Chapter 169: Talent Crystal Model
A moment later, Su Nan completed the Seal Array.
The Multi-Winged Monster, whose power had been mostly sealed, withered completely. It was carried on the shoulder of a Mithril Golem, resigned to its fate and ceasing to resist.
After placing the Secret Puppet Girl and another Mithril Golem into the Magic Cube, Su Nan walked towards the Secret Forest Hut group, his gaze fixed on Hunter.
"The deal is done; now it's your turn to fulfill your promise."
Hearing this, Rose, Traveler, and the others felt invigorated, turning to look at Hunter.
"No problem."
Hunter smiled as he took out the Dawn Potion and the Star Tower Key, distributing them among the group.
Upon receiving the Star Tower Key, joy flashed in the eyes of Rose and Traveler.
They had risked so much, facing life and death, all for the Key to the Star Tower.
Only Night Owl wore a somewhat complicated expression.
With only nine members in the Secret Forest Hut, three had died in this operation, causing their fledgling business to regress to what it had been ten years ago.
They would have to recruit new members once again.
Having obtained what he wanted, Su Nan did not linger. He bid them farewell without hesitation and left.
He had other matters to attend to.
As Su Nan's figure disappeared through the cave exit, the remaining five exchanged glances, their expressions reflecting a mix of emotions.
"I didn't expect Su Nan to conceal so much."
"Rather than saying he hid it, it seems we simply never saw through him."
"Exactly. I feel like Su Nan probably didn’t even use his full strength to kill Saulo. He might still have other tricks up his sleeve."
"Hiss, I don't want to think about it anymore. If I keep pondering, I'll feel like a good-for-nothing."
Traveler quickly changed the subject, glancing at the Rune Stone in his hand before asking Hunter, "Hunter, tell me the truth, how many Star Tower Keys do you actually have left?"
Hunter shook his head. "Aside from the ones I've given you, there are only four remaining. Three were originally reserved for the Undead, the Black Forest, and Red Heart. Evans only provided me with this many."
"Evans, where is he?" Scepter inquired.
"I'm not sure," Hunter said, shrugging. "After I drew Eternal Life Society's attention, that guy vanished without a trace. But I'd bet he's still carrying a fair amount of the Star Tower's Key."
Traveler sighed. "It used to be incredibly difficult to find even the slightest clue about the Star Tower. Now, the Star Tower's Key is popping up everywhere. That Star Royal Family is remarkably good at hiding things."
Scepter frowned. "I hope that Evans guy stays hidden; I really don't want to run into a bunch of other Wizard Apprentices when we find the Star Tower six years from now."
Although, based on the available information, the inheritance of the Star Tower wasn't a competition, the resources within each Wizard Inheritance were limited. The more people who entered, the less each individual would ultimately obtain.
If they could help it, they wouldn’t want too many other Wizard Apprentices entering the Star Tower.
If they could find Evans, they'd prefer to capture him and lock him up for six years until they obtained the Star Tower's inheritance.
"There are still six years," Night Owl said in a low voice. "Everyone should prepare more."
Back in Giant Eye City, Su Nan made his way through the Spatial Channel and returned to Long Lin.
With a flash of light, he appeared in the modification zone on the thirteenth floor of the Dragon Bone Tower.
Each modification zone in the Dragon Bone Tower had specially built confinement cells for detaining Sub-Dragon Species and Dragon Clan members.
Su Nan found a maximum-security cell, tossed the Multi-Winged Monster inside, instructed Butler Number 1 to keep a close watch on it, and then returned to the control center on the top floor.
After the battle, there was, of course, the gratifying task of counting the spoils of war.
This time, Su Nan had obtained a total of seven Space Rings. In addition to the four from the Eternal Life Society, he had also acquired the Space Rings of Black Forest, Undead, and Red Heart.
The first two were taken from Saulo.
The last one was quietly snatched while everyone was scrambling to escape from the Multi-Winged Monster.
He had defeated the Multi-Winged Monster and avenged Red Heart, so taking the Space Ring as compensation felt entirely justified.
Yes, very justified.
Su Nan first activated Red Heart's Space Ring.
Gold and silver coins, gems, Wizard Codexes, potions, and materials were all common items found in a Wizard Apprentice’s Space Ring.
Su Nan was quite experienced in this task, and with practiced ease, he completed the inventory, sorting the items into categories.
To his slight disappointment, there was nothing particularly eye-catching within.
The most valuable item was probably a bottle of high-tier Sub-Dragon blood.
Unfortunately for the others, that was something Su Nan had in abundance.
