Chapter 695: Massacre Weapon
The All-Kill Array was a good example. It was initially the greatest defensive weapon of the Tower of Dusk, but its power could not be released to the maximum, simply because its mana source was weaker. Otherwise, it would’ve been impossible for the Dark Blade to hurt Tower of Dusk once the All-Kill Array was activated.
During the trip to the Haiga Mountain Range this time, Lin Li obtained plenty of magical crystals, and that included the Green Dragon Crystal that he obtained after excavating the green dragons’ graveyard. The Dragon Crystals were all above the Legendary level, and the level-22 magical crystal was way stronger than the Salamander’s Magical crystal that was being used by the Tower of Dusk now. Lin Li had plenty of magical crystals anyway, so he could afford to spare a few.
If others knew what Lin Li was thinking, they would definitely hit the roof because of his extravagant use of Legendary magical crystals. Using Legendary magical crystals as a source of mana for the magical crystal cannons was akin to making a knowledgeable scholar do a blue-collar job—a complete waste.
Every Legendary magical crystal had almost infinite mana; to mages, it was truly an inexhaustible vault of mana. Legendary magical crystals came from the most powerful magical beasts in the world, and were the continuation of their lives. Legendary magical crystals were also the legacies of the souls of magical beasts, and thus were different from ordinary magical crystals. In fact, they would even be like actual mages and transform their ubiquitous magical elements into mana.
However, for the various settings of the Tower of Dusk, the Salamander magical crystal could only sustain the daily operation of the tower. Once a black hole that continuously absorbed mana was opened, the Legendary magical crystal that was precious in the eyes of others would seem insufficient. The consequence of overloading would be permanent damage to the Legendary magical crystal and it being stripped of its Legendary powers before gradually becoming useless.
However, it was not an issue for Lin Li at all. If it wasn’t necessary for him to bring the controlling magical crystal around with him wherever he went—one magical crystal would be enough to supply mana for the entire tower. Although the Legendary magical crystal couldn’t compare to the control magical crystal, it could separate the mana source of the tower. For example, the All-Kill Array had a single Legendary magical crystal as its mana source, while the Crystal Cannons were powered by other magical crystals because Lin Li had plenty of Legendary magical crystals.
Of course, while strengthening the defense capabilities of the Tower of Dusk, the abilities of the mages, too, had to be improved as soon as possible. Otherwise, it’d be an incompetent tower with a strong facade. The strong defense of the Tower of Dusk was by no means to keep the mages sheltered, but rather to release them from maintaining the defense.
If only 10 mages were needed for the Tower of Dusk to defend itself, the other mages could then go to do other things. For example, when dealing with attacking enemies, they would have other options. In fact, they could even directly destroy the opponent’s base. For example, they wouldn’t end up in the state that they were in now in order to protect their businesses in other places.
Considering the fact that he would be exploring Osric’s mausoleum soon, Lin Li got Gavin to tabulate a list of mages who had contributed the most to the Tower of Dusk in a bid to grant them greater benefits to improve their strength.
Lin Li was well aware that constructive competition within an organization was crucial for continuous progress. Although the resources of the Tower of Dusk were enough for all mages to enjoy the same generous treatment, the so-called fairness and equality was precisely the greatest unfairness.
After all, the Tower of Dusk was also the Guild of Magic of the Breezy Plains. Almost every mage that came forth to register would be considered a member of the Tower of Dusk. Even the mages of the opposing forces could easily register to become a member of the Guild of Magic when gone unnoticed. They would then get to enjoy the various benefits offered by the Tower of Dusk.
That was also the reason Lin Li introduced the contribution system. The contributions of each mage were ranked numerically and divided into different grades, each with its own treatment level. Those who wanted to enjoy more benefits would have to put in more effort and make greater contributions. It was the same even for the mages of opposing forces who sneakily registered to join the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, the treatment wouldn’t be too different from that of other Guilds of Magic.
This time was no exception, either. Lin Li didn’t wish to end up with a useless subordinate, or even an enemy, after nurturing and grooming him with the aim of turning him into a powerful mage.
“Master Felic, you are finally back!” Wilkinson exclaimed as he brought several pharmacists to Lin Li together with him. Heartfelt joy was written all over their faces.
Although Wilkinson and the other pharmacists did not belong to the tower, with the improvement of their own knowledge in pharmaceutics, they had become increasingly convinced that Lin Li had definitely reached the level of a Pharmaceutics Guru. To Wilkinson and the rest, it would be disaster if Lin Li got stuck in the Haiga Mountain Range.
After receiving the news and facing the attack by the Dark Blade, the pharmacists had different opinions about whether to leave or stay. However, Wilkinson was a proud disciple of the President of the Pharmacist Guild, and was extremely prestigious and respected by his peers. He soon made the firm decision to stay in the Tower of Dusk, and his peers followed suit.
Of course, Wilkinson was not hell-bent on waiting for Lin Li to come back. After all, the chances were too slim. Wilkinson negotiated with the rest and convinced them to stay until a new leader took over the Tower of Dusk. Anyway, the new leader would not be able to stop them from leaving, regardless of who it might be.
Lin Li’s return was definitely a big surprise for Wilkinson and the other pharmacists. It was not that they did not respect their teacher, but rather that they felt that there would not be a significant increase in their pharmaceutical skills even if they were to go back to the Pharmacist Guild. After all, they knew that Master Felic was the only Pharmaceutics Guru in Anril.
“It’s been hard on you guys while I was away,” Lin Li said with a slight nod while looking at Wilkinson and others. During the time that he was away, the businesses of the Tower of Dusk would probably have come to a standstill if it weren’t for the pharmacists who’d chosen to stay. Besides, if it were not for the healing potions that they provided, there would have definitely been more casualties from the Tower of Dusk.
