Above the mage

Chapter 368 Breaking Limits!

Of course, higher-grade materials are virtually free of impurities and require little forging.

However, melting and shaping are still necessary.

Therefore, to create high-level rune constructs, one often needs to use extraordinary power, employing magical energy or alchemical equipment.

Fortunately, as a Tier 1 material, copper ore has a relatively low barrier to entry, and can be melted by any kind of fire.

The blacksmith carefully observed the state of the bronze in the furnace, adding flint to the furnace from time to time to keep the flame from going out.

About fifteen minutes later.

The copper glowed red once again and was removed.

The dull, powerful knocking sound echoed through the courtyard once again.

Even though he had just had a short rest while the copper was being reheated in the furnace, the blacksmith's stamina was noticeably depleted, and his pace was much slower than the last time he forged the copper.

This process is repeated continuously.

After about five attempts, the blacksmith produced a machine that resembled a platform scale.

The machine is ingeniously constructed, with a platform on top for placing the items to be weighed, and a lever system and weight device connected below the platform. It is also equipped with a sliding weight for more accurate weight reading.

The blacksmith placed the bronze block, which had been forged hundreds of times, on the machine, his eyes fixed on the scale.

"Seventy-one and five-eighths ounces!"

He read the numbers aloud.

After finishing reading, he did not stop, but quickly picked up the bronze with pliers and began to forge it again.

After five or six hammer blows, the blacksmith once again placed the bronze beam onto the weighing machine platform.

"Still seventy-one and five-eighths ounces!"

The fact that the weight of the copper remained unchanged after several forgings indicates that the copper has met Gaode's purity requirements.

Seeing Gao De nod, the blacksmith seized the opportunity and glanced at the blueprints Gao De had provided.

The drawings detailed the shape, size, and various other requirements he needed.

The blacksmith swung his rune hammer once more, causing the bronze to deform and gradually transform into the prototype of the pattern drawn on the blueprint.

This process requires frequently placing the copper foil into the furnace for tempering.

The purpose of this tempering process is to use high temperatures to change the material's state so that subsequent processing can be completed more precisely, creating parts that match the precision of the drawings.

This is a truly technical job, a test of a blacksmith's skills, and relies on the blacksmith's individual expertise.

This skill comes from years of accumulation and exploration; there are no shortcuts.

Even in the vast city of Lagos, there are probably fewer than a hundred blacksmiths with such exquisite skills.

Thanks to their superb skills, every senior blacksmith earns more than three hundred gold coin a year.

Three hundred gold coin may not seem like much, but for an ordinary person, this is basically the upper limit they can reach.

Even higher levels generally qualify one as a craftsman in the extraordinary realm.

However, that's a whole different level. For extraordinary craftsmen, an annual income of three hundred gold coin is just the starting point.

In any case, in order to find a blacksmith who met his requirements, Gao De spent a small amount of money at the Lagos Blacksmith Guild before he finally succeeded.

The blacksmith was completely focused. Under his hammering, the flat block of breccia gradually moved closer to the blueprint in terms of the curvature of the corners, the thickness of the edges, and the length of each side.

During this process, the number of tempering cycles becomes more and more frequent.

With years of accumulated experience, the blacksmith applies just the right amount of force to ensure that every deformation conforms to the blueprint.

Gao De watched all of this quietly, and was full of admiration for the other party's skills.

After more than a hundred forgings, several temperings and shapings, the bronze block has been transformed into an exquisite shoulder armor-like component.

The lines are smooth and natural, as if they were meant to be this way.

The middle-aged blacksmith breathed a sigh of relief, put down his hammer, picked up the carpenter's square and angle plate, carefully compared them with the blueprints, and said to Gao De in a tired but confident voice, "Sir, please see if this meets your requirements."

Gao De didn't check again, but simply nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

It wasn't that he completely trusted the blacksmith's skills, but rather that he had already activated the Mandora's Eye.

With the powerful capabilities of the third-order Mandora's Eye [Insight], Gaode had already obtained the precise data of this component, and its accuracy far surpassed that of any measuring tool.

"There are four parts in total. With my abilities, I can only complete one at most a day." The middle-aged blacksmith straightened up, took a breath, and said to Gao De.

Blacksmithing is not only a technical skill but also a physically demanding job. The forging process takes more than two hours, leaving the blacksmith exhausted. If he were to start working again prematurely, he would not be able to guarantee the precision.

