Ten days later.
In the meditation room, Su Nan sat cross-legged on the ground.
In the void invisible to the naked eye, countless energy particles seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, rushing into his body.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, most of the star ring had materialized, leaving only a tiny bit still exhibiting an illusory quality.
As energy particles continued to fill it, this last bit of illusion visibly disappeared.
The moment the last bit of illusion materialized, the entire star ring suddenly shone brightly and trembled gently. In an
Instantly, Su Nan felt a clear ringing in his mind, and his spirit suddenly cleared.
"Success!"
Su Nan opened his eyes, a genuine smile of joy on his face.
From the beginning of cultivating the Star Ring Meditation Technique until now, nearly half a year had passed, and he had finally constructed his first star ring.
Coming back to his senses from his joy, Su Nan immediately looked at the panel.
[Spirit 3.60 / Constitution 3.25]
"Spirit increased by 0.78, and Constitution also increased by 0.31!"
Su Nan nodded in satisfaction.
Even with the aid of the Lesser Activator, it took him almost a month of meditation to increase his mental strength by this much.
The boost from the Star Ring construction was indeed remarkable.
In terms of physique, Su Nan was now above the trainee knight.
However, he was still far from the standard 8 points of physique for a full knight.
After all, he hadn't practiced breathing techniques.
"If I practice breathing techniques now, my progress shouldn't be too slow."
Breathing techniques and physique complement each other.
The faster one progresses in breathing techniques, the faster one's physique improves.
And vice versa.
With Su Nan's current physique, he might be able to master breathing techniques in less than a month.
However, that's what he thought, but he didn't intend to do so.
Wizards have plenty of ways to strengthen their physique, so there was no need to waste time and energy practicing breathing techniques.
He would rather use that time to improve his spell- or skill-learning progress.
With a thought, Su Nan opened his spell list.
[Hand of the Mage]
[Sleeping Spell]
[Acid Splash]
[Flash]
Thanks to the buff from the Lesser Activator, his spell-learning efficiency had increased several times over.
In just two months, he not only successfully mastered the Sleeping Spell but also learned Acid Splash and Flash Spell.
He's currently grinding his lockpicking skill.
"The knowledge domains involved in wizarding are mostly incredibly profound, requiring a huge amount of time to master."
"This is the main reason why many talented wizard apprentices spend hundreds of years to advance to wizardhood."
"However, with sufficient resources, this time can be greatly shortened."
Su Nan thought to himself.
The Starry Continent was abandoned because of the depletion of elements and the scarcity of resources, leaving wizards with no hope of increasing their power.
If it weren't for his cheat code of synthesizing magic cubes, advancing to wizardhood on the Starry Continent today would be a pipe dream.
"Upgrading to Level 2 Star Ring Meditation requires 3000 proficiency points, which will take about four months."
"If I can maintain a continuous supply of Lesser Active Potions, I can advance to a second-class wizard apprentice in at most two years."
Su Nan estimated that the cost of making one bottle of Lesser Active Potion is about twelve gold coins.
With more proficiency, it should be reduced to about ten gold coins.
That's twenty gold coins a month.
"It seems Blackrock City's monthly tax revenue is only forty or fifty gold coins, so this expense is quite substantial."
Su Nan had considered synthesizing a Lesser Active Potion, which might significantly enhance the potion's effects.
Unfortunately, Blackrock City's current income level simply doesn't allow him to purchase a large quantity of materials at once to produce enough Lesser Active Potions.
"Let me discuss this with my brother.
Su Nan said, getting up and leaving the meditation room.
He encountered Old Geller on the way and learned that Ke Yi was currently in the study, so he turned and headed straight there.
However, when he found Ke Yi in the study, he discovered the latter was also sighing and looking distressed.
Looking up at Su Nan, Ke Yi composed himself and asked, forcing a smile, "It's you, Su Nan. You've been locking yourself in the courtyard for days. Why did you finally decide to come out today?"
"Brother, I need to discuss something with you."
Su Nan said bluntly, directly addressing the matter of purchasing materials
Upon hearing this, Ke Yi gave a wry smile.
"I have over fifty gold coins left in the account. I originally planned to use them to purchase armor, but since you need them, I'll give them to you first."
Su Nan glanced at Ke Yi, recalling his earlier worried expression, and immediately understood.
"Is the territory short of money right now?"
Kei didn't hide anything, sighing as he said, "The number of knights in the territory has increased quite a bit recently, leading to a significant increase in food expenses. Next month we'll start planting again, and tools and seeds will cost money, so the expenses are indeed considerable."
"Any ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure?"
"Reducing expenditure is impossible. If the territory wants to develop, saving money is out of the question. Whether it's arming the army or developing the economy, we can't do without gold coins."
Kei had always harbored the ambition to strengthen his forces and reclaim the Shining Territory, so he naturally wouldn't be content to be a slacker.
"As for increasing revenue, I do have an idea. I plan to restart the Blackrock Mine!"Blackrock Mine?
Su Nan's expression shifted slightly.
He remembered that Blackrock City used to be famous for its Blackrock Iron.
Blackrock Iron was a high-quality metal; with simple refining, it had a hardness comparable to refined iron, making it an excellent material for forging armor and weapons.
The name Black Rock City originated from this.
It was precisely because of Blackrock Iron that Blackrock City became one of the most prosperous cities in the Golden Rock Province.
However, an unforeseen event occurred, leading to the abandonment of the Blackstone Mine and the gradual decline of Blackstone City.
"Speaking of which, why did the Blackstone Mine fall into disrepair?" Su Nan asked, puzzled.
Without a specific reason, no successive lord of Blackstone City would abandon a money-making machine that continuously produced gold coins.
"According to the veterans in the city, it's because a monster appeared in the mine."
"A monster?"
Ke Yi, prepared, took out a piece of parchment and spread it on the table.
It depicted a completely black leopard, its body clearly showing stone patterns and radiating a metallic luster, making it appear as if it were a creature entirely composed of gold and stone.
"The previous lords called these monsters 'Iron-Eating Beasts.' They feed on blackstone iron ore, and their bodies are as hard as blackstone iron itself. Each one possesses combat power comparable to a junior knight, making them very difficult to deal with." "
Are there many of these monsters? "Su Nan asked.
While knight-level monsters were terrifying, they weren't enough to deter successive lords.
If all else failed, they could simply spend a few hundred gold coins to hire a high-ranking knight to handle them.
Unless there are an extremely large number of monsters, or there are other reasons.
Sure enough, Kei continued, "There aren't many monsters, probably only twenty or thirty. The key is that the Iron-Eating Beasts are very cunning. Once they sense danger, they'll burrow into the rock walls to escape. They're very fast; even the Great Knights can't stop them."
"Without clearing these monsters, the mine can't operate normally."
Monsters that can burrow underground?
Su Nan raised an eyebrow. This was indeed difficult to deal with.
—of course, only relative to ordinary people.
"If that's all, it's not without a solution."
Kei was stunned by Su Nan's words. After a while, he reacted and stood up in surprise.
"You have a way to deal with the Iron-Eating Beasts?"
Su Nan pondered, "We can try."
Although Su Nan didn't give a 100% guarantee, it already made Kei ecstatic.
You see, his biggest worry lately has been the gold coins. If he could restart the Blackstone Mine, all the problems would be solved!