Steel and Mana

I will never get used to how fast Merlin works when it's about something he is genuinely fascinated by. And so far, I don't know a thing that does not excite him. So, only a day later, I was out at the old, flooded mine, accompanying Merlin and a few of our soldiers while he was going to conduct the first test on his voice-amplifying magic.

"I will have to find you a few wives." I murmured, making his face turn white, then pink, looking at me, blinking his eyes like a flustered maiden.

"W-w-w-why?"

"So you can try and have kids, duh! I only told you once, mentioning a microphone, and bam! You built one! I need you to spread your genes, my boy."

I wasn't lying. I was already thinking, if nothing else, forcing the kid to marry a few girls, fully financing their living conditions. Although the mic he made was not a perfect replica, the shape was there, the shaft was made out of metal, and the capsule on top was a charged CC cut from the slain monster's core.

"First, we will test if it's working!" He explained, ignoring my words, not wanting to talk about marriage. Still... you won't escape Merlin, I will make you- Wait... Damn it! I sound like my MOM! Ugh... "Um... Did I do something wrong, My Lord?" He muttered, looking unsure, noticing the change in my expression.

"No, no! Nothing, it is just me being jealous of you!" I hurriedly answered, rubbing his head and embarrassing him even further.

"Um... It is not that big of a deal... Um, anyway! As you mentioned, I added an on-and-off switch. I managed to carve a miniature formation within it, using the beast bones as a template. It is a 3D formation!"

Okay, kid, I was jokingly lying when I said I was jealous of you... Now you are telling me you are using an advanced method, one that nature came up with, and already implementing it into something that probably will work?! What the fuck?! Merlin, my boy, you are starting to remind me of protagonists from old stories in my world.

"When you push the switch to the 'ON' position," he continued, explaining, without a worry, "the key rune within the formation will slot into place and activate it. Then, whatever you speak into it will get amplified!"

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows, and for the first time, he became a bit hesitant.

"Theoretically. Yes. I tried out a prototype back home, but it began screeching when I turned it on. This should be fine! I used the samples you gave me to overlay a support formation that eliminates unwanted noises besides human speech!"

Ah... I can guess it was the usual interference noise, that nasty, high-pitched hum that causes your ears to ring. Wait... did he just say he built a supporting second formation into it? Sssh, don't ask Leon. Don't ask! Think of different issues! This is just Merlin being Merlin... Think about... Like... Like, what is it that interferes with it? Before falling into a quagmire of thoughts, I instead flipped it on, and there it was. The same screech that made Merlin's smile disappear in a snap, and I watched him become panicked. It sounded like we all had tinnitus out of left field until I turned it off. That was when I had a sudden idea.

"Stay!" I told him commandingly before turning it back on, letting it scream at us a second time. Yet, after only a few steps back, it began to disappear, and after stopping about three meters from him, there was no longer any screeching. With a deep breath, I started whispering into the device, yet Merlin and all the soldiers near us could easily hear my voice. "I knew it! The noise you hear is your magic interfering, or in this case, synchronizing with the formation within. Do you know what does this mean?"

"No!" He shouted back, excited, jumping in place, looking happy as a bunny after learning it WAS working. The problem was not with his invention but with 'him.'

"Magic has a frequency that could be measured. No wonder the beasts activate the mines; I bet it radiates from every magically capable person! That is why you feel the presence of CC. It makes sense! With this, we could also find and detect mages who try to hide. This is more than a simple microphone, my dear Prime Minister!"

As for what to do with this possible revelation... well, I will think of it later. Now was not the time. Testing the device, it turned out that it did amplify my voice quite a bit, making everyone hear me talk, even if they were around 100 meters away, blocked by trees and whatnot. Still, I needed more than that if I wanted everybody to hear me when I held my speech.

"We should test the second phase!" Merlin clapped, making me tilt my head.

"The what now?"

"These, My Lord!" He continued, opening his backpack and showing me four disc-shaped objects with CC embedded into the middle of them. They were no bigger than a CD and as thick as a plate.

"Why are they made of gold?" I asked, but not because I was angry about it; I was just curious.

"It is much softer than iron, so it is much easier to carve the formation into it, especially if I need to modify it a lot, being a prototype and all."

"Huh. I did not think about that..."

He was right, and if we are finished and ready to finalize the new formation, we can make a different, more sturdy model. Maybe I will have to incorporate gold into all of the prototypes? Or into my future plans? I will have to keep that in mind.

"So, how do they work?" I asked, helping him spread it out around the old mine.

"It is the same as the microphone; I just tuned the formation on them to pick up only the amplified voice originating from it. No human could speak that loudly, so they won't repeat all the sounds they pick up, but they will react to your strengthened voice and replay it! The only issue I found is that this will delay it... So the further people are, the later they will hear you speak, and it will be like an echo."

"Better than nothing. If magic truly has a frequency, we need to tap into that. If we can tune these to the same frequency this mic has, then we can change the whole thing and create a radio!"

