The morning of departure arrived quickly. Ethan spent most of the night preparing the prototypes packing core fragments and sketching new design variations he hoped to build once he reached the city. Sera organized supplies from the healer hut potions herbs and emergency mana stabilizers in case they encountered danger on the road. Ferren forged metal brackets to protect the prototypes during travel. Villagers gathered to see them off offering bread dried fruits and small runes meant to bless their journey.

Ethan felt a mixture of excitement and nervous energy. The village had become a safe place for him but he knew progress required a larger stage. The city of Ardin was rumored to have rune smiths arcane libraries and merchant guilds that dealt in rare crystals the perfect environment to push the mana scan system from prototype to device. Yet he also knew Ardin was where the Healer Guild maintained a major branch. Their presence would not be easy to avoid especially after Alden’s report.

Sera noticed Ethan’s expression and reminded him that innovation had never been safe but it had always been necessary. She said healers suffered under the limitations of tradition. They needed something more something reliable something measurable. Ethan appreciated her conviction. In his world engineers often worked behind the scenes but here in this world he was stepping into a role he had never expected a pioneer not just an inventor.

Once the preparations were complete Ethan and Sera began their journey following a narrow dirt road that wound through forests touched by shimmering mana light. Birds with glowing feathers perched on branches singing notes that resonated like soft chimes. Ethan observed everything with engineering curiosity wondering how mana influenced the biology of the creatures here. Sera explained that mana behaved like a second circulatory system for living things. Healthy mana flow meant vitality. Blocked flow caused weakness. Too much mana caused overload. Ethan compared it to electrical currents and biological signals and realized the potential for understanding the deeper mechanics of this world.

Halfway through the forest they encountered a caravan of merchants stopped at the roadside. A large wagon wheel had cracked and the group was unable to move. One merchant had injured his leg while trying to lift a replacement wheel. Sera immediately offered assistance. The merchant explained the pain was deep and felt unlike a simple bruise. Ethan asked Sera if they could test the portable scan ring. She agreed though she worried Alden might reappear at the worst time.

They placed the small prototype around the injured leg. Sera channeled mana gently. Ethan watched the glow shift forming patterns that revealed a twisted mana channel near the calf. He pointed out the distortion and explained that the injury was internal but treatable. Sera followed the scan’s guidance and adjusted her healing spell. The merchant gritted his teeth but soon his expression softened as the pain subsided. The other merchants stared in awe. None had ever seen a healer work with a glowing instrument. They asked if Ethan was a master healer. Ethan said he was an engineer trying to improve medical tools. The merchants began whispering excitedly and asked if the device could be bought. Ethan politely declined for now but promised that one day there would be improved versions.

As they resumed their journey Ethan understood the device’s value more clearly. It attracted interest and trust but also danger. If merchants desired it nobles would desire it more and the Healer Guild even more than that. Innovation brought attention and attention brought risk. But he also knew withholding the device would be a disservice to those who needed it. He thought of the boy in the village the hunter the merchant. Each had benefited from knowledge they never had access to before.

By late afternoon Ethan and Sera reached the main road leading toward Ardin. The landscape shifted from forest to open plains crossed by faint mana veins glowing like rivers beneath the soil. Sera explained that Ardin was built on one of the strongest natural mana basins in the kingdom which allowed healers and mages to train at higher efficiency. Ethan imagined how powerful a fully constructed mana scan system could become in such a mana dense location. With access to larger crystals he could build a frame capable of reading entire body flow not just one limb. He envisioned a full chamber with layered arrays capable of imaging muscles mana threads organ stress and internal injuries with clarity.

As they approached the outer gates of Ardin Ethan saw towering walls embedded with deep blue mana stones connected by rune patterns that formed a visible circuit across the stone surface. The gates were guarded by knights wearing armor reinforced with mana channels. Sera told Ethan that Ardin was also home to the Royal Medical Court a group that operated above even the Healer Guild. They advised the royal family and monitored all medical research. Ethan felt both intrigued and cautious. If the Royal Medical Court recognized the value of his inventions they might protect him. If they feared it they might restrict him.

Entering the city they were greeted by a crowd of merchants blacksmiths mages and travelers. Mana lanterns floated gently above the streets illuminating the bustling paths. Ethan had never seen such a vast blend of magic and daily life. Stalls displayed glowing herbs color shifting crystals enchanted fabrics and strange biological specimens preserved in translucent mana gel. Sera pointed out the central spire where the Medical Court resided and the district where rune smiths sold crafted components.

Ethan felt like a researcher entering the most advanced facility of a world that had never known electricity yet knew mana in ways beyond imagination. He sensed opportunity everywhere. He could learn local materials. Study runic patterns. Understand the laws governing mana flow. And most importantly begin constructing the full scale mana scan system.

As they walked through the crowded street Ethan did not notice the hooded figure watching from a corner. The figure observed the prototype strapped to Ethan’s pack and the way Sera held her healer insignia. The figure slipped back into the shadows moving quickly toward the direction of the Healer Guild branch. The report Alden had sent had already reached the city. And now the Guild would learn that the outsider who built forbidden tools had entered Ardin.

Ethan felt none of this yet. He only felt a rising determination. The city of Ardin held everything he needed. Knowledge materials and challenges. His purpose was clear. He would build the first magical medical imaging system the world had ever seen and nothing not tradition not fear not politics would stop him.