Chapter 551: The Persuader · Book in the Box
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 551: The Persuader · Book in the Box
Led by Natalie, I followed her all the way down.
I had foreseen earlier that there was a space beneath us, but I hadn't expected it to be a vast, open testing area Natalie had carved out herself!
Actually, if one wanted to test the power of a weapon or a spellbook, the academy had specialized facilities for that. The spell testing grounds allowed for the testing of alchemical items as well, and they even provided various supplies for the process.
However, the moment I stepped into the testing ground Natalie had excavated underground, I immediately shut my mouth. The area was far larger than I had imagined. Space expansion runes and space reinforcement runes were interwoven across the surfaces, with illumination runes glowing from the ceiling.
Moreover, there were many rune combinations I had never seen before. After a brief moment of mental deduction, I felt a surge of joy from having learned something new.
"What’s wrong? Scared that testing weapon power in a closed underground space might be dangerous?"
"Oh, no. I can see the runic layout here; I’m just surprised. These rune combinations..."
"These aren't the standard combinations you'll find in textbooks. They were created through constant practice and a tiny bit of luck. Their quality, naturally, goes without saying!" Seeing my shock at her craftsmanship, Natalie began to introduce them to me directly.
But we were here to test the weapon's power. Natalie didn't waste any more time and got straight to the point.
"Mhm... let's get down to business. Based on the original design and the creative points you suggested, we'll split this test into three simple phases."
"Three phases? Oh... alright then." I hadn't expected Natalie to be so formal; I thought we were just going to see how hard it could hit.
"According to your requirements, first is the durability test for the Book in the Box. Second is its amplification of spells as a spellbook-style weapon. However, since no spells have been solidified onto it yet, we won't be doing an inherent power test for now. Finally, we'll test its unique functions."
"So, durability first?" Holding the Book in the Box, I felt a surge of anticipation. "Is there a target I can test it on?"
"Of course." Natalie snapped her fingers, and a summoning ritual manifested within the massive testing area. Suddenly, a massive body emerged, carrying the heavy, dusty scent of the earth.
"Using a summon as a target?" My eyes widened; this was a novel approach.
"Exactly. Isn't it convenient? It would be such a waste to use one-time targets, wouldn't it?" Natalie said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"True... but I recall the Alchemy District having methods like Ley Line Reshaping, right?" I asked.
"That method..." Natalie seemed a bit surprised by my question, but then, considering the effects of the Great Knowledge Seed, it wasn't surprising at all. "How could we use that for such a trivial matter? That's a 'one-click repair' meant for when an entire laboratory is damaged beyond recognition. If I were caught using it just to fix some testing targets, I'd become the laughingstock of the afternoon tea parties! I'm definitely not doing that!"
"I was just curious. It seems the cost of using that ability is quite high?"
"Well, you have to register and apply to use it once, which is a hassle. I applied for it once before... Don't look at me like that! I'm an alchemist; mistakes happen. It's perfectly normal to occasionally lose control and blow up a lab." Natalie immediately began to defend herself halfway through when she saw my surprised expression.
"I understand, of course. Well then, I'll give it a try~" I quickly ended that topic and steered things back toward the test.
"Go ahead, try it out."
With Natalie's cooperation, the summoned earth elemental construct just stood there like a mindless pillar.
I weighed the book inside its box in my right hand. I could feel that the hardness of the outer casing was terrifying.
Even my Identification Art yielded no information regarding the materials. It seemed the materials Dean Mei had collected were indeed precious; there were no records of them even within the Main World Ley Lines. The only data available was what the Ley Lines had recorded when Teacher Natalie was refining it. I couldn't even understand the refining process itself; it was a method unique to an alchemy master.
Once I was within range of the summoned target, I broke into a run. I channeled my strength, bolstered by my Body Cultivation power and the exertion techniques I had learned, and swung the Book in the Box with a full-force strike.
The corner of the book box slammed violently into the earth elemental construct.
A thunderous sound of shattering erupted. The massive recoil I had expected from such a violent blow never came. Instead, I felt the book box use that force to deliver a secondary, terrifying counter-shock to the point of impact!
The construct, originally made of solid rock, collapsed instantly. From the point of impact to the point where the force exited the other side, shattered stones scattered everywhere. A large amount of debris flew at high speeds, striking the reinforced walls at the edge before being halted by a buffering force.