Gaode expressed his understanding, saying, "I'll come again at the same time tomorrow."

The supervisor may seem like a waste of time, but he is actually necessary.

Because the requirements for materials in rune constructs are too stringent, there can be no error whatsoever. In particular, the actual robustness value of the rune construct designed by Gaode differs from the theoretical robustness value by only a single digit.

This means there is very little room for error. If the blacksmith has even the slightest bit of wishful thinking and misses a single hammer blow, the final rune construction will fail.

Since this was his first transaction with the blacksmith, trust was out of the question, and he could only feel at ease if he supervised the work from the side.

"I'll take this piece back first," Gao De said, pointing to the completed "shoulder armor," while taking out five gold coin from his pocket and handing it over.

This is the labor fee paid to the other party.

Of course, this only applies to this one component.

The complete set consists of four parts, and the total labor cost is 20 gold coin.

With money exchanged for goods on the spot, the other party naturally had no reason to refuse.

In the magnificent sea of ​​magical stars, dozens of simple "constellations" are rotating slightly.

Around the constellation, countless other stars wander about.

One of the darting stars was suddenly caught by a force.

Despite its struggles, it was ultimately no match for the larger force and was being controlled to move towards a fragmented constellation with more than thirty stars and orbits.

A small portion of the emerald green nebula, formed by magical potions, separated to create a star trail, connecting this star with the incomplete constellation.

However, this connection did not go smoothly.

The star trails began to vibrate violently from the moment they were formed, and the frequency kept increasing.

The star orbit broke completely in the next instant, and the star disappeared in a flash, like a wild horse.

Gao De opened his eyes.

"Still a little short."

That incomplete constellation completely collapsed.

The breakage of one star track does not actually affect the other star tracks, but unfortunately, Gao De's mental energy has been almost completely exhausted and he can no longer continue.

The spell model for 【Healing】 has 47 stars, making it one of the most complex spells in the first ring.

So far, his closest attempt to succeed was this one, when he connected a total of thirty-seven spell stars, leaving him ten spell stars short of success.

"Be patient, there's still time, don't rush," Gao De said to himself while rubbing his slightly throbbing temples.

He knew perfectly well that Aldridge had put a lot of pressure on him, to the point that he couldn't say he could remain completely calm.

From another perspective, is it absolutely necessary to fight this "BOSS"?

From a purely cost-effective perspective, there's no need for this.

Yes, if he can successfully capture Aldrich, he will gain great merit, which will help him rise quickly in the Sea Sentinels and gain the favor of the high-ranking mages of the Sea Sentinels.

But the cost of failure is much greater. Being injured and fleeing in a sorry state is secondary; if you're unlucky, you could even die.

With Gaode's current resources and the Zhenbing Tribe as its backing, resources are only a matter of time, so there seems to be no need to risk everything.

But that's exactly what he chose to do.

Ambitious and eager for quick success?

Naturally not.

The essence of "struggle" is something that is cultivated gradually.

If you don't have this habit, it's absolutely impossible for it to suddenly appear when you need it.

The resources of the Zhenbing tribe are sufficient for him now, and could even be said to be more than enough.

The problem is that even Sunafa, the strongest fighter in the Zhenbing tribe, is only a fourth-ring mage.

Is his goal only the Fourth Ring Road?

of course not.

Therefore, to take a long-term view, one must "strive" and "fight".

Take learning, for example. If you don't study in your first or second year of high school, thinking that you'll start studying as soon as you reach your senior year and the college entrance exam is approaching, is that possible? Is it too late?

Now, thinking that we don't need these resources or achievements, there's no need to take the risk, so we chose to back down.

When the time comes to truly fight for something, they won't have the courage or the ability anymore.

That's all.

After the throbbing pain in my head subsided slightly, Gaode Maps activated a "Comfortable Sleep+" mode on me, and without a word, I fell into a deep sleep.

Ten days may seem like plenty of time, but it's actually quite tight when you need to both create rune constructs and master the [Healing Spell]. At the very least, you can't afford to waste too much time.

When the time is right, heaven and earth will lend their strength.

Under the effect of the [Comfortable Sleep] spell, Gao De has entered a deep sleep state, and his mental energy is rapidly recovering, like parched land receiving sweet rain.

When his mental energy was almost fully restored, a powerful vitality inexplicably arose and erupted within Gao De's body.

