NOVEL WEB Ch. 97
Chapter 97
The Radiance of Precious Metal
At the workbench within the Abyss of Nightmares, Lucy was carefully manipulating the metallic transmutation gland inside the Gold-Eater Beast using a pair of tweezers.
This walnut-sized organ was covered in spiral patterns, gleaming with an iridescent metallic sheen beneath the illumination of the Everbright Lamp.
When the Gold-Eater Beast, under Lucy’s coercion, unleashed its precious metal jets, these patterns would transform the stored precious metals within the gland into pure energy.
“I have never seen a magical vein capable of evolving through devouring precious metals.”
She murmured softly. With precise movements, the scalpel in her fingers incised the gland’s surface layer, beginning to sketch out the complex magical vein diagram within.
The gland possessed only a single primary magical vein, but each time it absorbed a new type of precious metal, fresh metallic patterns would grow upon its surface.
Judging from the state of this captured Gold-Eater Beast, it had already consumed five kinds of precious metals, and its magical vein had reached the peak of Tier-1.
If it absorbed just one more higher-grade wizard’s precious metal, there was a high probability it would advance to Tier-2.
“Fortunately, there are only five types of precious wizard metals in this mine.” Lucy gently brushed aside the stray hair from her forehead. “If I had encountered a six-metal jet, I fear both the shield and I would have been instantly pulverized.”
Lucy meticulously extracted the metals one by one from within the gland.
Mithril, red copper, fine gold... The most valuable among them was a precious metal called shadowstone.
Gazing at these materials, a bold notion abruptly surfaced in her mind. “If I could construct such a magical vein, could I also ascend by consuming precious metals?”
This possibility made her heart suddenly race.
…
Two days later.
In the dim space of the Abyss of Nightmares, the rhythmic snores of enchanted beasts echoed unceasingly.
Although there was no sun or moon to mark time, this minor plane still adhered to the law of day and night cycles.
After continuous containment efforts, more than twenty kinds of enchanted beasts were now imprisoned within the abyss.
From Tier-1 apex lifeforms such as the two-headed vulture and the dragon-lion, to zero-level creatures like the Ore Devourer Beetle.
At this moment, all of them slumbered within specially crafted cages.
Meanwhile, in the laboratory near the entrance, Lucy sat with eyes closed, constructing a new witchcraft model.
At a certain moment—
“It’s done!”
She suddenly opened her eyes, a glint of silver flashing in her gaze.
“System.”
【Name: Lucy Felicia】
【Rank: Apprentice (Mental Strength: 22.3)】
【Meditation Method: Bramble Loop Meditation II】
【Witchcraft: …Basic Fractured Crystal Reverse Scale Shield (Tier-1), Intermediate Thousand-Faced (Zero-Ring), Radiance of Precious Metal (0 Enhancements)】
【Skills: Omitted】
【Equipment: Omitted】
【Contamination Value: 36%】
【Divine Contamination of the Lord of Golden Worship: 18%, Divine Contamination of the Lord of Nightmares: 21% (Nightmare Curse)】
【Academic Points: 78】
A complex witchcraft model took form in an instant under the empowerment of High Elvish. It was the witchcraft model constructed from the Gold-Eater Beast’s gland.
Accompanied by a dusty visual effect, an energy blast descended from above, crashing onto the ground of the Abyss of Nightmares.
Boom—
All the enchanted beasts that had been slumbering jolted awake at once, their roars surging together in a deafening chorus.
“Quiet!”
With a soft command, the wails and howls were abruptly cut off.
She stepped closer to the shallow pit blasted open by the Radiance of Precious Metal, her brows faintly creasing.
The witchcraft’s power was far less than she had anticipated. The mental strength coefficient was only 1.1 at 8 points of mental strength, and once past 20 points, the coefficient dropped to around 0.15.
The marginal diminishing effect of mental strength was not only inferior compared to the deduced Venomous Fang, but even slightly weaker than the Ring of Resistance.
Quickly flipping through the magical vein diagram of the Gold-Eater Beast in the Anatomy Notes, she immediately identified the problem.
“As expected, the model didn’t inherit the properties of the five precious metals it had absorbed.”
