Chapter 511: Creating Crystals, The Strongest Backer

Niya did not refuse Xia Duo's request; on the contrary, she was quite interested. She knew that Xia Duo had just advanced to become an Arcanist, and it was understandable that he would have some expectations regarding the creation of Arcane Crystals.

As a student of the Princess, Xia Duo did not have the permission level to enter her residence. When Niya came to pick him up and they arrived at her home, Xia Duo could not help but be surprised by the "opulence" of Giles Tower.

Setting aside the ordinary decorations and furniture—after all, most were common items, and even if they came from the Elves, their price was limited—Xia Duo did not place much value on these.

What truly surprised Xia Duo was that inside the Spell Laboratory of Niya's residence, there was a pile of Magic Books scattered about—not books recording magic, but actual Magic Items in book form that possessed magical power.

On one side of the Spell Laboratory, separated by a transparent Force Barrier, was the General Laboratory, or rather, a workshop where spellcasters could perform tasks such as brewing potions or crafting Magic Items.

The tools were complete, the materials were fully stocked, and Xia Duo even saw a Standard Arcane Crystal lying on the floor, making one feel the urge to go over and pick it up.

But Niya seemed accustomed to such a scene. Such conditions were not necessarily something even Xia Duo could possess at the Tower of Time; of course, Niya might not necessarily possess them either.

After all, Xia Duo knew very well what the financial situation of the Tower of Time was.

Inside the Spell Laboratory, Xia Duo did not start right away. He first felt the calm Magic Net environment within the Spell Laboratory and said to Niya, "I am going to conduct a 5th Circle Spell experiment; help me set it up."

"No need. The Magic Net Suppression Field here has adaptive characteristics; it can automatically function for anything below the 8th Circle."

"……"

Very well, Xia Duo knew this was likely some kind of "high-tech" again.

The Tower of Time required the level of the Magic Net Suppression Field to be set in advance. If it was at the 5th Circle level, one could only experiment with 5th Circle spells. If it exceeded that, once the spell went out of control and the suppression field failed to function, the consequences could only be borne by the spellcaster themselves.

Although the setting could be completed through the Tower Spirit, the adaptive Magic Net Suppression Field here was clearly much more sophisticated.

Since that was the case, Xia Duo no longer hesitated and immediately began to attempt it. He did not ask Niya to leave; the spell for creating Arcane Crystals was obtained from the Tower of Time, so there was nothing to hide.

Furthermore, Xia Duo also hoped to receive some guidance from Niya.

……

The 5th Circle spell 【Create Arcane Crystal】 contained over 300 elements, divided into 8 Element Units, with each unit containing anywhere from a dozen to nearly a hundred elements.

The spellcasting difficulty exceeded that of the 【Mage Armor】 which had been upgraded to the 5th Circle, but it was much simpler than 【Fixed-point Teleportation】.

Although the spellcasting difficulty was not high, this spell contained very profound theories of Psionic Creation; in this regard, Xia Duo had not yet been able to fully understand it.

However, this did not affect his practical use of it.

No one could be omniscient. Choosing a suitable domain to delve into was a choice more in line with reality. As for other domains, it was enough to have a general understanding; being too obsessive would be counterproductive.

Returning to the experiment itself, Xia Duo felt the difference here as soon as he began casting. The Magic Net Strings here seemed easier to respond; could it be that this place, like the Tower of Time during an advancement, had undergone weakening?

The spellcasting continued. Xia Duo temporarily suppressed his doubts and, referring to the Magic Book, successfully completed all the spell elements.

The next moment, he discovered that the Arcane Fire was surrounded by a circle of fine Magic Net Strings. These were not the Magic Net Strings inherent in his Arcane Fire, but came from the outside.

These Magic Net Strings combined automatically, linking with the surface of the Micro Magic Net at the root of the Arcane Fire, constantly extracting the Arcane Energy reserves circulating within the Micro Magic Net.

Once the Arcane Energy reserves decreased, the Arcane Fire would automatically regenerate, but this generation speed was far behind the speed at which the spell was extracting it.

It was only a first attempt, so Xia Duo naturally could not exhaust all the Arcane Energy reserves. He stopped after extracting only half, and finally, at the location pointed to by Xia Duo's will, a blue crystal not even the size of a grain of rice fell out of thin air.

This was the Arcane Crystal. Xia Duo was quick-eyed and fast-handed, catching this blue crystal that was not even the size of a grain of rice. It felt almost weightless in his hand, which was not surprising.

Xia Duo had come into contact with Standard Arcane Crystals, which were about the size of a thumb joint and also light as a feather, so it went without saying for one smaller than a grain of rice.

"You succeeded?"

"Yes, I succeeded."

Succeeding on the first try might have been helped by this Spell Laboratory, but if Xia Duo himself lacked the foundation, even the best conditions would not necessarily be a good thing.

However, this Arcane Crystal was just too small!

Xia Duo did not expect to create a Standard Arcane Crystal worth several thousand Gold Coins in a single casting, but at less than the size of a grain of rice, it was really a bit far from his expectations.

At this rate, even without counting potential daily consumption, how much time would it take to save up for a Standard Arcane Crystal!

Xia Duo made a rough estimate: it would take several months.

Thinking of this problem, he couldn't help but ask Niya, "Have you managed to create a Standard Arcane Crystal through 【Create Arcane Crystal】 so far?"

Niya advanced to become an Arcanist last year, and it had been over half a year since then. According to Xia Duo's estimation, she should have been able to save up one.

But Niya's answer left Xia Duo somewhat speechless: "Except for creating some tiny Arcane Crystals at the beginning, later on, the teacher wanted me to catch up on my studies, and since saving these up is too slow, I didn't continue making them."

"……"

"Niya, is your teacher still taking students?"

This was not a spur-of-the-moment idea for Xia Duo, but a thought he had held for a long time. When it came to the thickness of a "thigh" (a powerful backer), what thigh in the current Netheril could be thicker than a Great Arcanist?

Gods might be, but hugging a god's thigh was just being a one-sided sycophant. A god would not stand up for you just because you were a believer or a Priest; you would only have a tiny advantage in Holy Power.

But this tiny advantage in Holy Power could not actually play a decisive role in this world that possessed Magic.

It was not as reliable as a Great Arcanist who was real, visible, could communicate, and would personally get involved!

Besides the Princess, Xia Duo hoped even more to become a student of Iolum. After all, from the background of that game on Earth, he knew that the Great Arcanist who could survive until the end was likely Iolum.

And there was also the temptation of the 【Mythallar】 and the 【Yiaole Mu Chang Sheng Shu】. This was not an ordinary thigh; it was practically a golden thigh.

Come to think of it, Xia Duo could barely claim a connection to Iolum; Niya's great-grandfather, the Great Arcanist Saville, was a student of Iolum.

Of course, Iolum and such were still too far away. The Great Arcanist closest to him right now was the Princess, and there was also Niya, the "little spy"—perhaps he could succeed!