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Chapter 175 Aftermath
Chapter 175 Aftermath
The Shadowraven Tower and the Molten Empire became the last and only beneficiaries of this catastrophic conflict.
They preserved the existence of this fragmented world, gained access to all ancient ruins, and eliminated the greatest hostile force.
Although the losses were considerable, compared to the terrible consequences of Project Ash Ring, this was the best possible outcome.
Luo Lin spent another half a month recuperating in the medical department before he basically recovered.
Because of this extreme overexertion and manipulation, his mental strength has actually become more refined and increased after recovery, bringing him closer to the peak of the first ring.
The matter concerning the fragments of the Scorching Hell has temporarily come to an end.
The Holy Tower and the Empire have reached a new long-term cooperation agreement to jointly manage and study this scarred fragmented world, and to be wary of any remaining remnants of the Ash Ring or other unknown threats.
For his decisive role in this incident, Rowling received unprecedented awards and honors.
However, he voluntarily declined most of the honorary titles and administrative work, retaining only the titles of core researcher of the cornerstone project and advisor to the tidal observation team.
He needs time, he needs to calm down.
Rowling returned to Blackrock Town once again.
The town seemed unaffected by the earth-shattering changes happening far away, maintaining its slow pace.
Ellie's magical plant garden has expanded a bit more, and several newly cultivated drought-resistant magical plants are growing well.
Seeing Luo Lin return, she was as happy as a little bird, chirping excitedly as she reported on the progress of her research over the past period. She even presented the newly roasted magic plant tea as if it were a treasure, with a fragrant aroma and a strange aftertaste.
Rowling settled into the Black Rock Cottage and resumed a regular and peaceful life.
In the morning, I studied the civilization stone tablet, attempting to trigger new layers of information and integrate what I had learned previously.
In the afternoon, he refined and improved his spell system. Having basically mastered [Spiral Star Arrow] and [Stardust Turbulence], he began to tackle the extremely risky [Disruption of Order].
In the evenings, I would guide Ellie in her meditation and plant research, and occasionally listen to her tell interesting stories about the town.
He also took the time to organize all his spell insights and research notes from his apprenticeship to the present, and combined them with his understanding of the observer's energy system, fragments of the civilization stone tablet rules, and the essence of star power, and began to systematically sort out his spell model construction concept.
He was no longer satisfied with simple imitation and improvement, but tried to understand the energy logic behind each spell rune and explore a spell path that was more suitable for his own astral characteristics.
Life is ordinary, yet filled with a sense of fulfilling accomplishment.
Occasionally, he would stand at the window of the hut and look in the direction of the scorching hell fragments.
The fire still burns there, but the madness has subsided, leaving only ruins and the long time of rebirth.
Life at Black Rock Hut proceeded smoothly, like a stream flowing onward.
Roland devoted most of his energy to the study and improvement of magic.
His experience in the scorching hell, especially the life-or-death test of controlling the observer anchor point to perform overload decompression, brought his understanding of energy and his precise control over mental power to a whole new level.
Now, he needs to process these insights and transform them into tangible improvements in his combat effectiveness.
The [Spiral Star Arrow] technique has been mastered. With a thought, a pale silver arrow with subtle spiral patterns can be condensed at the fingertips. It is fast, has strong penetrating power, and its energy concentration far exceeds that of the ordinary star force rays before.
But he felt it wasn't enough.
The spiral structure can be made more compact, and the energy compression ratio can be increased. Perhaps—we could try nesting even smaller secondary energy vortices inside the Seiya to create a complex penetrating effect.
This idea originated from a vague description in a monument about the layering and resonance amplification of energy.
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Rowling spent several hours each day repeatedly experimenting in the makeshift experimental area he had cleared in the backyard of the Black Rock Hut.
He extended his index finger, and stellar energy gathered, compressed, and rotated at his fingertip, attempting to simultaneously construct the main spiral while also controlling another, more subtle stellar energy to synchronously form micro-vortices in opposite or the same direction within the main spiral.
Failure is commonplace.
Either the main spiral structure was unstable and collapsed prematurely, or the internal vortex interfered with the overall balance, causing energy to dissipate. There was even a control error where the micro-vortex conflicted with the frequency of the main spiral, directly causing a small-scale energy disturbance near his fingertips, which made his fingers numb and he was unconscious for a long time.
Ellie would sometimes sit quietly on a stone bench at the edge of the backyard, holding her record board, tending to the experimental magical plants she had brought, while watching Rowling practice.
She couldn't understand the complex energy manipulation, but she could sense the intense focus and the dedication to try again and again after each failure.
Whenever Rowling stopped to frown in thought, or shook his head slightly in frustration, she would offer him a glass of warm water or softly ask, "Mr. Rowling, would you like to take a break?"
Luo Lin would usually take the water, sip it, his gaze still lingering on the lingering energy on his fingertips, and casually reply:
6
Need not."
Then they continued to immerse themselves in their own world.
Ellie didn't mind and continued to fiddle with her magical plants, or try to meditate according to the booklet "Azure Wood Spiritual Art" that Rolin had given her.
