Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 491 Everything is Like a Cycle
"However, this method of action also has its limitations. Damage caused by natural phenomena, such as extreme cold or heat, or even lightning strikes and flames, are not within its protection scope. Furthermore, even divine artifacts or divine beings are not affected by it."

The former is easy to understand, but the latter…

"Isn't the effect of a divine artifact achieved by influencing the magic network?"

"Yes, but the methods are different. The existence that involves rules and authority cannot be easily estimated, but that's another matter."

After a brief explanation of Tyrandeur, we return to the main topic:
"The core of the magic network cannot exist in a physical form in a certain plane, but the massive flow of ether and magical energy that the magic network consumes must have its own hub."

"Is that the final mountain?"

The high monk did not answer directly, but instead discussed some textual research:

“The ether connects the inner ring of elements and the prime material plane, dissipating into the astral plane and spreading to the outer planes. The energy flow within the magic network should take place in the ether plane. Otherwise, it is hard to imagine how that almost infinite energy could be gathered, transformed, and circulated throughout the entire universe.”

"Including the so-called echo of the final mountain, according to the data left by Nether, the ancient empire's magic ships detected the huge vibrations caused by the stirring of the spiritual sea ether more than once when they explored the spirit world. That was the effect of another dimension absorbing spiritual matter."

"Is that the confirmation that the final mountain is in the spirit world?"

"This is just a possibility speculated by our predecessors. Although there are many clues that suggest it from the side, we cannot confirm it until we have actually entered the door."

Tyrandeur shook his head, his tone tinged with regret:
"The ether was extracted and stirred up to form a huge vortex, which rejected all external matter, energy, and even thought. The traveling mage at the time failed to explore its mysteries."

"The truth certainly exists, it's just not something we can access right now,"

The high priest gazed at his disciple, a complex expression in his eyes:

"Perhaps those great arcane masters have personally witnessed mysterious situations when exploring this multiverse, but we can never truly know the reality. You, on the other hand, were able to have this opportunity at the very beginning of your arcane enlightenment, which is a pity."

Zhang Yuan understood what his teacher meant by "what a pity." With his limited knowledge at the time, no matter what he saw, he could only see it. It was like a three-year-old child entering a treasure trove of gold. Even if he exhausted his eyes, could he possibly pry off even a single gold brick?
Such an opportunity will never come again, and I don’t know when I will have the chance to revisit this place.

Why did the teacher suddenly bring this up?
Master Zhang, who had just sighed, suddenly felt a little puzzled. He looked back at his teacher, who also noticed his apprentice's question.

"There is indeed chaos and disorder in this universe, but I don't believe there are so many coincidences in everything. Everything is cyclical and repeats itself. What has happened before will happen again."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuan's pupils contracted, and his voice became somewhat hoarse when he spoke:

"Will I go back to that place and head to the final mountain again?"

"This is my opinion. It's not about hitting the jackpot. The inherent logic behind many probabilistic events is interconnected, which is what we call destiny."

"Destiny?" Chewing on this word, which is usually on the lips of mystical prophets and sorcerers, Zhang Yuan suddenly felt it was somewhat absurd, especially when it was uttered by his usually strict teacher.

"It's just a common term. If you think it's inappropriate, you can call it a probability deduction. But fate does exist and affects every aspect of how this world works. The moment you step onto the final mountain, you will be connected to it. It's just a matter of time."

"When your magical skill is enough to overcome the chasm-like ether storm, then accurately projecting your consciousness to a place you have already been, even an alternate dimension like the Spirit World, is not a big deal."

The Grand Master explained it in a way that was easier for Zhang Yuan to understand, or rather, more in line with Zhang Yuan's cognitive logic.

He spoke casually, but Zhang Yuan shook his head inwardly. Passing through the Aether Wall, which even the Nesser Arcane Ship couldn't penetrate, was no easy feat. It would probably only be possible when he reached the level of his teacher.

However, this is an opportunity in any case, and even the slightest possibility of reaching the path to legend is of great significance.

Zhang Yuan could understand Tyrantir's feelings to some extent. His own unexpected encounter was an opportunity that the other party could not seek. No wonder his teacher had such complicated emotions.

"That's enough for today. We can finish it by doing it again tomorrow."

Somewhat disheartened, Tyrantir brought this extracurricular activity to a close. Instead of teleporting back to Highhold, he checked into a specially prepared suite arranged by his apprentice, which was just a wall away from the lord's suite.

The process the next day was exactly the same as the day before, except that the Grand Master did not pay again, since not everyone is willing to be ripped off when they have a lot of money.

This time, Ed Boden caused much less of a stir. With the tower's shape already determined, the internal structural adjustments were not so drastic, but rather involved more delicate work.

The reserved internal cavities of the mountain were cut and shaped into regular room halls, each with its own passageway connected to a top-to-bottom corridor, like the branches of a tree structure.

The passageway, serving as the main route from the castle's underground palace to the deep laboratory and elemental pool, was itself a twisted version of the previous ruins' passageway, spiraling downwards.

The spiral passageway surrounds a central vertical main energy pipe, which serves as the backbone of the mage tower's basic energy structure. It branches off into numerous functional rooms, and the magical energy drawn from the elemental pool forms a complete functional system under the guidance of the control system.

Of course, these are all future blueprints. Right now, the only things that can be put to use are the rune alchemy workshop and Zhang Yuan's own portable alchemy laboratory.

The latter, relying solely on the self-regenerating energy of the artifact, has significant limitations. It's fine for small daily experiments, but when it comes to high-energy-consuming processes like element purification instruments, well…

Two weeks of charging, five hours of playtime!
What is truly urgent is the establishment of the summoning array and the creation of a cross-dimensional energy transmission system.

The purpose of the former is self-evident, and the energy supply for the main plane has long been on the agenda.

Whether for development or security considerations, more permanent summoned units are urgently needed for High Cliff Territory. The various industrial bases and defense systems planned to be built in the coming years will also be inseparable from the supply of energy.

This is the real reason why Master Zhang insisted on building such a semi-empty mage tower. Otherwise, what would be the point of building a tower in the Shadow Realm if it were just for ghosts to see?
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(End of this chapter)