Monarch of Solitude: Daily Quest System

Chapter 173 - A Granary With Blades

Deezer worked quickly, and soon, the sketch for the new granary was ready. In addition, Deezer calculated the size of those big blades required to harness wind power in the valley.

Sheila checked the different spots and reported that the best spot to catch wind would be closer to the meadows instead of within Town Zera's present border. As such, Rino troubles the genesis fairies to extend the mana web array to cover that spot. The fields he planned expanded towards the direction of the windmill so that it would be easier to harvest and store food in that windmill granary.

"How big are the blades?" Rino asked as he looked at the diagram.

According to the sketch that Deezer made, the windmill had to be at least three floors tall. That was taller than the barn and most other buildings. At first, Rino wondered if the height was truly necessary, but after studying the town plan, he understood why it had to be located near the meadows and be taller than any other buildings they built.

"Will it hold?" Bink asked, feeling sceptical about the unusual design.

The wind blades looked a little too big and took up nearly half the size of the windmill granary.

"It is necessary," Deezer explained. "Most of the spaces in this windmill cannot be used. It is used to hold that huge grindstone and hopper system to regulate the flow of grains poured for grinding."

Rino studied the cross diagram that Deezer modified from his given schematics. Instead of putting the grindstone on the first floor, Deezer moved it up to the second floor so that they could collect the flour in a bin on the first floor that also served as the flour packaging centre. It was a rather space-consuming design, but Rino could understand the need for the first and second floors to be free from other materials. In the previous world, mills sometimes exploded when the miller was rushed and the production line overloaded. To avoid that in this world, Rino would leave the mill operation to the meticulous earth gnomes.

"There isn't much space above ground, so I thought we could store things underground instead. The only problem is the moisture from the ground in underground storage. Grains and grain powder might go bad."

Rino already knew this and reassured them that it was fine. He had genesis fairies who were capable of weaving spells to create the correct environment for ideal storage. For now, they need not worry about creating an underground granary. Rino would ask the earth gnomes to estimate the windmill's weight before calculating how big or deep the underground storage should be. The last thing he wanted was for the ground beneath his windmill to cave in.

The only problem they had now was the concept of grindstones.

"Bink, you're in charge of designing the grindstone. I want to replicate it in a larger design but for now, get the team to build the fixed grindstone and moving grindstone plate on an axis. I need to know how heavy it is going to be before we can start working on that windmill."

Ping!

Just like clockwork, Rino's daily quest updated itself.

===

Daily Quest #21

Objective: Build a Windmill

Time Limit: 14 Days

Tutorial here.

Reward: Complex Food Recipe

Penalty: Deduct 24 hours of sleep upon failure and [Curse of Overtime] until quest is forcefully completed.

===

Well, well, well… if it wasn't building a windmill. Rino rolled his non-existent eyes at how predictable the gods were. Good thing he was already working on it. By the time the highway was functional, future building projects would be a lot easier to handle. He lacked wood the most, and those killer bunnies came at the right time.

"Let's start working on the axle and rotor first," Rino concluded. "Without them, there is no use building the blades or the grindstone."

The two earth gnomes got to work and drew several designs that Rino checked through. He had no idea how many blades there should be or if they were angled. In fact, Rino had no idea if these heavy wooden blades would move in the wind. Whichever the case, a lot of testing was needed, and fourteen days might not be enough.

Deezer and Bink came up with over fifteen designs in less than an hour, but only three were chosen for prototyping. Rino's mana was still depleted, so he assigned Sheila and her drows to gather related materials required for their important windmill project.

Twigs, leaves and small stones were quickly gathered, and Rino summoned Mutt to take the windmill designing team to the windiest spot.

"Tell the trolls to bring over a huge plank used for building the barn's walls. I want to test something."

Mutt bowed in acknowledgement and disappeared in the shadows once more while Rino measured the speed of the wind and the frequency, standing at the spot they were meant to build the windmill.

There weren't obstructions around and the wind, even at night, was consistent. If a gust died, then a new gust would be born in the next minute. Rino's hood fell off, and his bare skull was exposed for all to see under the night sky. The genesis fairies were still slowly extending the mana web array's reach, and Rino hoped they could finish it by two days when the highway should be constructed and the prototype ready for testing.

The trolls arrived with the heavy plank meant to be the barn's wall, and Rino retrieved it using shadow tendrils before elevating himself on an earth mound. Thankfully, basic elemental spells like this did not consume too much mana. Rino stuck the wooden board on top of the earth mound and waited for a new wind to come.

Holding onto Rino's pant leg, the two earth gnomes watched as the heavy wooden board creaked in the wind but did not dislodge from the earth mound. The wind was strong, but it wasn't strong enough to move a board of this weight. 

Rino frowned. If he tilted this a little more to the side, would it be inspired to move?

Waiting for the wind to die down a little, Rino told the earth gnomes to move a little while he changed the position of the wooden board. He wasn't completely ready when a new gust picked up. This time, the wooden board was pushed violently, and the force took Rino by surprise.

Yelping and screaming, Bink and Deezer found themselves spinning through the air along with Rino, who held onto the wooden wall like a surfboard. Rino could hear Sheila's screams from below and feel the shadow tendrils trying to reach for them.

Bink, unable to hold onto Rino's pants, cried out in alarm when his hands slipped. Deezer, who was clutching onto Rino's other pant leg, did not hesitate to let go of one hand and snatch the earth gnome leader. However, the force of the wind was too strong, sending both earth gnomes plummeting to the meadows below from a good height.

Rino did not need to think twice. He summoned Mutt to save them while he wrestled with the wooden board and wind. 

As quickly as the sudden gust appeared, it disappeared, leaving Rino to brace for impact as gravity once again took control of the wooden board's direction. If Rino learned from this near disaster with several casualties, it was how powerful nature was.

Using a quick spell to slow his fall, Rino landed on the soft grass while the wooden wall plank crashed onto the ground, spraying loose dirt upon impact. Rino checked the wooden plank and was relieved to find that there weren't any damages apart from the dirt on its surface.

"M-my lord!" Mutt bounded over with the two earth gnomes safely in his jaws. 

As a shadow summon, Mutt could not disobey his summoner's orders. He saved the two gnomes first and wanted to return to save Rino, but the lich had flown too far by the time Mutt finished his task. Thankfully, Rino was unharmed. Mutt would never forgive himself if his master was injured.

"We can use wooden boards to catch the wind," Rino calmly concluded as Deezer and Bink struggled to stand on shaky feet.

Sheila and the trolls came running, and Rino apologised for the trouble, telling them to take the wooden plank back. He thought that all was well when the rolls who lifted the wooden wall plank heard a loud crack.

Rino and everyone present watched how the plank snapped into three pieces as the trolls tried to carry it back. The trolls immediately kelt and grovelled for forgiveness for the accident they caused, but Rino knew better. That was not their fault. The wind and crash from earlier weakened the plank's general structure, which was a delayed effect from earlier.

"Rise, this is no fault of yours. Carry it back to be used as firewood. Come," he told Bink and Deezer. "We have our work cut out for us. The angle of the wind is important. We need to confirm the direction of the blades before creating a prototype."

Climbing onto Mutt's back again, the three of them thanked Sheila and the trolls before running back to Rino's temporary earth mound.