Chapter 115: Secret Puppet, an Opportunity to Change Destiny
Starlight Calendar 1254, the month of Winter lody.
This year’s New Year celebration was exceptionally grand, far exceeding previous years.
The main reason was that the lord had given birth to a son.
To celebrate the son’s birth, the lord generously held a continuous feast in the square for several days, sharing the joy with the people.
Su Nan had gone to see his newborn nephew once. It was too early to tell about the boy’s spiritual aptitude, but his bone structure was excellent.
It made sense; after all, the little fellow’s father was a formidable Peak Great Knight.
Over the years, under Su Nan’s continuous ‘feeding,’ Kei’s strength had improved rapidly. Now, he was only one step away from becoming a Legendary Knight.
Su Nan planned to keep all the Dragonblood Fruits from the No. 2 Magic Plant Garden for the next six months. Then, he would synthesize them into advanced Dragonblood Fruits with the effects of a third-tier potion. If Kei consud those, he would have a high probability of breaking through to beco a Legendary Knight.
A twenty-six-year-old, first-ring Legendary Knight would be unique throughout the entire Starry Constellation Duchy.
Base No. 1, the Hive.
In a room converted into a mine pit environnt, eleven gem-like insects, with their sowhat dull appearance, were slowly crawling around. When they passed by scattered pieces of broken ore, they would stop and nibble a few bites before continuing their journey.
After the number increased to eleven, the annual gem yield of the Hive had skyrocketed to nearly four hundred, showing significant progress.
In addition, Carolina, following Su Nan’s orders, was collecting rare tals such as Abyssal Black Copper and Rainbow Iron.
With the abundance of tals in the underground world, Su Nan was confident that he would soon be able to gather enough new nourishnt to further increase the number of gem insects.
Apart from that, he had also collected many of the rare tals required for refining Magic Emblem Cores.
It was estimated that he would be able to gather all the materials needed to refine the second Magic Emblem Core soon.
Leaving the Hive, Su Nan headed straight for the laboratory.
Just a few days ago, he had attended the gathering at the Mysterious Wooden Hut.
Blackwood, who had stood him up twice, finally appeared at the gathering this ti.
However, according to Night Owl, Blackwood skipped eight out of ten gatherings, which was normal.
At that gathering, Su Nan finally acquired the rare puppet design blueprint he had heard about from Blackwood.
After carefully reviewing the blueprint, he confird Blackwood’s claim—it was indeed very rare.
It was more accurate to say that it was a puppet refining technology rather than a puppet design blueprint.
In simpler terms, it was a miniaturization technology for magic puppets.
The overall idea was to use light, nimble tals like mithril to create puppets, minimizing their weight while significantly reducing their size. The resulting puppets would be close to human size and driven by dium or large soul crystals as their soul cores.
This way, the manufactured magic puppets would be agile, swift, possess sufficient intelligence, and could easily pass as living beings if disguised well.
They could also integrate various combat techniques and magic, making them far more powerful than ordinary magic puppets.
Due to the use of mithril for the majority of the materials, these miniaturized magic puppets were also known as Secret Puppets!
According to the description on the blueprint, a Secret Puppet refined using a dium-sized soul crystal would possess combat abilities comparable to those of a formal Wizard.
It goes without saying that this description made Su Nan very excited.
However, after careful consideration, he had to abandon the idea of refining Secret Puppets.
The skill pre-requisites and other requirents aside, the most critical factor was cost.
Since the majority of a Secret Puppet’s body was made of mithril, even with the utmost savings, refining one would require at least thirty to forty kilograms of mithril.
Mithril usually appears as a companion material in silver mines.
As a tastable elent of silver, mithril’s value far exceeds the forr.
It possesses remarkable ductility and magic conductivity, and once extracted, it will never fade, with extrely stable material properties. Magical items made from mithril can last for hundreds of years without worrying about natural deterioration.
Adding even a small amount of mithril when refining magical items can significantly enhance their quality.
Besides that, mithril can also be used to create tal magic puppets or magical constructs.
One of the highest achievents in magic puppetry, the Mithril Sage, is rumored to be primarily made of mithril.
Furthermore, building Wizard Towers and floating cities requires a large amount of mithril.
Mithril is an indispensable rare material in components like floating rings, anti-gravity devices, and elent-driven devices.
However, mithril is extrely rare.
