Chapter 230: Covering the Entire Continent Monitoring Network
"The fifty-second Sub Magic Stone Mine has been established."
Within the study, Lize's clear, cold voice resonated.
"Over the years, the apprentices we sent out have searched the entire continent, discovering a total of seventy-three Leyline Nodes. Of these, only fifty-two have sufficient energy richness to meet the standards for cultivating a Sub Magic Stone Mine."
"If nothing unexpected occurs, fifty-two Sub Magic Stone Mines will be the maximum for the continent."
Su Nan inquired, "What about the scale?"
"One is small, two are medium, and the rest are large."
"The complete popularization and promotion of Sub-mana technology will take time. In the early stages, the output from one small and two medium Sub Magic Stone Mines will suffice. Later, as the large mines are fully cultivated, the output will surge, perfectly aligning with the impending boom in Sub-mana technology."
Su Nan nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "What about the Teleportation Network Plan?"
"That progress is moving a bit slower."
Immediately after, a map of the surface world appeared beside it. Here, there were light points only at the very center, while the rest remained blank.
"The Transmission Network of the surface world has been completed, and we are now working on establishing the Transmission Network of the Underworld."
"How long will it take to finish?"
"The Sub Magic Stone Mine plan has concluded, allowing us to transfer personnel to the Teleportation Network Plan, slightly alleviating the manpower shortage. At the current pace, it will take about sixty to seventy years."
Su Nan's brow furrowed slightly.
At this rate, the entire Transmission Network would take over a hundred years!
However, he could understand, as the number of wizard apprentices available for deploying the Teleportation Array was limited to a few thousand at most.
In comparison to the vast expanse of the Starlight Continent, that amount of manpower was but a drop in the bucket.
Slow progress was inevitable.
"The number of students enrolled in Starlight Academy has been gradually increasing in recent years. In the future, we will have more personnel for the Teleportation Network Plan. Perhaps it won't take sixty years," Su Nan pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Regarding that, I have something to discuss with you," Lize suddenly said.
"Do you remember the Star Core you obtained from Falling Star City?"
Su Nan nodded slightly.
After acquiring the Star Core, he studied it for a while and discovered that it was actually an energy supply device, roughly equivalent to a Medium Elemental Pool.
If it were any other wizard, they would surely treat the Star Core as a priceless treasure.
But Su Nan was different; he had methods to synthesize a Large Elemental Pool, so he didn't think much of the Star Core.
Most importantly, once set up, the Star Core could not be moved. If it had been a portable energy supply device, akin to carrying an Elemental Pool, Su Nan would have regarded it much more highly.
Afterward, Lize took the Star Core from him, saying she wanted to conduct an experiment, and Su Nan let her have it.
"I used the Star Core to create a magical device, and I commissioned the Academy's Mentor to manufacture the finished product, called the Star Eye. It's currently being used at Starlight Academy to collect experimental data."
With a wave of her hand, a document floated towards Su Nan.
He reached out, took it, and opened it to read carefully, his eyes gradually brightening.
It had to be said that this thing called the Star Eye was quite intriguing; it could actually sense and record all energy particle fluctuations that exceeded a certain threshold. It was practically a remarkable tool for monitoring extraordinary powers!
However, the sensing range was somewhat limited.
"Was this device designed by the Starfall Society?"
"That's right."
Su Nan asked, intrigued, "Can the sensing range of this device be expanded?"
Lize pondered for a moment. "While ensuring that the effectiveness isn't compromised, it can be expanded to a maximum circular area with a diameter of three hundred kilometers. Beyond that, the precision of sensing energy particle fluctuations will be affected."
Three hundred kilometers in radius, huh.
Su Nan felt a twinge of disappointment.
That range was only sufficient to cover a city, hardly anything noteworthy.
Utilizing a Star Core, equivalent to a Medium Elemental Pool, to monitor the movement of extraordinary powers in a city seemed a bit wasteful.
It appeared that the Star Eye was somewhat impractical.
Wait!
Su Nan suddenly realized something.
Lize couldn't possibly be unaware of this limitation. If the Star Eye only had this level of effect, she wouldn't have brought it up to him specifically.
Since she did, there must be more to it.
A thought flashed through his mind. Su Nan glanced at Lize with a half-smile and said, "What other plans do you have? Tell me everything at once."
