Chapter 161: Clues of a Divine Creature, Secret Puppetry

Chapter 161: Clues of a Divine Creature, Secret Puppetry

In the brightly lit laboratory, Su Nan examined the winged statue before him, his expression a mix of curiosity and intrigue.

Having once come into contact with divine remains and holy artifacts of the Starlight Church, he immediately recognized the faint trace of faith energy within the statue. Although it was negligible, barely a fraction of what he had encountered in the divine remains, it was undeniably genuine faith energy.

"This must be some kind of divine creature," Su Nan mused.

The current environment of the Starlight Continent was incapable of giving birth to new deities. The ancient deities, who had existed for at least ten thousand years, were all known to him. The original form of the statue did not belong to any of them, making it highly likely that it was a divine creature.

In the multiverse, new divine creatures were constantly being born, and most did not belong to specific races. They were, in themselves, new races. Therefore, encountering a divine creature he did not recognize was not unusual.

"I wonder if this divine creature is a native of the Starlight Continent or if it came from another plane."

Su Nan was more inclined to believe the former. Given the current state of the Starlight Continent, no divine creature would be foolish enough to come here voluntarily. Those capable of interplanar travel had life levels far surpassing those of apprentice wizards. Entering the current Starlight Continent would be like humans entering an environment with thin air, every moment bringing more suffering.

"However, if all the believers were wiped out, why didn't the divine creature appear?"

"Or perhaps it simply doesn't care about the mind flayer believers."

This possibility was not out of the question. If the divine creature was naturally born, faith energy could be more harmful than beneficial, making believers unnecessary. The mind flayers in the City of the Great Eye might have just chosen to worship the divine creature on their own.

Regardless, discovering clues about a divine creature near the Star Alliance was not something to be taken lightly. Finding the creature's whereabouts was essential.

This added another task to the exploration team's list.

Regaining his composure, Su Nan took out the divine finger bone and tried to extract the faith energy from the statue and channel it into the bone. However, he failed. The faith energy was not compatible with the divine remains.

With no choice, Su Nan let the faith energy slowly dissipate. Faith energy that couldn't be converted into divine energy was of no use to him. The amount of faith energy was too minimal; even if converted, it would only increase his mental energy by 0.02 to 0.03, so he didn't feel too disappointed.

Putting away the statue, Su Nan made his way to the study, where Carolina and Red Widow were already waiting.

"Master," the two women bowed in unison.

"Good work this time," Su Nan said, taking his seat behind the desk and praising Red Widow.

"It's my duty, Master," Red Widow replied with a smile, her eyes glinting as she subtly glanced at Carolina.

Carolina pursed her lips and silently huffed.

Turning to Carolina, Su Nan asked, "The graduation exams for the six knight academies are in two months. How are the preparations coming along?"

"All preparations are complete, Master," Carolina replied promptly.

Su Nan nodded slightly. "After the graduation exams, all the students will join the Knight Guard and form new exploration teams with the newly arrived second-level apprentice wizards. Leave the arrangements to you. We need to accelerate the expansion of the Star Alliance."

Following Xeman and Cole, several more students, including Arthil and Ethan, had recently advanced to second-level apprentice wizards. The base now had over 300 students, totaling 303. Among them were six second-level apprentice wizards.

In the future, this number would increase at an accelerating rate. Initially, Su Nan had planned to form a third small golem legion, but he had been busy with the creation of magical constructs and couldn't spare the time to craft puppets. Additionally, the cost of magical constructs was significant, and most of the Star Alliance's income was being invested in them, leaving no extra funds for a new golem legion.

The only consolation was that the 3,000 new knights, equipped with magical constructs and enchanted weapons, had combat capabilities on par with a small golem legion, achieving the goal of expanding military power.

"After the graduation exams, the Knight Guard will have 3,500 members and will continue to grow annually. It's no longer appropriate to call it the Knight Guard. Let's rename it the Enchanted Knight Regiment."

Su Nan made the decision final.

From now on, the Enchanted Knight Regiment would become one of the Star Alliance's most important military forces.

In the year 1259 of the Starlight Calendar, during the month of Xia Long.

