Chapter 371

Of course, higher-grade materials are themselves almost free of impurities and do not require much forging.

But melting and shaping are still necessary.

Therefore, to manufacture high-rank runic constructs, one often has to use supernatural power, activate spell power, or use alchemical equipment.

Fortunately, as a first-rank material, the threshold for bright copper is not yet high; ordinary fire can melt it.

The blacksmith carefully observed the state of the bright copper in the furnace, adding firestones to the furnace from time to time to keep the flames from dying out.

About a quarter of an hour passed.

The bright copper turned red all over again and was taken out.

The dull, powerful sound of hammering echoed in the courtyard once more.

However, even though he had been able to rest for a moment during the bright copper's reheating process, the blacksmith's stamina was clearly waning, and his rhythm had slowed down significantly compared to the previous round of forging.

Just like this, the process was repeated continuously.

After about five times, the blacksmith took out a machine that looked like a platform scale.

The machine was intricately constructed, with a platform on top for placing the items to be weighed, while a lever system and weight device were connected below the platform; it was also equipped with a sliding weight to read the weight more accurately.

The blacksmith placed the bright copper block, which had been forged hundreds of times, onto the machine and stared at the scale.

"Seventy-one and two-fifths ounces!"

He read the reading aloud.

After reading it, he did not stop, quickly using tongs to clamp the bright copper and forging it again.

After five or six hammer blows fell, the blacksmith placed the bright copper block back onto the weighing machine's platform.

"Still seventy-one and two-fifths ounces!"

After several rounds of forging, the weight itself did not change, which indicated that this piece of bright copper had reached Gao De's purity requirements.

Seeing Gao De nod, the blacksmith struck while the iron was hot, taking a look at the blueprint Gao De had provided.

The blueprint detailed the shape, dimensions, and various specific requirements he needed.

The blacksmith swung the runic hammer again, causing the bright copper to deform and gradually transform into the prototype of the pattern drawn on the blueprint.

This process also required frequently putting the bright copper into the furnace for tempering.

It was just that the purpose of tempering this time was to use high temperatures to change the material's state, so as to better and more accurately complete the subsequent processing and forge parts consistent with the blueprint's precision.

This was true technical work, a stage that tested the blacksmith's skill, relying on the blacksmith's personal mastery.

And this mastery came from years of accumulation and exploration; there were no shortcuts.

Even in the vast city of Lagos, there were probably fewer than one hundred blacksmiths who possessed such exquisite skills.

Relying on their superb skills, every senior blacksmith had an annual income of over three hundred Jin Quehua coins.

Three hundred Jin Quehua coins might not seem like much, but for an ordinary person, this was basically the upper limit they could reach.

Anything higher would generally be a craftsman in the supernatural realm.

But that would be another class; for a supernatural craftsman, an annual income of three hundred Jin Quehua coins was actually just the entry level.

But in any case, in order to find a blacksmith who met his requirements, Gao De had also spent a small sum at the Lagos Blacksmith Guild to get his wish.

The blacksmith was fully focused; under his hammering, the arc of the corners, the thickness of the edges, and the length of each side of the flat bright copper block gradually moved toward the blueprint.

During this process, the tempering became increasingly frequent.

Relying on years of accumulated experience, the blacksmith applied force just right to ensure that every deformation conformed to the blueprint.

Gao De watched all of this quietly, and he was full of admiration for the other's skill.

After another hundred or so hammer blows and several rounds of tempering and shaping, the bright copper block had been reborn, becoming an exquisite part resembling a shoulder guard.

The lines were smooth and natural, as if it were meant to be this way from the start.

The middle-aged blacksmith let out a long breath as if a burden had been lifted, put down the hammer in his hand, picked up a square and a protractor to carefully compare it with the blueprint, and then said to Gao De in a tired but confident voice: "Sir, please see if this meets your requirements."

Gao De did not check it again, but nodded directly and said: "Thank you for your hard work."

It was not that he trusted the blacksmith's skill completely, but that he had already activated his Mandola Magic Eye.

Under the powerful performance of the third-rank Mandola Magic Eye 【Insight】, Gao De had already obtained the precise data of this part, its accuracy far exceeding any measuring tool.

"There are four parts in total; with my ability, I can complete at most one a day," the middle-aged blacksmith straightened his body, caught his breath, and said to Gao De again.

This blacksmithing was not only technical work but also physical labor; the forging process took more than two hours, and the blacksmith was already exhausted. If he were to start working again rashly, he would not be able to guarantee precision.

Gao De expressed his understanding: "Tomorrow at this same time, I will come over again."

