CHAPTER 160: MAGICAL ENGINEERING

She made a sleepy sound but didn’t fully wake, the piece of meat still dangling from her mouth as she continued napping in my arms.

The Devour skill was working exactly as advertised. Less than twenty-four hours of eating Elite-rank meat, and she’d already shown visible growth that would take normal creatures weeks to achieve.

"You’re going to be enormous soon if you keep eating and growing at this rate," I murmured quietly.

I stayed with Changing Star for a while longer, gently waking her and watching with amusement as she finally swallowed the piece of meat that had been hanging from her mouth. She seemed completely unconcerned about having fallen asleep mid-meal.

Knock knock knock

A firm knock at the mansion’s main entrance announced the arrival I’d been expecting. I carried Changing Star with me as I went to answer, finding one of my family’s trusted subordinates waiting with a large transport cart.

"Young Master Blackwood," he greeted respectfully. "The delivery you requested."

"Bring it to the basement preservation chamber," I instructed, leading him through the mansion.

The subordinate showed no surprise at the unusual request, professionally transporting multiple large containers filled with Elite-rank beast meat. I’d ordered a substantial quantity - approximately fifty kilograms worth of high-quality magical beast corpses, all properly preserved and ready for consumption.

"Place them in organized sections along the walls," I directed as we reached the cold storage room. "Ensure they’re easily accessible."

He worked efficiently, arranging the meat while I observed with Changing Star perched in my pocket. Her eyes sneakily tracked every piece being stored, clearly approving of the abundant food supply.

Once finished, the subordinate departed without unnecessary questions, maintaining the discretion expected of Blackwood family servants.

I set Changing Star down and gestured at the newly stocked storage. "This should keep you fed for quite a while. Eat whenever you’re hungry, but try not to make yourself sick from overeating, alright?"

She seemed excited by the abundance, already approaching one of the fresh corpses with obvious interest.

"Remember what I told you," I continued seriously, kneeling to her level. "Stay inside the mansion. Don’t leave under any circumstances. More deliveries will come regularly, so you’ll never run out of food."

rawr...

Her response carried understanding mixed with disappointment. Through our bond, I felt her reluctance at being left alone again.

I gently stroked her head, feeling genuine regret at having to leave. "I know. But this is necessary for your safety. I’ll visit every day, I promise."

Her big sapphire eyes looked up at me with such sadness that I almost reconsidered my schedule. But staying longer would raise questions at the academy, and missing training sessions wasn’t a good idea.

"Be good while I’m gone."

She pressed her small head against my hand one final time before reluctantly accepting my departure.

I left the mansion with mixed feelings, securing all entrances and retrieving my skateboard for the return journey to the academy.

As I accelerated toward campus, I could still feel Changing Star’s presence through our bond - content with her food supply but missing my company.

’Soon,’ I thought. ’Once you’re stronger and the situation stabilizes, we’ll spend more time together.’

As I made my way back through the academy gates, the familiar notification pulsed through my consciousness.

[Daily Login Available!]

[Would you like to claim your daily reward?]

[Yes | No]

I selected yes immediately, curious what the system would provide today after the incredible Bloodline Evolution Card from yesterday.

[Congratulations! You have received: Magical Engineering]

[Rank: Tier 1]

[Details: Complete knowledge of how to create and program magical items using mana-circuit design, enchantment integration, and systematic functionality implementation. This skill allows the bearer to construct complex magical devices with reproducible effects.]

The moment the notification completed, knowledge flooded into my mind like a dam breaking. Thousands of concepts, techniques, diagrams, and methodologies downloaded directly into my consciousness with perfect clarity.

I understood suddenly how to design mana circuits that could store and process information. How to create enchantment matrices that responded to specific inputs. How to program conditional logic into magical constructs so they behaved predictably.

But what truly excited me was a specific realization that emerged from combining this new knowledge with my memories from Earth.

I could create a smartphone.

Not just a basic communication device, but a fully functional magical smartphone capable of taking photos, recording videos, and facilitating real-time communication using the same mana-based principles as communication crystals.

And based on my new understanding, this would actually be superior to Earth’s phone technology in critical ways. There would be no signal delays or latency issues because mana-based communication was essentially instantaneous across distances. No internet connectivity problems because the devices would link directly through magical frequency attunement rather than relying on physical infrastructure. No dropped calls, no buffering, no dead zones - everything would operate on pure mana principles that transcended physical limitations.