"Ah, you mean, the thing you told me about? That thing we could use to speak over long distances?!"

"Exactly. If we can create a formation that can pick up another's frequency and replicate it, that would mean we are effectively broadcasting, not with radio waves but with magical waves. I will also look into it and write up what I know so you can read about how radios work, and it may inspire you!

"Thank you, My Lord! That would be the best! Ooooh! I can't wait!"

"Ahaha, I worry about giving you any more coffee... Calm down a little! Now, let's test these prototypes and see how they work. You whipped them up on such short notice that they will work wonders even if they are not perfect. We can install them at certain points in the city so everyone can hear the announcement that an heir is on its way! That is what truly matters!"

"Yes, My Lord!"

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I was genuinely excited about what Merlin had achieved. After the tests, even if it was echoey, it was a great leap forward by the simple discovery that magic operates in a wave-like pattern. At least, that is what I am going to believe now. Until I come up with better tools to measure it somehow, I am going to assume just that. This made me return to my plans for my first mech, laying out all the blueprints and going over them once again with Merlin's new invention spread out next to it.

One thing that made me feel troubled was connecting the formations. I did it with CC strings previously, but that is something we would need more of, and I had no illusions about it. We won't be able to get enough for my needs. Instead, I was going to implement what we have just discovered and think about how to connect the magic formations using the knowledge about their new property. Still, I can't just let everything connect to everything; that would for sure complicate maneuvering the mech. I need it so that when the pilot wants to move the left arm, then it will move while the other limbs remain stationary.

After more than a dozen hours of planning, reworking, and stealing ideas from my old life, I think I have come up with a solution. For one, the tanks in my time were operated by a single soldier. They wore special suits that connected to the multiple systems of the machine while displaying an AR image on their helmets' visors. It read their eye movements and intentions, functionally merging machine and human. The suit quickly translated one twitch of a muscle into the machine's language, operating it with a fluidity never seen before.

Of course, I would not be able to replicate that, but I could do the backup system. As with everything, especially in a battle situation, they can break down, so there were secondary control options inside the tanks. There were two joysticks and multiple pedals for manually controlling the vehicle, and I could replicate that. I just have to make sure that they control separate limbs, and when pushing the installed buttons and triggers on them, they send out the activation signal for the corresponding magic formation.

"I could maybe recreate the main system too, but..." I murmured, tapping the end of my quill on my half-finished drawing, looking towards my model, sitting there, illuminated by the setting sun's light.

If Dorian could create a suit, using our remaining strings to lace it through it, we could create something that would allow the pilot to control the mech even better. But... there was a big but in it... Would it be usable by a simple man or only by someone magical? I would only know if we created it and tested it out.

"I don't know if we have enough left to create more than one prototype suit!" I said to myself, sighing, leaning back in my chair, closing my tired eyes, and rubbing them with a yawn. "I could still take it apart afterward and reuse the CC from it... But it would for sure bog down Dorian and his workshop for months, if not more."

"Are you debating with yourself again?" Asked a gentle voice, arriving behind me, beginning to rub my shoulders while I tasted her sweet lips pressing against mine.

"What can I say? I can be indecisive sometimes, my Dear Sasha~!"

"You should come. Dinner is soon to be ready, and you need rest!" With that, she began collecting my papers, looking at them, tilting her head. "I examined Merlin's newest inventions and think I can make them. I took apart your figure and reassembled it multiple times, so I can do it with eyes closed~!"

"Wait, you did?" I gawked, standing up and walking to my wooden model, but I could see no marks that it had been tampered with. Yes, it could be disassembled, but doing it so perfectly that I didn't notice was something else.

"I can't go to the forges, and I can't play around with magic formations... Your mother forbade me until our child is born. So, what remains for me is reading, reading, and reading a bit more... While you were away, I tried out carving, but it's not the same as shaping metal with my bare hands!"

"Are you pouting?" I grinned, stepping behind her, hugging her tummy, gently rubbing it.

"A bit! To not get rusty, I did play with your toy, ah, sorry, model!"

"Cheeky!" I whispered, kissing her neck, making her shiver, gently squeezing my hand because she knew we couldn't really do it yet.

"What I am trying to say is," She moaned, reigning in her desires, "I began thinking about your designs and how I would build them. I already worked out a scaled-up version and how I would create the parts required for it to work. I have even sent down the order to Kraus to build a gyroscope prototype."

"Really?!"

"Uhum!" She turned around, looking shy and happy at the same time. "I wanted to surprise you with it... I just want you to know before you make drastic changes! I would feel bad if his work would be for nothing..."

"It won't be." I answered at once, leaning forward, giving her another kiss, "By the time our child is born, I will finalize everything, and we can begin building our first, true weapon. Something that will help us defend against the Empire and protect Avalon from their armies!"

"Do you really think we will be in trouble?"

"Not right now, not with their current war going on. But... one day, yes. So, to protect you, our child, and everyone in my city, we will build a force that can withstand everything thrown at it!"