“How is that even possible?” Solus asked. “Isn’t the energy stored in the power core supposed to be focused?”
“It is focused.” Orion shrugged. “Do you realize how long the Wayfinder is? For the power core to control and protect every car, it must hold lots of energy and it also needs to be big enough to contain it.
“You can’t expect every power core to be of the same size. Do you really think that something as big as an academy can be fueled by a core the size of a fist?”
“Point taken.” Solus nodded while rethinking a few things like the structure of the enchantments of Double Edge and Lith’s Voidwalker armor.
“What do you mean, point taken? This thing is massive.” Friya said in amazement.
“Still nothing compared to the power core of an academy.” Lith shrugged. “If the White Griffon is anything like the Golden Griffon, then the entire Headmaster’s Office is part of the power core.
“A part?” Friya was flabbergasted.
“Yeah.” Solus nodded. “Hystar’s room was just the access point and first line of defense of the power core. Its walls hid an even bigger room that contained a white mana crystal bigger than a person.
“And that was just the main focus point of the power core.”
“Good gods!” Friya turned to her father in disbelief.
“I can neither confirm nor deny that.” He said while nodding vigorously. “Now enough chit-chat and explain to me what’s going on.”
A few touches of Orion’s finger broke down the power core into the single pseudo cores of which it was comprised. The dull areas belonged to enchantments whose output had dropped to a dangerous level or whose runes had suffered significant damage.
“This isn’t supposed to happen.” Orion explained after noticing the dumb look on the faces of his fellow Forgemasters. “A power core should be able to distribute its energy evenly to prevent such things from happening.
“It’s better to have the whole structure lose a bit of power and compensate for the sudden energy expenditure than keep the various spells compartmentalized and risk a partial failure of the system.”
He moved his hand near the luminous sphere, pointing at the structural choke points that separated the still-high output enchantments from the weakened ones. Orion’s first instinct was to re-route the energy where needed, but he trusted Lith enough to wait for an explanation before doing something potentially dangerous.
“What you say is correct for something with a straightforward purpose like an amulet or a sword, but not for something as complex as the Wayfinder.” Lith shook his head. “As you can see the Light Mastery and elemental sealing enchantments are almost depleted from the fight, but that had to be expected.”
In the absence of solid ground to conjure sturdy barriers, Light Mastery was the only possible defense against physical attacks like the magical beasts charging at the Train or the tidal waves unleashed by the Throndar.
Without it, the wagons would have been heavily damaged, deforming the rune patterns necessary to keep the Wayfinder running.
The same applied to the elemental sealing arrays. A Train was a means of transportation, not a battle tank. Spells could easily pierce through the layers of iron and Orichalcum, potentially flooding the wagons.
“I know, but I don’t get why you guys put the choking points. Because of them, it’s taking too long to recharge the depowered pseudo cores. If there’s another attack, we are going to be sitting ducks.” Orion replied.
“True, but at least this way we can safely reach the nearest island and recover the lost energy. Take those choking points away and we are going to sink like a brick.” Solus replied.
“What do you mean?” Orion shuddered as the vivid image of the Wayfinder falling under the waves flashed in front of his eyes.
“Dad, the power core has to constantly check the position of the floor of every car and compensate for waves, depressions, and sea altitude.” Friya replied. “All the while keeping the people and things inside from being thrown around at every step of the way.
“To do that, the Warp Core requires a steady supply of mana. If a sudden drop in the energy level of the shields were to be reflected on the Warp Core, the consequences would be catastrophic.
“Best case scenario, the flight and stabilizing spells would go out of sync. Anything inside the Wayfinder would jolt like during a quake while the soldiers and mages fighting on the outside would be thrown at sea.”
“And this is the best-case scenario?” Orion was flabbergasted.
“An overly optimistic one at that.” Lith nodded. “Worst case scenario, part of the Wayfinder would sink and our own propulsion system would make us derail. At that point, the wagons would turn into death traps and anyone without Spirit Magic would die.”
Orion nodded, realizing that the failure of the elemental sealing array system wasn’t such a big deal. Even chore magic could get rid of the water seeping through a crack, but only if the passengers had access to it.
Without the elemental sealing arrays, spells could damage the Train but the people inside were also free from the restrictions and made up for it with their own magic.
“Always remember that I never planned for Trains to cross the ocean. On the ground, the strain on the Warp Core is much smaller and even if something dangerous happens, a Train can stop anywhere.”
“I see.” Orion nodded. “If I knew about these issues, I would have sacrificed a bit of space in every wagon for auxiliary mana crystals that would fuel solely the defensive systems.
“As it is, your power core can still work at sea but it can’t withstand consecutive attacks.”
“True, but it wasn’t supposed to withstand one to start with.” Solus grunted, her professional pride stung by those words. “The safety measures are intended to weather storms or a small group of enemies until safe landing.
“Not to repel the attack of an enemy army led by a creature the size of a Divine Beast. Again, this isn’t an armored tank nor a weapon. It’s a farming Train!”
“I know how it’s called.” Orion couldn’t understand Solus’ annoyance since to him the word had no meaning outside what Lith gave to it. “Still, this is the reason the Royals insisted you guys came with us.
“We wouldn’t have gotten past the ambush so easily without Lith and thanks to your explanation, I’ve learned a lot. Once I report my findings to the Royal Forgemasters, we will be able to improve the design of the future Trains significantly.”
He could now appreciate how Lith’s chocking points in the power core let the non-necessary energy to the Warp Core slowly flow into the pseudo cores of the defensive systems without compromising the speed or stability of the Wayfinder.
Once they reached the nearest island, Orion took another look at the power core. The moment the Wayfinder landed and the Warp Core was disengaged, the choke points disappeared.
The remaining energy was evenly distributed between the different pseudo cores, restoring the Train’s full defensive capabilities. In the process, the mana crystals were drained according to their current residual energy so that they would complete their respective recharge cycles at the same time.
