Everyone perceives the passage of time differently. Sometimes it feels like it flies by in an instant, like a white colt flashing past a crack in the wall. Other times, it's like a sandstone golem from some earth elemental plane, taking a thousand Norland years for a single kiss—excruciatingly slow.
After receiving the Legendary Mage's test subject, both Richard and Stevenson began progressing towards the goal in their own ways.
Richard, in fact, continued much as before. His life and schedule remained largely unchanged; even his magic cultivation and meditation were uninterrupted. He only slightly adjusted his timetable, allocating some of the time previously dedicated to magic philosophy to Rune Constructs.
But before long, Richard realized he was heading in the wrong direction. While studying construct design, several lessons involved analyzing and dissecting classic examples from predecessors. To understand the masters' design philosophies, he had to repeatedly revisit fundamental theories. He was then surprised to discover that no matter how complex the execution or how stunningly brilliant the design concept of a Rune Construct, its foundation still stemmed from understanding the magical world. Richard thus knew he didn't currently lack knowledge of magic circles; rather, he needed to strengthen his proficiency in magic philosophy, which would better aid his creativity.
Simultaneously, Richard began learning about the creation and installation of construct plugins. A rune construct needed to be installed on a Snow Hare to truly function. A mature Rune Construct plugin could fuse with the target creature's body, eventually becoming a part of it, similar to a tattoo. A further step involved directly inscribing the runes onto the target creature's body; only such constructs could achieve true, unique integration with the target.
Furthermore, to create entirely new Rune Constructs, magical materials science also became a critical field. Determining which materials achieved corresponding effects wasn't as simple as it seemed. Even within the same magical beast species, hide from different body parts could have varying magical effects. The processes for treating leather numbered nearly a hundred, ultimately producing at least thirty to forty types of enchanted hides with different magical properties. Rune Constructs involved over a thousand types of materials. Coupled with variations in mid-to-late stage processing, and the fact that every master-level figure possessed some unique techniques, the combinations resulted in an unimaginably vast number.
Richard explored this immense labyrinth, learning and practicing the fundamental techniques required for Rune Construct creation. He was very patient, not anxious at all, progressing step by step. At most, he would review the results of his previous learning phase every few days and slightly adjust his schedule accordingly.
In truth, there were many shortcuts regarding magical materials, such as requesting them from his family. No matter how much the Akmond family was viewed as upstarts, they were, after all, a prime example of successful upstarts. The materials and preliminary processing techniques they could provide Richard would undoubtedly be dozens of times better than what he could concoct himself. Materials on the level of Stevenson's exquisitely prepared Flame Drake hide, though extremely precious, were not beyond the Akmond family's reach.
Yet Richard preferred using ordinary magical beast hide, fifteen hundred times cheaper, rather than accepting a Flame Drake hide from Gordon. Even though he was keenly aware of the importance of high-grade magical materials for the quality of the final construct, he stubbornly ignored this minor convenience, seeking his own path forward.
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Stevenson, on the other hand, adopted a different kind of busy schedule. He communicated with Saint Kruse almost daily to discuss the Rune Construct design for the Snow Hare. He also began extensive, targeted practice.
Helen Su's test was a difficult problem even for Saint Kruse. The challenge, of course, lay in Stevenson's rune inscription technique. Saint Kruse not only had to find a solution but also ensure it was one Stevenson could currently accomplish.
Within days of receiving the test subject, the Construct Master, famous for decades, had produced over a dozen feasible construct designs. However, upon evaluation, none were achievable by Stevenson. So, while devising new plans, Saint Kruse urged Stevenson to undertake targeted practice, particularly strengthening his inscription skills for over a dozen specific partial magic circles. Although the final solution hadn't been found yet, the general approach was established, and these dozen or so magic circles were highly likely to be used in the final design.
Remote communication magic arrays, especially ultra-long-range communication exceeding five thousand kilometers, were also extremely costly. But compared to the first batch of specialized magical materials the Solam family planned to send to Deepblue, the few thousand gold coins for a single communication session were truly insignificant.
Duke Solam had already prepaid another million imperial gold coins for Stevenson to purchase materials within Deepblue. Breeding and improving the Snow Hares was also a major expense, significantly increased because the timeframe was limited to six months. Developing a more powerful magical beast that still qualified as a Snow Hare would cost over three million gold coins in total.
In fact, the reason items in Deepblue were several to dozens of times more expensive than in the outside world was due to their quality far exceeding similar products externally. In Duke Solam's eyes, Deepblue's prices were quite fair. Although Deepblue grew more prosperous year by year, its annual output was limited. According to treaty, it first supplied the Holy Alliance, with the remainder released onto the continental market. In the outside world, Deepblue products were often high-end goods unavailable even with money. Because a direct descendant of the Solam family was a personal disciple of the Legendary Mage, they were able to squeeze onto Deepblue's client list. For this privilege alone, Duke Solam and his family council considered it well worth the cost.
Less than a month after the first installment of gold was sent, the Solam family's material aid arrived at Deepblue. Along with the magical supplies came an additional two million gold coins. This was because Deepblue's quadrennial Midsummer Revelry was approaching again.
The so-called Midsummer Revelry wasn't a traditional festival celebrated across the continent, but rather an ultra-large-scale magical materials auction and trade fair held within Deepblue. The Midsummer Revelry had been held three times before; this was the fourth. Each previous auction caused a greater sensation than the last. The third even attracted participation from many great families of the Holy Alliance. This year's Revelry, it was rumored, would see representatives from many prominent houses of the three great empires attending.
The Midsummer Revelry was no ordinary auction. Although the format was similar—Deepblue and its invited suppliers provided the main goods, while participants also brought their own materials seeking trades (often, rare materials required barter rather than gold as the primary settlement tool)—the fundamental reason for its extraordinary nature was that at each quadrennial event, the Legendary Mage would open her private vaults and select some materials for public auction.
Anything deemed worthy of collection and cherished by the Legendary Mage was undoubtedly rare throughout the entire Norland continent. And due to certain personal, peculiar hobbies of the Legendary Mage, her private collection contained an exceptionally large number of dragon-related items. Any material associated with dragons was considered good stuff. For true old-blood nobles and continental powerhouses, gold coins were nothing; these top-tier materials were items one might encounter but could not seek out. How could they miss an opportunity to exchange gold for top-tier materials?
