Imperial Crown

As the famous great magician Kafeel Johnny said: "Enchantment is the art of art."

Oil painting and sculpture are the most widely spread arts.

And enchantment is the combination of painting and sculpture, which can be seen from the tools arranged by Raven's hand.

In addition to five feather pens of different sizes and thicknesses, there is also a series of magic carving knives, no less than ten kinds, flat-head knives, pointed knives, concave-head knives, round knives, V-knives, U-shaped knives, milling cutters, scrapers, saws...

Each carving knife flashes with the light of magic.

Enchantment can be generally divided into three steps, namely "shaping", "construction" and "supplying magic".

Raven tapped his fingers on the table, and had opened the Eye of Truth. After observing for a long time, he picked up a feather pen, dipped it in ordinary ink, and began to draw on the roots of the tree of life.

This step is "shaping".

Generally speaking, this step can be skipped when enchanting equipment.

But after all, the shape of the tree root itself is not suitable for the holding habits of humans, and it cannot maximize the conductivity of magic power. What Raven has to do is to determine which parts to keep and which parts to remove.

After the outline is finished, Raven repeatedly observes and modifies it several times until he is sure that there are no flaws. Then he picks up a flat-headed knife, dips it in the pre-prepared "Moon Silver Solution", and starts to cut along the outer edge of the drawn line.

As a fifth-level material, the root of the tree of life is extremely hard. If the shape is carved purely by hand, it will probably take at least ten days and a half months.

The time of a magician is very precious.

The Moon Silver Solution, which can soften and corrode most magic materials, was born for this purpose.

After applying the solution, Raven was not in a hurry. He hummed a tune and made a pot of coffee for himself, and took out a book.

He was waiting for the Moon Silver Solution to work.

Read a book, drink coffee, and taste the freshly baked snacks.

The shortbread biscuits were filled with butter and sugar, and the bitterness of the coffee just neutralized the greasy feeling. Combined with the faint fragrance of the young peach seedlings in the air, it was a leisurely enjoyment.

Click.

Something fell to the ground.

The moon silver solution had already taken effect, corroding the weak parts of the roots of the tree of life, and pieces of debris fell to the ground.

Raven did not waste it, and collected all the fragments - after all, it was a fifth-level material, and there would always be a chance to use it later.

Raven slowly picked up the flat-headed carving knife and began to trim the irregular shape of the outer periphery.

In the middle, Raven took a break from meditation. The next day, lunch was delivered, and he completed the carving of the shape.

The carved roots of the tree of life stood on the ground, about one person tall, and the top part was trimmed into a spherical shape, with a bowl-sized hole reserved in the middle to prepare for the future inlay of magic gems.

There was an obvious tightening at one-third of the top, just enough for Raven to hold it firmly, and then it became full again.

If Eric saw it, he would definitely think it was an excellent staff - it was designed to be used to hit people.

Of course, if the timing was right, Raven himself would not reject this use.

At this point, the "shaping" part was completed, and the next step was to enter the "construction" stage.

It was only at this step that the enchantment really began.

The so-called magic is the process of using one's own magic power, spells and gestures to construct a specific elemental channel, and then realize the specific effect.

If magic is compared to industrial products, then the elements are various raw materials, the casting process is the processing process, and the magic is the finished product.

And enchantment is to fix the processing process on the magic material.

From this perspective, every enchanted prop is a magic machine tool.

This process is not easy.

There are no two identical leaves in the world, nor are there two identical magic raw materials. If a stroke is slightly wasted, the entire root of the tree of life will be completely scrapped. Even if you buy a new one, you have to redesign it.

So even with the help of the Eye of Truth, he only engraved the first-level enchantment, and Raven did it very slowly and carefully.

Every once in a while, Raven would choose to stop temporarily, relax his wrist, and empty his mind to make his mind clearer.

Raven enjoyed this process.

Because it reminded him of his childhood in his previous life.

At that time, he would occasionally pick up a Y-shaped tree branch of the right size, go home and cut it into a suitable shape with an axe and a machete.

