After the downfall of the "Sperm Whale," the ship sailed on the seas for seven more days. During this time, Garrett Nordmark busied himself in the cabin, working relentlessly for seven days.
From the common folk to the extraordinary, from the captain, first officer, and bishop to all the sailors, gunners, craftsmen, and knights...
Everyone took turns visiting him. Each person contributed five milliliters of blood, and returned the next day with a note indicating their blood typeâ
Fortunately, the sample size was manageable, and no rare blood types emerged, sparing Garrett from potential disaster.
It was also fortunate that his reputation was solid. If he had been a mage from the Black Crow Swamp, people would rather die than agree to have their blood drawn.
Who knows what a necromancer might do with their bloodâcurse them, or turn them into thralls?
After seven days, Garrett was spinning from exhaustion, feeling nauseous at the sight of the blood-filled test tubes. As for Bishop Ampton, this priest of the God of War was so skilled at drawing blood, he hit the vein on the first try.
After sailing for seven days, they returned to Nevis Port. The guests disembarked and headed to their residences, while the bloodkin were still lying in their coffins, carried off the ship just as they had been brought aboard.
Garrett was temporarily free from hosting duties and was about to head back to the Mage Tower for a bath when a little bird landed in front of him.
The bird was entirely bright blue, seemingly delicate and charming at first glance, but upon closer inspection, from its eyes to its claws, from its beak to its wings, everything was lined with fine threads of lightning. Sparks crackled among its feathers, constantly flashing.
Flapping its wings, the bird hovered in front of Garrett, its deep blue beak opening and closing. Instead of bird calls, a clear and bright voice came out:
"Garrett, the magic image conversion tool you asked about is ready. I have it here; come and get it!"
"Yes, teacher! Iâll come right away!"
Garrett bowed joyfully, overjoyed that Lady Almeida had finally finished the magic tool that could project images from his meditative vision into reality.
The magical device was already at his teacherâs place; he could pick it up right now!
His X-ray slides!
His ultrasound!
His future targets, CT and MRI!
Finally, he could produce images, teach students, and explain to patients and their families!
For a moment, Garrett forgot his exhaustion and, after informing Serrano, activated the teleportation spell on his "Endless Ink Pen" and rushed to the peak of Igor Mountain. The Lord of Thunder smiled when he saw how quickly Garrett arrived and casually pointed: êĂĄâŠĆáĂáč
"Try this thing out and see if it works for you."
If it didnât work, could he even ask a legendary mage to modify it?
Curious, Garrett followed where his teacher pointed, only to see a brilliantly golden square box.
Two feet square and one foot high, adorned with a ring of various gems, and at least seven smooth pearls the size of a pinky fingertip embedded in it. Between the gems, countless silver threads intertwined, likely not silver but mithril.
How expensive must this thing be...materials, magic circles, labor, plus a legendary mageâs designâGarrett didnât know if he could afford it with all his liquid assets.
Suppressing a gasp, Garrett looked at his teacher. The Lord of Thunder smiled slightly:
"Lady Almeida struggled for over a month and couldnât reduce the casting requirements. No choice but to make this thing; use it for now. âShe said, since sheâs developed this magic, she wonât share the subsequent brainwave research with you."
Garrett was ecstatic. Not having to pay was a relief; as for brainwave stuff, he didnât have the energy to research it himself, so it was best to leave it.
Following his teacherâs instructions, Garrett placed one hand on the top of the gold box, his fingers around the mithril-wound magic circle, and took out a blood sample with the other hand. Concentrating slightly, he cast a "Bloodline Identification" spellâ
Then, his whole body slightly staggered, almost falling over.
A powerful force surged from the gold box, draining nearly all of Garrettâs magic in an instant. The box clicked and whirred, and soon, it spat out an extremely thin crystal chip, half the size of a palm, with faint glimmers of light flowing over it.
Clearly, the power needed for recording and imprinting was drawn from him.
"Teacher..."
Garrett closed his eyes and panted for a while before complaining. This device was too harsh! His teacher hadnât even warned him before letting him try it!
If he hadnât been deeply accomplished, having been infused
by the worldâs will during several advancements, and had been just a regular fifth-level mage, he might have collapsed on the spot, passed out, or even damaged his foundation.
The Lord of Thunder watched his disheveled state, merely standing by. Only when Garrett opened his eyes did he shake his head and smile:
"Research is necessary, and so is accumulating spiritual power. If you spent more time meditating, youâd have reached the threshold for advancement by now, and wouldnât be so embarrassed."
...But if I donât do research, I canât advance at all!
Garrett dared not talk back to his teacher, picked up the crystal chip, and with a slight touch of his mental power, released a large three-dimensional light display. The display was colorful and intricate, with points, lines, planes, and arcs interwoven, containing data that indeed couldnât be recorded with just a pen.
Garrett sighed deeply. Although the light display was still intangible, it could now be sensed, recorded, and imprinted by magic. He could hand it over to the Tower Spirits for data analysis, but...
"Teacher, I canât use this box many times a day!"
Garrett lamented. Without using potions, he could only use it once or twice a day at most. How long would it take to accumulate enough samples, to gather sufficient data for the Tower Spirits to analyze?
The Lord of Thunder didnât even twitch his eyebrows. After Garrettâs outcry, he slowly said:
"This isnât meant for direct use. Take it back, connect it to an energy pool in the Mage Tower. Thatâs how large magical devices are operated."
"But my hospital doesnât have an energy pool!"
Taking it to the hospital meant he couldnât use it even once a day; not taking it there meant dragging patients to the Mage Tower, where the energy field was harmful to ordinary people. Under Garrettâs mournful gaze, the Lord of Thunder casually remarked:
"Thatâs your own problem then. âEither advance and increase your spiritual power limit so you can use it more often each day, or find a way to install an energy pool in the hospital yourself."
Advancing wasnât something that happened overnight.
Installing an energy pool, the energy pool in his Mage Tower, was acquired through negotiations with the council. God knows when he could afford one on his own.
Disheartened, Garrett bid his teacher farewell and picked up the gold box to leave. As he was about to step out of the room, the Lord of Thunder called out from behind:
"The storage crystal chips, 1000 contribution points for a hundred pieces, no bargaining. This box contains a hundred pieces; if you want moreâbuy them yourself."
Garrett stumbled.
"Teacherâcan these chips be erased and rewritten?"
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