[Book 1 Completed] Industrial Mage: Modernizing a Magical World [Kingdom Building LitRPG]
B2 | Chapter 37 – Future Plans

Theodore gazed at the rock with the type of intense annoyance that generally came before he did something he'd likely come to regret.

The thing just sat there like it knew exactly how much trouble it was going to cause him.

Which, knowing his luck and the fact that Varyndros had apparently decided to take a personal interest in his life, it probably did.

Well, if Varyndros wanted him to sever this thing with a single strike, Theodore was going to give it his absolute best shot. It likely had something to do with his Innate Ability, Sever, but he had yet to learn how to use that in tandem with his magic, so for now he wanted to start out with the basics. After all, there was time.

Starting with the obvious approaches and working his way up to the stupid ones.

He began with [Elemental Mastery], because why not start with what he knew worked on most things that needed breaking?

Mana was drawn from Theodore's core and squeezed into air, packed tighter and tighter until the barely managed pressure buzzed.

With a resounding clap, the compressed air struck the dome, and Theodore stared with increasing frustration as nothing occurred.

The surface didn't even vibrate or show any sign of the attack affecting it even slightly.

It was like trying to break a mountain with a harsh word.

Pulling additional mana, Theodore compressed air into what he referred to as his ball of doom.

After repeatedly compressing until it was just slightly larger than a shirt button, the air mana had enough force to destroy a sizable room.

If anything was going to break this enormous paperweight, it would be this, but it required careful management and a considerable quantity of his mana reserves.

The ball of doom had worked well for him before, transforming ordinary air into something that could break stone or pierce armor, and he wondered how it would hold up against this.

He launched the compressed sphere at the dome, and the resulting explosion made his ears ring and sent a shockwave through the frozen ground that he felt in his bones.

When the dust settled, the dome sat there looking exactly as it had been before and just as unmarked as it had moments before.

Perhaps elemental strikes would be more effective than force alone? He formed javelins of ice that gleamed like crystal spears in the weak winter sunlight.

The ice javelins shattered against the dome's surface like they were made of glass hitting a brick wall.

Next came water, then air, and finally fire. Theodore had perfected that shape in his mind, so naturally each element molded into the most destructive form he preferred, which was either a spear or a javelin.

The fire javelins burned hot enough to melt steel, the water ones moved with enough force to cut through tree trunks, and the air constructs carried enough kinetic energy to punch holes in castle walls.

None of them left so much as a scuff mark on the dome's impossibly smooth surface.

Theodore was starting to understand why Jack had looked so defeated when he'd arrived.

Not only was it magic-resistant, but it was actively making fun of their attempts to affect it in any significant way.

But he wasn't done yet.

Theodore pulled thermal energy from the environment around him as well as his reserves, feeling the temperature drop as he siphoned heat into his newest attempt at a solution.

If raw elemental force wasn't going to work, maybe he could try something with his newer affinities.

Thermal energy was tricky to work with, harder to control than the classical elements, but it packed a punch when properly applied.

Similar to how he had compressed the air, he compressed the thermal mana, cramming an increasing amount of heat energy into an area no bigger than his fist.

The process made his vision blur slightly from the effort, but Theodore kept pushing until he had what felt like a miniature sun hovering above his palm.

In addition to leaving a tiny crater in the frozen ground, the thermal ball of doom struck the dome and burst outward in a wave of superheated air that scorched the field for ten feet in all directions.

Both the force and the heat hit Theodore, but they were all readily absorbed. All he had to do was squint through the fleeting but powerful display of light.

When his vision cleared, the dome sat in the middle of the blackened, smoking field, looking as untouched as ever.

Theodore's irritation was pierced by a twinge of guilt as he looked at the damage he had done to Farmer Jed's property. He was going to have to pay the man extra compensation for this mess and probably help restore the field to something resembling its original condition.

The farmer had been patient with their magical experiments, but there were limits to how much damage a reasonable person could be expected to tolerate.

Still, the thermal energy had failed just like everything else.

Theodore didn't have enough kinetic energy stored to try anything substantial in that direction, and his other affinities were still too new for him to have developed proper combat applications.

So, maybe it was time to admit that a frontal assault wasn't going to work and try a different approach entirely.

Or maybe it was time to go home and think about this problem from a different angle.

Sighing, Theodore turned his back on the dome.

Theodore had time to think on the walk back to the manor, and as he weighed his options, he found himself almost absently drawing mana from his center.

It was soothing to feel the familiar weight of shaped mana in his mental grasp, as if it were a worry stone he could control while his conscious mind dealt with other issues.

He began by shaping the mana into simple geometric shapes—a pyramid, a cube, and a sphere—that hung over his palm. Only a little portion of his attention was needed to keep each one in shape.

Theodore had been manipulating mana long enough for these simple exercises to come as naturally to him as breathing.

The simplicity was almost boring, so he started creating multiple smaller spheres instead, juggling them in his mental grip like invisible balls. Still no real challenge there, just a matter of dividing his attention between several simple constructs instead of focusing on one.

Theodore clicked his tongue in mild annoyance at how easy it all was.

