Chapter 1088: God-level Mageweath
After all, the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses were sentient, and could be said to be not much different from intelligent creatures. They were fully capable of comprehending orders given to them without detailed control. The key was just who the commander was.
The controller of the Sky Castle was the highest controller of all the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses. Even if others managed to obtain the control hubs, the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses would still perceive the controller of the Sky Castle as the supreme commander, just like how the king was the supreme ruler to soldiers even though they would obey the commands of their generals. Not every general would be successful in coercing the soldiers to rebel.
Gavin was a little dumbfounded after hearing Lin Li’s words, and he even forgot to pick up those control devices. In any kingdom, those alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses were definitely existences that were like national treasures, and probably would not be put to use until the most critical juncture.
Yet, his president Lin Li was now planning to use the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses to perform the most laborious tasks. He was simply using them as hard laborers, which was akin to using Magical Crystal Cannons for killing mosquitoes. Other forces and even the kings of a few kingdoms would probably vomit blood after hearing Lin Li’s idea.
However, thinking about the work that he had to do next, Gavin also understood that that might be the best solution for the current situation as it wasn’t feasible to hire a large number of hard laborers. Besides, the transformation of the Sky Castle was a huge project which needed a large number of slaves and manpower to complete. Yet, the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses could perform the work that would require the efforts of hundreds of slaves. There was no point in putting them at the side.
Of course, the costs of hiring slaves would definitely be much lower, especially since the project required hard labor. On the other hand, the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses had to be powered by magical crystals, and the mana consumption was directly proportional to the amount of work done. There would not be any discount at all. Besides, the value of magical crystals was not only measured by the amount of mana. Legendary magical crystals were priceless in Anril.
Although others might not know, Gavin, a veteran of the Tower of Dusk and a trusted confidant of the president, was very clear that magical crystals were the last thing that Lin Li would lack. If they were only going to build an ordinary city, such consumption of magical crystals would definitely not be cost-effective. However, they were now going to make changes to the Sky Castle left behind by the Immortal King, which was going to be a huge assistance to the future development of the Tower of Dusk. The consumption of magical crystals should also be considered worthwhile then.
After figuring that out, Gavin finally recovered from the shock, and grabbed the control devices from Lin Li’s hands. He said, “Don’t worry, President, we’ll definitely make good use of the Alchemy Colossuses, and complete the tasks you’ve given us as well as possible.”
After handing over all the control devices to Gavin, Lin Li took Gavin and the others into a conference hall in the Central Tower where they began to set up the work of transforming the Sky Castle in detail. The first thing they had to do was to repair the damage of the Sky Castle, and at the same time leave some space for future changes. Otherwise, they would have to demolish some things in the future to make some changes. Not only would it be a waste of materials, the efficiency would certainly be greatly reduced too.
In the conference hall, Basel, Gavin, Alan, the other senior executives of the Tower of Dusk, as well as representatives of various fields such as inscription, alchemy, architecture, magic gears, and so on participated. They all knew the importance of this transformation of the Sky Castle, and no one wanted there to be flaws in their work. Moreover, they were well aware that the process of transforming the Sky Castle would also be a very rare opportunity for them to learn and practice.
Master Basel had always been known in the Breezy Plains for his rich knowledge, and everyone thought of him more as one of the literati and a scholar rather than a mage. However, they had always thought that he was only knowledgeable about history and archeology, as well as research of High Elven text. However, very few people know that he also had considerable attainments in the field of inscription.
In particular, after joining the Tower of Dusk and becoming the chief judge of the Tower of Dusk, Basel had had the opportunity to exchange knowledge with Lin Li in the field of inscription, and he could be considered a Master of Inscription who was second only to Lin Li. Hence, during the transformation of the Sky Castle this time, Lin Li let Basel take charge of the mageweaths.
The team led by Basel consisted of more than 30 inscribers. Although none of them could be called Masters, each of them possessed a very strong foundation. Back when Lin Li was teaching them, he placed the most emphasis on foundation. In his opinion, as long as they laid their foundation well, they would be able to master all mageweaths in a very short time, even if they had never seen it before. They were unlike some inscribers who were determined to pursue more advanced mageweaths and had the cheek to call themselves Masters of Inscription after accidentally inscribing a Master-level mageweath or two.
Of course, there was another important reason for this: Lin Li basically spent very little time at the Tower of Dusk, and even less time teaching the inscribers. For example, Lin Li had spent three years exploring the Sky Castle, and even when he returned, he didn’t have a moment to spare for them. Hence, apart from figuring out some things on their own, those inscribers spent most of their time constantly consolidating all of the information that Lin Li had taught them.
Fortunately, they had excellent foundation, unlike the so-called inscribers of Anril whom Lin Li might have to teach by hand. Lin Li now only had to point out some key issues, and the inscribers would be able to quickly understand the essence of it. They were much better than the so-called Masters of Inscription.
The goblin Angelano was in charge of the restoration of the Alchemy Arrays and magic gears with a bunch of talented subordinates whom he could deploy. However, he was a harsh goblin; hence, he would probably scold his subordinates very often in the future.
Beckley and a few other senior executives were in charge of the restoration project of the architecture of the Sky Castle—mainly because the technical requirement in this aspect was much lower. By then, they would also be in charge of the majority of the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses.
