Exploring Technology in a Wizard World

Chapter 116: Chapter 115: Mysterious Potion, Dihydrogen Monoxide
 

After pondering for a moment, Richard thought it best to clarify the matter indirectly, trying not to crush Gro’s spirits too much, but also not to let the other continue under a misunderstanding.

“I think it’s possible that your Talent really has awakened,” Richard said to Gro.

Gro’s eyes brightened.

“But…”

Gro’s eyelids twitched at once.

In all things, it’s the “but” that’s feared.

Sure enough, the next moment Richard spoke, “But… I feel the likelihood is still a bit low. If your Talent truly had awakened, there should have been a series of indications in your normal life. You should have noticed them long ago, rather than experiencing such a sudden, dramatic change.”

“So what’s this about me then…” Gro inquired tentatively.

“I think it might be due to external environmental factors,” Richard spoke up.

“External environmental factors?”

“Yes,” Richard nodded, “Perhaps it’s because some stars were moving, and last night they were in just the right position, more conducive to an out-of-body meditation. Plus, last night was the end of the month, with no moon and other various reasons, a fortunate coincidence that ultimately led to your unprecedentedly successful meditation.”

Gro understood, yet he didn’t.

In his mind, Richard provided a reason which led to his successful meditation last night. But what the internal principles of that reason were, he genuinely didn’t comprehend.

However, he managed to grasp one thing and looked at Richard with a furrowed brow, asking, “Lord Richard, does this mean that yesterday was a special case, and I’ll revert back to how I was?”

“I’m afraid so,” Richard said, adding in his mind: unless I reach out to help with the out-of-body experience every day.

“In that case, am I not…” Gro’s mood suddenly fell.

Richard’s eyes flickered, and he thought of something. He spoke up, “However, I can help you.”

“Hm?” Gro looked hopeful. “How?”

Reaching into his chest, Richard pulled out a small glass bottle, in fact taken from the Iron Ring. Inside the bottle was a small amount of transparent liquid that sparkled in the morning sunlight, making it look like it had gold flowing through it.

“This is a special meditation potion, even more precious than the Ether I gave you before. You can call it… um, Deionized Water, also known as Dihydrogen Monoxide.”

“Deionized Water? Dihydrogen Monoxide?”

“That’s right. This bottle contains enough for three uses, and each time after using it, you can be guaranteed that the effects of your out-of-body experience will be as successful as last night. And compared to Ether, this potion has the advantage of no side effects. No matter how many times you use it, it won’t harm your body or cause addiction. However, it does have a downside: it only has a short shelf life—just three days. So, after you get it, you need to use it quickly, or it will become ineffective.”

Gro grew excited: “Really?! Is there really such a mystical potion?!”

Of course not! Of course, there is no such mystical potion!

Richard thought to himself.

The so-called Deionized Water, the so-called Dihydrogen Monoxide, could only deceive someone from the Medieval period like Gro, who had absolutely no knowledge of chemistry. Placed on modern Earth, it probably wouldn’t even fool a middle school student.

Deionized Water is water from which ionic impurities have been removed, making it slightly purer than distilled water. Its chemical formula is H2O, that is, dihydrogen monoxide. Simply put, deionized water is highly pure water. This type of water, when consumed, tastes noticeably different from regular water.

Generally speaking, normal water contains “sodium ions hydrated with several water molecules” and “potassium ions hydrated with several water molecules,” which impart a slight sweetness. But deionized water has no ions at all, so it tastes like the taste of water itself.

And what does water taste like? It tastes like nothing at all.

If someone drinks too much water with various flavors, beverages, or alcohol and then drinks deionized water, their taste buds may be tricked by an illusion, causing a faint, stimulating sensation. This is because the deionized water is cleansing the residual ions from their mouth, seemingly posing as some sort of mysterious potion.

Of course, besides this, deionized water has no other functions.

The reason Richard indicated that deionized water had magical effects was simply because he planned to help Gro with something when night fell and he left his body.

Of course, this help wasn’t offered for free. Richard didn’t have the habit of helping others altruistically; he was thinking of an equal exchange. He would help with three out-of-body experiences in exchange for something he wanted.

Richard extended his hand and handed the deionized water to an excited Gro, saying, “You can take this potion, but of course you understand…”

“I understand, I understand,” Gro indeed understood, quickly responding, “Lord Richard, just tell me what you need me to do.”

“Um…” Seeing how cooperative Gro was, Richard didn’t beat around the bush and directly said, “The thing I need you to help me with isn’t difficult, just a bit tedious. I want to make some things, but need some raw materials before I can start. If I went to collect them myself, it would waste a lot of time, so I’d like you to accompany me to a few places. With your status as a prince, I could get things done and make what I need in just one day.”

“Okay, no problem,” Gro agreed without hesitation.

“Then let’s set off,” Richard said, without standing on ceremony.

“Right,” Gro hastened towards the door.

Richard followed him out.

Gro had a guard dismount and offered the horse to Richard, then he accompanied Richard to their first destination—a place just outside the city, moving swiftly.

…

On the plains, outside the walls of Cuijin City, a barren, low-lying, and continuous range of hills protruded abruptly, like an ugly pustule on the skin of the earth. Within this range, there was a mine.

As soon as dawn broke, shouts and the sound of whipping could be heard.

A devilishly menacing overseer with a scowling face held a stick and wielded a whip. He burst into the tents and straw huts chilled by the cold wind and swung unceremoniously at the miners on their bunks, shouting discontentedly, “Get up, all of you! You lazy pigs, haven’t you seen the sun on your asses? Get to work, or there’s no lunch for you today!”

“Move it! No dawdling!”

“That one there, be quick about it!”

“Aisleric, Old Marlon, don’t give me that look. If you don’t like it, then don’t come work in this mine! Five silver coins a month, you think that’s easy money?”

“Hurry up, everyone move faster! If Lord Oreke gets up and sees you haven’t started working, he’ll dock your pay, and you’ll all have something to cry about!”

Amid the clamor, the miners, some numb, some angry, some efficient, and some slow, got up, dressed in their tattered clothes, picked up tools, and walked towards the mining areas of the quarry.

This was an open-pit iron mine, meaning there was no need to bend over in mining tunnels to extract the ores, posing less danger. However, the workload was substantial. Miners needed to wield shovels and hammers with bare hands to chip off the ore, then sort it by quality. The good portions were piled up, waiting to be transported away, while the bad portions were discarded.

In front of the cliff-like walls of the mining area, two piles of rubble were heaped. One was a brownish-red iron ore, and the other was a mound of discarded rocks of various colors, looking like two small mountains.