Chapter 349: Conscripting Laborers, Core Productivity

Xia Duo's arrival quickly caught the attention of the Arcanists from the 【Hand of Secrecy】. Before he could even get close, the Arcanist Aigeberde had already walked out, first offering a salute, then saying:

"Lord Xia Duo, are you here to inspect the progress of the project again?"

"Indeed." Xia Duo returned the salute. Similar conversations had occurred frequently over the past few days. Usually, he would leave after a few words of casual chat, but today, Xia Duo had something else to say.

"Lord Aigeberde, the time has now reached September. This batch of workers was conscripted from the Savile Territory. The autumn harvest is about to begin there, and perhaps before long, they will all be returning home."

This was indeed true. After all, not a single penny had been spent to conscript these people; one could not expect them to neglect their own fields. When the "Lucky Owen" came by last time, Saier Town Mayor had already had Lao Ouwen bring a message.

It said that by mid-to-late September, the workers here would have to leave one after another.

Xia Duo felt quite helpless about this. He couldn't exactly send the Territory's soldiers to help with the harvest; this wasn't an era of close military-civilian ties. Regardless of whether they put in the effort, there would certainly be additional consumption.

At present, the Army of the Savile Territory had not yet recovered to its state before the Orc Tide. Many of the men came from villages and needed to harvest their own crops; they had no way to look after others.

Telling Aigeberde this was merely out of the hope that these Arcanists near the Mythallar Ruins would help out. In any case, this Elemental Channel was beneficial to them, so the sooner it was built, the better!

Sure enough, after hearing Xia Duo's words, Aigeberde fell into deep thought. Initially, he had not expected the Tower of Time to expend a large amount of manpower and material resources to excavate a completely useless river.

But later, the performance of the Tower of Time surprised and delighted him. The Tower of Time had actually sent hundreds of people, which far exceeded his expectations.

If things continued this way, the Elemental Channel could be built in a few months. At that time, the progress of repairing the Magic Net would also accelerate, which was equivalent to accelerating the speed of obtaining Divine Grace.

It wasn't just the three Arcanists of the 【Hand of Secrecy】 who frequently paid attention to this project; even other Arcanists would come over to check on it from time to time, just hoping for the Elemental Channel to be completed.

But now, the people were leaving? The project was going to be interrupted?

How could that be allowed?

Aigeberde immediately said: "Lord Xia Duo, could it be delayed for a few days? This Elemental Channel is almost finished!"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. The autumn harvest only lasts those few days. Perhaps they can come back after the harvest." Although he said this, Xia Duo was actually not very willing.

Who knew how much time would be wasted on the trip back and forth? His goal was only one—to finish before the autumn harvest!

And to finish before the autumn harvest, besides increasing manpower and working day and night, the only option was to introduce Advanced productivity. These Arcanists wandering around the Mythallar were his targets.

"At the moment, the most critical step for the Elemental Channel lies in clearing the tree roots. This task is the most time-consuming. Lord Aigeberde, I have a suggestion: please have the Arcanists help. Perhaps a single Spell from you all would equal a day's work for an ordinary person!"

The simplest approach would be a Transmutation Spell to lift the tree roots directly, but the intensity required for such a Spell was far beyond Xia Duo's capabilities, as these roots were mostly very thick, deep underground, and intertwined. To pull them out all at once required immense power.

Perhaps one could alter the wood itself to make it easier to dig. In short, there were many methods, but Xia Duo himself couldn't do it, and the Tower of Time only had Aiboke who might be able to, but Xia Duo was unwilling to let him waste his time here.

He had no choice but to "conscript" them.

The Elemental Channel was proposed by the three Arcanists of the 【Hand of Secrecy】; perhaps they would be willing to help.

After speaking, Xia Duo looked at Aigeberde calmly. To be honest, he himself could not use Spells to clear the tree roots—not because he didn't know how, but because his "output power" was insufficient.

It all depended on what Aigeberde said.

"This, this—" Aigeberde did not refuse immediately but began to consider it seriously. Using Spells to help Commoners with manual labor was something he had never considered before today.

But—

Divine Grace!

If his speed of repairing the Magic Net was 1 before the Elemental Channel was built, then after it was built, his speed would be at least 4, or even faster.

And the acquisition of Divine Grace was only related to the scale of the Magic Net being repaired, not the difficulty.

Therefore, the time truly worth spending on repairing a Mythallar Ruins was not long; it was only worth repairing before the Magic Net fell into complete silence. Although one could continue to repair it afterward, it was too much of a waste of time.

The current Magic Net was in a state of riot and could fall into silence at any moment. Although this Elemental Channel was just a river, the 【Hand of Secrecy】 had very unique experience in repairing the Magic Net!

This Elemental Channel could turn the riotous state of the Magic Net into a gentle state, thereby extending the repair time. Plus, with the reduced difficulty of repair, more Divine Grace could be obtained.

Among the Arcanists near the Mythallar Ruins, only the three of them were most concerned about the completion of the Elemental Channel!

After all, for others, obtaining Divine Grace was merely a glimpse into the Deep Weave, which didn't necessarily increase their true power much. But for them, obtaining Divine Grace could directly grant power; this was the unique ability possessed by the 【Hand of Secrecy】 that had converted to the Goddess.

After thinking about it, the so-called pride of a Spellcaster could not ultimately defeat Divine Grace and Doctrine. Aigeberde did not consider it for long before agreeing directly: "Lord Xia Duo, I can agree to your request, and I am also willing to contact other Arcanists, but I cannot guarantee whether they will agree."

"Contact other Arcanists?" Xia Duo was pleasantly surprised. Originally, he had prepared to run to each one individually, but now, with Aigeberde stepping in, it might be more appropriate than him doing it himself.

Aigeberde had given him a big surprise. Perhaps this Elemental Channel really had some extraordinary significance beyond calming the state of the Magic Net.

However, Xia Duo didn't care. In any case, with the Tower of Time suppressing the entire scene, he reckoned they wouldn't dare to act recklessly.

Returning to Linshui Village, Xia Duo resumed his daily afternoon routine. In addition to the constant Focus Training, his theoretical courses were also progressing steadily. Now, he didn't care at all about Spellcasting Level or Magic Net layers; he just followed his own plan.

His goal was to become an Arcanist; he didn't need to deliberately pursue Spellcasting Level or Magic Net layers like an ordinary Mage. Being a 7th-level Mage was just a small step in his advancement plan, and he might cross it at any time.

……

The next afternoon, Aigeberde sent a Sending to Xia Duo, stating that he had contacted all the Arcanists near the Mythallar Ruins, but only four had agreed; the rest had refused.

Counting the three from the 【Hand of Secrecy】 here, a total of seven Arcanists were willing to personally use Spells to help the river-digging workers clear the tree roots and accelerate the completion of the Elemental Channel.

However, Aigeberde also said that because they had never considered such things before, they needed some time to study the relevant Spells, and it would take about two or three days before they could officially begin.

"That's great!"

Inside the small tent, Xia Duo was beaming. With the help of these seven Arcanists, the Elemental Channel might really be completed before the autumn harvest, perhaps even faster!

It was just a pity that he couldn't ask these Arcanists to help with the farmland outside Linshui Village. Sigh—

If he could, the speed of expansion would be much faster.

Sure enough, Spellcasters were the true core productivity of this world!