Chapter 397: Trends, Scrying

"There is no direct connection!"

"No direct connection?" Depake frowned. He did not believe Xia Duo would waste time specifically to amuse him; he simply could not fathom what connection the price of Magic Items could possibly have with the "Study Group."

Xia Duo's purpose in coming here was to sound things out and to align perspectives, not to play riddles. The logical chain of thought flashed through his mind, and then he spoke:

"The times have changed, Mage Depake! Have you ever considered that one day, the price of Magic Items might become cheaper than the raw materials themselves?"

"That is impossible!" Depake immediately retorted.

Xia Duo shook his head. In fact, it would be much easier to understand if one swapped in "market price" and "cost." The situation of "market price < cost" had happened countless times on Earth.

"Market price" is relatively stable, but for production entities mastering different technologies, "cost" is a variable.

Selling at an increasing loss is not a joke, but a possible reality.

In the magic world, because the current manufacturing of Magic Items cannot be separated from Spellcasters, the actual pricing is largely determined by Mages, with materials accounting for a smaller proportion.

Cost = Mage labor + materials.

And the labor cost of a Mage is largely proportional to the time the Mage consumes in production. Therefore, if we analyze it qualitatively—

Cost = Mage time + materials.

Improving production relations is actually about reducing the labor time of Mages, handing over work that does not need to be completed by Senior Mages to Intermediate Mages, or even ordinary people.

And once a mutation in productivity occurs, it might even be possible to extract Mages from the specific production process, at which point the cost would be limited to materials.

Of course, Xia Duo did not voice the conjecture that future Magic Items might not require Mages to manufacture them personally; he only spoke of the benefits of improving production relations and the speculation that other Mage Towers might already be transforming.

And the "Study Group" is a pilot program provided for the transformation of the Tower of Time.

Xia Duo not only wants to attempt more advanced production methods but also more advanced organizational methods, laying the foundation for the next step of comprehensive transformation.

After speaking, he looked at Depake, waiting for the other party's reaction.

"Mage Xia Duo, I think what you said makes a lot of sense, but there is one problem. Doing this will inevitably lead to the widespread diffusion of relevant knowledge, this—"

Looking at Depake's still-doubtful expression, Xia Duo sighed deeply in his heart. The prosperity of science, technology, and manufacturing on Earth is actually because it allows for a considerable degree of public knowledge.

Secret arts and secret recipes have already been replaced by patents.

It is just that in the magic world, the boundaries between theory and technology are not actually distinct; theory can be directly transformed into technology (Spell), and technology is still technology (Spell).

To some extent, knowledge is equivalent to strength, and it is individual strength, so Netherese Mages are mostly relatively conservative.

Especially the further down the hierarchy, the more conservative they are; they would rather not let others know even a tiny bit, wishing that only they were Mages and everyone else were ordinary people.

This is like on Earth, where the idea of the "first to get rich leading those who follow" is truly against human nature. Only those with firm Faith can truly achieve it. For most wealthy people, the purpose of their existence is, to put it bluntly, to earn more money and to prevent others from becoming wealthy.

In the magic world, people with foresight are not non-existent.

The birth of the Arcane Union is actually a consensus and compromise reached by Spellcasters who hold power. From it, Xia Duo faintly saw the prototype of a magic community similar to a scientific community.

It only lacks replacing the Seventon Council to become the official legal authority of Netheril.

The will of a nation or organization does not shift based on the will of individuals. Even if one is as strong as a Great Arcanist, as long as the number exceeds one person, one must seek common ground while reserving differences.

Not to mention the external environment, "Netheril" itself actually has a strong desire for development, but it is limited by the current backward production relations and cannot fully liberate productivity to vigorously develop magic civilization.

What Xia Duo is doing now, to some extent, also fits the trend of the current era's development. Truly, the era is calling!

Regarding Depake's worries, Xia Duo did not explain too much. The sounding out was done, and the perspectives were aligned; next, he should let him think for himself.

Going against the trend will inevitably be swallowed by the trend.

Of course, even if one follows the trend, one might encounter undercurrents; the so-called darkness before the dawn is generally like this.

After leaving Depake, it was not early. After finishing a set of Focus Training, Xia Duo rested early. However, before sleeping, he had the Tower Spirit schedule meetings with other Supervisors and Intermediate Mages of the Tower of Time for the next day.

Mages are all busy people, especially Intermediate Mages. Xia Duo could certainly go over directly, but if the other party had urgent matters, he would likely have made the trip for nothing.

An appointment is actually a reminder, reminding them to clear their schedules in advance.

The next day.

There was still no news from Niya. On the side of Savile Territory, Dailike had already received Xia Duo's authorization and began consultations with the branch heads of those raw material suppliers in Savile, attempting to re-sign fixed-quota supply contracts.

And at the Tower of Time, Xia Duo interviewed all the Intermediate Mages. Of course, unlike "insiders" like Depake, Xia Duo did not talk directly about the "Study Group" to these Intermediate Mages.

Instead, like a daily exchange, he asked them if they were satisfied with the current environment, what improvements the Tower of Time needed, and similar questions, just like a boss chatting with employees.

Intermediate Mages are not a closed circle; they have exchanges and cooperation among themselves, and the transformation of the Tower of Time is not a secret.

But Xia Duo hoped to spark widespread discussion rather than notifying everyone and receiving no feedback, only to have a group of people run away when the actual transformation began.

In the following days, Xia Duo did not return to Linshui Village and stayed at the Tower of Time, waiting for news from Niya while using the Spell Laboratory to increase the intensity of his spell practice.

At the same time, he also kept an eye on Tilake's Constant Magic Project and the consultation process of Dailike outside. Of course, neither had made any progress for the time being.

The fifth day of Xia Duo's return to the Tower of Time, and also the eighth day since Xia Duo banished Priest Ke'er.

On this day, Xia Duo was conducting his first 【Scrying】 practice in the Spell Laboratory. He was very interested in this type of prophecy-like spell, so he had ranked it only after 【Short-range Teleportation】.

The first practice, of course, could not be called a complete spellcasting or a one-time success. Instead, as usual with previous spell practice methods, he broke down the Element Units and would only perform the complete spellcasting after all Element Units were practiced proficiently.

Breaking down Element Units requires the Spellcaster to have a considerable understanding of the spell's Principles and to be able to identify the internal logic within it; otherwise, the breakdown itself does not actually have much meaning.

In the end, elements are essentially just operations on the Magic Net String. The types are limited, but the combinations of Element Units at different Magic Net levels are nearly infinite.

Based on the spell Principles, the broken-down Element Units are actually the decomposition of specific spellcasting steps. There was no need to practice individual elements; Xia Duo already knew them by heart.

And while Xia Duo was practicing, the Tower Spirit suddenly sent a prompt, "Agent Xia Duo, the Master has returned to the Tower of Time. Please come to the Study for a meeting."