Chapter 953: Q&A and Paper-making Production Capacity

"Lord Xia Duo, what I want to ask is, why can't the 'bridge' structural element unit undergo Joint Simplification? Wouldn't that simplify spellcasting? And why is it that the 'inversion' structural element unit can?"

Hearing He Sai's question, Xia Duo nodded slightly without saying anything, merely sweeping his gaze across the faces of the crowd. He saw some wearing expressions of realization and disdain, while others appeared lost in thought.

This gave Xia Duo a deeper understanding of these Intermediate Mages' current grasp of Arcane Geometry, and he then replied:

"Very good. Being able to ask this question shows that you have seriously considered the five operations of the Magic Net String, but it also exposes your shortcoming of insufficient accumulation in spell experimentation.

"This question is actually very simple. You only need to try a few more spells containing the 'bridge' structural element unit to know why it cannot undergo Joint Simplification.

"Simply put, the bridge structure connects multiple layers of the Magic Net. If one were to perform Joint Simplification, it would instead require adding more low-ring elements to maintain the integrity of its structure, which actually increases the difficulty of spellcasting.

"However, the inversion structure only involves a single layer of Magic Net elements. Therefore, as long as it can be simplified, it should be simplified as much as possible. Besides Joint Simplification, one can also perform Overlap Element Simplification. The simplification process is like this—"

As he spoke, Xia Duo used his will to control the Magic Net Strings to weave a specific combination of elements and demonstrated the transformation process to give everyone a more intuitive impression.

……

Afterward, He Sai continued to ask questions, and Xia Duo answered them one by one until three questions had been asked, at which point Xia Duo let him sit down.

"Next, Mage Chawila, three questions."

Chawila had only recently become an Intermediate Mage and had caught a good time, but he had previously been in charge of the Apprentice class, so in the recent Intermediate Mage assessment, he was still a bit behind He Sai and ranked second.

However, no matter how excellent the evaluation, there were at most three questions; the top three could all ask their full quota, while those with lower evaluations had only one or two, or even could not ask any questions at all. An Arcanist's personal Q&A session could not be too cheap.

Of course, not being able to ask questions, or asking fewer, did not affect their ability to audit or have private exchanges afterward.

If this were in the past, it would have been almost impossible to happen.

……

Soon, Xia Duo finished answering questions for everyone, and he himself used this opportunity to reorganize the knowledge system he had already mastered, even discovering some blind spots he had previously ignored.

This made him feel greatly gratified; a person's Wisdom is limited after all, and so-called checking for gaps and making up for deficiencies is nothing more than this.

Walking out of Conference Room 045, Xia Duo checked the time (the resident timing spell 【Weave Moment】) and found that there was still a while before lunch, so he went to the paper-making workshop he had specially renovated earlier to take a look.

"My Lord!"

"No need for formalities, you all go about your business, I'm just looking!"

Xia Duo waved his hand, refusing the crowd's salutes, and then observed quietly. The basic process was similar to what he had done before, except that after the pulp was finished, they did not use Magic for Shaping and Drying.

Instead, they used non-magical methods to scoop the paper and dry it. Xia Duo watched for a short while and found that the efficiency was far lower than using the spell 【Paper-making Shaping and Drying】.

The only advantage was that the threshold was lower.

Even if the Tower of Time weren't currently suffering from a paper shortage, the preceding steps could also be solved using non-magical methods.

After observing for a while, Jianaer, having received the news, hurried over from outside. Seeing the person in charge of the Magic Technician Office, Xia Duo asked directly:

"Jianaer, how many sheets of Standard Writing Paper can the two paper-making workshops in the Magic Technician Office produce daily now?"

"Xia Duo, the Paper-making Technique you provided is truly too magical!"

Seeing Xia Duo ask about paper output, Jianaer's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly: "Now the two paper-making workshops have a surplus of pulp, but limited by space, there are only five Apprentice technicians responsible for scooping and drying, yet the daily output is quite considerable. Now it has stabilized at 【number】 sheets of Standard Writing Paper per day!" (The number of standard sheets after cutting the large paper)

Hearing this number, Xia Duo was also somewhat surprised. Although this number was still far from his expected goal, compared to the difficulty of obtaining Parchment or so-called "Elven Paper," it was countless times simpler.

Behind every sheet of Parchment is a living cow, sheep, or Giant Lizard. Biological growth takes time; it's not something that can just appear on demand.

As for Elven Paper, it is considered an imported product. Even if Netheril has certain Territories that can produce it, the price is not very pleasant; the cheapest is several times the price of Parchment.

Now that the Tower of Time can produce 【number】 sheets of Standard Writing Paper daily, how much money can be saved!

Of course, with Magic involved in paper-making now, it may not save much money, but Magic is not a necessary condition for the Paper-making Technique Xia Duo provided. As long as the current paper shortage in the Tower of Time is eased, it can immediately be switched to non-magical production.

Moreover, the scale of production can be expanded to achieve higher output.

Thinking for a moment, Xia Duo asked again: "What is the remaining gap in paper demand at the Material Department? Also, what do the Apprentices think of the new paper?"

"The Apprentices are exceptionally fond of this new paper that costs 1 Copper per sheet. With the new paper, no one buys the remaining Parchment anymore. As for the gap at the Material Department, I think it may have already disappeared. However, the price of the new paper is only one-twentieth of the old Parchment, and the Apprentices' desire to buy is growing higher and higher. I am worried that if we cannot expand production capacity in time, a paper shortage will appear again."

Jianaer's worry was not without reason. He himself was already used to using the new paper. Although the writing experience might not be as good as Parchment, the new paper is cheap!

Having come all the way from being an Apprentice, Jianaer knew the thoughts of Apprentices best. Learning Magic is a money-burning process; even if one comes from a wealthy family, as long as there is an opportunity to save, they will definitely save.

Because you never know when you might be short that one Copper coin that could have been saved.

"Since that's the case, then expand production capacity as soon as possible! Let's set the target at 100 sheets of paper per Apprentice per day for now." Xia Duo quickly gave the Indication.

"Yes."

……

Leaving the paper-making workshop, it was almost time for a meal. Xia Duo called Niya to leave the Tower of Time together and came to Daxia Territory, where the Chef Kuke had already prepared a sumptuous lunch for the two.

Looking at the steaming milky-white fish soup on the dining table, Xia Duo immediately thought of the Wofu Fort River north of Savile Town, which showed absolutely no signs of life.

If luck is bad, perhaps after eating this meal, there won't be many more times to eat fish in the future.

Taking advantage of the fact that fish can still be caught in the southern section of the Wofu Fort River, one must eat more. Thinking of this, Xia Duo couldn't help but speed up his eating.