Her mental strength was steadily increasing, and the subtle resonance between her and the magical plants was growing stronger. Occasionally, she could sense subtle changes in the energy flow within the plants. This progress delighted her and strengthened her resolve to continue.
A few days later, through a near-accidental manipulation, Rolin finally managed to stably embed a miniature energy vortex rotating in the same direction inside the Spiral Seiya.
Although it lasted for less than half a second, the power of the arrow was visibly enhanced. When it hit the thick ironwood stake used as a target, the hole it left was deeper, the edges were smoother, and it had strange spiral tear marks.
"We've succeeded in the first step." Roland looked at the hole, his face showing little joy, but rather deep thought.
"But the stability is too poor, and the build time is too long."
"We need to optimize the structure and find a more stable and efficient nesting pattern."
He recorded the parameters of this success as the basis for future improvements.
The improvement direction for 【Stardust Turbulence】 is to expand its effective range and reduce its consumption.
This move is suitable for clearing the field, but it consumes a lot of resources and has a limited coverage area.
Rolin attempted to borrow the fluid diffusion principle of the [Starflow Hydrophilic Field] to make the stardust jet no longer a simple straight burst, but to form a slowly rotating and spreading star power dust mist area that lasts for several seconds. Enemies who enter the area will be subjected to continuous cutting and energy interference.
At the same time, he was also trying to pre-mark a portion of stardust with his mental power so that it could track specific targets and increase the threat to elite enemies.
This improvement went relatively smoothly.
A few days later, a patch of silver dust, slowly rotating and shimmering with tiny starlight, would occasionally appear above the backyard experimental field. It could cover an area of about five meters in diameter and would last for three or four seconds before dissipating.
The test straw dolls that get caught in the dust and fog will have countless tiny scratches on their surface.
"There's room for improvement in coverage and duration, and the control precision could also be higher." Luo Lin assessed the effect and made another note.
What he invests the most energy in, and what is most dangerous, is the collapse of order.
The concept behind this spell is too advanced and carries extremely high risks.
He dared not conduct physical tests directly in the experimental field, and spent most of his time on theoretical deduction and small-scale energy simulation.
He set up a powerful energy confinement and shielding array in the research room, and then took out a small sample of the Purple Plague Stone, about the size of a fingernail, which had been rigorously purified and sealed.
This was a souvenir that researcher Murphy had given him before.
He suspended the sample in the center of the magic circle, and then attempted to construct an extremely tiny...
However, the structure of the ordered energy probe is exceptionally complex.
The probe's goal is to make contact and induce.
He wanted to make extremely brief and controllable contact between the ordered structure of the probe and the chaotic structure inside the Purple Plague Stone, observe its reaction, and try to guide its energy to collapse or annihilate in a relatively stable direction.
On the first attempt, as soon as the probe touched the surface of the Purple Plague Stone, the chaotic energy inside the sample was slightly aroused, and a dark purple light flashed. Roland immediately cut off the probe, and the sample quickly returned to calm.
Record: Contact triggered a slight increase in energy activity, with no signs of annihilation.
The second time, the probe frequency was adjusted to attempt deeper contact.
The sample reacted more violently, even emitting faint corrosive energy fluctuations, which were firmly blocked by the restraint array.
Note: Deep contact may trigger a chaotic energy backlash; precautions should be taken.
The third time, the fourth time—each attempt was made with utmost care, as if walking on thin ice.
Cold sweat gradually seeped from Luo Lin's forehead as he focused his mental energy intensely.
He focused intently on capturing the subtle energy changes at the moment of contact by observing the ring and the echo unit.
The anomaly occurred on the seventh attempt, when the probe touched a relatively calm energy node inside the Purple Plague Stone at a specific angle, carrying a specific phase modulation signal.
That tiny bit of chaotic energy, as if attracted by the orderly structure of the probe, instantly became extremely unstable, and then—dissipated silently!
It wasn't an explosion, nor did it spread; rather, it was like snow meeting the sun, directly transforming into the most basic, relatively stable heat energy and weak light radiation!
Although only a negligible amount of chaotic energy was annihilated, and the overall size of the Purple Plague Stone sample remained unchanged, this phenomenon greatly boosted Rolin's spirits!
"It's feasible! The annihilation of the opposition between order and chaos can indeed occur under certain conditions!"
"The key is the method, frequency, and energy structure of contact!" Rolin immediately recorded the data from this success in detail.
However, he also knew that this was far from being a practical attack spell.
The scale and controllability of annihilation need to be greatly improved, and how to safely guide and release the energy generated by annihilation is also a challenge.
This is destined to be a long-term project.
Besides studying magic, Rowling also spends time each day guiding Ellie.
Ellie's progress is real.
She has already made a basic entry into the "Azure Wood Spiritual Energy Technique." During meditation, she can clearly perceive the faint but vibrant natural energy flow emanating from the surrounding plants and trees, and she can try to guide a trace of it into her own spiritual power for nurturing and purification.
Her ability to perceive and regulate the energy of magical plants also increased accordingly.
That afternoon, Ellie came to the Black Stone Hut carrying a pot of Fireweed with scorched yellow leaves and a drooping head, her face full of distress.