Hierophant: “No, the main issue is still that opening. Although the magical barrier has a set range, if we leave a gap in the shelter while facing the ocean, there will always be some stragglers that slip through and give this old man a fright. Especially those amphibious monsters—they’re almost impossible to guard against.”
High Priestess: “Is there an issue with the engraving of the magical patterns?”
Empress: “I tried engraving patterns for an opening on my farm’s fence before. As a result, a curved-tusk wild boar broke in and destroyed half an acre of my pumpkin patch...”
Magician: “I think the key to engraving the opening patterns lies in the connection. After all, the kind of toggleable opening you’re asking for would directly cause an interruption in the patterns of the entire magical barrier.”
Lan Qingyou was stunned as she watched the chat.
Good grief, what am I even looking at?
What are they all talking about? Why can't I keep up with the rhythm?
Engraving magical barrier patterns? Or drawing the patterns for an opening?
Isn't this just about a damn door?
The Tower: “Don’t you guys have doors in your houses? Can’t you just copy the design from there?”
Hierophant: “You wouldn’t understand. You’re talking about the pre-installed ones. What we’re discussing now is the problem of drawing them ourselves.”
High Priestess: “Haha, it’s normal for The Tower to be a bit behind since she just joined. Why don’t you take a look at some of the basic papers we’ve published on the Villa Forum?”
Forum?
At High Priestess Vivian’s reminder, Lan Qingyou frowned and scrolled down the function menu on the left. Sure enough, she saw a forum there.
Curious, she clicked on it.
《Mechanism of Mana Conduction in Clouds and Lightning: A Study Based on Cross-dimensional Energy Fields》—by Magician
《Mana Conversion Under Natural Order and the Rapid Growth of Crops》—by Empress
《On the Perfect Compatibility of Blue Star Battery Theory and Mana Crystals》—by High Priestess
《Instant Observation of Static Magic Fields: Mana Encoding Based on Visual Symbols》—by Magician
《Mana and Steel: On the Feasibility Scheme for Creating a Doomsday Chariot》—by Chariot
Buzz!!!
With just one glance, Lan Qingyou felt like her CPU was about to explode.
Wait!
Are you guys already this far ahead?
Energy fields, battery theory, and even a doomsday chariot...
But then again, since this was an organization themed around research, it seemed normal to have these kinds of papers, right?
Well, it looked like her nights wouldn't be lonely anymore.
Should she follow these lines of thought and write a paper herself?
Even though she had never written anything like that, it seemed like a good way to organize her thoughts!
Reading papers while petting Steel Wool—what a wonderful life!
Lan Qingyou sighed with emotion.
Then, remembering she still had unfinished business, she quickly contacted Shang Chuan and Li Huai.
“Tarot Villa, huh...”
After chatting with Lan Qingyou, Shang Chuan leaned against the wall, lost in thought.
“An organization where everyone focuses on research... it seems like a good choice.”
He had been about to ‘close shop’ and call it a day.
But then Lan Qingyou had approached him with this ‘major event.’
Although it felt a bit sudden, he had learned about the nature of Tarot Villa and the reason for his invitation from Lan Qingyou.
Shang Chuan immediately saw the ‘financial prospects.’
Are you kidding? Whether it was Golden Rice, crops, magical machinery, or mana crystals, these were all absolute bestsellers.
And he had been chosen precisely to help them with the turnover of goods and to assist with pricing.
Tsk tsk, pricing power!
Who would have thought that I, Old Shang, would one day have a hand in pricing power? This feeling... it’s fantastic.
It felt like he was about to soar into the sky. It was as if he were currently flying through the clouds, making him unable to stop his lips from curling into a comfortable smile.
...
On Lan Qingyou’s side.
After finishing her meal and processing all of today’s potions, she gave the 100 Basic Mana Potions she had promised to the High Priestess. In return, she received ten hexagonal mana crystals that looked like they had liquid gold flowing inside.
【Mana Crystal (D-)】
【Energy: 800/800】
【Effect: Shelter upgrade, mana charging.】
【Description: Can be used to charge any magical item that requires energy. Of course, just as there are natural ones, there are also artificial ones. This one is clearly man-made, and its quality is slightly lacking.】
Lacking?
What was there to be lacking? They were being used to upgrade the shelter anyway.
However, Lan Qingyou was very satisfied with the fact that they could charge any magical item that required energy.
After all, she did have a Magic Broom in her possession.
But for now, it was time to upgrade.
At that thought, Lan Qingyou immediately deposited the mana crystals into the upgrade requirements on the magic desk and began the shelter upgrade.
For her choice, she naturally added a fourth floor. After all, her shelter was called the ‘High Tower.’
【Level 4 Shelter Facilities】
【Bedroom: Wood1000, Fur50, Sand*20】
【Living Room: Wood1000, Stone500, Fur70, Sand50】
【Water-circulation Mana Storage Room: Wood1000, Flowing water source1】
【Stove: Wood120, Stone200】
【Fireplace: Stone600, Sand200, Water*40】
【1st Floor Exterior Platform: ...】
【3rd/4th Floor Balcony: ...】
【3rd/4th Floor Terrace: ...】
【Bathroom (Expansion): Wood1000, Stone200. Note: Selecting expansion includes a 100L water tank: Wood200 (water tank not counted as a facility) and an automatic heating system: E-grade monster core40 (automatic heating system not counted as a facility).】
【Basic Alchemy Workshop (Expansion): Wood1000, Stone1000, Iron ore600, Sand200. Note: Selecting expansion includes a 200L water tank: Wood*2000 (water tank not counted as a facility).】
【Elemental Herb Field: Soil1000, Wood500, Stone500, Obsidian100, Mana crystal50. Note: Selecting construction includes an irrigation canal: Stone2000 (canal not counted as a facility).】
【Each shelter upgrade allows you to choose three facilities for renovation. Please choose carefully according to your needs.】
Well, it was the same old formula and the familiar taste.
The costs had doubled.
When she saw the Elemental Herb Field, Lan Qingyou knew that the herb patches she had been tinkering with had taken effect.
Last time, because she had an alchemy circle she was practicing with in the shelter, the option for an alchemy workshop had appeared. That was why she had made sure to organize the herb fields before upgrading to Level 4.
Simply put, these were the shelter’s ‘hidden facilities.’ If you had them, the system would unlock them for you; if not, it would act as if they didn't exist.
Lan Qingyou thought about it. Although she really wanted to install a fireplace, she already had a kerosene heater and wouldn't be cold.
In the end, she chose the water-circulation mana storage room, the alchemy workshop expansion, and the elemental herb field.
After all, these were the things that would provide her with the greatest improvements.
Of course, in order to upgrade the herb field, Lan Qingyou now owed the High Priestess 1,000 mana potions.
She had originally wanted to trade healing potions, but the other party had refused because they were manually hand-crafted using mana.
The magic desk’s exchange storage also upgraded from 30 slots to 40 slots.
While the construction was in full swing nearby, Lan Qingyou took a look at the upgrade requirements for a Level 5 shelter.
Rate on N.U.
