Chapter 1077: Force Field Creatures, Projection Potential

The next moment, a piercing, discordant noise appeared around everyone; this noise even traveled through the Mind Link to Xia Duo's ears. Clearly, this was not a simple sound, but contained elements of a psychic spell.

—"Fulanke, Weiji, maintain vigilance. Luodite, Sidier, continue Spellcasting."

True Joint Casting either requires taking a shortcut through the Resonance Spellbooks distributed by the Seven Towers during the Green Field Plane War, or it requires the Spellcasters to reach a state of Synergistic Resonance in advance.

Xia Duo was only able to direct Luodite and Sidier in Joint Casting now because he relied on his powerful insight and his formidable ability to control the real-time interaction results between the different feedback states of the Magic Net Strings.

If it were an ordinary Spellcaster, the spell would likely have spiraled out of control long ago.

Of course, they were currently walking on the edge of losing control; it was like forcing the hands of two different painters together and demanding they draw a nearly perfectly standard, complex pattern.

This was truly quite difficult.

In fact, the so-called Protection-2-14 spell was no longer what was recorded in the original Green Field Plane Resonance Spellbook; it required Xia Duo's real-time adjustments to ensure the spell would not descend into a state of chaos.

If the situation were not urgent, Xia Duo would not be willing to use such a method.

In his ideal ruin exploration process, all he would have to do was perform some information integration and analysis, and occasionally remind Luodite and the others who were actually exploring.

In this way, he would fulfill the duties he agreed upon with Luodite without being overly taxing.

But in this world, where do things ever go exactly as one wishes? It is perfectly normal for accidents to occur, and Xia Duo had long been mentally prepared.

As long as the accident wasn't so big that he couldn't handle it, it was still acceptable.

……

Soon, as the final element of the Protection-2-14 spell was completed, a Protective Field, segmented into countless small diamond-shaped pieces, appeared around everyone and continuously spread outward.

"Seeing" the appearance of this Protective Field, Xia Duo finally relaxed his brain, which had been racing to manage the real-time Joint Casting, while Luodite and the others began asking questions all at once over the Mind Link:

"Lord Xia Duo, what exactly happened? Why hasn't Aibuna woken up yet?"

Fulanke interjected, "I think I just hit a creature made of a Force Field. It was extremely agile and escaped after being struck by my Force Sword."

"A creature made of a Force Field?" Luodite said thoughtfully, "Could it be a native species of the Ether Plane! Lord Xia Duo, do you know what that creature is?"

"I don't know. I only know it is a small creature, cat-like in form."

After transmitting this conscious information, Xia Duo also slightly adjusted the sensory information he had previously shared from Aibuna, focusing on enhancing the disturbance to airflow and light caused by the invisible creature's presence in the air.

What was ultimately presented was an image of a small, crystal-like animal crouching and hovering near Aibuna's blind spot.

"Have you seen or heard of this kind of creature? Besides existing in the form of a Force Field, its attacks focus more on the psychic realm. Luodite, if it is convenient, check Aibuna's Amulet to see if it has been damaged."

"Never heard of it."

"I haven't heard of it either!"

As for Luodite, he had no knowledge in this regard either. As for checking Aibuna's personal belongings, although Aibuna was a student of his father, he and Aibuna were not close enough to check his personal items.

He treated Lord Xia Duo's last sentence as if he hadn't heard it, but at the same time, he gave seven or eight parts of credence to Xia Duo's judgment.

"Psychic trauma is different from physical injury; it may damage the essence of the Soul. I must take Aibuna back to Seventon for treatment now.

"Everyone, let's end today's exploration here. As for when the next time will be, it depends on how serious Aibuna's injury is. If it's not serious, I will prepare some more Amulets and we can continue the day after tomorrow!

"If it is serious, my father might not allow me to continue exploring here. At that time, I will tell you the location of the ruins, and you can explore them yourselves or invite more people to join."

Having said this, Luodite sent a separate message to Xia Duo: "Lord Xia Duo, I am very sorry that we wasted so much of your time due to our lack of preparation, but I guarantee that in at most two more times, we will definitely be able to finish exploring this place."

"If it continues like this, I think two times might not be enough."

Xia Duo then transmitted some of the footage he had processed after the four of them entered the Mage Tower through the Mind Link, reminding them: "Did you notice the shadows surging in the corner? I suspect the interior of the Mage Tower may still have a connection to the Shadow Plane. Bring more light sources when you go back this time, so you don't waste another trip!"

"Many thanks for the reminder, Lord Xia Duo. We will definitely prepare well!"

"I hope so!"

……

After disconnecting the Mind Link, Xia Duo didn't think much more about it. Since Luodite guaranteed at most two more operations, he would just wait for those two to finish.

To be honest, the location of the ruins was no longer a secret to him; even for Weiji, Sidier, and the others, it wouldn't be hard to find if they were determined to look.

But Mages are not absolutely rational, completely selfish creatures after all—or rather, a Mage's rationality and selfishness are not just about calculating tangible gains on paper, but also about the intangible gains of being in this society.

Since there was an agreement, it was better to try to follow the agreed-upon process first.

Fortunately, Xia Duo did not need to go to the ruins in person, so he wouldn't waste a trip like Weiji, Sidier, and the others if an operation were temporarily canceled.

The one who really felt the pain was Luodite; the direct cost of going to the ruins once was already unknown, not to mention the consumption of other people's favors, patience, and so on.

As for the most miserable one, that would certainly be Aibuna, who was assigned by his teacher to help Luodite explore the ruins, accidentally encountered an attack by an unknown creature, and remained unconscious to this day, with no telling what hidden dangers might follow!

Truly miserable!

Aibuna's encounter reminded Xia Duo once again that while a Spellcaster is indeed powerful, their weaknesses are also very obvious. A true enemy will not attack your strongest point, but will strike directly at your weaknesses.

If operated properly, it might only take a flick of a finger to wipe out a Great Arcanist.

"It seems the Projection Technique I created to guard against a sneak attack by Wide Grand Arcanist has great potential for development!"

Thinking of the Projection, Xia Duo immediately thought of the Princess's avatar. If his Projection could also possess a physical body, or even more functions similar to the main body, then what difference would there be from an avatar?

In the future, he could completely hide his main body in the Mage Tower and only travel with an avatar; this way, he could satisfy his curiosity about exploring the world without having to consider too many risks.

Of course, there was still a long way to go from a Projection to an avatar, but Xia Duo had already decided to add avatar research to his research plan.

"Hmm, for now, let's finish the analysis of the Blazing Sun Array first!"