Chapter 238

Chapter 238

October 17, 2024

"Teacher."

In the study, Xie Man and Cole bowed respectfully to Su Nan.

Even after ascending to the rank of wizards, the two still maintained the same reverence and admiration they had as apprentices.

"Very good, you two have not let me down."

Su Nan's face lit up with a smile of approval.

Of the seven wizards currently in the Star Alliance, the other five were third-level wizard apprentices recruited from outside and then promoted. Only Xie Man and Cole were true graduates of the Starlight Academy, proving the effectiveness of the academy's training system.

"As your teacher, I cannot be stingy. These two magical artifacts are your reward."

With a wave of his hand, a ring and a black spearhead appeared out of thin air, landing in Xie Man's palm. Cole received the same items on the other side.

"These are the Forbidden Zone and the Black Thunder. Both are first-tier magical artifacts, and the specific usage methods are inscribed within them. You'll know how to use them once you leave your mental imprint."

Considering their recent ascension, Su Nan gave them first-tier magical artifacts that had only been synthesized and enhanced four times. Their power was similar to what he had when he first ascended. Even so, they were far superior to the lowest-tier magical artifacts on the Star Alliance's exchange list, which had not been synthesized or enhanced.

"Thank you, teacher!"

Xie Man and Cole's faces lit up with surprise. They knew how valuable magical artifacts were. Those who had ascended to wizard status decades before them, like Scepter and Rose, only had one magical artifact each, which they had painstakingly accumulated contribution points to exchange for.

In contrast, they had received two magical artifacts right after ascending, a stroke of great luck.

"Regarding the matters of wizards, you can consult Scepter and Rose. There are some things you need to know now."

Faced with their puzzled expressions, Su Nan did not elaborate further. He encouraged them a few more times and then dismissed them.

"With the planar barriers gradually repairing and the concentration of energy particles increasing, more and more people will ascend to the rank of wizards."

"Unfortunately, the recovery of resources on the Starlight Continent takes time. Even with the Cube, I alone cannot supply the resources needed for the many wizards to cultivate. Without sufficient resources, few of these wizards will be able to break through to the first-level liquefaction, let alone the first-level crystallization."

For example, Soul Crystal Potions, Su Nan could still provide, but other resources were beyond his means. If he were to open the exchange for elemental cores, first-level crystallization might be possible, but before the planar lock is lifted, a batch of first-level liquefied wizards would definitely emerge.

However, he did not have enough elemental cores to spare for other wizards. Other wizards would have to enter the elemental planes to hunt elemental giants for elemental cores. However, the strength of first-level gaseous wizards was clearly insufficient to face elemental giants in the elemental planes, creating a vicious cycle.

Only after the planar lock is lifted and the Star Alliance can trade with other planes will the resource shortage be alleviated.

"With Xie Man and Cole, the collection of elemental dust can be accelerated further."

"If this momentum continues, it might take only two or three hundred years to break through to the second-level liquefaction."

Su Nan stretched his body, teleported back to his cultivation room, and continued his daily routine of absorbing divine energy.

Time passed swiftly, like flowing water.

Or perhaps it was more fitting to say that cultivation had no concept of time.

Su Nan had never been particularly concerned with the affairs of the Celestial Empire. After Kui's death, he completely stopped paying attention to the empire, leaving everything to Liz to manage.

As long as the imperial family remained the Yanest family and there was no chaos, he did not care.

Of course, he still intended to fulfill his promise to Kui. Under Su Nan's orders, the Star Alliance supplied the imperial family with a batch of resources each year, specifically for cultivating wizard apprentices. How the imperial family allocated these resources internally was no longer his concern.

In the decades following Kui's death, the imperial family produced a significant number of wizard apprentices. With more resources than others, these apprentices grew rapidly. The Yanest family was gradually showing signs of evolving into a wizard family.

In the year 1447 of the Starlight Calendar.

After over a decade of experimentation, Su Nan finally synthesized a replacement material for Aurum. This new material, named Soul Gold, possessed the same malleability and magic conductivity as Aurum, with the only drawback being a slightly higher cost.