The second container he opened was from the Black Forest’s Space Ring.
Compared to the last one, this Space Ring held far more materials.
There were quite a few rare magical plants.
However, there was still nothing particularly surprising.
It wasn’t until he opened the Undead's Space Ring that Su Nan’s eyes lit up slightly.
Soul Crystals!
A full hundred or so Miniature Soul Crystals!
Even though they were all Miniature Soul Crystals, they were still quite precious.
"Now I have the materials to synthesize Medium Soul Crystals!"
Synthesizing one Medium Soul Crystal required roughly one hundred and twenty Miniature Soul Crystals.
Su Nan had spent a long time accumulating Miniature Soul Crystals just to synthesize the Medium Soul Crystal needed for the Secret Puppet.
However, now that he had the materials for a second Medium Soul Crystal, he just needed to gather enough Mithril to craft another Secret Puppet.
The powerful combat capabilities of the Secret Puppet had been fully demonstrated in today's battle.
Without a doubt, this would be the Puppet Su Nan would focus on researching and refining above all else in the future.
Besides the Soul Crystals, what pleasantly surprised Su Nan even more was finding the relevant Wizard Codex for creating Soul Crystals in the Space Ring.
Even though it only documented how to create Miniature and Small Soul Crystals, it was still sufficient.
With the Synthesis Cube in hand, as long as he had enough Miniature Soul Crystals, he could even synthesize legendary-grade Soul Crystals.
Overjoyed, Su Nan immediately flipped through the tome.
With the support of his powerful Spiritual Power, he read the entire book in less than half an hour, his brow furrowing in slight contemplation.
"Only a Level Three Wizard Apprentice can extract souls to condense crystals?"
In that case, he would have to personally manufacture the Soul Crystals.
After all, apart from him, there were no other Level Three Wizard Apprentices in the entire Base currently.
"The source of souls is plentiful; there are many native tribes and city-states around the Star Alliance. A small-scale war to eliminate a tribe can yield at least a few dozen Soul Crystals."
"If it’s a war against a force as large as Giant Eye City, generating several hundred Soul Crystals would pose no issue, and might even produce a few Small Soul Crystals."
A legendary-level soul can produce one Small Soul Crystal.
In the vast Underworld, while legendary-level beings are not abundant, they certainly are not rare.
"From now on, I won't be desperately in need of Soul Crystals."
Su Nan's brow relaxed, revealing a joyful expression.
With a sufficient supply of Soul Crystals, he no longer needs to expend a large amount of resources on Stone Golems to synthesize first-ring and second-ring Legendary Puppets. He can instead use Steel Golems to replace Elite Stone Golems, and then use those Steel Golems to create Elite Steel Golems in place of Higher Stone Golems, significantly reducing costs.
Setting aside the Undead's Space Ring, Su Nan cheerfully opened the Eternal Life Society's Space Ring.
There were no unexpected treasures in the Space Rings of Ember and Stone Scorpion.
Iro's Space Ring yielded similar results, with the exception of some Wizard Codex texts on Illusion that piqued Su Nan's interest.
He set those texts aside, planning to study them later, and finally turned his attention to Saulo's Space Ring.
"As the founder of the formidable Eternal Life Society, he must have accumulated many valuable items."
Su Nan opened the Space Ring, and an expression of delight immediately appeared on his face.
As expected, Saulo's Space Ring could be regarded as a treasure trove.
There were at least seventy to eighty thousand gold coins in sight, along with two to three thousand gems—many of them high-grade.
These alone were worth more than one hundred thousand gold coins!
In addition to these, there were numerous Magic Plants, rare metals, and other various materials.
Potions and Soul Crystals were also abundant.
Su Nan even found a Medium Soul Crystal inside.
He wondered how many Legendary Knights Saulo had defeated to gather enough souls to create this Medium Soul Crystal.
Or perhaps it wasn’t Legendary Knights but the souls of other beings, like Wizard Apprentices?
With a smile, Su Nan happily accepted the Medium Soul Crystal.
Having finished counting all the valuables and materials, there were finally over a hundred Wizard Codex left.
The Wizard Codex specifically collected by Saulo in his Space Ring were certainly not ordinary items.
After a rough count, Su Nan discovered quite a few intriguing classics inside.
"As expected of the founder of the Eternal Life Society, he possesses a wealth of rare knowledge."
A smile appeared on Su Nan's face.
When he picked up the last classic and saw the words on the cover, his eyes lit up even more.
"Model Construction of Talent Crystal: Killing Intent."
