Chapter 382

"Alright, that's all for the basic theory."

Vinedo finally concluded:

"Practical operation requires professional alchemical equipment and a dust-free environment.

You prepare ten complete magic stones first, and at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, arrive on time at my private research lab in the Central Land."

His tone became formal:

"Charging fees is necessary; although I appreciate you, we are not yet in a formal mentor-disciple relationship.

Knowledge transmission always requires corresponding compensation; this is a conventional rule."

Hearing Vinedo take the initiative to bring up consultation fees, Luo En instead felt a secret sense of relief.

Although ten complete magic stones were not a small amount, this kind of clearly marked transaction was far safer than owing a favor.

At least he knew what the other party's expectations were and how to repay them.

"Of course, this is completely reasonable."

He responded respectfully: "I will go to your research lab tomorrow to pay the fee."

"Very good." Vinedo nodded with satisfaction, then seemed to remember something:

"By the way, since it's rare to be in contact, I'll let you witness true alchemy."

He manipulated several mechanical tentacles and operated quickly on the console inside the colossus:

"My regular maintenance this time is almost over.

This big guy has been sleeping for nearly ten years, and today is the day it reawakens."

"Why restart it?" Luo En asked curiously.

"An asteroid drifted above my extraterritorial territory."

Vinedo's tone was light, as if talking about today's weather:

"Although it's not too big, if it hits the surface, it will still cause quite a bit of trouble. So it needs to be dealt with in advance."

He pointed to another direction of the projection:

"You can put the emblem I gave you into your portable simulation device, so you can get a more realistic experience."

Luo En hurriedly followed suit, putting the wrench emblem into the simulation device in the lab.

The moment the emblem was activated, his consciousness was completely surrounded by a silver stream of light.

He could feel his mind crossing the endless void, traversing one plane barrier after another, eventually arriving at some distant alien world.

When the light dissipated, he found himself inside a giant structure that was suffocating.

This was a control center specifically designed for some kind of existence that transcended conventional understanding.

The ceiling was so high he couldn't see the top, and the surroundings were densely covered with countless glowing pipes and circuits, like a giant beast's vascular nervous system.

The air was filled with the smell of ozone and melting metal.

"How does it feel, little guy?"

Vinedo's voice sounded in his consciousness.

Unlike his usual business-like tone, at this moment he carried a near-childlike excitement:

"This is the crystallization of my hard work that I spent hundreds of years building—'Star-Forged Titan'; you are currently in its core control room."

Luo En turned slowly, trying to adapt to this scale beyond imagination.

In front of him was a circular console the size of a basketball court, densely packed with thousands of control devices of different functions.

Some were traditional crystal buttons, some were biological interfaces with wriggling tentacles, and some were even constantly changing forms, seemingly alive.

The most shocking things were the giant screens hanging from the ceiling.

Each screen was tens of meters wide, displaying complex data streams that were dazzling in real-time:

Energy distribution map, structural integrity monitoring, environmental analysis report, threat assessment system...

The density and complexity of the information had already exceeded the understanding limit of a formal wizard.

"These control systems..."

Luo En struggled to digest the information overload before him, his voice full of amazement:

"How high a mental shunting technique is needed to control them simultaneously? I feel that even a Great Wizard couldn't process so much information at once, right?"

"Ha! You hit the nail on the head!"

Vinedo's laughter carried bitterness.

Countless precise mechanical tentacles extended from his body, connecting to various control nodes like an octopus:

"Actually, even I can only directly control about 40% of the systems, and the remaining 60% are handed over to auxiliary intelligence for processing."

While speaking, those mechanical tentacles began to move rapidly, jumping between thousands of control devices, their movements as precise as a well-trained pianist:

"Do you know the manufacturing cost of these auxiliary intelligences?

Each one is equivalent to the total income of a wizard clan for ten years! And I installed thirty-seven in total!"

Vinedo's tone began to become somewhat excited, even carrying a boastful meaning:

"Just this control system alone has emptied my small treasury several times! But this is not the most expensive part..."

