Chapter 229: The Myriad Ring
Inside the Trunk World.
A lush, verdant forest stretched beneath the canopy.
Leonardo gently turned the Myriad Ring on his finger. A pale green radiance flowed from the emerald, forming a line of light that cleanly split the silver-white band in two.
One half remained around his left index finger. The other detached on its own, rapidly reshaping in mid-air into a small, delicate sparrow.
Sustained by magical energy, the sparrow spread its wings and took flight, weaving lightly through the forest.
At the same time, the emerald embedded in the Myriad Ring glowed once more. It floated before Leonardo's left eye, transforming into a semi-transparent jade-green circle.
His right eye saw the world normally.
His left showed something entirely different: the forest shrinking away as the sparrow climbed higher into the air.
He was seeing through the sparrow's eyes.
This was the Myriad Ring's special property. A portion of the ring could detach and reshape itself, and through the miniaturised array inscribed within it, the user could establish a connection with the separated piece and perceive its surroundings.
For the sake of flexibility, giving it the form of an animal was naturally the better choice.
In effect, it was a magical drone.
What interested Leonardo even more, however, was the array engraved within the ring itself.
The array linked two separate points, transmitting images, sound, even scent and temperature. If he could reproduce and adapt it through Alchemy, it might be possible to create a magical device capable of long-distance communication.
A magical mobile phone. That would certainly give the wizarding world a bit of a shock.
And it went beyond simple images and sound. The array could also transmit scent, temperature, and perhaps other sensory information as well. Sight and hearing were already clearly possible, and smell and touch might be achievable too. As for taste, he hadn't tested it yet. He could always have the sparrow catch an insect and find out.
Leonardo let out a quiet laugh.
It reminded him of an old joke from his previous life: people watching food videos online and saying, "One day, when I have money, I'll buy a phone that lets you taste things."
There was one major difference between magic and technology in this regard. For Muggles, the ability to transmit images remotely had taken nearly a century longer to develop than sound and text transmission. Magic, however, did not necessarily follow the same gradual progression. Different forms of remote communication might be achievable at the same time.
If a magical mobile phone could truly be created, then even a version capable of transmitting only sound and images would represent a huge technological leap for the wizarding world — and an immensely popular product.
Of course, telegrams and mobile phones had already existed in the Muggle world for years. But wizards were often uncomfortable with Muggle technology, or simply looked down on it. Take televisions, for example. Leonardo had heard both half-blood and pureblood students complain that their parents either refused to buy one or couldn't work Muggle appliances at all, leaving them to watch programmes at a neighbour's house instead.
Magical items, though, were a different story. Wizards were far more accepting of those. And a form of communication more convenient than owl post was not something they would easily refuse.
Leonardo gave it some more thought. The magical phone could even be designed with a more wizarding aesthetic — a small tome, perhaps, or an enchanted mirror.
Mm. The range is still a bit too short.
The transformed sparrow hadn't flown very far before Leonardo felt the connection begin to weaken. The shared vision turned hazy, flickering in and out.
The link established through the array clearly had a limited range.
He guided the sparrow back towards himself while slowly turning the Myriad Ring between his fingers.
The range would need to be extended somehow. That might mean simplifying some of the rune functions. Then there was the issue of materials. If the core components were too rare, production would always be limited.
He pulled the gleaming Order of Merlin from his pocket and studied it for a moment. Impressive as it looked, the medal itself possessed no magical properties to speak of. It was purely decorative.
The prestige attached to a first-class Order of Merlin, however, was immeasurable. Leonardo had become a recognisable figure throughout the wizarding world and had even gathered a fair number of admirers.
Combined with his achievements in Transfiguration, he had also carved out a place for himself within academic circles.
Owls had been arriving continuously, carrying letters from all over the world. Some came from admirers, others from scholars. The former were filled with varying degrees of praise and fascination; the latter mostly wanted to discuss Transfiguration.
The learned, it seemed, cared most about knowledge. Their letters carried a kind of directness and sincerity that Leonardo found unexpectedly refreshing.
He checked the repayment progress for the Emerald Tablet Fragment. Sales of both potions and alchemical products had been rising rapidly. Once a widely appealing product like the magical phone entered the market, the progress would increase by another substantial margin.
Leonardo slipped the Order of Merlin back into his pocket, then lowered his gaze to the Myriad Ring as light shimmered faintly across its surface.
I wonder whether the achievement rewards for other fields — Potions, Alchemy, Charms, and the rest — have their own unique magical effects as well, like this ring.
Now that he thought about it, collecting all of them did sound rather entertaining.