Chapter 94: Prelude to a New Era
The subsequent filming proceeded smoothly. With Archer, Berserker, Lancer, and Saber exiting one after another, the first clash of Heroic Spirits came to an end. Following Caster's transitional scene, the plot involving the hotel explosion was completed almost without incident.
Despite the absence of explosives in this world, there were substances with similar effects. Whether it was magic crystals overloaded with mana or alchemical concoctions akin to what was described in Scar's notes given to Durin, replicating a similar effect was relatively straightforward.
Although the initial blast, akin to explosive magic, initially drew everyone's attention in the town, most people eventually ignored it after Durin employed his illusion abilities.
With the conclusion of the hotel explosion scene, the next filming would cover the pivotal events of the first chapter of "Fate Zero," namely, the chaotic battle at the Einzbern Castle.
Moving the location to the forest behind Arkance, Durin quickly devised the filming plan for the upcoming scenes. However, the thought of the subsequent scenes still left him feeling overwhelmed.
Indeed, apart from the colossal sea monster summoned by Caster at the end of the first chapter, Durin's primary concern was the Moon Spirit Essence used by Kayneth in this battle.
When he initially conceptualized the script, he couldn't envision any magic that could replicate something like it. However, after consulting materials in the Grand Library of the Mage Tower, he found a solution: a basic magic called Fluid Manipulation.
Despite its name suggesting water manipulation, it was actually a universal mental magic, or more accurately, a weaker version of Mage Hand. Even mages without an innate affinity for water elements could use this ability.
In contrast, most water magic resembled weakened holy magic focused on healing. Only mages with an affinity for water elements tended to utilize water magic for offensive and defensive purposes, often involving ice elements.
In any case, armed with the basic magic of fluid manipulation, Durin then spent a hefty sum to purchase a batch of mercury originally reserved by those mages for magical research. This completed most of the pre-production preparations for filming.
Watching the mercury gradually form into a stable defense on his desk, Durin nodded slightly. This manipulation of water elements indeed simulated the effect of Moon Spirit Essence quite well. For filming battle scenes, the defensive capability of mercury would produce excellent results. In a magical world like this, Kayneth's Moon Spirit Essence could be considered a formidable spell from a design perspective.
On the other hand, the weapon called "Contender" used by Kiritsugu was still in a semi-finished state. Originally, Durin planned to create a coil gun similar to a railgun, but because he couldn't ensure a stable supply of lightning elements, the current "Contender" was only a magical tool created by using fire and wind elements to unilaterally propel projectiles out.
Moreover, by incorporating the Wind Attribute Magic's "Sure Hit Arrow" spell, this makeshift weapon already had the basic functionality of a gun from Earth. This peculiar development was just a testament to the unique advancements in the world of magic.
Apart from the battle between Emiya Kiritsugu and Kayneth, there were two other battles in this scene: Saber and Lancer vs. Caster, and Kotomine Kirei vs. Irisviel.
In terms of overall difficulty, the filming challenges of the latter two battles were nowhere near as daunting as Kiritsugu and Kayneth's. So Durin didn't spend too much time on them, quickly organizing the plot to be filmed and officially starting the shooting.
...
While Durin was filming "Fate Zero" in the eastern region, the seeds he had planted regarding movies and video communications at the birthday banquet had successfully sprouted among the nobles in the imperial capital and other regions.
Suddenly, almost all the nobles in the empire became aware of the emergence of a technology called "movies" in the southern region. Those with the means naturally intended to be among the first to go and see it, while those without could only hope that one day the cinemas would expand to their areas.
Meanwhile, the technology of video communication was also included in the new patent system established by the Mage Tower and handled by the Alchemy Tower. These days, Scar almost worked tirelessly, assisting the mages of the Mage Tower in constructing "telephone lines," without even taking breaks.
But there was no other way. Nowadays, apart from Durin, Scar was the only one in the entire Mage Tower with a foundation in alchemy. Moreover, the income from these patent fees greatly eased the financial burden of the Alchemy Tower, making Scar both miserable and happy.
For the students still at the Imperial Mage Academy, it had become commonplace to see a large group of mages from the Alchemy Tower waiting outside the teleportation array, eager to conduct video communication transactions. Most of them were renowned mages from the Mage Tower. This situation arose because the new semester had not yet begun, and the technological revolution of the Alchemy Tower was still only spreading among the Grand Mages who had attended the Mage Tower conference last time.
When ordinary mages learned of this news, it would likely be at the start of the new semester, when the Alchemy Tower officially began enrollment.
In any case, even with only these Grand Mages aware of the situation, the Alchemy Tower had experienced various chaos during this period. After all, no one could have imagined that these usually polite grand mages would resort to physical altercations just to queue up. In the end, the Mage Academy had to deploy a special enforcement team to maintain order, reducing the chaos on-site.
The most significant change brought about by the emergence of video communication technology was the increase in homebodies among the mages of the Mage Tower. Originally, these mages would occasionally go out to socialize with other mages when not staying at home, but now, they didn't even need to step out the door. With just a dial of the alchemy array, they could engage in video communication with an old friend next door, without even bothering to leave their homes.
Of course, due to the teleportation array's technology still being somewhat of a black box, although Durin used his modern experience to teach Scar how to make a somewhat unstable dial-up communication, one major bug of this otherworldly version of the telephone was that it occasionally crossed lines.
For example, some mages who were originally excited to flirt with female mages would be left with a cold expression when they realized they had dialed the wrong person, which was usually a burly man. It was truly an expression of disappointment beyond imagination.
In any case, the advent of video communication technology has greatly facilitated the daily lives of magicians, especially for some homebody mages who don't fancy going out much. Beyond that, the technology's greatest beneficiaries are actually those who aren't magicians themselves but can hire magicians as their subordinates—nobles.
Indeed, in the current era where magical energy sources are still unresolved, no matter the breakthroughs in magical alchemy, research in this field ultimately fails to equally benefit all people in this world. Under Durin's impetus, the only significant change this technology brings about is turning magicians themselves into a resource.
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