One Second-Level Magic Stone was worth one hundred First-Level Magic Stones. One million First-Level Magic Stones equaled ten thousand Second-Level Magic Stones.
That was only the standard calculation. In reality, ten thousand Second-Level Magic Stones were worth more than one million First-Level Magic Stones.
As one's strength increased, the demand for Energy Crystals grew ever greater, and the requirements for their grade rose higher as well.
Many things that Second-Level Magic Stones could accomplish were impossible for First-Level Magic Stones. They could not be made up for with sheer quantity.
For example, the Hyper-Concentrated Energy Cannon used in the Orc Plane required Second-Level Magic Stones as its energy source, and it required a great many of them.
Converted into First-Level Magic Stones, those Second-Level Magic Stones amounted to an almost immeasurable quantity. Even such an enormous number of First-Level Magic Stones could not fill it; even if it were stuffed full, it still would not be enough to activate the Hyper-Concentrated Energy Cannon.
The higher the grade of an Energy Crystal, the rarer it was. One-to-one-hundred was merely the theoretical exchange rate; in practice, it was often around one to one hundred or one hundred and ten.
Most Energy Crystals in Lower Planes were First-Level, with only a tiny fraction reaching Second-Level.
Only Middle Planes had more Second-Level Energy Crystal veins and even Third-Level Energy Crystal veins. This was determined by the difference in rank between Planes.
That was also why Black Sail had been willing to take the risk of raising the Orc Plane to a Middle Plane. The gap between a Middle Plane and a Lower Plane was simply too vast; the resources they could produce were not even on the same scale.
As for Higher Planes and Top Planes, they were not something the current Wizard Plane