertaking that would push the boundaries of his knowledge.

Unlike the spear, which was primarily a feat of material science and minor enchantment, the orb had to do with the much more esoteric field of magic engineering.

Adrian analyzed the vision and potential of this project. He had succeeded with long-range audio communication with the Communicators, and now he was about to tackle visual communication — a stable, real-time, one-to-many broadcast system.

He couldn’t help but let a wry smile form. He was making this much progress with magic, without actually developing the original technological variants from his past life first.

The infrastructure for a conventional broadcast signal didn’t exist, so he was forced to leapfrog an entire technological era with magical equivalents.

’I’ll have to work on the foundational physics-based tech later on,’ he thought, shrugging the issue aside for a later date. He refocused his mind on the ongoing project.

Unlike the spear, Adrian didn’t have a clear path or a pre-existing blueprint to follow. He planned to navigate the design with a series of trials and errors, as well as some creative magic and runic shenanigans.

He knew he had to follow the same basic path he had taken while working on the Communicator — a master unit that transmits and receiver units that display — but the complexity was on an entirely different level.

Encoding and transmitting audio data was one thing; converting a live, moving, three-dimensional image into a transmittable mana signal and then having a crystal orb reconstruct that image perfectly hundreds of miles away was another.

It involved signal compression, matrix projection arrays, and a power source far greater than what the simple Communicators required.

"Alright," Adrian said, cracking his knuckles. "Enough thinking. Time to get to work."

***

Five hours passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. For Adrian, the Factory was a sanctuary where time seemed to lose its meaning, his mind completely absorbed in the flow of creation.

He was hunched over a holographic schematic, meticulously adjusting the resonance frequency of a runic array, when the world around him dissolved into white. The Factory had transported him out of its space.

He found himself back on his bed, the lingering afterimage of the glowing blueprint still burned into his vision.

Unfortunately for him, he had failed with his estimation. The time was in no way enough. He had managed to go far with the design idea, creating a viable framework for the master orb’s transmission module, but he still needed to finalize the receiver’s projection system and then move on to the actual creation stage. But time, the sneaky thief, had other plans.

Adrian sighed in frustration. "To think I’d still be complaining for more Factory time," he murmured.

He was moments away from navigating the hovering System panel and making an impulsive time upgrade purchase, when he stopped himself.

He didn’t have any excuse not to face his responsibilities right now. During the final hours of his immersion in the Factory, two particular Communicators had been buzzing insistently within his [Inventory].

On confirming that the calls weren’t from Serena or Karl, Adrian had ignored them to continue his work.

Back then, he didn’t want to take a pause and ruin the precious creative state he had found himself in. But now, back in the real world, Adrian knew it was for the best to find out what the Dean and Master Von wanted from him.

He had left them with an assignment after all. It was entirely possible they had encountered trouble.

He retrieved one of the Communicators from his inventory and gave it a dial. It connected with its receiver within seconds, and Adrian spoke into it.

"Master Von?"

"Oh, you’ve finally decided to pick up," Von’s dissatisfied voice came through, despite being on the receiving end of the call.

Adrian didn’t bother correcting the Instructor, and chose to apologize. "I was busy."

Master Von didn’t drag on it. "It’s not a big deal. I just wanted to let you know that we’re facing resistance from the Duke households.

Unlike the lesser nobles, they’ve refused to believe our claims and are vehement on only complying when they see the being that could kill the King with their own eyes.

Their public disagreement is making things worse for us; some of the parties we managed to convince are now leaning back towards their point," he said in one breathless rush.

"So, I just wanted to let you know, to get the green light on whether we should convince them forcefully."

Adrian furrowed his brows as he considered what Von said. He didn’t take longer than a second to formulate a reply.

"No, there’s no need for that. I’ll come there myself. Where are you all?"

"We’re currently at the Borin Mansion," Von replied, "along with all the relevant authorities. Most of them are getting impatient, but if you’re really coming, I’ll try to convince them to stay for a while longer."

For a second, Adrian wished he could still use [Translocation] for instantaneous travel, but the reality of its cooldown was different. "Tell them to be patient," he said reassuringly. "I’ll be there shortly."

"Alright."

After Adrian hung up, he stood up from his bed. There was no time to waste. With a single thought, nanites began to materialize around his body.

Within seconds, he was fully encased in his Power Suit. He walked out onto the balcony, and without hesitation, he took off, a silent blue streak ascending into the evening sky.