Chapter 395: Magic Mirror

The barrage of questions left Tilake somewhat at a loss; he had never before received this level of attention, and he stammered, "

"My lord, the support is enough, and the research is going smoothly, it's just, it's just that there are too few people!" Too few people? As soon as Xia Duo heard this, he understood; this was a need for "spell batteries."

A single mage's energy is always limited. If other mages cooperated with him to perform cooperative resonance casting, it would greatly reduce his own consumption, allowing for more experiments.

Of course, with more people, tasks could also be delegated to others. As long as the experimenters could fully grasp the project leader's ideas, it was essentially no different from cooperative resonance casting.

And because the contract Tilake signed with the Tower of Time bought out all new results, he did not mind letting more people participate. On the contrary, the more people there were, the faster the research would progress, and he could get what he wanted sooner.

Xia Duo also began to understand Tilake's thinking, but he did not mind; in fact, he was happy to see it. Perhaps the transformation of the Tower of Time could start from Tilake's research lab.

After thinking for a moment, he pulled Dien aside, cast a soundproof barrier, and asked, "How many probationary members does the organization have now? How many associate members?"

Dien was very familiar with the organization's members. Hearing Xia Duo's inquiry, he spoke without hesitation, "There are seven probationary members, 25 associate members, and besides that, many apprentices are also actively leaning toward the organization."

"Very good!"

Xia Duo praised him without reservation. He had not expected the organization to have as many as seven probationary members; this was equivalent to reserving seven official mages.

In addition, there were 25 associate members, all of whom could be counted as having the potential to become official mages, not to mention the many active members.

Unknowingly, the organization had grown to this point. This made Xia Duo even more certain that the Tower of Time had only one path to take: transformation, because other mage towers had already begun.

"Tower Spirit, open a new permission level for Tower of Time personnel management, tentatively named 'Study Group'. Transfer the status of Dien, Sami, Aideliqi, and Dewan to the Study Group. Also, help me schedule a meeting with Mage Depake at 4:00 PM."

"Agent Xia Duo, the new permission level has been opened. Please set the specific permissions yourself."

Xia Duo did not create any special privileges for the time being; he simply separated the organization to make it easier to operate.

As for the name, the organization no longer needed to hide, so a name was still necessary, but for now, he would just use "Study Group" as a placeholder, and determine the official name later.

As for the title, Xia Duo did not really care; as long as this organization was the one he wanted, that was enough.

"Dien, did you receive the Tower Spirit's notification?"

"I received it, but this—"

"From now on, the organization is a formal one. Add all the probationary and associate members to it. Also, I am giving you another task: develop Tilake into an organization member."

"Tilake?"

"Yes!" Xia Duo said firmly.

In fact, bringing Tilake into the organization was an idea he had from the very beginning. After all, for a low-level mage to independently lead a specialized project was considered somewhat unorthodox in the eyes of the other mages at the Tower of Time, but since it didn't concern them, they hadn't explicitly opposed it.

But from another perspective, Tilake actually represented the power of development and progress. Regardless of his own thoughts, his existence was consistent with the organization's philosophy.

Cooperation, openness, sharing, and mutual benefit—what were they for, if not for development and progress!

……

Removing the soundproof barrier, Xia Duo heard the others discussing the new permission level notified by the Tower Spirit. Tilake was also curiously asking this and that, seemingly quite interested in the "Study Group."

"Tilake, I will add six more people for you!"

These six people were actually the other six of the seven probationary members, excluding Donald.

Upon hearing this, Tilake was overjoyed. He had only mentioned it casually, and he hadn't expected Xia Duo to actually provide him with more manpower. "Lord Xia Duo, I am truly grateful for your support!"

"No need to thank me. If there is anything else you need, as long as it is related to the research, I will try my best to satisfy it." Xia Duo valued the research on permanent magic highly, so he naturally did not begrudge his support.

"No need, no need!" Tilake knew when to stop while he was ahead, and at the same time, he made a guarantee, "I will definitely produce results as quickly as possible!"

"No need to rush, be steady!"

In fact, Xia Duo felt a bit of urgency in his heart, but this was more of a worry about the future and the unknown. "Let's not talk about this anymore. Now, take me to see your recent research progress."

"Oh, right, my lord, please follow me!"

Saying this, he led Xia Duo inside.

After taking charge of a new project alone, Tilake's residence and research lab had both been moved to a new location. The biggest difference between this research lab and a regular residence was—

Both the general laboratory and the spell laboratory were of the highest specifications!

These were high specifications that even Xia Duo himself had not used. For Tilake, it was indeed somewhat excessive, but this also showed how much Xia Duo valued his project.

Arriving in the inner room, this was a general laboratory with multiple movable standard experimental benches. The current layout was in a "U" shape, with the center used for cooperative resonance casting.

At this moment, the experimental benches were piled with all kinds of materials. Only the innermost bench, facing the door, had an area cleared for an alchemy array, though it was still quite messy.

Tilake's research actually did not use much of alchemy arrays.

Generally speaking, there are two ways to manufacture magic items. One is through 【Constant Spell】, but this method has a high barrier to entry, requiring at least a High Mage.

The other is similar to magic scrolls, using materials like Mithril and gemstones to connect and fix the magic net strings to produce specific effects; this requires extensive use of alchemy arrays.

Tilake's permanent magic project combined these two manufacturing methods; it required both magic materials and the achievement of a certain permanent effect.

But relatively speaking, it did not require building precise energy channels like connecting and fixing magic net strings, nor did it have the high barrier of 【Constant Spell】.

Xia Duo's view on this kind of magic item was that it was a monkey-version, of low quality, and not very stable, but it was usable. The most critical point was that it was low-cost and easier to popularize.

At the same time, it was also easier to update and iterate.

Moreover, the prospect for development was also quite considerable; by further incorporating precise energy channels, it could maintain stability while also possessing the versatility of 【Constant Spell】.

However, it was still too early to talk about the long-term vision. It was better to look at Tilake's progress first. Thinking of the various plans mentioned in Tilake's project application document, Xia Duo couldn't help but feel some anticipation. Just how far had they gotten:

"Tilake?"

Tilake understood immediately. He ran to the innermost part in a few steps, picked up a mirror the size of a face from the experimental bench, and handed it to Xia Duo as if presenting a treasure, "My lord, this is currently the most successful magic item!"

A finished product so soon?

Xia Duo took the mirror and looked at it. From the surface, it was just the most ordinary silver mirror. Shaped through an alchemy array, there were many inconspicuous Mithril patterns distributed on the mirror surface.

And under magic vision, these Mithril patterns were not completely connected to the magic net strings.

It looked just like a defective product.

(End of chapter)