In the distance, Richard remained oblivious to the happenings around him, fully immersed in his research project.
His current focus was on achieving delayed release of explosive fireballs, intending to enhance their destructive power through simultaneous detonations.
It was a conjecture that, while ambitious, promised substantial rewards if successful, albeit with considerable difficulty.
Despite having almost sorted out his entire train of thought, Richard couldn't confidently claim he had all the answers.
Scratch, scratch, scratch...
His quill slowed on the parchment as he contemplated the densely packed lines of writing.
He was pondering the key to overcoming his project's challenge: synchronizing multiple explosive fireballs' releases. T
his step could be simplified as simultaneously casting multiple spells.
To achieve this, he needed several streams of energy elements flowing from a source of magical power inside his body—a concept known as magical flow.
Each of these flows followed specific pathways within the body, requiring a set number of circuits to reach the required excitation state for effective discharge.
The channels through which magical flows traveled weren't strictly defined; any existing bodily conduits sufficed, including blood vessels, meridians, and nerves.
While thousands of these pathways existed within the body, thicker conduits facilitated faster magical flow, making high-quality channels relatively scarce.
According to his readings, the most frequently used magical channels within the body were the major arteries and veins, essentially the "arteries" of the circulatory system.
Richard's current challenge lay in utilizing the limited "arteries" of the circulatory system, along with a few "branch roads," to enable multiple magical flows to circulate normally and reach the required excitation state nearly simultaneously for release.
Handling a single magical flow was manageable, but two or more posed significant challenges.
Beyond three or more, the complexity increased exponentially.
As the number of magical flows increased, impediments included not only the complexity of their movements but also the brain's computational capacity.
While an ordinary person might manage to multitask controlling one or two magical flows, achieving control over a dozen or more simultaneously was nearly impossible.
After all, the human brain wasn't a computer capable of processing multiple tasks simultaneously.
But... nothing was absolute.
Richard squinted his eyes slightly, lightly tapping the surface of the parchment with his fingers.
Through the thin paper, he could feel the coldness of the stone underneath, as a thought slowly took shape: What if instead of individually controlling over a dozen magical flows, he integrated them into a cohesive whole?
Viewing the movement of over a dozen magical flows not as separate entities but as components of a single integrated system.
While he might not precisely control every moment of these numerous magical flows, could he dictate their points of movement according to intervals?
This approach would require strict adherence to predefined times and points of movement for over a dozen magical sources.
By minimizing the intervals between these actions, he could significantly reduce the likelihood of errors and potential system failures.
If the probability remained below one percent, there was ample reason to attempt it.
In essence, this method could transform a complex system of movements into a model strictly executed according to specifications—a magical model.
As long as the formulated magical model was rational, successful spellcasting was achievable.
With this realization, Richard paused his tapping on the parchment, his eyes gleaming with determination.
In that moment, he began to rationally estimate the computational load required to develop the magical model—estimating it would involve testing thousands of possibilities at the very least.
And so...
Richard took a deep breath, glanced up at the deepening night sky, then lowered his head once more.
With a faster pace than before, his quill began scribbling frantically as he embarked on the intense calculation process.
Meanwhile, nearby, the young servant Lucy brought out her prepared honeyed biscuits for the third time, glancing at Richard who remained oblivious.
She shook her head in resignation, putting away the biscuits again. Then, resting her chin in her hands, she pouted and stared at Richard, making faces.
Undeterred, Richard continued his calculations, the sound of "scratch, scratch, scratch..." filling the air.
One night passed without words, and before long, it was the next day.
As dawn broke and Richard sat atop his horse, leading the assembled First Guard in preparation to depart, he had just concluded that his 863rd attempt at constructing a magical model was flawed—it couldn't sustain multiple magical flows simultaneously for release.
Richard sighed lightly, lifting his head and then turning to glance at the merchant caravan camped nearby.
His eyebrows raised slightly as he noted that today, the caravan seemed to be performing better than yesterday.
Although they hadn't departed at the break of dawn, they were considerably faster than the previous day.
The reason for this improvement lay in the careful planning of Mura, the caravan's supervisor.
The night before, Mura had instructed his team to depart half an hour earlier than usual and specifically requested that Melissa be kept unaware of this arrangement.
When dawn approached, Mura was the first to rise.
He promptly kicked awake each of his companions, urging them to start packing up and dismantling their tents.
Once everything was nearly prepared, Mura took a deep breath, swiftly carrying a basin of washing water to Melissa's tent.
He called out, "Miss Melissa, it's time to wake up. Everyone is ready to depart. If you don't wake up now, we'll be late."
"Huh? What?" Melissa exclaimed in surprise as she emerged from her tent, first glancing at the neatly packed campsite and then turning to the eastern sky.
Furrowing her brows deeply, she turned to Mura and scolded, "Uncle Mura, have you lost your mind? The sun hasn't even risen, the sky isn't fully bright yet. Why are we leaving so early? Ah... yawn."
Before finishing her sentence, Melissa let out a big yawn.
Mura, unperturbed, shrugged and replied, "Miss Melissa, you misunderstand. It's cloudy today, so there's no sun. Normally, we depart at this time, not much earlier."
"Really?" Melissa responded, half-believing.
"Then why am I so sleepy? I feel like I haven't slept at all."
Another large yawn followed her words.
"Well... that might be because you stayed up too late last night," Mura attempted to explain.
Melissa paused, momentarily confused, before recalling the events of the previous night.
Last night, she waited eagerly for Emi to bring the rabbit for dinner.
However, as her stomach growled louder, there was no sight of even a single hair of the rabbit.
Emi returned empty-handed, wearing a sheepish smile of apology.
Melissa immediately berated Emi as a liar on the spot.
She then managed to scrounge up some food to fill her stomach and retreated into her tent.
Fuming with anger, she didn't manage to fall asleep until late into the night—hardly early, was it?
Thinking about these events, Melissa's expression softened somewhat.
Upon seeing this, Mura seized the opportunity and said, "Miss Melissa, if everything's alright, let's dismantle the tent and get going. Everyone's waiting, after all."
Melissa glanced towards the road and saw the numerous members of the caravan who had been ready for some time, all casting questioning glances her way.
She blushed involuntarily.
Despite her stubbornness and sometimes reckless behavior, she wasn't the typical arrogant noble.
Seeing the entire caravan waiting for her made her feel a bit embarrassed.
She reluctantly agreed with a few mumbled words.
Mura let out a sigh of relief, quickly directed a few men to dismantle Melissa's tent, and then helped Melissa, who had finished washing up, onto a carriage.
They set off on their journey.
Meanwhile, Richard and the first guard squad began their patrol ahead.