(TL NOTE: Somehow my LOTR: Playing Minecraft in Middle-earth book was flagged as advertisement/spam on Webnovel and has now been deleted. I will re-upload it by tomorrow at the latest, so don't worry. Thank you!)
A good wand handle naturally needed to be paired with a good wand tip.
Levi eagerly attached a Charged Vis Wand Cap to the mallorn wand handle. This material could reduce aspect consumption by 10% and was one of the materials with the highest magical affinity.
Better than this was the Void Wand Cap, which could provide 20% magic reduction. However, this material was just like its name. To craft it, one first had to unlock knowledge of the outer realms.
The outer realms... this term usually referred to places beyond the world.
Arda, that is, this world, actually had ways to leave.
At the westernmost part of the entire world was a gate called the Door of Night. Through this door one could reach places outside the universe, the "Void," a place that transcended 'time' and 'existence,' and where Morgoth had been banished.
However, the truth of this matter was debatable.
There was only one being in this world capable of banishing things outside the universe: the Creator God of this world, Eru Ilúvatar.
And Morgoth, according to records, was banished to the Void by the Valar.
From various historical records and books, one could see that people of this world often confused the concepts of "universe" and "the Void."
The record of Morgoth being banished to "the Void" was very likely problematic.
The Valar probably didn't possess the ability to banish someone outside the universe, which meant...
Morgoth was very likely just drifting in some unknown corner of outer space right now. Whether he had stopped thinking was unknown.
There was a prophecy that said: When this world fell into weakness, Morgoth would return from the Void and initiate the final apocalyptic battle.
That would be a war affecting the entire world.
But by then, he might face not only the Valar and Maiar.
He'd have to add Levi Stonecraft to that list too.
Back to the matter at hand.
As a thaumaturgical material, mallorn performed quite excellently. Its storage limit for the six basic magical aspects was 150 points.
Not only was its storage capacity excellent, but it also came with a special effect:
When the wand was within Lothlórien's borders and the wand's owner had sufficient reputation with Lothlórien, it would automatically restore magic power.
Support from allies.
A full 150 points of aspect storage, double that of his previous wand. This meant that without occupying more inventory slots for wands, the number of times runic shields could be recharged had also doubled.
Stronger endurance.
Having a good wand also required good spell foci.
Spell foci were magical crystals that recorded fixed spells. Installing them on wands allowed one to channel the wand's magic power and cast corresponding spells.
Radagast the Brown's staff actually had such a core. From its performance, that wizard's wand core's main functions were healing and purification, and perhaps it could also cast some attack spells.
However, after being affected by the evil power summoned by Mirkwood's giant spiders, that core had become somewhat unreliable, short-circuiting and failing for half a day after just two uses.
Maybe he could try to help fix it next time they met...
Setting aside the wizards' wand cores for now.
The Thaumonomicon recorded ten types of wand cores with different functions.
For example, the classic Fire, Frost, and Shock cores.
Their corresponding functions were flame-throwing, launching ice balls, and summoning lightning.
The first was essentially a flamethrower that could continuously spray flames. Of course, compared to the Balrog's flames, they could only be considered small sparks, and due to continuous emission, magic consumption was also rapid. It was decent for lighting fires when camping near ancient tombs.
The second, the frost core, could be skipped entirely. The ice balls it summoned had about as much power as stones thrown by hobbits.
As for the third, shock, the lightning core, the lightning it summoned was really too thin, with power about like a small machine's electrical leak. It would probably take several strikes to kill one orc.
Compared to Gandalf's thick lightning that could kill dozens of orcs in one strike, it was far inferior.
Besides these three cores, there was one with greater power: the Primal Core, though its damage still couldn't match Levi casually swinging his sword.
Moreover, this thing was purely treacherous.
"It sometimes contains thoroughly malicious intent." The Thaumonomicon.
According to the Thaumonomicon's records, this type of wand core would try every means to annoy its user. The magic orbs it fired would actively deviate from the user's aimed direction.
If there were chests, workbenches, furnaces, or similar items belonging to the wand user nearby, it would even deliberately curve around to hit them, destroying these things.
Not useful. Even if tracking enchantments could be added to forcibly correct trajectory, it still wouldn't be useful. No matter what, it always harbored malice toward its master.
