Lan Qingyou took the prototype straight to the third floor.
She picked up the Magic Broom kept there and installed the thruster prototype onto one side of the broom's head.
Next, she pulled out the gear regulator and installed it inside the hooked end of the broom handle.
Because the disk had an internal spring structure, the connection cable automatically tightened once pulled out. Even if it was pulled a bit too far, it would retract on its own, so she didn't have to worry about messy, trailing wires.
She had to admit, Chariot really was a gearhead. She had only mentioned it briefly, and he already knew exactly what she wanted.
This was well worth the potions.
Once the thruster was installed, Lan Qingyou brought the broom down to the second floor to begin testing.
At this point, nothing had been planted on the second floor yet, aside from some irrigation channels and herb fields diverted from the third floor. The hundred-and-eighty-square-meter space was more than enough to serve as a testing ground.
Lan Qingyou took out a mana crystal crafted by the High Priestess and slotted it into the thruster to charge it.
The thruster, like the Magic Broom, had a capacity of one thousand energy points.
According to Chariot, one point of energy was consumed per minute, while the defective mana crystals made by the High Priestess had a maximum charge of 800.
This meant a single mana crystal would allow Lan Qingyou to free her hands and fly for about thirteen hours without expending her own mana.
This was exactly what Lan Qingyou needed.
Yes.
What Lan Qingyou wanted was something that could provide her with propulsion.
Previously, she had always used her hands to provide momentum, but the drawbacks were obvious.
For one, she needed to weave between physical objects.
If she were simply suspended in the air with nothing to push off of, she felt she would just stay there until she starved to death.
The other reason was that it occupied one hand, significantly reducing her combat effectiveness.
This was especially true after her palm was pierced by the Night Swallow that day, forcing her to use only her other hand for propulsion.
It was equivalent to having both hands tied. Lan Qingyou was naturally determined to find a way to eliminate such a massive disadvantage.
She hadn't had much of an idea at first, but as soon as she joined Tarot Villa, she encountered a gearhead like Chariot.
And just like that, the problem was solved.
From now on, this witch would only need to sit on her flying broom and input mana.
A witch—a witch flying on a broom.
Calling herself "The Flying Witch" wouldn't be unreasonable, right?
With that thought, Lan Qingyou cast Lighten on both the Magic Broom and the thruster.
The two items combined weighed less than twenty-five pounds, well within Lan Qingyou's capacity.
She leveled the Magic Broom, sat on it sideways, and adjusted the gear to Gear 1.
Whoosh—
A gentle breeze puffed out from the thruster's two exhaust ports. With a slight shift of Lan Qingyou's body, the broom began to slowly move forward.
Since there was no dashboard, Lan Qingyou didn't know the exact speed.
But by feel, it seemed to be around ten kilometers per hour.
It was slow, but very steady, without any sudden kick of acceleration.
After flying for a minute, Lan Qingyou checked through her glasses and found that exactly one point of energy had been consumed.
Furthermore, because the weight had been negated, Lan Qingyou only needed to pull up or push down on the hooked handle and lean her body left or right to perfectly control the broom's direction.
So, she switched to Gear 2.
The speed increased significantly this time, and she shot forward instantly.
If Lan Qingyou hadn't had her Body Lightening spell active to keep her weightless, she likely would have been thrown off on the spot.
After one minute, two points had been consumed.
Gear 3 was even more incredible. The speed was so fast that Lan Qingyou slammed right into the wall, and it consumed four energy points in a single minute.
Good heavens, four points. No wonder Chariot said it was a bit energy-hungry.
However, it was truly fast, making it perfect for traveling.
Flying through the air would shorten travel time significantly compared to traveling on the ground; everywhere became a straight line between two points without any winding paths to navigate.
The only issue was that her own mana was a bit lacking.
Even an 800-point mana crystal would only last a bit over three hours at a four-point consumption rate.
But with both the Magic Broom and the thruster running, plus the consumption of her own Body Lightening spell, she would lose two mana points every minute.
With her current mana pool of 220, she could only fly continuously for less than two hours.
It seemed she needed to level up more and invest points into spirit.
That was the only way to increase her mana pool.
The space was a bit small now; once the mana tide ended, she would go fly outside and see what it felt like to soar through the vast, open sky.
The Tower: "What are the speeds for this? I feel like the speed difference between the three gears is massive."
After playing around for a while and finishing her "test flight," Lan Qingyou returned to the third floor, sat down, and took out her card to ask Chariot about the thruster.
Chariot: "If we calculate based on Blue Star vehicle speeds, Gear 1 is about 10 km/h, which is roughly 2.8 meters per second. Gear 2 is about 50 km/h, roughly 13.89 meters per second. Gear 3 is about 100 km/h, which is roughly 28 meters per second."
The Tower: "That's quite a high output."
Chariot: "But the consumption is also high, four points per minute."
The Tower: "Is it? I don't think that consumption is much of an issue for us, is it?"
Chariot: "Haha, true. At least for you and the High Priestess, that kind of consumption is nothing."
After all, one could make mana potions, and the other could make mana crystals.
Neither of them would be limited by mana, at the very least.
Lan Qingyou agreed and then sent him a photo of her Magic Broom with the thruster attached.
Chariot: "Why did you install it on that thing?"
After seeing the photo, Chariot was a bit confused.
He had originally thought Lan Qingyou wanted the thruster to pull something, but he hadn't expected it to be placed on a broom.
The Tower: "I'm a witch, so of course I have to fly on a broom, right? It's a classic trope!"
Chariot: "No, its output isn't enough to achieve what you'd call 'flight.'"
As a mechanical expert, he was well aware of the legend that "with enough power, even a brick can fly."
But he knew his own creation very well.
The thruster's engine couldn't even dream of brute force flight; it could barely reach an output speed of 100 km/h.
The Tower: "Haha, that involves my talent. But it's nothing I can't talk about. My talent allows me to make people and objects fly, so I can already soar through the air."
Since Hells Mo had already witnessed her flying in the sky, Lan Qingyou shared a general description of her talent quite openly.
Chariot: "If that's the case, then I might as well make some more improvements to make your flight even more comfortable."
Chariot thought that since she could actually fly, perhaps he could add more features.
Indeed.
This fellow was treating Lan Qingyou as an experimental subject.
Rate on N.U.