Lize's eyes twinkled with amusement, and the corners of her lips curled upward. She replied, "With only one Star Core, the monitoring range of the Star Eye won’t be very large. However, if we use the Star Eye as the core and supplement it with multiple interconnected Sub Star Cores to form a network, we can significantly expand the monitoring range!"
"Sub Star Core?"
"It means exactly what it sounds like—a core whose effects are inferior to those of the Star Core."
Lize reached out and tapped the air, causing a light and shadow to slowly materialize into a Crystal Ball. It resembled the Star Core but was much smaller.
"The Star Core is the central creation of the Starfall Society. Only a few Wizard Councilors who sit on the council of the Starfall Society have mastered the manufacturing technology. However, all official members can create Sub Star Cores."
"The Sub Star Core lacks the Energy Particle Fluctuation sensing effect of the Star Core; it’s merely a pure Energy core. However, when used in conjunction with the Star Core, it can resonate with it, amplifying the Star Core's abilities."
"I see." Su Nan nodded in understanding. "How much can it amplify?"
"If we have around two hundred Sub Star Cores, we can achieve at least a tenfold amplification."
"Tenfold? A monitoring area with a radius of three thousand kilometers?" Su Nan shook his head. "That's still not enough. It wouldn’t even cover the Southeast Region."
Lize, half amused and half exasperated, replied, "Don't be too greedy. You don't want to cover the entire Starlight Continent, do you?"
To her surprise, Su Nan nodded.
"Ideally, yes."
Seeing that he was serious, Lize's brow furrowed slightly. "The resonance amplification effect of Sub Star Cores isn’t infinite. After reaching two hundred, the amplification effect will rapidly diminish. The upper limit is around twelve times. Beyond that, even if you set up more Sub Star Cores, you won’t see any improvement."
"Then what if it's not about increasing quantity, but about improving quality?"
Lize paused for a moment, then frowned at the suggestion. "Sub Star Cores are already mature Magic Items. The Starfall Society invested countless resources and effort into their research, and they have undergone numerous enhancements by Wizards. Further improving upon that foundation will require much more time and effort than you can imagine."
Su Nan insisted, "You don't need to worry about that. Just answer my question: If we enhance the effectiveness of the Sub Star Core, can we expand its monitoring range?"
Lize hesitated for a moment before replying, "It depends on the actual situation, but theoretically, there shouldn't be any problems."
"That's good enough."
A hint of a smile appeared on Su Nan's lips. Setting aside other matters, when it came to enhancing the capabilities of individual objects, none of the combined wizards of the Starfall Society could compare to him and his Magic Cube.
"Give me the design blueprints for the Sub Star Core. I will improve it as soon as possible to create a more effective version."
Seeing Su Nan's confident demeanor, Lize couldn't help but wonder about his capabilities. However, she knew that Su Nan wasn't someone to speak carelessly or act rashly. Since he dared to make such a statement, he was at least seventy to eighty percent certain.
Lize was very curious to see if Su Nan could succeed.
She took a piece of parchment and, using Mage Hand to control the Fulu pen, began drawing and writing. It took her more than two hours to replicate the design blueprints.
Su Nan glanced at the blueprints and asked, "What about the design blueprints for the Star Core?"
Lize shook her head. "That's top-secret information of the Starfall Society. Only members of the Council have access to it."
Su Nan felt a slight disappointment but took the blueprints and headed straight for the Laboratory, preparing to start manufacturing the Sub Star Core.
Upon arriving at the Laboratory, he immediately unfolded the blueprints on the workbench.
"Tower Spirit 2, scan the Sub Star Core design blueprints."
[Instruction received. Starting scan. Scan complete.]
"Mobilize Materials."
[Instruction received. A total of one hundred and thirty-eight types of materials are required. One hundred and thirty-three types have been mobilized from the warehouse. The remaining five types are out of stock. Should we search for similar materials?]
"Search."
[Searching. Search complete. The following materials have the highest similarity: Red Rift Iron and Yin Thread Worm Crystal.]
Tower Spirit 2 was the second Tower Spirit refined by Su Nan, specifically designed to serve as his experimental assistant. Its core abilities included a Mental Library and data analysis. The former represented its exceptional recording capabilities, which allowed it to document all the books Su Nan possessed, all his experimental records, and all his knowledge.
