Synthetic Wizard

Chapter 212: Chapter 145: Clues About Sub-dragon Species, Base Administrators_2

“Yes, Master,” Carolina replied respectfully.

“How long before Sherman and Cole return?” Sunan immediately followed up with another question.

“Lord Sherman and Lord Cole just sent a message back three days ago. They are currently developing the third Magic Plant Garden. The seeds have already been planted in the Magic Plant Garden. Once the first batch of Dragon Blood Fruits matures and is confirmed to be fine, they can complete their mission and return. It’s expected to take about another two months.”

Sunan nodded slightly.

Coincidentally, these apprentices still need time to get accustomed to the Magic Pattern Armor and the underground world. In two months, when Sherman and Cole return, they can start assembling the combined teams of Wizard Apprentices and Demon Pattern Knights for exploration missions.

“How is the investigation of the Dark Land Dragon going?” Sunan inquired.

Carolina immediately replied, “The people sent to investigate found an entrance to the underground world in a cave north of Ryan City. They found the imprint of a Dragon Claw near the entrance, so we can confirm the Dark Land Dragon emerged from there.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the Red Widow immediately chimed in.

“Opposite the entrance is a hilly area, where we found numerous tracks of Sub-dragon Species walking around.”

Sunan’s eyes lit up, “Are there Sub-dragon Species groups there?”

The Red Widow hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said, “Probably not; the size and shape of most of those footprints are different, belonging to different Sub-dragon Species. We suspect many different Sub-dragon species may have frequented the area in the past.”

Sunan frowned slightly.

Different species of Sub-dragon have vastly different living habits and environmental preferences.

For example, Dark Land Dragons usually dwell in dark and damp caves near lakes.

Dragon Antelopes typically inhabit plains with suitable climates.

If it’s the Volcano Dragon, it usually lives in volcanic areas.

Their preferred living environments are vastly different from each other.

It’s absolutely unusual for many different Sub-dragon Species to appear in the same location.

“Search for the whereabouts of those Sub-dragon Species, investigate where they came from and why they are gathering there.”

After pondering for a moment, Sunan issued the order and added another sentence.

“Once you find those Sub-dragon Species, capture them immediately and try to catch them alive as much as possible.”

Captive Sub-dragon Species can continuously provide Sub-dragon Blood.

The Dark Land Dragon from Ryan City, when delivered, its blood had already solidified and was almost useless, which Sunan found regrettable.

“Yes, Sir,” Carolina and the Red Widow replied respectfully.

After the two withdrew, Sunan looked at the list on the table and smiled with relief.

With this batch of Demon Pattern Knights, he suddenly had a lot more available personnel and no longer had to rely solely on vampires and human-faced lions.

Once they adapt, they can be incorporated with the golems to form exploration teams, accelerating the exploration efforts.

Sherman and Cole can lead two elite teams. Coincidentally, investigating the Sub-dragon Species requires a lot of manpower, so they will be sent there when the time comes.

Closing the list, Sunan stretched his body, left the study, and returned to the surface.

Most of his time is now spent at Base No. 2 in Ghost Lake City, but he sometimes returns to Base No. 1 to check on recent developments.

“Managing two bases by myself is still quite taxing; there are many things I can’t keep up with.”

Although manpower is now ample, so many tasks don’t require Sunan to handle personally, the management aspect still heavily relies on him.

The Red Widow and Carolina have some management skills, yet since they are not Wizard Apprentices, and Sunan hasn’t completely trusted them, he’s never considered giving them base management responsibilities.

“It’d be best to find a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice to serve as a manager for Base No. 1. That way, I won’t have to handle many affairs; I’d just need to periodically review reports.”

Sunan thought to himself.

But finding the right candidate isn’t easy.

Convincing a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice to manage Base No. 1 isn’t difficult; as long as enough benefits are offered, someone willing will surely be found.

The key is ensuring the person won’t betray.

Soul Contract?

