Chapter 831: The First Attempt at Forging a Power System

The essence of the Power Leaves was Locke actively transferring a portion of his Forest Sanctuary's total magic pressure.

Because his permanent defensive force field had transformed into the four-dimensional permanent defensive force field shell, his permanent defensive force field shell at this moment could directly draw on the power of his Forest Sanctuary.

This caused his bond with the Forest Sanctuary to become even deeper.

By using the permanent defensive force field shell, he could transfer a portion of the Forest Sanctuary's energy into the gaps between the trees and leaves, condensing it into special leaves of life energy, and by inscribing spell models upon them, create them as Power Leaves, transforming them into special spell-based equipment.

This was itself inspired by the World Tree Leaf, and was an attempt by Locke to simulate the World Tree Leaf.

Of course, at this moment he could only draw on the portion of the Forest Sanctuary's power within the Heidelberg Plane.

He would need to wait until the Forest Sanctuary's strength within the Heidelberg Plane reached a certain level, connected with his own Forest Sanctuary, before he could draw energy from the Forest Sanctuary located in subspace.

At this moment, Locke was in no hurry. He used the Lunar Blessing Curse to illuminate a common holly tree, then used the holly treeman as an avatar and walked through the forest.

"A power system is the core of virtual forging and the flowing foundation of Grand Magic."

"But only a power system that meets three requirements can be the power system currency for constructing a completed star-forged Grand Magic."

"First, a Second Circle being must emerge from this power system. This can be one's own avatar or incarnation entering the system."

"Second, the power system must be highly aligned with this wizard's Grand Magic, serving as a highly abstracted symbolic system of this wizard's Grand Magic's power. After all, the so-called power system is the process of taking one's Grand Magic as a whole and abstracting it into a symbolic system, then perfecting it so that it can produce Second Circle existences and thus be completely matured."

"Third, the power system must be created from nothing. This is the core of virtual forging."

In essence, this entire power system was merely a highly abstracted symbolic system that summarized his Grand Magic.

But with it, it was as though his Grand Magic had gained a soul, like a living plane that had gained access to water.

His Grand Magic could then, on the foundation of this power system's symbols, extrapolate its future.

And in order to obtain this set of virtual rune systems, one had to have a deep understanding of one's own power, along with a highly developed cognition of the knowledge of one's own magic category.

At this moment, because Locke had been a Second Circle wizard for too short a time, it was difficult for him to construct a complete power system for his Grand Magic all at once.

But this was fine. According to what the magical books on Witch Yekaterina's recommended reading list said, there was no need to construct the entire power system at once.

He could do it brick by brick, step by step.

That way, even if a wrong path was taken, it would be easy to course-correct.

But some wizards who took unorthodox paths often tried to understand the entire magical category all at once in order to construct the complete power system.

That approach was actually counterproductive, and moreover would cause one to walk a wrong path that was difficult to reverse.

At this moment, Locke, following the approach of the World Tree Leaf and drawing on all the botanical magical knowledge he had accumulated along his journey, produced these Power Leaves.

The holly treeman's branch-fingers traced across a single intact leaf on an oak tree in front of it.

"This world has no magical plants, but that is all right. Even as an ordinary plant, the oak represents the sacred and natural power. Oak leaves are the best medium."

The holly treeman's fingers passed across a leaf and left a trace of the apprentice-level spell model, Grass and Wood Tricks.

"I am simplifying the First Circle spell All Plants Are Soldiers into the third-class wizard apprentice-level spell, Grass and Wood Tricks."

This was something he could easily accomplish as a Second Circle wizard. After all, All Plants Are Soldiers had also been one of his most beloved First Circle botanical spells in the past.

After Locke finished inscribing the spell model on this leaf, golden runes appeared on the spell model.

Forming a unified whole.

The leaf then flew out automatically and landed on the holly treeman body being operated by Locke's consciousness. The next instant, a jade-green luminescence appeared across all the branches of the holly treeman.

"Good." Locke said with pleasure. He extended the treeman's palm and a small flame appeared in it. He snapped the treeman's fingers and a thunderclap rang out, with lightning flashing without visible light.

Grass and Wood Troops, All Plants Are Soldiers, and Lone Tree Cannot Form a Forest were three spells that could all harness the power of any magical plant. In essence, they could harness the general natural force.

And Locke had simplified the All Plants Are Soldiers spell model into Grass and Wood Tricks, which in essence became the ability to borrow the energy of ordinary grasses and flowers nearby to create certain natural phenomena, such as a small flame spontaneously appearing at one's fingertips, or a gentle breeze.

These small tricks were of no real use.

But in this world, they were sufficient to demonstrate power.

