“We’ve never had a tool like the M-language you created—a program that allows such intuitive construction. Our research into the Source has always been more like the ‘magical black box’ you described,” said Her Excellency Croft bluntly. “Through extensive decomposition and comparison of the Source, we extract entire chains of functionality, then reprocess and reuse them, fusing them back into the Source of the Mage World. As for this so-called ‘source code,’ the World Guardians don’t actually understand it very well.”
As she spoke, Her Excellency opened her palm. Source power erged, and before Adam’s eyes, she demonstrated the process of creating a Source. Indeed, it wasn’t composed of numbers or lines of code, but of modules.
These modules, in her hands, were indivisible units, each bearing its own function. Under the greater black box—the Source itself—they maintained internal consistency and balance.
Then she said to Adam: “This is a simple blank Source. Inject Source power into it, refine its details, and once placed into the Aether Void, it will gradually form into a new plane.”
At first glance, creating a world seed easy, but it was not. The requirents on the creator’s level were imnse. A minimum of Ninth Rank was required—anything less made it impossible.
“The World Guardians once tried to use M-language to decode the mysteries of the Source in detail, but they failed. It still seed a bit too crude. I believe that if you want to construct a virtual world, relying on M-language alone won’t be enough. The information it can carry is simply too limited.”
Adam knew this truth better than anyone. M-language had always been the simplest programming language capable of interfacing with the Aether Void. It was natural that it could not create a flawless system. Even now, so researchers at the Institute were striving to upgrade it to version 2.0—or higher.
“Can’t the Relic Source be decomposed using your thod?” Adam asked.
Her Excellency shook her head. “Impossible. It is completely different. Do not forget—it was once a living being.”
That was indeed a critical difficulty. Living entities were fundantally different from the inanimate.
If it was a lifeform, then the thod to crack the Relic Source should resemble cracking genetic information. Were all its functions innate abilities?
Put that way, Adam’s attempt to use the Relic Source to build a virtual world was equivalent to reviving it—or recreating a Second-Epoch lifeform.
Adam asked: “If I really do succeed in reviving it, will the Council accept a virtual world built inside the belly of a Second-Epoch creature?”
Her Excellency gave a firm answer: “Even if it is revived, it will be a Fourth-Epoch lifeform under the control of the mages. It may carry traits of the Second Epoch, but ensuring it remains harmless will not be difficult.
Though the World Guardians cannot give you much professional help in this matter, so of our perspectives may still be useful.
The Council is very optimistic about your project. Proceed boldly—we will provide all the support you require.”
Adam understood: with Her Excellency Croft’s guarantee, the Virtual World Project would imdiately beco the highest-priority mission in the realm. Recruitnt would no longer be a problem.
Until now, he had mostly interacted with the Third, Fifth, and Seventh Holy Towers. From the looks of it, this ti his primary partners would be the Fourth Holy Tower—the one whose system differed most from arcane magic.
In the field of biology, they were the true authorities.
Once that matter was settled, Her Excellency passed Adam the data reports she had just been reviewing and said: “Have you been keeping track of the latest results from the Big Data Project?”
Adam replied, “I haven’t checked the core data, but my avatars have been continuously collecting and organizing the sections concerning ordinary mages and apprentices.”
Her Excellency tapped the table with her finger. “Thanks to Big Data, our grasp of the Mage World has reached its strongest point since the Revolution. We’ve discovered and resolved many problems we previously ignored.”
Suddenly, she said, “The Virtual World Project shouldn’t require large-scale experints, correct?”
Adam nodded. “Yes, it’s almost entirely pure computation. But the resurrection of the Relic Source will require mages from the Fourth Holy Tower to lead so experints.”
Those matters did not concern him—having layn direct specialists was a grave taboo. All he needed to do was state his requirents, and professionals would handle the rest.
Even the upgrades to M-language and the construction of the engine didn’t require his personal presence—his avatars could handle them. At present, Adam was enjoying one of the most leisurely tis of his life.
However, Her Excellency Croft clearly had no intention of letting him remain idle.
She displayed a panoramic map of the Mage World. The continents that housed the Seven Holy Towers occupied over seventy percent of the total area. The remaining thirty percent was made up of vast oceans and scattered “desolate islands.” ℞ἁℕꝋ฿ȧ
She continued: “Our data analysis revealed that our previous efforts were insufficient. We have focused almost all our attention on mages of formal rank and higher. As a result, they are either consud with planar wars for resources or absorbed in their own research, neglecting the outside world. Apprentices receive little attention, and ordinary people are almost entirely ignored.”
Adam frowned in puzzlent. His mind was full of question marks. Why was she telling him this? Weren’t such administrative affairs the responsibility of the Council and the World Guardians?
“The current apprentice selection system is riddled with flaws. Countless ordinary people with mage potential have been overlooked. In the past, the Mage World couldn’t resolve this problem. On one hand, resources were limited; on the other, the mages’ attention was scarce. But now, both of these constraints have been lifted.”
Resources, of course, ca primarily from planar wars. And with the birth of Aether-chain fission technology, the Mage World now possessed far more surplus energy. As for attention, Big Data had greatly reduced the administrative burden on the mage hierarchy.
Adam began to sense where Her Excellency was going.
“In your Big Data proposal, you ntioned the concept of ‘universal education.’ I found it excellent. The Mage World now possesses vast territories and imnse resource reserves. What we urgently need is universal education to expand the mage population and strengthen our ranks.”
As she spoke, the map changed. The overseas desolate islands clustered together, forming a continent larger than the one that housed the Seven Holy Towers.
“The Guardians have gathered and fused all the isolated islands. The land has been nad the Academy Continent. From now on, all ordinary people and low-level apprentices will live there.
Every Holy Tower, and even the Transcendent Mage Towers, will establish mage academies upon the continent, to train apprentices and mages.”
Adam had long anticipated such a developnt, but he had not expected the Council to move so swiftly. This ant that the Mage World’s talent cultivation system was being formalized—turned into an assembly line. It was a deed that would benefit generations to co.
After hearing this, Adam asked, “Do you an you want to establish an academy?”
Her Excellency shook her head. “You are still alone, without the manpower to found an academy. What I wish to entrust to you is… another matter.”
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