The so-called copper wire coating involves covering the cut copper wires with a relatively hard anti-corrosion coating, enabling them to be used for the Neverwinter City's Three Links Project.
This process is easier than the previous inner tube coating, at least in terms of thickness, it doesn't require such precision.
Soroya selected a color card and transformed the magic pen into a cylindrical shape. By simply sliding it over the copper wire from beginning to end, the "paint" would firmly adhere to the metal surface—utilizing the ability to change shape to better cast magic was a technique learned from Anna.
However, compared to Anna's near-perfect control over magic, Soroya still had a significant gap to close. She had witnessed the scene of Blackfire cutting metal ingots, which was more like dancing than working... Three Blackfires transformed into various shapes, cutting into the metal from different angles, shaping it into a batch of completely identical parts, or directly carving out an entire machine. Remembering the magic characteristics of Blackfire at different lengths wasn't difficult; the challenge lay in maintaining multiple characteristic magic outputs simultaneously when processing with multiple Blackfires. To achieve this, magic was probably no different from limbs, perhaps even more flexible.
"Is this... vine?" Lucia asked curiously, staring at the color applied by the magic pen.
"To be precise, it's the outer skin of a ten-year-old grape vine," Soroya explained. "It's difficult to break, and it has a certain hardness, which is very close to what His Highness requires."
"Ten-year-old... Do you also have requirements for the age when you collect them?"
"Of course," she couldn't help but laugh. "Younger vines are obviously softer, and their resistance to corrosion and high temperatures is also lower. In fact, it's not just the age; materials like wood, paper, and cloth have different properties when wet and dry. That's why I need to record them one by one with color cards."
"Wouldn't that add up to more than the metal recipes!" Lucia exclaimed.
"Not necessarily," Soroya tilted her head and thought for a while. "Doesn't 'Elementary Chemistry' say that when the composition of a substance changes slightly, its properties can change dramatically? But there's almost no discernible difference in the performance of color cards when wood is mixed with 10% and 15% water."
"Hmm, recording the whole world with a single pen," Lucia marveled. "It's a truly enviable ability."
She smiled and didn't answer, but in her heart, she thought that Anna's ability was truly worth envying. If the magic pen only recorded the world, then Blackfire was creating it. Nowadays, most of the changes in the town are related to Anna, as evidenced by the seven machines placed in the corner of the courtyard. As long as they are connected to a steam engine, they can unleash powerful forces, and the workers, through the machines, become extensions of Blackfire. In a sense, Anna's creation allows ordinary townspeople without magic to possess powers similar to witches.
With all five bundles of copper wire coated, today's work was complete—Soroya's work was very regular. Every day, she would go to different places to complete a portion of the coating work. Since her painting speed increased significantly after becoming skilled, she could deplete about 70% to 80% of her magic in about half a day, and the rest of the time was free.
Because completely depleting magic would cause witches to become extremely tired, even faint, daily training consumption was controlled at around 70%—if it were a normal day, she would choose to continue collecting color cards, capturing more novel colors, which could also be regarded as additional training to further increase magic consumption. However, Wendy and His Highness Roland were not around these days, and Soroya was a little unmotivated. After thinking it over, she decided to go play a few more rounds of Landlord with Mystery Moon and the others.
This was definitely not laziness, just a temporary relaxation, she thought to herself.
……
Time flies when playing cards. An afternoon passed in the blink of an eye. After dinner, Scroll announced an unexpected message.
"Tonight's class is canceled, and replaced with Echo's ability test."
"Eh, hasn't her ability already been determined?" Lily asked doubtfully. "Why are we doing it now, uh—"
"Great, great," Mystery Moon covered the little girl's mouth from behind. "I've never tested someone else's ability before!"
The latter glared at Mystery Moon angrily until she guiltily removed her hand and muttered softly, "Skipping class is the most important thing, why can't you cooperate with me..."
"Teacher Scroll, what do we need to do?" Bell, the only non-witch in the hall, raised her hand to ask.
"Just listen attentively," Scroll said with a smile.
"It's not necessary for everyone to participate in the test," Agatha stood up. "If there's no class, I'll go back to my room."
"That won't do," Scroll shook her head. "Half of the reason for this test is because of you."
"Me?" She frowned.
The witches' gazes instantly focused on Agatha, and Soroya was no exception.
"That's right, you're too tense. You deplete your magic to the limit every day, and your body won't be able to handle it."
"In Taqila, high-level witches all did this," Agatha said dismissively. "You haven't realized the cruelty of the Battle of Divine Will. It won't end until one side is completely defeated. If the association could have found a path to victory at that time, I believe they would have sacrificed themselves without hesitation."
"But His Highness also said that forcing yourself blindly will only decrease efficiency. Combining work and rest is the best approach, whether it's learning or working," Scroll said softly. "I reported your situation to him, and this test is also an attempt."
"An attempt at what?"
"Echo's restoration ability."
This sentence greatly surprised the witches. "Could she also heal the injured like Nana Weber?"
Soroya was also puzzled. Echo's ability was to simulate all kinds of sounds. In the Mutual Aid Society, she belonged to the dispensable type. If she could also heal the injured, how could Hakala have disliked her back then?
Scroll paused for a moment. "I don't know the specific reason. This is His Highness's intention," she looked outside the door. "Are you ready? Let's begin."
Echo walked into the hall and onto the stage. It was evident that she was a little nervous, and everyone involuntarily held their breath, waiting for her to unleash her ability.
Music played softly, resonating in everyone's ears like a clear spring.
Then came a melodious song. She wasn't imitating any sound, but singing with her own voice.
In an instant, Soroya felt that everything around her had changed. The stone castle gradually disappeared into darkness, and she was surrounded by warm spring water... The air was filled with the fragrance of grass, and a gauze-like white mist surrounded her. Above her head was a starry sky. The cool evening breeze caressed her face, forming a stark contrast with the warmth flowing through her body. She couldn't help but hum softly, her body completely relaxed, immersed in this extremely comfortable spring water.
When the song ended, it took Soroya a long time to slowly open her eyes. At this point, without anyone needing to explain, she already understood the meaning of the word "restoration" in Scroll's mouth. The magic in her body hadn't increased, but the fatigue of the day seemed to have vanished, and her body became light and powerful, as if she had been reborn after a good sleep.