Chapter 892: Mithril Problems, Impending Surge

There are two types of Mithril Refining Technology that Xia Duo brought back from the Projection Plane: Arcane Empire.

One is the common method that does not require Magic participation, suitable for batch refining, but the Mithril refined this way is not of high purity and cannot be used for the manufacture of miniaturized Magic Items.

Thus, the second refining technology is needed, an Element Extraction spell jointly cast by multiple Spellcasters.

Of course, one can also build an Element Extraction magic array; through Element Extraction, one can obtain High-Grade Mithril used for manufacturing small Magic Items.

If Xia Duo only wanted to produce relatively simple and bulky Magic Items like Communication Magic Tools, then the first refining technology would be enough.

But if he wants to produce small Magic Items like Amulets and rings, then Element Extraction is indispensable.

Furthermore, the purity of Mithril required to manufacture ultra-micro Mithril Components similar to Spell Chips in the future might very well be sky-high; it would not be strange at all if 99.9% were followed by a dozen more nines.

The impact brought by Mithril purity lies not only in miniaturization but also in its susceptibility to Elemental Transmutation; the lower the purity, the greater the impact.

Therefore, even without considering miniaturization, the higher the purity of Mithril, the better.

Only with higher purity is it less likely to deteriorate due to Elemental Transmutation; once a portion of the Mithril deteriorates, the purity will drop, leading to a vicious cycle that eventually causes the energy circuit to collapse and the Magic Artifact to be scrapped.

……

Thinking this way, Xia Duo gradually had an idea in his mind.

However, to refine Mithril on a large scale, it is best to own a Mithril Mine; otherwise, even if one recycles scrapped Mithril, there will be high costs and also great trouble.

Regardless of whether Netheril truly lacks the ability to produce finished Mithril, at least on the surface it appears so; rashly breaking this balance will inevitably lead to a backlash.

Xia Duo does not yet have the ability to withstand that level of backlash.

If one has their own mine, refines it themselves, and uses it secretly, then even if others know, they might tacitly accept it; but if one buys up scrapped Mithril on a large scale, it is different.

Those without the refining technology will be jealous, those with the refining technology will feel you are tactless, and the existing vested interests—the Elf, the Dwarf, and perhaps even including the Arcane Union and the Seven Towers—will feel even more displeased.

Having offended almost everyone, where would there be a way to survive?

……

For a moment, Xia Duo really had a headache, but to develop and grow, relying solely on manpower is completely insufficient; there must be external objects that can store and circulate Magic power separately.

And such external objects are inseparable from Mithril!

Unless a new substance or new technology can be found to replace Mithril, but from the beginning of the magical civilization on the Main Plane until now, no one has seen anything that can truly replace Mithril.

At least, Xia Duo has not heard of it on the Main Plane or any of the Projection Planes.

Among the various materials that can serve to Link Magic Web and guide energy, those with good performance are not as cheap as Mithril, and those cheaper than Mithril clearly do not have performance as good as Mithril.

This is just like wires on Earth; everyone knows that metals can conduct electricity, but in the end, only Copper became the most widespread wire material, not Silver, which has the strongest electrical conductivity.

Although Xia Duo very much wants to find new materials or new technologies, he will not fight against objective facts that have stretched for tens of thousands of years or even longer; at least he currently lacks the money, energy, and time for such a confrontation.

After careful consideration, in the end, he can only put effort into the Mithril Mine.

……

Following this, Xia Duo chatted with Jianaer for a few more words; of course, he no longer spoke of official business afterward, but asked about his situation in the study group recently.

Jianaer answered one by one; the Tower of Time today, especially within the Progress Society, had long since formed a relatively relaxed and harmonious atmosphere.

After all, much Knowledge was opened up for free, so everyone did not avoid each other when communicating, and they were not as strictly guarded about their specific learning progress as the Mages of the Tower of Time were in the past.

It truly had the prototype of an academy!

"By the way, how many people have become Level 3 Apprentices and how many have become Official Mages in the month I was away?" Xia Duo suddenly asked.

Actually, he could have asked the Tower Spirit, but the Tower Spirit can only record dead information, so it is required that the person concerned applies for a Permission Level upgrade at the Personnel Department before it is recorded as an Official Mage.

As for Level 3 Apprentices, it was originally a rank within the Progress Society and was only promoted later; naturally, there might be people who did not go to register.

If they do not register, the Tower Spirit has no record; everyone is an Apprentice, and it is impossible to judge from certain passive spellcasting records, so it is better to learn it clearly from a grassroots Mage like Jianaer.

Jianaer was a bit surprised that Xia Duo asked him this question, because regarding personnel issues, Dien and the others are the ones who know the most, but he still stated some of the situations he understood:

"I only know of two new Level 3 Apprentices; they completed their registration a few days ago. As for Official Mages, four more appeared all at once last month, and everyone was very surprised."

"Is that so!"

Actually, Xia Duo was also surprised; four more Official Mages in one month, although there were factors of previous accumulation, the post-transformation academy-style training must have also played a big role.

If things continue like this, the future is very much worth looking forward to!

One must know that the Tower of Time now has nearly a thousand Apprentices; perhaps only four more Official Mages appear in a month now, but those are all original Apprentices who completed their upgrades.

Once the New Apprentices grow up, the number of Official Mages will very likely increase by hundreds at a time.

The mass production of Magic Items and the explosion in the number of Official Mages—Xia Duo almost saw an incredibly flourishing magical civilization in a state of gestation.

Market, audience, money flow, circular development—Xia Duo was previously worried about the Tower of Time's overcapacity, but now, even without interacting with the outside world, just internal circulation might be enough to develop.

Of course, the material foundation for all this is indispensable, and this circles back to the problem of Mithril.

"Mithril Mine! Mithril Mine! How should I find you?"

……

After parting with Jianaer, Xia Duo slowly paced toward the Material Department of the Tower of Time while calmly thinking about the problems of future development; besides Mithril, there was actually another problem that could not be ignored, and that was—

Population!

Currently, the total population of Savile Territory plus Daxia Territory is only over sixty thousand; Daxia Territory is close to ten thousand, and Savile Territory is over fifty thousand.

And among these sixty-plus thousand people, it includes many outsiders, the most numerous of whom are various merchant guilds and their affiliated personnel (mainly related to Konnifila City).

With just this few people, how can one develop a civilization?