Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 101 The Harvest of Tyrande

Fortunately, Tyrantir did not come away empty-handed. After abandoning his obsession with the crystal core, he turned his attention to the dismantled bodies.

Unlike typical constructs, which often have a tight structure, interlocking transmission devices, and intricate joints, their small bodies seem to be pieced together from a few hard stones, making them almost indistinguishable from ordinary earth or stone elements.

If the archmage hadn't clearly perceived that this stone figure lacked the soul fluctuations expected of an elemental life form and its inseparable connection to the elemental realm, he might have made the same cognitive error as some laymen or inept mage apprentices.

The current question is, how exactly does this stone golem assemble these body parts that are no different from stone and move freely?
Tyrantir initially speculated that the stones that made up the tiny bodies were all enchanted, with the engraved spell patterns forming a complete spell circuit, driving the puppet's operation with pure spell power, thus eliminating the need for mechanical transmission devices.

But when he disassembled the body, carefully studied the patterns inside the stone, and even engraved them on the surface of a newly assembled golem, he reassembled a complete magic circle.

However, the test results were quite unexpected. The magic circle could indeed work, but its function was not to drive the stone statue as previously guessed, but rather a gravity-related spell.

The testing process caught the archmage completely off guard. When the magic circle was activated and the spell circuits began to function normally, Tyrantir was truly thrilled.

Although he suffered repeated setbacks and frustrations at the hands of this stone golem.

However, if one could obtain a completely new spell circuit, a magic circle that could so concisely and effectively drive the golem, then all the sacrifices would be worthwhile.

Unexpectedly, when the magic circle officially started operating, not only did the golem not stand up and move around, but Tyrantir, who was standing next to it, was pushed upwards by some unknown force.

The archmage was, after all, an archmage. The instant he was thrown into the air, he reacted and used a flight spell to dissipate the upward force, circling and landing smoothly.

Tyrantir, now firmly on her feet, was filled with doubt and apprehension. She feared that this spell circuit might not actually exist as a driving magic circle, as she had imagined.

With this new discovery, Tyrantir repeatedly tested this spell circuit in different environments, on different carriers, and on different objects.

Its function has been clarified: through this circuit, gravity is distorted to a certain extent, forming an invisible channel for accelerated ascent and descent.

If someone were there, they would probably exclaim in surprise: Isn't that just a throwing skill?

Although it was different from what was expected, it was still an unexpected gain, and the archmage felt a little better.

However, the initial problem remains unresolved, and the way the little stone golem is driven is still unclear.

Having exhausted all other means, Tyrandeur had no choice but to completely dismantle a portion of the stone body. Among the shattered stones, a particular stone caught his attention.

It was a fist-sized, dark red stone, its surface smooth and thick like a patina. However, unlike those warm and pleasing jade stones, this stone exuded an aura of cruelty, violence, and corruption. At that moment, Tyrandeur almost thought he had found a blood mine from the abyss. But after the frowning archmage carefully examined and identified it, he discovered that this stone was neither a product of the abyss nor purgatory, nor even any known ore. Like that hateful crystal, its origin was unknown.

This is actually quite normal. The world of Toril is connected to too many other planes. Even the Planeswalkers, who are famous for exploring and roaming the astral planes, would not dare to boast that they know all the planes and spaces. It is quite common for an unidentified object to appear from time to time.

Having failed with all conventional methods, Tyrantir had no choice but to resort to divination once again. However, the outcome was as expected: no information was obtained regarding its origin, source, or nature. All that was left was a name: Nightmare Stone.

During this time, Tyrantir did summon the young mage to inquire, but the slippery boy only claimed that he himself had inexplicably connected to a plane that resembled a chessboard and obtained this puppet as a summon, and he did not know its principles, mechanisms of action, or materials.

With the constant effect of the lie-detecting spell within the Mage Tower, there was indeed no way the other party could deceive him. However, with Tyrantir's experience, he was absolutely certain that the other party was hiding something.

However, since the other party hadn't lied about the key issues, he didn't want to pry into the other secrets. After all, everyone has secrets, right? Tyrantir had long since passed the stage of trying to manipulate everything just because of his power.

Just as the Grand Master was feeling troubled for over a month, an unexpected turning point arrived.

During one instruction session, the other person, who had already asked all the questions about magical knowledge, asked me a completely unrelated question.

"Lord Tyrantir, may I ask why you are so interested in my stone golem? With your expertise in constructs, you should be able to easily create a golem far more powerful than that."

“Maintaining curiosity and a passion for exploration is an essential quality of a true mage. If you only know how to measure everything by combat power, then I think you don’t need to waste your time on such stupid questions.” He was a little displeased. Another idiot who treats mages like arms dealers.

"No, please don't misunderstand. I greatly respect your passion and dedication to learning. I just want to know what's so special about my stone golem and other constructs."

“As a summoned elemental puppet, it has many special characteristics, but that’s not the key point. The most puzzling thing is that your puppet doesn’t have a soul.” Tyrande paused, then frowned as if thinking of something unpleasant. “Including the crystal at its core, it’s impossible for it to contain a normal soul. I have no idea how this puppet receives and executes commands.”

"Why must it have a soul? Can't the golem function properly without a soul?"

"Why do you need a brain? Can't you eat without a brain? The golem's brain is the soul that is bound inside the body, which is the core of its thinking. Only a soul with intelligence can understand commands and control the golem's normal operation."

Feeling somewhat embarrassed by the reprimand, Zhang Yuan rubbed his nose, but then thought of his profession from his previous life: "What if we could bypass this limitation? I mean, what if we used more meticulous and logical instructions, pre-programming various conditional judgments and logical commands into the core of the golem's manipulation as a magic circuit? Would that be able to replace a part of the intelligence of the soul itself?"

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(End of this chapter)