Five days passed in the blink of an eye, just like a fleeting dream.
The player count had surged, spiking up to double its previous numbers, now standing at a staggering ninety-four players. Unsurprisingly, the players’ demographic was more skewed toward male players, with female players comprising only a modest 20 percent. Though, Victor had made sure of one thing: Whenever new female players joined the game for the first time, they would always be in a pair of two or none at all. Putting naked people of different genders in the same chamber would be awkward.
Victor leaned against the large window outside his office, gazing out at the evolving landscape of the academy. Significant progress had been made, evident in the rising brown line to the north — it was the earthen wall made to be three meters tall and two meters thick from the hardened clay and mud. It might be puny compared to terrifying magical beasts, but it was better than nothing.
Figures dressed in acolyte robes bustled ceaselessly to and fro the earthen wall without a moment of lull, their movements resembling tiny, purposeful ants on a mission. As Victor watched them from his vantage point on the fifth floor, he peered at the holographic screen containing the academy’s data.
Academy Name: Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi
Headmaster: Victor Asteriscus
Academy Points: 80
Academy Grade: Level 1
Total Acolytes: 94/100
Progression Value: 35/100
He believed that the player count could be expanded much further, surpassing the initial limit he had set at around one hundred during the Alpha 0.2 update. In fact, thanks to Storm’s stream endorsement, the official website was gaining more and more traffic, and the total number of applicants had surged to a whopping 527.
However, several issues had surfaced even with the current player population, including food shortages, accommodation challenges, and overall management complexities. While addressing these fundamental concerns, the surge in players had also made it increasingly difficult to oversee the academy’s operations efficiently.
Victor seriously lacked capable people to act as NPCs!
After all, there were limitations to what he and Lizbeth could do. He couldn’t keep hunting magical beasts to feed them, could he? Players also needed time to adjust to the game’s environment and mechanics, and while there was the internet, practical work required experience above all.
Also, a new mission had recently become available following the completion of the last side mission. Victor decided to access the mission tab to review the details again.
—— [Headmaster’s Journal] ——
Mission: Build Your Ark Before the Flood
With the academy’s barriers collapsing within ten days, you need to be prepared for what’s to come. Be prepared, be vigilant, and be ready; it is your task to build up a strong enough force and fortifications to contend against the arachnid invasion.
Type: Main mission
Force Assembling Progress: 45%
Remaining Time: 5 days 18 hours 24 minutes
Reward: 250 academy points
Victor was low on academy points, so a reward of 250 AP was nothing short of heaven-sent. Just yesterday, facing a shortage of mana crystals, he had no choice but to purchase twenty novice-grade mana crystals from the System to boost his meditation. If he avoided hesitating and wasting resources, Victor could use as many as two novice-grade mana crystals each day. Any more than that would probably have terrible side effects.
As a result of this strategy and refining the remaining residue of the elixir in his body, his progress with the Myriad Elements Method had skyrocketed to an impressive 52 percent. However, no matter how fast he progressed, there was no chance he would reach 100 percent before the looming invasion. It was an unfortunate reality.
If only I were an Alchemist… The potions and elixirs in the System’s shop were expensive, and although excessive use of them had fewer side effects than mana crystals, he would still build up resistance to them, thus diminishing their effect.
“No use moping around on it; let’s check the progress so far.” It wasn’t a conversation meant for anybody but himself — a soliloquy to spur himself into action as he turned off the holographic screen and left the building.
Thanks to the continuous supply of top-quality tools from the village, the efficiency of the players’ work showed remarkable improvement with each passing day. Despite only five days having elapsed since commencing construction of the earthen wall, substantial progress had been made. The wall now spanned approximately two hundred meters along the northern perimeter of the academy, although Victor planned for it to be one kilometer long on each side of the academy.
Moreover, the agricultural area had seen further expansion with three one-hectare fields sown with seeds, which awarded fifteen progression value points. Not stopping there, under the capable leadership of Thunder, the players had set up earthen kilns to produce bricks. This additional effort had earned Victor another ten progression value points, bringing the total to thirty-five.
Outside the Headmaster’s building, Victor stumbled upon a group of energetic players laboring away in the open southern space. They were diligently digging foundations, laying down yellow mud bricks, and applying a peculiar gray substance that seemed strangely familiar…
“Wait a minute, is that cement?”
Approaching the construction site, Victor identified a player known as “GladiusZone” overseeing the operation, and he told him that a player in the construction group had recently cracked the recipe to make Portland cement. To Victor’s surprise, it wasn’t solely Thunder, the expected expert in such matters.
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At any rate, the discovery of cement and its potential for construction opened up entirely new possibilities for buildings and facilities. With bricks and cement in their arsenal, they could layer the earthen wall, rendering it far more robust. However, given the looming time constraints, Victor decided not to post a mission related to these newfound construction possibilities immediately.
“Esteemed Headmaster, we currently don’t have enough iron, and the only way we can get some is from the iron sediment in the stream. As a result, we’re limited in how much we can produce…” GladiusZone explained.
Portland cement was the most common type of cement and was similar to Roman cement. One of the main materials to make it was iron; with how limited it was around here, it was amazing that the players were able to make any at all. They must have found a way to substitute it.
“Hmm, I see.” Victor held his chin and examined the foundation of the building. He couldn’t recall any mission that authorized construction in this area, so he inquired further, “What exactly are you building here?”
Even though Magus Academy Online was a game that provided players with significant freedom, there were restrictions on erecting large structures or owning private property at the current stage of the game. Victor didn’t want to see the players claiming a piece of the academy as their own and causing chaos later on.
