Imperial Crown.

Chapter 214: Staff Making
As the famous Grand Mage Kafeel Johnny said: "Enchantment is the art of art."

Oil painting and sculpture are the most widely spread arts.

Enchanting is a combination of painting and sculpture, which can be seen from the tools arranged at 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, including flat-head knives, pointed-head knives, concave-head knives, round knives, V-shaped knives, U-shaped knives, milling cutters, scrapers, saw knives...

Every carving knife sparkles with magical light.

Enchanting can generally be divided into three steps: "shaping", "construction" and "supplying magic".

Raven drummed his fingers on the table, having opened the Eye of Truth. He observed for a long time before picking 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, when enchanting equipment, you can skip this step.

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

After the outline was completed, Raven observed and revised it repeatedly several times until he was sure there were no flaws. Then he picked up a flat-bladed knife, dipped it in the "Moonlight Silver Solution" that he had prepared in advance, and began to cut along the outer edge of the drawn lines.

As a fifth-level material, the roots of the tree of life are extremely hard. If they were carved into shape purely by hand, it would probably take at least ten days to half a month.

A magician's time is very precious.

The Moonlight Silver Solution, which can soften and corrode most magical materials, was created for this purpose.

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

He was waiting for the moon silver solution to take effect.

Read a book, drink coffee, and enjoy some freshly baked snacks.

The puff pastry cookies are filled with a lot of butter and sugar, and the bitterness of the coffee just neutralizes the greasiness. Combined with the faint fragrance of the young pecan seedlings in the air, it can be considered a leisurely enjoyment.

pat.

Something fell to the ground.

The Moon Silver solution has taken effect, corroding the weak parts of the roots of the Tree of Life, and pieces of it have fallen to the ground.

Raven did not waste them and collected all the fragments - after all, they were fifth-level materials and he would always have a chance to use them later.

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

In the middle, Raven meditated for a while to rest, and only completed the carving of the shape when lunch was delivered the next day.

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

There is an obvious tightening about one-third of the way to the top, which is just enough for Raven to hold it firmly, and then it becomes fuller 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 is right, Raven himself does not rule out this use.

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

It is only at this step that the enchantment truly begins.

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

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

And enchantment is to fix the processing process on the magical materials.

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

This process is not easy.

There are no two identical leaves in the world, nor are there two identical magical materials. If there is even a slight mistake in the carving, 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 could only engrave a 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 clear his mind to make his head 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 branch of just the right size, go home and use an axe and machete to cut it into the right shape.

I got some medical soft rubber tubes and a piece of tire liner cut into an oval shape from a bicycle repairman. I used glue and nails to put them together and made a slingshot to shoot birds, insects, and mice.

Of course, it was inevitable that he would accidentally damage other people's glass, and then be beaten around the house with the copper-headed leather belt.

That seemed like a long time ago.

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

As time goes by, enchanted structures take shape and magical lines appear.

When the last knife was cut, all these elements were connected together, and a layer of pale 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 thing to do is the final step - "offering to the devil".

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

This function itself also consumes 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, of various shapes, and are dark blue throughout. However, if you look closely at them, you will find that the blue is very light.

This is a first-level magic crystal. The "magic crystal" that people often refer to is this type. The price of one is about 1-8 gold coins.

For magicians, magic crystals are very useful. Holding it in your hand can increase your meditation efficiency by about 1%; if your magic power runs out during a battle, you can absorb the natural magic power contained in the magic crystal for replenishment.

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

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

When the gray-blue dust filled every gully, the staff suddenly vibrated, broke away from Raven's palm, and floated horizontally in the air. All the magic patterns lit up at the same time, and dots of blue starlight burst out from it, illuminating the gray body with a metallic luster.

The enchantment is complete.

Raven stood up, stretched out his right hand, and activated his magic power. 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 perfectly and the magic power flows through it without any sluggishness.

He chanted the spell softly, and magic power flowed into the staff. Runes lit up, and then a bone spear condensed on the tip and flew into the wall.

"The magic power consumption has increased by about 50%." Raven smiled and said, "The power has increased by about 20%. Good!"

This data is no less impressive than Raven's previous locust wood staff.

