This divine essence...
Like a diamond, its color resembles a diamond-like ball of light.
It's hard, stable, and possesses a dazzling quality.
Having handled so many treasures and divine essences, Alka has long developed a personal understanding of treasures.
Being a treasure craftsman, not only does Alka possess the crucial ability to separate a treasure's carrier from its divine essence through the Dream Smelting Tower,
Alka also possesses a unique and in-depth understanding of the nature of treasures and their carriers.
Every time he crafts a treasure, Alka doesn't create a carrier haphazardly. Instead, he carefully analyzes the divine essence, combining materials and even performing rituals to create the perfect carrier.
This gives him a deeper understanding of the treasure's nature.
The same is true for Simon, who, at the same level, crafts or assists in the creation of many carriers.
So when Alka picked up the divine essence and expressed something, Simon instantly understood.
"Don't you two play dumb? Can't you see we're curious too?" Jason said from the side.
Their exchange left everyone bewildered, but they knew this item must be very important.
Hearing this, Alka smiled, still holding the divine essence encased in crystal.
The color of the divine essence and the crystal shell seemed to match each other remarkably well.
He smiled and explained, "You should know that for the past six months, our main research has been to create a device that can replace the Magic Gathering Stone."
Everyone nodded.
The Magic Gathering Stone had been of immense help to them on their journey.
But it was, after all, just a device developed in ancient times.
When they reached the fifth stage of their power, supplying mana was already a struggle. Once Alka and the others reached the sixth stage, the Mana Concentration Stone was no longer of any help.
After all, the gap between each stage is enormous, and the mana demand increases exponentially.
Frankly, the fact that they managed to make it to the fifth stage was actually surprising to Alka and the others. They were truly worthy of a product from the golden age.
"But you know we've run into a problem: the materials.
We can't find materials that can handle such a massive amount of mana, after all. We've even been considering turning the Mana Concentration Stone into a massive structure for our use."
This was an alternative solution Alka and the others had recently developed.
Concentrating the limited mana-concentrating power within a single gem, even if that gem was already at its limit,
Making sure that the mana it could convert would still be enough to supply the sixth stage was a bit of a challenge.
After all, the amount of mana required at the sixth stage and above was incredibly high.
So they planned to expand the magic gathering ability, using various expensive materials and structures to construct a magic gathering structure similar to a magic circle altar or a tower.
Since quality requirements couldn't be met, they would increase quantity.
If miniaturization wasn't feasible, they would enlarge it, significantly reducing the material requirements.
However, since this structure would completely deviate from the original structure of the magic gathering stone, they would need to develop a new structure almost from scratch.
Furthermore, the finished product would undoubtedly be inconvenient to carry and difficult to operate.
It would take more time.
But sometimes there's no other way.
However, with a small world, portability could be negligible.
"But having this divine essence is quite impressive. This divine essence itself is similar to a gemstone. I suspect the divinity within it may have been separated from the very principles of mortal gemstones.
We simply need to fuse everything quickly once everything is ready. Even if the original gemstone carrier can't handle it, we can still integrate the divine essence into it at this point.
This will instantly elevate the gemstone's carrier, allowing the magic gathering function to be integrated without causing damage.
The only difficulty lies in mastering the treasure carrier and the timing of fusing the treasure, but that's not a problem for me."
Because Alka has fused so many treasures, he actually has records of almost every one and has perfectly mastered the timing of fusing, especially for Holy Grail-level treasures.
So, the difficulty of this process isn't a problem for Alka.
"Will this work?" Julia asked, frowning beside her.
Although she didn't fully understand it, Alka's method sounded a bit like forced manipulation. It's a bit like exploiting a loophole.
‐‐Alka nodded. "It works."
‐‐"Just like if a treasure takes the form of a long sword, even if the divine essence within it controls water flow, it won't affect the sword's ability to chop.
‐‐Like your phonograph, if the divine essence within it controls fire, it won't affect its ability to record sound.
‐‐Because this is the inherent ability of the carrier."
‐‐Alka briefly explained it to everyone.
‐‐This ability is most useful when exemplified by Simon's treasures.
‐‐Simon's two treasures constructed from divine essence are examples of this.
‐‐Treasures that can transform into mechas close to the body essentially increase the material's hardness.
‐‐Energy-gathering treasures that can transform into weapons essentially concentrate energy.
‐‐Energy concentration doesn't affect the weapon's ability to function in both ranged and melee modes.
Increasing the hardness of the artifact wouldn't affect the mecha's ability to expand and shrink to fit the body.
Because this is a function inherent to the carrier itself.
