Magi Craft Meister

Hourai Island lies in the middle of the ocean, east of the Lauren Continent, where many humans dwell. With the Tropic of Cancer passing directly overhead, its climate is near-subtropical. This is the true base of operations for Jin Nidou, a Magicraft Meister and the lord of Kunlun Island. Currently, Jin was deep in thought, looking to resolve a major problem.

The problem was “travel time.”

He needed to overcome the distance of approximately 1,300 kilometers from Kunlun Island to Roizart, the capital of the Shouro Empire.

“In short, I need 200 kilometers per hour.”

Jin reasoned that if he could make the trip in six and a half hours, he could reach anywhere in the known world within a single day.

“But, with the current airships, that’s a bit of a stretch…”

Even using wind-shielding barriers and Force Generators, 150 km/h was the absolute limit. Anything faster raised concerns about structural integrity, especially during emergencies like sudden gusts.

“I’ll have to rebuild it.”

Once Jin made up his mind, he moved quickly. He had Reiko prepare the materials and asked Lao-jun to send “Daida” and the “Artisan Smiths” over to assist. Coincidentally, Elsa was currently away visiting her family in the Shouro Empire.

Jin set to work in the large, dedicated workshop he had constructed behind the research facility.

“I’ll keep the overall length at 40 meters.”

It was the same size as his current one, and the same size as the large ships of the Shouro Empire and other nations.

“This time, it will be a ‘rigid’ airship.”

A rigid airship is a type that uses a metal frame to maintain its shape, with the skin stretched over it, and multiple internal gas cells to provide lift, rather than relying on the internal pressure of helium to inflate the envelope. While there are various pros and cons, Jin decided on this method to increase the rigidity of the airframe.

The shape would be an elongated teardrop, with stabilizing wings at the rear. Externally, it would look almost identical to the airships seen in modern-day Japan, but the internal components were entirely different.

“The frame will be made of 64-Duralumin.”

He aimed for it to be as light and strong as possible. Naturally, the outer skin and the internal gas cells were made of GS (Grand Spider) Resin. He decided to attach the gondola directly to the frame rather than hanging it by cables. This would slightly obscure the view upward, but it would significantly reduce swaying.

“I’ll make it a 30-seater.”

Of course, with this size of gas cell, it would be impossible to carry 30 people normally. At this size, it would only hold about four people at most. However, for a certain purpose, Jin wanted it to accommodate 30. He would compensate for the difference using Force Generators.

“Father, would ‘Gravity Control Magic’ not work?” Reiko asked.

“Ah, that could work, but… I haven’t quite grasped the true nature of ‘Gravity Control Magic’ yet…”

“What do you mean by that?”

Jin stopped his work and explained to her.

“Even though it’s called gravity, it seems to change mass, and even if I increase the gravity, downbursts don’t occur…”

One could argue that it was magic, so it didn’t need to follow rules, but Jin was bothered by the fact that most standard magic was an extension of physical laws.

“And, well, it’s also about efficiency.”

Force Generators consumed less Free Ether than Gravity Control Magic. That alone was reason enough.

“I understand.”

Reiko seemed satisfied. Jin began assembling the Magic Machine.

“Father, what is that?”

“Ah, it’s a ‘gyro’.”

Jin was thinking of a spinning top toy he had in his old life, using the principle of a gyroscope. What he was building was more accurately a “gyro-stabilizer.”

He used a disk made of Adamantite, which was spun by Wind Magic inside a sealed housing. It followed the same principle as a turbine, but because it didn’t need to output power, it consumed very little Free Ether. By installing this, he could suppress swaying. Since one unit would not suppress movement around the axis of rotation, he resolved the issue by spinning two orthogonal disks, creating a “Gyro-Stabilizer Unit.”

“I’ll use Jet Thrusters for propulsion.”

To ensure efficiency wouldn’t drop even in the rain, he chose to use Jet Thrusters rather than Wind Thrusters.

“Father, is the cabin layout satisfactory?”

He had entrusted the creation of the cabin to Reiko.

“Ah, it’s perfect.”

