Chapter 673: Healthy Development, Magic Technician

Putting away the *Arcane Federation Monthly*, Xia Duo walked toward the Tilake Research Lab not far from his residence. Since the 【Magic Net Background Communication】 scheme had been mandatorily authorized to every Mage Tower, the communication magic tools based on this spell could now be scheduled.

It was already the end of August, yet this was the first time Xia Duo had come to the Tilake Research Lab this month. Just as he walked in, he clearly sensed the desolate atmosphere here.

Of course, there were people, but compared to the busy scenes before, now there was only Tilake and a few Apprentices busy with who knows what; as for the other Official Mages, there was not a single one.

Xia Duo thought for a moment, feeling he had overlooked something, so he called Tilake over to ask, "Tilake, why are you the only one here? Where are the others?"

It was not that Xia Duo deliberately ignored the Apprentices, but that Apprentices were not part of the official establishment of the Research Lab; the only ones who had joined the Research Lab as Apprentices were the previous Dien, Sami, and their group.

However, Dien, Sami, and the others had long since become Official Mages.

Tilake was not at all surprised by Xia Duo's sudden arrival. Hearing Xia Duo's inquiry, he casually picked up an item from the corner of the workbench and walked out from the General Laboratory inside the Research Lab:

"Xia Duo, you came just in time. I was actually planning to contact you! I didn't expect you to come first. We have finished the communication magic tool you asked us to trial-produce. Take a look at the sample!"

Saying this, he handed the item he had just brought out to Xia Duo.

Xia Duo took it and looked; it was a palm-sized Crystal Ball, gray and opaque, as if some accident had occurred during the encapsulation with crystal material, causing it to be contaminated with impurities.

Of course, it could also be a special effect caused by 【Permanent Magic】.

Under Magic Vision, this Crystal Ball emitted a faint yet persistent and steady Magic Aura. Xia Duo observed it carefully and found that this Magic Item was more refined than the 【Long-lasting Reflective Mirror】 and 【Warning Amulet】 that Tilake and the others had produced before.

It seemed their craftsmanship level was also constantly improving.

Xia Duo did not use it practically but asked Tilake, "Have you tested it? What is the interval between single communications? How long is the service life?"

"We only did some simple tests. The interval for a single communication is about 3 minutes. After all, there is still some gap compared to traditional production methods. But if we switch to Mithril Components with higher purity, provide energy flux, reduce buffer time, or improve the production process, the communication interval can be further reduced. Theoretically, the interval time can be infinitely reduced."

After a pause, Tilake added, "As for the service life, it depends on the actual usage scenario. The production method of Permanent Magic is between traditional production methods and Permanency in terms of stability. With normal use, five to ten years should be no problem."

The previous answer was standard, but upon hearing the service life, Xia Duo raised his volume slightly, "Five to ten years?"

"If we improve the process, we can increase the service life!" Tilake replied immediately.

Xia Duo did not doubt this point; it was just that what he was dissatisfied with was not that the service life was too short, but that it was too long. Who uses a "mobile phone" for five or even ten years?

The market is limited. Once a few families rush in, it will be full instantly. This is not a one-off deal; only by continuously updating and replacing can a steady stream of income be maintained.

Likewise, competition can also stimulate the continuous development of related theories, technologies, and crafts. This is a healthy development model.

Like those Ancient Magic Artifacts that are still in use today and even outstanding, it only shows that development has stagnated terribly!

Xia Duo explained briefly, and Tilake nodded blankly. However, Xia Duo did not care. Anyway, he would continue to output his ideas in the Tower of Time. As long as these people saw the actual effects, they would naturally understand him. He had plenty of time and was not in a rush.

"By the way, where did the others go?" Xia Duo asked again.

"They went to teach the Apprentices."

"Teaching the Apprentices? Don't the people in the Research Lab have no teaching tasks?"

Hearing this answer, Xia Duo could not help but frown. He indeed needed many Official Mages to teach New Apprentices, but ever since he discovered Dewan going to lead New Apprentices last time, he had the Apprentice Management Office change to flexible teaching to maximize the use of capable people.

Moreover, he had specifically instructed that people in the Tilake Research Lab did not need to take on teaching tasks, just hoping to let them focus their main energy on the research of Permanent Magic.

Currently, although the teaching staff of the Apprentice Management Office was relatively tight, there was no need for people from the Tilake Research Lab to go over.

Xia Duo stared closely at Tilake, wanting to see what explanation this person in charge of the Research Lab had.

Although Xia Duo usually had a quite kind attitude toward people, his identity as an Arcanist was hard to ignore. Being stared at by Xia Duo with a serious expression, Tilake could not help but swallow his saliva, and his speech became a bit nervous:

"It's not entirely a teaching task; it actually has to do with the current Research Lab expenses."

Expenses?

Hearing this answer, Xia Duo's brows furrowed even tighter. The Tilake Research Lab was the one he valued most in the Tower of Time, aside from Apprentice teaching. "What's the problem with the expenses? Is it trouble from the Audit Department or Saixili's side?"

Currently, the only things related to expenses in the Tower of Time Research Lab were Saixili's Material Department and the newly established Audit Department. However, the Audit Department was in Xia Duo's hands; if there were any problems, someone would have notified him long ago.

Xia Duo vaguely had an answer in his heart.

"It's Saixili," Tilake said in a low voice.

As expected!

Xia Duo immediately felt it was troublesome. Saixili was entirely responsible to Niya and was Niya's little housekeeper. Xia Duo could not force Saixili to agree to anything, nor was he willing to go to Niya to play tricks.

Thinking for a moment, Xia Duo said to Tilake: "I already roughly know the situation. So, the others went to select Magic Technicians?"

"Yes."

Xia Duo finally realized what he had overlooked—it was Magic Technicians! Of course, it could also be said to be the income and expenditure problem of the Tilake Research Lab, which was actually equivalent to the same thing.

【Magic Technician】, as the name suggests, refers to technical workers engaged in work related to magic, including but not limited to manufacturing Magic Item pre-fabricated parts and acting as "batteries" for Resonance Casting for Enchanters. (Enchanting refers to attaching magic, which is linking 【Quasi-Magic Item】 to the Magic Net, the final step of Magic Item manufacturing.)

Of course, Enchanters are also considered Magic Technicians.

Xia Duo's idea was to divide research, design, and production, with 【Magic Technician】 specifically responsible for production, similar to factory workers on Earth.

Currently, all expenses of the Tilake Research Lab were provided by the Tower of Time Material Department, but the output was very small. Except for a very small number of 【Warning Amulet】 outputs, there was no other output.

Yet they were consuming every day, so it was no wonder Saixili was looking for trouble.

In Xia Duo's plan, 【Magic Technician】 could rapidly expand the production of the Research Lab's laboratory products and turn them into commodities that could actually be sold.

With the low-cost advantage of 【Permanent Magic】, they could quickly open up the market, capture profits, and make the Tilake Research Lab turn losses into profits.