Chapter 508: Darkvision, Queuing for Teleportation

Upon reaching the Public Level, Xia Duo headed straight for the Teleportation Room as soon as he stepped out of the Elevator. The Tower of Time was pitch black at night, and suddenly, Xia Duo realized a problem—

In this near-lightless, dark environment, he could actually see the path ahead clearly!

It was not by observing the Magic Net to indirectly perceive the road ahead, but by seeing it clearly and truly with his naked eyes!

His waving arms, the grayish-white floor, and even the meaningless decorative patterns on the walls on both sides of the corridor were all visible in clear detail. It was just that, perhaps because it was night, the image Xia Duo saw was black and white, a bit like the Shadow Plane he had once visited.

He couldn't figure out the reason for this for the time being; was it a special ability brought by the Arcane Fire? Or was his bloodline about to awaken again?

While guessing wildly, Xia Duo walked quickly toward the Teleportation Room, not forgetting to eat and "bathe" at the same time.

……

Teleportation Room.

Xia Duo looked at the familiar Teleportation Array and stepped forward to operate it. The Access Key for the Teleportation Array at the Arcane Union was public, and Xia Duo had already operated it twice before.

This third time was even more proficient, but unexpectedly, the Teleportation Array started normally, yet he was still in the Tower of Time, and the information fed back from the other side was—

Denied!

Xia Duo frowned and immediately contacted the Arcane Union through the Tower Spirit. He didn't know until he asked, and he was shocked to find that he was already dozens of spots back in the queue.

It was estimated that he might not even reach his turn by daybreak!

Just like machines on Earth, permanent Teleportation Arrays could not be used continuously, especially in cases of many-to-one teleportation.

Additionally, after many uses, maintenance was required, which was very troublesome.

At this moment, Xia Duo was somewhat glad that he was in the Tower of Time. If some Mages' Teleportation Arrays were not inside a Mage Tower and they couldn't contact the Arcane Union for a moment, who knew what might happen?

Of course, most Teleportation Arrays were inside Mage Towers.

"What should I do now?" Xia Duo fell silent.

If he continued to wait, perhaps his turn would come, but it was also possible that people would keep cutting in line, constantly pushing him further back. If he didn't wait, no one would likely notify him when it was his turn.

The Snow Melting Competition was about to begin, and a large number of Mages wanted to go to Seventon to watch the competition; it was only natural that the Teleportation Array was strained at this time.

"Why didn't I think of this before!" Xia Duo sighed. Moreover, he remembered that the Teleportation Array at the Arcane Union was an array that could simultaneously accept teleportation travelers from multiple directions.

Could it be under maintenance?

Xia Duo quickly recalled everything related to the Snow Melting Competition in his mind, and he discovered that he really knew very little about the influence of the Snow Melting Competition.

Niya hadn't mentioned this to him either.

Thinking of Niya, Xia Duo felt it was necessary to pull some strings and go to Seventon via the Teleportation Array of Giles Tower; the Arcane Union really couldn't be counted on.

Of course, he would still have to keep waiting.

……

He didn't know if Niya was resting now. Xia Duo first sent her a message, then ordered the Tower Spirit to continuously contact the Arcane Union to report the number of people in the queue, and to notify him if the number was less than five.

As for himself, Xia Duo certainly couldn't just stand here and wait. Having just slept and eaten well, and having bathed, it was the perfect time to study. He had barely learned Arcane Spellcasting, even though for now he only had 【Light】.

Now Xia Duo had his sights set on 【Manufacture Arcane Crystal】. After a sleep, the Arcane Energy in his Arcane Fire was full. To expand the capacity, he had to increase the Magic Net Strings.

Otherwise, it could only be maintained at this level.

The energy the Arcane Fire drew from the Magic Net was only used to maintain its own existence. If he didn't use it, wouldn't the energy flow gained after the Arcane Fire linked to the Magic Net be wasted?

But he couldn't just use it casually either; that would also be a waste.

Therefore, turning the Arcane Energy beyond normal use into Arcane Crystals to save as an energy reserve was a skill every Arcanist must learn.

Of course, the specific practical operation level was the 5th Circle Spell 【Manufacture Arcane Crystal】, which could be cast with the help of the external Magic Net, equivalent to completely leeching energy from the Magic Net.

Once this spell was cast, it could convert existing Arcane Energy into Arcane Crystals, with the amount controlled by the Spellcaster. Theoretically, this spell could be maintained for a day.

In other words, all the Arcane Energy generated by the Arcane Fire within a day could be made into Arcane Crystals.

However, this spell had a standard version. The Arcane Crystals created through this standard spell (or multiple small crystals synthesized into a large crystal) were Standard Arcane Crystals.

Not just Xia Duo, it was estimated that most Arcanists could not produce a Standard Arcane Crystal with all their Arcane Energy in a day, and could only rely on slow accumulation over the years.

That was why Xia Duo didn't want to let any time slip by and wanted to learn this spell as soon as possible.

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't practice without Arcane Energy, he would definitely have learned this spell before advancing. That way, as soon as he advanced, he could immediately manufacture Arcane Crystals, keeping the Arcane Fire's capacity from ever being full and keeping the Arcane Fire in a state of drawing energy.

This was the most ideal way to maximize the use of the "quasi-perpetual motion" energy source that was the Arcane Fire.

……

In the Spell Laboratory, Xia Duo practiced the new spell according to his own understanding, occasionally asking the Tower Spirit about the number of people in the queue for the Arcane Union's Teleportation Array.

From the initial dozens of people, the number kept getting smaller, but occasionally it would increase, clearly because someone had cut in line.

Xia Duo was currently a Level 2 Member of the Arcane Union. If he submitted the credentials of a High Mage, he could become a Level 3 Member, and if he submitted the credentials of advancing to become an Arcanist, he could become a Level 4 Member.

Starting from Level 4 Member, one didn't have to pay membership fees, and perhaps there would be the privilege of cutting in line, though it was also possible there wasn't.

So what was the identity of the people cutting in line?

This thought flashed through Xia Duo's mind and was subsequently cast to the back of his mind. Niya hadn't replied yet, so Xia Duo could only wait for his turn in the queue while practicing 【Manufacture Arcane Crystal】.

It wasn't until six o'clock in the morning that Xia Duo's queue number not only didn't decrease but actually increased. The reason was that around three or four o'clock, a large wave of people suddenly cut in line.

It pushed Xia Duo to the back all at once.

"Sigh—" Xia Duo let out a long sigh.

Even the best patience would be worn out. Just as Xia Duo was hesitating whether to grope his way through a teleportation himself, Niya's reply arrived—

"Just saw your message. The Arcane Union is very busy lately. The Dwarf Kingdom in the northwest sent an observation group, and people from Elf-land in the west have also arrived. The scale of this Snow Melting Competition is very different from usual."

In addition to the voice reply, Niya also replied with a complex Arcane Geometry Diagram, the corresponding Magic Net String combination of which was the Temporary Access Key for the Giles Tower Teleportation Array.

"Whew—"

Xia Duo let out a long breath. A single Teleportation spell couldn't reach Seventon; it required multiple teleports, but he didn't want to teleport to an unknown location from the bottom of his heart.

Although this type of teleportation, known as 【Fuzzy Teleportation】, wasn't actually fuzzy, the probability of error was far greater than six-dimensional positioning teleportation with confirmed coordinates.

With the Access Key for Giles Tower, it was much simpler; there was almost no risk of teleportation error, and there was no need to queue—he could just go directly.