To expand Tower Spirit 2's knowledge base, Su Nan had Lize input all of her expertise into Tower Spirit 2's 'Mental Library.' This represented Tower Spirit 2's computational and data simulation capabilities. The two were complementary; the more extensive the knowledge reserves, the stronger Tower Spirit 2's data analysis abilities became. By using Tower Spirit 2 as a research assistant, Su Nan could save a significant amount of time and effort in calculations and deductions.
With Tower Spirit 2's assistance, Su Nan spent two months developing five substitutes and then began manufacturing the Sub Star Core. Though not particularly complex for Su Nan, whose Magic Item Creation skill had already reached level 5, it posed almost no difficulty. Soon, he created two Sub Star Cores and immediately proceeded to synthesize them. The result did not disappoint; the synthesized Sub Star Core was indeed superior.
Finally, Su Nan used the five Sub Star Cores to synthesize a new enhanced one. When he placed the improved Sub Star Core before Lize, a rare look of bewilderment mingled with astonishment graced her usually composed face. "You actually managed to improve it?"
After carefully examining it and confirming that the Sub Star Core's effects had genuinely been enhanced, Lize gazed at Su Nan with unmistakable amazement. She had never expected him to complete the enhancement, and in just over a month, no less. It was truly incredible! How would this reflect on the other Wizards from the Starfall Society? Compared to Su Nan, their previous improvements to the Sub Star Core seemed like child’s play.
"Do you think this level of improvement is sufficient, or do you want to further enhance its effects?" Su Nan's words broke through Lize's reverie, and her lips twitched slightly. Could it be improved even more? After a moment of silence, Lize finally replied, "I'll need to test it in practice to know."
Su Nan quickly waved his hand and made the necessary arrangements. That very day, the Star Eye stationed at Starlight Academy was moved to the Laboratory in the Wizard Tower.
"After conducting a series of tests and confirming that the Sub Star Core still had room for improvement, Su Nan continued with the synthesis and enhancement process.
Each enhancement was followed by another test.
Ultimately, he controlled the number of enhanced Sub Star Cores synthesized to eight.
This quantity yielded the closest effect to the upper limit; further enhancement risked the Star Core's capabilities falling short.
In such cases, the secondary overshadowing the primary would actually diminish the overall effect.
"A detection range of over seven thousand kilometers in radius is sufficient to cover the Southeast Region. You should be satisfied, right?" Lize glanced at Su Nan. "Or are you truly only satisfied if it covers the entire continent?"
Su Nan fell into contemplation, remaining silent.
Although this result was not unacceptable, it still felt somewhat lacking.
If possible, he still hoped to cover the entire continent. This would be of utmost importance for monitoring the intrusion of foreign wizards after the elemental revival in the future.
However, achieving this would either require enhancing the effect of the Star Core or creating a second Star Core.
To Su Nan, these two methods were essentially the same.
Unless he could use the Sub Star Core to synthesize a Star Core, he would be unable to achieve his goal.
Yet Su Nan had already experimented with this before; it was impossible to synthesize a Star Core using a Sub Star Core.
The Sub Star Core did not possess the same energy fluctuation sensing effect as the Star Core, which meant that no matter the investment in Sub Star Cores, synthesizing a genuine Star Core would remain impossible.
Conversely, however, as long as the Sub Star Core possessed even a slight effect, he could use Cube Synthesis to produce something similar to a Star Core.
"Since the Sub Star Core and Star Core can resonate, it proves that their properties are similar to a certain degree. Therefore, if we improve the Sub Star Core and enhance its ability to sense energy particle fluctuations, there should still be a chance of success."
Su Nan made his decision and shared his thoughts with Lize.
Of course, he did not explicitly mention the matter of synthesis, only that he would improve the Sub Star Core to grant it a faint energy-sensing ability.
"Theoretically, it's feasible, but what's the point of doing that?" Lize asked, puzzled.
"The Sub Star Core plays a supporting role in this sensing network. Even if it has a faint sensing ability, it won’t significantly improve the overall effect and still won’t achieve your goal of covering the entire continent."
Su Nan chuckled. "I have my own plans. You just need to cooperate with my research experiments."
Lize, with her extensive experience in creating Sub Star Cores, would make the improvement experiments much smoother with her assistance.
She stared at Su Nan for a while, pursing her lips and huffing softly.
"So mysterious," she remarked.
Despite her complaint, she ultimately agreed.
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