MMB Chapter 38 [The Tide and the Still Current]
Chapter 38 [The Tide and the Still Current]
Eastern Forest, Arcane Sanctuary.
Thea methodically explained the "Basic Arcane Energy" she had compiled to the two new apprentices, Valen and Lila.
On the top platform of the temple, the smooth, mirror-like ground reflected the figures of the three.
"Magic itself has no attributes." Thea held an arcane crystal that kept changing shape in her hand.
"The fireballs and ice arrows you learned in the past were merely the least efficient and most brutal use and expression of magic."
Valen's eyes lit up as he listened; he had a natural fascination with powerful magic.
Lila listened quietly, her silver eyes sparkling with thoughtful consideration.
Thea followed the principle that it's better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish, and since any offensive spell would be contrary to its purpose, she gave them a task.
She pointed to the vast library ruins at her feet, "Your first task is to calm down and study, and abandon your previous impatience, especially you, Valen."
"Using the existing magic circle nodes in the temple, repair and build an internal communication and management network covering the entire temple area."
"What I need is to be able to accurately obtain the name and status of any book on the seventh shelf of the third row in the lower library when I am here."
"This..." Valen's face showed confusion. "Speaker, what's the use of this? We should be researching how to channel more powerful magical torrents and create spells with even greater power!"
"Valen," Thea's gaze swept over him, "The power of a dam that stores water upstream of a river comes from the vast body of water it can control, not from the splash it creates when it releases water. Control itself is the greatest power."
Lila nodded thoughtfully. "Does the Speaker mean that the information contained within the magic itself is more valuable than the burst of power released during the spell's release? In other words, is it about returning everything to the essence of magic, or spells in general?"
"Correct." Thea gave her an approving look.
In the next mission, the two apprentices demonstrated their respective talents.
Valen was obsessed with the efficient conduction and amplification of energy, and he devoted all his energy to repairing the main magical circuits.
"Look, Lila!" he exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a brightly glowing magical portal he had just repaired. "I've tripled the magical capacity of this portal! We can now teleport a half-person-high tome at once, instead of a tiny communication crystal!"
Lila frowned. She was squatting on the ground, using a crystal pen to trace an extremely complex rune.
"Valen, your spell interaction is handled very well, but have you considered that... without corresponding marking, management, and definite output results, this spellbook will only block all the teleportation items at the destination?"
She stood up and pointed to her design drawings.
"Look, I designed an independent set of logical symbols for each node. We can label each piece of information, set its destination, and determine the order of arrival. This is what a real network is, not just a big water pipe."
Valen scoffed at her design. "Magic should be simple and direct! Yours is more complicated than the dinner etiquette of the Elven court! It's pure showing off!"
"That's violent aesthetics!" Lila retorted without backing down. "Uncontrolled magic only brings chaos and disaster!"
The two argued incessantly, yet they depended on each other within Thea's framework.
Warren was responsible for building the robust "hardware," while Lila wrote the sophisticated "software" on top of it.
Several weeks later, this rudimentary "regional network" was finally completed.
Soft arcane light shone through the vast library ruins, connecting every corner.
"Well done." Thea stood in the center of the top platform, looking at the illuminated temple below, and smiled for the first time.
She reached out and placed her hand on the broken branch of the World Tree, the source of all magic in the world, connecting the newly built network to it.
"Now, let's experience the real world."
A torrent of information flooded into her consciousness.
No longer confined to this temple, through the network of [Heavenly Dao Mycelium] that covers the entire world, her perception extends and covers the entire world, and on this chessboard.
Forget the breath of the forest, the slumber of the mountains, the pulse of the ocean...
These were merely background elements, and from the direction of the southern wasteland, a crimson aura emanated, contradicting the surroundings.
That was not a natural phenomenon; it carried a meaning entirely different from the affinity between the elves and life.
Life is arbitrarily and brutally taken away, and then infused into another life form in an extremely inefficient way.
This process repeats and expands exponentially in a short period of time.
"This is..." Lila and Valen also sensed the distant, savage, and bloody aura through the special connection of the internet.
"Such powerful magical fluctuations!" Valen's eyes showed shock and excitement.
"No...this isn't energy." Lila's face was pale. "It's a huge, out-of-control error. It's devouring everything, devouring all living beings."
Thea raised her hand, and a massive arcane diagram unfolded before her, drawn using the omnipresent source of magic.
A simple map of the world of Ashem.
Her finger lightly touched a certain area of the southern wilderness.
A scarlet marker appeared on the map.
"Speaker, what is that?" Warren asked.
Thea withdrew her hand, her gaze deep. "It's something extremely dangerous, far beyond our capabilities. We need to study it as soon as possible."
"Its existence interferes with all my thoughts and ideas. Before I can figure out how it exists, I must put it under surveillance and build a wall to resist it."
......
[Heavenly Way Diary]
[Apocalypse One - Hero Template] Status Update: Initial integration with the "Lastborn of the Earth (Dwarves)" faction has been achieved.
The core heritage sites "Heart of the Earth (remains)" and "Breath of the Stars (remains)" have entered a stage of deep resonance.
Growth Path Determination: [Frostfire Forge]
[Apocalypse II - Demon King Template] Status Update: Phase 1 troop integration completed.
The core heritage, "Seed of Plague (Chaos)," has entered a period of rapid expansion.
Growth path determination: [Black Tide Royal Power].
[Apocalypse III - Sage Template] Status Update: Basic organization construction (Arcane Council) completed.
A preliminary information network has been established for the core heritage site, "The Root of the World Tree (Tiandao)".
Growth path determination: [Arcane Nexus].
[Key Event Log: First Cross-Regional Sensing.]
[The Arcane Nexus has marked the Black Tide Kingdom through the Celestial Network, and the threads of causality have begun to intertwine.]
[Overall Assessment: The era of the Three Kings has officially begun, and world evolution has entered a new era of "balances and conflicts."]
The hero found his blacksmith shop and was diligently leveling up in the starting village.
The Demon King has assembled his vast army and is preparing to begin his conquest of the entire map.
The wise woman then deployed her area network and detected the presence of another player for the first time.
"Not bad, very good." Xu Ye's lips curled into a smile.
The three initially unrelated quest lines finally got their first patch and their first intersection.
"Now, the actors are in place, and the first act of the script has come to a successful close; let's see how much of a splash this little pebble, thrown by the wise man, will make in this muddy water."