The fourth is Sylvie.
Roland felt uneasy when facing this witch, not because Nightingale had lied too much. In modern society, few people speak their minds openly except family and close friends. He had grown accustomed to all kinds of exaggerated flattery and rumors.
He felt utterly exposed before her, and worse, he knew this wasn't an illusion but her innate ability. With her unobstructed vision, she could make her clothes vanish at will. Roland sighed inwardly at not having such power, then shifted his posture involuntarily, crossing his legs.
Among the five witches, she stood out as the most distinctive in appearance: her emerald-green hair cascaded down to her shoulders, and her slender eyebrows faintly revealed beneath the straight bangs. Her amber eyes were particularly striking—so transparent they seemed to mirror all light, as if reflecting every ray of illumination. Roland often felt a sudden red mark appear in them when he gazed at them for too long.
Shirvi's abilities are remarkably intuitive. She can perceive every detail in her surroundings—including her back—and her vision can penetrate obstacles, with the depth of penetration determined by her thoughts. Additionally, she possesses a Nightingale-like branch ability: she can observe the gathering and dispersing of Magic Power.
Roland was slightly taken aback. If the branch abilities could be so similar, what about the primary abilities? He asked Sylvie, who hesitated before confirming that among the hundreds of witches on Sleeping Island, no one had ever shared identical abilities. Nightingale's gentle pinch to her left confirmed the truth of her words.
Roland wondered if it was because there were too few samples.
The last witch to appear is Candlefire.
Like Anna, she celebrated her coming-of-age on the previous Evil Moon. As a minor, her abilities were limited to lighting objects such as candles, lamp oil, and torches. Upon reaching adulthood, her Magic Power stabilized and significantly intensified, allowing her to preserve the original properties of any object she touched—for instance, an ice cube she cast upon would retain its icy nature even when exposed to sunlight, emitting a lingering chill.
At first glance, this ability seems almost magical, capable of accomplishing feats beyond conventional means. However, after several rounds of testing, Roland discovered it wasn't as flawless as imagined. Primarily, it's an enchanted ability requiring direct contact with the target—a limitation that makes it difficult for the candle flame to solidify high-temperature objects.
His plan to obtain a drop of molten steel that could remain perpetually in a white-hot state—sufficient to continuously heat the blast furnace—failed. No one, except Anna, dared to touch such a thousand-degree object with their hands. If it were reduced to a thin wire, the candle flame could still be used to hold the other end for casting spells, but this posed a new problem.
The more the object's solidified state deviates from its normal state, the greater the Magic Power consumed, and the shorter the duration of the effect.
Roland demonstrated this with ice cubes: when two equally sized ice cubes were solidified, one placed on scalding hot ground melted within half an hour, while the other remained intact even after being immersed in cold water.
This means that using red-hot wire or steel bars would only make things worse.
Lastly, the target's size also limits the candle's effectiveness. Similar to hummingbirds and moon mysteries, the larger the target, the more Magic Power is consumed. Nightingale observed that her own Magic Power remained at a moderate-to-low level, like a thin golden mist that hadn't yet formed a dense vortex.
Yet even so, this seemingly introverted girl remains Roland's greatest asset. In industrial production, maintaining the solidified state of materials is truly invaluable, and the key lies in the concept of' normality. 'Metals fatigue and structures deform under factors like heating, cooling, friction, and stress. He doesn't need drill bits that overheat from friction or gears that wear down over time. If a machine's critical components can consistently maintain their normal state, it ensures maximum efficiency and precision in operation.
In other words, the burning process can effectively enhance the mechanical strength of inferior metals.
...
Back at the Castle office, Roland reviewed the documented capabilities and began mapping out their future work plans.
"How about it," Nightingale poked her head out of the mist, "do you have a favorite among these five witches?" "All of them are quite good," Roland replied casually.
"What! You like it all?" He shot a glare at the man, who stuck out his tongue and walked away with a piece of dried fish in his mouth.
At present, the most practical items are clearly the lotus and candlelight.
With the ability to reshape the terrain, he could effortlessly construct a new earthen wall beyond the existing fortifications. To conserve materials and expedite construction, the original rubble-and-cement wall was relocated to the pass at the foot of the northern slope, closest to the Chishui River. While this approach allowed completion before the Evil Demon's Month, it also restricted the town's westward expansion. As the population continued to grow, developing this wilderness and the hidden forest became inevitable.
The new earthen walls will extend beyond the edge of the Hide-and-Seek Forest, incorporating an entire grove of trees, thereby nearly doubling the town's area. The extended defensive perimeter can be addressed by expanding troop numbers and strategically directing the evil beasts' attacks. Regardless, the First Army's firepower projection capabilities have undergone a revolutionary transformation compared to last year's wooden lances and muzzle-loading flintlock muskets. Additionally, defensive measures such as artillery batteries and bastions can now be integrated through the new city walls.
In addition, he plans to have Lian construct a passage through the southern mountains, enabling Border Town to reach the shallow waters directly. This would grant the town a natural harbor and streamline trade with the fjord. Given the enormous Magic Power required to modify the rock formations, the project could take several months to complete.
The candlelight project works in tandem with Anna and Lucia to develop next-generation machine tools for manufacturing firearms and other mechanical equipment. If all goes well, Anna could also be freed from the tedious and monotonous production process.
Hilvy's mission was crystal clear: to explore the North Slope Mines and the Lost Forest. According to the miners, the mines contained over a hundred natural caves, none of which knew their ultimate destination. Though only about twenty tunnels had been excavated and cleared, several minerals had already been discovered. Roland was eager to verify the credibility of the legends about the ancient monster's lair. Now that the Witch possessed the ability of vision, he planned to fully survey the North Slope Mines, creating detailed maps while coordinating with Lian to adjust the terrain and boost mining efficiency.
As for honey, Roland had little to say about it. His sole purpose was to enhance his ability to transmit information in the wireless age. He needed a large number of well-trained birds to serve as homing pigeons—no need for them to be as intelligent as Maxie, just quick enough to deliver intelligence to him.