For the interior, he used 64-Duralumin—not titanium, but an aluminum alloy. Specifically, he used what was known as super-duralumin, an alloy of aluminum, copper, and magnesium. While it was less corrosion-resistant, that wasn’t an issue for indoor use. Because it was lighter than Duralumin (Duralumin has a specific gravity of 4.5; Aluminum is 2.7), he used it for the interior where extreme structural strength wasn’t required (though super-duralumin was still quite strong).

There were 20 folding chairs and 10 built-in seats, all with the same texture. There was none of the cheap “auxiliary seat” feel, despite them being foldable. If you reclined the backrest, they turned into fully flat beds for sleeping.

He also equipped it with a small refrigerator and a “Magic Range” (microwave) to allow for light meals. In the back of the small storage area, he installed a Warp Gate to retrieve items not yet loaded. The interior of the gondola was completely airtight and featured climate control for comfort. Furthermore, he included a separate Warp Gate for emergency evacuation.

“Well done. Thank you, Reiko.”

Reiko, looking happy, volunteered to help Jin further.

“Father, what shall I do next?”

“We’re 90 percent done, so please handle the test flight.”

“Understood.”

Such tests were always Reiko’s duty. If he asked other Golems to do it, they would get depressed.

*Father, it’s going well. The swaying is quite suppressed,* Reiko reported from the sky via Mana Communication. *However, I feel that 200 km/h might be impossible.*

“Ah, that will be after the final outfitting. For now, please check the operability and balance.”

*Understood.*

Reiko flew around above Hourai Island for a while, then eventually descended slowly. Using the Force Generators, she landed with pinpoint accuracy in the original position. She immediately provided a detailed report.

“Father, overall it’s an excellent piece of work. The stability is better than before, and I think we can increase the speed further. I believe habitability has also improved.”

“Good, thank you. So, what are the drawbacks?”

“Yes. Because we prioritized stability, the operability has slightly declined. Also, as expected… the fact that I cannot see directly above is…”

Jin realized it only after Reiko pointed it out. By prioritizing stability with the gyro-stabilizer, the reaction to attitude changes, such as turning, had become sluggish.

“Ah, I see… that is a problem.”

Jin pondered. The gyro-stabilizer reduced swaying, but it also acted as resistance when trying to change the airship’s orientation.

“Wait? …I just need to disconnect it only when I want to change direction!”

Jin’s idea was to fix the gyro-stabilizer to the airship on three axes and release those axes as needed.

Naturally, the three axes were the X-axis (longitudinal), Y-axis (lateral), and Z-axis (vertical). Swaying was nothing more than rotational movement around each of these axes, and changing direction was also a rotation around one, or a combination, of these axes.

Generally, movement around the lateral axis (pitching), the longitudinal axis (rolling), and the vertical axis (yawing). Since changing direction was a combination of these, it stood to reason that being resistant to swaying meant it was hard to change direction.

“I’ll move the gyro-stabilizer near the center of gravity and link it to the rudder so that the fixed axes are released accordingly.”

For example, when wanting to turn left or right, he would release the Z-axis fixation to make yawing easier. Realizing this with mechanical equipment would require tremendous effort, cost, and complex mechanisms, but with Magic Engineering, it could be done with minimal effort.

“If I deploy a wind-shielding barrier, I think we can hit 200 km/h to increase speed.”

Hearing Jin’s words, Reiko thought for a moment before replying.

“I agree. With that stability, it is likely.”

“And for the view directly above, shall we install a ‘Sky-view Scope’?”

He decided to install an optical device, similar to a submarine periscope, to see directly above—in other words, above the gas bag.

“And for anything else, I’ll set it up so Lao-jun can operate it remotely.”

It would act as an autopilot.

“Lastly, I’ll load the ‘Transfer Device’ gifted by No. 700672. I’ll set the marker to Hourai Island.”

With this, he could return to Hourai Island in an instant if anything happened.

Thus, Jin’s second airship, christened *Kunlun 2*, was completed. It was at the exact moment Elsa returned from her home. Elsa stared in wonder at the new airship.