I Pioneered Scientific Magic

Chapter 66: The Ingenious Lydia

Hand-cranked fans, functioning miniature steamboats, wooden flying wings, and many exquisitely detailed items, including scaled-down carriages and house models – in the workshop, Lynn even spotted the prototype of a waterwheel.

It was a circular wooden wheel, approximately a meter in diameter. Water continuously flowed down from a reservoir above the workshop, driving the wheel to spin incessantly. Simultaneously, it powered a giant fan at the front, gently providing a cool breeze for the workshop's visitors.

Seems like quite an inventive use...

Lynn shook his head, thinking that this contraption could be used for irrigation in farms or even for generating power. However, Lydia seemed fixated on using it for the fan's power.

Darren, noticing Lynn's disapproving expression, felt his heart tighten. While Lydia's creations were undoubtedly interesting, they couldn't compare to the alchemical instruments of the wizards.

Fortunately, Lynn was straightforward and cut to the point.

"I'm not here to purchase goods this time; I intend to have something made according to a blueprint," Lynn stated.

While saying this, Lynn picked up a model of a steamboat. The model was incredibly detailed, nearly an exact replica down to every detail, from the chimney to the cabin and the hull. The only difference was an extra rope at the back of the cabin, which, when pulled, would turn the propeller below.

In a matter of moments, Lynn had figured out the model's principle. A slight smile played on his lips as he inquired further.

"I've heard that Lydia is incredibly skillful and can create items exactly as required. Is that true?"

"Of course! I dare say, in Iyeta Harbor, no one's craftsmanship can match Lydia's!" Darren replied with great confidence. Even many wizard nobles who had seen Lydia's creations had nothing but praise for her, bestowing her with the title of 'Ingenious.'

"Is she in the workshop right now?" Lynn placed the model aside. "I'd like to see if she can meet my requirements."

"No problem, Lydia is in the backyard working right now... I'll take you to her!" Darren promptly hopped off his chair, hung up the 'Resting' sign, and opened the gate to the workshop's backyard.

Following Darren, Lynn walked in and immediately spotted the massive flying apparatus he had seen before. The half-elf Lydia, whom he was looking for, was standing below it. She held a hammer, almost half her size, and was driving thick iron nails into the wings of the aircraft.

Once she finished, Lydia wiped the sweat from her forehead and then tugged at the wings, which were solidly attached. However, the stability was still somewhat lacking, explaining why certain parts of the aircraft would fall apart upon landing.

The halfling girl, absorbed in her work, hadn't noticed the arrival of the two newcomers. Her brow was slightly furrowed, and her robe was already covered in dust and grime, but she didn't seem to mind at all. Her mind was completely engrossed in how to improve the flying apparatus.

At that moment, Lynn's voice suddenly sounded.

"If the quadrilateral isn't stable enough, why not try adding a crossbeam diagonally, transforming it into two triangular structures?" he suggested.

Lydia was momentarily stunned, then quickly turned her head and spotted Darren and Lynn standing beside her.

"Wizard, my lord?" the half-elf girl exclaimed, her expression filled with surprise. She quickly recognized Lynn, having had a brief encounter with him in the square.

"You can give it a try," Lynn said, pointing at the wings of the aircraft with a smile.

Lydia didn't back down. She immediately rolled up her sleeves, grasped a suitably sized wooden plank with both hands, and placed it at the diagonal corners of the wings. She then picked up a hammer and some nails, working diligently.

Impressive strength...

Lynn was quite surprised as he watched Lydia, who was barely around 1.3 meters tall, effortlessly lift a wooden plank much larger than herself. It seemed that the rumors about half-elves having great strength were indeed true.

This doesn't quite align with biology... Lynn glanced at Lydia's somewhat "sturdy" arms and couldn't help but mutter in his mind. He then directed her to build supports for the aircraft to strengthen its overall structure, removing many unnecessary components to reduce the aircraft's weight.

Darren quickly joined in to help, and after a good deal of work, the entire aircraft looked brand new. Its broad wings were connected to the fuselage in a triangular structure, and Lydia pressed her hands onto the wings, shaking them vigorously, then used a hammer to knock on them. Surprisingly, there was not the slightest deformation.

"This is just... amazing!" Lydia's face was filled with joy, nearly overflowing. She turned to Lynn, perplexed, and asked, "But why is this so?"

During her usual model-making, she had noticed this difference but hadn't figured out the reason.

"Because the three sides of a triangle connect end to end, forming a very stable structure. All you need to do is perform a force analysis..." Lynn explained while taking a few wooden bars, assembling them into triangles, quadrilaterals, and pentagons, and then demonstrated the changes in force when any side or angle was pulled.

Lydia sat on the wing of the aircraft, her bright eyes closely following the wooden bars in Lynn's hands. She was like a student in class, momentarily forgetting that she had only met Lynn for the second time.

However, Lynn's lesson was not that easy to grasp. During the first half with the wooden bars, Lydia could follow to some extent, but when he started talking about concepts like the center of gravity, air resistance, and friction, it all became rather confusing.

She came to two conclusions: first, the wizard in front of her was incredibly knowledgeable and knew a lot about various subjects. Second, whether the aircraft could fly probably had something to do with these "forces."

After explaining for a while, Lynn cleared his throat, and Lydia immediately understood. She hopped down from the wing, dashed into the room, and fetched a water jug, pouring a glass of water for Lynn. She then gazed at him, inquisitively asking, "So, my lord wizard, can this aircraft fly now?"

"If you only want it to stay in the air a bit longer, that's not a problem. But if you mean soaring freely in the sky, it's probably not feasible," Lynn shook his head. "The power source for this aircraft is too weak, and the external structure doesn't quite conform to fluid dynamics..."

Lydia wore a puzzled expression. She could barely grasp the concept of a power source, but what on earth was fluid dynamics?

In just half an hour, she had heard so many high-level terms that she felt like a kitten trying to catch a fluffy ball but unable to reach it.

"My lord wizard?" Darren, who was standing nearby, was somewhat concerned and couldn't help but interrupt. While he was eager to learn this knowledge, he understood one thing very well: knowledge was precious in the wizard's realm.

Lynn, as if he had just come to his senses, smiled and said, "Sorry, it's a professional habit."

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Lynn, the newly appointed professor of arcane mathematics at Iyeta Academy."

"Is that the same professor who supposedly scared a student unconscious on the first day of class with arcane mathematics?" Darren exclaimed.

Lynn's lips twitched, and he looked at Darren very "kindly."

"If you don't know what to say, it's best to remain silent!"

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