CHAPTER 769: SHIELDING CLOTHES? HIDE THE PATENT OR SELL IT?

Garrett held the gem in his hand, quietly sitting in the back, listening to his senior brothers and sisters report on their recent research. The warm, heavy vitality in his palm constantly reminded him:

You must keep practicing your mental power, always. This time it was the lightning maze; next time, if the teacher catches you not practicing properly, who knows what maze it will be—

It could be fire, ice, light, lightning, acid, sound waves, force fields, multiple attacks from all directions, watching you crawl and roll. At that time, there won’t be such a good thing as shielding clothes...

"Garrett!"

"Ah? Teacher?"

"What’s the matter with your clothes? No magical fluctuations, yet it can resist second-ring electric magic—why haven’t I seen your paper?"

"This is very simple..."

The teacher’s gaze swept over like cold electricity. Garrett quickly corrected himself:

"Okay, teacher, I will write it as soon as possible! I’ll submit it at next week’s meeting!"

Great, another task on the to-do list... And who knows if Aurora writing the paper will make the teacher angry... What was the principle of the Faraday cage again?

Equal electric potential?

What is the progress of electric potential research in this world?

As soon as the meeting ended, Garrett left the teacher’s office and stuck close to Senior Sister Philby. He squeezed all of her disciples behind him.

"What’s the matter? Want me to write for you? That’s not allowed~~~" Senior Sister glanced over with a teasing look. Garrett thickened his face and moved closer:

"Senior Sister~~~ Please give me a lesson on the principles! Don’t you want these clothes? Do you really not want them?"

No magical fluctuations, yet able to resist second-ring electric magic! What mage wouldn’t want it? If magical defenses are broken, this is the last line of defense!

"I don’t want it. It’s ugly."

Senior Sister answered bluntly. Her straightforwardness left Garrett speechless:

"......"

Where is it ugly!

Where is it ugly!

Although it’s not the usual robe shape for mages, but a two-piece outfit like a worker’s clothes;

The cut has no waist-shaping, making the wearer look round and fat;

Uncolored, unembroidered, without pockets, buttons, chains, or any decorations, it looks no different from the coarse cloth worn by commoners...

Alright, it’s indeed ugly. But it’s functional clothing, not decorative, Senior Sister, you can’t judge it by fashion standards!

"So little Garrett, what’s the principle behind these clothes?" Master Byerbo’s voice came from afar:

"Don’t listen to your Senior Sister, if she won’t tell you, I will. If it’s easy to make, everyone can have one, at least it can stop them from messing around, right?" 𝑅А₦Ò𝐁Ë𝐬

"Hey!"

The two archmages turned to glare at each other. Sparks crackled in the air. Garrett quietly stepped aside:

This thing is really simple to make!

Don’t drag me into your fight!

You two, being archmages over level 16, if you start fighting here, I can’t stop you!

Finally, Archmage Philby used her specialty in electromagnetism to take Garrett to her lab, while Master Byerbo followed shamelessly:

Stripping Garrett’s shielding clothes, Archmage Philby eagerly pointed at it. Electric light flashed. The two archmages stood side by side, their eyes lit up.

Garrett followed their example, spreading his mental power to feel the electricity flowing through the shielding clothes.

In the mental perception, strong electric energy flowed from the archmage’s fingertips, spreading across the clothes, following the fine silver threads woven into the fabric, reaching every corner of the garment.

Then, the electricity circled around the silver threads without leaking inside.

Two sharp gazes fell on Garrett. He quickly raised his hand:

"I’ll explain, I’ll explain. The principle is—"

"Don’t explain the principle!" Both archmages said in unison:

"Just explain how it’s made!"

"Alright, alright... It’s actually just using very fine silver threads, mixed with flame-retardant fibers—I used asbestos—to make a garment." Garrett quickly explained the method:

"Connect all parts of the garment, pants, shoes, hood, everywhere. Connect as much as possible so the current can evenly spread."

"Seems quite convenient."

"Yes, and it doesn’t use much silver." Archmage Philby waved, a mage hand floated over, picking up the protective suit to weigh it:

"It’s not heavy, the whole suit weighs just over four pounds. The silver used is less than half... hmm..."