Meanwhile, Gaode, which was in a dormant state, was completely unaware of this.

He had long since entered a tranquil dream, finding himself in a peaceful magical forest.

Rows of lush green trees are scattered everywhere, forming a world of their own.

As the sun rises in the east, golden rays of sunlight fall like silk threads, tinging the green leaves of the trees with a faint halo and golden glow.

And all the trees, bathed in sunlight, appeared vibrant and full of life.

From Gaode's perspective, it is just one of these many lush green trees.

He felt the sunshine and the burst of life, and instinctively grew his branches and leaves towards the sunlight.

This is a vibrant and upward-moving process, full of vitality.

Every growth is accompanied by an indescribable joy.

Gaode gradually became immersed in it, growing upwards under the care of nature and sunshine, feeling the upward force of life.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Amidst the melodious chimes, Gao De suddenly awoke, his mind clearer than ever before, as if all the dust had been swept away.

He got out of bed, glanced around blankly, still immersed in the dream he had just had, not yet fully recovered.

A moment later, Gao De seemed to realize something.

He closed his eyes slightly again to confirm.

In that instant, Gao De clearly felt a powerful force emanating from the depths of his soul that he had never experienced before, which made him slightly dizzy.

During the apprenticeship stage, meditation can strengthen one's spiritual power. At that time, the high-ranking monk visualized a lotus flower.

However, after Sheng Huan becomes a formal Dharma Master, the methods of cultivation return to their original simplicity. There is no distinction between guidance techniques and meditation methods, nor is there any talk of using techniques to strengthen spiritual power.

The lotus flower that appears in meditation will cease to exist, because it is actually just a tool, not a real thing.

A person's spiritual power resides in their soul; a strong soul leads to strong spiritual power, and vice versa.

Mental power: 200.

Yes, it broke the limit.

Gao De's mental strength has exceeded the limit of a first-ring mage.

What was considered an insurmountable barrier was crossed silently and effortlessly in his sleep.

Of course, it's not really just about taking a nap.

"Give back," Gao De murmured.

It was the special effect of the cultivation method "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" that, along with the feedback from the breakthrough of the sacred object Yugathira he had chosen, helped him break through the upper limit of his spiritual power without any side effects or pain.

When God returned to the North, the growth progress of Yugathira had already reached the first-tier magical plant (619.5/1200 months).

He also brought back a batch of brand new, non-repeating common tree species and magical tree species, including a second-tier magical tree species, Black Iron Elm.

Each new common tree species will provide Yugathira with approximately six months of growth progress, while a new Tier 1 magic tree species will provide 28 months of progress.

The second-tier magic tree seed can provide a growth progress boost of nearly 130 months.

Once all those tree seeds are planted and sprout, it will be enough for Yugathira to advance to a second-tier magical plant.

Clearly, it was the feedback from Yugathira's advancement to the second-tier magical plant that allowed God to break through the mental power limit of 199.

In addition to breaking through the upper limit of his mental strength, he also sensed that his lifespan had increased from 15/190 to 15/335.

This is truly getting younger with age. Gao De thought to himself.

After making his remark, he immediately sat cross-legged and entered a state of concentration.

Gaode once again began constructing the spell model for the [Healing Spell].

Because magical power is represented by a blue bar, while mental power is related to controlling and learning spells. It determines a person's spellcasting skills, the stability of continuous spellcasting, and even the speed at which they learn spells.

Therefore, after breaking the limit, in theory, the difficulty for him to construct spell models should also decrease.

that's the truth.

After Gao De broke through his limits, his mental strength was actually at the level of a second-ring mage.

Although it's the weakest of the second-tier mages, it's still considered a second-tier mage.

In this situation, for him to construct a first-level spell model is equivalent to a first-level mage learning magic tricks, which is naturally easy and effortless.

The healing spell that had been stuck for him for several days was finally activated in one go, incredibly smoothly – a double blessing indeed.

Gao De suppressed his joy, silently activated the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, and gently tapped it.

One ring of origin joy -1, 4 points remaining.

[Healing+] (Evocation, 1st Ring):

By infusing healing power into the injured person through touch, the injury will quickly stop bleeding, scab over, and heal.

This spell is ineffective against undead and constructs.

Additional: Some of the latent vitality in the recipient's body will be temporarily activated (for example, a seriously injured person can still maintain basic mobility for a short period of time after the procedure) to aid in better recovery.

(End of this chapter)