Chapter 85: The Magic Rune Core

Chapter 85: The Magic Rune Core

After a while, Su Nan finally regained some of his energy and sat up.

As soon as he moved, he immediately felt a significant difference.

His spirit, though somewhat depleted, was noticeably more active than before.

His connection to the energy particles in the air also seemed stronger.

Surprised, Su Nan quickly opened his interface.

Su Nan Yanes, Human Male

Spirit: 29.51 / Constitution: 20.15

Skills:

- Celestial Ring Meditation Level 10 (189,246/300,000)



- Potion Crafting Level 4 (1,824/10,000)



- Biological Modification Level 2 (1,821/3,000)



- Puppet Crafting Level 3 (2,712/6,000)



- Magic Item Crafting Level 2 (1,532/3,000)



"Excellent, my spirit increased by 2.06!"

A satisfied smile spread across Su Nan's face.

All the hardship he endured was worth it.

The Malevolent Illusion potion, though a second-tier potion, had significant side effects, but its effects were truly remarkable.

If he had followed the standard path, it would have taken him at least seven to eight months to achieve such a boost.

"With this, I only need to increase my spirit by 0.49 to advance to a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice!"

"It should take about two months."

The thought of becoming a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice in just two months filled Su Nan with excitement.

"My constitution has also broken the 20-point mark, reaching the peak of a Knight's limits."

The constitution of a peak Knight ranges from 17 to 20 points.

Su Nan was now on par with a peak Knight, lacking only the Aura and combat techniques.

However, he was confident that even without using spells or magic items, his physical strength and energy particle manipulation skills would allow him to easily handle any Knight.

As for Grand Knights, their constitution usually exceeds 30 points, making them difficult to defeat without spells or magic items.

After using energy particles to clean his body and clothes, Su Nan stretched and walked out of the meditation room.

As soon as he stepped outside, his expression changed, and he looked toward the front courtyard.

The air distorted, and the massive body of Yindragon appeared out of nowhere.

"Hisss!" Yindragon let out a low hiss.

"Perfect timing. It's been five days since the last blood exchange. It's time for another one."

Su Nan led Yindragon to the laboratory.

Yindragon's concentration of dragon-lizard blood now exceeded 80%.

As the blood concentration increased, his appearance took on more dragon-like features.

For example, he had developed two protrusions on his head.

His tail now ended in a hook.

His breath exuded a noticeable heat, sometimes even sparking.

"Even though it's just dragon-lizard blood, the dragon-like features are more pronounced than some half-dragons. Is this due to his innate talent, or because he's my magical pet?"

This question had been on Su Nan's mind for a long time.

If not for Yindragon's reliability and the fact that he was his magical pet, Su Nan might have considered dissecting him to understand the reason.

"Yindragon already has the strength of a Legendary Knight. Once his bloodline advances, he should at least reach the level of a Second-Ring Legendary Knight!"

A Second-Ring Legendary Knight is a formidable opponent, capable of going toe-to-toe with a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice.

After the blood exchange in the laboratory, Su Nan cast a Sleep spell on Yindragon to help him rest better, then turned and left.

The final 20% of Yindragon's blood concentration was the most challenging to increase.

Especially the critical step from quantitative to qualitative change.

Relying solely on blood exchanges, Su Nan estimated it would take at least a year to advance Yindragon's bloodline to half-dragon.

Of course, there were ways to accelerate the process.

The best method would be to fuse with a higher-tier bloodline.

For example, half-dragon blood!

Su Nan didn't dare think about dragon blood.

Not only was it uncertain whether there were any dragons left on the Starlight Continent, but even if there were, Su Nan lacked the strength to extract blood from one.

That would be equivalent to courting death!

Dragons are renowned for their natural high magic resistance. Adult dragons can resist all spells below the third ring.

Even a non-formal Wizard wouldn't have the ability to scratch them.

Even a juvenile dragon would be too much for Su Nan to handle.

The Ring of Extreme Protection might not withstand more than two or three dragon breaths.

So, dragon blood was out of the question.

However, half-dragon blood could be sought out.

From what he remembered, there were quite a few half-dragons on the Starlight Continent.

For example, various land dragons, storm dragon beasts, dragon antelopes, fairy dragons, and spined wingless dragons.

