As a military man who didn't know much about cutting-edge magic technology and didn't plan to change careers to become researchers, Byron had only a handful of visits to the magic technology research institute - the last time he came to this place was for peas.

Pea is a mute girl, and this incident means deep regret and regret for Byron, who has been her adoptive father for several years.

The poor boy had been a dumb slave to a great merchant, his tongue had been cut out, he couldn't speak, and because it had been so long that regular druid spells were powerless, even if Cecil had led the Cecil Empire, and even if Byron had gone from a country knight to the head of the Empire's army, he could do nothing about it.

In the blink of an eye, the little mute of the year has grown into a slim girl, and an unexpected turning point also appeared at this time-

The legacy of the end of life dug up from the Thorin region gave Byron hope of healing the peas.

Those incredibly cutting-edge biochemical technologies can be used to create terrifying monsters, as well as to heal unfortunate mortals.

After obtaining Pea's consent, Byron made his adopted daughter the first clinical tester in Pittman's druid laboratory, and the initial treatment went smoothly, and it took less than half a day for the broken tongue to regenerate, but it encountered unexpected difficulties in getting Pea to speak again.

Today, the middle-aged knight has once again come to the Magic Technique Research Institute to seek a new solution.

Pittman, with a rickety waist and a gray beard, walked in front and led Byron to the depths of the Magic Technique Research Institute.

This large facility built by Rebecca Cecil has been developed and improved over a period of time, and now it has become the most advanced research facility in the Empire, and there are many new departments and departments within it, in addition to the regular magical, mechanical, and mathematical research rooms, two research rooms under the name of the Rune Research Institute have been established here in the past year, as well as a druid research center under the name of Pittman-

As Gawain originally planned, the Magic Technology Research Institute is no longer a simple research facility, it has become a "greenhouse" for cultivating new technologies, providing venues, equipment, personnel and other services for various emerging technologies or potential teams.

After passing through a gate on the third floor, Byron and Pitman enter the area of the Druid Research Center, where the walls are decorated with flowers and vines and leaves, and the magic guide device at the entrance silently projects holograms with a crest of flowers and vines floating on them.

This coat of arms is the Imperial Druid mark.

There were quite a few technicians in short white and green robes passing through the corridor, and they all saluted Pittman respectfully—although he had seen this scene the last time he came, Byron couldn't help but glance at the little old man beside him: "To be honest, I'm quite surprised to see that such a skinless and faceless guy like you is respected by so many scholars." ”

"You talk a lot of nonsense," Pitman glanced at Byron, "what did I say when I saw the soldiers on the road saluting you?" ”

Byron pouted, didn't speak, but followed Pittman down the hallway to a laboratory that seemed to be of a high standard.

"Put on your coat and go in and stand on that platform," Pitman stood at the gate in front of the entrance to the lab, pointing to a small round platform inside the gate, "and wait for me when you get in." ”

"What is this?" Byron was stunned for a moment, "Why didn't the lab last time have this step?" ”

Pittman glared; "Nonsense, this time the laboratory biochemical isolation level is level III, and the last time it was only level II - you can understand that the things in this are more expensive than other places of gold."

Byron sighed, and although he was usually rough, he also knew the importance of rigor and order in the research facility, so he didn't say anything more.

Under Pittman's guidance, he completed the process of dressing and disinfecting without much skill, and then passed through the gate and entered this seemingly peculiar laboratory.

Upon entering, the first thing that catches your eye is a rather large room, with several large laboratory tables neatly arranged on both sides of the room, and a large number of technicians in standard robes busy between the laboratory tables - those personnel have druid insignia surrounded by flowers and vines on their robes, but in fact Byron is well aware that according to the old rules, only a small number of them are actually real "druids", and the rest are at best "apprentices" in the transcendent realm, or even ordinary people who do not have extraordinary skills at all.

However, with the development of magic technology, and the inclusion of many druid spells in the system of runic logic, the empire-wide definition of "druid" has long since ceased to be so old-fashioned.

Byron's gaze swept across the room, and he suddenly noticed that a striking and special figure was also there

It was Master Kamel, covered in arcane brilliance and clad in rune armor.

He turned his head slightly and asked Pittman, who had just entered the laboratory, "Why is Master Kamel here?" ”

"He's involved in this project," Pitman said casually, stepping forward, "just follow along, and don't touch anything here." ”

Byron shrugged and followed indifferently.

Pittman, who seemed to be old and walked quickly, quickly came to Carmel's side and asked, "The morning test is over?" How's it going? ”

"The neural response efficiency is already over 70 percent, and it should need a lot of adjustments," Carmel said, casually pointing to the nearest test bench, "Come and see, is there anything wrong with its artificial neuronal state?" ”

Pitman turned and walked to the bench, and Byron craned his neck and glanced curiously in that direction.

He saw a strangely shaped object lying quietly on a sloping countertop, the bright light revealing the details of the thing.

It is a "ribbon" made of metal parts, less than a meter long, with a palm-sized diamond-shaped structure made of several metal plates at one end, and a number of thin, dark red ends at the other end, and its ribbon-like body presents a ring-by-ring structure with fine metal protrusions, this strange structure......