Talent Crystal!
Su Nan quickly opened the book and began to read carefully.
The three major criteria for advancing to Wizard are the Star Ring, Spiritual Power, and the most crucial Talent Crystal!
When both the constructed Star Ring and Spiritual Power meet the required standards, the Wizard Apprentice will face the greatest hurdle in advancing to a Formal Wizard: constructing the Talent Crystal Model!
The essence of the Talent Crystal Model is an aggregate of Runes.
Different types and quantities of Runes result in different abilities in the final formed Talent Crystal Model.
The Talent Crystal can be said to be the most important means of combat for a Wizard, directly relating to their future growth potential and combat power. Its significance cannot be overstated.
According to their level, Talent Crystals can be categorized into three tiers: upper, middle, and lower.
To break through and become a True Spirit Wizard in the future, one must at least construct a Middle Talent Crystal.
The chances of an Inferior Talent Crystal Wizard becoming a True Spirit Wizard are very slim.
In fact, the probability of a Middle Talent Crystal Wizard achieving this is less than one percent.
Striving to become a True Spirit Wizard is something only Superior Talent Crystal Wizards are qualified to pursue.
This book from Saulo details the model construction method for an Inferior Talent Crystal called "Killing Intent."
A Wizard who advances with a "Killing Intent" Talent Crystal will master the ability to release a Killing Intent Domain centered around themselves; any creature within the Killing Intent Domain will have to constantly endure the effects of the Killing Intent, and creatures with slightly weaker wills may easily descend into madness.
Furthermore, a Wizard can slightly recover physical strength and spiritual power through slaughter, demonstrating the notion of getting stronger the more they fight!
One can imagine how terrifying a Wizard with such an ability would be on the battlefield of Knights!
And this is just an Inferior Talent Crystal!
This illustrates just how powerful a formal Wizard is!
"It's a pity that this is simply a lower-level Talent Crystal model," Su Nan remarked with slight regret.
He is undoubtedly aiming for the True Spirit Wizard in the future, so his objective is definitely a Superior Talent Crystal.
Lower-level and middle-level Talent Crystals are completely out of the question.
Constructing a Talent Crystal is divided into three steps.
The first is to decide on the Talent Crystal Model to construct.
Talent Crystal Models are usually further enhancements and developments based on an original model.
The simplest and most common method is to use a specific Spell Model as the original model and then improve and deepen it.
Additionally, one can choose the characteristics of a certain Magic Item, replicating and extracting it as the original model.
The last option is to use a Bloodline Ability as the original model. This type is usually chosen by Other: Wizard Apprentices who follow the Bloodline Wizard path.
For example, the 'Killing Intent' Talent Crystal Model is clearly an improved Talent Crystal Model based on the Carlos Python Bloodline Ability as the original model.
An Other: Wizard Apprentice who has fused with Carlos' Bloodline Ability, and who advances to a formal Wizard using the 'Killing Intent' Talent Crystal, will have enhanced combat power and potential due to the model's high compatibility with their own Bloodline, surpassing those who have constructed an Inferior Talent Crystal.
In the early stages, a Wizard following the Bloodline path will typically hold more advantages than a Wizard following the True Spirit path.
In a sense, this can be considered an advantage gained by sacrificing potential.
In short, when choosing a Talent Crystal Model, an Other: Wizard Apprentice can either select a model left behind by their predecessors or opt to research and create a new model themselves.
The advantage of the former is that it saves time and effort, and since the model has already been proven feasible by predecessors, there is no need to worry about unforeseen accidents.
The disadvantage, however, is that these models may not be completely suitable for oneself.
Each Talent Crystal Model is created based on the creator's own conditions from the very beginning.
The souls and bodies of individuals, no matter how similar they may appear, can never align perfectly in every detail; differences are inevitable.
This meant that those who came later could not fully adapt to the Talent Crystal Model and would always experience some level of influence.
Initially, these discrepancies might not be noticeable, but as one strives for higher realms in the future, they would undoubtedly become apparent, turning into obstacles to breakthroughs.
Consequently, all ambitious Wizard Apprentices, without exception, would choose to research and create their own new models.
Even those Wizard Apprentices who adhered to their family's bloodline inheritance and were compelled to adopt their ancestors' Talent Crystal Model would make adjustments and modifications to better suit themselves. They would never accept it in its original form.
And Su Nan, of course, intended to follow the second path.
In fact, he had long determined the original model of the Talent Crystal he wished to construct.
That model was his trump card, the Magic Pattern Core he had always held!
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