Chapter 1564: Basic Training, Blue Crystal Analysis

By the time Xia Duo had already started working on his fifth unit, Niya had only just finished her first; her unit lacked no basic functions and was likewise capable of connecting to the network automatically.

The only thing it lacked was a bit of aesthetics. Niya looked at what Xia Duo had made, then looked at her own, gritted her teeth, and a Force Sphere flew from her fingertips. After flying out, it enveloped that ugly Arcane Crystal Extractor and then contracted inward.

The next moment, the device that had been working normally was instantly crushed into a pile of scrap iron.

Seeing Xia Duo continue his Spellcasting, completely unaffected, Niya felt extremely aggrieved. "Why not use an Alchemy Array?"

"Of course I could!"

Between casting spells, Xia Duo was still able to spare the attention to answer Niya, "But an Alchemy Array is in the Main Plane; the cost of using a Plane Portal even once is enough for you to practice here seven or eight times. Besides, haven't you realized where the problem lies yet?"

"What problem?" Niya asked, puzzled.

"This is a problem I shouldn't need to remind you of, but you can reflect on whether you have neglected your basic Spellcasting Training over the past period of time."

"Basic Spellcasting Training?"

Upon hearing this, Niya's expression changed instantly, but she still stubbornly retorted, "I cast spells often! Today was just an improvised casting, and I didn't know what you would bring out, so it's normal to be unpracticed! I wouldn't be like this usually!"

"Then do you know where the problem is now?"

"I—" Niya wanted to say something else, but looking at the scrap metal crushed into a ball by the Force Sphere in front of her, the words she originally wanted to say couldn't come out. Finally, she just said softly, "I know."

"This is also my fault. It was I who insisted on promoting academy education in the Tower of Time, leading to overcorrection. Next, I will adjust the time ratio for Apprentice training and teaching in the Tower of Time. I will also practice with you; we will improve together."

In truth, if one speaks from the heart, Niya's Spellcasting foundation exceeds that of most Mages in Netheril, but Xia Duo's expectations for Niya are also higher than for others.

Especially since not long ago, he had just experienced an improvised casting in Seventon, and it was an 11th Circle Spell with nothing to rely on, which made him realize even more profoundly the importance of a Spellcasting foundation.

It is not just about being proficient with spells in a normal environment, but also about being able to perform without error under various extreme conditions; this requires more training, and even actual combat.

For the time being, combat experience is hard to come by, but practicing more, or even undergoing more professional training, is not difficult to achieve.

Furthermore, the current situation cannot be considered an extreme situation at all; it was merely an improvised casting in a routine state.

In Xia Duo's view, every Arcanist must have this ability for improvised casting; otherwise, what difference is there between them and those Wild Mages outside who have never attended school!

Perhaps Niya was just infected by the tense learning atmosphere currently in the Tower of Time, causing her to neglect the Spellcasting Training that would not have been overlooked in the past.

But since Xia Duo has already noticed this area, he will not let it go. He does not want the Spellcasting foundation to become the Achilles' heel of the Mages of the Tower of Time.

He hopes that in the future, when people talk about which place has the strongest magic in Netheril, everyone's first reaction will be "Nan Jing Tower of Time," and not others!

……

Next, Xia Duo stopped working with his hands and instead left the materials to Niya, while he himself flew above the island, or rather, to the deep space on the Vacuum Side of the Blue Crystal Plane.

At roughly the same place where he had opened the Positive Energy Plane portal last time, Xia Duo opened a Wind Elemental Plane portal here.

In an instant, whistling air currents surged madly from the Plane Portal into the Blue Crystal Plane, but they weakened to a gentle breeze less than ten meters outside the portal.

One side is a vacuum, the other is an endless gale of air currents. Unlike Positive Energy, which has no manifestation, the manifestation of Wind Elements is various gases.

And gases will not disappear by being guided by the Magic Net. That is to say, as long as this Wind Elemental Plane portal remains open, the vacuum side of the Blue Crystal Plane will eventually be filled with air.

Although this portion of air will quickly dissipate during the elemental conversion of the plane, this "quickly" is compared to the existence time of air in a normal Habitable Plane.

In reality, it is far more durable than free-floating elements and energy.

Xia Duo had conducted similar elemental infection transformation experiments in the 【Yellow Sand Semi-Plane】. Perhaps it is difficult to reflect the flow rate of elemental manifestations corresponding to elemental infection during most plane transformations, especially during the transformation of a normal Material Plane.

But with infinite energy, Xia Duo was even prepared to carry out plane transformation targeting Negative Energy. This also involves the Plane Root, and Positive Energy has no manifestation, making it difficult to retain for a long time, requiring continuous introduction from the outside.

This cost is much greater than introducing Wind Elements.

Xia Duo doesn't even care about that, so how could he care about the air dissipation rate, which is actually not that fast! No matter how fast it is, it is not as fast as the dissipation rate of Positive Energy.

Similarly, after opening a Positive Energy portal, the residual traces of Positive Energy will disappear completely in at most one hour, while air lasts far longer than one hour. This requires complex elemental conversion between planes, wearing away during the conversion; it takes a long time!

This is the difference between matter and elements/energy.

Since air can be retained for a relatively long time, Xia Duo does not mind opening a few more Plane Portals, and he did indeed do just that.

After opening more than ten Plane Portals in a row, he finally stopped, but the speed of the gale surging in like this was still too slow; it would take quite a while to fill the entire space!

However, for the moment, Xia Duo is only making a preliminary attempt, which counts as a feasibility study before officially starting. Next, once he has accumulated a few more Arcane Crystals, he will begin preparing for a plane-level Air Manufacturing Factory.

This Blue Crystal Plane's root attributes are mainly Water Element, with small amounts of Fire and Earth. As for Positive and Negative Energy, those exist in all planes, or rather, Positive and Negative Energy are not normal elements at all, but more like a state.

As long as the plane has not completely annihilated, Positive Energy exists; as long as the plane has elemental conversion, Negative Energy exists.

As for the proportion of Wind Elements, it is actually not small, second only to the Water Element. It is just that because it is entangled by Negative Energy in the Plane Root, it has been eroded from the source, manifesting as a vacuum rather than a space containing gas.

And the Negative Energy erosion in the Blue Crystal Plane root is not a normal phenomenon.

At least from Xia Duo's current perspective, whether it is the Main Plane or the 【Yellow Sand Semi-Plane】 that he once turned inside out and almost caused to collapse, neither has such severe Negative Energy erosion.

Negative Energy in general planes originates from elemental conversion within the plane and does not involve the concept of the Plane Root.

This is like in a company; generally speaking, Negative Energy often appears in certain individuals, but the company mechanism is fine.

But now, the Blue Crystal Plane is as if the company's very intent and system were corrupt from the start; as for the individuals inside, it actually doesn't matter much.