During the golden age of Wizards, dragon antelopes were often captured and trained as mounts by high-ring Legendary Knights.

Perhaps, somewhere on the Starlight Continent, there still exist dragon antelopes.

"Maybe I should have the Firefox Guild keep an eye out for any information about them."

With that thought, Su Nan arrived at his workshop. He cleared his mind and walked over to the workbench. With a wave of his hand, over twenty magical items appeared on the large table.

Realizing that he might soon face a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice, Su Nan decided to craft a fully offensive Glowing-level magical item. After much consideration, he chose a negative energy-based item.

Over the past few days, he had already crafted over twenty alchemical-level magical items. Based on his previous experience, he only needed to create one or two more to reach the synthesis limit.

Sure enough, after crafting a new magical item and placing it in the synthesis cube, a wizard's tool appeared on the synthesis interface.

Seeing this, Su Nan took out the excess magical items and synthesized them without hesitation.

Ring of Catastrophe (Glowing/Low Magic Item): Activates to release Catastrophe Claw, dealing negative energy damage to a target. Requires recharging after each use.

As usual, Su Nan chose the most convenient form for carrying—a ring. Looking at the Ring of Catastrophe on his finger, he hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided against testing its power on the Iron Golem.

Unlike the Ice Necklace, which was a wide-area attack, the Ring of Catastrophe was a single-target, close-range attack. Su Nan estimated that the Iron Golem might not withstand the Catastrophe Claw's power, and he didn't want to risk destroying his only Iron Golem. This creation had consumed his last soul crystal.

"I'll have to test its full power during actual combat."

Thinking about the Iron Golem, Su Nan shook his head. Although he had considered creating a neutered version of the Iron Golem to expand his military, the lack of steel had prevented him from doing so. The situation hadn't changed, and the Blackstone Iron Mine's production was still insufficient to support the expansion of Flashhold's military. He had to rely heavily on the Firefox Guild to make up the shortfall.

The plan to mass-produce neutered Iron Golems was clearly not feasible in the short term.

"The gem soul core synthesis failed, so I really need to find a way to obtain the technology for creating soul crystals," Su Nan mused.

The Firefox Guild had been collecting various wizard tomes for him over the past two years, but very few of them had been immediately useful. They had only enriched his knowledge base.

"The Firefox Guild's influence is limited to the Thornflower Duchy and the Starlight Duchy, leaving other countries largely unexplored. Perhaps I should find a second partner in another country to expand my search."

Leaving the workshop, Su Nan headed straight for the library. This was a dedicated space for storing wizard tomes, spanning over a thousand square meters. Currently, only four or five bookshelves were filled, making the room seem rather empty. However, Su Nan was confident that one day, the entire library would be filled with books.

Entering the library, Su Nan approached one of the bookshelves and pulled out a book. The hardcover was a deep violet, with four large words written on it: Magic Rune Core!

This book was actually left behind by his former master, Amy. Initially, Su Nan had thought it contained knowledge related to magical items. However, upon reading it, he discovered it was about magical tattoos.

Like energy runes, magical tattoos are a branch of enchantment. They allow specific spells to be drawn on the body in the form of tattoos. During combat, a wizard can activate these tattoos by injecting a small amount of mental energy, instantly casting the spell without the need for incantations.

For a Wizard Apprentice who hasn't mastered instant spell casting, this is a highly practical skill. Drawing several defensive spells as magical tattoos can provide additional safety during battles.

However, magical tattoos have their drawbacks. The first is that they require a significant amount of skin surface area and cannot be covered by hair. Even if all body hair is shaved, a person can only draw five to six magical tattoos at most. Areas covered by clothing are less of an issue, but exposed areas like the arms, head, and neck can easily be seen by opponents, giving them a chance to anticipate and counter the spells.

The second drawback is that the difficulty of drawing magical tattoos is extremely high, requiring a level 3 skill in Magic Item Crafting. Most Wizard Apprentices do not meet this requirement.

Su Nan had considered drawing magical tattoos before but abandoned the idea due to his insufficient skill level. Now, it was even less of an option.

Once he advances to a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice, Su Nan will be able to train in advanced magic techniques.