He needed something that would actually push his limits if he wanted to improve his control. So he shifted the approach, transforming one of his spheres into a cube and setting it spinning in place. That was harder, requiring him to actively maintain the rotational force while keeping the cube's shape stable.

Theodore carefully placed an upside-down pyramid on top of the spinning cube, spinning it like a spinner on the tip of the pyramid. The level of complexity increased dramatically. The task was doable, but it needed real focus.

The real challenge came when he added several smaller spheres around the central construct, positioning them like planets in fixed orbits around a star.

Each sphere had to maintain its position relative to the spinning central mass. They were essentially "stuck" in the orbit circle, without moving.

Theodore found himself having to devote most of his focus to the exercise, his mental attention stretched thin across everything.

But he wasn't done yet.

Theodore tried to set the orbital spheres into motion, spinning them around their axis without moving them on the orbit because that wasn't possible for him yet.

They were around the central construct like a proper planetary system. The whole structure fell apart and the meticulously balanced mana forms turned back into mana the instant he tried to add that last level of intricacy by spinning the spheres on their axis.

Theodore sighed and started over, rebuilding the construct from scratch while his mind wandered to other concerns.

The kilns were built and waiting for the new fervidite and rune inscription work to be completed. Once those were operational, he could finally move forward with the public bath project he'd been planning.

However, it would take time to execute properly, which would leave him open to looking for other projects to pursue while he trained for the tournament in the capital.

The corrupted land from the incursion was probably the most pressing long-term concern.

He had an idea that his life and death affinities might be able to address the contamination, but he'd need to spend considerably more time experimenting with those particular affinities of his before he could even begin to develop a proper solution.

Then there was the heating problem.

Winter was hard on his people, and while they managed well enough with traditional methods, Theodore couldn't help but think there had to be a better way.

Fervidite could provide heat, and with his new [Rune Inscription] skill, he might be able to create some kind of affordable heating solution for individual homes.

Maybe something that could keep food warm as well, and if he was feeling ambitious, perhaps even a cooling system for the summer months.

A magical refrigerator wasn't outside the realm of possibility given [Rune Inscription], and the applications for food preservation alone would be significant.

The product would probably be his next big splash in the kingdom after soap.

Winter also meant beast migrations, which was another concern entirely.

Theodore's people were reasonably well-defended, but the local soldiers could always use better equipment.

Maybe it was time to seriously consider developing firearms, assuming he could work out the technical challenges involved.

After all, he wasn't really that knowledgeable about them. He knew some basics, but that was all. He would need to improvise.

Magical enhancement of projectile weapons had potential, though he'd need to be careful about making anything too advanced too quickly.

And then there was the tournament itself.

Theodore still needed to figure out the clone spell or skill or whatever it was. After all, that would let him remain in Holden while also traveling to the capital.

The political implications of the tournament were significant enough that he couldn't afford to skip it, but he also couldn't afford to be away from his territory for an extended period.

The refrigerator idea kept coming back to him as he worked through the possibilities.

With his [Rune Inscription] skill, he should be able to create something that could store and use mana as a power source. The "battery" inscriptions would need regular recharging, but that wasn't necessarily a problem.

In fact, it could be turned into a feature: a monthly service that brought in steady revenue while providing a genuine benefit to his people.

The main technical hurdle would be dealing with affinity contamination.

Everyone's mana was influenced by their personal affinities, which meant that someone with fire affinity couldn't necessarily power a device designed for pure mana—or ice affinity mana in this case—without causing problems.

Theodore would need to develop some kind of filtering or conversion system that could neutralize incoming mana and convert it into a form that the device could safely use.

It was an interesting challenge, and Theodore found himself genuinely excited about the possibilities.

[Mana Control] has leveled up! - Lvl 7 > Lvl 8!

[Meditation] has leveled up! - Lvl 23 > Lvl 24!

The notifications came into his peripheral vision, and Theodore blinked in mild surprise.

He had been so preoccupied with his plans that he had failed to notice that he had been keeping up the mana construct the whole way back to the manor.

The complex arrangement of spinning shapes had become second nature, requiring only a small portion of his attention to keep stable.

And not to mention that somewhere along the way he had started rotating the spheres on their axis too!

He recalled failing multiple times and restarting, but he had been so lost in thought he hadn't entertained the possibility of level ups.

With the level increases, the construct felt noticeably easier to maintain. Theodore could feel the heightened concentration and increased efficiency of his mana management, which allowed him to handle the many moving pieces with less mental effort. It was a pleasant feeling.

Not the mention [Meditation] only needed one more level to evolve!

Time to push the limits again.

Theodore carefully began setting one of the orbital spheres into motion. Just one. And as he watched, it started to trace a slow circle around the central spinning construct while rotating on its axis.

The moment he added that extra layer of complexity, the entire arrangement collapsed once more, dissolving into scattered mana that dissipated harmlessly into the surrounding air.

Despite the failure, Theodore grinned. He had a new exercise to work on, and based on how fast the construct had collapsed, it was going to be rather difficult. So, with a smile, he began the mana exercise again.

***

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