Chapter 330: An Unfinished Work

Before undertaking new research, a scholarly guild had to consult with the Tower of the Scholar to determine if the topic had already been studied to exhaustion by another group. If it had been, even successful duplication of the results would receive no recognition or reward from the Central Assembly.

In other words, the research on hypermagic had indeed stagnated for all these years. It was an undeniably complex topic, but to Sieg and Avia, hardly insurmountable. Once Sieg pointed out the connection between draconic magic and hypermagic, the Council of the Arcane's progress had accelerated dramatically.

This devotee of the Church of Nightfall had correctly gauged the research on hypermagic based on the data Wang Yu provided, suggesting that the guild he had once belonged to had already reached a similar threshold. It might not have been the final step, but with this barrier broken, the road ahead would be far smoother.

"Regardless, Archbishop, I am deeply grateful that you've granted us access to the Midnight Library. It's a place of profound value. As a scholar, nothing brings me more joy than to see my knowledge turned into something tangible.

"While my current laboratory may not rival those of Skyborne City, I'll do all I can to verify and complete the research in this dossier. Consider it a continuation of the work I once failed to see through. I hope I may be of help to you."

The scholar expressed his thanks and assured Wang Yu that he would pursue the research with renewed vigor, promising to deliver results as swiftly as possible.

"Thank you. By the way, what was the name of the guild you once belonged to? If the opportunity arises, I'd like to discuss their findings and maybe collaborate."

"The Seeker's Guild. A rather minor guild, really—I joined because I had nowhere else to go at the time. Resources were scarce, and progress was slow.

"I'm Zagro, by the way. If you ever go visit the Seeker's Guild, my name might at least earn you a moment of recognition."

Zagro offered his name with a wry smile, suggesting it could still open a few doors for Wang Yu should he choose to reach out.

"Well then, I won't take up more of your time. I'll see what else I can find in this library—I might yet uncover something useful."

With a courteous farewell, Zagro turned and disappeared into the shelves of the Midnight Library, seeking further knowledge.

"Might be worth paying a visit to this Seeker's Guild someday," Wang Yu murmured to Avia in the material realm. "If they were already researching hypermagic over a decade ago, even if they dropped the project later on, their data might still prove useful."

"Yes," Avia replied, though her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "But I do find it odd. Even if their resources were lacking, any guild should have seen the value in hypermagic. Why abandon such a promising line of research? We'll need to learn why they gave up. There may be more to it than we think."

"You're probably right..."

Wang Yu recalled Lancer's strange behavior and the magical backlash that followed. Avia's insight added weight to the unease forming in his thoughts. Something did seem off.

An hour passed swiftly. All the attending scholars at the Midnight Library emerged with their own gains—some satisfied, others still hungry for more. But it was time to leave this space, one that required a sacrifice of divine faith to access.

As Avia moved through the grand halls of the library, she examined its shelves. Already, five or six full bookcases had been filled, and glass cabinets now displayed a wealth of knowledge up for trade.

Once the library officially opened to all devotees, the rate at which information was stored would increase exponentially.

Using her access, slightly lower than Wang Yu's but still at the level of an administrator, Avia inspected the knowledge behind the sealed displays. Each piece was unique and distilled a scholar's insights into the core of the world. They were worthy of the price they commanded.

"So much more to learn... A true convergence of knowledge. It's just like the internet Wang Yu once described from his world. I wonder what the future of this place will look like..."

She let out a soft sigh of anticipation before withdrawing from the Midnight Library. There was still work to be done.

The next day saw Avia and Wang Yu in a forge. The air sizzled. A high-frequency hammering echoed through the room. Wielding a small hammer, Wang Yu struck a glowing blue shard with swift, practiced taps, sending harmonic vibrations through the metal.

Beside him, Noelle released a focused stream of dragonbreath from her mouth, maintaining it at a steady temperature. As Wang Yu forged the material harvested from the lich's remains, Noelle ensured the environment remained stable and warded off any external interference.