"This!" I looked at the result, stunned.
While I hadn't officially tested the limits of my Body Cultivation strength—since I wasn't exactly following the path of pure brute force—the energy level of this rock construct's spell effect was comparable to a standard summon from a hundred-point consumption spellbook.
"Looks pretty good," Natalie remarked, unfazed. "The shock absorption is insane, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I felt almost no recoil transmitted to my hand. It’s like the law of action and reaction is a joke," I nodded. But I knew there was more to it than just that.
"I have made weapons for Body Cultivation Witches before, after all. It's a very simple combination of a force-sealing link and directional resonance recoil. It effectively cuts off the negative impact that weapon collisions have on the user."
"Sealing Arts again? Sister Natalie, you really do have a deep love for Sealing Arts," I remarked.
"Of course. There are always obscure spell techniques that can be developed to produce unexpected effects. I once spent a long time doing nothing but specializing in Sealing Arts. I admit that the breadth of one's cognition and experience is important, but deep research into a specialized field is equally vital," Natalie said proudly.
"That... then last time with Sister Natalie and Teacher Laura Lucy..."
"Ahem... Xiao Han, concepts are static, but Witches are dynamic. How you use your moral bottom line and cognitive concepts is up to you, but don't let them become things that limit you," Natalie coughed awkwardly, adopting a lecturing tone.
Then, as if to alleviate the awkwardness, she summoned another construct, even larger than the previous one.
"I stand corrected! Then... shall I continue?"
"Yes, keep going. That was just one hit. Try it more. Test both the book box and the book itself so I can collect some data." Natalie urged me while pulling up a display panel—a function built upon the Tree of Great Knowledge.
She had found that since acquiring the Ley Line Identification Art, collecting test data had become much more convenient. She felt that many of the observational alchemy instruments in her lab were probably going to start gathering dust.
As long as one adapted to the strange characteristics of the Ley Line Identification Art, the ability was truly addictive. As long as the experimental data was recorded by the Ley Lines, she could use this trait to directly obtain observational data, even ignoring things like instrument precision.
The only imperfection was that some of the content presented by the identification art was incomplete. However, after filling in the settings and concepts herself, it became smoother and smoother to use.
While she was immersed in data collection, I began a fierce assault on the giant in front of me.
This massive rock giant was similar to the previous construct, but the intimidation it projected—or rather, its energy level—was comparable to the Ancient Remnant Ice transformation Tan Han once possessed. The only difference was that this stone giant didn't fight back.
When I attacked with the same force as before, I could no longer one-shot the figure. Instead, I shattered parts of its body, though the flying stones quickly reformed under its powerful regenerative capabilities.
Afterward, I tried various angles of attack with the "point, line, and plane" of the book box. The resulting impact forces indeed manifested in different ways.
Furthermore, it was only after Natalie's reminder that I realized that attacking with pure brute force was only a basic form of offense. The Book in the Box had another way to provide the user with an advantage.
Natalie had created many buff-type weapons for Body Cultivation experts, and she had specifically studied Body Cultivation strength. Because of the nature of Body Cultivation, many active-trigger attack methods weren't suitable for the weapons they held.
Therefore, the amplification that synchronized with Body Cultivation was Internal Energy. Once a weapon was infused with Internal Energy, it would be amplified, unleashing a destructive power far more formidable than mere brute strength!
Of course, after taking the book out of the box, the book itself had strength-boosting and other augmentation spells. Because Body Cultivation weapons and magic tools were often incompatible, the detachable structure of the Book in the Box allowed it to bridge these two power systems perfectly.
However, simply holding the book meant I couldn't enjoy the Internal Energy boost. To compensate, the book was solidified with spells like Strength Augmentation, Weak Point Break, and Multi-Strike.
It was more than enough.
After a series of tests, I handed the Book in the Box back to Natalie.
Once it was confirmed that there were no issues with the Book in the Box itself, the durability testing was essentially complete.
In truth, most custom high-end alchemical weapons possessed a degree of self-repair capability. However, this ability was limited; small nicks and scratches could be fixed automatically, but large gashes were a different story.
So... next time I wanted to hit someone with a book, I should probably put it in the box first. It wouldn't get in the way, anyway.