He found a few medical soft rubber tubes, and then asked for a tire liner cut into an oval shape from the old man who repaired bicycles, and combined them with glue and nails to make a slingshot to shoot birds, insects, and mice.

Of course, it was inevitable to accidentally hurt other people's glass, and then be beaten around the house by the copper-headed leather belt.

That seemed to be a long time ago.

Slightly stunned, Raven shook his head and continued to enchant.

As time went by, one enchantment configuration after another took shape, and magic lines appeared one after another.

When the last cut was made, all these elements were connected together, and a layer of light blue light lit up on the roots of the tree of life, breathing unsteadily, and then gradually fading away.

Raven let out a long breath.

The most difficult part has passed. At this point, the enchantment has been completed by 70%.

The next step is the last step - "supply magic".

Among the thirteen basic enchantment configurations, there are two items: energy storage and absorption. Many enchanted creations can absorb the magic elements they need from the environment.

This function itself also requires the consumption of magic power.

The generator can generate electricity on its own, but it also needs external force to make it move.

Raven took out three crystals.

These crystals are palm-sized and have different shapes. They are all dark blue, but if you look closely at them, you will find that the blue in them is very light.

This is a first-level magic crystal, which is what people often refer to as "magic crystal". The price of one piece is about 8-13 gold coins.

For magicians, magic crystal has many uses. Holding it in your hand can increase your meditation efficiency by about 10% during meditation; if you run out of magic power during combat, you can absorb the natural magic power contained in the magic crystal to replenish it.

Generally speaking, a first-level magic crystal can allow a first-level magician to recover enough magic power to use two first-level magics within an hour.

Grinding the magic crystals into powder one by one, Raven used a brush to carefully fill the powder into the lines. Every time he brushed a little, he had to stop and observe, so as not to suddenly release too much magic power and destroy the lines themselves.

When gray-blue dust filled every ravine, the staff suddenly vibrated, separated from Raven's hand, and floated sideways in the air.

All the magic lines light up at the same time, and dots of blue starlight spurt out from them, giving the gray body a metallic luster.

Enchanting completed.

Raven stood up, stretched out his right hand, activated his magic power, and the staff floating in the air suddenly jumped up and stuck to his palm with a snap.

A feeling of blood connection arises spontaneously.

This is the staff he made with his own hands. Everything fits so well, and the magic power is flowing through it without any sluggishness.

Reciting the incantation softly, the magic power flowed into the staff, and the light of the runes lit up. Then, a bone spear condensed on the tip and flew into the wall.

"The magic power consumption has increased by about 50%." Raven raised a smile on his lips: "The power has increased by about 20%, good!"

This data is no less than the dragon locust wood staff that Raven had before.

And don’t forget, it is only one level now, and as the enchantment level increases, the increase will be even greater!

In addition to its most basic function of amplification, as a staff it can also store magic, up to three first-level magics.

This is the superiority of the root of the tree of life. You must know that even Raven's dragon locust wood staff can only store two first-level magics.

I don’t know what level this staff will be like when it is promoted to the second or third level!

Although there was still power left, Raven did not continue to strengthen the staff, but left the secret room.

After all, as a lord, he has a lot to do, and the new products in the factory have reached a critical stage and he needs to take a look.

So after a night's rest, Lei Wen finished his morning run the next day and set off for Xuefeng Town.

It was the end of June, and the weather was getting hotter. Raven sat in the carriage with the window open, admiring the scenery on the roadside and breathing in the fragrant morning air.

Not long after the carriage arrived at the Liquid Crystal River, Raven suddenly inhaled an extremely fishy smell. It felt like a patient with foot odor filled his shoes with water and ran outside for three full days before taking off his shoes. Then he covered Raven's nose directly.

It is no exaggeration to say that Raven's eyesight went dark!

"Flav, what's going on?"

Volaf's voice was also full of sound, and he was obviously very smoked: "Lord Baron, it smells like fish... fish!"

fish?

Raven looked up through the window and saw that both sides of the Liquid Crystal River were densely covered with dead or half-dead brown dace fish. The scales on the river were even more numerous, as if the river was filling up!

"Forget it, continue." Raven put down the car curtain and covered his nose.

