Chapter 403: Fifteen Permanent Members, Embracing Progress

"Why?" Xia Duo asked hurriedly.

This was the first time he had heard of something like "Spell Patent." If the Arcane Union truly possessed such a system, then they were not far from a "Magic Community."

As for the decrease in patent revenue, Niya gave two reasons—

"Since the Great Arcanist Saville, the Tower of Time has not applied for any patents. In recent years, new spells have developed rapidly, and many old spells have long since had new substitutes.

"Additionally, ever since one set of the Nether Scrolls was stolen, the threshold for reading the Nether Scrolls has been raised significantly. Therefore, most people are unwilling to open up the new spells they have painstakingly researched, even if this could bring them great profit. At the same time, those who have seen the Nether Scrolls are even more conservative."

Mentioning the theft of the Nether Scrolls, Niya seemed to have a lot to say, but she held back the words on the tip of her tongue, finally saying only, "The situation is improving now. The Arcane Union is negotiating with various Mage Towers to open up a batch of new spells, and many Mage Towers have already responded."

"It shouldn't be that easy, right?"

"Yes, the real trouble is that several Great Arcanists have clearly expressed their opposition, and the negotiations can barely proceed."

Xia Duo nodded in understanding. The Arcane Union itself was a product of compromise between all parties, but the Mage Towers were led by the individual Spellcasters themselves.

These Great Arcanists were themselves members, or even rulers, of the Arcane Union. With them taking the lead in opposition, how could others choose otherwise, unless there was actual physical persuasion?

But the other Great Arcanists were not necessarily of the same mind; they only held the same view on this issue, making it difficult to unite to physically persuade the minority.

And even if they did unite, it might not be useful. After all, Great Arcanists themselves possessed immense deterrent power; having more people did not guarantee a win, and one had to consider the subsequent impact of starting a war.

Thus, this resulted in a situation where resolutions were formed at the top, but could not be implemented below.

This reminded Xia Duo of the United Nations on Earth, but fortunately, the UN had the five permanent members; basically, if the five permanent members passed something, it was passed. Even if a resolution was passed, it was often refused implementation by those below, a situation usually supported by one of the five permanent members.

In Netheril, the Arcane Union had fifteen Great Arcanists, which was similar to having fifteen permanent members, and their opinions often clashed. Xia Duo found it hard to imagine the scene of their meetings at the top.

It was too difficult!

It was truly too difficult!

Those who could become Great Arcanists were all the best among Spellcasters; who would easily have their ideas swayed by others? Unless it was someone with both powerful strength and high prestige, but such a person had not yet appeared.

Currently, among the Great Arcanists, the one with the highest prestige was Kangjienio, and the one with the strongest power was perhaps Iolum, even though he had wiped out multiple Orc tribes within Netheril and even eliminated the Orc Tide in the Inner Land to a certain extent.

But the prestige brought by these achievements was far from as high as that of Kangjienio, the first Great Arcanist in the history of Netheril. Almost all Great Arcanists had received help and guidance from Kangjienio; this was the advantage of age.

Unless the 【Mythallar】 appeared and the Floating City took to the sky, Iolum would not be able to gain huge, unimaginable prestige; for now, he was still somewhat lacking.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo could not help but shake his head and asked again:

"By the way, how are patent fees collected? If someone is unwilling to pay, can the Arcane Union pursue it?"

"Patent fees are only collected from Mage Towers. There are specialized Mages who calculate the specific costs. If they don't pay, the Arcane Union has many means of sanction. The most commonly used is deducting Mithril shares, as well as restricting Library borrowing Permission Levels, and many others. However, none of these means involve direct attacks."

"Then how much patent fee does the Tower of Time pay each year, and how much is the revenue?"

Hearing this question, Niya could not help but reveal a mysterious smile, "You guess?"

How was he supposed to guess this?

Whether it was a lot or a little, Xia Duo had no concept at all. Just as he was about to ask the Tower Spirit, Niya seemed to see through his thoughts, "Don't think about asking the Tower Spirit; the revenue and expenditure in this regard are independent."

"..."

When did Niya also like to play this trick? He couldn't possibly guess something he had no concept of. Recalling what Niya had said earlier about patent revenue being very low, Xia Duo just guessed randomly:

"A few thousand in revenue each year? A few thousand in expenditure?"

For a Mage Tower, a few thousand Gold Coins was a number too small to be smaller. Any smaller than that, and Xia Duo couldn't think of what significance that number would have.

Niya said patent revenue was very low, so it should at least be a meaningful number!

Hearing Xia Duo's guess, the smile on Niya's face became even more mysterious, "The revenue and expenditure for this year will be settled early next spring, but I can tell you how much the Tower of Time's patent revenue and expenditure were last year."

"How much?"

"Revenue was less than 300 Gold Coins, and expenditure was slightly more, but only less than 500 Gold Coins."

"How could it be so little?" Xia Duo had thought it would be low, but he hadn't thought it would be this low; this was too exaggerated.

"As new spells increase, the revenue from old spells decreases, leaving only a little bit of derivative revenue. The Tower of Time is like this, and other Mage Towers are about the same. And if all the new spells added were to be patented, then both revenue and expenditure would increase; the specific amount depends on the management of each Mage Tower itself."

By the end, Niya had restrained her smile. Deep down, she agreed with patenting new spells; this would promote overall development. But it was useless for her to agree alone. Even if she were to apply for patents for new spells, without the joint participation of other Mage Towers, it would ultimately only result in a few Gold Coins.

And Gold Coins could not buy new spells or new directions; in the end, the losses would outweigh the gains.

From Niya's words, Xia Duo heard her dissatisfaction with the current environment. Of course, this also reflected the Princess's attitude to a certain extent, although the Princess's current focus was not on the opening of new spells.

But understanding Niya's thoughts, Xia Duo also knew why Niya did not oppose the transformation of the Tower of Time. People with progressive ideas would naturally embrace progress itself.

A new relationship of production had already appeared. Although the short-term prospects were not yet clear, embracing progress was actually already embracing the broadest future.

Somehow, Xia Duo suddenly felt the tide of the era. In fact, from his existing understanding of Netheril, the era was already calling for transformation.

Or rather, reform.

Although the road was somewhat tortuous, the future was bright. One must be careful and cautious to avoid dying in the final darkness before the dawn.

Regarding how the top played their games and made decisions, it was difficult for Xia Duo to influence them. All he could do was embrace progress and then survive. Even a tiny spark, if there were enough of them, would cause a torrent.

Specifically—

In the Magic Domain, at this level, specific spells were no longer the point; the key was the Dao. Continue the transformation of the Tower of Time, exist stably, and explore more new forms conducive to the development of Magic.

And in terms of the Territory, perhaps supporting the pioneering movement led by the Princess was another form of embracing progress.

Afterward, Xia Duo continued to exchange some thoughts and specific measures regarding the transformation of the Tower of Time with Niya. The two talked happily, and after this intimate conversation, their relationship became much closer.

However, there was still no intimacy between a husband and wife; it was more like a relationship between like-minded comrades.

Could this be the legendary "sublimation of revolutionary friendship"?