Chapter 632.5: Maze-Lock Technology in Hand!
Hess certainly believed the Archmages' conclusion.
Because he knew just how "proud" the Archmages were. Once they learned that Bay Territory's success rate could stay at "90%", they would spare no effort to surpass it.
The fact that they stalled out at 65% already spoke volumes.
Hess didn't care how many test subjects the Archmages used up; what he cared about was whether the "Dragon Warriors" the Cole Elves managed to create retained excellent combat strength.
Yet, Hess couldn't help but furrow his brows at the results.
The Archmages' progress was actually stuck at the second stage of the surgery.
"The bone reinforcement procedure can't be completed? Mortality rate too high?"
Hess flipped through the detailed steps of the transformation, his gaze landing on the spell activation steps for "bone reinforcement." He instinctively reached out and tapped the image crystal that recorded the experiment's progress.
"Ah…!"
The piercing screams stabbed straight into Hess's ears.
The test subject, whose entire body had been stretched to the limit, struggled in agony, letting out beastly roars.
The life essence and high-grade nutrient solution provided by Bay Territory were indeed effective; the wounds caused by the stretching of the bones were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The bone strength of the test subject, as shown by the magical monitoring, was steadily increasing.
The scene was tragic, but Hess could face it calmly.
But soon, even with all his training and the brutal transformations he had endured as a Sword Saint, Hess's expression changed—he still found the scene before him hard to accept.
The Archmages struggled to keep the test subject's skin intact, continuously casting all sorts of enhancement spells.
Yet, just as the test subject was about to reach half the required metrics for the experiment, the bones that had been relentlessly strengthened suddenly snapped, shattering inch by inch.
The entire body became unrecognizable in an instant.
Worse still, the healing and regeneration spells cast on the subject kept working.
The broken bones and tissues began to heal rapidly…
Hess turned off the image, forcing himself to shift focus and instead read the Archmages' experiment assessments and data.
"The experiment is very ingeniously designed and has a high probability of success."
"These transformation surgeries are excellently designed, and offer significant reference value."
"There is no missing step in the experimental process, but there must be a critically important experimental condition missing..."
"Bay Territory has certainly concealed some data and key information. We must find it as soon as possible."
"When using Ail Elves as test subjects, bone fractures are almost inevitable during the process…"
"Suggest switching experimental targets and using some Wokou pirates as subjects…"
"Once the test subjects who have undergone Bay Territory's procedures return, use time-reversal spells to analyze them in reverse…"
"Suggest searching for Bay Territory's experimental base, conducting a raid, and obtaining more experimental data and records."
"Suggest capturing Bay Territory's Dragon Warriors…"
"..."
From these conclusions, Hess could tell that Bay Territory had indeed kept many things hidden in this deal.
As for those "suggestions" from the Archmages—having seen with his own eyes how Bay Territory's one thousand Dragon Warriors crushed tens of thousands—Hess had no intention of trying to solve things by force.
"Unless the Archmages intervene personally, or the elite guards of all the races are sent out, it won't work by relying on any other professions…"
As for Bay Territory hiding vital information, Hess was not surprised at all.
During the negotiation process, he could already sense that Bay Territory understood exactly who they were dealing with.
Especially when Bay Territory asked the Cole Elf Kingdom for technical exchanges—they all but spelled it out.
Thinking of this, Hess immediately said to his subordinates:
"Notify the pieces we have hidden in Bay City to monitor for any large-scale magical fluctuations at all times!"
Hess didn't understand why Bay Territory agreed to exchange their Dragon Warrior transformation technology for the likes of maze-lock technology, spatial spell data, and life magic information.
But he would never believe that Bay Territory would be so calm as to not run experiments on these "problematic" techniques and data.
Having a backup plan was something the Cole Elves had been teaching Netheril's spellcasters for thousands of years.
Otherwise, the spellcasters of the Netheril Empire—especially the Arcanists—wouldn't keep losing to the high mages of the Cole Elves, even though their power was so great.
The root of the problem was obvious!
Of course, the emergence of the Grand Arcanists completely changed that.
Otherwise, why would the Cole Elf Kingdom, so confident in their control over Netheril, have prepared so many "surprises" for them?
Bay City.
Underground mage tower.
In the high-level spell laboratory.
Matthew carefully sensed the flow of the Weave, cautiously channeling his mana, gently drawing out the tiny nodes of the Weave.
As some mana and magical energy was injected, the discovered nodes of the Weave began to glow brightly.
Several fine threads appeared around the Weave nodes.
Matthew could clearly sense that these ultra-fine threads were slowly transmitting traces of magical power.
This kind of deep, microscopic contact was a perspective Matthew had never experienced before.
However, he quickly discovered that this kind of observation came with significant drawbacks and prerequisites.
Sensitivity to magical energy was required, as well as fine control over mana.
The mana threads drawn out had to obey his thoughts and will.
These requirements were quite harsh, just like the transformation surgery data Matthew had traded to the Cole Elf Kingdom.
The surgical procedures were perfectly sound, even the spell activations and usage were clearly annotated by Matthew.
But the procedure itself was only about 20% of the whole transformation's importance.
The truly crucial part—
Was all the preparatory work done before transforming the test subject.
The pause periods for adjustments and experimentation, summarized and accumulated by Matthew and Yaya through countless time-reversal spells!
Without these, even Legendary spellcasters would need five or six years of trial and error to figure out the full experimental process.
Let alone refining the experiments for high efficiency, success, and safety.
