chsdbacks Chapter 533 Activating the Plane?
Chapter 533 Activating the Plane?
Chapter 533 Activating the Plane?
Let's rewind to two days ago.
Jemin and Viola followed Clark through the side door of the command room and down the corridor.
Clark stopped in front of the seemingly ordinary metal wall at the end of the corridor.
He raised his hand and gently pressed a spot on the wall.
As if some kind of illusion had been dispelled, the wall silently cracked open, revealing a hidden door just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Behind the door was an extremely simple device, which looked like an elevator.
Although it's called an "elevator," it's actually pitifully rudimentary—just a metal platform surrounded by deep vertical shafts, with endless darkness above and below.
Clark was the first to step onto it.
Viola followed closely behind, not forgetting to turn back and give Jemin a "don't just stand there" look.
Jemin took a deep breath and stepped onto the platform.
After Clark confirmed his permissions with the magic circle on the platform, the platform began to descend.
Jemin could clearly feel that he and his companions were being pulled by some stable force, descending at a constant speed into the depths of the earth.
The rock walls surrounding the shaft rushed upwards at high speed, and occasionally one could see runes embedded in the rock strata, emitting a faint light—traces of reinforcement spells.
One minute.
five minutes.
ten minutes.
Jemin silently calculated the time, his surprise growing stronger.
At the speed of this elevator, after ten minutes of descent—they would probably be more than fifty kilometers underground by now.
Beside him, Viola also abandoned her usual languid expression, her silver-gray eyes gleaming with contemplation.
Finally, after descending for nearly ten more minutes, the platform trembled slightly and came to a stop.
The rock wall in front of them split open automatically to the sides, revealing a wide exit.
Clark stepped out.
Jemin and Viola exchanged a glance and followed closely behind.
Then, the two of them froze at the same time.
Before them lay an excessively wide underground cavity.
No, the word "spacious" is far from sufficient to describe it.
Jemin looked into the distance, but he couldn't see the edge of this empty space that was clearly just flat ground.
The entire cavity was so large that it seemed as if the entire sky had been covered by the ground.
The walls of the hollow cavity are as smooth as a mirror, clearly indicating that it was carved out by human hands.
There were no superfluous decorations, no living facilities, only one thing —
Magic circle.
A colossal magic array, with a diameter exceeding a thousand kilometers, covered the ground before us.
A soft white light emanated from every line of the magic array, illuminating the massive underground structure.
The light was soft yet not dim, gentle yet not glaring, like moonlight shining on a tranquil lake.
Jemin stared at the magic circle for a while, then his pupils suddenly contracted.
The intricate patterns, the nested structures, the familiar rune combination at the core—a combination that seemed to contain some kind of spiritual pulse—
"This is—" A thought came to Jemin's mind.
Viola recognized her too.
Her silver-gray eyes widened, and she even paused for a moment.
"That guy Xingzhui's... Spirit Awakening Technique?" she blurted out.
That's right.
Although the magic array in front of us looks like it has been modified, optimized and adjusted countless times, and its scale has been enlarged thousands of times.
However, the core framework of this magic array, with its unique "spiritual" charm, is exactly the same as the technology used by Starfall to revitalize his plane into a living plane back then!
Jemin and Viola exchanged a glance, both seeing the same shock and realization in each other's eyes.
Awakening Technique.
It was because of this technology that Xingzhui received a Level 1 training agreement.
Within the entire Norren Workshop, only a handful of people truly master its core technologies.
Xingzhui himself is naturally one of them.
Because of Starfall's gratitude, Clark and his two apprentices also obtained the core rune construction of the Spirit Awakening Technique.
Mentor Clark also spent a considerable amount of time helping to guide the activation of the Starfall plane.
It can be said that, in a short period of time, he is the person in the world who understands spirit awakening techniques the most, besides Xingzhui.
Jemin and Viola also studied some of the essential aspects of this technology in depth.
Although they were far less proficient than Clark and Starfall, at least they could recognize it and understand its principles.
At this moment, in this hidden space deep underground, countless kilometers below the surface, one sees such a colossal spirit-awakening magic array—
It goes without saying what Clark—or rather, what Norren Workshop—is trying to do.
"Mentor—" Viola began with difficulty, her voice trembling, "You wouldn't be thinking of—"
Clark turned around, looked at the two of them with shocked expressions, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"It seems you've already guessed it."
He raised his finger and pointed upwards.
There lay thick layers of rock, endless darkness, and the battlefield where a fierce reconnaissance battle was currently taking place.
"From the very beginning, the workshop made two preparations."
His voice was calm, yet carried a certain confidence that he had the upper hand: "On the surface, we have lost a group of high-level wizards, and we are indeed setting up a wide-area transmutation array. The existence of this camp appears to be merely a cover for setting up the wide-area transmutation array. But in reality, the camp itself, which appears to be bait, has another trump card up its sleeve."
He paused, then continued, "Moreover, thanks to the mutual wariness between the two sides, they kept a close watch on our high-ranking wizards, but this actually helped us—someone of my combat strength, as long as I stayed in the camp under surveillance, was the least likely to arouse suspicion."
As Jemin listened, the fragmented information in his mind pieced together into a complete picture.
