Chapter 12: Lodestone

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was three days later.

On this afternoon, the sky was overcast, devoid of any sunlight.

The clouds hung low, almost touching the ground, dense and heavy like blocks of lead, suffocating and oppressive.

Richard sat silently in a chair in the lower hall of the side castle, seemingly waiting for something.

Waiting…

After a long while, a voice sounded from outside, followed by a person stumbling in.

Mark, with a mournful expression, fell to his knees as soon as he entered, crying out to Richard, "Sorry, Young Master Richard, I didn't finish the task you gave me."

Richard scrutinized Mark for a moment, pondering the various reasons why he might have failed.

Finally, he asked, "Not done yet? Come on, you must have at least made some progress. How much exactly?"

Mark hesitated and stammered, "Um, nope... I haven't finished anything yet."

Richard's eyebrows raised sharply.

Nothing at all?

How was that possible?

His design wasn't overly complex; even an inexperienced craftsman or a farmer could have managed at least half of the framework.

Yet here...

"What's going on?" Richard asked calmly, rising from his seat and approaching Mark.

"Why haven't you finished any of it yet?"

Mark, shrinking back, glanced fearfully at Richard before whispering, "It's just that I couldn't find the material you mentioned—lodestone."

"Lodestone?" Richard frowned.

"There's no lodestone in the castle?"

Mark affirmed with certainty, explaining that lodestone was said to be found only in distant lands, not anywhere nearby.

Richard considered this.

Despite the medieval-like similarities to Earth in this world, certain differences persisted. Wizards were one example, and now, lodestone was another.

"If there's no lodestone," Mark went on, "then I wouldn't be able to make the main part."

"But," Richard interrupted, "even if you couldn't find lodestone, you could have at least made other parts, right? Why didn't you do anything?""

Mark faltered in response.

Richard continued, "Tell me why"

Mark, under Richard's gaze, couldn't hold back and confessed that his main motivation was to receive the promised two barrels of beer.

He had spent the three days searching for a substitute material or trying to delay until he could find some.

Now facing the consequences, Mark pleaded for mercy as Richard pondered his options.

With the deadline approaching, and no time to remake the framework and produce artificial magnets, Richard's mind raced.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar from outside shook the air.

The stagnant atmosphere broke, replaced by swirling winds as a storm approached.

Watching the distant lightning, Richard's eyes lit up with a new idea.

Since batteries and generators were now out of the question, why not use a rough and ready method?

Harness the power of nature directly—use a kite with a metal line to attract lightning.

Then, capture the current using a Leyden jar.

It was a simple concept, famously detailed in elementary school textbooks about Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment in 1752.

However, it was also risky.

Richard turned away from the window, looking at Mark on the floor, and made his decision.

He immediately spoke up, instructing Mark, "Hey, put your work on hold for a bit. I need you to make me a kite and a bottle. I'll give you the design for the bottle soon; it's easy, so don't stress about it."

"And look, if you take too long or don't come through, don't blame me if I have to get tough. Tuku has been giving you a hard time lately and he's ready to pounce at any moment. He just hasn't had the chance yet."

Mark shivered at these words, responding urgently, "Young Master Richard, I promise I won't let you down. This time, I'll definitely get it done!"

"Okay then," Richard acknowledged.

/

Over ten minutes later,

Outside the castle, amidst raging winds, Mark struggled to control a kite, trembling all over and pale-faced.

He glanced at the occasional lightning in the sky and then towards Richard, positioned safely in the distance.

In a near-weepy voice, Mark pleaded, "Master... please let me go. It's really not safe to fly a kite in this kind of weather. And that kite with silver wire? I could get struck by lightning!"

Richard, expressionless, retorted, "If I recall correctly, you once told me that you'd rather be whipped to death if you failed to meet my deadlines, didn't you?"

"Well..."

"I'm not gonna whip you now, just want you to do something else. Yeah, I know there's some risk, but it's not like it'll kill ya for sure, maybe not even half the time. So, would you rather take your chances with me or keep flying that kite?"