He paused deliberately, seemingly waiting for Luo En's follow-up question.

"What is the most expensive?" Luo En blinked, consciously taking the bait, satisfying the other party's vanity.

"Hahaha! Well asked!" Vinedo's triumphant voice sounded:

"The most expensive is the energy core! Do you know what a Magic Crystal is?"

"Magic Crystal?" Luo En shook his head to indicate he didn't understand.

"Ah, forgot that you at this level can't come into contact with it yet."

Vinedo's tone became even more triumphant, but he deliberately pretended to be distressed:

"A Magic Crystal is the essence of magic stones; only in a large magic stone mine that can produce hundreds of thousands of complete magic stones can one naturally be born!"

His voice began to tremble, not knowing if it was because of excitement or heartache:

"The energy density it contains is thousands of times higher than ordinary magic stones!

And it has many special bonuses that ordinary magic stones don't have—such as spatial control, time acceleration, and even reality reconstruction!"

"At our level, ordinary magic stones can already be extracted and manufactured from the void, as simple as you breathing air."

Vinedo continued, the boastful meaning in his tone becoming stronger and stronger:

"But natural treasures like Magic Crystals cannot be artificially synthesized even by those ancient alchemists! Unless..."

His voice became mysterious:

"Unless one masters the legendary Philosopher's Stone, this ultimate creation that only exists in theory!

But that is too ethereal; for several eras, I've only heard of two or three examples that might be close."

Vinedo manipulated the console, and the Titan began to emit a low starting sound:

"Back then, for this Magic Crystal, I threw in all the wealth I had accumulated for eight hundred years! I even mortgaged the mining rights of several of my alien world territories!"

His tone became even more exaggerated:

"I ended up owing an astronomical debt equivalent to fifty thousand complete magic stones!

So much so that I, a dignified Great Wizard, was actually forced by debt to become a mercenary!"

But speaking of this, Vinedo's tone became triumphant again:

"But now... hehe, those guys who mocked me for being a spendthrift back then are now jealous to the point of madness when they see my wealth report."

"Great Wizards are also troubled by debt?" Luo En was somewhat incredulous.

"You child, you thought Great Wizards didn't eat or drink?" Vinedo laughed loudly:

"The higher the level, the more terrifying the consumption.

The cost of each cross-plane teleportation is enough to make a Dark Sun-level wizard feel painful.

And manufacturing a decent alchemical piece of equipment starts at thousands of magic stones."

As the startup procedure progressed, Luo En could feel an increasingly intense vibration beneath his feet.

It didn't feel like the rotation of mechanical gears; it felt more like the rhythm of some giant life form awakening.

As if they were inside an ancient giant god that was awakening.

Through the external sensing system, Luo En saw the true face of the Titan for the first time.

It was a humanoid colossus reaching a thousand meters in height, composed entirely of a special alloy emitting a dark gold luster.

Its surface was covered with glowing patterns like blood vessels, flashing with the rhythm of a "heartbeat."

Two giant light spheres with a diameter of over a hundred meters on its head were slowly lighting up at this moment, like two newborn stars.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Vinedo's voice was full of pride:

"This is my masterpiece! Every screw, every circuit, has been carefully designed!"

The planet where the Titan was located also entered Luo En's field of vision.

This was a completely transformed metal world.

The surface was covered with countless crystal-clear energy spires, each releasing beams of light of different colors into the sky.

The distant mountain ranges were not composed of rock, but of giant crystal clusters, shining brightly under the twin moons.

The ocean appeared a strange silver, with glowing algae plants floating on the surface, like a liquid starry sky.

The entire world emitted a surreal sense of beauty, but at the same time revealed artificial traces.

"When I found this place, it was originally a dead, barren planet; I spent several hundred years transforming it into what it is now."

Vinedo's tone carried the pride of a creator:

"Atmospheric composition, gravitational field, and even geological structure were all redesigned according to my will. Now this place is one of the most resource-rich territories in this quadrant!"