Chapter 18: Academy Site Selection
This was indeed a bit of a problem.
Joshua frowned. He really couldn't wear this 'women's' ring, but the Twin Serpent Ring was, after all, a Gold-rank transcendent equipment. Its grade and practicality weren't low, so it wouldn't be good to just leave it at home unused.
"I'll just return this to Verdani as a gift next time."
In the end, the warrior made this decision: "If it really doesn't work, I'll leave it at home as a decoration."
But after saying this, Joshua suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.
He always felt that, at some point, he often heard someone say something like this.
*(This thing isn't easy to use... put it in the family vault.)*
*(This thing doesn't suit me... put it in the vault, see if someone else might fit it later.)*
*(This ring... no one in our family meets the conditions, giving it away would be too much of a loss, so temporarily put it in the vault, see if someone can use it later.)*
Could it be that the collections of those great families were so abundant precisely because they accumulated things this way...
Shaking his head to dispel this thought, Joshua let out a breath and continued listening to Lin as she reported information to him.
Today's official duties were not yet complete.
A few days later, Starfall Year 832, May 2nd.
To receive Moria and his group, Joshua took Ying and left the main city, heading toward the area around the Great Aias Mountains, while Lin stayed home with Number 3 to handle official duties and take care of Black, who was still in hibernation.
Black now spent most of his time besides eating, curled up in the stable sleeping. His appetite was growing larger and larger, already comparable to an ordinary magical beast. After consuming large amounts of food, his body had grown some hard carapace and long spines. His teeth were also shedding, replaced by layers of sharp fangs, and his fluffy horse tail was gradually transforming into a dragon-like blade-edged long tail.
Apart from still looking roughly like a horse in general appearance, in terms of bodily details, Black now resembled more of a dragon-beast, radiating intense heat along with a faint aura of majesty.
After flying for quite some time, by the time Joshua saw Moria, he had already crossed several mountain peaks and arrived at a branch range of the Great Aias Mountains.
On the mid-slope of a snow mountain called Nissier, the old dwarf and Nostradamus were surveying the terrain and discussing something. When they saw the warrior fly over from afar and land, Moria walked up and greeted him cheerfully.
"Long time no see, Joshua, my friend."
Moria opened his arms, ready to give Joshua a hug, and laughed loudly: "On the way to your main city, I ran into this guy Nostradamus. He asked me to help him choose a site for his magic academy. I thought about it—it was on the way anyway, and it's all for your territory. So why not? I gave him a hand. You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course I don't mind, my friend."
After replying, thinking for a moment, Joshua decided to bend down and accept the old dwarf's hug. Compared to Moria, he was really too tall. If he didn't bend over, the other party could at most hug his waist: "But for this kind of survey work, you shouldn't need to do it yourselves. Moria, didn't you bring a few attendants?"
As he said this, Joshua glanced sideways at the several dwarves who were lighting a fire to keep warm.
"Them? They still need to learn a thing or two."
Moria shook his head: "These guys are too young. I wouldn't feel at ease entrusting this kind of work to them. This time, I brought them along purely to let them gain some life experience, not to actually have them do the work."
Meanwhile, Nostradamus, aside from greeting Joshua when he arrived, had been examining the snow mountain the whole time, frowning and silent.
Nissier Snow Mountain was an exceptionally towering peak, reaching 3,320 meters in height, second only to the Great Aias Volcano's 3,760 meters. The environment around the snow mountain was varied, with valleys, rivers, hills, and forests. Joshua followed the old mage's gaze and looked around the surroundings, then couldn't help nodding and commenting: "This place is indeed in a good location. There's enough space on the mid-slope, and the mana concentration is relatively high. It's a good site for an academy."
"But it's still a bit small."
The old mage heard Joshua's words and nodded in agreement, but still hesitated: "The scale of the academy I planned isn't that large, but if it's placed on the mountain, it feels a bit cramped. The shape of the land on the mid-slope isn't right; it can't accommodate the academy I have in mind."
"Then you can hollow out the mountain's interior and embed half of the academy inside the mountain."
Joshua shook his head, refuting Nostradamus's words. He continued observing the surroundings, then pointed to the river area on the mid-slope: "Look, if you just hollow out that area and connect it with the original flat ground, you'll have a large stone foundation. As an Ultimate-rank mage, accomplishing that shouldn't be difficult for you."
"Besides, there are forests and rivers around, which will save a lot of effort during construction."
"...That's actually a good idea, but I need to check if it will disrupt the surrounding mana nodes."
Looking at the place Joshua pointed to on the mid-slope, the old mage thought for a moment, then nodded, accepting the warrior's suggestion. He immediately flew up to inspect the naturally condensed mana nodes on the mid-slope.
Meanwhile, Joshua and the old dwarf walked back to the foot of the mountain, observing the snow mountain from bottom to top.
On the way down Nissier Snow Mountain, the old mage began gathering mana in his hands, causing light waves and water mist to generate a series of images.
As the images solidified, a huge projection of Nissier Snow Mountain appeared before Nostradamus. This projection was as real as the actual thing, complete with clear cutaway and perspective views. Both Joshua and Moria could clearly see its structure and design.
It was a fortress-like building situated on the mid-slope of the mountain range, at an altitude of about 900 meters. The fortress was built against the mountain, with most of its structural parts embedded within the mountain's interior, making it look extremely sturdy. The exposed parts were also exquisitely crafted, almost like a work of art.