Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 511 Divine Intervention and Arbitration
baby!

That was Master Zhang's first thought when he saw the bronze bell, and he quickly averted his gaze.

Even if this thing is good, it's not something I can covet.

At the top of the altar, at the foot of the statue, Braslan, having completed his prayer ceremony, came to a mechanism, pulled down the lever, and then vigorously struck a red button with the small copper hammer he carried with him.

creak~
Like a sleeping steel giant awakening, it warms up by stretching its almost rusty joints.

The engine drives the pressure pump, and the sounds of gears meshing together create a heavy metal sonata.

The statue of Gonde slightly turned its head, the light from its eyes illuminating the entire hall. It lingered briefly on the mage holding the dial before landing on the archbishop who had awakened all of this.

"Please, Your Excellency Chanem."

Braslan bowed to the statue again, then turned to the priest and spoke.

There was no turning back now. If the person who came was indeed here to swindle and deceive, the outcome would probably not be pleasant. Fortunately, Zhang Yuan was confident enough to step forward and show off the clock without fear.

"I call this little thing a quartz watch; its principle is quite simple,"

As he spoke, he took out his tools and carefully pried open the watch face, revealing its extremely precise and compact internal structure:
"When quartz is stimulated by electric current or other pulse energy, it will exhibit regular oscillations. Magic quartz that has reached a certain purity threshold will possess this property after being activated."

The mage pointed out and explained the function and structure of the watch movement with a long, thin tool that resembled a pointer. Blaslan, who was standing next to him, listened for only a few sentences before showing an expression of sudden understanding.

For a master craftsman of extremely high skill, understanding the underlying principles after breaking through this barrier was incredibly easy.

"The rotation of the gears is triggered by the self-oscillation of the magic crystal, which in turn drives the operation of the entire pointer system. With the core of the drive replaced in this ingenious way, the entire internal structure is indeed simplified to a level that was previously unattainable."

"More importantly, you are right, the entire watch movement system does not rely on the magic alchemy system and can be regarded as a purely mechanical transmission."

Inspired, the archbishop continued to elaborate on his insights, while the mage beside him, while affirming them, also smiled and pointed out a fact:
"Moreover, whether it is natural magic quartz or artificially charged magic crystal, the cost of this creation can only be described as cheap. The cost of the entire clock is probably more than ten times cheaper than before."

The bishop nodded in agreement. This was no exaggeration; the most complex spring-driven component had been replaced by that tiny crystal, which was the most inexpensive and readily available magical mineral, even if it was more expensive than ordinary crystal.
So how much can something the size of a grain of rice be worth?

If we're really going to be precise, the mechanical watches of the past were far superior to the magic quartz watches of the same size.

Recognizing the immense value of this technology, Braslan decisively escalated the level of the incident.

"May the gaze of our Lord fall upon this place, may the wisdom and light of our Lord illuminate this place, may the majesty and glory of our God be manifested here."

As the last syllable of the prayer faded, the statue's gaze dimmed, and at the same time, its face became blurry in the monk's eyes.

It wasn't merely a change in light and shadow; in all his perceptions, even in the feedback of his spiritual intuition, the mortal objects previously cast in bronze and iron now seemed like unreachable morning stars, separated by an entire world. An indescribable will descended, just like the statue of Tyr during the Neverwinter Judgment. Gond, the consciousness avatar of the god of forging, also descended and took refuge in the mortal realm.

What followed was somewhat inevitable; the Holy Spirit, who knew and understood everything that happened in the temple from the very first moment of His Arrival, saw further than even His own bishop.

What does money matter? If this technology does indeed, as predicted, popularize precision manufacturing that was previously too high-end for most people, it will at least create a trend among certain social classes, if not every household.

This is a major step forward for the church in proclaiming its doctrines and glory.

To be honest, Gonde himself was getting a little numb watching his son's antics, the kinds of stunts that could only be displayed in the main hall.

Compared to the technological gains that the two mortals in His field of vision were so obsessed with, He found the visitor's words to be more important to Him.

Technology changes lives!
In terms of high-end military power, mechanical craftsmanship lags far behind other forces, and even the prospects seem rather bleak.

After years of effort and resources, a steam dragon was finally created, but magic ships could soar through the skies and traverse the stars long ago, and construct legions, with their mature technology, were large enough to sweep away and crush everything.

What can a purely mechanical school of thought compare to humans? To give an analogy, it's like in the era of technological civilization, you practice qigong and divine fighting and expect to fight against airplanes and tanks.

Perhaps, I can, no, I should…

In an instant, a thousand thoughts raced through the divine spirit, but none of this could be told to outsiders. The statue of Gonde remained silent, watching as the mage and the archbishop discussed the details of the contract clause by clause, even bringing up the bicycle patent for a long time. Only after both parties reached an agreement and were satisfied did it utter a single sentence:
"Hereinafter, the covenant is established, and I, in the name of the master of artisans and protector of all creative arts, declare that all creations appearing today are protected by my power."

From that moment on, quartz clocks and bicycles, these "high-tech products," were no longer something that others could simply copy at will; they had to pay for it!
Although the price paid was a franchise in the Bode area and manufacturing and sales rights outside of Sword Bay, the monk still felt he had made a profit.

This is an unavoidable cost. Despite the exquisite manufacturing of these two products, there are not many technical barriers to entry. Once the casing of a quartz clock is opened, who can hide the little secrets inside?
Bicycles don't even need to be disassembled; anyone with a basic understanding of structural engineering can tell a lot about them just by looking at them.

In this situation, talking about exclusive sales and patents is pure wishful thinking.

A mere mage lord in Neverwinter is far from enough to deter predators who are eager to tear off a piece of the newly emerged fat sheep and feast on it.

In Farewell, where there are no patent laws, the Church of Gonde is probably the only organization with both the motivation and the ability to provide protection for it.

Although these protections are far less comprehensive and rigorous than in previous eras, they are better than nothing and better than being naked.

The situation was quite different. Although Mr. Zhang, as an outsider, felt a pang of regret, he couldn't ask for too much.

Thank you to A-Yi, Miao Hong, and Jakiro_J for your monthly ticket support!

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(End of this chapter)