Two pounds of silver, just thirty to forty silver coins. This amount, the lab can afford. Any mage qualified to enter the archmage’s lab can afford it.

As for asbestos, ha, does that even count as money?

Garrett shook his head lightly. The principle of shielding clothes isn’t hard—of course, writing it out is another matter—the design is simple. But making a finished product is another technical challenge.

"The key is the silver threads must be pure, with no impurities, to keep the resistance low. They must be drawn very fine, very evenly, any unevenness will cause different resistance, and with the same current, different voltage, it’s easy to break through..."

Archmage Philby frowned, then suddenly waved her hand. A silver cup flew over, transforming and softening in mid-air, drawing out hair-thin silver threads, one end connected to the cup’s rim, the other to the base.

About ten threads were smooth and even, while another ten were bumpy and uneven, clearly controlled for comparison.

A distant scream echoed:

"My cup! Ah, teacher..."

The cry stopped abruptly. Archmage Philby ignored it, waving her hand again, an electric bead flew from her fingertips, splitting into small beads in mid-air, falling on each silver thread.

Electric light surged instantly. The archmage stared at the current, nodding slightly:

"You’re right. Uneven silver threads, with just a tenth of a diameter difference, show a noticeable difference. Tsk, such fine silver threads..."

"I had them made by Master Norwood—a fifth-level transmutation mage in our mage tower." Garrett explained at the right moment:

"If you want low-level alchemists or even ordinary people to participate in production, the required precision would greatly increase. Maybe we need to talk to the Alchemy Guild..."

Both archmages frowned simultaneously. Master Norwood was Garrett’s follower, helping him make something for free was normal; making shielding clothes in bulk for the Thunder Lord’s followers without charging was impossible.

Having a fifth-level transmutation mage make these by hand?

Could the lab’s budget handle it? Better let the mages use their brains, put up defenses properly, if they don’t and get electrocuted, it’s their own fault.

Garrett quietly turned away. If Norwood made shielding clothes at the cost of a fifth-level mage, 500 gold coins per set would be a friendly price. In bulk, it could drop to two or three hundred, but no lower.

Yet in the previous world, a 500-kilovolt high-voltage shielding suit cost two or three thousand yuan. Lighter, able to withstand higher voltage, lasting longer...

The power of industrialization far surpasses small-scale handicraft workshops.

"In fact, these silver threads not only need to be very fine but also aren’t durable." Garrett continued to pour cold water:

"Silver easily oxidizes, once oxidized, the resistance isn’t up to standard. High resistance generates heat quickly, causing it to burn. Even if it doesn’t burn, it loses its shielding function."

Moreover, the finer the silver threads, the larger the surface area. The larger the surface area, the faster the material oxidizes...

"My shielding clothes were made just last week. Two sets, the first used on mannequins and test animals, after one round of tests and attacks from Aurora and me, it was useless. The silver threads were too fine and broke."

The two archmages looked at each other, then sighed long and hard. Archmage Philby spread her hands:

"Then forget it. Little Garrett, don’t you want to learn the principles of electric spells? Come!"

Garrett brought a stool, sat obediently to listen, and filled his head with spells, elements, and magic arrays. Thank heavens, this world already has the concept of "electric potential"—

Although mages understand it as lightning falling from the high sky to the low ground. Powerful lightning mages can sense it directly with their mental power.

Just like sensing the electric potential on the shielding clothes. A current falls, instantly creating a uniform and stable electric field across all the silver threads in the shielding clothes.

Garrett packed up the shielding clothes, happily left. With Senior Sister’s explanation, he could submit the paper in two days! No need to spend a week!

Senior Sister is great! Saved him so much research time!

He wandered away, footsteps light, almost humming. In the lab, the two archmages exchanged looks and whispered:

"Should we suggest he publish this paper?"

"…I think not. It would greatly weaken our Thunder Horn, especially the lightning branch. Second-ring spells would be rendered useless! Silent and without magical fluctuations, how could you defend against it!"

"I think it’s fine to publish. As little Garrett said, the cost is high, and it degrades easily. Let them figure it out slowly, so what?"

"Better not, it’s all our people. Or maybe publish the paper and privately notify the council?"

"Let’s not... We should ask the mentor to persuade him not to publish the paper. As for the loss, let’s all contribute a bit?"

* Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.