Chapter 188: The Four Types of Magic Arrays

"An older farming lady from our zone is in it. She is really friendly. I found out by chatting with her when we were free. Almost everyone in our zone knows about this organization."

"Even a farmer can get in? Does not that mean I can get in too?"

"You need to have real skills, you know? Plus, Tarot Manor operates on a recommendation system. Only if you catch their eye will they send someone to observe your character, and only then might you be recommended."

"That is seriously strict."

"I think it is entirely necessary. It is an academic group, after all. There are definitely a lot of secrets inside that we are not privy to, especially regarding magic. I heard that after joining, you even have to write a thesis or something with your own unique insights. Anyway, it is super complicated."

"Ah, that makes sense. Since the Witches are all inside Tarot Manor, it is no surprise those people can pump out so many new races so quickly. The Tower Witch must have imparted her methods to them."

"Well, it looks like I will not be getting into this organization. I fall asleep the moment I look at a book anyway."

As the crowd gossiped, their conversation naturally drifted toward matters concerning the manor.

However, once they heard about the requirement to write theses, people immediately started backing out one by one.

And with frequent discussions taking place, it completely barred anyone trying to coast by on fake credentials.

Because entering meant guaranteed exposure.

While the World Channel excitedly debated the intricacies of Tarot Manor, an intense discussion was unfolding within the manor itself.

The High Priestess: "You have got to be kidding me. We have to make that many?"

The Emperor: "@Judgement, are you trying to kill me? Do you have any idea what mixing twenty thousand cocktails entails? Do you want my arms to fall off?"

That was true.

The topic of discussion was the Progenitor cooperation plan that had just made waves in the World Channel.

It was just that Chu Yuan had clearly underestimated the production difficulty and time costs.

Just Gu Xiaobei manually shaking a single cocktail took several minutes.

Even if she skipped sleep for an entire day, she could only make two or three hundred at best.

And that was under the condition of having full Spirit and Stamina.

If she had to make twenty thousand, her arms would probably be rendered completely useless.

Of course, there were also those who thoroughly enjoyed watching the chaos unfold.

The Star: "Haha, good thing I had the foresight. After seeing the deal between Judgement and the Tower, I knew that guy Judgement would definitely pull this stunt. So when I started crafting, I chose mass-producible seaweed for enchanting."

The Hierophant: "It seems the Tower can also mass-produce her items, so it is not that troublesome."

The Magician: "Why do you not all try asking the all-powerful Chariot? The smart ones have already started ordering production lines."

The Tower: "Wait, I just went to take a shower. How did things end up like this by the time I got back?"

Fresh out of the shower and snuggled up in bed, Lan Qingyou stared at the group chat in utter confusion. It was only after a flurry of excited explanations from the others that she finally understood what had transpired in the World Channel.

The Tower: "Good lord, you just went ahead and acted first without even giving me a heads-up?"

Judgement: "Not quite. I have the Witch Potion on hand right now anyway, so handing out a few when the time comes is no big deal. Did you not say you wanted to advertise?"

...

Chu Yuan's words left Lan Qingyou with no room to retort.

Alright, she did indeed need to run some advertisements.

Furthermore, she was not fundamentally opposed to brewing Witch Potions.

In fact, she had already foreseen such a development the moment he wanted to purchase her potions.

The Tower: "Alright then, but you cannot skimp on the production fees."

Judgement: "Of course. By the way, when should I send those materials over to you?"

The Tower: "Hold off for now. When I got back, my Shelter's Magic Shield was completely deactivated, and the glass doors and windows were shattered. Let us wait until I build a proper warehouse first."

Discussing this topic left Lan Qingyou feeling rather helpless.

Right now, she had not even figured out how to proceed. Even if over a hundred tons of materials were shipped over, she simply had nowhere to store them.

Judgement: "Then just upgrade your place first. Once the Shelter is upgraded, the broken parts will automatically be repaired. However, the repairs might require a bit more material."

The Tower: "Let us wait a couple of days. I still have a few books I need to finish reading first. Anyway, the energy for the Magic Shield has been replenished, and I am not lacking in food or a place to sleep here."

Judgement: "Alright then. Send me the materials you need to upgrade your Shelter later, and I will have someone prepare them in advance. Contact me whenever you need them."

The Tower: "Will do."

The Tower: "@Wheel of Fortune, do you happen to have a copy of Basic Astronomy?"

Wheel of Fortune: "I do. You want to study it?"

The Tower: "Yes, I recently picked up a new discipline and need to acquire this knowledge."

Wheel of Fortune: "I sent it to you. While I was at it, I also sent some other books I collected regarding celestial movements. Take your time reading them; there is no rush to return them."

The Tower: "Got it."

Basic Astronomy primarily taught the laws governing the movements of celestial bodies around the planet, including other planets, stars, and satellites.

And this was directly related to the foundational principles of drawing and operating magic arrays.

Upon her first glance through Magic Array Drawing Study, Lan Qingyou knew this discipline would not be easy to master.

Upon her first glance through Magic Array Drawing Study, Lan Qingyou knew this discipline would not be easy to master.

Not only did she have to study Drawing, Magic Circuitry, and Symbology, but she also had to tackle Astronomy, Magic Conversion Studies, and Magic Recovery Studies.

Of course, Lan Qingyou had a surface-level understanding of most of these subjects; she just had not researched them deeply.

This was especially true for astronomy, which was exactly why she reached out in the group chat to Esmeralda, who loved Divination.

Despite the friendly sponsorship from the Wheel of Fortune, Lan Qingyou did not feel as relaxed as she had anticipated. Instead, she felt an immense mountain of pressure because the other woman had sent over several volumes on celestial mechanics all at once.

Just getting through these books alone would take her at least a month.

However, since the other party had explicitly said there was no rush, taking her time to read them seemed perfectly fine.

Thus, Lan Qingyou picked up her copy of Magic Array Drawing Study and started reading.

Magic arrays were broadly divided into four types:

Summoning Arrays: Magic arrays utilized with the assistance of prayers, incantations, sacrifices, and other rituals. Usually, they were used to summon monsters that had already signed a contract with the caster, or to call forth wild monsters for the purpose of signing a contract.

Magic Power Arrays: Magic arrays etched with Magic Circuits that called upon the surrounding elemental Magic Power to launch attacks.

Material Arrays: Arrays that mobilized the inherent magical energy of physical objects by placing them in precise spatial alignments.

Compound Arrays: Magic arrays that combined the use of Magic Circuits and physical objects.

The way Lan Qingyou saw it, the summoning type was basically a magic array for calling forth Familiars. The Magic Power Array was a purely offensive format, while the Material Array acted more like a barrier or ward.

The Compound Array, on the other hand, leaned heavily toward support. Her own alchemy pedestal fundamentally belonged to this category.

It could be said that each type of magic array possessed its own unique strengths and weaknesses. In fact, both their advantages and their flaws were incredibly pronounced.

Therefore, in practical application, casters almost always combined two different magic arrays to mitigate their flaws and magnify their strengths.

For Lan Qingyou, who was just barely getting started, this presented quite a bit of difficulty.

But that was perfectly fine. The one thing Lan Qingyou was absolutely not lacking right now was time.