"Even if I change my mind, Tuku won't – he'd probably personally see to it that you get executed."

Mark's face twisted in despair, finally sobbing, "Alright, Master Richard... I'll fly the kite."

"Good," Richard nodded, commanding, "Now loosen the string a bit and fly the kite higher, closer to the lightning. Yes, that's it, try to get close to the lightning..."

Boom!

Before Richard finished his sentence, a dazzling lightning bolt struck the kite in mid-air.

The electric current traveled down the thin silver wire attached to the kite, finally entering a peculiarly shaped ceramic bottle.

Holding the kite string, Mark was startled, watching lightning flash overhead and the current come perilously close.

Overwhelmed with terror and numbness, Mark felt death looming. Not a brave soul, he collapsed, his body going limp.

In his panic, he let go of the kite string, sending the kite and even the ceramic bottle, attached to the end of the silver wire, slowly away from the ground.

Reacting swiftly, Richard dashed forward, grabbing the ceramic bottle just in time, exhaling in relief.

He then called out, "Tuku!"

"Master!"

A large figure with scars on his face approached swiftly, none other than Tuku.

Richard had anticipated Mark's stubbornness in refusing to carry out the kite experiment, hence Tuku was called in for insurance, though luckily not needed.

Richard gestured towards Mark on the ground, "Take him back to the shed near the stable and give him a barrel of wine. Just let him drink to his heart's content."

"Yes, Sir," Tuku responded succinctly, lifting Mark off the ground, muttering nonsense in his frightened state, and swiftly departing.

Richard turned and walked back towards a side wing of the castle.

Just as he stepped into the side wing, torrential rain suddenly poured down, followed by a crackling sound that swept across the entire wilderness, enveloping the world in a white veil of rain.

Pattering footsteps— Lucy descended from the side wing's upper floor, sweat beads dotting her face.

Upon spotting Richard in the hall, she paused briefly, then tilted her head slightly and asked, "Master, I've cleaned all the experimental equipment. Are you ready to proceed with the experiment now?"

Richard, holding the Leyden bottle containing stored lightning, shook his head slightly, "Not right now. I've got something more important to take care of."

"Something more important? What could it be?" Lucy asked curiously, knowing that experiments seemed to be the most crucial thing in Richard's life—various different experiments.

Richard chuckled softly at her question, walking up the stairs.

As he passed Lucy, he turned his head and whispered, "Something even more important is ushering in a whole new century."

"Hmm?"

Tap, tap, tap... Richard entered the bedroom in the side wing.

/

Seated on a wooden bed in the bedroom, Richard gazed at the Leyden bottle he held, also known as a Leyden jar.

The principle of the Leyden jar is quite simple—it's essentially a form of capacitor.

Due to mutual induction, positive and negative charges can accumulate on two corresponding metal conductors separated by an insulating material, thus storing electrical energy.

Therefore, the construction of the Leyden jar is extremely simple.

The one Richard held in his hand was just an ordinary black ceramic bottle used for water storage, about ten centimeters tall.

After simple processing, both the inner and outer walls of the bottle were wrapped in tin foil, serving as the two conductors insulated by the bottle wall.

On the inner foil, a thin metal chain hung, connecting to a metal rod fixed at the center of the bottle.

The rod was long, extending several centimeters beyond the mouth of the bottle, ending in a spherical shape.

During the previous lightning storm, this spherical end was connected to a silver wire, used to absorb natural lightning energy.

By now, the silver wire had been removed, and the energy it absorbed was fully stored in this small bottle.

Despite its small size, the Leyden jar had a large capacity for storing lightning energy.

Recalling historical anecdotes from modern Earth, in 1748, the French electrical specialist Nollet organized over two hundred monks to stand hand in hand in a monastery, holding onto the connecting wires of Leyden jars.

When the Leyden jars discharged, the electric shock caused the monks to jump simultaneously, leaving a large audience of nobles in awe.

Now, Richard focused on the Leyden jar in his hand, took a deep breath, and touched it.

The Leyden jar began to discharge.

"Finally made it!"