After that, Su Nan spent another seven years developing substitutes for the other materials, finally gathering all the materials needed to transform into an Alchemical Body.

On that very day, Su Nan began the transformation into an Alchemical Body.

The process was excruciatingly slow, taking nearly forty years to complete.

In the year 1509 of the Starlight Calendar, during the month of Xia Long (June).

Su Nan finally completed his transformation into an Alchemical Body.

In his laboratory, Su Nan focused intently on the changes in his body.

"My physical strength hasn't noticeably improved, and my mental energy hasn't increased either."

"However, my affinity with energy particles has significantly improved, probably equivalent to about a 5% increase in mental refinement."

"Based on the information, this suggests that my elemental resistance should have also increased."

Su Nan then conducted a test for elemental resistance.

The results did not disappoint; his elemental resistance had indeed improved, albeit only by 5% to 10%.

Despite the modest increase, Su Nan was highly satisfied.

After all, the primary goal of transforming into an Alchemical Body was to engrave Alchemical Runes. The improvements in energy particle affinity and elemental resistance were merely additional benefits, and it wouldn't be reasonable to expect too much.

"The next step is to engrave the Alchemical Runes."

Engraving Alchemical Runes is a precise process. It's not as simple as transforming into an Alchemical Body and then engraving an unlimited number of runes.

Each wizard's Alchemical Body has a carrying limit.

The cumulative load of the engraved runes must not exceed this limit, or the process will fail.

It's similar to how a scroll can only hold a certain number of spells; there is a limit.

The carrying limit varies from wizard to wizard, depending on their mental energy and physical constitution.

The final number of runes a wizard can engrave is determined not only by their carrying limit but also by the type of runes chosen.

Different runes place different loads on the Alchemical Body.

For example, the "Talent Specialization" rune is one of the most burdensome.

With the same Alchemical Body, a wizard might be able to engrave three other runes, but if they choose "Talent Specialization," they can only add one more rune.

Therefore, when selecting runes, a wizard must carefully consider their carrying limit.

Su Nan had already made his decision: "Mental Reservoir" and "Talent Specialization" were essential.

After engraving these two runes, if there was still enough carrying space, he would consider other runes.

Quality over quantity is key; the runes must fit into his combat system and maximize his fighting power.

The materials required for engraving runes are largely the same as those needed for the transformation into an Alchemical Body, so Su Nan didn't need to develop additional materials, saving him a lot of effort.

He immediately began preparing to engrave the "Mental Reservoir" rune.

In the laboratory, a complex and mysterious array was drawn on the clean floor.

Su Nan sat cross-legged at the edge of the array, placing his hand on one corner and slowly injecting mental energy.

Hum!

The array gradually emitted a hazy glow, and strange waves spread out.

Su Nan instantly cast a Mage Hand, picking up the materials one by one and placing them into the array.

As soon as the materials touched the array's light, they melted like heated butter.

Once all the materials were in, a layer of silver-white liquid appeared inside the array, resembling mercury but glowing faintly.

Under Su Nan's control, the liquid floated in the air, quickly forming silver needles that began to engrave runes on his skin.

The runes, though small, were incredibly intricate.

A single rune, no larger than a fingernail, contained thousands of intersecting lines.

There was absolutely no room for error; a single mistake could render the rune ineffective or, worse, cause an explosion.

One of the functions of the Alchemical Body is to protect the physical body from severe damage in case of a failed engraving.

With his Level 5 "Magic Item Creation" skill, Su Nan completed the engraving smoothly.

As the final stroke was made, his entire upper body turned silver-white, covered in countless silver-white runes that wound around his chest and back like serpents.

The mysterious runes emitted a faint glow, strange yet beautiful, like the pinnacle of art.

In moments of crisis, these runes could be activated with a mere thought, granting the engraver powerful abilities.

Su Nan inspected the Alchemical Runes on his body with satisfaction.

With a flick of his mind, the silver-white runes quickly dimmed and disappeared, reappearing just as swiftly with another thought, making them extremely convenient.

