Chapter 1038: Sweet Punishment, Ioun Stone · Focus Training

Nan Jing, Tower of Time.

Before the alarm set by the Magic Moment could remind him, Xia Duo naturally woke from his deep sleep; however, as soon as he woke and moved his hand, he startled Niya, who was sleeping while hugging his arm.

The two exchanged a glance; Xia Duo himself didn't think much of it, but Niya's face instantly flushed a deep red, and her gaze became somewhat evasive.

Xia Duo's heart stirred, and he turned over to embrace Niya again, whispering in her ear: "If you forget to eat or rest again next time, I will punish you!"

As it turned out, when he returned from Seventon last night after attending the welcome banquet held for him by the Arcane Union, it was already late at night.

But at that time, Niya still hadn't rested—she had even forgotten to rest—and had been in the Study researching the materials on the Communication Array and the Mythallar that Xia Duo had previously given her.

She had truly forgotten to eat and sleep.

Such behavior would be considered a normal phenomenon in the eyes of most Netherese Mages, but Xia Duo believed that time management was very necessary; it was best to plan ahead for what to do and when.

Only in this way could one consistently maintain a relatively good state to deal with accidents that might occur at any time.

Thus, Xia Duo gave her a sweet punishment, counting it as a reminder.

He knew that Niya was actually quite self-disciplined, but the magic materials he provided were also extremely tempting for an Arcanist aspiring to develop in the field of communication.

If it were Xia Duo himself, if a pile of materials related to the Plane appeared before him right now, would he also forget to eat and sleep?

If it were just a hypothesis, Xia Duo could certainly say he wouldn't, because he would plan his time well and he also possessed the ability of Memory Retrospection, allowing him to research at any time.

But when that situation truly arose, he actually didn't dare to guarantee it.

This was, in fact, human nature, having all sorts of tendencies.

"But if that happens, letting Niya punish me would be a pretty good choice!"

Xia Duo chuckled inwardly, his palm brushing with slight pressure over Niya's smooth arm, before he turned over, sat up, and got out of bed.

"I'm going to prepare breakfast, hurry up and get up!"

"Mm."

After breakfast, Niya continued to the Tower Master's Study on the top floor to research magic communication, while Xia Duo came to the Spell Laboratory.

Because he was busy punishing Niya last night, he hadn't yet had the chance to carefully examine the set of Ioun Stones that Master Kangjienio had given him.

It was not too late to look now.

As a gift, these three Ioun Stones were naturally not handed over directly in hand; there was a wooden box containing them.

However, the box was just an ordinary box; when he received the Master's gift box last night, Xia Duo knew it contained three Magic Items, as ordinary matter is difficult to block the emanation of a Magic Aura.

Or rather, Magic Aura does not follow the laws of ordinary matter, such as shielding or blocking.

Although it was only a hurried glance at the time, Xia Duo knew that this gift was truly not light; all three Magic Items radiated a strong Magic Aura, almost comparable to the Pioneer Scepter.

"Let me see your true appearance!"

Xia Duo opened the box and saw three transparent Gemstones, each the size of an Orc's eyeball, with different shapes and colors, lying quietly on the deep red velvet inside the box.

"These are Ioun Stones?"

Xia Duo picked up one of the spherical pale blue Gemstones; it was very light in his hand, almost weightless, but when he applied slight force, the hard texture was real and undeniable.

And the moment he made contact with this blue Gemstone, he received a message from it; this was left by the creator, regarding the usage method of the Gemstone and a brief introduction.

Of course, Xia Duo knew the usage method; after all, Ioun Stones were considered a relatively famous piece of equipment in Netheril.

As for the introduction—

The Blue Ioun Stone could provide the user with a Focus Training buff; the Red Ioun Stone could provide a bonus to constitution; and the purple one provided the ability of Spell Reversal.

Xia Duo picked up the Blue Ioun Stone first, so he decided to try using it first.

Compared to conventional Magic Items that can be used as soon as they are picked up, higher-end items like Ioun Stones need to be linked to the user themselves before they can exert their effects.

Xia Duo followed the usage information prompted by the Gemstone, linking the partially open structure of the Magic Net String gathered and linked on the Ioun Stone to himself; after just a moment, he felt a weight in his hand.

This Gemstone actually had weight again.

Subsequently, Xia Duo tossed the Blue Ioun Stone above his head, and it naturally began to circle above him; through a water mirror, Xia Duo observed for a short while, but he could not discern the specific trajectory pattern of this Ioun Stone.

However, he had indeed "equipped" this Gemstone, and the effect was truly astonishing!

The Magic Net Strings before the Magic Net Eighth Layer became incomparably easy to operate; if it were an Advanced Rank Mage, if they equipped an Ioun Stone, they would definitely play around until they caused a magic runaway.

It was simply that the power came too easily!

The Focus Training effect attached to the Magic Equipment actually strengthened the will, making it easier for the Spellcaster to operate the Magic Net Strings.

If one's own Focus Training was not adapted to the current state, it would be very easy to lose control.

Of course, it was unlikely for Xia Duo to lose control now.

To become an Arcanist, one must first perceive the Soul, and perceiving the Soul requires one to reach a very high degree of focus, which to a large extent also improves one's ability to control Spells.

As for the Magic Net Eighth Layer and beyond, Xia Duo could only confirm that the Magic Net Strings of the Eighth Layer were also easier to operate than before equipping the Blue Ioun Stone; as for the subsequent Magic Net levels, he could not yet reach them, so naturally, he could not confirm.

However, as a high-end Magic Item that usually only became popular at the level of Archmage, Senior Arcanist, or even Great Arcanist, he imagined it could also provide assistance for Spellcasting of the 9th Circle and above.

Being able to obtain such a Magic Item, Xia Duo could be said to be very happy.

An Ioun Stone set consists of three, but it is not limited to only three; in fact, each Ioun Stone is an independent individual, and it only becomes a "set" because it is placed together with other Ioun Stones.

If one had enough wealth and wide enough channels, one could completely buy a dozen or so at once to form a "luxury big set."

However, Xia Duo respectfully declined such ostentatious behavior.

Next, he took the Red Ioun Stone out of the box; this Gemstone was generally spindle-shaped.

However, the "belly" part in the middle was much more bulbous than a standard spindle, looking more like an elongated circle with sharp protrusions at both ends.

Compared to the previous Blue Ioun Stone, this red one seemed much inferior in Xia Duo's view.

It could only provide a constitution buff to the user; after experiencing it carefully, he soon discovered that the buff provided by this Red Ioun Stone was almost negligible for him, as his bloodline had already been awakened many times.

Subsequently, Xia Duo disconnected the link with this Red Ioun Stone and put it back into the box; he prepared to give this red Gemstone to Niya.

Finally, he picked up the last Purple Ioun Stone.

If he had to say which of these three Ioun Stones he valued the most, it would undoubtedly be this Purple Ioun Stone with the function of Spell Reversal.

This Gemstone was shaped like a short prism, with regular hexagons for the top and bottom surfaces and six rectangles for the sides; compared to the smoothness of the previous two gemstones, this one appeared slightly sharper.

Of course, Xia Duo did not care about its appearance; what he truly cared about was its function.