He looked up at the colossal magic array covering thousands of kilometers, his voice slightly hoarse as he spoke: "So, the workshop's true trump card—was never the Ultra-Wide Area Transmutation Array?"
"No, that's not it. The transmutation circle is real," Clark corrected, "but strictly speaking, it's not a trump card, but rather—"
He looked meaningfully at the center of the magic circle, where an extremely faint, almost imperceptible spiritual light was slowly flickering: "—Nourishment."
Jemin's pupils contracted sharply.
Viola instantly understood what was going on.
"You mean—" Her voice trembled slightly with shock, "The true purpose of the Ultra-Wide Area Transmutation Array isn't to counter the opponent's trump card, but to provide—to provide materials for this array—" She pointed to the Awakening Array.
Clark nodded slightly: "This plane is essentially a simple patchwork of a dozen or so abandoned planes. Elements are scarce, and life has long since vanished. The biggest challenge in casting a spirit awakening spell on such a lifeless object is the lack of sufficient suitable matter and energy to construct a soul."
He looked at the giant magic array that was emitting a soft white light: "Therefore, we need a super-wide-area transmutation array. We will use it to decompose the elements of this plane and reconstruct usable matter and energy as nourishment for new life."
Jemin felt his heart racing.
He understood the true nature of the workshop's entire strategy.
The first layer of overt reconnaissance was intended to mislead the enemy's assessment of the ultra-wide-area transmutation array.
The second layer of the dark side, the ultra-wide-area transmutation array, is meant to conceal the true trump card.
Everything was for the third layer, which was to protect the giant magic array beneath their feet.
From the very first day of the war, the workshop had no intention of using conventional methods to test its cards against the enemy.
Because all the wizards in Norren Workshop knew very well that there was no decisive difference in the technology of the three major forces. Simply relying on conventional technology as a trump card to widen the gap and fight against two opponents at once was almost impossible.
But since conventional techniques are ineffective, we have no choice but to use unconventional techniques.
What they need to do is to bring this abandoned plane of existence, which has become a battlefield, to life!
Once this behemoth, composed of more than a dozen planes, possesses its own soul and will and becomes a true "living plane," what level of combat power would it possess?
Although all living planes are theoretically only level six beings, the difference in their size is enough to cause a qualitative change in their "quantity" and to make them able to affect the battlefield of level eight wizards.
But then another question popped into his mind.
"Mentor," he began, "even if we gather the matter and energy using a transmutation circle—will the Awakening Technique truly work on this plane?"
He pointed to the top of his head.
That was the surface of the earth, a battlefield crudely pieced together from a dozen or so abandoned planes: "This plane itself was composed of a dozen or so abandoned planes. The way they were pieced together was extremely rough. Some of the connections between planes are still filled with spatial turbulence, lacking even the most basic spatial stability."
Viola, realizing what was happening, chimed in, "Yes. Perhaps in a few hundred million years, these planes could slowly merge into a true whole. But right now—" she shook her head, "the 'connections' between them are far too weak."
Jemin nodded.
He had studied the art of spirit awakening and was well aware of its core principles.
The most important of these is that the target being implemented needs a "whole" as its foundation.
Whether it is the living plane that the star fell from, or any existence that can theoretically be "awakened", it must have a relatively complete "self" with close internal connections.
The battlefield before us, crudely pieced together from a dozen or so abandoned planes with spatial turbulence everywhere at the junctions, is practically the opposite of "whole".
"In this situation," Jemin frowned, "even if you gather all the matter and energy a soul needs, they can't come together to create true spirituality, can they?"
Viola also considered another point: "And—is there enough time? Even if we activate the Awakening Technique now, how long will it take to nurture a complete living dimensional soul? By the time it wakes up, the war will probably be over."
She looked at Clark, her eyes full of confusion.
Clark listened quietly to the barrage of questions from the two men, his face remaining calm and composed throughout.
After they finished speaking, he nodded slightly: "You've all thought things through very well."
"These are indeed problems."
He turned around and looked again at the colossal magic circle that was emitting a soft white light, his voice as calm as if he were discussing the weather: "But don't worry, I'll take care of all of this."
Jemin and Viola were both stunned.
"Will you solve this?"
Jemin couldn't help but press further: "But Professor, these problems can't be solved by ordinary means—"
Clark raised his hand and waved it slightly, interrupting him.
He didn't turn around, but kept his back to the two of them, his tone still calm: "At that time, I will be given a portion of the control over the transmutation array. I will personally oversee the transmutation array and reconstruct the matter of this plane."
He paused for a moment, then said, "As for the Spirit Awakening Formation—you will be responsible for activating it when the time comes."
Jemin and Viola exchanged a glance.
They had many questions, many things they didn't understand, and many things they wanted to ask.
But looking at Clark's calm and collected back, as if he had everything under control, the words stuck in his throat.
After a few seconds of silence, the two nodded vigorously at the same time: "Understood."
Clark did not respond.
He simply stood there quietly, his back to the two of them, his gaze fixed on the giant magic array that covered thousands of kilometers.
The soft white light reflected on his profile, making his calm, gray eyes appear exceptionally deep.