The next test was its capability as a wand-like focus for auxiliary spellcasting.
These abilities were part of the basic functions of the book's inner pages.
Although the Book in the Box had many pages, most were blank, which gave it incredible plasticity. After all, the raw materials for these pages were provided by Dean Mei.
Natalie had also thoughtfully used the first few pages to create a table of contents for me. This was to prevent me from being unable to find things once the Book in the Box had recorded too much. Having a table of contents would save a lot of trouble, allowing me to use corresponding abilities without even having to flip to the specific page.
The preface section that followed introduced the inherent abilities of the Book in the Box, as well as... everything a magic wand could do.
For example: Fast Casting, Fast Chanting, Fast Ritual Construction, Elemental Resonance, and so on. This entire series, which contained most of a wand's capabilities, was housed on just a single page of the Book in the Box. One could only imagine how terrifying the material of these pages was, especially since the first half of this page was taken up by a nearly useless preface.
Naturally, I asked Natalie why she had wasted so much space writing a preface.
She gave me this response:
A preface is a part of what a book should be. It also serves as a psychological hint to the user, reminding them of the weapon's intended purpose.
Because its plasticity was so high, the more it was used, the more numerous its abilities would become. Having too many abilities could easily cause a user to lose their way, unable to distinguish between what was important and what was secondary. Therefore, the design of the preface taking up a page was necessary. If I didn't want to follow her advice, I could erase it; it wouldn't hinder the book's use.
I, of course, accepted the design, as I felt it was indeed necessary.
After a round of spell testing, I felt the amplification it gave me. It was far more powerful than the wand I had custom-ordered when I first enrolled!
The boost was so significant that it felt as though it offset the all-around debuff of the Great Weakening Spell.
But that "offsetting" sensation was purely reflected in offensive power. After all, a single weapon couldn't truly cancel out the spell effects of a Great Spellbook.
As the spell testing concluded, Natalie suddenly pulled a sheathed long sabre from her storage equipment.
"Eh? Sister Natalie... this is..." I looked at Natalie curiously, wondering what she was doing and why she had produced a long sabre.
"This is for testing the Book in the Box's weapon-recording function, of course. This blade... how should I put it? It was a prototype from when I was refining weapons for the Body Cultivation system. It's not exactly a failure, but it's just been sitting with me. I can't really sell it, so I might as well give it to you. Test it out and see if it feels right." Natalie toyed with the blade before tossing it to me, brooking no refusal.
I scrambled to catch it.
Holding the scabbard and hilt in my hands, I felt a sharp edge that was completely different from the sensation of a casting weapon like the Book in the Box. When I instinctively drew the blade, a tangible aura of sharpness washed over me.
"Thank you, Sister Natalie."
"It's fine. Just don't tell Mei Lind that I kept the scraps of those precious materials for myself. I've already planned to use those scraps as key components for another design I'm inspired by."
"Ah? Oh! Right, right!" I nodded repeatedly, keeping the secret for Natalie.
Though, if she hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have known in the first place...
"Let's move on to the final functional test. Recording based on Sealing Arts isn't limited to just weapons. I told you before, right? This material can also carry spellbooks, allowing for command-based spell casting, and it can also record the effects of spells after they've been cast."
"Now, I'll teach you how to perform the recording. Once you've learned it, you'll be able to record simple weapons or spells even without me."
"However, learning this recording technique requires a certain foundation in Sealing Arts theory. I heard the Great Knowledge Seed can share knowledge with you. How does that work?"
"Just back up the knowledge you want to share into the Tree of Knowledge," I explained.
"Heh~ how convenient. Then this will be simple." Natalie chuckled. "By the way, have you thought of a name for your weapon? Or are you going to keep calling it the Book in the Box?"
"Hmm... I haven't really thought about it." I flipped through the book in my hand, and a sudden spark of inspiration hit me. "How about... The Persuader? The Persuader · Book in the Box."
"The Persuader..." Natalie didn't react at first to the somewhat eccentric name. It took her a moment to make the connection. "It certainly has a lot of... persuasive power."
At that thought, Natalie couldn't help but want to laugh. She wondered what Mei Lind would think if she found out that after consuming so many of her precious materials, the final product was being used by Xiao Han to bash people over the head.