Pillar of Yita

Of course, combination and substitution are predicated on the assumption that the design must be rational; self-contradictory and objective law-violating designs can only result in failure. Indeed, under the condition of sufficiently strong power, some design flaws might be compensated for—however, the design philosophy of ”Might Makes Right” is after all just a widely circulated joke in Eteliria, not to be taken seriously.

Above the main wall of the Colin Ishurian Artisan Association’s hall, there is an inscription said by the most distinguished alchemist in history, Ox Steelbrow:

”For an alchemist, design is all about achieving the most efficient conversion from Ether Magic Power to mechanical power.”

This is, in fact, the lifelong pursuit of all alchemists.

Of course, for Fang Hong, that domain is still out of reach for now. As an alchemist, his current goal is to accumulate as much basic knowledge as possible, learn a variety of construct designs to eventually combine them into more powerful and feature-rich Magic Guided Conductors and Flexible Constructs.

Meeting this basic requirement was one of the tasks set for him to complete Hain Famm’s concept.

After all, the great Mr. Hain Famm likely never envisioned that his successor would be a newcomer to the Alchemy Realm. Therefore, his design ideas often consisted merely of simple descriptions or nouns—he would neither tell Fang Hong what exactly those terms meant; nor would he instruct him on how to craft them.

Perhaps Hain Famm thought these simple and basic things would be common knowledge. But indeed there was someone who didn’t know them, one thousand years later, and that student and successor was none other than Fang Hong.

After more than ten centuries of development, alchemy in Eteliria had long become a specialized field deeply integrated into the civilization of this world. With the accumulation of over a thousand years, the plethora of developing, phased-out, or emerging construct designs could only be described as vast as the Milky Way.

Some of these designs are preserved in the public databases and libraries of the Artisan Association, accessible for subsequent generations to browse freely. But many more have been passed down as ”knowledge wealth.”

They are openly priced in various places, sold in guilds, magic, and alchemy shops everywhere.

After all, alchemists need to eat as well, and this is considered a form of respect for alchemical knowledge. Alchemy is a profession that spends money like water, especially if you desire to delve deeper into a particular domain.

Of course, there are a few exceptions.

Some, by a twist of fate, invented a classic construct design and made a fortune simply by selling its blueprint, even acquiring wealth that rivaled nations—this includes a number of famous master craftsmen.

Because of such examples, a portion of alchemists dedicated themselves to ”inventing” construct designs, hoping to skyrocket to success, thereby neglecting their true duties. These individuals are known in the market as blueprint craftsmen. In the early years, the term carried some derogatory connotations, but it has gradually become a popular profession.

Now, behind every large, historically significant alchemy guild and workshop, the figures of these blueprint craftsmen are indispensable. Their work has shifted from the original invention of construct designs to the promising task of how to circumvent previous ”patents” and establish new ”patent barriers.”

By the way, these two terms are also new additions brought by Earthlings, and they quickly spread among craftsmen, gaining popularity.

Due to their presence, the alchemical industry has undergone significant changes in recent years. Now, the best places to buy construct designs are not the old Artisan Associations but rather the magic and alchemy shops supported by commercial guilds, which have outpaced the former.

This is probably due to the common ills of bureaucratic institutions. Alchemists generally believe that the Artisan Association’s repository of designs is a bit outdated and struggles to keep up with the times.

Overall, learning construct designs is an endeavor that’s costly in money and experience—for natives, it’s also time-consuming. Fang Hong had learned all the basic constructs inside the Clockwork Fairy during his time in Kapuka—these included the Fairy I Flutter Wing structure, Fairy IV Heat Dissipation structure, Fairy I Vision Link structure, Ultra Light Core Power Structure Type α, and Fairy I Armor structure.

As well as the complete series of basic constructs for Walkers—Walker II Spider Locomotion structure, Colossus IV Balance Compensation structure, Walker III Heat Dissipation structure, Light Core Power Structure Type α, Walker I Armor structure, Type I Agility Burst structure, Type I Strength Enhancement structure.

These items are essentially all a rookie has, and Fang Hong was no exception. However, although these might be somewhat sufficient during his time as an Apprentice Alchemist, they proved to be rather inadequate once he became a fully-fledged craftsman.

”Basic construct design blueprints?”

Upon hearing Fang Hong’s words, Lady Giselle swung her hefty legs, scooted her paws to the edge of the platform, and looked down at him askew with an expression that was somewhat stern—though an owl’s expression is always rather stern: ”Quite strange, are you an alchemist? I can’t seem to see your alchemist Level badge?”

Helplessly, Fang Hong flapped his ragged alchemist’s robe: ”Madam, there’s no rule that only alchemists of a certain level can peruse basic construct designs, right? Isn’t this a shop?”