After hearing Alka's explanation, everyone seemed to understand.
"In other words, because the artifact possesses a hard and indestructible property, you wanted to take advantage of the moment when your previous research failed to incorporate divine essence into it.
This way, the material will possess hardness and indestructibility, while the magic gathering power will already be incorporated into it, without affecting the artifact. If the conditions are right, they will complement each other and form a true artifact."
Lucille repeated her understanding.
Alka nodded. That was exactly what he meant.
But there was no rush. He already had a plan in mind. Now all that was left was to plan the details.
"Okay, let's put this aside for now. We'll look into it later."
With this, Alka tossed the hammer-like treasure and the Holy Grail-level divine essence in his hand into the space.
A Holy Grail-level treasure was the icing on the cake for them, a collectible.
Watching Alka toss this Holy Grail-level treasure into his small world like trash,
Sofia said helplessly, "How about we find a way to dispose of these Holy Grail-level treasures? Leaving them like this is really unacceptable."
After all, it would be fine if one or two treasures were left alone, but they now had a total of 15 Holy Grail-level treasures.
Who wouldn't feel uncomfortable seeing 15 Holy Grail-level treasures sitting there doing nothing?
Hearing Sofia's words, everyone nodded with lingering fear. Indeed, it was true.
"If it were before, I would definitely agree, but now... I don't know why, but I feel like leaving it there won't be a mistake."
As he spoke, Alka's eyes blinked, emitting a faint golden glow.
The person he was staring at couldn't help but shudder.
They felt as if they were being seen through.
"Since you've seen something different, then leave it alone," Sofia nodded.
I originally left it there because I thought it was useless. Now that it's useful, there's nothing wrong with leaving it alone.
As for Alka's eyes, which could see through secrets, everyone knew more or less, but they didn't know how they were related to their treasure-hunting speed.
They thought it was just a peculiar bodily structure.
As Alka grew stronger, he could vaguely sense the source of his eyes in his dreams.
He was almost certain that the Holy Mother didn't know the source of his eyes. Or perhaps the Virgin Mary knew, but didn't know the specific source.
‐‐Alka's power within the dream had reached the eighth stage.
‐‐This was already high enough for godhood.
‐‐And the problem with his own eyes could no longer be hidden. He had a feeling that if he advanced one more stage, he would be able to discover the secret of his own eyes.
‐‐With the ability to discover the secret of his own eyes, his eyes would naturally be able to see more and more.
‐‐So whenever he was about to dispose of those treasures, his eyes, which could see through secrets, would see something blurry.
‐‐Just leave it like this, it wouldn't be wrong.
‐‐Thinking, Alka looked at the orange divine essence still before them.
‐‐"Juanlu, tell me what appearance you want."
‐‐...
‐‐With Jason and the others returning, Alka and the others began to get busy again.
First, they needed to construct Juanlu's scepter-class artifact.
This was the third scepter-class artifact Alka had constructed, and they already had ample experience.
Furthermore, they had no shortage of materials, and the Great Library existed within their small world.
The construction of this artifact could be done at their own pace, tailored to Juanlu's wishes.
After all, it was a powerful artifact.
Also, they needed an upgraded version of the crucial Mana Gathering Stone.
As Juanlu's artifact was still under design,
Alka and his team were currently preparing for the final stages of constructing the Mana Gathering Stone.
The location they had chosen wasn't the outside world, but within the small world.
In an ordinary field within the small world, a single-story, yet vast, research laboratory had been built at some point.
A rift had opened above the laboratory, continuously absorbing the magical energy from outside.
At this time, a manufacturing area had been set up in the open air above the laboratory.
In addition to Alka and Simon, a circle of Vastva researchers stood nearby.
They were responsible for observation and recording.
Further out were Sofia and the others, also watching from the side. Several ghost scholars could also be seen.
These ghost scholars had also joined the research.
A complex device consisting of four mechanical tentacles had been erected on the open roof.
In the center of the device sat a gem the size of a head.
The gem's shape was a diamond, remarkably pure and transparent, giving it a sense of exceptional purity.
This new gem, slightly superior to the previous one, had been acquired at a greater cost.
In addition to the conical gem, several smaller matching stones surrounded it, tightly attached to it.
Everything was ready.
Under Alka's control, the divine essence had broken free of its protective shield and floated beside him.
Alka held the kebi and approached the gem.
Took a deep breath: "Begin!"
The command was given.
The mechanical device began to inject a strange fluid material and magical energy into the gem.
Alka took the engraving pen and used his ability to continue carving within the gem.
