I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 458 (Patreon)

Chapter 458: Ivina: Creating Food out of Thin Air, Something Only Gods Can Do

Susan's sudden inquiry caught Ivina off guard.

Having spent two years in the northern territories, the most barbaric region of the empire, she had naturally witnessed famine and even participated in church-led relief efforts, but she had never experienced that feeling firsthand...

Without waiting for Ivina's response, Susan sighed and said, "Just eleven years ago, due to successive wars in the western border of the empire, there was a significant reduction in food production. Then those noble lords and wealthy merchants, just like today, began to purchase large quantities of grain. Although it wasn't as terrifying as this time, it was still something we couldn't afford..."

At that time, she and her husband relied on odd jobs in the slums to earn some meager income, barely making ends meet. After deducting the cuts from the guild, they couldn't even earn a single silver coin per month. With the soaring price of grain, even if they emptied their savings, they couldn't afford more than a few loaves of black bread.

"Didn't the church and the empire intervene or provide relief?" Ivina furrowed her brow, questioning, but soon realized the inadequacy of her words and quickly corrected herself.

"I mean, don't those bishops often talk about God's mercy to mankind?"

"How could those high and mighty bishops care about us..." a middle-aged man with dark skin self-deprecatingly shook his head.

Eleven years ago, the precious resource of fire oil hadn't been discovered, and this city wasn't as important as it is now. It was just an ordinary small city in the western territories, and they were the most inconspicuous among the poor within the city.

Indeed, the empire did distribute some relief food, but halfway through, it was all plundered by the local nobles and wealthy merchants, leaving barely anything for them.

Susan choked up as she spoke, recounting how one of her children, who had just been born at the time, starved to death because she was too weak to produce enough milk—she could only grind grass roots and tree bark into a soup to feed the baby...

And as a result... her child couldn't even survive for two days.

"Grass roots, tree bark... can they be eaten?" Ivina exclaimed in astonishment.

"Most of the grass roots can be eaten, but it depends on the type of tree bark..." the middle-aged man muttered.

Because of Ivina's identity as a wizard, which garnered considerable favor among the people, coupled with Susan's lamentations and complaints, the hundred or so townspeople gathered around the granary couldn't help but share their own experiences of surviving famine.

Some condemned the cold-bloodedness and inaction of the noble lords, some tearfully recounted how their younger siblings were snatched away and eaten alive by a group of starving villagers, and a young man in his twenties even shared how he survived the most difficult days by eating a certain type of yellow soil...

Unfortunately, his father didn't make it!

If they didn't want to gnaw on tree bark or eat soil, they had to venture deep into the jungle at the risk of their lives to obtain food, but more likely, they would end up as food for some ferocious monsters!

Listening to the hundred or so townspeople discuss which tree bark was the best to eat and which grass was non-toxic and filling, Ivina was deeply shaken.

As someone born into nobility, she had never imagined that grass, tree leaves, or even dirt could be put into one's mouth as food.

Although she had witnessed famine in the northern territories and even witnessed cannibalism, Gustav had told her that these people were corrupted by demonic forces, their souls on the verge of descending into hell, which led them to commit such evil and terrifying acts.

"Only the wizards would consider whether we can eat our fill..." an elderly townsman said, carrying a few grains of wheat, his voice trembling slightly.

Ensuring three meals a day was a normal welfare for Lynn's laborers, and it could also prevent turmoil in the kingdom, but it was different for the poor.

They had never received such attention before!

In Susan's view, the wizards who ruled the City of Fire Oil knew that they couldn't afford the soaring wheat prices, so they suddenly announced the provision of three meals a day. This kindness made her and her husband immensely grateful.

Only those who had experienced famine understood how terrifying it was. They had barely survived the last time. What about this time?

So, after discussing with her husband, Susan decided to sell some of their grain to the council.

During the previous high grain prices, thanks to reminders from the bakery, they had emptied all their savings and bought hundreds of kilograms of wheat. They had already sold half of it...

Half was for her and her husband, and the other half was for their two children. Susan originally didn't plan to sell it, but yesterday she suddenly heard that the reason the council kept lowering

 the purchase price was because the reserve funds were running out, so she took out another portion.

With limited ability, she could only do a little. Maybe their share of wheat was in the bread they ate at the workshop!

The other townspeople also spoke up about their experiences. Like Susan, they experienced being valued for the first time and realized that there were people who cared about them—the lowest class of peasants.

They praised the power of magic and the kindness of the wizards, and because of Ivina's identity as a wizard, many praises were directed at her.

Ivina fell silent, each word of praise piercing her heart like a sharp knife because no one knew better than her that the so-called grain war was Monroe's idea, and the rumor spreading throughout the kingdom was also their doing.

"If only those nobles weren't here, this place would be just like paradise!" Susan couldn't help but say.

"Paradise?" Ivina didn't know what expression to make, nor did she expect this term to be used in the territory ruled by the wizards.

Just as Ivina hesitated, the tightly closed granary doors finally opened, and Susan and the others immediately surrounded it, eagerly speaking up.

"Wizard, what's the price of wheat today?" "Is the council's grain reserve still sufficient?" "This is some wheat I've stored myself. It's not much, but please accept it."

The hundred or so townspeople gathered around the granary clamored, handing over the wheat they had wrapped in various pieces of cloth, and some even felt that the three meals provided by the council were too much—they could actually get by with just one meal a day, saving a lot of grain.

Amidst the eager anticipation of the crowd, Pearson did not accept the wheat but expressed his apologies. "Thank you for your help, but starting from today, the council has no plans to purchase wheat anymore!"

"Why? Wizard? Is it because the reserve funds are insufficient?" Susan hurriedly asked.

The other townspeople wore worried expressions.