Mithril deposits found in conjunction with silver mines are often low in concentration and scattered widely. It’s possible to mine an entire large silver vein and only collect a dozen kilograms or so.
This scarcity makes mithril extrely valuable.
When refining magical items, ordinary Wizard Apprentices use mithril by the gram.
Tens of kilograms is a staggering number.
Even with two silver veins under his control, Su Nan currently only has less than three kilograms of mithril.
Most of it was used to refine puppet magic puppets and feed the gem insects.
It would take ages to accumulate thirty to forty kilograms of mithril.
In conclusion, the Secret Puppet design blueprint was not feasible.
When he realized this, Su Nan was speechless.
The previous Gem Puppet design blueprint was one thing, but now this Secret Puppet design blueprint.
Blackwood didn’t know where he got these blueprints, but they were all cleverly conceived—simply not feasible. They were only good for admiring and daydreaming, making Su Nan speechless.
“But it’s not completely useless.”
Although not feasible, both blueprints still had so reference value.
After carefully studying both designs, Su Nan realized that he could combine them, integrating their advantages—creating a miniaturized Gem Puppet.
This way, the cost could be significantly reduced.
Su Nan had been researching the feasibility of combining the two designs for so ti, and now he finally saw so results.
“If it’s successful, I might be able to refine a puppet even stronger than a Refined Gold Magic Puppet.”
A glimr of anticipation arose in Su Nan’s heart.
Ti flew by, entering the month of Spring Dawn.
The snow lted, and all things began to grow.
Farrs could be seen working tirelessly in the fields everywhere.
On the third day of the month of Spring Dawn, Su Nan finally mastered the art of spellcasting without chanting.
In the spellcasting practice room.
Su Nan raised his hand, and seven spell bullets materialized in front of him, whistling as they hit the humanoid target in the distance, exploding with a resounding boom, shattering it to pieces.
Before the sound of the explosion faded, Su Nan pointed his finger again. A dazzling red light erupted from his fingertips, transforming into a crimson beam of lightning that struck another humanoid target, instantly lting it into molten iron.
Scorching Ray!
“Not bad.”
Su Nan nodded with satisfaction.
While spellcasting without chanting couldn’t shorten the casting preparation ti, it allowed casting and preparing the next spell simultaneously, significantly reducing the casting interval and enhancing casting efficiency.
Mastering spellcasting without chanting, in a way, turned him into a human artillery platform.
Wizard Apprentices who hadn’t mastered spellcasting without chanting would undoubtedly be crushed by those who had in a spellcasting showdown.
This was the power of Super Magic Techniques!
“Next up is spellcasting instantly!”
【Complete one spellcasting instantly practice, ‘Spell Instantaneous’ training progress 0.01%】
The training progress for spellcasting instantly only reached 0.04% after nearly depleting all his spiritual power.
Su Nan estimated that with two rounds of practice a day, the training progress could increase by a maximum of 0.08%.
Based on this progress, it would take about three to four years to master spellcasting instantly.
He had spent two years mastering spellcasting without chanting.
“That’s normal, since spellcasting instantly is an advanced technique of spellcasting without chanting, and it’s one of the most difficult techniques among Super Magic Techniques. It’s no surprise that it takes a long ti.”
Coming back to his senses, Su Nan called up the panel.
【Su Nan · Arnest, Human Male】
【Spirit 36.58/Constitution 33.23】
【Skills】
Star Ring ditation thod Lv13 (885724/1200000)
Potion Making Lv4 (6034/10000)
Creature Modification Lv3 (2492/6000)
Puppet Refining Lv4 (6982/10000)
Magical Item Crafting Lv4 (3945/10000)
The Star Ring ditation thod at Level 13 required a massive one million two hundred thousand proficiency points to upgrade.
Fortunately, with the strengthening of the Divine Blood Crystal and the growth of his spiritual power, Su Nan could now gain roughly four thousand proficiency points per day from ditation, so his progress wasn’t slow.
“In another two months, I should be able to condense the thirteenth Star Ring.”
Su Nan pondered silently.
It was worth ntioning that due to the frequent refining of puppets, Su Nan’s Puppet Refining skill had overtaken the Potion Making skill he initially mastered, surpassing it in proficiency points.
He estimated that it would be the first skill to reach Level 5.
At that ti, he might try refining higher-level puppets.
Closing the panel, Su Nan left the spellcasting practice area, looking up at the cloudless sky.
