Chapter 399: The Benefits of Spending Gold (Part 1)

The weather in late winter had become erratic again; though last night had been a bone-chilling cold, this morning brought a bright, sunny day.

At the summit of Mount Ximalaya, the sky's blue looked like rich pigment spilled onto a white canvas, with only occasional wisps of cloud revealing white gaps—the rest was an unnaturally vivid blue.

A wisp of smoke rose from a chimney; in the distance, a low, distant horn sounded. A traveler leaning on his cane gazed toward the mountain's edge, unaware that a mysterious, ancient temple stood silently at the farthest point of his vision, overlooking all of mortal existence.

Icicles still clung to the ancient eastern eaves, and long ice spikes hung from the roof. Through the window frame of the main hall beneath, a hand inserted three incense sticks into an incense burner.

As the slightly rough hands withdrew, the face of Wong, Grand Steward of Kamar-Taj, was revealed.

Wong folded his hands together, closed his eyes, and meditated in silence. Yet amid this tranquil scene, an abrupt, hurried footstep suddenly broke the peace.

A young apprentice in a yellow robe dashed in "clattering" up the temple steps. Wong heard the noise but did not turn, only sighed and said, "An, I've told you many times—enter the hall quietly. You must learn to still your mind if you wish to better feel the call of the mystical forces…"

The apprentice, no older than seven or eight, looked troubled. He slowly walked into the hall, bowed, and said, "Something's wrong, Grand Master—the Supreme Sorcerer has gone again to the pond in the back courtyard to watch those cranes!"

Wong's eyes snapped open with a "tsk!" as he whirled to face the boy. "Cranes?? What is he planning now???"

Without waiting to maintain inner stillness, Wong quickened his pace, following the boy out of the hall, running down the steps as he grumbled, "I don't know what's gotten into the Supreme Sorcerer lately—he first dragged in a huge pile of useless wood, carved it into sticks, and assembled them. Now he's hunting for phoenix feathers and dragon heartstrings. What's he planning to do to those cranes? Could it be…"

As he spoke, Wong grew more frantic. He swung his arm and opened a portal, then stepped through.

At the lake's edge, he saw Strange standing on the pavilion, studying a crane in his arms.

Though Kamar-Taj was a sacred site of magic, it also kept many animals: on land, cattle, sheep, horses, and deer; in the water, wild ducks, swans, and cranes; in the sky, geese and eagles; and on the back mountain, two sizable fields where many apprentices farmed in their spare time.

Wong rushed forward, staring at Strange. "Supreme Sorcerer, what are you doing now? Good heavens! Put it down! Its feathers are soaked!"

Strange held the crane, stroking its long neck. "Nothing much. I'm testing whether it can carry messages. I caught an eagle the other day, but it was far too unruly—I couldn't even attach the message pouch…"

He glanced at the crane in his arms. "This one's calm enough, but I don't know if it can fly well…"

Wong sighed. He turned his head and saw the pile of lumber Strange had stacked nearby. "Supreme Sorcerer, what exactly are you trying to make? If you want to craft something, you could simply entrust it to the Grand Masters who specialize in magical artifacts."

"Even if you wish to practice yourself, you don't need to bring in so much material at once. And I've never heard of any magical artifact made from wood. Usually, special metals have better magical affinity."

Rebirth in the Great Wave Era

Strange set the crane down, stood up, and walked over to the pile of wood. "I'm conducting an experiment, Wong. Do you know of any mages in Kamar-Taj who study material properties?"

"Material properties? You mean which materials work best?"

Strange sighed. "Their hardness, density, flammability, magical affinity, magical capacity, magical output, and so on."

Wong shook his head. Strange looked even more frustrated. "Then how do you determine what materials to use for a magical artifact?"

"Grand Masters consult ancient texts recording centuries of accumulated experience. We generally follow the recipes in those texts, because using other materials leads to failure rates too high."

Wong sighed, his expression turning nostalgic. "Though we're wealthy now, we still must conserve. Who knows when our energy might run out and we'll have to borrow again?"

"Borrowing power comes at a cost. We must carefully ration every ounce of it, using it only where it matters most."

Strange felt a pang of sorrow. "So the reason we've never developed magical materials science is because the cost of trial and error is too high?"

"Something like that. Also, we already have plenty of materials. There are four metals alone, and over a dozen fabrics—for armor, robes, cloaks, jewelry—it's all sufficient."

Strange took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "You know, I've gained a new idea from elsewhere. There, people combine a certain wood with another material to make a staff, and use it to cast spells."