The six knight academies—Dragon Scale, Dragon Horn, Dragon Claw, Dragon Eye, Dragon Bone, and Dragon Blood—welcomed their first graduates.

On the third day of the month, three thousand knight cadets gathered on the island of Obscure Lake City, preparing for their graduation exams.

"This year's scale is much larger than last year's!"

Looking at the sea of heads on the island, Ruge couldn't help but exclaim.

Solano chuckled lightly, "After all, this year we have six knight academies."

Xien, seeing the excitement and nervousness on the cadets' faces, couldn't help but smile.

"Once the exams are over, our Knight Guard, now the Magic Rune Knights, will increase in number by six times."

Ruge grinned, "You should be called Captain now. The larger the Magic Rune Knights are, the higher Captain Xien's standing in the Star Alliance will be, even rivaling that of wizard apprentices."

Xien laughed and shook his head.

He didn't care much about power, but he felt a heavy sense of responsibility.

Lord Su Nan had personally appointed him as the Captain of the Magic Rune Knights, entrusting him with the management of thousands of people. He had to live up to that trust.

"Enough idle chat, let's get to work."

Xien took a deep breath and said seriously, "Starting this year, the Magic Rune Knights will take over the graduation exams for each class. This is our first time hosting it, and we must not make any mistakes."

Ruge and Solano sobered up, nodding solemnly in agreement.

The entire month of Summer Ridge was spent in a flurry of activity for the Star Alliance.

Time quickly turned to the month of Blazing Fire.

In the spell training room,

Su Nan stood in the center of the spacious area, motionless.

With a slight mental command, ten magic missiles appeared out of thin air, quickly transforming into long, arm-sized spears. They scattered and whizzed through the air, tracing bizarre trajectories before converging at a single point and simultaneously piercing the humanoid target a hundred meters away.

"The attack power has increased by about thirty to forty percent."

Su Nan nodded in satisfaction.

After nearly two years, his training in spell construction had finally reached 100%.

This advanced spell technique, second only in difficulty to complex casting and instant spell casting, did not disappoint in its power.

Though it might seem like just a thirty to forty percent increase, the cumulative damage over a battle could significantly boost his offensive capabilities.

More importantly, spell construction greatly enhanced the flexibility of spells.

For example, controlling the flight path of magic missiles.

Or changing the shape of a shield spell from a limited protective tower shield to a 360-degree, all-encompassing protective dome.

Wizards (apprentices) who mastered spell construction often surprised their enemies with unexpected 'gifts' during battles.

"Which advanced spell technique should I train next?"

Currently, the only advanced spell techniques Su Nan had yet to master were spell extension, which increased casting range; spell duration, which extended the duration of spell effects; and spell area, which expanded the area of effect of spells.

In fact, these three techniques were equally practical, and choosing any of them would be beneficial.

Moreover, they were much easier to master than the previous advanced spell techniques.

With his current mental power, he estimated it would take no more than a year to master them.

Thus, Su Nan didn't hesitate for long and chose spell duration.

[Completed one spell duration practice, 'Spell Duration' training progress +0.02%]



After a short practice session, Su Nan left the spell training area.

He had important matters to attend to today and couldn't afford to exhaust his mental energy on practice.

After capturing Giant Eye City, Su Nan immediately arranged for the development of the silver vein under its control.

Over time, he had accumulated a fair amount of mithril, adding to his existing stock and the mithril he had obtained from the mind flayer's treasury. Finally, he had enough mithril to craft a secret puppet.

Now he could finally start crafting the secret puppet.

Entering the Dragon Forest, Su Nan teleported directly to the workshop area and entered his large, private workshop.

With the elemental pool providing a constant supply of energy, he had installed three mana crystal forges in the workshop, significantly improving his efficiency.

Activating the mana crystal forges, Su Nan approached his workbench, took out the materials from his spatial ring, and placed them on the table. Taking a deep breath, he focused intensely and began the process.

Years of extensive puppet crafting had given him an extraordinary amount of experience.

His [Puppet Crafting] skill had also reached level 5.

In terms of puppet crafting, Su Nan was confident that he could rival some full-fledged wizards and far surpass wizard apprentices.

Whether now or in the past, no wizard apprentice could match his level of expertise in puppet crafting.