Supervising might look like a waste of time, but it was actually necessary.

Because the requirements for materials for runic constructs were too harsh, there could not be the slightest error, especially since the difference between the actual robustness value and the theoretical robustness value of this set of runic constructs designed by Gao De was only in the single digits.

This meant the margin for error was extremely small; if the blacksmith had the slightest wishful thinking and missed even one hammer blow, it would lead to the failure of the final runic construct's manufacture.

And since this was his first transaction with the blacksmith, there was no trust to speak of, so he could only feel at ease by supervising from the side.

"Then I will take this part back first," Gao De said, pointing to the formed "shoulder guard," while reaching into his bosom to take out 5 Jin Quehua coins and handing them over.

This was the labor fee paid to the other party.

Of course, it was only for this one part.

The full set had four parts, and the total labor fee was 20 Jin Quehua coins.

With money and goods exchanged on the spot, the other party naturally had no reason to refuse.

In the magnificent sea of spell stars, dozens of simple "constellations" were rotating slightly.

Around the constellations, there were more countless starlets wandering about.

One of the wandering starlets was suddenly caught by a force.

Although it struggled hard, it was ultimately unable to overcome the odds and was controlled as it was led toward an incomplete constellation that already had more than thirty starlets and star tracks.

The emerald green nebula transformed from the spell potion split off a small part to form a star track, connecting this starlet to the incomplete constellation.

It was just that this connection was not smooth.

The star track began to shake violently from the moment it was constructed, the frequency getting faster and faster.

The next instant, the star track broke completely, and the starlet ran off like a wild horse that had slipped its bridle, disappearing in a flash.

Gao De opened his eyes.

"Still missing a little."

That incomplete constellation collapsed completely.

The breaking of one star track did not actually affect the other star tracks, but unfortunately, Gao De's mental power had been exhausted to the point where he could not continue.

The spell model for 【Healing】 had 47 starlets, making it one of the most complex among first-circle spells.

And up to now, the time he had been closest to success, which was this time, he had connected a total of thirty-seven spell starlets, still ten spell starlets away from success.

"Be more patient, there is still enough time, don't be anxious," Gao De said to himself while rubbing his slightly swollen brow.

He knew clearly that Aldrich had actually put a lot of pressure on him, to the point that he could not say he was keeping a completely calm mind now.

From another perspective, was this "BOSS" really a must-fight?

Just from a simple cost-effectiveness standpoint, there was no need for it.

Yes, if he could successfully take down Aldrich, he would gain great merit, helping him quickly promote within the Sea Sentinels and gain the attention of high-level Sea Hai Shao Bing magic users.

But the cost of failure was even greater; being injured and fleeing in a sorry state was secondary, and if his luck was bad, dying was not entirely impossible.

And with Gao De's current capital, having the Enduring Zhenbing Tribe as a backing, resources and such were only a matter of time; it seemed there was no need to risk his life for this.

Yet he chose to do so anyway.

Seeking glory?

Naturally not.

Essentially, the act of "gambling" is something that is slowly cultivated.

If you don't have this habit, it is absolutely impossible for it to suddenly emerge when you need it.

The resources of the Enduring Zhenbing Tribe were enough for him now, even more than enough.

But the problem was that even the number one combatant of the Enduring Zhenbing Tribe, Su Naifa, was only a fourth-circle magic user.

And was his goal only the fourth circle?

Of course not.

Therefore, to look at the long term, one must "strive" and "gamble."

Just like the simplest learning: if you don't study in the first year of high school, and you don't study in the second year, thinking that you will study when you get to the third year and are about to take the college entrance exam, is it possible? Is it still in time?

If you think now that these resources and this merit are not worth risking your life for, and you choose to retreat.

Then when the time comes that you really need to risk your life, you will no longer have the courage and ability to do so.

That is all.

After the throbbing pain in his head eased slightly, Gao De cast 【Comfortable Slumber+】 on himself, and without another word, he buried his head and fell into a deep sleep.

Ten days might sound generous, but having to manufacture runic constructs while also mastering 【Healing】 was actually a bit tight; at the very least, he could not waste too much time.

When the time comes, heaven and earth provide strength together.

Under the spell effect of 【Comfortable Slumber】, Gao De had already entered a deep sleep state, his mental power like parched land welcoming sweet rain, recovering rapidly.

When his mental power had recovered to a nearly full state, a powerful vitality emerged and erupted inexplicably within Gao De's body.

And Gao De, who was in a state of deep sleep, was completely unaware of this.

He had entered a quiet dream long forgotten, finding himself in a peaceful magic forest.