Wong frowned, considering the possibility. After a moment, he shook his head. "Unlikely. Magic doesn't arise from nothing—it comes only from the primal forces of the universe."

"But human life cannot directly harness primal energy. That's why we must borrow from the Dark Gods."

"Unless the staff you describe can transform humans into beings capable of directly using primal energy, no ordinary person could ever learn magic."

"I don't want ordinary people to use magic directly. I want to lower the difficulty for novice sorcerers."

"For example, store the borrowed power inside this staff, then let them draw from it. That way, they can study magical techniques without waiting to learn how to store and control energy themselves."

Wong rubbed his chin, thinking. "That might be possible… but a wooden staff?" He shook his head, clearly doubtful. "I've never seen wood with strong magical affinity."

Strange turned to the pile beside him—elm, walnut, mahogany—and muttered, "Well, that was just Shiler's dream. Not practical in reality."

He looked at Wong. "What about metal? You said there are four metals with excellent magical affinity."

"We could make it," Wong replied firmly, then added, "But processing and crafting those four metals takes immense time."

"Take 'mystic silver,' for example—it's silver refined through special magic. During refining, you must continuously channel magical energy while adding over forty other materials…"

"What's the yield?"

"If every Grand Master in Kamar-Taj worked on mystic silver, we'd produce about fifty grams per month."

"Too little," Strange said, clearly dissatisfied. Wong explained, "We don't use mystic silver for entire artifacts—only key components."

"For instance, our common Sorcerer's Rings: their outer shells are brass-iron alloys, giving them gold or brown hues. Add dyes, and you get other colors. But the actual working parts are the mystic silver and gemstones at their core."

Wong sighed. "Of the four materials, only vibranium requires little refining—and it has excellent magical affinity. The problem? It's far too expensive."

"Though I've heard of a new material called 'molten steel.' I wonder how its magical affinity compares. If it's as good as vibranium but cheaper, that'd be ideal," Wong mused.

"Kamar-Taj isn't truly wealthy. Most of our funding comes from donations by the World Security Council and national super-security agencies—like S. . . . . . and A. . . They give us money every year."

"Sorcerers are extremely frugal. We're self-sufficient—we could live here without ever using human currency. The only thing we need money for is purchasing expensive materials."

The Grand Steward clearly held strong authority on this matter. He frowned, his features tightening. "The Grand Masters have cultivated calm hearts, but lately, there's been friction—everyone wants more materials, yet the funds are fixed…"

Strange and Wong walked forward, circling the lake as Strange spoke. "I must change this. The world isn't what it used to be."

"Before, our magic was scarce—we had to pay dearly to borrow power. Now, magic is plentiful, but materials are lacking. That's not a good situation."

Strange was right: it was the principle of adding water when there's too much flour, flour when there's too much water. Before, borrowing power was harder—magic was scarce, materials abundant. Now, magic is sufficient, but materials are not.

Strange reached the lakeside railing and punched the post. "Self-sufficiency… we must become self-sufficient."

"Whether it's mystic silver or vibranium, we're dependent on others. What if those materials vanish one day? Will sorcerers never be able to craft magical artifacts again?"

As they walked and discussed possibilities, they reached the back mountain's farmland. Strange stared at the fallow fields and suddenly had an idea. "What was grown here before?"

"This plot was wheat. Next to it, vegetables. Over there, fruit trees. Everything we eat comes from here."

Wong looked at his hands. "You've been here a short time, so you may not know—farming is a long-standing tradition in Kamar-Taj. The former Supreme Sorcerer, Ancient One, was herself a farmer. She loved working these fields…"

Strange rubbed his chin. "What seeds do you use?"

"Seeds? Of course, wheat and vegetable seeds."

"Have you ever tried using magic to modify these seeds? Infusing them with magical energy—or enchanting them directly?"

Wong's eyes widened. "But… that's impossible! Would the crops still be edible?"

"How will you know unless you try?"

"Besides, we don't have to grow food." Strange looked toward the fruit trees. "The wood I brought earlier barely reacted to magic at all. That's normal—my inspiration came from a dream."

"There, people make staves from wood and strange materials. We may not be able to replicate that—not because of our technique, but because of the materials themselves."

"If mature wood doesn't respond to magic, what if we modified the seeds before they grew? Could we cultivate a type of magical wood?"

Wong shook his head. "I'm sorry—I never studied human knowledge. I have no concept of this."

Strange, however, felt he'd found a brilliant idea. "That's fine. I know someone who excels at this."