Unlike magical tattoos, which can't be hidden and reveal everything to the enemy at a glance, the alchemical runes on Su Nan's body were much more versatile.

After calming his excitement, Su Nan began testing the effects of the Mental Reservoir by channeling his mental energy into it.

However, even after the alchemical rune was fully charged, he had only used up about 20% of his mental energy.

"Only this much?"

Su Nan frowned slightly but quickly understood the reason.

The reference data was based on a Level 2 Aetheric Wizard with two lower-grade talent crystals. Since he had constructed two super-grade talent crystals, his mental energy reserves were naturally far greater than the benchmark.

In practical terms, using only 20% of his mental energy wasn't surprising at all.

Realizing this, Su Nan felt a bit disappointed.

If he could only store 20% of his mental energy, the Mental Reservoir would be much less useful to him.

Unless he could enhance the Mental Reservoir's effects!

"Combine the alchemical runes, perhaps?"

Su Nan examined the silver-white patterns on his body, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

Alchemical runes didn't have a physical form; they used the body as a carrier, unlike other physical items that could be directly synthesized in the Cube.

He couldn't just put himself into the Cube to synthesize the runes, and he didn't have enough runes to begin with.

However, this wasn't the first time Su Nan had faced such a situation.

He had encountered a similar scenario before with the talent crystal models!

The talent crystal models were also non-physical, and he had managed to enhance them by fusing them with divine energy crystals, which provided a physical carrier for the synthesis process.

This method could be applied to the alchemical runes as well.

Deciding to act, Su Nan took out an elemental core, extracted divine energy, and condensed it into a crystalline form. He then began stripping the alchemical runes from his body and merging them into the divine energy crystal.

The moment the fusion was successful, the divine energy crystal burst into a brilliant silver glow, its entire surface turning a striking silver.

A smile spread across Su Nan's face.

If the fusion was successful, the synthesis was almost certain to work.

After verifying the feasibility, Su Nan didn't immediately synthesize the Mental Reservoir. Instead, he chose to synthesize the Talent Specialization.

Compared to the Mental Reservoir, the Talent Specialization would provide a more immediate boost to his combat abilities.

He needed to determine the synthesis limit of the Talent Specialization first.

Su Nan then inscribed the Talent Specialization and conducted a practical test.

The results were fairly good.

Activating the Talent Specialization enhanced the power of his 'Liquid Metal' and 'Absolute Forbidden Zone' by about 20%.

While this was slightly less than the data provided, considering the grade of his talent crystals, it was still a significant improvement.

After that, Su Nan continued to create more divine energy crystals fused with Talent Specialization and synthesize them.

Each time he synthesized, he had to re-integrate the runes into his body to test the load, then conduct a practical test to ensure everything was working correctly before stripping them out again and continuing the synthesis.

To Su Nan's delight, the increase in load from each synthesis was not as significant as he had feared.

Instead, as the effects of Talent Specialization gradually strengthened, the enhanced talent abilities were starting to approach his control limits.

A weapon that was too sharp could cut its wielder.

After synthesizing the fifth Talent Specialization and conducting a practical test, Su Nan decisively stopped the synthesis.

Continuing to enhance it further would turn the Talent Specialization from a beneficial tool into a harmful one.

Fortunately, the enhanced Talent Specialization had already increased the power of his talent abilities by nearly 60%, and the load was only about half of his maximum capacity. Su Nan was very satisfied with this result.

With the Talent Specialization issue resolved, Su Nan moved on to synthesizing the Mental Reservoir.

He continued synthesizing until he had six Mental Reservoir alchemical runes, at which point the load reached half of his remaining capacity.

The results were impressive; the synthesized Mental Reservoir could store nearly all of his mental energy, effectively doubling his mental energy reserves.

Two alchemical runes had almost pushed his alchemical body to its limits, preventing him from inscribing any more.

But he was very content.

With these two alchemical runes, he was confident he could face off against a Level 3 Aetheric Wizard!

Inscribed gems, wizard tools, and alchemical runes—these were the cards he now held.

Not many, but each one more powerful than the last!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end