Although he did not thank them politely, his words were enough to make Wilkinson and the rest feel warm and fuzzy inside as if they had just drank some honey. Knowing that the battle in the Tower of Dusk had just ended, so Lin Li had just returned and had more important things to deal with, Wilkinson and other pharmacists returned to do their own things after greeting Lin Li. Of course, they also decided to summarize all the problems they encountered during this time, and wait for an opportunity to consult Lin Li.
Lin Li had been trapped in the chaos of time and space for half a year. After coming out, he hurried back to the Tower of Dusk, but he did not feel too fatigued, since he was a level-23 Legendary-mage, after all. However, the mages of the Tower of Dusk could not stand it. After all, they were still mortals and ordinary mages because they had yet to enter the Legendary-realm. After being harassed by the Dark Blade for half a year, the intensity of the attacks was increasing and becoming more and more menacing each day. Although it was all over now, they had been exhausted physically and mentally for a long time.
Although the healing potions could allow their injuries to heal very quickly and even replenish the blood that was lost, the energy consumption could only be recovered through rest. No amount of healing potions would help replenish energy. The mages of the Tower of Dusk had to rest for three days in a row before they could eliminate their fatigue.
For the basic contribution value, Gavin selected 40 mages, some of whom had reached level-19, while some had just broken through level-15. Standing in the hall, the mages were full of excitement, and they stared at their godlike President without blinking.
The rest of the mages who were standing around the 40 mages were those who had not been selected. They were staring at their peers, all green with envy. However, there was nothing they could do, because their peers were the ones who’d contributed greatly to the Tower of Dusk! Even though they did not get selected, they did not find the results to be unfair, and simply thought about how they could increase their contributions in the future.
In fact, the continuous attacks launched by the Dark Blade in the past six months did bring about a certain benefit for the Tower of Dusk. It basically wiped out all of the members who wavered in their loyalty or had ulterior motives. It could be said that most of the members who’d stayed behind were very loyal to the Tower of Dusk.
Lin Li scanned the 40 mages who were selected, and nodded secretly. Although not all talented mages were selected, the fact that they could be shortlisted because of their talent meant that they were not untalented, either.
Lin Li had no idea if anyone could break through to Legendary-realm, but he was certain that there would definitely be an additional group of Archmages who were above level-18.
“Although Gavin didn’t state the reason for choosing you guys, you should be able to guess it. Yes, it’s indeed because of your contributions to the Tower of Dusk. In the next few days, I will provide you with some welfare benefits that will help increase your abilities. However, the gains that you can make are mostly dependent on your hard work and effort,” Lin Li said to the group.
As expected! It was just like what they guessed! The 40 mages who tried to contain their excitement said in unison, “President, please be assured that we will work hard to live up to the expectations that you have of us.”
Apart from the generous treatment, the biggest attraction in joining the Tower of Dusk was the opportunity to get the guidance of Legendary powerhouses. Besides, they still had no idea that Lin Li, the young President, was not an ordinary Legendary powerhouse. A Legendary powerhouse could never have defeated the two Legendary leaders of the Dark Blade so effortlessly.
“Gavin, take them upstairs,” said Lin Li. He had spent the past two days arranging everything. Hence, he did not put in too much effort into guiding them now.
The most effective thing Lin Li had which could quickly enhance the strength of mages was the Seed of Eternity, as well as the controlling magical crystal of the Sky Castle. However, although the Sky Castle contained almost infinite mana, it would be depleted eventually because the Seed of Eternity was already dead. Lin Li was trying to find a way to revive the Seed of Eternity, and thus would not deplete its power. If he were to find a viable method but the mana was already almost depleted, he would be at a huge loss.
Hence, for the special training for the mages, Lin Li chose to use the huge controlling magical crystal. In terms of mana, the mana contained in the magical crystal seemed to be greater than that in the Tree of Eternity. Most importantly, the recovery ability of the magical crystal was extremely strong.
When a magical crystal reached the Legendary level, it would have the same recovery ability as a mage’s meditation. Although Lin Li could not figure out what level it was, he was sure that it was definitely far beyond the Sanctuary-realm. Even if 40 mages continuously absorbed its mana, they might not be able to keep up with the recovery speed of the controlling magical crystal. There would be no effect on it at all.
Although Lin Li had to bring the controlling magical crystal everywhere with him, the massive power of the magical crystal was almost enough to make all 40 mages reach the peak of level-19. As for stepping into the Legendary-realm, that could not be achieved simply with an external force. It required the mage’s personal understanding of the nomological power. Lin Li could use his own experience to guide them along, but he could not take them to the Legendary-realm.
However, Lin Li still had some High Elven books of magic that would help with knowledge about magic. The books were the works of the greatest magic educator during the reign of the High Elves, Oloderis. Although they were basic theories, the foundation knowledge was what would give them clarity and a better understanding of nomological power.
Lin Li freed up a room on one of the floors of the Tower of Dusk and used it as a room for special training. The controlling magical crystal was placed in the center of the hall, and the magic books were placed on a row of bookshelves by the wall, which the mages in training could access freely. Lin Li did not hide the controlling magical crystal, firstly because the selected mages were trustworthy, and secondly because he would definitely put it away when he left.
However, what Lin Li did not expect was the fact that the 40 mages did not make many speculations about the huge magical crystal in the middle after arriving, even though they were shocked by the huge mana that filled the lobby. Due to the fact that the size of the magical crystal had exceeded their imagination, they did not associate it with magical crystals.