"No, it's not as you think!" Pearson shook his head with a wry smile, then his face showed a hint of pride. "In fact, Dean Lynn has completely solved the problem of food shortages... From now on, no one needs to worry about famine anymore!"

Lynn... the Star of Magic?

Ivina was quite surprised. In the City of Fire Oil, she had heard this name countless times. It seemed that all the changes in the magical world could be related to him.

Now it was even more exaggerated. This Star of Magic dared to say that he had completely solved the famine problem.

For a while, Ivina couldn't determine whether this was false information released by the council or if it was true.

Susan and the others also wore expressions of disbelief.

"If you're interested, why don't you go and see for yourselves..." Pearson nodded towards the direction of the train station, teasingly. "The trains are running today!"

Ivina left the granary in a daze, walking towards the cathedral with Susan and others who shared her confusion—it was also the direction of the train station.

The place was already packed with people, tens of thousands of citizens gathered in the square in front of the station, tiptoeing and craning their necks to get a glimpse inside.

Ivina was equally curious, wanting to go inside and see. Thanks to the wizard badge hanging from her chest, the citizens spontaneously made way for her along the road.

Soon, several huge silver-white trains appeared before the girl!

They stood over three meters tall, stretching seventy meters long, resembling giant serpents coiled within the city...

The streamlined bodies made every wizard and townsfolk who saw them for the first time exclaim from the depths of their hearts.

What exquisite creations...

But what shocked Ivina even more was the mountainous pile of crates inside the train station, her sharp eyes could clearly see that the unsealed boxes contained nothing but loaves of bread and a pure white powder.

Not recognizing starch, Ivina mistook it for wheat flour ground from wheat.

The first ten carriages were already packed to the brim. Laborers in the station were still diligently transporting more crates onto the rear carriages.

The wizards actually had so much food!

Everything Ivina saw completely exceeded her expectations.

The surrounding noisy discussions and exclamations kept ringing in Ivina's ears. Some were astonished by the wizards' new creations, while others were hysterically crying out at the mountainous piles of bread and grain.

But more voices were praising the new invention of the Star of Magic, discussing how to use magic to make bread...

Ivina furrowed her brow, almost doubting whether she had misheard. Using magic to create bread out of thin air? What a joke.

Even the Holy Pope couldn't do this, perhaps only the Goddess of the Moon could perform such a miraculous feat.

"Sir, may I have a look at this issue of the Magic Daily?" Ivina couldn't help but ask.

The male wizard who was interrupted in his discussion turned his head with some displeasure, but upon seeing the girl's remarkable appearance, he immediately adopted a gentle attitude and generously said, "Of course, it's yours. I've already finished reading it anyway."

Thanking him politely, Ivina took a glance and was immediately stunned by the headline!

【Research and Analysis on Photosynthesis in Plants—On the Feasibility of 【Bread-Making Technique】】

And prominently signed was the Star of Magic, Lynn!

As for the thousands of words occupying the entire page below, Ivina couldn't understand them at all, but fortunately, the male wizard beside her kindly explained.

The first half of the paper explained how plants undergo photosynthesis, converting various elements into nutrients that can be absorbed by humans, while the latter half discussed how to replicate this process using magic.

Perhaps due to confidentiality, specific spell models were not provided, but the importance of three things was emphasized.

The simplest method to produce food only required water, carbon dioxide, and electricity!

"Master Lynn truly deserves to be called the Star of Magic, to come up with such a method to solve the food shortage problem," the male wizard praised earnestly.

Ivina also didn't expect that the wizards had actually used magic to create food!

She had attended chemistry classes and was well aware of what carbon dioxide was. It could be said that every person was a machine capable of mass-producing carbon dioxide, so there was no need to worry about the shortage of raw materials.

As for water, it went without saying that the kingdom was not lacking in it. Wizards could also control lightning, which meant that as long as they wanted, they could continuously produce a massive amount of food. The mountainous piles of crates in the station were evidence of this!

But the biggest reaction to this was not from Ivina, but from the nobles and merchants who had bought large quantities of food earlier!

They either collapsed on the ground in despair or screamed hysterically.

Everyone understood that once these trains unloaded the carriages filled with bread to the major cities of the kingdom, the wheat in their hands would instantly become worthless!

Even in the best-case scenario, their assets would inevitably shrink by hundreds of times!

One wealthy merchant even entertained the idea of blowing up these trains and burning all the piled-up bread.

But the presence of twenty airships, five fighter jets, and over fifty armored vehicles, with their dark muzzles, was enough to dispel any restless thoughts!

The desperate cries of the nobles and merchants did not evoke the slightest sympathy. Instead, they received mocking and disdainful glances, and many townsfolk were even cheering for the name of the Star of Magic, celebrating victory.

About five hundred meters away, Lynn, who had been the subject of discussion among the crowd, stood on the roof of a house, watching as the huge trains roared off into the distance!

The seven trains carried a total of six thousand tons of starch and bread, combined with the previous release of five thousand tons of provisions, enough to be the final straw that broke the camel's back!

"Inform Loude to begin collecting debts!" Lynn ordered.

"Yes, Dean Lynn!" Elok, who was standing beside him, admired as he spoke, then transmitted the electromagnetic wave signal to begin debt collection.

For nearly a month, using over a dozen merchant groups as fronts, the council had lent tens of millions of imperial gold coins to those wealthy merchants and nobles—money that was originally their savings used to buy grain!

In the end, the money circled back into their hands, along with the assets, estates, slaves, and even citizens of the other party!

Gambling was indeed dangerous... Lynn sighed inwardly. Once one went bankrupt, the outcome was the loss of everything, and the profits of hundreds of times were enough to drive people crazy, making them willingly increase their bets layer by layer, blocking all their exits in pursuit of a victory that didn't even exist...

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