The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 375: Volume 7: The Awakening Spring Thunder, - 7: Bait_3

The wood stem looked ordinary, but to those in the know, especially the grandmasters skilled in crafting magical mechanisms, they recognized this simple and unassuming timber came from the Wood in Wood of the northern Mogan Wilderness’s Cloud Mist Forest. The very name carried a sense of oddity; while the parent form of this wood was rare but not particularly precious, the offspring, the wood stem itself, was exceedingly rare. It could only serve as a raw material if it had grown from the rotten remains of the parent wood after a certain type of spore had entered and nourished on the decayed parent, allowing for a new growth called Wood in Wood.

Since this Wood in Wood solely relied on the parent wood’s nourishment to grow, not only was its growth slow, but it also rarely grew to a useful size. Finding such a large and round piece of material was next to impossible. But as an indispensable material in numerous Wood Magic applications, adventurers would risk their lives seeking it out in the Cloud Mist Forest. Of course, Magic Material Trading sometimes sold it, but without several thousands of Gold Shield at your disposal, acquisition was out of the question. Caffrey had to pay ten thousand Gold Shield to purchase it from Jazair’s shops, greatly troubling Puber’s pockets, despite Komer assuring him he would repay the amount with interest. Still, adhering to the principle of keeping wealth within one’s own circle, Puber hesitated for a long time before finally handing over the money.

The most critical crystal fragments, though expensive, didn’t cost Puber a penny. Komer, however, spent a week on the dangerous fringes of the Jellyfish People’s swamp in search of them. All thanks to a Dwarf with a severe thirst for liquor, who let him know the Magic Crystal Mine, though currently unminable, was an excellent adventure and treasure-hunting spot. With good luck and courage to delve deep into the caves and crevices, one could possibly find raw Magic Crystal stones—it was at least possible for Komer, lucky as he was.

But crafting those three pieces of Magic Crystal truly tested Komer’s ingenuity; everyone knew how wear-resistant and hard Magic Crystal was. Special tools and techniques were required to craft such material, yet there wasn’t a single shop in Caucasus capable of processing it, and only a handful existed even within the Kingdom of Nicosia. Komer dared not expose such items outside his region, as there are no walls in the world that can’t be breached. The potential troubles brought by such exposure would be immense. Left with no choice, Komer resorted to the most straightforward but crudest method: using Magic Fire to heat the Magic Crystal to a very high temperature before polishing it. This extremely Magic Power-consuming method was perhaps unprecedented, and it took two months of continuous heating and polishing to complete this tedious and grueling task.

Then came the assembly work, which was no trivial handiwork. First, the air within the wood stem needed to be evacuated. Naturally, using a special Magic Fire to burn and consume was one approach. Then, taking advantage of the unique properties of Wood in Wood, the mirror’s vacuum state was maintained, while also allowing the force of wood to extend into the Magic Crystal, harmonizing their essences. Wood and stone inherently connect—wood comes from stone (earth), and stone (earth) flows into wood. Only when these two distinct but synergistic materials are combined can the Magic Power of the Magic Crystal be fully utilized. Fusion of the materials required a potent Wood Magic. The principle of the Mirror of Thousand Miles was to exploit the Magic Crystal’s Penetrating Air Function, bringing distant scenes into the range of sight. While ’thousands of miles like inches’ may be an exaggeration, images from several to dozens of miles away appearing before one’s eyes was no fantasy, relying solely on the quality of the Magic Crystal, wood stem, and the purity of the evacuated air.

Komer had finally succeeded, gently cradling the magical mechanism that represented the culmination of his heartfelt efforts. Perhaps it was better to call it a work of craftsmanship rather than a magical device, for though its exterior lacked ornate patterns, looking plain and unadorned, it was a genuine magical mechanism that had been created by his own hands. What changes it would bring to the Continent, Komer didn’t know, but he was certain that with this device alone, even the Pirates who dominated the Southern Nether Sea would willingly cooperate with him.

Approaching the window, Komer took a deep breath—sunshine flooded the view outside. Squinting into the distance, he could vaguely make out a banner lazily drooping from a flagpole atop a distant castle, which looked more like a grayish mountain range than a building. With the wooden tube in hand, a moment of haze passed by, and suddenly, a vivid banner appeared within his sight, its emblem as clear as if it was right before him—a bear, showing its teeth in a fierce snarl.

Settling back into his great chair, Komer reflected on his journey from Ugru to here. Two hundred miles was nothing much, and as he practiced his magic, he also began to dabble in martial arts. He had no aspirations to become a Martial Arts Expert, but he certainly delighted in the thought of unleashing an unexpected blow or two in combat. Yet his primary goal was to strengthen his physique through Cultivation of his Spiritual Power, after all, it had a significant connection with his body—which was, of course, his very own. It seemed many Mages who practiced Psychic Magic neglected this aspect, believing if they had extra time, it would be better spent honing Spiritual Power or familiarizing themselves with spells.