Mastering instant spell casting will significantly reduce the utility of magical tattoos.

Moreover, there are higher-tier options like rune cores and alchemical engravings.

Compared to magical tattoos, Su Nan prefers the more powerful effects of rune cores and alchemical engravings.

Reining in his thoughts, Su Nan looked at the book in his hands.

The author, Rupert Bevin, was a formal Wizard.

The Magic Rune Core was his creation, a culmination of magical tattoo techniques.

In simple terms, it involves merging multiple magical tattoos corresponding to different spells. Using the tattoos as a medium, the effects of various spells are combined to create a new, more powerful spell effect.

The first half of the book details how Rupert Bevin developed the Magic Rune Core, along with its principles and structure.

The second half explains the specific Magic Rune Core he created, known as "Flowing Silver."

According to the book, "Flowing Silver" can release a metallic fluid with versatile properties. Depending on its form, it can be used for both defense and offense, making it a highly practical and versatile Magic Rune Core.

Its power is said to rival the innate abilities of formal Wizards!

However, Su Nan was skeptical about this claim.

The innate abilities of formal Wizards are often their most potent and secret techniques, making them incredibly powerful.

Su Nan found it hard to believe that a Magic Rune Core could match this level of power.

However, from the content of the book, even if there was some exaggeration, it wouldn't be significant.

Even if "Flowing Silver" had only half the power of a formal Wizard's innate ability, it would still be an incredible asset for a Wizard Apprentice!

When he first read about it, Su Nan was very excited.

But after seeing the method for creating the Magic Rune Core, he suppressed his eagerness.

The Magic Rune Core is essentially a special type of magical item, and the creator must have a certain level of skill in Magic Item Crafting.

Although the book doesn't specify the exact skill level, it's clear that it must be higher than the prerequisite for magical tattoos.

In other words, Magic Item Crafting must be at least Level 4.

Su Nan's Magic Item Crafting is currently only Level 2, and he still needs to gain half the required experience to reach Level 3.

Furthermore, creating "Flowing Silver" requires a large amount of materials.

The primary materials include eighty-nine different metals, over two-thirds of which are rare magical metals like mithril and meteoric iron.

Su Nan estimated that many of these metals are no longer available on the Starlight Continent and would need to be synthesized using the cube.

This would undoubtedly be a time-consuming and lengthy process.

Lastly, fusing the Magic Rune Core places a significant strain on the body, so the fusion subject must have the mental strength of a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice and the physical constitution of a Junior Grand Knight.

In other words, both mental and physical attributes must be at least 30 points.

The requirements are quite stringent.

"Right now, my only shortfall is my mental strength. The rest, including skills, materials, and physical constitution, are still far off."

Su Nan felt a bit regretful.

If he could create and fuse the Magic Rune Core into his body, he wouldn't fear facing a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice at all.

Although he can't create it now, he can start preparing.

For example, he can begin collecting or researching alternatives for the eighty-nine metals.

Putting the book back, Su Nan selected a few unread books and placed them in his storage ring before leaving the library.

After a busy day, the sky was already growing dark.

The evening sky was streaked with radiating rays of light, the wispy cirrus clouds resembling flames burning from the horizon, transitioning from a bright golden hue to a deep purple and then to a dark blue, gradually fading into a dim, shadowy gray in the east.

"It looks like we'll have good weather tomorrow."

Su Nan stretched, feeling the discomfort from the Malevolent Illusion potion dissipate. He then headed to the meditation room to continue his daily practice.

He still used the Super Energy Potion and Divine Blood Amber to aid his meditation.

However, as his mental strength grew, the effects of these two items were gradually diminishing.

The Super Energy Potion was easy to address. Once he advanced to a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice, he would be able to handle Tier 3 potions, so he could synthesize a more advanced version.

However, the Divine Blood Amber was more problematic.

To upgrade the Divine Blood Amber, he would need more raw materials.

But this was a treasure of the Starlight Order, and they certainly wouldn't be willing to give it to him.

Su Nan suspected that the Starlight Order had already discovered that he was behind the events in Stone Bell City and was likely plotting how to retrieve the Divine Blood Amber.

"Even if they don't come to me, I'll eventually have to settle the score with them."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end