A Hospital in Another World? chapter-210

After successfully rescuing Master Talbert, Garrett found himself in a favorable position within the forge area. Dwarves nodded and smiled at him as he moved through, and even the dwarf who had blocked his way yesterday now readily stepped aside to let him through:

"Come this way! Stick close to the wall, be careful, and you should probably pick up your shield... Oh, forget it, I’ll carry it for you..."

Garrett reached for the iron shield, exerting force, but it didn’t budge. He tried again, and again, but still couldn’t lift it. Before he could attempt a third time, the dwarf swiftly took it from him, hoisting it overhead with a single arm...

Throughout the journey, Garrett stayed close behind the shield, neither too fast nor too slow. The shield, thick and rectangular, provided a sense of security as it blocked his side, appearing as formidable as a fortress wall.

What?

Shield Magic? Mage Armor?

Those transparent things that vanish as soon as they’re cast, offering no real sense of security? Garrett followed the dwarf, observing the raw appearance of the mithril mine, the crushed and washed ore powder, and the rough intermediate products that emerged from the refining process. As they walked, the dwarf explained each stage of production to Garrett:

"Digging mithril ore is troublesome, but once you find a good vein, you can yield a fair amount of ore. Processing the ore powder isn’t too difficult; it’s just a matter of labor and hammering. But turning it into these finished pieces is a challenge. Without a good furnace, it’s impossible to achieve. We only have this furnace here that’s capable of it, and in the entire kingdom, there are only three..."

Understood. The difficulty in refining lies in the temperature of combustion. In the future, he could recommend using coke, blast furnaces, oxygen blowing, and similar techniques. Garrett nodded in understanding, prompting the dwarf to continue:

"This furnace, only Master Sien can operate it. Only he has the keenest eyes and knows when to retrieve the product..."

So most people can’t manage it and need a mechanical arm? And if they still need to control the flame temperature, perhaps a metal thermometer would be considered?

"But even though retrieval isn’t difficult, with luck, Master Sien can retrieve several pounds in a day. However, turning it into mithril is... is..."

His eyes suddenly welled up. Squatting heavily, the sturdy man transformed from a square-shaped figure into a lumpy mass:

"Except for high-level divine spells, nothing else works... only the master can manage it... you mages keep pressuring him, and he keeps pushing himself, even though he’s already exhausted, he won’t stop for a day..."

"So the council sent me here." Garrett squatted down beside him, reducing their height difference significantly. He bent forward slightly, allowing him to meet the other’s eyes:

"The council sent me here to find alternative methods to increase production and ease the master’s burden. Don’t worry, I won’t rush the master... By the way, when you use divine magic to smelt mithril later, can I observe?"

"Feel free!"

The dwarf led Garrett around in a large circle, settling him down in the depths of the mithril area. Garrett squatted on the ground, his back against the wall, peering out from behind the iron shield, continuing to observe the magical smelting:

Ah, the dwarf is already kneeling and praying, and I have to hold this shield myself, it’s so heavy...

Garrett knelt on the ground, crossing his forearms to support the shield. Not far ahead, the magical process had already begun, with a translucent dome hovering in the air. At the bottom of the dome, the mithril semi-finished product lay quietly, innocuously.

The dwarves continued to pray. Once, twice, three times, their voices grew louder, until finally, the translucent dome suddenly glowed with a brilliant white light!

Garrett: !!!

Reacting quickly, he shifted the shield to his left shoulder and pulled out a glass plate coated with ink, holding it up to his eye. With the protection of the glass plate, the intense light appeared much gentler, and Garrett muttered to himself:

"...Why does this look like an electric arc..."

Whether it was an electric arc or not, there was a possibility. Although Garrett’s background was in clinical medicine in his past life, he had heard of using electrolysis to smelt metals—at least, he knew about aluminum electrolysis. But whether this white light was electricity...

Retracting the glass plate, Garrett rummaged through his spatial bag and pulled out a long wooden stick with a magnet attached to the end. Holding his breath, he extended the stick outside the iron shield, trying to keep it as level as possible. After half a minute, his outstretched right hand began to tremble, and the thread attached to the magnet also rippled slightly.

Garrett: "...This is getting worse the more I try. Back in my past life, I wouldn’t have trembled just pulling a hook! Oh well, it’s probably because of holding the shield with my shoulder, it’s too heavy, affecting my right hand’s strength..."

After pondering for a moment, Garrett abandoned the wooden stick and used Mage Hand to grasp the end of the thread attached to the magnet. This proved effective, as the magnet stopped swaying and hung still in the air.

Garrett patiently waited, the prayers resumed, and once again, the white light flashed in the dome. The magnet suspended in mid-air also began to rotate gently.

The magnet is rotating!

No one is running over with a magnet, and the large iron shield and other metal objects are not moving... The magnet is inexplicably spinning. Consider the strong magnetic field, consider electromagnetic reaction, consider...

Consider that the white light in the magical dome is a high electric current!

In the darkness, Garrett’s eyes grew brighter.

Early the next morning, Garrett returned to the mage towers on the peak with a thick stack of papers outlining his experiments in electrolyzing mithril. He sought out Archmage Kairel once again:

"Master, I have several ideas regarding the smelting of mithril..."

He handed over the paper, divided into sections with bookmarks. Each section contained text, diagrams, explanations, and large blank tables awaiting completion. As Kairel flipped through each page, his brow furrowed tighter:

"Method one: Form mithril ore powder into thin rods, insert them into pure salt, heat until the salt melts, and apply electricity... The formula for the rods needs testing, the heating temperature needs testing, the electric current needs testing... It may need to be done in a vacuum, or in... what kind of gas? See the appendix for gas extraction methods..."

"Method two: Fill a graphite crucible with quicklime, bury a steel mesh in the lime, and fill the mesh with mithril ore powder... Apply high heat and pass electricity through the molten lime salt... Temperature and electric current need testing..." 𝐟re𝚎𝘄𝚎𝐛𝚗o𝚟el.c𝐨𝚖

"Method three: Press graphite powder and mithril ore powder into shape, insert them into molten salt, and electrolyze at a certain temperature..."

Kairel’s temple throbbed uncontrollably. Finally, he pushed the papers back to Garrett, fingers

intertwined:

"What about the temperature? The electric current? How do you make the rods? Electric in a vacuum, or in what... gas? Do you know the detailed methods?"

"I don’t know!"

Garrett raised his head proudly, unyielding:

"It’s precisely because I don’t know that I need to try! I have ideas and directions now, but no manpower or resources to conduct experiments. That’s why— I’ve come to apply for a project from the council!"

---------------