Blacksmith vs. the System

So much so that, when given a choice between riding it for an extended period and flying, I didn\'t know which one I would pick.

Me.

"Making the springs isn\'t the biggest problem," I said even as I placed it in the safe house. However, rather than leaving it like that, I disassembled the whole structure, turning it back into an ordinary metal cart, and took the small steam engine with me.

Carrying it on my back was not that hard. We started running. Well, I ran, while Maria floated next to me, flames dancing underneath, looking surprisingly solid. I didn\'t try to decipher the shape of the mana, as it was far too complicated.

I was yet to succeed in reverse engineering my poor fire bolt spell.

"And, what is the biggest problem?" she asked, her tone showing no exertion.

"The lack of tires. I really need a rubber equivalent. Still, it was a fun proof of concept. It\'ll be better once I tinker with it." Her smile disappeared. "What\'s wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said. "It just hit me how you will destroy the business of many families, including mine."

"Yours?" I asked.

"The Griffins. That\'s what makes my family a powerhouse. We have a dungeon that produces a skill that helps us to raise and tame wild beasts. Griffins are our best product, but they are not the only ones. We sell a great number of tamed beasts of burden, and…"

"Fuel for a steam engine is far cheaper than raising and feeding one of those beasts," I completed.

"Yeah," she said, still looking surprised at the revelation.

I didn\'t blame her. It was one thing to understand something in general terms, but understanding that it would have a direct impact on her livelihood was something else. It was a natural response. "However, you don\'t need to worry too much," I added. "There\'s a long, long time until we can create an industrial base that can replace it."

"Really? Why?"

"Three reasons," I said. "First, there\'s no guarantee that it\'ll actually work in more mana-dense locations," I said. "I know that mana reacts weirdly when subjected to external stimulation, heat included, and not always in a predictable manner. I have no idea if an enclosed, high-pressure steam container would work in a location with more ambient mana, or a dungeon with different conditions."

"And, mana-dense locations are the ones with the real economic value," she said.

"Economic, military, and political," I added, though under the circumstances, it was kind of redundant. In a world embracing feudality, the three overlapped inevitably to an extreme degree. "Then, there is the problem with metal production."

"I thought you solved that."

"Not exactly," I responded. "Yes, my setup helps me to produce several tons of metal every day, but ultimately, I\'m still using my skill to facilitate it. Truly scaling up requires solving several technical challenges. Until then, using the metal to produce swords, arrows, and other personal items is more efficient. The metal we used for the car could be used to forge a thousand swords."

"And, what about the third reason?" she asked.

"The obvious one. I can\'t reveal them without ending up assassinated. It represents a shift of power that\'s unacceptable."

"Then, how did such things happen in the old world," she said. "Wouldn\'t kings and other feudal lords be against it?"

"That\'s an excellent question," I said. "Unfortunately, the answer is not that straightforward. I can give you a ten-hour lecture, or a five-minute one, which one do you prefer?"

That earned a chuckle. "Those seem to be two wildly different options. Is there no third thirty-minute class?"

I shrugged. "It\'s pointless. Five minutes is all I need to give you the key aspects and the general principles. Anything more requires a solid, structured background in history behind every topic, which will take at least ten hours, and that\'s with your Intelligence helping you to learn faster."

"Really. And, without it?"

"With the pacing of a good student? Probably two semesters, three to be on the safe side, with a reading list of twenty books."

"Always a professor. I\'m actually tempted to listen to the ten-hour version, but for the moment, the five-minute one will have to be enough. We have too much to do."

"Fine. The way technology has spread has to do with timing as much as anything else. Before the Industrial Revolution started, the power balance between the feudal power, mercantile class, and kings had already changed due to the combined effect of gunpowder weapons and geographical discoveries. Combined, those led to the loss of power for many old authorities. The power of the kings had been enhanced enough to stop the feudal powers, leaving that social space for the newly rising merchant class."

"Really? That simple?"