“System, help me deduce Radiance of Precious Metal.”
Buzz~
【You attempted to deduce the newly acquired witchcraft model, but discovered this special witchcraft model lacks critical materials.】
Lucy was momentarily startled but quickly came to her senses, instructing her eerie minion to retrieve the vial of Time Sand Silver from the stone house next door.
The moment she held this exceedingly rare wizard metal in her hand, the system interface flickered to life once more.
[By expending 20 Academic Points, you attempt to fuse the magical patterns within the Time Sand Silver into Radiance of Precious Metal. However, this method of embedding ore into magical patterns differs entirely from the Gold-Eater Beast’s devouring absorption of precious metals. No one has ever succeeded in this approach.]
Lucy raised her brows slightly. She had not expected she would inadvertently be creating an entirely new way of advancing witchcraft.
Yet with the system assisting her, she did not truly believe she would fail. The only worry was whether she had enough Academic Points.
[By expending 40 Academic Points, you begin recording and analyzing every grain of silver sand’s magical patterns within the Time Sand Silver.]
[By expending 50 Academic Points, you individually model each grain of ore within the 10 grams of Time Sand Silver in the test tube and gradually integrate them into the witchcraft model.]
[By expending 60 Academic Points, you successfully fuse all of the Time Sand Silver into the model until saturation.]
[Radiance of Precious Metal (0 Enhancements) → Radiance of Precious Metal (1 Enhancement)]
[Academic Points: 78 → 18]
As the system interface faded away, a torrent of new witchcraft models relating to Radiance of Precious Metal flooded her mind.
On top of the original model, a brand new structure, shimmering with metallic luster and winding around it like a single-helix strand of DNA, took shape.
Lucy had never seen such a novel model structure before.
“To analyze every single grain of ore...probably only the system could ever accomplish something like this.”
She clicked her tongue silently.
Ten grams of Time Sand Silver contained at least a million single-crystal grains. It was equivalent to a million micro magical veins and patterns, all to be individually constructed into a witchcraft model.
Let alone an Apprentice of Tier-2—Lucy suspected even a fully-fledged wizard could not finish such a feat in an entire lifetime.
No wonder no one had ever succeeded.
Even the great Anatomical Star Ring Wizard known as the Pale Scalpel, upon discovering the Gold-Eater Beast’s remarkable traits, never attempted to build a witchcraft model from it.
It was not that he had failed to recognize the uniqueness of the Gold-Eater Beast’s gland—only that the sheer workload was enough to deter anyone.
Lucy walked out of the laboratory and once more began constructing Radiance of Precious Metal within her sea of consciousness.
In an instant, a terrifying magical energy poured down straight from the heavens.
Within the dusky torrent of energy, countless silver streaks of light rained down like falling comets, smashing into the ground.
Rumble rumble rumble—
A series of deafening booms erupted as though the entire floor of the Abyss of Nightmares was quaking.
This time, the enchanted beasts in their cages had already learned their lesson. All of them lay prone on the ground, trembling and darting fearful glances about, not daring to make a sound.
And in the last cage, the Gold-Eater Beast, whose consciousness had recovered, clung blankly to the bars, gazing toward the place where the starlight had fallen.
Watching its own innate talent skill now manifesting in an even more fearsome form to rend the earth, any creature would feel lost and terrified.
When Lucy beheld the enormous crater gouged out by Radiance of Precious Metal, she still drew in a sharp breath, even though she had been mentally prepared.
Before absorbing the Time Sand Silver, the attack had only blasted out a hole about twenty centimeters in radius, with an energy magnitude of roughly 10°.
But this time, the radius of the crater reached one and a half meters, and she estimated the energy magnitude to be at least over 25°.
And this was without any staff or magical energy storage augmenting it, amounting to a full fifteen degrees of added power.
Yet this witchcraft was by no means without its flaws.
The reason Radiance of Precious Metal could achieve such an increase in power was also because it consumed precious metals when cast.
Of the 10 grams of Time Sand Silver fused into the witchcraft model, only 9.5 grams remained now.
“Consuming 0.5 grams of precious metal per casting…this doesn’t deplete mental strength, it’s basically burning through magic stones.”