The creation of a Secret Puppet is a complex process, but for Su Nan, it was merely a bit of a hassle, not an insurmountable challenge.

Time flew by as he focused on his work. It wasn't until evening that Su Nan finally deactivated his Mage Hand, taking a deep breath and looking excitedly at the results on his workbench.

There lay a humanoid metal figure, as tall as a real person, gleaming with a faint blue tint under the light. It looked like a muscular warrior, with rippling muscles and closed eyes. If it weren’t for the distinct color of its body, it could easily pass for a real human.

With a thought, Su Nan commanded the Secret Puppet to open its eyes. It sprang up from the workbench with a swift, agile motion, shooting across the room like a cannonball. Mid-air, it performed a flawless flip and landed steadily on its feet.

At the same time, a blade emerged from its palm, rapidly transforming into a gleaming knight's longsword. It thrust the sword into the air a few times, the sound of the blade slicing through the air ringing loudly.

"Excellent."

Su Nan nodded in satisfaction. The Secret Puppet's main material was diamond, making its body far stronger than even a fine gold golem. Its strength and reaction speed were outstanding, making it an exceptional combatant in close-quarters fighting.

However, its spellcasting ability was even more impressive. Mithril, the primary material, had excellent malleability and magical conductivity. Combined with a significant number of high-grade rune gems embedded within its body, the Secret Puppet could manipulate energy particles.

Additionally, Su Nan had permanently enchanted the Secret Puppet with a variety of cantrips, first-level, and second-level spells, giving it a formidable spellcasting capability. Activating these spells was as simple as activating a magic item, requiring no incantation and only a negligible pause, almost equivalent to casting spells instantly.

Moreover, as long as its energy supply didn't run out, it could cast spells continuously. In this regard, the Secret Puppet's spellcasting ability far surpassed most third-level wizard apprentices.

While the final Secret Puppet wasn't on par with a full-fledged wizard, it was significantly more powerful than an average third-level wizard apprentice. After testing it in the spellcasting training area, Su Nan was satisfied that the Secret Puppet had the strength equivalent to a fourth-level legendary wizard.

Even he, without using his magic core or various magical items, would struggle to defeat the Secret Puppet. To kill it, he would need to use his high-grade rune gems and bloodline marks.

The strength of the Secret Puppet was evident!

"Against third-level wizard apprentices like Magi Hands and Blood Mouth, the Secret Puppet should win easily."

Su Nan looked at the lifelike Secret Puppet before him, and with another thought, it melted like heated butter, rapidly transforming into a slender and graceful silver-haired beauty. Its skin turned a milk-white smoothness.

The Secret Puppet had no concept of gender or fixed form, and its appearance could be changed at will, making it easy to impersonate a living person. Even a third-level wizard apprentice would find it difficult to discern the difference without careful examination.

Feeling a surge of joy, Su Nan soon calmed down, his eyes reflecting a thoughtful expression. The cost of creating the Secret Puppet was higher than he had initially anticipated. To enhance its combat capabilities, he had enchanted it with more spells and added various magical enhancements, driving the cost up to 100,000 gold coins.

In the months since completing the magic core, he had accumulated a significant amount of cash, but it was almost entirely depleted by the Secret Puppet's creation. If not for the mithril he had already stockpiled, he wouldn't have been able to afford it.

"It took so long to accumulate sixteen kilograms of mithril. It will take some time to gather enough materials for a second Secret Puppet."

Despite this, Su Nan wasn't discouraged. Successfully creating the Secret Puppet proved that his concept was viable. At worst, he would just need a few more years to gather the necessary materials.

"The next step is to continue improving the Secret Puppet."

Su Nan's eyes sparkled with excitement. Compared to ordinary puppets, the Secret Puppet, with its more human-like structure, had a much broader growth potential. Its successful creation was only the first step; there were many more ideas to explore and verify.

For example, integrating his magic core or bloodline mark into the Secret Puppet. If successful, the Secret Puppet's combat power would see a significant boost. Creating four or five more Secret Puppets and then combining them might even result in a puppet as powerful as a full-fledged wizard!

The thought alone made Su Nan's heart race with anticipation.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end