Chapter 330: Unfinished Work, How to Improve

Before embarking on any research, a scholar must consult the Tower of Learning to verify if the study has already been completed by another society. If it has, even a successful breakthrough will yield no rewards from the Central Council.

This implies that, for all these years, super-magic research has indeed remained unfinished. To Zig and Avia, the task does not seem insurmountable; once Zig identified the connection between Draconic magic and super-magic, the progress of the Truth Oversight Committee accelerated significantly.

The devotee of the Nightfall Church could discern their current research stage and standing from the data Wang Yu provided. It is likely that his former society had reached this same threshold. To say they were on the verge of a breakthrough might be an overstatement, but once this hurdle is cleared, the path to the final result should be relatively smooth.

"In any case, I am deeply grateful to you, Archbishop, for providing such a meaningful space as the Midnight Library. As a scholar, I am delighted to translate my knowledge into something tangible."

"Although the experimental conditions here are not as refined as those in the Sky Mechanical City, I will do my utmost to verify and supplement the matters described in these documents. Consider it a continuation of the puzzle I failed to solve years ago; I hope it proves useful to you, Archbishop."

The scholar, who had once resided in the Sky Mechanical City, expressed his gratitude to Wang Yu and promised to accelerate his study of the provided materials to reach a conclusion as soon as possible.

"Thank you. By the way, what was the name of the society you were with before? If the opportunity arises, perhaps we could exchange notes on the progress of this research."

Wang Yu offered a brief word of thanks and inquired about the name of the man's former society.

"The Truth-Seekers Society. It wasn't a large organization. I had nowhere else to go at the time, so I simply joined the first one that would take me. The conditions were poor in every respect, which is why progress on this research was so agonizingly slow."

"My name is Zagro. If you do go to the Truth-Seekers Society for an exchange, my name might still carry some weight—at least enough to sound familiar."

With a faint smile, the devotee offered his name, suggesting that Wang Yu use it should he ever visit the Truth-Seekers.

"I shall not take up more of your time. I will look around this library; I should be able to find some books that I can put to use."

With nothing left to say, the man politely took his leave to browse the shelves of the Midnight Library in search of the knowledge he required.

"We should find an opportunity to visit this Truth-Seekers Society later. Since they began super-magic research over a decade ago, even without a final result, they must possess findings that could aid your work."

Wang Yu mentioned this to Avia in the material world; the information could be considered an unexpected gain from this meeting.

"Indeed. Though I find it strange—a society, no matter how poor its conditions, shouldn't simply abandon research into super-magic, especially when its potential is so obvious. We must find out why they gave it up; there may well be hidden circumstances."

The girl nodded, though her expression grew more contemplative.

"True..."

The memory of Lancer’s peculiar actions and the subsequent mana riot surfaced in his mind. The girl’s keen intuition reminded Wang Yu that there was likely a more complex story behind it all.

An hour passed quickly. The scholars attending the meeting all gained something from the Midnight Library, whether they departed satisfied or still yearning for more. These devotees of the Lady of Night had to temporarily leave this space, which required the consumption of faith to construct and access.

Avia walked through the library, inspecting the shelves. In a short time, five or six had been filled with books, and the glass display cases were already stocked with knowledge available for trade.

Once officially opened to all devotees, the volume of stored knowledge would grow at an even more staggering rate.

Using her authority, which was only a step below Wang Yu’s, Avia examined the items in the glass cases. She found that the knowledge offered for trade was truly unique—the distilled essence of a scholar’s life work. To study them would surely be rewarding.

"There will be so much to learn from now on. Is this the convergence of information? Much like the internet in Wang Yu’s world. I truly look forward to seeing what this will lead to."

With a brief sigh of wonder, Avia withdrew from the Midnight Library; there was still work to be done.

"Zzzzt..."

A high-frequency hammering sound echoed as a small mallet struck a deep-blue, rigid sheet, causing it to vibrate and hum. Noelle exhaled a focused, controlled flame, burning the material while Wang Yu forged the components taken from the lich’s remains, maintaining a constant environment to prevent external interference.

Under Wang Yu’s hammering and the searing heat of Noelle’s dragon fire, the edges of the rigid sheet gradually took on a bright orange-yellow hue, its texture and appearance growing closer to metal.

"Done. The rest is up to you and the Professor."

Wrapping the transformed material in the power of the Chariot, Wang Yu shaped it into a perfect square and handed it to Avia.

