Sorcerer: I want to be an Academic Prodigy

Chapter 482: Chapter 480: Five Kilometers
 

The research on the Return City Tower, with each new phase it entered, the range covered by the little base continued to expand, consuming ever more land.

In the isolated area, work was as bustling as ever.

Twenty days later, the new Return City Tower’s preliminary expansion was completed.

It was no wonder that Ivan and his companions had expanded so rapidly; they were enhancing the structure according to the original framework and previous experiences. The fundamental logic involved remained the same; it was merely the content that was expanding.

Like baking a cake, just a few adjustments were needed.

“Boss, do you need me to test first?” Locke tentatively asked, his face clearly eager.

“Step aside, I’ll call you if needed,” Ivan glared at him.

“Alright, I’ll just take Morris over there,” Locke said with a sheepish smile and swiftly left.

When the teleportation distance was four thousand meters, he had been the first to test it and only suffered minor injuries; Ivan had taken stock of that.

Five thousand meters was different, but Ivan equally had a sense of it; he could feel something unusual brewing within the magic circle. Without mentioning anything else, the spatial matrix alone had become more active than before.

This was a sign of impending chaos.

“Shall I send someone up, great scholar?” The speaker was Nelson.

“Yes, please, thank you for that,” Ivan chose to agree this time.

“You’re too kind,” Nelson said hurriedly in response.

He wasn’t flattering Ivan; as an experienced old sorcerer, he knew that often times it was necessary to maintain a sense of hierarchy, even if only a trivial amount, as a way to express one’s attitude in such a setting.

This was rather important.

Afterward, he sent out a strangely looking bird.

The many-headed bird had two pairs of wings, two heads, each with three sets of eyes, and its body was covered with blue crystal-like feathers. However, the creature was not large, only a bit bigger than an average adult.

A sorcerer stepped forward and stuffed a Return City Order Token into the mouth of the bird floating in mid-air.

“Go!”

A Crystal Ball floated in front of Nelson; the images inside the Crystal Ball were crystal clear, reflecting precisely what the two-headed bird could see, as well as its surroundings.

Without a doubt, this was an experimental subject specially cultivated as per Nelson’s Return City research requirements, named ‘Many-Headed Split Bird.’

At Nelson’s command, the Many-Headed Split Bird activated the Return City Order in its mouth and was instantly enveloped within a protective barrier.

The barrier rose a short distance before disappearing into the ripples of the air, seemingly vanished from sight, but in reality slipping into a temporary spatial passage and then into the fixed main teleportation conduit.

In just an instant, the image in the Crystal Ball was dyed red with blood; the problem occurred between the temporary channel and the main conduit.

The test did not stop; the blood color in the Crystal Ball quickly intensified until it turned into nothingness.

“The teleportation wasn’t half completed before the Many-Headed Split Bird turned to dust,” Nelson said with regret.

“The problems arising from five thousand meters are indeed different; they’re not few in number,” Ivan chimed in with a somber voice.

In the recent test, he had watched the situation unfold clearly. The junction points of the channels at five thousand, four thousand, three thousand meters – each had its issues big and small, all showcasing the diversity of spatial changes.

It was the Many-Headed Split Bird; after being damaged, it could rapidly divide and had a strong survival capacity, otherwise, it wouldn’t have lasted even one thousand meters, let alone nearly half the distance.

“Try again?”

“Several more times. Record where the problems occur, collect the data and then sort it out collectively.”

Whether it was Ivan, Nelson, or the other sorcerers, they had all anticipated such an outcome.

When problems arose, naturally they had to devise solutions. The first step was to identify all the issues, trace them to their origins, and then gradually begin to improve the Return City Tower, until the problems disappeared.

No one thought it was too much trouble.

As they began the improvement process, time became ever more elusive, taking up a whole month, which was even longer than the time it took to expand the Tower. However, the heavens do not let down those with resolve, and one by one, the many issues were resolved.

“Locke, it’s your turn now.”

“Got it.”

Upon hearing Ivan’s call, Locke’s expression instantly became invigorated—it was finally this old boy’s turn to take the stage.

He didn’t forget to give a shoutout to Morris, who was on the same side.

“Morris.”

“What?”

“You wait here, don’t worry about it, I will return soon after I take care of big business.”

Hearing this, Morris’s complexion turned dark; he knew he had just been scorned by someone.

However, he was helpless; to be fair, his role in this research was indeed minimal. With Locke being Ivan’s avatar, irreplaceable by anyone else, it was destined that Locke could play a crucial role at the key moment, and his contribution could not be overlooked.

Not waiting for a reply, Locke strode towards the Return City tower.

Locke grabbed the Return City Order, flashed to the predetermined position, and launched the test directly.

Ivan stood quietly to the side, watching Locke vanish into thin air.

Instantly, Ivan’s facial expression subtly changed.

“Is there a problem?”

“Not a small one.”

Ivan casually responded to the person nearby and hurried toward the central spire, entering it to see Locke, whose face was unnaturally pallid.

Locke was clearly not lightly injured.

Locke was his avatar—the moment they came close, he immediately knew what Locke had just experienced.

“Boss, I did pretty well, didn’t I?”

“You’re quite bold.”

Seeing Locke with a grin on his face, Ivan didn’t know whether to praise him or scold him. In the end, he just glared at this audacious fellow.

The teleportation process actually didn’t have problems.

But Locke, relying on his sharp spatial senses, detected a hidden danger within. He decisively exposed it, which led to the crisis erupting and him being injured.

As an element creature, he didn’t end up covered in blood.

Seeing the confused sorcerers who had followed, Ivan quickly had Locke go heal while he briefly explained the situation. Presently, the Return City tower seemed improved, but it harbored some underlying issues that could trigger at any moment.

The explosion of these hidden problems was a matter of probability.

Once it happened, it could become a life or death issue.

Besides, the current test was only at a distance of five kilometers; there were still six kilometers, seven kilometers—Without resolving the five-kilometer issue, it could become a major problem at six kilometers, and even worse at seven.

They had to handle it with extreme caution.

“Once Locke has recuperated, we need to conduct a series of tests.”

“We can only trouble Mr. Locke then.”

There were no objections to Ivan’s arrangements from the others.

Detecting the presence of hidden dangers required sufficient spatial sensitivity, which involved the innate space affinity of the creature itself, something other test subjects did not possess.

In the following days, tests were conducted over and over.

They discovered more hidden dangers than expected; each time they were different, at different locations, of different sizes, and even the manner varied—each instance injured Locke.

But Locke was tireless.

“I’m impressed.”

Watching this unfold, Morris, who initially had some complaints about him, was now thoroughly persuaded.

After all, Locke’s contributions were significant, his role irreplaceable.

With Locke’s full cooperation, Ivan quickly identified the problem. He decided to demolish that part of the project and start over, attempting to set up new frameworks within the overall structure. This approach aimed to break the five-kilometer barrier and prepare for the future challenges.