Probably won’t work; no Level 3 Wizard Apprentice would willingly sign such a contract.

An Oath Contract might be feasible, but it isn’t solid enough.

After all, many things in Base No. 1 pertain to the secret of synthesizing magic cubes. If someone else is going to manage it, their reliability and loyalty must be guaranteed.

In summary, choosing the person to manage the Base No. 1 is extremely crucial and must be done cautiously.

While pondering, Sunan had already returned to Base No. 1.

Over the past two years, the number of students at the base has increased by over a dozen.

Currently, the entire base houses 284 people.

Nearly one-third have already established the second Star Ring.

Ethan and Attila are progressing the fastest; it’s estimated that within a year at most, they can construct the third Star Ring, becoming the third and fourth Level 2 Wizard Apprentices at the base after Sherman and Cole.

As he walked along, students constantly stopped to salute and greet Sunan.

Occasionally, he also spotted various bizarre Otherworldly Creatures.

At Base No. 1, Otherworldly Creatures summoned by Sunan almost match the student numbers. Most are flora-type beings like flower spirits and flower fairies.

These Otherworldly Creatures primarily manage different regions of the base.

Thanks to their presence, even if Sunan is absent most of the time, Base No. 1 operates in an orderly manner.

Sunan continued walking, inspecting important areas of the base one by one.

Including the two Magic Plant Gardens still under development, Sunan now has a total of 12 Magic Plant Gardens, named from No. 1 to No. 12.

Among them, the No. 1 Magic Plant Garden located at Base No. 1 is of utmost importance.

After developing Magic Plant Gardens from No. 7 to No. 12, the production of Dragon Blood Fruits and Silver Moon Flowers significantly increased, sufficiently meeting the demands of the base, Knight Academy, and Black Rock Cavalry Legion.

So Sunan relocated Dragon Blood Fruits and Silver Moon Flowers from the No. 1 Magic Plant Garden, opting to grow other more valuable rare Magic Plants instead.

Anyway, with enough manpower now, if more Dragon Blood Fruits and Silver Moon Flowers are needed in the future, they can just establish more Magic Plant Gardens.

In the worm nest, the slow-moving Gemstone Bugs crept on the ground, with the gemstones on their backs sparkling brightly.

With rare metals supplied by the Star Alliance for making splitting nutrients, the number of Gemstone Bugs grew quickly.

There’s now a total of 32.

The annual gemstone output from the worm nest also increased to over 1,100 pieces.

In terms of Gold Coins, it equates to about over 20,000 Gold Coins.

Though not matching the profits from the Star Alliance Ore Vein, it offers long-term benefits without worrying about resource exhaustion.

Moreover, the yield will steadily increase over time, making the prospects promising.

In the workshop, the Magic Energy Crystal forge emitted a low hum.

Each of the numerous compartments had people in use.

Sunan took a tour and found most apprentices crafting Magic Refined Gold.

For apprentices who’ve preliminarily mastered [Magic Item Creation], crafting Magic Refined Gold is currently the most worthwhile task at the base.

Apprentices accepting the task retrieve refined gold and materials from the warehouse. Once completed, they submit them to earn certain Contribution Points.

Of course, if they fail, they have to bear the loss.

It’s worth noting the funds for purchasing refined gold were sourced by Sunan from the finances of the Starry Night Principality.

During the first few years after the war, most of the Starry Night Principality’s tax revenue was spent on livelihood recovery—especially in the reconstruction of Ranshuang Province—the finances often ran in the red.

Only recently has there been a gradual surplus.

Without hesitation, Sunan collected a sum from Kei to craft Refined Gold Golems.

The Dragon Blood Fruits provided to the military over these two years weren’t free.

Having previously contemplated transitioning the base and Starry Night Principality from an economically dependent state to independent entities, Sunan also plans to soon lay cards on the table with Kei to initiate the process.

Only by shifting to a mutual-benefit transaction relationship can the base and Starry Night Principality better progress forward.