Chapter 231: Academy Council, Wizard Tower Completed
To verify his hypothesis, Su Nan devoted most of his energy to research in the time that followed.
With the assistance of Lize and Tower Spirit 2, the research progressed smoothly.
By the year 1364 of the Starlight Calendar, the first Sub Star Core capable of sensing Energy Particle Fluctuations was successfully manufactured.
The test results revealed that the sensing ability of this new version of the Sub Star Core was less than one percent that of a Star Core, a mere fraction that did not even qualify it as a low-end version.
However, it was sufficient for Su Nan.
Following this, Su Nan used the excuse of having Lize return to manage the Star Alliance's affairs to conduct the subsequent research on his own. In reality, he began to manufacture and then synthesize Sub Star Cores.
Ultimately, he successfully synthesized a Star Core with a sensing ability comparable to the original version, using one hundred and twelve Sub Star Cores.
Su Nan did not stop there; he continued to synthesize more Sub Star Cores.
The original Star Core, paired with Sub Star Cores to form a network, could cover at most half of the Starlight Continent. However, if he could synthesize a more powerful Star Core and supplement it with the new version of Sub Star Cores, there was a high probability he could establish a Monitoring Network that spanned the entire Starlight Continent, encompassing both the surface world and the Underworld.
After hundreds of tests, Su Nan finally synthesized a new type of Star Core that met his satisfaction.
The cost was significant, requiring over three hundred Sub Star Cores and an expense totaling two hundred million Gold Coins, nearly depleting the Star Alliance's cash reserves.
As a result, Su Nan had to delay the construction of the Golem Legion in the Wizard Tower, prioritizing funding for this endeavor instead.
"This thing cost more than a Large Elemental Pool," Su Nan remarked, gazing at the Crystal Ball before him, which sparkled like the starry sky.
But it was worth it; compared to a Monitoring Network covering the entire continent, two hundred million Gold Coins was a small price to pay.
When Su Nan presented the newly synthesized Star Core to Lize, she was left too shocked to speak.
Improving the Sub Star Core had been one thing, but he had now actually manufactured a Star Core without any design plans, completely in the dark, and had further enhanced its efficacy!
Starfall Society—a feat that a group of wizards couldn't accomplish in a thousand years, yet Su Nan achieved it in just a few years!
This is practically a miracle!
Lize couldn't help but wonder if Su Nan was actually an ancient monster of a wizard who had lived for tens of thousands of years and reincarnated by borrowing a body.
"You continue to surprise me each time," she sighed, gazing at the crystal ball before her, feeling a swell of emotion.
"With this Star Core, establishing a monitoring network across the entire continent shouldn't be a problem."
Su Nan inquired, "How long will it take to complete?"
Lize thought for a moment before responding, "Constructing the monitoring network isn't too difficult. As long as we calculate the nodes and arrange the Sub Star Cores, we'll have a complete transmission network, making it quick and convenient. If we work efficiently, it could be done in a year or two."
"That is, if there's enough funding."
"To cover the entire continent, we'll need at least three hundred new Sub Star Cores, along with other material expenditures. The total cost will be at least three hundred million gold coins. The Star Alliance currently lacks that amount of capital."
As she said this, Lize cast a glance at Su Nan, her meaning unspoken.
Building the Wizard Tower and researching new types of Star Cores, the Star Alliance has invested over eighty percent of its capital in Su Nan over the past few years.
Of course, she didn't blame Su Nan.
After all, Su Nan's strength is the strength of the Star Alliance.
The unique environment of the Starlight Continent has created a situation for the Star Alliance that differs from other wizard factions: the development and strengthening of the Star Alliance depend entirely on Su Nan alone.
If Su Nan were to be lost, it wouldn't mean the immediate collapse of the Star Alliance, but its strength would be greatly diminished, and it would never regain its former glory.
Given this situation, it is entirely reasonable for the Star Alliance to invest all its funds in Su Nan.
Furthermore, both building the Wizard Tower and researching new types of Star Cores are of great benefit to the development of the Star Alliance.
"How much capital can be allocated right now?" Su Nan asked.
Lize handed over a document, stating, "The Starlight Continent has developed well in recent years. The Star Alliance now has an annual income of nearly twenty million gold coins. Without reducing our investment in the Wizard Tower construction, we can allocate about eight million gold coins each year."
"We can begin constructing the Monitoring Network now. As long as we proceed at a slower pace and invest funds gradually, it should be completed in about forty years. This approach will minimize the strain on manpower."
Su Nan frowned slightly.
Forty years wasn't a long time; he could wait.