Refocusing, Matthew continued to study the maze-lock construction technology.
He did not read the advanced maze-lock materials, instead focusing on the fundamentals.
Matthew was keenly aware that the more basic something is, the more important it becomes.
Take shortcuts, and you're bound to fall into traps set by others.
The sensation was just like the first time using a microscope to observe the cells of an onion.
He witnessed the deeper scenes of spellcasting.
He gently streamed mana and then very slowly activated the Light spell's model.
What he saw next filled him with immense joy.
As more mana was absorbed by the Weave node, a few of the spreading threads lit up, activating two more nearby Weave nodes.
The three now-connected nodes outlined more threads, rapidly shifting among themselves.
They gradually took the structure of the Light spell's model.
He then drew from the three nodes a volume of magical energy dozens of times larger than before.
Light burst forth!
As the spell's effect ended, Matthew could clearly "see" that the Weave nodes drained of so much energy entered a brief period of decay.
The threads that had woven the spell model, having conducted so much magic, turned into a tangled mess.
However, they had strong self-recovery ability.
Within a few breaths, the complex web of spell threads slowly returned to normal.
Even the decayed nodes just now regained their brightness, having received some unknown energy replenishment.
Witnessing the entire spell "happening," Matthew immediately realized—
The spell's manifestation came from the activation of Weave nodes and the orderly construction of their threads.
For ordinary spellcasters, every day they memorize spells in their spell slots.
When they want to cast, they use gestures and incantations to activate their internal spell model, directing Weave nodes and threads to arrange according to the model.
Thus, the spell is cast in full!
Failures in spellcasting can be traced to a few areas.
First, self-activation of the spell model fails—gestures and words can both play a part.
Second, the Weave in the surroundings is disturbed, hindering the assembly of nodes and threads into the spell model.
Third, the Weave in the area is broken or malfunctioning—the nodes and threads simply don't function.
To Matthew, it felt like using a computer.
Ordinary mages and spellcasters just use various programs.
Arcanists can write all kinds of programs.
Grand Arcanists are like programmers writing the source code.
But as for the origin of the Weave, the giant network connecting the entire material plane, and the unique properties of its nodes and threads, there was clearly a deeper significance.
Matthew was almost certain—the birth of the Weave, like the emergence of the extraordinary system, carried profound mysteries.
Just like water and life in his original world!
Out of so many planets, only Earth developed life—this alone was extraordinary.
Shaking his head lightly, Matthew re-centered himself and "carefully" felt the ever-present Weave nodes.
With 39 Intelligence, he could clearly sense their rhythm.
Matthew even had a special feeling.
If his observation and perception abilities advanced another step, he could pierce the guise of Weave nodes and glimpse even deeper truths.
That would belong to the realm of Grand Arcanists!
Though Matthew couldn't see through yet, it didn't mean he couldn't use them.
It was just like using physics and chemistry laws learned in school—directly applying them.
What Matthew needed to do now was select two Weave nodes, carefully use mana threads to sever the other threads around them.
Leaving only one thread connecting the two nodes.
As a result, the thread between them began to "grow," noticeably pushing out the surrounding space.
It was as if its volume expanded, squeezing out room for other threads.
Soon, new Weave threads started forming around the two nodes.
But, because the nodes were still connected, energy continued to flow between them.
Most of it was absorbed by the now-thicker thread, maintaining its size and suppressing further thread growth.
With this, the "isolated" connection between the two Weave nodes was complete.
In a sense, these two little things were temporarily disconnected from the net.
They were cut off from the external LAN, but the deeper network system still linked them.
So, they could continue to output magic.
This unique tiny structure made Matthew feel like humanity's first time storing electricity—a very special sense of achievement.
This is the foundation of maze-lock technology!
Maze-lock nodes!
The reason they're called maze-locks is that you can link multiple such isolated nodes together.
Forming a LAN not connected to the outer Weave!
The frequency of the internal threads' fluctuations and the direction of magic flow in the LAN were known only to its builder.
Thus, by controlling changes within the LAN, you could prevent others from using the threads and magic inside.
Preventing others from linking their spell models to the Weave nodes achieves the effect of magic-forbidding.
This is the basic function of a maze-lock!
By constructing an internally controlled Weave area, you can restrict enemy spellcasters' access and combat.
Maze-locks naturally have many other important functions.
For example, since it's a fully-understood and magic-rich system,
You can mobilize its power and concentrate spellcasting within it to boost spell potency.
You can also give the maze-lock more changes, enabling it to block other spells (magical fluctuations and effects) from entering.
In a way, mastering maze-lock technology means your research into magic has reached a deeper level.
Now that Matthew had mastered the basics of maze-lock construction, he could start working on Bay Territory's own maze-lock projects.
Once he fully understood maze-lock construction, Matthew would find ways to research how to break through them.
After all, the reason he'd slowed down the attacks by the gray dwarf and half-elf slaves on the Cole Elf cities in the Cantreau Mountains was precisely because he feared the maze-locks in their city centers.
Without help from spellcasters, taking a well-defended major city would be extremely difficult.
Of course, for Matthew to master this technology and put it to use quickly would take quite some time.
During this period, Bay Territory had to keep developing rapidly and continue drawing the Cole Elves' attention.
Meanwhile, Matthew would develop in secret, continuously providing new momentum for Bay Territory's advance!
Only in this way could Bay Territory and Matthew continue to grow and break through the Cole Elves' suppression, and finally achieve what Matthew always wanted.
To destroy the Cole Elves before the disaster destroyed them!