The carriage walked for a while, and a familiar voice came: "I told you yesterday to clear away all the fish. The Baron is coming, didn't you hear it!?"

It was Kuman, the administrative officer of Xuefeng County.

After asking Volav to stop the car, Raven went down to take a look and saw Cuman standing by the river, scolding a group of fishermen.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Kuman turned around and saw Raven. Although he was also dazed by the smell of fish, he immediately saluted: "Lord Baron!"

When the group of fishermen behind him saw this, they were even more frightened, and they quickly followed. Some were stroking their chests, some were nodding, and some were kneeling.

"Lord Baron, I'm really sorry." Although he had trained the fishermen harshly before, Cuman defended them in front of Raven: "Now is exactly the season for brown dace migration, and the river is full of fish. You can’t even catch it, everyone will vomit after eating it, that’s why it tastes so great.”

Migration is a unique habit of some fish. Once a fixed season comes, they will return to a specific place to lay eggs and then die.

Raven rubbed his nose. He knew that most of the people in the territory still couldn't eat any meat in this era, so it was impossible to waste the fish they had obtained, so he asked: "Then why not hang it up to dry?"

Cuman smiled bitterly: "The annual migration of brown dace coincides with our rainy season. It rained just the day before yesterday!"

"Even if you pick up the fish and hang it to dry, it will be soaked by the rain before it is dried, and it will rot after a few times. Otherwise, no one would watch so much meat being wasted!"

"How was it handled in previous years?" Raven asked.

"It's about the same as now." Kuman said truthfully: "Except for a small number of fresh ones, which were sent to the ice cellar of Xuefeng Castle to be frozen, most of the others were left to rot."

Raven nodded slowly.

Letting some fish rot may seem like nothing at first glance, but it is undoubtedly a huge waste of food.

More importantly, it is summer now. With so many fish, the smell is secondary. There may be a lot of bacteria and viruses. If they spread along the river...

No wonder we heard about the outbreak of plague in Xuefeng Territory every summer.

Xuefeng Territory was not his territory before, so these fish rotted. Now that it is under his rule, he has to think of a way.

Raven lowered his head and looked around - this is a typical fishing village, with straw on the roof of the stone wall, and fishing nets that have been repaired more than once hanging on the racks in the yard.

When he saw the pottery jar in the corner, Raven's eyes lit up: "Why didn't you try to pickle it?"

"You're joking." Seeing that Raven was a good-talking lord, a young fisherman next to him said: "A piece of bitter salt is enough for our family of six to eat for a month, how can it be used to pickle such things?"

Kuman immediately glared at the fisherman.

Raven didn't care: "I thought too much... So, Kuman, you send out tasks, collect and catch these migratory brown dace, and then pickle them together."

"Okay, Baron!" Kuman immediately accepted the order.

In his heart, he actually didn't agree with Raven's decision-salt is expensive, and fish is not cheap. Even if it is pickled, who can he sell it to?

I can't eat it myself. By then, the whole Eagle Castle will be full of stinky fish smell, which is so ridiculous.

It's a loss-making business no matter how you think about it.

But since the Baron has spoken, and this can solve the problem of stinky fish, then let's do it. At least this year we don't have to smell the stinky fish for at least a month.

Raven continued his journey and went to the factory to check the progress.

It seems that these craftsmen are very fast at getting started, and it won't take too long for them to be able to produce proficiently.

According to the plan, he should stay here for a while until the product is completed, but the ubiquitous stench really made him dizzy and headed back to Eagle Castle.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the castle, old Gordon came over and whispered a few words. Raven's expression moved, and he changed into clean clothes first to make sure there was no odor on his body, and then he pushed the door and came to his study.

Lux's teacher, the seventh-level divine magician Crouch, was standing by the window.

"Senior Crouch." Raven smiled and saluted: "Long time no see, what do you want to see me for?"

Crouch came back to his senses and looked at Raven with a complicated expression:

"I heard that the Fox family is interested in marrying you."

Raven breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Montreal did come, but that was just his wishful thinking..."

Crouch's expression became more serious:

"Promise him."

...