However, this issue once again highlighted the limitations of Starlight Continent.
Starlight Continent was inherently small, and without over-exploitative measures, the revenue it could generate each year was roughly fixed.
Due to the lack of interaction with the outside world, the income from Starlight Continent simply couldn’t skyrocket in a short period.
If he wished to increase revenue, he would have to develop Starlight Continent gradually, raising its overall level.
This was precisely why Su Nan wanted to vigorously promote Sub-mana technology.
Only through a revolution in productivity could Starlight Continent generate more revenue.
However, to truly promote Sub-mana technology, it would take at least three or four hundred years.
In the short term, the income of the Star Alliance would not see a significant increase.
"Then let's proceed this way; I will leave the construction of the Monitoring Network in your hands."
Lize nodded and added, "By the way, we should give this project a name; it will make it easier to refer to."
Su Nan replied without hesitation, "Let's call it the Star Eye Project. The name 'Star Eye' is quite fitting."
Star Eye, the eye of Starlight Continent, was indeed appropriate considering the purpose of the Monitoring Network.
With this, following the Sub-Magic Stone Mine and Teleportation Network plans, the Star Alliance welcomed another grand project: the 'Star Eye Project.'
With the matter of Star Eye settled, Su Nan was able to refocus on the construction of the Wizard Tower.
After synthesizing the Large Arcane Defense Energy Field, the defensive aspects of the Wizard Tower's combat systems were declared complete. Only the offensive components, specifically Spell Turret Type II and Golem Legion, remained.
Just as Su Nan was engrossed in refining the Golem and Spell Turret, Tower Spirit 1 suddenly brought important news.
In the cultivation room where Traveler was located, the aura of life had disappeared.
Upon receiving this news, Su Nan promptly opened the cultivation room. What he found was Traveler's immobile body, sitting cross-legged on the ground.
After a quick examination, Su Nan immediately confirmed that the aura of life surrounding Traveler had completely vanished.
He ultimately failed to cross the final hurdle.
His lifespan expired before he could break through.
Scepter arrived later and sighed upon witnessing this scene, his expression a mixture of sorrow and relief.
He felt sorrow for his friend's failure and demise, but also relief that he himself had succeeded in breaking through; otherwise, he would have shared Traveler's fate.
"What a pity; it looked like Traveler was only a hair's breadth away," Scepter remarked with a sigh.
Even now, energy particles swirled around Traveler's corpse, clearly indicating that his Talent Crystal structure had reached its final stage. If only he could have held on for a few more years, perhaps he would have overcome that obstacle.
Unfortunately, that last step is often the difference between heaven and earth.
So many Wizard Apprentices have fallen just short by that much.
As Wizards who had witnessed similar situations countless times, Su Nan and Scepter quickly composed themselves.
"I wonder how Rose is doing?"
"Her life aura is still present; at least she hasn't failed yet."
"Fakado and the others are also planning to enter secluded cultivation soon to attempt their breakthroughs. Putting others aside, Fakado's chances of success are quite high."
As the clan leader of the Russell Family, Fakado's circumstances were far better than those of an ordinary Wizard Apprentice.
From a young age, his family had poured vast quantities of resources into his training, allowing him to advance smoothly to Level Three Wizard Apprentice. Later, he joined the Star Alliance and gained even more support.
If one were to ask which of the Academy's mentors had the highest chance of advancing to Wizard, it would undoubtedly be Fakado.
Su Nan nodded in agreement.
Starlight Academy was now entering a period of steady development.
The three-tiered system of Wizard Apprentices was well-established, and a third and fourth Wizard would surely appear sooner or later.
Especially with the construction of the Large Elemental Pool, the difficulty of filling spiritual power using the Talent Crystal Model had been greatly reduced, significantly increasing the success rate of Apprentices advancing to Wizard.
In a few hundred years, the number of Wizards within the Star Alliance would likely soar into double digits.
"If Rose's breakthrough happens, it should be within the next few years," Su Nan said.
However, things progressed much faster than he had anticipated.
Just three months later, violent energy particle fluctuations erupted once again within the Wizard Tower.
Rose had advanced to Wizard!
Following Su Nan and Scepter, Star Alliance celebrated its third Formal Wizard. The two of them immediately went to wait outside Rose's cultivation room.
Chila!
The door to the cultivation room swung open, and Rose emerged, her spirit radiant, her aura even more profound and composed.
"Congratulations," they both said in unison.
"Thank you."
A bright smile bloomed on Rose's face, her successful advancement to Wizard filling her with exceptional excitement. Like Scepter before her, she felt as if a whole new world had opened up before her.
