Chương 115: Chapter 115: The Puppet, A Chance to Change Fate
Starlight Calendar 1254, Month of Winter Harp. This year's New Year's celebration was exceptionally grand, far surpassing previous years.
The main reason was the birth of the lord's son.
To celebrate the birth of his son, the lord threw several days of feasts in the square, celebrating with the people.
Sunan went to see his newborn nephew. It was too early to determine the child's mental aptitude, but he seemed to have good physical potential.
It made sense, as the little one's father was a peak Grand Knight.
Over the years, with Sunan's continuous "feeding," Key's strength had grown rapidly, now just a step away from becoming a Legendary Knight.
Sunan planned to reserve all the Dragonblood Fruits from Magic Plant Garden No. 2 for the next six months. By synthesizing them into a high-grade Dragonblood Fruit with third-tier potion effects for Key, he could likely break through to become a Legendary Knight.
A twenty-six-year-old first-circle Legendary Knight would be unique in the entire Starlight Duchy.
Base 1, Bug Nest.
In a room converted to resemble a mining pit, eleven plump Gem Bugs crawled slowly. As they passed scattered chunks of ore, they stopped to nibble before moving on.
With the number increased to eleven, the annual gemstone yield from the nest had soared to nearly 400, becoming quite substantial.
In addition, Karolena, following Sunan's orders, was collecting rare metals like Abyssal Black Copper and Rainbow Iron.
Given the richness of metals in the Underground World, Sunan believed he would soon have enough new feed to further expand the Gem Bug population.
Additionally, he had gathered many rare metals needed for crafting a second Magic Rune Core.
He estimated it wouldn't be long before he gathered all the materials required for crafting the second Magic Rune Core.
Leaving the Bug Nest, Sunan headed straight for the laboratory.
Just a few days ago, he attended the Forest Cabin gathering.
After skipping two gatherings, Black Forest finally appeared this time.
But as Night Owl mentioned, Black Forest attended only two out of every ten gatherings, so this was normal.
At that gathering, Sunan finally traded with Black Forest for a supposedly rare puppet blueprint.
Upon reading the blueprint in detail, Sunan confirmed Black Forest's claim—it was indeed rare.
Rather than a puppet blueprint, it was more like a puppet crafting technique.
Simply put, it was a golem miniaturization technique.
The overall concept was to use very lightweight metals like mithril to craft the puppet, minimizing weight while greatly reducing its size to closely resemble a human form. A medium or large soul crystal would serve as the soul core to drive it.
This approach resulted in a nimble, agile golem with enough intelligence to pass as a living person if disguised well.
Moreover, it could incorporate more combat techniques and spells, making it far stronger than ordinary golems.
Due to the use of mithril for most of its body, this miniaturized golem was called a Secret Puppet!
According to the blueprint, a Secret Puppet crafted with a medium soul crystal possessed combat power not inferior to a full-fledged wizard.
Admittedly, this description was very tempting to Sunan.
However, after careful study, he had to abandon the idea of crafting a Secret Puppet.
Beyond the prerequisite skill levels, the most critical factor was the cost.
Since a Secret Puppet's body was mostly mithril, even with maximum thrift, crafting one would require at least 30 to 40 kilograms of mithril.
Mithril typically occurred as an associated mineral in silver mines.
As an isotope of silver, mithril's value far exceeded the latter.
It had incredible ductility and magical conductivity, never tarnishing once refined. Its physical properties were extremely stable, allowing mithril-crafted magic items to last hundreds of years without natural wear.
Adding even a small amount of mithril during magic item crafting significantly enhanced quality.
In addition, mithril was used to craft metal golems or magical constructs.
One of the highest regarded golems, the Mithril Sage, was primarily made from mithril.
Moreover, constructing wizard towers and floating cities required large quantities of mithril.
In floating rings, anti-gravity devices, and elemental drive systems, mithril was an essential rare material.
However, mithril was extremely scarce.
Associated mithril deposits often contained low concentrations and were highly dispersed. Mining an entire large silver vein might yield only a few kilograms of mithril.
As a result, mithril was exceptionally precious.
Ordinary wizard apprentices measured out mithril in grams when crafting magic items.
Tens of kilograms was a staggering amount.
Even Sunan, with control over two silver mines, currently had less than three kilograms of mithril.
Most of his mithril was consumed in crafting golem puppets and feeding Gem Bugs.
Accumulating 30 to 40 kilograms of mithril would take an indefinite amount of time.
In conclusion, the Secret Puppet blueprint was not feasible.
Realizing this left Sunan a bit speechless.
The previous gemstone golem blueprint was one thing, but now there was another impractical Secret Puppet blueprint.
Who knew where Black Forest got these blueprints—ingenious concepts with no practical feasibility, offering only a tantalizing glimpse, leaving Sunan at a loss.
"However, they aren't completely worthless."
Although impractical, the two blueprints offered some reference value.
After thorough study, Sunan realized he might combine the two, merging their advantages to create a miniaturized gemstone golem.
This approach would significantly reduce costs.
Sunan had been researching the feasibility of combining the two, and he was beginning to see some progress.
"If successful, I might craft a puppet much stronger than an adamantine golem."
A sense of anticipation arose within Sunan.
Time flew by, and soon it was the Month of Spring Dawn.
The snow melted, and life renewed.
Fields were bustling with busy farmers.
On the third day of Spring Dawn, Sunan finally mastered silent casting.
In the spell practice room.
Sunan raised a hand, and seven magic missiles appeared before him, whistling as they struck a distant humanoid target, shattering it with a boom.
As the echo faded, Sunan pointed again, and a dazzling red light bloomed from his fingertip, transforming into a crimson ray that shot out, striking another humanoid target, which instantly melted into molten iron.
