Chapter 171 Shield
AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
Roger arrived at the Star Observation Tower and happened to run into Elicis, who was just alighting from her carriage.
"Oh, aren't you leaving tomorrow?"
"Lady Elicis, I'm not here for those documents. Uh, I can take them today too, but I'm mainly here for something else."
He pulled out the tears of starlight, a blue crystal in the shape of a teardrop.
"Could you please tell me if this object is emitting any special magical fluctuations?"
Elicis took the tears of starlight and examined it carefully.
"Indeed, it's emitting very unique and faint fluctuations. Where did you get it from?"
"A friend gave it to me," Roger vaguely replied. "Is there any way to shield these magical fluctuations?"
Lead on Earth can even block nuclear radiation; there should be even better methods in this magic world, right?
"It's not that difficult," Elicis said, handing the crystal back to Roger. "Follow me."
The two walked into the Star Observation Tower, but she didn't head towards the magic elevator. Instead, she walked directly to the wall opposite.
She extended her fingers and gently pressed several seemingly identical bricks in a specific order.
Accompanied by an almost inaudible whirring of gears, the stone wall in front slowly slid inward, revealing a downward passage.
Seeing Roger's surprised expression, Elicis casually explained, "There are always paths and rooms in the Star Observation Tower that we don't want too many people to know about. After all, not all research is suitable for public conduct."
Entering the passage, a soft, bright light emanated from the walls themselves, illuminating the descending steps.
Feeling as if they had descended more than ten meters underground, an ancient stone door appeared at the end of the passage.
Elicis placed her hand on an inconspicuous indentation in the center of the door and softly chanted a few syllables.
The runes carved on the door lit up one by one with a faint glow, and then the stone door silently opened inward.
The space behind the door was not large, more like a storage room.
Many shelves were neatly arranged, displaying various peculiar items.
Elicis skillfully navigated through rows of towering shelves, casually taking a palm-sized metal box from one of them.
"This is made of silent silver, specifically used to store special items that need to be isolated from internal and external senses."
Roger took the box, placed the tears of starlight inside, and breathed a sigh of relief. This temporarily solved a big problem.
"Items that require a silent silver box for storage usually indicate considerable trouble. Are you sure you don't want to tell me the true origin of this 'gift from a friend'?"
Elicis's gaze was clear, carrying a hint of concern and scrutiny.
Roger sighed softly and explained, half-truthfully, "Actually, this thing caused my friend a lot of trouble. He asked me to throw it into the sea, but I thought it might come in handy someday, so I didn't. Now it seems like a real hot potato. But since its fluctuations have been shielded, there shouldn't be any trouble for now."
The Abyss Sect wouldn't be so powerful.
Elicis didn't press for details, just nodded gently. "Since you have it under control, I won't ask any more questions."
They continued forward, entering another door.
Here, too, were countless rows of shelves, piled high with parchment scrolls and various books and scrolls.
Although this space was only one-third the size of the Imperial Library's basement, the densely arranged scrolls and books were still astounding in number.
"You don't mean for me to print these into books, do you?"
"This room only contains ordinary archival materials; the more confidential ones are still further back. Of course, those confidential materials cannot be leaked, so let's print these into books first."
Roger secretly clicked his tongue; this was no small project. The visible documents alone probably numbered in the thousands.
"Don't worry, you'll get plenty of crystal coins. Anyway, the money comes from the royal family, so there's no need to refuse. Print ten copies of each document here. Hmm, would that be too many?"
Roger quickly waved his hand.
"Not at all. If they're being printed as books, the more copies the better."
If a single carved plate only printed one book, that would be a huge loss.
"The advantage of printing books is that the more you print, the lower the cost per book."
"Oh? Then print twenty copies of each. Send one to every Star Observation Tower in the Valencia Empire."
Are there twenty Star Observation Towers in the entire Valencia Empire?
This number exceeded his expectations. Was it necessary to build so many Star Observation Towers?
"Are the other 19 all this size?"
He had heard Elicis mention before that the manpower and resources spent on building this Star Observation Tower were astronomical.
Elicis chuckled and shook her head. "Of course not. This one in the imperial capital is the headquarters, the largest in scale, and has the most complete collection of books. The other Star Observation Towers are far inferior in scale. I remember the most remote one was just a wooden frame, twenty or thirty meters high, with a shed on top, not even walls. When the wind was strong, the whole frame creaked, feeling like it could fall apart at any moment."
So that's how it was.
Roger nodded silently.
"Alright, but I can't take all of this. I'm afraid I'll need several carriages specifically arranged for transport."
"You don't need to worry about transportation. The royal family will arrange personnel and vehicles to deliver them to your territory. You just need to ensure they are properly printed."
"No problem."
With the main task completed, Roger felt much more relaxed.
Remembering another matter, he asked, "What is the light barrier around the Imperial Library? A shield?"
"Hmm, you could say that, or 'magic barrier,' a defensive spell. It can effectively isolate inside from outside, prevent unauthorized intrusion, and also resist external magical prying and physical impact to a certain extent."
"Sounds complicated."
"It is indeed not simple," Alice looked at him with a half-smile. "What, you're not thinking of setting one up in your territory, are you?"
"I do have that idea," Roger admitted frankly. "After all, who doesn't want their home to be safer? However, the cost of setting up and maintaining such a large and stable barrier must be considerable, right?"
"Of course, the most important thing is to have an extremely pure magic core. For example, the Library's barrier, its core is a rare gem called the 'Heart of Thunder Crystal,' which can continuously generate stable and powerful energy."
Heart of Thunder Crystal?
No wonder he got a shock when he pushed that light barrier.
"And even with a magic core, it's not enough. It also requires a grand mage proficient in large-scale barrier techniques to personally draw the runes and guide the energy. In the entire imperial capital, there are no more than five people capable of setting up a barrier of this scale."
"Maintenance after the barrier is formed isn't too troublesome. As long as the magic core is pure enough and not directly impacted by powerful external forces, it can theoretically operate autonomously for more than ten years."
"Such a magic core is priceless. Even if you're lucky enough to acquire one by chance, you'd still need to find one of those few grand mages who are willing to serve you. This isn't just a matter of wealth; it also requires sufficient connections and leverage to entice those masters. After all, those grand mages have long since grown indifferent to material possessions; even if you piled a mountain of crystal coins in front of them, it wouldn't move them."
Roger clicked his tongue in frustration.
It seemed this matter was far more complicated and difficult than he had imagined.
"Thank you for your guidance, my lady. It seems I'll have to plan this out carefully."