Locke then spent some additional time approaching two other nearby oak trees, obtaining their consent, carefully selecting two healthy leaves from each, choosing them as Power Leaves to carry the Forest Sanctuary's power, and inscribing spells on each.

The first spell was a simplified version of the second-class wizard apprentice level 0.2 circle spell model Vine Hand, reduced to the second-class wizard apprentice level 0.1 circle spell model, Grass and Wood Hand.

The second spell was a simplified version of the 0.5 circle spell model Wild Grass Entanglementment, reduced to the 0.1 circle Grass and Wood Entanglement.

The two Power Leaves flew automatically into Locke's tree crown, and the holly treeman flashed a jade-green luminescence twice in succession. This meant the holly treeman had spontaneously mastered the Grass and Wood Hand, Grass and Wood Tricks, and Grass and Wood Entanglement spells.

"Let me also try whether a higher-level spell model can be inscribed on a Power Leaf."

Locke selected an oak tree, condensed a Power Leaf in its crown, and simultaneously attempted to inscribe the 0.2 circle Vine Hand, which was also the very first spell model he had ever learned in the wizard world.

The result was that the Power Leaf suddenly collapsed.

"Not yet. At my current level of botanical depth and understanding, as well as high-level abstraction ability, I am not yet sufficient to inscribe a 0.2 circle spell onto a Power Leaf."

"These Power Leaves are, after all, designed to spontaneously grant casting ability to ordinary people, independently constructing an entire system. The difficulty lies not in inscribing a mere 0.2 circle spell. That would be trivially easy for me. The difficulty is in inscribing a 0.2 circle spell within this system of granted leaves and allowing the recipient to obtain that power."

"Though it seems that before inscribing a First Circle spell, I should just need some practice and it should become achievable. After all, according to the logic of my Power Leaf system, power does not rest with the individual but with the leaf."

Locke realized his power system construction was still fairly rudimentary. The best way to observe the depth of a power system was to look at the number of people who had mastered it and the upper limit of their power levels.

First, his Power Leaves currently had only the 0.1 circle level as an upper limit.

And the number of mastery holders was only two, that is, his avatar, plus his one native student in the Louis Plane.

"And this approach would easily lead to currency overissuance."

Locke realized that his act of using natural magic to create Power Leaves within his Forest Sanctuary and the Moon of Evolution's ecological community was essentially printing money at will.

If he overissued, would that not cause his entire system to collapse?

However, since he had only constructed 0.1 circle Power Leaves, borrowing this tiny amount of power could not possibly place any pressure on him at this stage. There was no risk of overissuance right now.

This was also one of the advantages of constructing the power system piece by piece rather than all at once.

Locke reflected on the experience of creating Power Leaves this time.

"Next time, I should also add the restriction of spell slots. Each Ranger who holds a Power Leaf can only use a certain number of spells per day and cannot exceed the limit. The Power Leaves I have made now can draw limitlessly on the power of my Forest Sanctuary and ecological community in this plane."

"Which means the holder has no limit on their number of castings."

"That is not right. Though, in this World War, I am only running an experiment anyway. Power draws of this degree are unlikely to break the system. Let it stand for now."

At this moment, Locke sensed that two people at the edge of the forest were running frantically. He set the treeman's slow, powerful pace and walked in that direction.

'This world actually still retains extremely powerful natural force. Unlike the Louis Plane, where the entire plane's will was suppressed and held hostage by the Burial Ground.'

'But this world has three World-Stealing Celestial Rituals, and yet natural force remains this strong. Of course, this is related to the nature of the Grand Magic's construction. The Burial Ground necessarily required deceiving the world's power to reverse the cause and effect of life and death.'

'Whereas the World-Stealing Celestial Ritual is different. It steals the force of life. This plane naturally retained very powerful resistance. At this moment, this plane is sending these two people to my side. Without even thinking about it, I know these two must be this world's children of fortune.'

...

In the jungle, Jack pulled Susan's hand and ran frantically through the trees and leaves. The horses they had been using to escape had had their necks snapped by the terrifying monster behind them.

Jack would swear to the God of Light that he had never seen a monster this powerful.

How thick was a horse's neck? Yet in just an instant, the monster with its human body and beast's face, full of vampiric fangs, had snapped it and drank blood raw.

Susan panted and called out to Jack ahead of her, "I cannot run anymore. I cannot go on. Jack, run ahead without me."

"I cannot catch my breath. I think I might be sick... just go ahead."

Jack turned his head and, as a minor rural noble, almost had his heart leap from his chest. Right behind him was a monster with skin as unnaturally pink-white as ice-cracked porcelain. The creature barely maintained a human form, with a pair of ghastly pale bat wings on its back and a jaw like a wolf's.

