Chapter 183: The Beginning
Ace, who was initially indifferent, became interested upon hearing Leon’s introduction.
Proficiency in languages was not uncommon, but being proficient in Barbarian humanities and The Guide of Low Level Monster simultaneously was rather intriguing.
Ace carefully observed the short, thin old man wearing an oversized hat. Noticing a city-state scholar’s badge pinned to his chest, Ace said: “Scholar Logan, I’ll give you ten minutes. Introduce yourself.”
Hearing this, the old man took off his oversized hat, bowed to Ace, and said with a piercing gaze:
“I have always yearned for supernatural power and longed to find a path to the supernatural for mortals. I have been researching Monsters and barbarian Shamans, and even secretly collected a few mysterious hides from Shamans. However, my abilities are limited, and I have never been able to find the way in.”
Saying this, the old man handed several hides to Ace. Ace took them and glanced at them. They were all rune structures at the Lesser Spell level. He memorized the runes almost instantly, recorded them on the Rune Page via the second page of his Grimoire, and then handed them back to the old man.
The old man looked at Ace with shining eyes. Seeing Ace hand the hides back after just a glance, the light in his eyes slowly dimmed.
Logan had yearned for supernatural power for almost his entire life. Unfortunately, he had never discovered the secret of the Shamans’ Mental Overdrive, nor could he use the mindset and mathematical tools of Ace’s past life to research supernatural creatures. Without meeting Ace, he likely would have never found the way in until his death.
He now saw a glimmer of opportunity but dared not act presumptuously. To gain, one must first give enough. Becoming the language teacher for the Wizard Apprentices was the first step. He could be in close contact with this group of supernatural beings born from mortals. As long as he worked hard enough, there would definitely be an opportunity in the future.
Ace looked at Logan and said with a smile: “We Wizards welcome any mortal who wishes to become a Wizard!”
Ace deliberately paused, making Logan feel uneasy. His hand clutching the oversized hat turned white, and he looked at Ace nervously.
“As long as you are a resident of the High Tower Territory, you will have the opportunity to become a Wizard Apprentice in the future. For now, you are the temporary language teacher of the Wizard School. I grant you special permission to audit the Logic and Mathematics courses.
If your performance satisfies me in the coming years, I will grant you an opportunity for the supernatural.”
The old man’s previously dim eyes immediately became bright. He nodded vigorously and said: “I will definitely do my best.”
Leon, who had been listening intently nearby, also showed a trace of longing on his face. Ace saw this and said: “My Chief Magistrate, work hard, and you will also have the opportunity.”
In fact, Ace could grant them the opportunity for the supernatural right now. Through the Lesser Permanent Mental Blessing combined with the initial meditation practice of the Thought-Flow, achieving Mental Overdrive was basically not a problem.
However, this was not just a matter of one or two people, but a matter of a territory and a system.
In the High Tower Territory, everyone has the potential to reach the supernatural, but supernatural power is so precious that it must be exchanged for sufficient contribution to be truly cherished.
Although Ace desperately needed a larger magical population, he was only 17 years old. Time was on his side. Even in another 10 years, he would only be 27.
His strength and life level, comparable to the peak of a Pseudo-Hero, theoretically allowed him to live to the limit of a mortal lifespan, around 100 years.
At 27, he would be in the prime of his youth and strength, the perfect time to realize his ambitions.
He was not in a hurry about the future. Taking advantage of the power vacuum in the surrounding area, he wanted to carefully develop the High Tower Territory and painstakingly create a magical society. The most important right in this society would be the qualification to enter the supernatural.
This qualification meant power. How to grant this qualification concerned the top-level design of the society’s upward mobility channels and required careful consideration.
After sending the two men away, Ace took out a large number of low-level Monster hides and enchanted iron blocks from the Monster stomach pouch.
These were stocks from the magic laboratory, perfect for use here.
Ace looked at the pile of hides and iron blocks and said to the mirror image:
“Our Wizard School has been established. There must be a sense of collective honor. Therefore, in addition to the Grimoire as a Magic Item, they should also be equipped with uniform Magic Robes and Magic Badges.
I trouble you to use Advanced Magical Trickery to craft these hides into a hundred standard robes. The style should mimic the city-state scholar’s robe, with a hood. The main color should be black, with a blue lining. The collar opening should be large, and the overall fit should be loose.
The robes should have four attached effects: Mana Charging, Size Adaptation, Self-Repair, and Chargeable Mana-Crystal Shield.”
Hearing Ace’s request, the mirror image frowned. He tapped his fingers lightly and said:
“Respected Host, you are asking me to manufacture a hundred quasi-Magic Items in a short time!
The Mana source for the robes can be solved by the apprentices charging them with their own Mana.
However, integrating these four effects together requires me to construct a composite Rune Array composed of four Lesser Rune Arrays centered on the Mana Charging effect.
I must first conduct experimental design. If you give me a month, this composite Rune Array will definitely be completed. But with only a few days, I cannot guarantee immediate completion.”
Ace listened to the mirror image’s explanation and felt it made sense. He said:
“We will be as fast as possible. I will be responsible for making the Magic Badges. Once we finish together, we will summon the apprentices.
Regarding the design of the Apprentice Badge, I plan for the entire badge to be mainly silver, with a smooth surface, and a hexagram engraved on the front.
It will also have four attached effects: Mana Charging, Compulsory Calm, Automatic Adhesion, and Mana Sense Color Change. The hexagram on the badge of a Lesser Apprentice will be colorless. The hexagon inside the hexagram of a Mid-level Apprentice will be bright white. For an Advanced Apprentice, it will be fully bright.”
Ace and the mirror image browsed the Lesser Rune library and found a rune somewhat similar to Lesser Mana Siphon. This rune could not automatically siphon Mana, but it could passively absorb Mana, making it perfect for charging.
Ace named it the Lesser Charging Rune. The reason for not using Lesser Mana Siphon was that although it sounded wonderful, its siphoning effect was too poor and took too long.
The upgraded version of this rune, the Soul Rune: Mana Siphon, had a much stronger effect. However, this was just an apprentice robe. If he wanted to inscribe a Soul Rune, he would have to use materials from powerful low-level Monsters, which would make the cost far too high.
Therefore, after comprehensive comparison, the Lesser Charging Rune was the best choice.
With the rune in hand, after several adjustments, the prototype of the foundational Rune Array for the composite Rune Array—the Mana Charging Rune Array—was created. With a few more adjustments and optimizations, it would be ready for use.
The difficulty in constructing a composite Rune Array has never been the single Rune Array itself.
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