And don’t forget, it is only at the first level now. As the enchantment level increases in the future, the increase will be even greater!
In addition to its most basic function of amplification, as a staff it can of course also store magic, up to three first-level magics.

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

I don’t know what level this staff will be at when it is upgraded to the second or third level!
Although he still had some strength left, Raven did not continue to strengthen the staff, but left the secret room.

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

So after a night's rest, the next day Raven finished his morning run 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 roadside scenery while breathing in the fragrant air of the early morning.

Not long after the carriage arrived at the Flowing Crystal River, Raven suddenly inhaled an extremely fishy smell. It felt like a person with stinky feet had water in his shoes, ran around outside for three days, and then took off his shoes and put them directly in front of Raven's nose.

It is no exaggeration to say that Raven's eyes went dark!
"Volaf, what's going on?"

Volaf's voice was also muffled, and he was obviously smelling a lot of smoke: "Baron, it smells like fish...fish!"

fish?
Raven looked up through the window and saw that both sides of the Liujing River were densely packed with dead or half-dead brown dace. There were fish scales all over the surface of the river, as if they were going to fill up the river!
"Forget it, keep going." Raven lowered the car curtain and covered his nose.

The carriage continued to move for a while, and a familiar voice was heard: "I told you yesterday to clear all the fish away, because the Baron is coming, didn't you hear it!?"

It was Kuman, the political official of Xuefeng County.

Raven asked Volav to stop the car and went down to take a look. He saw Kuman standing by the river, scolding a group of fishermen.

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

A group of fishermen behind were even more frightened when they saw this, and hurriedly followed suit. Some touched their chests, nodded, and some knelt down.

“My Lord Baron, I am so sorry.” Although he had scolded the fishermen harshly before, he defended them in front of Raven. “Now is the season for brown dace to migrate. The river is full of fish. We can’t catch them all. Everyone is about to vomit after eating so much. That’s why the smell is so strong.”

Migration is a unique habit of some fish. They will return to a specific place to spawn and then die in a fixed season.

Raven rubbed his nose. He knew that most people in this era still couldn't eat meat, so it was impossible for them to waste the fish they got. So he asked, "Why don't you hang them up?"

Kuman smiled bitterly: "Every year, the brown dace migrates during the rainy season here. It just rained the day before yesterday!"

"Even if we pick up the fish and hang them up to dry, they will be soaked by the rain before they can dry. If they do that a few times, they will rot. Otherwise, no one would watch so much meat go to waste!"

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

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

Raven nodded slowly.

Letting some fish rot may not seem like a big deal 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. I am afraid that a lot of bacteria and viruses will be bred. If they spread along the river...

No wonder we heard about plague breaking out in Xuefeng Territory every summer.

Before, Xuefeng Territory was not his territory, so these fish were left to rot. But now that it is under his rule, he has to think of a solution.

Raven lowered his head and looked around - this was a typical fishing village, with stone walls and roofs covered with straw, and fishing nets that had been mended more than once hanging on the shelves in the yard.

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

"You're joking." Seeing that Raven was a good-natured lord, a young fisherman next to him said, "A block of bitter salt is enough for our family of six to eat for a month. How can it be used to pickle something like this?"

Kuman immediately glared at the fisherman.

Raven didn't care. "I'm overthinking it... So, Kuman, you go out and collect and catch these migratory brown dace, and then pickle them all."

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

Deep down, he actually didn't agree with Raven's decision - salt is expensive, and fish is not cheap. Even if it is pickled, who will he sell it to?
I can't eat it by myself, otherwise the whole Eagle Castle will be filled with the smell of rotten fish, which will be such a joke.

It's a losing deal no matter how you think about it.

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

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

It seems that these craftsmen are learning the ropes quickly and it won’t take too long before they can become proficient in production.

According to the plan, he should stay here for a while until the product was completed, but the ubiquitous stench made him dizzy, so he turned around and went back to Eagle Castle.

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

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

"Senior Crouch." Raven saluted with a smile: "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 here, but that was just his wishful thinking..."

Crouch's expression became more serious:

"Promise him."

……

(End of this chapter)