I chucked. "Of course not, but I\'m summarizing aggressively. Spain had appeared as the first candidate for global power, but it bungled that opportunity through a series of ill-advised political moves, ending with a disastrous invasion by Britain, which left the British as the premier naval power, who used it to create the first real globe-spanning trade path. They invaded India, using the precious fabrics as a tool to fund their navy and purchase African slaves. They used those slaves to produce cotton in their new colonies in America. And then, they moved that cotton back to produce even more fabric."

"Sounds vicious," she commented.

"Without a doubt. Enlightenment and philosophy love to claim that the more we develop, the more moral humanity has become, but it\'s nowhere near accurate. It\'s more an application of incentives than anything else —" I added, then stopped myself.

A five-minute summary shouldn\'t include a sidebar to explain economic determinism, game theory, and macroeconomics.

I paused for a moment, collecting my thoughts. It was a good place to pause, as we were looking at the gate leading to the fourth floor. "Be careful about the mud and water," I warned her.

"Thanks," she said as she floated higher. I passed through the gate first, quickly dealing with the insects that surrounded it. She followed, but seeing that I was able to deal with all of them immediately, she refrained from attacking.

I continued to explain as I led the way, cutting down the monsters with ranged attacks with ease.

"Anyway, the setup I had described created a unique economic situation where one country with a limited population suddenly wanted to increase the production of one commodity more than it was possible with its limited population; and a new batch of industrial powerhouses that was incentivized to solve it were born."

"And, that led to technological development?"

"Yes, though luck played some part in it as well."

"In what way?"

"Independent of other political aspects, England had already a patent system, which was initially used to grant favored people monopolies in core products like salt production, but that had been abolished due to public pressure from the new merchant class, leaving a diminished version that only granted temporary monopolies for new inventions."

"I see," she said.

"This meant that, through a number of factors, the British isles suddenly had a trifecta of rare events. A need for unlimited production borne from excess raw materials and unlimited market access, a new ruling capitalist class that desperately supported new developments to further their power, and a suitable legal landscape. Together, it meant that, for the first time, educated people had significantly more to gain from exploring new avenues than just serving as tutors and courtiers for the rich."

"That sounds simple. But was all that really necessary?"

"It absolutely was. Those developments had turned Britain into the first real global superpower, however, it also created untold tragedies, both for its citizens and other countries. But, since it helped the ones in power, they pushed relentlessly."

"And, you expect it to be the reverse."

"Without a doubt," I said. "One of the key aspects of what had been going on was the absolute military dominance of the British Fleet. It meant that, during all of it, none of the other powers, internal or external, could intervene with the process, no matter how much it hurt their position. The only way the other countries could even fight it was to embrace industrialism."

"Don\'t you expect that to happen here? If a city lord embraces it, the others would too?"

"Not necessarily. Here, we have elite forces, their power coming from monopolizing System Shops and best dungeons, each locked in their feudal domains, doing their best to prevent their rivals from getting stronger."

"There\'s no indomitable British fleet to protect you when the developments are in its cradle," she said. "Is that why you think no one else has done what you have done?"

For a moment, I thought about sharing my other doubts, like the impact of peace fields and how I expected the System to transform our perspective, but decided against it. "Partially," I admitted instead. "I have some other suspicions, but I don\'t want to share them before I collect some data."

"Why?" she asked, sounding put out.

"Because I trust you, and I don\'t want to taint your thought process," I said. Which had the added benefit of being somewhat true. "That way, once I collect the data, we can work on it without bias." She nodded. "But, enough talk," I said, pointing at the gate we had just arrived at, leading to the fifth floor.

I passed her the breathing filter, but she waved off.

"Don\'t worry, you said that the heat neutralizes the poison. I can handle it."

It looked like an unnecessary risk to me, but since she was the expert when it came to the dungeon threats and her own fire magic, I kept my mouth shut.

"It\'s time for some action," I said as I stepped through the gate.