As for Gavin, who played the role of the chief supervisor of the Tower of Dusk, he was not specifically responsible for any aspect, and was instead responsible for managing the assignment of tasks. After all, the Tower of Dusk still had to operate as per normal even during the repair process. Gavin just had more to manage.
After assigning all the work, Gavin and others left the conference hall, while Lin Li remained seated alone, staring at the blueprint of the Sky Garden and spacing out. The tasks that he had delegated now were only for repairing the Sky Castle, and could be considered only the beginning of the transformation of the Sky Castle into something like the Supreme Council’s Sky Garden.
Lin Li was well aware that the transformation of the Sky Castle would definitely not be something that could be done in one go. Although the technological and manpower demands were temporarily solved, the materials needed was the crucial factor. Without the essential materials, it would be impossible even if he had plenty of technical personnel and laborers.
Hence, Lin Li could only form a hierarchy of priorities for the transformation of the Sky Castle. Repairing the damage was the most important, followed by some changes that would produce immediate results and enhance the performance of the Sky Castle. Lin Li already had a plan in mind for that. The first thing he had to change was none other than the power system of the Sky Castle.
Back then, this Sky Castle was known as the most powerful of the seven Sky Castles of the High Elves. However, power would not be infinite, just like how nothing in the world could truly be immortal. Wear and tear would cause even the gods to fall, let alone the power source of the Sky Castle.
Besides, the Sky Castle had floated in the Endless Void for thousands of years, and its canopy had also been eroded by the Nether Storm for thousands of years. The mana that it consumed was absolutely unimaginable, especially the power source of the Sky Castle that Osric had entrusted his soul to for the sake of achieving immortality.
If the power source of the Sky Castle had not been strong enough, it would have been consumed over the years, and Lin Li wouldn’t have been able to take it back to Anril. However, the consumption of the power source was very obviously far from being comparable to that of the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council.
Of course, Lin Li also did not have the ability to replace the power source of the Sky Castle. Although there was no problem with the technology, he did not have any magical crystals that could replace the power source of the Sky Castle. Even the magical crystals of prehistoric magical beasts would not work.
Although Lin Li still had the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction Azardas, he could not draw the mana of that magical crystal at all. Moreover, Lin Li was thinking of using that magical crystal to hatch two baby dragons like the Immortal King had done. After all, having two more helpers like Tutankhamun and Nefa would be much more cost-effective than simply using the magical crystal as a power source.
Besides, Lin Li also had the magical crystal of the ancient demon deity Balak which he had obtained in Osric’s mausoleum, but it was obviously not suitable for being the power source of the Sky Castle. Although the mana of that magical crystal was also quite large, it was still somewhat insufficient to be used as the power source of the Sky Castle. Besides, the magical crystal was now the core of the Eternal Furnace and the power source of the crystal coffin.
However, replacing the power source of the Sky Castle was actually the worst solution because magical crystals were no longer purely aggregates of mana at the Legendary-level, as they also contained the Spiritual Brand of the former owner. It might seem exaggerated to call it a living being, but it was definitely no longer inanimate. Hence, Legendary magical crystals would constantly absorb the magical elements in space to replenish the mana simultaneously with mana output, just like what happened when mages meditated. That was the reason that the value of Legendary magical crystals far surpassed that of magical crystals below the Legendary-level.
Since Legendary magical crystals already had the ability to automatically recover mana, Sanctuary-level magical crystals would definitely be far more impressive. Although Lin Li would never know what level the magical crystal used in the power source of the Sky Castle, he was certain that it would not be worse than the Sanctuary level. Perhaps it might be at the level of the gods.
The reason that the current power of the Sky Castle seemed to have been weakened was because the previous consumption greatly exceeded the recovery speed of the magical crystal which was the power source. Hence, Lin Li needed to allow the power source to be restored better instead of replacing it.
Of course, directly stopping the Sky Castle completely was unlikely. Lin Li could only consider that issue from other perspectives. Moreover, even if he really let the Sky Castle stop, the power source would not recover immediately. Besides, Lin Li still needed to maintain a considerable combat power on the Sky Castle in order to deal with various unexpected situations that might arise, such as being summoned to Cage Island previously.
Hence, Lin Li’s plan was to relieve the pressure on the Sky Castle’s power source by adding a few lower-level power sources. Thus, not only would the pressure on the main power source be reduced greatly, it would also enhance the power of the Sky Castle.
Of course, that seemed simple, but it was actually hard to execute as it involved the transformation of the power system of the Sky Castle, which was not as simple as adding a few magical crystals. Although it was not enough to affect the entire power system, Lin Li also had to take into account the impact of the secondary power source on the power system. Otherwise, even if there wasn’t any immediate issue after the mana was poured into the mana circuit, it would be a huge hidden problem.
Lin Li left the conference hall, and headed to the control center on the uppermost floor of the Central Tower where he could use the control crystal to display the power system of the Sky Castle in his mind. Firstly, it was the power source of the Sky Castle that was located at the very core of the Sky Castle and looked like a golden sun. There were dense cobweb-like mageweath arrays around the power source, with golden rays of light spreading outwards while passing through the mana circuit.
Even Lin Li the Guru of Inscription could not identify the mageweath array that acted as the power core. In fact, he even thought of searching through his memories of the Endless World, but he did not find any existences that were similar to this mageweath array. However, to a Guru of Inscription, a mageweath would definitely be traceable even if it was one that he had never seen before.