Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 45 Exploring the Beetle Nest
In the past few days, Harvey has been traveling frequently between Jackdaw Town and Grizzly Castle, purchasing a large amount of daily necessities needed for the territory.

Not long after he arrived at the territory's main castle with the alchemical camel, Asdalen and Reiner hurriedly found him.

"I've been observing the insect nests underground, and it seems that it's time for the beetles to lay eggs again." Asdalen said as he led Harvey to the underground laboratory.

"I think we should be able to harvest another wave of beetle ore this time."

Harvey was surprised and delighted. The beetle ore they had collected from the ruins before was not only used to maintain the energy gathering array of Unit 2, but also equipped on the alchemy beast as a high-powered killing weapon.

There is not much left.

Harvey and Asdalen had entered the underground insect nest before and observed the life patterns of the beetles, but they did not collect any beetle ore.

Harvey was somewhat discouraged and thought that the breeding cycle of this mysterious beetle might be very long.

Therefore, the idea of relying on beetles to reproduce quickly and then harvesting the mineral products left behind after their death is probably going to be shattered.

After all, if this kind of beetle is killed directly, it will not produce naturally formed energy ore, but only a pile of useless beetle corpses.

Who would have thought that in just a few months, they would start breeding and mating again.

The three of them walked quickly to the underground laboratory excitedly, wanting to observe the beetle reproduction scene with their own eyes.

……

"It's amazing!" Reiner couldn't help but exclaim in amazement as he looked at the nest filled with glowing beetles.

The insect nest dug spontaneously by the beetles was not large in itself. It was during the construction of the underground laboratory that Harvey took the initiative to let the alchemist expand the space of the insect nest, widening it to half the size of the underground laboratory.

Harvey discovered that beetles were not good at digging, and they might have been forced to burrow underground because they liked the moist and warm environment.

Under normal circumstances, these round insects with light metallic shells do not emit light.

Therefore, Asdalen believes that this phenomenon only occurs after entering the breeding cycle, probably to attract a mate in the dark to meet reproductive needs.

"I don't know how long their reproduction cycle will last, or how long it will take for beetle ore to form and be ready for us to harvest."

Reiner gently picked up a beetle with his fingers and watched it slide its thin legs in his metal palm, struggling desperately and clumsily.

"What a miraculous little creature! It clearly has such powerful energy stored in its body, yet it has no aggressiveness at all."

Asdalen sneered, took out a primary magic stone from his waist, and threw it lightly into the pile of insects.

"That's because the energy fluctuations in your body are sealed by the inscriptions, so they can't detect it. You see..."

The magic stone fell into the pile of insects, instantly causing a violent commotion. Countless beetles slid their legs desperately and quickly moved towards it.

For a moment, a creepy rustling sound was heard throughout the insect nest.

Within ten seconds, the swarm of insects dispersed again, and only a pile of gray-white crystal residue remained of the magic stone.

"If your alchemical prosthesis is powered by energy release, I'm afraid your fate would be similar to that magic stone when you arrived here."

Reiner was startled and covered the magic stone slot on his waist tightly, taking a few steps back.

Harvey pulled him back with amusement, "Don't scare Reiner. The inscriptions on the alchemical prosthesis are used to seal and guide energy. As long as we don't release the magical energy transformed from the beetle ore in the hive, there will be no accidents."

Asdalen nodded. "I will monitor the insect nest day and night, and strive to harvest the energy ore from these beetles as soon as possible."

After returning to the underground laboratory, Asdalen and Reiner each went their separate ways and went about their own business.

Harvey kept thinking about Reiner's question.

"It clearly stores such powerful energy, yet it has no offensive power at all..."

Perhaps for the beetles themselves, energy is simply food and the nutrients that help them reproduce and lay eggs.

These beetles usually don't have many ways to obtain energy. After being attracted to the ancient wizard's ruins, the energy substances they can feed on should have been exhausted long ago, which is why they spend most of their time in deep sleep, looking as gray as pebbles.

If I regularly put a certain amount of magic stones into the insect nest and actively feed them, will it speed up their growth and reproduction cycle?

Harvey immediately decided to separate out an underground space to use the magic stone to raise a group of beetles separately, and conduct a comparative experiment with the beetles in the original insect nest.

"This method might actually yield unexpected gains, but the consumption of this Philosopher's Stone is a bit terrifying. It's arguably the most wasteful research activity in the world of spellcasting."

Rechargeable magic stones can be reused, while single-element magic stones such as elements and nature can only be used once, so in terms of selling price, rechargeable magic stones are often more expensive.

"At the next forum exchange meeting, we must find a way to find a member who has a large stock of magic stones, or a direct connection to the dwarven mines in the caves. Only by establishing this connection can we obtain sufficient and high-quality magic stones."

You can't just hope that a high-quality magic stone mine will appear out of thin air in your wasteland territory in the north.

……

For the next few days, Harvey stayed in the underground laboratory, closely observing the beetles for signs of reproduction and egg laying.

In addition, he and Asdalen set up an observation compartment with transparent glass in the corner of the laboratory and caught about a hundred beetles and threw them in.

Ten low-level magic stones are released into the observation room every day, and the beetles' eating habits and speed are strictly recorded.

"It seems they can't absorb energy indefinitely. For these one hundred or so beetles, the upper limit of their daily intake is ten primary magic stones. Look at the beetles that have eaten their fill. The light they emit is brighter than the others."

Asdalen took the experimental record manual and described it carefully while observing closely against the glass wall.

Harvey still felt a little pained. He only had less than a hundred charging magic stones in stock, and nearly half of them had been used up in just a few days.

The only dozen or so intermediate magic stones were not worth feeding to the insects. They were important supplies that Reiner and Asdalen had to carry with them and replenish at any time when they went out.

"I have a feeling that within a few days, they will begin to reproduce, and then transform after they die..."

die……

Transformation...

Dead beetles can be transformed into energy ores, and living beetles can actively absorb magical energy...

A thought suddenly flashed through Harvey's mind, causing him to jump up from his chair uncontrollably.

"Asdalen, what do you say...if I transform the beetle's soul and let it enter the alchemical body?"

"Will it be possible to create an alchemical beetle that can actively release powerful energy?"

(End of this chapter)