Chapter 193: Building a New Shelter

'To think that using a magic array would consume so many Mana Points.'

But remembering its effects, Lan Qingyou inexplicably felt it was well worth the cost.

Still, she was struggling to keep up. Even with the Attribute Correction from her new race, it wasn't enough to offset her massive consumption.

However, now was not the time to focus on leveling up.

Since the Familiar contract was already complete, her next step was to figure out the construction of other magic arrays.

With this in mind, Lan Qingyou took out her Card and scrolled through the magic arrays she had previously recorded from the Ancient Tree of Knowledge.

Before, she had merely been a layman admiring the spectacle. Now, as somewhat of an expert, she viewed these magic arrays in a completely different light.

And her realization was simple—she could not use any of these magic arrays herself. At best, they served as mere reference material.

And even that reference value wasn't particularly high...

It made perfect sense. One was a plant, and the other was a terrifying bipedal ape. It would be a miracle if their methods were the same.

"Sigh..."

Feeling a twinge of regret, Lan Qingyou sighed. She closed her eyes, cuddling Little Spoon and Steel Wool, and drifted into a deep sleep.

The seven-day fourth Mana Turbulence finally came to an end.

When the bright sunlight enveloped the land once more, an eager Lan Qingyou hopped onto her Magic Broom and flew out of the Shelter with her two little companions.

Seven days wasn't a long time, but it was more than enough for Lan Qingyou to thoroughly experience the inconveniences of her current Shelter.

Today happened to be her day off from Professor Mai's every-other-day lecture schedule. Free from her studies, she could finally set out to find a suitable location to build a new Shelter.

However, despite her initial soaring ambitions, she flew around on her Magic Broom for hours without finding a single patch of flat land large enough for a proper Shelter.

This was a forest, after all, riddled with streams and scattered boulders. How could she expect the luxurious, sprawling expanses of a plain?

Realizing her expectations were a bit unrealistic, Lan Qingyou checked the time. It was almost noon, so she turned back to prepare lunch.

But just as she arrived back at her current Shelter, she abruptly brought her broom to a halt.

Hovering above the giant tree that housed her Shelter, Lan Qingyou stared out at the dense forest in silence for a long time. Finally, the vague idea in her mind began to crystallize into a clear vision.

'That's it! If I utilize these giant trees, I can make it whatever size I want, can't I?'

Struck by inspiration, Lan Qingyou's face flushed with excitement.

It wasn't out of frustration, but pure, unadulterated thrill.

After taking a quick scouting flight around the perimeter, she returned to the Shelter, completely forgetting about lunch. She whipped out paper and a pen, immediately sketching out her designs.

She then borrowed the measuring tools that The Chariot had made for The Fool, took another quick flight outside, and hurried back.

The Tower: "@Judgment, I just sent you a list. Please help me gather these materials. I need them by tomorrow."

Judgment: "I saw it. I just checked, and we have all of these items on our end. I can send them to you right now."

Only a few minutes after Lan Qingyou sent the message to Chu Yuan, he replied.

The Tower: "There's no rush for that. @The Chariot, I want to custom-order a machine."

The Chariot: "What kind?"

The Tower: "An Excavator."

The Chariot: "Huh?! Did you find a mineral vein or something?"

The Tower: "No, just one strictly for digging dirt. But it needs massive horsepower. I have some giant boulders and massive trees over here to deal with."

The Chariot: "No problem. I have one I use myself that I can lend you. However, considering the condition of your legs, I'll need to make a few modifications for you."

The Tower: "Roughly when will it be done?"

The Chariot: "First thing tomorrow morning."

The Tower: "Alright. @Judgment, you can just send the materials to me tomorrow morning."

Judgment: "Will do."

Although no one openly stated it, there was no doubt that Lan Qingyou was currently the darling of the Tarot Villa.

If she needed anything, she only had to ask. The others wouldn't even discuss prices with her; they would just hand it over.

Joke's on them, what could possibly compare to the Dragon King's blood and that Sap of Life?

Even setting the Dragon King's blood aside, the sheer benefits brought by the Sap of Life were unimaginable.

Furthermore, one drop granted an entire skill.

This meant that, excluding the effects of the Sap of Life itself, they could gain a total of three skills.

One had to realize that skills were not something acquired easily.

Thus far, aside from receiving one skill through the Monthly Grading, there was no other method to obtain them.

There wasn't even a place to learn them.

Therefore, when it came to Lan Qingyou, every single member of the Villa was incredibly generous.

Take it, she could take whatever she wanted.

After waiting a day, Lan Qingyou asked Professor Mai for a few days off so she could focus entirely on her experiments.

Given her previous successes, Professor Mai was highly optimistic about her new project and even urged her to show him the results once she was finished.

After all, Lan Qingyou could now be considered the number one alchemist on the Kalim Continent.

Professor Mai was incredibly curious to see what kind of spectacular trick she was going to pull off next.

Stepping outside, Lan Qingyou didn't rush into action. She first retrieved the wasteland-style Excavator and the necessary ore ingots. Then, she raised her hand and pointed at the sky.

Swish—

In an instant, a colossal purple magic array materialized against the azure sky. It was composed of large and small circles, a sun, a moon, a pentagram, countless Runes and geometric shapes, and even a Taiji symbol.

The magic array then split in two and slowly descended, completely enveloping the small area beneath it.

This was the grand design Lan Qingyou had drafted mid-flight the previous afternoon.

Make no mistake.

This magic array possessed zero offensive capabilities, nor did it offer any defensive protections.

Its sole purpose was to project an identical magic array onto the ground.

In layman's terms, it was simply an oversized spotlight tracing a magical blueprint onto the earth.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a functional magic array at all—just an elaborate hologram.

Lan Qingyou employed this method to ensure absolute precision while she worked on the ground.

One must remember that with magic arrays, A Tiny Mistake Leads to a Massive Failure.

Simple failure was the least of her worries.

If a single, minute detail was connected incorrectly, a violent explosion could blast her to pieces or kill her on the spot.

She couldn't afford to be careless.

With everything ready, Lan Qingyou deployed her beast-type magic puppet and a Humanoid Magic Puppet that had been 'flashed' into its combat mode to act as her bodyguards. Only then did she leisurely climb into the Excavator and begin her work.

When it came to machinery, The Chariot truly was a master. He had been incredibly thoughtful with the modifications.

Not only had he converted the accelerator to manual control, but he had also simplified the overall operation.

Worrying that Lan Qingyou wouldn't know how to drive an Excavator, he even stuck some simple, step-by-step tutorial notes directly onto the glass.

Although having a ring of notes cluttering the windshield looked a bit annoying, it undoubtedly saved Lan Qingyou a tremendous amount of hassle.

For a massive, burly Nordic man, his attention to detail was remarkably sweet.