The applications were staggering. Personal communication devices that anyone with mana could use. Photography and video documentation that captured magical phenomena Earth cameras could never record. Information storage and retrieval systems that operated at the speed of thought.

And this magical engineering knowledge synergized perfectly with my existing blacksmithing skills. The physical construction, material selection, and durability concerns I’d already mastered through crafting weapons and equipment would translate directly to building these complex devices.

My mind raced with possibilities. The skateboard had already proven that introducing Earth concepts through magical implementation could create revolutionary products. A magical smartphone would be exponentially more impactful - transforming communication, documentation, and information access across the entire kingdom.

The commercial potential alone was astronomical. Every noble family, merchant organization, military unit, and academic institution would want these devices. The strategic advantages for coordination and intelligence gathering were obvious

And as the only person with the supply, and knowledge behind this new ’invention’. I would be able to get information from all over the world, using the devices that they would use.

I couldn’t wait to get into the blacksmithing facilities and start working on prototypes. The technical knowledge was fresh in my mind, and my hands practically itched to begin constructing the first magical smartphone this world had ever seen.

’Training can wait an extra hour,’ I decided, already changing direction toward the Section G workshops. ’This is too important to delay.’

The future had just arrived, and I was going to build it with my own hands.

I changed course immediately and headed toward Section G’s blacksmithing facilities, my mind already racing through design specifications and component requirements. The training room could wait - this was too significant to postpone.

At the booking station, I reserved a premium workshop for four hours, knowing this project would require extended focus and experimentation.

[-4,000 Points]

The facility I entered was one of the more advanced options, equipped with precision tools, high-grade materials, and magical forges capable of working with delicate enchantments. Perfect for what I needed.

I began by laying out my conceptual framework. A magical smartphone required several fundamental components: a display surface that could show images and text, input mechanisms for user interaction, a power source to sustain operations, communication circuits for transmitting and receiving, and storage matrices for data retention.

But I quickly realized I couldn’t just start building the phone directly. The precision required for mana-circuit etching, the consistency needed for enchantment matrices, and the complexity of component assembly demanded specialized tools that didn’t exist yet.

I needed to create the machines that would allow me to create the phone, then create more without having to start from scratch every single time.

"Foundation first," I muttered, pulling out materials and beginning to sketch designs.

My magical engineering knowledge provided theoretical frameworks, but translating Earth’s manufacturing concepts into magical implementation required trial and error. I was essentially inventing an entirely new production methodology.

The first machine I attempted was a precision mana-circuit etcher - a device that could inscribe incredibly fine pathways onto specially prepared material surfaces. My blacksmithing skills helped me forge the physical components, while the magical engineering knowledge guided the enchantment placement.

Activate... test... failure.

The initial prototype failed immediately, the etching mechanism creating inconsistent line depths that would render any circuits useless. I adjusted the mana flow regulators and recalibrated the targeting matrices.

Second attempt... partial success.

It was better, but still not precise enough. The lines wavered slightly, introducing imperfections that would cause signal degradation. I redesigned the stabilization enchantments entirely, drawing on both skill sets to problem-solve the integration issues.

Third attempt... pass!

The etcher finally produced clean, consistent lines at the microscopic scale required. Not perfect, but adequate for prototype development.

Next came an enchantment stabilizer - a device that would hold magical matrices in perfect alignment while I integrated them into components. This proved even more challenging because it required balancing multiple competing force fields simultaneously.

I spent nearly an hour troubleshooting why the stabilization fields kept collapsing, eventually discovering that my initial power distribution design created interference patterns. The solution involved completely restructuring the mana flow architecture using principles that combined blacksmithing material knowledge with engineering.

Test... success!

The stabilizer held enchantments perfectly stable, allowing manipulation without degradation.

The third foundational machine was a component assembler - essentially a magical version of precise manufacturing equipment that could position tiny parts with perfect accuracy. This required the most sophisticated combination of both skills, using blacksmithing to create the physical manipulation arms and magical engineering to program their movement patterns.

Program sequence... test motion... adjust... retest...

Multiple iterations were necessary to achieve the dexterity needed. The arms kept either moving too quickly and damaging components or too slowly to be practical. Finding the right balance of speed, precision, and force application required patient experimentation.