Emerald green trees were scattered everywhere, forming a world of their own.

A great sun rose in the east, and the golden sunlight spilled down like silk threads, causing the green leaves in the world to be dyed with a faint halo and golden glow.

And all the trees, under the illumination of the sunlight, also appeared vibrant and full of life.

Gao De's perspective at this moment was that of one of these many emerald green trees.

He felt the illumination of the sunlight, felt the eruption of vitality, and instinctively grew his branches and leaves toward the direction of the sunlight.

This was a process of vigorous upward growth, full of life force.

Every growth was accompanied by an indescribable joy.

Gao De gradually indulged in it, under the care of nature and sunlight, constantly growing upward, growing upward, feeling the upward force of life.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Amidst the melodious bell ringing, Gao De woke up with a start, his mind clearer than ever before, as if all dust had been brushed away.

He got up from the bed, scanned his surroundings in a daze, still immersed in the previous dream, not yet fully returned to his senses.

A moment later, Gao De seemed to realize something.

He closed his eyes slightly again to confirm.

In this instant, Gao De clearly felt a powerful sensation from the depths of his soul that he had never experienced before, making him feel slightly dizzy.

During the apprentice stage, mental power could be strengthened through meditation, and at that time, what Gao De visualized and manifested was a lotus flower.

But after ascending to become a formal magic user, the method of cultivation returned to simplicity; there was no distinction between guidance techniques and meditation, and there was no such thing as cultivation methods to strengthen mental power.

The lotus flower that had been meditated upon no longer existed, because it was actually just a tool, not a real thing.

A person's mental power exists within the soul; if the soul is strong, the mental power is strong, and vice versa.

Mental power: 200.

Yes, he had broken the limit.

Gao De's mental power cap had already broken through the upper limit of a first-circle magic user.

The bottleneck that was regarded as a natural chasm had been crossed so silently and calmly in his sleep.

Of course, it wasn't really just a matter of taking a nap.

"Nurturing back," Gao De murmured.

It was precisely the special effect of the cultivation method "Qingmu Changsheng Jing," the nurturing back brought by the breakthrough of the holy object Yujia Te Xila he had selected, helping him break through the mental power cap without side effects and painlessly.

When Gao De returned to the northern realm, the growth progress of Yujia Te Xila had already reached first-rank magic plant (619.5/1200 months).

And he had brought back a batch of brand-new, non-repeating ordinary tree seeds and magic tree seeds, including a second-rank magic tree seed, the Black Iron Elm.

Planting each new ordinary tree seed could bring about six months of growth progress to Yujia Te Xila, and one brand-new first-rank magic tree seed could bring 28 months of improvement.

A second-rank magic tree seed could bring nearly 130 months of growth progress improvement.

As long as that batch of tree seeds was all planted and sprouted, it would be enough for Yujia Te Xila to advance to a second-rank magic plant in one go.

Clearly, it was the nurturing back brought by Yujia Te Xila's promotion to a second-rank magic plant that allowed Gao De to break through the mental power cap of 199.

And besides the breakthrough in the mental power cap, he also perceived that his lifespan had changed from 15/190 to 15/335.

This is truly getting younger the more I live, Gao De thought to himself.

After sighing, he immediately sat cross-legged and entered a focused state.

Gao De began to construct the spell model for 【Healing】 again.

Because mana is the blue bar, while mental power concerns the control of spells and the learning of spells; it determines a person's spellcasting technique, the stability of continuous spellcasting, and even the speed of learning spells.

Therefore, after breaking the limit, logically, the difficulty of him constructing spell models would also decrease.

And the facts were indeed so.

The strength of Gao De's mental power after breaking the limit was actually already at the level of a second-circle magic user.

Although it was at the weakest tier of second-circle magic users, it was still at the second-circle level.

Under these circumstances, for him to construct a first-circle spell model was equivalent to a first-circle magic user learning a cantrip; naturally, it was easy and effortless.

The 【Healing】 spell that had stumped him for days was completed in one step this time, smooth and incomparable; it could be called a double blessing.

Gao De suppressed the joy in his heart, silently activated the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, and tapped lightly.

First-circle origin joy -1, 4 points remaining.

【Healing+】 (Evocation, 1st circle):

By touching, inject healing power into the wounded person's body; the wounded person's injuries will quickly stop bleeding, scab over, and heal.

This spell is ineffective against undead and construct creatures.

Extra: A portion of the vitality hidden within the recipient's body will be briefly stimulated (for example, a severely wounded person can still maintain basic mobility for a short time after being treated) to assist in better recovery.

(End of chapter)