What in the world was this thing?

Jack had merely attended a small gathering of a resistance organization that secretly opposed the church's corruption.

Who would have known that such a monster would have infiltrated their gathering and slaughtered nearly everyone? In just an instant, almost all of them had been killed.

Only he and Susan had been lucky enough to flee, finding a reasonably obedient and swift warhorse in the stables.

In the darkness, the vampire monster's ghastly white face reflected a pair of crimson eyes.

Jack, pulling Susan as he fled, seemed to feel that vampire's gaze on his back, along with its foul, breathless terror.

He heard the vampire's footsteps, sounding as though they had appeared right beside his ear.

'This is over.'

A wave of despair crashed over Jack. His reason told him to let go of Susan, yet his heart made him grip her hand tightly.

He was practically dragging Susan's entire body along as he fled.

The moment he let go, Susan, who could no longer run, would become that monster's prey.

Most crucially, his reason also told him that even if he abandoned Susan, he might not escape.

Unless, right now, there was a warhorse in front of him.

"Ah!"

Susan let out a scream.

And Jack drew the small knife at his waist and turned to glare at the monster behind him. Since he could not escape, he might as well fight the monster. There was at least a chance.

Better that than dying like a weak rabbit being chased down by that monster until he had no strength left.

But when he turned, he received a shock. Because the moment he turned, he saw that several strands of wild grass had coiled around the vampire monster that had been right behind his head.

The grass rapidly grew, coiling around the monster's body.

The monster angrily tried to tear the vines apart.

But the next moment, a vine lashed heavily across its body.

The vampire monster let out a scream. What had seemed to Jack to be the most terrifying monster in the world convulsed and staggered backward repeatedly under that single strike.

The vine left a deep wound across its body.

Then, a vine pierced through its heart. In an instant, that low-rank blood servant who could not even be called a true vampire let out a wail, its whole body erupted in flames, and it turned to ash.

Jack and Susan were so frightened they crouched to the ground.

The two were still shaken.

Susan caught her breath.

"Could it be that everyone inside the church is one of those monsters? No wonder those lords showed such terror whenever the church was mentioned. What they feared was not the church's god. What they feared were these monsters inside the church. It turns out this is how it is."

"But who saved us?"

Jack looked back at Locke who was observing the situation, somewhat uncertain. "Perhaps not a person? Is that a tree?"

Susan also turned to look.

The two were unsure whether they should run.

After all, a tree that moved on its own and looked something like a small giant did not appear much safer than the vampire monster just now.

Susan steeled herself. "The treeman saved us. It must be on our side. And even if it is not, I cannot run any further."

Jack nodded and said, "If it were not on our side, there would have been no reason for it to save us. Light above, I repent for every tree I have ever felled with my own hands."

Locke walked toward them and said, "That is not really necessary."

"Using trees normally is actually beneficial to the forest. Jack, all things follow the principle of balance."

Jack's eyes went wide.

"You know my name? Do you know me?"

"Respected Master Treeman."

Locke said, "To be precise, I am not a treeman."

"As for your name, it was this world that told me."

There was no point in hiding things. He had no reason to deceive two native young people.

The instant he had drawn close to these two, he had obtained this world's recognition and entered the state of Following One's Heart Without Transgressing.

In this state, he could come to know many things through this world's planar laws.

At its core, his current state was that of half a saint.

Perhaps because of his identity as a Nature Guardian, combined with this world having been angered by the rituals of those three blood race wizards, when he had drawn close to these two children of fortune, he had received this world's support.

At this moment, as long as he helped the world restore a certain degree of its power, he could perform a saintly descent here, sending down his saintly avatar.

At this point, Locke's main body, standing in the void above the Heidelberg Plane's crystal wall system, looked down from above at this world's land, and both his main body and his treeman avatar simultaneously said to the two, "Jack, Susan, your parents and loved ones have all been killed by those monsters at this moment. Those monsters are called vampires. They subsist on blood. Your king, your overlord, your bishop of the church, have all been replaced by vampires."

Both Jack and Susan were overcome with despair.

The monsters were so powerful, and had already replaced all of their world's rulers.

What were they to do?

Jack said to the treeman, "So the treemen of the forest are resisting them?"

The holly treeman scratched its head.

"Resisting? Have you given those walking corpses, those powerless weaklings, too high a ranking, Jack? It is they who are resisting me, not I who am resisting them."

Jack and Susan stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Locke said, "I can give you power. Lending you the power of nature to become a Ranger, but you must fight for the forest. Are you willing?"

Jack did not hesitate for a moment.

"I am willing, my Master Treeman."