Chapter 201: Chapter 196: Forging a New Path: Volcanic Magic Power Furnace?

"An anti-tamper lock? These High-tier Wizards really know a thing or two about technological monopolies."

Allen retracted his Spiritual Power and massaged his throbbing temples.

Before him, the massive magic power furnace in the workshop’s core area had already been shut down.

But in the deep-scan view of his Structural Analysis Spell, a dense, silver Force Field enveloped the "Earth Vein Magic Power Connection Array" at the very heart of the furnace core.

It was a defensive measure left by its creators.

If he dared to forcefully penetrate it to analyze the internal Rune structure, this priceless furnace core would instantly turn into a super bomb, obliterating everything—man and soil alike—within a five-kilometer radius.

"Jarvis, are there any clues at all in the Singularity Engine’s schematics about the Earth Vein Magic Power Connection Array?"

[Affirmative, Commander.]

[The Singularity Engine was designed for high-density energy storage and rapid conversion. In essence, it’s a super-battery plus a converter. It can only passively absorb stray Magic Power from the Sea of Magical Power; it does not have the ability to actively ’anchor’ to and ’extract’ from a plane’s earth veins.]

"Can you extrapolate a design?"

[Insufficient data. Cannot be achieved.]

Allen leaned against the cold casing of the magic power furnace, his fingertips drumming a rhythm on the metal panel.

This was an insurmountable technological gap.

Knowledge about "Earth Vein Magic Power" raced through his mind.

Earth veins are channels where a plane’s Sea of Magical Power intersects with the Material Realm. They are like a Magic Network and energy vessels buried deep underground, but they aren’t actual physical conduits—just regions where Magic Power concentrates.

To channel the energy of an earth vein is to directly siphon a plane’s life force. Excessive extraction triggers a planar backlash—natural disasters, Magical Beast rampages, or even spatial collapse.

Extracting Earth Vein Magic Power is nowhere near as simple as just sticking a pipe in the ground. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

It requires extremely profound anchoring Runes to lock onto the constantly shifting earth vein nodes. It demands deep expertise in both geology and magi-science to calculate the peaks of the magical tides. Furthermore, it requires conduits built from extraordinary materials capable of withstanding immense pressure.

It was as if he had a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier but could only serve as its pilot.

Build a nuclear reactor from scratch? His current tech tree was nowhere near that branch.

If he couldn’t achieve energy independence, his Golem Legion would be forever dancing in shackles, forced to meticulously calculate Magic Stone consumption for every single battle.

For now, this path was a dead end.

Allen straightened up and walked to an observation window in the workshop.

Outside, the Molten Iron Mountain Range remained a desolate, apocalyptic landscape. Ocher-yellow clouds hung low in the sky, and on the far-off horizon, heat waves distorted the air.

To the south, at the edge of his vision, several massive volcanoes, like the earth’s own smokestacks, tirelessly spewed black smoke and dark red embers into the sky.

That was the border between Zone 18 and Zone 19, a boiling, forbidden zone of death.

Allen stared at the cluster of volcanoes for a full half-minute.

The instincts of a strategy gamer began to awaken in him. ’If I can’t extract Magic Power from the earth veins, why not fleece the natural environment instead?’

The concepts of wind and geothermal power from his past life gave him an idea.

But this kind of clean energy couldn’t be directly converted into Magic Power; that was a technology even more advanced than extracting from earth veins.

But...

"Jarvis, bring up the foundational logic model for the ’Primeval Magic Power Conversion Matrix’."

[Command executed.]

A complex, three-dimensional Rune model rapidly unfolded in mid-air. This was the basic array used by the Singularity Engine and the workshop’s magic power furnace to absorb stray Magic Power from the air. Its efficiency was pathetically low.

"The problem with this matrix," Allen began, striding to the experiment table and planting his hands on its surface as his eyes locked onto the projection, "is that the stray primeval Magic Power is too thin and too chaotic, making the screening and purification process slow. But what if we skip the ’screening’ step entirely?"

[What do you mean?]

"We stop trying to receive on all frequencies and focus on a single track." Allen swiped rapidly through the air, deconstructing the original array model. "This plane has no shortage of the fire element. Magma, geothermal heat, toxic fire miasmas... they all contain highly concentrated Fire Elemental Magic Power."

A massive stream of calculation data scrolled frantically across Allen’s retinas.

"Since we can’t extract Earth Vein Magic Power, we’ll specialize and squeeze a single elemental energy from nature itself."

Allen spoke faster and faster as his idea fully crystallized. "We can redesign the ’conversion matrix’ into a ’Directional Fire Elemental Magic Power Extraction Array’! We’ll sink the device directly into a lake of magma and use the extreme temperature differential and the fire element enrichment effect to efficiently collect Fire Elemental Magic Power!"

[Running logical deduction...]

[Proposal feasibility: 42%... 58%... 71%!]

[Warning: This proposal will face extremely terrifying high-temperature corrosion. Conventional metal casings will not hold. Advanced heat-resistant materials are required.]

"Heat-resistant materials?" Allen chuckled. "’Problems that can be solved with money aren’t really problems. My mentor’s list is full of them.’"

He drew a heavy red circle on the holographic sand table, precisely enclosing the southern volcanic cluster.

"We’ll call this new project... the ’Volcanic Magic Power Furnace’."

"Jarvis, run a simulation. If we set up an array in that volcanic cluster and operate directly within the magma layer, what would the instantaneous output be?"

[Accessing Demon Eye scan data for the southern volcanic cluster...]

[Preliminary conclusion: The instantaneous Magic Power output of a single ’Volcanic Magic Power Furnace’ is approximately 35% of the current workshop’s main furnace core. However, due to the vast volume of magma and the potential for array-style deployment, as long as the material supply holds, its total output ceiling...]

[Given current Magic Power consumption rates, is, for the time being, limitless.]

Limitless.

That single word was a free pass to infinite troop production.

As long as he could take that volcanic cluster, he could completely break free from the constraints of the Magic Stone economy.

At that point, his Golem Legion wouldn’t need supply lines. They would only need to "recharge" on-site to be able to plow this land over a dozen times.

But first, he had to conduct a field survey there and collect firsthand data.

’That guy Victor seems to have his eye on that area too.’ The image of Victor’s all-red "Molten Champion" flashed through Allen’s mind.

’The design of that Heavy Armored Golem was clearly intended for extreme-heat environments. Zone 19 is on the other side of the volcanic cluster... the magma layers beneath us are most likely connected. When the time comes, it’ll be a test of skill to see who can draw more Fire Elemental Magic Power.’

’Ah, my dear junior... whoever controls the energy, controls the very definition of war.’

Allen waved his hand, dismissing the holographic projection. He turned to face the empty production floor, his expression turning cold and resolute.

’Since we’ve both had the same idea, I’ll just have to inconvenience my junior and let him have the scraps.’

"Jarvis,"

"Halt all non-essential production lines. Assemble all idle Mining Golems and Engineering Golems. At the same time, have the First Legion complete resupply and maintenance. They are to enter a state of combat readiness."

[Commander, what is our next objective?]

Allen walked to the control console and pressed his palm on the identification plate that represented supreme authority.

"Expand to the south."

"We’re going into those volcanoes to dig out our own energy assets."