With all protective measures in place, Owen immediately activated the visual data function, selecting temperature as the metric.
As if a ray of light shot from the center of his vision, a small red dot, visible only to him, appeared on the outer wall of the furnace in front of him, with temperature readings displayed next to it.
Owen understood both the Arabic numerals and the temperature units, having learned them in his dreams.
In the future, he also planned to promote these convenient numbers and standardized physical units; they could be directly adopted and were very easy to use.
Now that he could see the data, how was he supposed to measure the temperature?
Suddenly recalling the method used to collect soil data in the experimental field, Owen frowned slightly and quickly asked in his mind:
"Wenster, will I need to touch the raw slurry to measure the temperature later?"
"No, Dimensional Equipment No. 3 is equipped with an infrared temperature measurement System. You just need to move your sight and position the red dot over the raw slurry to know its surface temperature."
"Infrared? Is that the infrared ray that is invisible to the naked eye?"
Owen had learned about it from Wenster, remembering it as a type of electromagnetic wave containing heat energy.
"Yes, I didn't expect you to remember."
Afterward, Wenster briefly explained the principle of infrared temperature measurement. Only after mostly understanding it did Owen feel completely at ease.
"Mapel, give me the staff." Owen extended his hand to Mapel.
"Yes."
She nodded, took the staff from her back, and handed it to Owen.
It was a dark red wooden staff, over a meter long, with a high-quality hot magic stone embedded at its tip. The staff was a gift from Owen's father before he went to the Magic Academy in East Rise Fortress when he was a child.
Holding it, Owen couldn't help but recall his father's kind smile, feeling a deep sense of nostalgia.
His study life at the academy was also unforgettable, but unfortunately, Owen ultimately failed to qualify for Advanced Magic Academy in the Capital.
Composing himself, Owen let out a light breath, preparing to cast a spell to fire the cement.
Injecting magic power into the staff, the hot magic stone at its tip glowed red. Raising the staff, Owen chanted a brief incantation, casting the Fire element spell—Fire Pillar.
As the staff pressed down, pointing towards the furnace opening, with a puff, a ball of flames rose inside the furnace. The flames gathered around the center of the furnace, quickly forming a Fire Pillar.
Next was the precise control of magic power: lowering the Fire Pillar's height and expanding the burning area until it covered all areas where the raw slurry was spread.
Owen had practiced this method of controlling magic power many times during the construction of the cement workshop and was quite proficient.
With fierce flames burning in the furnace, it was time to measure the temperature. Owen stared at the furnace opening, moving the red dot over the raw slurry. The temperature displayed next to it quickly rose to about 100 degrees Celsius, then stopped increasing.
Seeing this, Owen felt a bit anxious.
"Why isn't the temperature going up?"
"Don't rush. This is the drying stage. The raw slurry has a high water content, so we first need to remove this free water. Therefore, a very intense flame is not needed at the moment. I am timing it on my end and will help you create a detailed firing process later."
So that was it. Owen remembered Wenster saying that at standard atmospheric pressure, the boiling point of water is approximately 100 degrees Celsius.
Therefore, Owen weakened his magic power output, and the fire's intensity decreased slightly, but it did not hinder the drying process.
After some time, the temperature reading continued to rise, slowly reaching 450 degrees Celsius. Wenster said this was the dehydration stage.
When it reached 500 degrees Celsius, the temperature reading stopped increasing again.
"Now the flame itself isn't hot enough; you need to increase your magic power output," Wenster reminded him.
"Okay."
Owen slowly increased his magic power output, and the flames inside the furnace burned hotter and hotter, causing the temperature reading to climb further.
Fortunately, he had the staff; the hot magic stone greatly helped raise the flame temperature, significantly reducing magic power consumption.
After climbing past 600 degrees Celsius, the subsequent rate of increase slowed down again. Wenster said this was the carbonate decomposition stage, which was also the process that consumed the most heat during the clinker formation.
By this time, Vilu could no longer bear the heat and had to exit the firing room, waiting outside.
As a loyal knight, Mapel remained by Owen's side. Seeing Owen drenched in sweat, she hesitated for a long while before making up her mind to take out the handkerchief she carried with her and wipe the sweat from Owen's forehead.
At this moment, Mapel was very embarrassed, as she had used this handkerchief during training earlier that morning.
Next time, I need to bring an extra clean handkerchief, she thought to herself.
Fortunately, Mapel had used the cloth Owen gave her to cover half her face, so her shy expression went unseen.
As she wiped, a faint fragrance could be detected. However, Owen paid no attention to this; his focus was entirely on his magic power output.
After wiping, Mapel put away her handkerchief and then quietly chanted an incantation nearby, casting the Water element spell, "Refreshing Water."
This was a relatively simple spell that continuously emitted Water elements. Besides clarifying the minds of the caster and people within a small radius, it could also slightly lower the surrounding air temperature.
That's right, Mapel could also use magic, and her magic attribute was Water.
Knights who could use elemental magic were collectively called Magic Knights, superior to ordinary knights. Additionally, there were even higher-ranking Holy Knights, proficient in both elemental and faith-based magic.
If Mapel wished, she could actually become a mage. The reason she chose to be a knight was to better protect those she wished to guard.
"Thank you."
Feeling the coolness around him, Owen spoke his thanks.
Mapel was very happy to be able to help Owen, and her lips couldn't help but curve upwards.
After 900 degrees Celsius, the rate of temperature increase accelerated, quickly rising to the target temperature of 1450 degrees Celsius, and the flame's color became increasingly incandescent.
"Now is the clinker sintering stage. Please maintain a stable magic power output and hold this temperature for a period of time."
During this time, Wenster couldn't help but worry for Owen. Could his magic power still be sufficient to maintain such a high temperature?
However, in reality, Owen maintained a consistent magic power output, looking completely at ease, his eyes constantly observing the situation inside the furnace. Only when Wenster said it was sufficient did he withdraw the spell.
After the firing was complete, Owen was drenched in sweat, his mage robe soaked, yet only a portion of his internal magic power had been consumed.
It seemed Wenster had severely underestimated Owen's total magic power and still lacked sufficient understanding of magic.
Because Wenster was always concerned about magic power consumption, Owen had thought that firing cement was a task requiring immense magic power. He hadn't expected it to be a great test of his willpower instead.
Being scorched by high temperatures for a long time by the furnace was indeed unbearable.
Next was waiting for the clinker to cool. Owen and Mapel walked out of the firing room, brushing off the dust from their clothes. The laborers opened all the vents in the firing room from the outside, hoping to speed up the cooling process.
Without waiting long, Owen eagerly went in first to shovel out a small bucket of clinker, then had the stonemasons add an appropriate amount of gypsum and grind it finely, and the miraculous cement was made.