Under the twin forces of hammer and flame, the edges of the shard gradually turned a vibrant orange-yellow. Its sheen grew increasingly metallic. "Done. It's up to you and the professor now."

Enveloping the refined piece in the power of the Chariot, Wang Yu molded it into a perfect square and handed it to Avia.

"Mm."

She placed the material on the alchemical workbench. Together with Sieg, she began inscribing arcane runes into it, transforming this core taken from the heart of a legendary lich into a specialized component.

They had originally planned to finish this component earlier, but the unexpected disaster at the Council of the Arcane had made them prioritize the deployment of the Void Chatroom and Midnight Library instead.

What they were molding now was meant for Wang Yu's alchemical revolver, Conqueror. With it, the weapon developed by Avia and Sieg based on their hypermagic research would finally see combat-ready use.

Half an hour later, a faint but complex series of magical fluctuations swept through the Seed of Eden. This core component, tentatively named Frostheart, was now complete. It had been infused with power by Avia herself.

Wang Yu retrieved the Conqueror, opened a slot on its side, and inserted the newly completed component in place.

Magical circuits lit up, and a shimmering blue mist emanated from the revolver's surface.

"As expected from a legendary lich's body... this isn't merely cold. This frost can freeze overloaded magic itself. There are still limits, but I won't need to charge the gun quite so long to launch my first shot anymore."

He loaded a deep-purple round into the chamber, aimed at a training dummy across the room, and pulled the trigger.

Power surged into the bullet as runes lit up with violet arcs. Space itself shimmered faintly around the gun.

Without Frostheart, the intensity of the resulting energy might have resulted in a meltdown. They had had to extend the charge-up period as a result, but that wouldn't be necessary anymore.

With the intense cold stabilizing Conqueror's internal circuits, it could gather energy far more quickly without the risk of a meltdown. Roughly 0.2 seconds later, a shot was fired.

No bullet could be seen; only a flash of violet lightning erupted from the revolver.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

A moment later, the metal dummy across the room crumpled, flattened as if crushed by an invisible behemoth.

"Firing speed is way up. Still, the charged shot can only be fired this rapidly once every so often."

Wang Yu opened up Conqueror's chamber and inspected Frostheart. Its powerful aura had been spent. While it would recover, that would take time. Until then, the revolver would revert to its usual, glacial charge-up period.

Avia had come up with this alchemical firearm to compensate for Wang Yu's lacking destructive power as a knight. It currently held three specialized rounds: Star of Mourning, which they had used against Varma; Graviton, which they had just tested; and a massively enhanced version of the Fury of the Forge's original charged shot.

All three were devastating—but their lengthy charge-up periods made them difficult to use mid-battle. Even the fastest shot was too slow by grand knight standards.

Frostheart helped, but only just enough to make the gun usable. It was still far from the weapon Sieg and Avia had envisioned.

"Looks like it'll remain a prototype quite a bit longer," Sieg said with a grin. "Once the hypermagic research is complete, we should be able to solve its biggest flaws."

"Yeah."

Wang Yu was just satisfied that the firearm could at least be deployed in combat now. When used at the right moment, few enemies would be able to survive its wrath.

He holstered the Conqueror, then flexed his hands before him. His physical strength had been improving steadily through training and the consumption of various metallic ores. His bones, muscles, and reservoir of fighting spirit had all been enhanced.

His body was far superior to the average knight of his rank. Yet his raw destructive power was merely comparable—or even lacking. The reason was that he lacked a true potential. The Chariot was powerful and versatile, but it couldn't affect living beings directly or match the might of a knight's potential in combat.

Though he had a diverse suite of abilities, they merely supplemented his strength. Was there a way for him to improve his destructive power?

As he sifted through everything he had learned, an idea flickered in his mind—unexpected, but oddly plausible. Maybe, just maybe, there really was.