“It’s a public bathhouse,” he explained. “Uhh, although the main building has toilets, it lacks a proper bathroom. Plus, bathing in the stream is not safe; we recently found out that not all the fish in the stream are friendly — there’s this one that looks like a piranha that almost bit MikeIsHandsome1000x’s little brother. So, we took matters into our own hands. We did, of course, consult Miss Fairy first, and she agreed.”
Pfft! Shit, you can’t laugh! You’re the headmaster of the academy! Victor secretly pinched his thigh to hold his urge to laugh and nodded with a stiff expression.
The species of the fish in question was known as the “Crimson Piranha” — a subspecies of magical beast. They had a shape similar to typical piranhas — red in color and filled with razor-sharp teeth — but larger and more aggressive and were obviously carnivores. It was best to steer clear of them, as they often swarmed in groups, and a momentary lapse in vigilance could turn your entire lower half into bones, let alone your “thing.”
“Ahem… Carry on, then. Paying attention to hygiene is a good thing.”
The Headmaster’s Building might be an impressive building at a glance, but it wasn’t designed as a lavish mansion. Primarily, it served as an office building, not a living space. For such an old building, the fact that it contained all the necessary amenities was quite remarkable.
For one, Magi had the ability to cleanse their bodies by manipulating the elemental particles in the air. In addition, the acolyte robes worn by the players were enhanced with spells that kept not only themselves but also their wearers clean. In ordinary circumstances, maintaining hygiene was effortlessly managed without the need for a traditional bath. However, as modern individuals, the players were understandably unaccustomed to such a lifestyle.
“Yes, Headmaster! Then I’ll get back to moving bricks,” the player said with a smile.
“Mhm, very well then,” Victor said as he continued his path northward.
Approximately three hundred meters from his current location, he could see a swarm of players hard at work on the newly constructed earthen kilns. They had a simple, unappealing design, with domed roofs and a relatively modest size. They exuded an aura of rural simplicity rather than professional architecture.
According to his initial plan, the industrial section was supposed to be situated in the southwestern part of the academy. However, due to the considerable distance from the northern wall, Victor decided to temporarily set up the earthen kilns to the north, allowing for a quicker construction process. Later on, they would be moved so that the academy had a better layout.
A short distance from the kilns, there stood a modest wooden cabin, now serving as a wood workshop. Inside, a player by the name of “Aphrodite96,” who seemed to have a background in real-life chemistry, was diligently working with a wooden apparatus. Just like any other player, he had a teenage body and colorful hair and eyes.
He had joined Thunder’s construction group relatively early on and displayed a remarkable talent for crafting tools and various substances. His skills were even praised by the group’s leader. Though because his username was a bit uncomfortable to say, the other players dubbed him “Aphro” instead. It appeared that he was also the one responsible for the creation of cement.
Noticing Victor’s intrusion, the player in question stopped what he was doing but continued to shake the wooden cup in his hand, unconsciously causing its contents to slosh about. He greeted Victor with an overly enthusiastic exclamation. “Ohh!! Sir Astralium, you’re here! I was just about to come find you!”
Insultingly enough, he was among the multitude of players who seemed impervious to even the most basic principles of etiquette, regardless of how frequently they were admonished. In light of his talents, however, Victor chose to let it slide. After all, he was not a small-minded person.
Seeing that the player wouldn’t stop shaking the wooden cup, Victor inquired, “What do you have there in your hand?”
Grinning, Aphro displayed the wooden cup he was holding, and the content was a yellowish liquid. “Oh, this? This is what I wanted to show you — a flammable liquid made from the sap of ironthorn trees.”
Victor subconsciously took a step back upon hearing what it was. Rumors of Alchemists meeting their untimely demise while working on volatile concoctions flashed through his mind. Although he had never seen it happening up close, it still elicited a deep-seated response from him. This player… Thinking that it’s a game, he must have gotten carried away.
“It’s perfectly safe, don’t worry. As long as it doesn’t come into contact with an open flame, hehehehe.” Aphro laughed excitedly, resembling a mad scientist. “Not all resins and saps are flammable, but this one is unusually easy to ignite and will keep burning for a long time. Even the oil from the other pine-like trees pales in comparison. Although it is not as potent as alcohol, in large enough quantities, it can set ablaze an entire forest!”
“I see… Anyway, for your achievements, I will award you one hundred merit points for figuring out the application of ironthorn sap and another two hundred merit points for deciphering the composition of cement.”
Aphro’s grin stretched so wide it looked like his face might split in two at the mere mention of merit points. Unlike most other players who followed conventional methods to accrue them through missions, this player relied on his inventions to compensate.
“If you can produce more of this stuff, I will reward you accordingly.” Victor stressed, “Time is tight, so we want as much of this as possible in the shortest amount of time possible.”
Flammable weapons would hold immense strategic value against the arachnid horde. By creating a blazing barrier around them, Victor could potentially secure victory without direct combat. It was the most ideal scenario, no matter how he thought about it.
“Oh, also,” he added, “I’m in the process of making alcohol from crushing wild berries and distilling them, but we won’t see the result for a few more weeks… And even then, there won’t be much unless I expand the production, which will take even more time.”
“Mm, that’s acceptable.” Victor nodded and cautioned, “You’ll receive the reward you deserve, but please, be extra cautious. Performing chemical experiments in this environment with our limited equipment is risky, so prioritize your safety.”
Victor would have loved to provide this player with proper apparatus, as he showed great promise as an Alchemist. In the future, he might become the cornerstone of the Department of Potioneering that Victor envisioned.
“Of course, Sir Astralium!”