Scorching Ray!
"Excellent."
Sunan nodded in satisfaction.
Silent casting didn't shorten casting preparation time but allowed for preparing another spell while casting, significantly reducing casting intervals and improving casting efficiency.
Mastering silent casting was akin to becoming a walking artillery piece.
A wizard apprentice without silent casting would be utterly outmatched by one who had mastered it.
This was the power of metamagic!
"Next is quickened casting!"
[Complete a quickened casting practice, 'Spell Quickening' training progress +0.01%]
By the time he'd nearly exhausted his mental energy, the quickened casting training progress reached 0.04%.
Sunan estimated that two practice sessions a day could increase progress by up to 0.08%.
At this rate, it would take three to four years to master quickened casting.
Yet, mastering silent casting had taken only two years.
"This is expected, as quickened casting is an advanced technique beyond silent casting and one of the most challenging metamagics, requiring more time."
Refocusing, Sunan summoned his status panel.
[Sunan Aniest, Human Male]
[Mental Strength 36.58/Constitution 33.23]
[Skills]
Star Ring Meditation Lv13 (885724/1200000)
Potion Crafting Lv4 (6034/10000)
Biomodification Lv3 (2492/6000)
Puppet Crafting Lv4 (6982/10000)
Magic Item Crafting Lv4 (3945/10000)
At level 13, the Star Ring Meditation Method required a staggering 1.2 million proficiency to level up.
Fortunately, with the enhancement from Divine Blood Amber and the growth in mental strength, Sunan's daily meditation increased proficiency by about 4,000 points, so progress wasn't slow.
"In a little over two months, I should be able to form the thirteenth star ring."
Sunan pondered.
Notably, due to extensive puppet crafting, Sunan's [Puppet Crafting] skill had surpassed his initial [Potion Crafting] in proficiency.
He anticipated it would be his first skill to reach level 5.
At that point, he might attempt crafting higher-tier puppets.
Closing the panel, Sunan left the spell practice area, looking up at the clear sky.
"Speaking of which, the knight academy has been running for over half a year. I wonder how it's doing?"
"Master Shaman, Master Adil, welcome to Dragonheart Knight Academy."
At the academy gate, Moritz bowed slightly to the approaching Shaman and Adil, smiling warmly.
"Good day, Headmaster Moritz."
Adil and Shaman returned the bow.
"Please, follow me."
Moritz was one of the few in the army from a commoner background, yet through his efforts, he became a mid-level knight by his thirties.
When Sunan decided to establish the knight academy, he pulled Moritz from the army, enhancing him to peak knight with Dragonblood Fruit and appointing him as headmaster.
Moritz had no complaints about the arrangement, instead, he was overjoyed.
Everyone knew Sunan was the pillar supporting the territory's growth.
In Shimmer Territory, Sunan's status was no less than the lord's.
Joining Sunan's faction, even without a noble title, was worthwhile.
As headmaster of Dragonheart Knight Academy, Moritz felt his status soar. Even Viscount Braid, the lord's most trusted, treated him with warmth.
Barons and knights greeted him with smiles and flattery.
Though lacking a noble title, he was practically nobility.
Thus, Moritz felt genuine gratitude and respect for Sunan.
If not for this opportunity, his commoner status might never have led to nobility.
So, hearing Sunan sent two students to inspect, Moritz personally awaited them at the academy gate early.
"Since the academy recruits from commoners and farmers, literacy is low, so we've established basic literacy courses and foundational subjects."
"Currently, students focus on building a foundation. Besides cultural courses, they spend half the day training physically. In the second year, they'll start learning martial skills, riding, and breathing techniques."
As Shaman surveyed the surroundings, he casually asked, "How long is the academy program?"
"Four years," Moritz replied with a smile. "But those who become knights can graduate early."
Shaman and Adil exchanged looks, offering no comment.
Dragonheart Knight Academy recruited eleven- and twelve-year-olds from common backgrounds with poor innate conditions. Those who became squire knights in four years would be considered talented.
Becoming knights in four years was nearly impossible.
Unless external influences intervened.
"I heard from the teacher that starting next year, the base will supply the academy with a batch of Dragonblood Fruit annually," Adil said with a smile.
"That's wonderful!"
Moritz was overjoyed.
Having relied on Dragonblood Fruit to become a peak knight, he knew its potency.
With Dragonblood Fruit, the students' growth would significantly accelerate.
Perhaps a few might graduate early as elites.
As they talked, they reached a wide field where many students ran laps.
"Everyone seems full of energy," Adil said with a smile.
Moritz laughed heartily. "Of course, these kids know this is their hard-won chance to change their fate, so they cherish it, studying and training diligently."
Hearing this, Shaman couldn't help but reflect.
He, too, was someone whose fate had changed.
The base and knight academy, both established by the teacher, had altered the destinies of hundreds of children like him from impoverished backgrounds.
And it was foreseeable that this number would continue to grow.
At that moment, the students on the field noticed the three observers.
Seeing a man and woman in robes accompanied by Headmaster Moritz caused a stir.
On the first day of classes, they were told that upon graduation, they'd join Sunan's knight guard, serving powerful and mysterious wizards.
One characteristic of wizards was their habit of wearing robes.
With Headmaster Moritz accompanying them, the identities of the man and woman were clear.
Many students instinctively slowed, craning their necks to get a glimpse of the rumored wizards.
Until the supervising teacher ordered them to focus, the students reluctantly averted their gaze.
Seeing this, Shaman and Adil couldn't help but chuckle.
"Let's go, Headmaster Moritz. Let's see the rest of the place and not disturb the students."
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