"By the way, where's Traveler?" Rose asked, puzzled by the absence of their companion.
Su Nan only shook his head in reply.
Seeing this, Rose immediately understood. The joy brought by her breakthrough greatly diminished, and her smile faded as she sighed.
"This kind of thing will continue to happen in the future; you'll get used to it," Scepter consoled her.
Rose was not a sentimental young girl; she quickly composed herself and began to inquire about matters following her advancement to Wizard.
When she heard about the sealing repair of the Wizard Expedition and the Dimensional Barrier, Rose was equally shocked and dumbfounded.
"So… the special environment of Starlight Continent has this kind of reason behind it," Rose remarked, her expression a mix of worry and happiness. She was concerned that after advancing to Wizard, she would have to confront the issue of the Energy Particles' concentration limit, which would greatly affect her cultivation efficiency. However, she was relieved to learn that this issue would thankfully be resolved in about six hundred years, making the prospect of advancing to Second Level Wizard not entirely hopeless.
"The Dimensional Barrier repair is beyond our control. Worrying about it is useless; we should focus on cultivation," Su Nan reassured her, then changed the subject.
"Also, I plan to have you serve as the deputy Dean of Starlight Academy. What do you think?"
Rose didn't hesitate much before agreeing, her reasoning mirroring Scepter's: better treatment.
In Su Nan's plan, the higher-ups of Starlight Academy would all be Wizard cultivators, with one Dean and four deputy Deans forming the Council, coordinating all matters of Starlight Academy and reporting directly to the Star Alliance Controller.
"As the Starlight Academy expands in the future, the number of councils may increase, but for now, what we have is sufficient. Let's at least wait until all five Deans are gathered.
With the addition of Rose, the speed of refining the Spell Turret and Mithril Golem has greatly increased. Moreover, since there is now enough Mithril accumulated, Su Nan decided to delegate this part of the work to Rose and Scepter, allowing him to focus on manufacturing the Levitation Ring.
Year 1370 of the Starlight Calendar, June: The Levitation Ring has been completed, and the energy supply for the Starlight Wizard Tower is now fully operational.
Year 1372 of the Starlight Calendar, May: Su Nan synthesized the three-hundredth Type II Spell Turret and installed it on the Wizard Tower. At this point, the Ultra Long Range Strike Device of the Wizard Tower is complete, consisting of three hundred Type II Spell Turrets and one Type II Disintegration Cannon. This firepower represents the optimal capacity that the Large Elemental Pool can support; exceeding this would yield diminishing returns.
Year 1373 of the Starlight Calendar, April: Fakado successfully advanced to Wizard status, becoming the fourth formal wizard of the Star Alliance. On the following day after his breakthrough, Su Nan appointed him as the second vice Dean of Starlight Academy. Unfortunately, four Level Three Wizard Apprentices failed to break through and passed away from old age.
Year 1385 of the Starlight Calendar, September: The internal structure of the Golem Legion in the Wizard Tower was completed. This includes five thousand enchanted Mithril Golems, twenty Tentacle Puppets, and five Secret Puppets. Thus, only minor finishing touches and the creation of the final Tower Spirit remain for the Wizard Tower's construction. The following year, Su Nan created Tower Spirit Number 3, designated specifically for combat command. However, given that immediate combat scenarios are unlikely, Su Nan temporarily assigned Tower Spirit Number 3 to oversee Long Lin. Dragon Bone Tower's Butler Number 1 will assist Tower Spirit Number 3.
Year 1387 of the Starlight Calendar, February: The Starlight Wizard Tower was officially completed. 【Wizard Tower: Starlight】 【Level: Small (Enhanced)】"
【Current Remaining Energy: 95.36%】 【Intelligent Assistants: Tower Spirit 1, Tower Spirit 2, Tower Spirit 3】 【Facilities: Large/Enhanced Elemental Pool, Levitation Ring, Central Crystal Energy Transmission System, Living Area, Warehouse, Laboratory, Training Area, Meditation Area, Planting Area】 【Servants: 130 Clay Golems, 223 Water Sprites, 254 Fairies】 【Protective Devices: Large/Enhanced Mystic Lock Defense Energy Field】 【Combat Devices: 300 Type II Spell Turrets, Type II Disintegration Cannon, Golem Legion (5000 Mithril Golems, 20 Tentacle Puppets, 5 Secret Puppets)】
High in the air, Su Nan gazed at the majestic and imposing giant tower before him, and a surge of emotion filled his heart.
This time, he had a Wizard Tower of his own!
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