The injected energy and fluid material began to spread and connect as Alka carved.
Due to the intense concentration and constant control of his magical input, beads of sweat appeared on Alka's forehead, indicating that it was not easy.
The entire process continued without stopping, lasting for three hours.
Alka continued to carve with complete concentration, and the beads of sweat on his forehead became increasingly dense.
His breathing remained steady and rhythmic.
Finally, the final stroke was completed.
But the process wasn't over yet.
With the carving complete, the Magic Gathering Stone began to operate automatically.
As the gem began to operate, the surrounding magic energy rapidly gathered, and in a moment, it was drawn out of a vacuum. The gem began to tremble in the air, threatening to collapse at any moment.
Now, Alka controlled the divine essence that had already floated nearby and began the final integration.
The divine essence easily entered the gem's interior. As soon as it entered, the Magic Gathering Stone's automatic function suddenly shut down.
The integration of the divine essence went incredibly smoothly. Alka had performed this procedure countless times, becoming incredibly adept at it.
Quickly, the divine essence was integrated.
Just as they had expected, the entire process went incredibly smoothly, and Alka's timing was impeccable.
The machine shattered, unable to withstand the magic energy and various materials scattered across the floor. And the gem, due to its restrained nature, fell to the ground like an ordinary gem.
Alka picked it up.
He looked at the treasure in his hand.
He poured magic power into the gem, but it clearly resisted.
However, resistance was futile. Alka directly entwined the auras of his two scepter-level treasures within his magic power.
Instantly, he suppressed the gem's resistance and forcibly used it.
Alka didn't intend to use the treasure's power, nor did he need to master it in depth. Therefore, there was no problem with directly forcibly using it.
A superior treasure has a suppressive effect on a subordinate.
As long as they could withstand the mutual resistance and only used the power of one treasure at a time, there would be no problem.
Furthermore, they were only planning to use the treasure's original function as a carrier, not its protective ability.
As magic power poured into the treasure, it began to emit a brilliant light.
The treasure's own power was no longer important; what mattered was the gem's function.
As energy was transferred to the surroundings of the gem, the small gems attached to it levitated and floated in the air alongside the conical gem.
It began to absorb the surrounding magic.
It could sense that the efficiency was more exaggerated than they had expected. Clearly, the incorporation of divinity provided more than just strength.
Because it had already begun at the sixth stage of use, the absorption of magic power was incredibly rapid, instantly forming a vortex of magic.
Draining the surrounding magic power, the rift above opened to the outside world. Like a tornado, magic power took shape, drawn in from the outside world.
The gem formed a space for meditation.
The surrounding gems began filtering.
The rich, pure, absorbed magic power converged into a...
Alka sat cross-legged on the spot and began to meditate. He needed to experience the power of this treasure to see if it was sufficient.
Under everyone's observation and data recording, Alka soon opened his eyes.
He wiped the sweat from his meditation and waved his hand to close the treasure.
"No problem. Just like the Magic Gathering Stone before, it can enhance our current meditation. And the bonus is very high. It seems that our meditation speed will reach a new level in the future."
The infusion of divinity has definitely enhanced the power of the Magic Gathering Stone itself.
After all, the divine essence within the treasure is itself a worldly thing.
It can easily control the surrounding magic power, converting and absorbing it with ease.
Although he didn't know what the eighth and ninth stages were, Alka estimated that this gem would at least be able to quickly provide them with magic power until around the eighth stage.
A smile appeared on Alka's face as he spoke.
They could now continue meditating as quickly as before to improve their strength.
"Let's give it a name," Sofia said with a smile.
"Let's call it the Meditation Stone." Everyone laughed helplessly at this.
"How lazy!"
But it was indeed simple and direct.
Alka smiled and said nothing more. Instead, he took the treasure and walked over to Simon. "This treasure's inherent ability increases its strength and flexibility.
Add to that the treasure's inherent properties, and we can overload it to our heart's content. This might even allow us to achieve previously unimaginable levels of power."
Of course, for now, they could only add supporting facilities, but they could use this treasure as the core to realize their previously arrogant ideas.
This was the true way to unleash the treasure's power.
Otherwise, why would Alka choose this divine essence to complement the Meditation Stone's abilities? It was because he'd had this idea before, and now it looked like it could be realized.
Hearing this, Simon paused in thought and nodded.
Perhaps it could elevate the magic power of the treasure to a higher level.
After all, this treasure wouldn't break.
Many previous ideas had failed due to insufficiently strong materials, but now that this treasure was indestructible, the power it could handle would definitely exceed their imaginations.
A crazy idea had been realized.