Byron couldn't help but think of a person's spine, or something that fits against it.

He leaned closer, and saw a faint red surge between the metal links, and when he looked closely, he recognized that it was a fibrous substance that looked like some kind of flesh and blood.

The "flesh" just grows between the metals, maintaining itself in some incomprehensible way.

"It's ...... What is it? Byron blinked, and asked curiously, "Why does it look so similar to the artificial nerve cords in the immersion module?" ”

"It's an artificial neural cord, but it's not for the immersion pod," Pitman replied without looking up as he carefully observed the nerve terminals extending from the end of the "metal spine," "Sort of a branch application of the artificial neural cord...... I'm calling it 'Nervous Thorns' for the time being. ”

Byron continued: "What is this for?" ”

"Essentially, it's still a neural connector, used to connect the human brain to an external magic device, but beyond the most basic of connections...... "Pitman finally looked up and pointed to the dark red fiber structure at the end of the artificial nerve cord, "It can also be used to break the boundaries between the ordinary and the extraordinary, to truly break down." ”

Byron's brows furrowed slightly, and his expression was serious: "...... Can you speak the lingua franca? ”

Pitman couldn't help but give him a blank look: "Look at the book once in a while, otherwise you won't even be able to read Pea's textbook when she enters the Imperial Academy." ”

On the other side, Kamal floated over, and after greeting Byron, he said in a buzzing trill: "Your Majesty once proposed that there are shortcomings in the current magic technology, that is, all supernatural powers are realized through machinery, and people can achieve the preset spell effects in the machine by manipulating the rune trigger, and there are natural limitations to this way of realization.

"The magic guide machine can only be used to perform simple spells that do not require 'mental power' to maintain guidance, such as fireballs, ice picks, arcane missiles, etc., and once a spell needs the caster's mental power guidance, such as illusions, dream spells, or large-scale ritual spells, then the magic machine is powerless."

Byron laughed, nodded and said, "I understand." ”

Transcendents have this common sense, spells can be divided into two categories from the way of control, one is the "formation is realization", after the completion of the spell model construction, only need to be excited, the complete spell effect can be released, such as the fireball spell ice arrow, the other is the "mental power guidance class", this kind of spell is usually continuous, it requires the caster to constantly manipulate the mental power level during the release process, once interrupted, the spell will also dissipate immediately.

Obviously, the current magic machine can only implement the former spell, and the latter ...... Due to the limitations of the maintenance method, it is destined to be impossible to get rid of the "controller" of the transcendent.

This is obviously inconsistent with the concept of "attributing the transcendent to mortals" of magic technology, and it also limits the development of magic technology in fact.

In fact, in the current process of technological development, this limitation has already begun to appear - the virtual interface that the immersion module needs to present after linking to the human brain, and some of the parameters of the magic network broadcasting system are "written", which cannot be controlled by a simple rune trigger and require the mental power of the controller, and are still completely dependent on real mages to operate.

This is one of the reasons why the production of immersion chambers has not been able to be increased for a long time - each immersion chamber needs to be manually adjusted by a formal mage for a long time, and how many mages in the institute can be used to do this kind of thing?

Byron vaguely guessed the role of this so-called "nerve thorn": "So to speak...... This thing allows ordinary people to use their mental power to control those channeling spells? ”

"More precisely, it allows ordinary people to 'sense' magic." Pitman smiled and uttered something that would have stunned every traditional transcendent.

Let ordinary people feel the magic!!

Byron's eyes widened, and it took a few seconds for him to realize what the strange shape in front of him meant.

The dividing line of magical talent is the induction of magic, and the first threshold for ordinary people to enter the transcendent realm is also the induction of magic.

Only by sensing the presence of magic can it be possible to control it, use it, and achieve transcendence - but this special talent is only possessed by a very small number of gifted and extraordinary people.

"We've been tinkering with this stuff for a whole year, stuck with the problem that artificial neurons can't survive in small devices for long, and until recently, the technology of the Society for the End of Everything has helped us make up for it," Kamel hums, "and we've managed to create a neural thorn that will work for a long time — although, it's still a long way from perfecting." ”

Pitman also straightened up slightly, with a proud expression on his face: "As long as this thing succeeds, it will be a real 'everyone is extraordinary'." ”

Byron couldn't help but be infected by the atmosphere of the scene, and became a little excited, but soon he remembered the purpose of his coming here today: "...... But what does this have to do with peas? ”

Pitman looked at him: "As a crude product of early technology, Neurothorn is still far from achieving the goal of 'everyone is extraordinary', but before that, it may be able to use it to achieve something simpler than casting spells - this thing can be directly connected to the human brain, and if it is connected to a 'gadget' that makes a sound, perhaps, it can 'speak' for the pea." ”

Byron was silent for a moment, and only asked, "Is this risky?" ”

"Yes, there are risks associated with any experiment, and the main risk is brain damage," Carmel said directly, "and we will set up enough safety locks and release spells to protect the mind and brain for the peas in advance, which can minimize the risk." ”

“…… I'm going to go back and ask Pea for his own opinion. ”

"Of course you can, and rightfully so."

(Mom!! ）