“Speaking of which, the Knights’ Academy has been in operation for more than half a year. I wonder how it’s doing?”
“Sir Sheman, Sir Athyle, welco to the Dragonheart Knights’ Academy.”
At the Academy gate, Moritz slightly bowed to Sheman and Athyle, greeting them with a smile.
“Greetings, Dean Moritz.”
Athyle and Sheman returned the bow slightly.
“This way, please.”
Moritz was a rare civilian in the army, but he had diligently worked his way up and beca a mid-level knight officer in his thirties.
When Su Nan decided to establish the Knights’ Academy, he transferred Moritz from the army, used Dragonblood Fruit to strengthen him to Peak Knight level, and appointed him as the Dean of the Knights’ Academy.
Moritz was ecstatic and had no complaints about this arrangent.
Everyone in Shining Light Territory knew that Lord Su Nan was the pillar supporting the developnt and prosperity of the entire territory.
In Shining Light Territory, Lord Su Nan’s status was no less than the lord’s.
Joining Lord Su Nan’s faction, even if it ant never obtaining a noble title, was still incredibly worthwhile.
In fact, after becoming the Dean of the Dragonheart Knights’ Academy, Moritz clearly felt his status skyrocketing. Even Baron Bred, who was highly trusted by the lord, had beco gentle towards him.
The other barons and lords greeted him with beaming smiles and endless flattery.
He may not have had a noble title, but he was essentially no different from a noble.
Therefore, Moritz was sincerely grateful and respectful to Lord Su Nan.
If it wasn’t for him giving him this opportunity, based on his civilian status, he wouldn’t know how long it would take to beco a noble.
So, when he heard that Lord Su Nan had sent two of his students to inspect the Academy, Moritz had been waiting at the gate since early morning.
“Since the Academy enrolls students from civilian and peasant backgrounds, the literacy rate is low, so we have specially set up the most basic literacy courses, along with various fundantal subjects.”
“At present, the students are mainly building their foundation. In addition to cultural courses, they are arranged to spend half a day each day on physical training and strengthening their bodies until they enter the second year, at which point they will start learning martial arts, horsemanship, and breathing techniques.”
Sheman casually asked while observing the surrounding buildings, “How many years is the academy?”
“Four years.” Moritz smiled, “But they can graduate early if they are promoted to knight.”
Sheman and Athyle remained silent upon hearing this.
The Dragonheart Knights’ Academy recruited students aged eleven or twelve, all from civilian or peasant families, with weaker innate foundations. For a student to beco a Probationary Knight in four years would be considered exceptionally talented.
Becoming a knight in four years was practically impossible.
Unless there was external influence.
“I heard from the teacher that the base will supply the academy with Dragonblood Fruit every year starting next year.” Athyle said with a smile.
“That’s great!”
Moritz bead with joy.
He had beco a Peak Knight by relying on Dragonblood Fruit, so he knew how powerful it was.
If they had Dragonblood Fruit, the students’ growth rate would definitely increase dramatically.
Perhaps in the future, there would be a few elite students who could graduate early.
As they talked, the three arrived at a wide training ground where many students were running around the track.
“They all seem to be in good spirits.” Athyle smiled.
Moritz laughed, “Of course, these kids know this is a hard-earned opportunity to change their destiny. They cherish it greatly and are very diligent in their studies and training.”
Hearing this, Sheman couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
He was also one of those whose destiny was changed.
The base and the Knights’ Academy, established by the teacher, had changed the lives of hundreds of children, like him, who ca from impoverished backgrounds.
Moreover, it was foreseeable that this number would continue to increase in the future.
At this ti, the students on the training ground noticed the three people on the side.
When they saw a man and a woman wearing robes accompanied by Dean Moritz, the crowd stirred in excitent.
On the first day of class, the teachers had told them that once they graduated from the Academy, they would join Lord Su Nan’s Knights’ Guard and serve the powerful and mysterious Wizards.
One of the characteristics of Wizards was their habit of wearing robes.
Plus, they were accompanied by Dean Moritz, leaving no doubt about their identities.
For a mont, many students subconsciously slowed down, craning their necks to get a glimpse of the legendary Wizards.
Only when the supervising teacher yelled at them to focus did they reluctantly turn their attention away.
Seeing this, Sheman and Athyle couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Let’s go, Dean Moritz. Let’s go see other places. We shouldn’t disturb these students.”
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