This core must not be kept.
Among offensive wand cores, Levi was most optimistic about another one:
[Nine Hells]
With it, one could summon creatures that existed only in hell: Nine Hells Flame Bats.
These small bats would track targets for sustained attacks and had a chance to ignite targets, and these creatures were extremely unstable. While attacking enemies, they could explode at any time, causing small-scale damage comparable to firecrackers.
Another point was that these things had very little health, only 5 points, and could be killed with one sword strike. Their attack power was also quite low at just 1.
They didn't seem very strong. Aside from having slightly more special effects than ordinary bats, they couldn't be considered much of a threat.
But accumulation of numbers could produce qualitative change.
If one didn't work, bring a hundred.
As a harassment and anti-air tool, the "Nine Hells" core was quite excellent.
After scanning through the cores in the Thaumonomicon.
Though most wand cores weren't very useful, Levi still made one of each.
After all, what if? What if they could be used sometime?
Like the frost core, couldn't it be used to cool wine and various beverages in summer?
Looking at it this way, it was actually quite practical.
Besides offensive cores, there was another type called functional cores.
For example, "Portable Hole."
This thing's function, simply put, was that it could open a hole in walls for convenient passage through.
Although it looked like just an ordinary functional core in the Thaumonomicon, and the crafting process had no risks.
But in Levi's view, it should be marked "Forbidden."
Because it was very dangerous for the user, and with poor control, it could cause damage to surrounding objects.
"Do not use unless necessary."
Levi tagged it.
Thus, all conventional cores had been made.
Except for one unobtainable Curse of the Earth Elemental and one "Warding" that was difficult to obtain.
The Warding core could apply an almost rule-level protective barrier to blocks or certain objects that ordinary life forms simply couldn't shake.
Only the person who created it using the core-equipped wand could cancel it.
Regarding this point, if after creating a barrier the wand happened to be lost, and the barrier's creator happened to be inside the thing protected by the barrier...
Death could basically be declared. He would never be able to get out, and nothing from outside could ever enter.
Levi also marked this as "Forbidden," not to be used unless necessary.
But not using it didn't mean not having it.
Make it!
The Warding core's crafting materials were expensive, requiring a "Nether Star," which could only be obtained by defeating the "Wither," a creature that was statistically stronger than even the Ender Dragon.
But this matter...
"Very simple. I'll just kill the Wither."
Several days later, Levi had gathered all the materials needed to summon this terrifying and powerful creature at a Nether fortress.
Wither skeleton skulls were placed on soul sand.
Thud!
As the last skull was placed, a bell sound echoed throughout the entire Nether, announcing the arrival of something.
In a temporarily excavated underground space, that chaotic abomination was awakened by Levi's own hand with a massive explosion.
It floated in mid-air with three fierce, massive skulls. Below the skulls was a black ribcage, with black particles carrying the aura of death falling from it.
"Three terrible heads spoke roars born of death; six pale eyes conveyed violence from the Nether." Powerful and Terrible Legends: The Wither
That monster was born into this world with the sole purpose of destroying everything in sight: other monsters, humans, animals, and even the person who had summoned it.
It launched skull-shaped glowing projectiles, wantonly bombarding the ground with its power of decay that could cause all things in the world to wither. Each ordinary attack could blast a large crater.
And all creatures killed by it would, moments later, sprout a jet-black rose from their corpse, beauty watered with death.
And this beauty was highly poisonous.
All creatures that approached these black roses would have their flesh continuously decay until complete withering.
Crack.
Ribs shattered, skulls split, and a gleaming sword embedded deep into the massive skeleton, cleaving the spine in half.
The enormous body fell glowing from above, destroying a patch of netherrack.
The Wither died, age five minutes.
"Good heavens, it really could run."
Levi wiped his sweat, quickly ate a golden apple, and drank a bucket of milk, clearing the withering effect from his body.
It was only because he could choose the summoning location and make targeted preparations in advance, like summoning it directly underground to trap it.
Otherwise, if this thing were really allowed to fly around freely, it would be quite troublesome.
With the Wither's death, a pure white, glowing, star-like object fell to the ground and was picked up by Levi.
[Nether Star]