"Understood."

Avia took the material to the alchemy workbench, picked up a magic-inscribed graver, and began working with Zig to transform the core of the legendary lich’s remains into a specialized component.

They had intended to finish this today, but the severe accident at the Truth Oversight Committee had forced them to unveil the Void Chat Room and the Midnight Library ahead of schedule.

This component was intended for Wang Yu’s alchemical revolver, the *Conqueror: Unfinished Gun*. With this part crafted from the lich’s remains, the alchemical firearm, built using the fruits of Avia and Zig’s super-magic research, would finally possess true combat efficacy.

Half an hour later, a faint but complex ripple of mana swept through the Eden Seed space. The component, dubbed the "Ice Heart," was complete, and the girl activated it with a surge of mana.

Wang Yu retrieved the *Conqueror*, opened the side slot, and inserted the Ice Heart, which looked like a thickened microchip, into the chamber.

"Hiss..."

Once the Ice Heart connected to the mana core, its internal magic circuits flared to life. A visible, pale blue mist of frost instantly swirled around the alchemical revolver in Wang Yu’s hand.

"As expected of a legendary lich’s remains. This special cold is no longer mere low temperature, but a power capable of freezing even mana overload. With this, although restrictions remain, the first shot of this revolver will no longer require such a long charge time."

Wang Yu pulled out a deep purple cartridge, loaded it into the cylinder, and aimed the *Conqueror* at a training dummy in the corner of the Eden Seed space. He pulled the trigger.

Mana surged into the purple projectile, weaving a unique effect. Purple arcs of light danced and crackled, and the space around the revolver began to warp slightly.

The massive accumulation of mana brought the magic circuits to the brink of overload, generating intense heat within the weapon. Previously, the long charge time was necessary to prevent an explosion, but now, with the Ice Heart, that was no longer a concern.

The freezing mist turned intangible and flowed into the gun, where the extreme cold of the Ice Heart neutralized the heat of the circuits. This allowed the *Conqueror* to charge at maximum speed—faster than ever before. After a delay of roughly 0.2 seconds, the revolver fired.

The purple projectile was fully activated, releasing its special power. No physical object was seen leaving the barrel; instead, a thick purple arc of electricity flashed violently across the frame.

The next moment, the metal training dummy was crushed as if by a colossal weight, twisting and flattening into a thin sheet of iron against the floor in a heartbeat.

"The activation speed has increased significantly. However, it can still only release such a powerful shot once within a certain timeframe."

Wang Yu opened the slot to inspect the Ice Heart. Its inherent freezing power had temporarily dissipated. While it could recover, it would take time; during that interval, the *Conqueror* would still require its agonizingly slow charge time.

The revolver was designed to compensate for Wang Yu’s lack of raw destructive power as a Knight. It currently carried three types of special ammunition: the *Star of Mourning* used against Varma, the gravity projectile just fired, and the *Furnace’s Fury* charged shot, which possessed vastly increased power.

All three were devastating, but their charge times were too long. Even the relatively quick charged shot felt sluggish in the heat of a battle between Grand Knights.

The Ice Heart mitigated some of the weapon’s flaws, but it only allowed for one such shot in combat—a far cry from what Avia and Zig had envisioned.

"It seems this alchemical firearm will have to bear the name *Unfinished Gun* for a while longer. Once the super-magic research is complete, the weapon's issues should be resolved."

Zig said with a smile.

"Indeed."

Wang Yu was satisfied enough; at least the weapon was now usable. To suddenly pull it out and deliver a devastating blow—few could withstand such destructive force.

He holstered the *Conqueror* and clenched his hands. His physique was steadily improving through training and the consumption of metallic ores; the hardness of his bones, the strength of his muscles, and his reserves of Battle Aura were all growing.

At his level, his physical strength far surpassed other Knights, yet his destructive power remained merely on par, or slightly inferior. The reason was the lack of an "Inner Potential"—the power of the Chariot struggled to match the lethality of true Inner Potential against living targets.

Combined with his various other abilities, he could push his destructive power slightly beyond his peers, but it was still not enough. Was there another way to enhance his lethality?

He carefully reviewed all the powers at his disposal, and an idea flickered in his mind. It seemed, perhaps, there really was...

(I leave school to return home tomorrow, and the plot is about to accelerate. Increase the word count of the updates, damn it!)