Overload Flow

From the discussions around him, Fang Heng could tell that the match in the arena had come to an end.

Click—Fang Heng closed the casing of the Kingfisher Alpha. Type I Crystals differed greatly from ordinary Attribute Crystals, so the internal ports of the Magic Furnace naturally needed corresponding adjustments. Fortunately, ever since the third-generation universal Magic Furnace, designers had accounted for the replacement of different backup Core Crystals, and the ports had been made adjustable.

As a mature product among fifth-generation universal Magic Furnaces, the Kingfisher Alpha was naturally no exception. The only issue was that Type I Crystals were still an unknown product in this world, so Fang Heng had spent some time testing its actual output range.

After he closed the lid, a status window opened:

Kingfisher Alpha AE type Magic Furnace—(Equipment Level: E+)

'Core Attributes: Maximum output power 190M, instantaneous overload 11%, stable overload duration 70 seconds'

'Number of ports: Mana storage ports—2, recharge port—1 (recharge efficiency 317%), main port—1, auxiliary port—1'

'Basic Attributes: Weight 2.7 kg, high-temperature operating threshold 89, core heat generation rate 0.3–3.7 per second, heat dissipation efficiency 2.7 per second, framework enhancement: +9%'

Equipment Requirements: E-rank Aether Knowledge, E-rank Basic Magic Device Theory

Fang Heng memorized the attributes.

Fortunately, when he had been beneath the Elven Ruins, he had already considered the need to replace his Magic Furnace after reaching level three. He had prioritized using Cognitive Experience to raise Aether Knowledge and Basic Magic Device Theory by one rank, from F-rank to E-rank. It had indeed come in handy now.

Its power output was mainly limited by the Type I Crystal. The Kingfisher Alpha's maximum output could originally reach 580M. But because the alpha state of a Type I Crystal was itself slightly inferior to an ordinary Attribute Crystal, and because he had modified only one section of that pyroxene crystal, it was left with only this much output capacity.

After all, he had had less than fifteen minutes to prepare. Creating a Core Crystal required the Element Separation skill—something akin to a chemical reaction on Earth, following the same principles of conservation. Alchemists called it equivalent exchange, altering the elemental structure within a crystal to achieve the mana properties they wanted.

It was purely manual labor. Without specialized tools, it would take at least several hours to complete. Fortunately, separating a Type I Crystal using an Attribute Crystal was much simpler than modifying one with an Attribute-less Crystal. If he altered only one section, fifteen minutes was barely enough.

He then sealed off the other areas containing attribute mana to prevent problems during the match. This amount of output was enough, and after accounting for the Walker's maximum demand, he could even install an additional plugin.

Furthermore, Luo Yu was a tourist and could not use a professional Magic Furnace, so his universal gloves also contained an attribute-less Core Crystal. Fang Heng had originally intended to remove it, but after hesitating for a moment, he gave up on the idea.

That Core Crystal was small anyway, with only 110M of output. Together with the gloves' own framework, it was not all that heavy. Luo Yu had no other equipment on him, so he could bear that combat load. Besides, Fang Heng had a new idea.

Just then, Luo Yu parted the crowd and returned, bringing the latest news from the arena.

As expected, Hong Ye had defeated Blood Night Demon Moon in the first round. Whether in level, equipment, or skill, the two simply were not on the same level. It confirmed what Hudi had said—at most, this match had been an exhibition bout.

Fang Heng's case was special. Because the Elpaxin Artificer Guild contestant had forfeited, the referees had already announced that he was advancing to the next round.

This unexpected advancement caused quite a stir in the hall. Those who followed the preliminary matches were a minority to begin with, and few people present knew Fang Heng. Many were discussing this "mysterious qualifier." Most considered him a lucky fellow, nothing more—only a handful of paranoid people quietly questioned whether the Kaolin Merchant Alliance had rigged something behind the scenes.

It made Fang Heng break out in a cold sweat.

Luo Yu said, "So unless something unexpected happens, the next match should be Mr. Ed against Sister Hong Ye."

"And the other side?" Etila asked.

"Ah, that was truly a splendid match." The Paparal who had watched that battle immediately gave them a vivid account. In the semifinal arena, Wu Di had defeated his companion. Neither of them had held back, but the former was clearly far more skilled.

That youth's Flexible Construct was the Walker Type III everyone had seen earlier, though it had undergone extensive modifications and even possessed some ranged attack capability. But none of that meant anything before Wu Di's Flexible Construct. His Flexible Construct was actually the Empire's third-generation mass-produced heavy Flexible Construct—the Dreadnought.

Everyone was left rather speechless upon hearing that. In theory, the Dreadnought was a Flexible Construct that could only be used at level fifteen. Those two Silverwood Spear youths definitely were not that high level. Fang Heng judged that the Central Nervous System AEM type Magic Furnace had played a significant role, with at least two plugins that reduced computational and operational requirements.

Moreover, Wu Di's own skill set and knowledge structure were probably unusual, leaning more heavily toward construct control. Ordinary Combat Artificers also had to take crafting abilities into consideration, since they first had to be alchemists.

Hudi believed that Dreadnought was probably not a complete model either. That was also quite possible.

Very soon, the information Jita sent back confirmed that guess—she had taken a shortcut and directly obtained the basic data on Silverwood Spear's two genius youths from the Taboris Oak Knights' intelligence office.

Sure enough, Wu Di was a level-eleven alchemist, a human male from the Kaolin-Ishurian Alliance. His actual age was seventeen. He had entered Aethelria four years ago, including one year as a trainee.

Everyone could not help being surprised by the data. He had entered Aethelria when he was even a year younger than Jita. He had become a trainee at thirteen—what kind of talent was that?

The other youth was much less impressive. His ID was Liuli Yue, a level-ten alchemist and also a human male from the Kaolin-Ishurian Alliance. He was seventeen in reality, had entered Aethelria three years ago, and had spent one of those years as a trainee.

"Tch." Sky Blue Fantasy scoffed after reading the information. "He's only around Tata's level. So full of himself."

"This information is rather sparse," Hudi commented after looking it over.

"Can't be helped," Luo Yu answered for Jita. "Those two are likely rising Combat Artificer stars that Silverwood Spear has been cultivating as its main force. They have always kept their information strictly confidential, so obtaining even this much was not easy."

Sky Blue Fantasy said carelessly, "Anyway, forget about Wu Di for now. As long as Brother Ed defeats his next opponent, he can teach that hateful troublemaker a lesson."

"Then what about the next contestant's information?" The Paparal had to stand on tiptoe just to barely hang onto the edge of the table as he looked at the others and asked.

Luo Yu and Jita exchanged looks.

Fang Heng's next opponent, Hong Ye, happened to be a female contestant from the Taboris Oak Knights. As trainees of the Knight Order, they naturally could not betray information about their own guild.

Sky Blue Fantasy had not caught on yet and merely blinked at them.

Fang Heng, however, understood. He was about to say that they did not need to know such details and should not put them in an awkward position. At that moment, a mistress and servant approached their table, making him stop involuntarily and look over.

In truth, everyone's attention was drawn to the two newcomers—a tall, quiet, silent maid, and before her, a delicate, frail-looking girl with a melancholy air. The latter's skin was snow-white, reflecting the light.

Even the voices around them seemed to lower unconsciously.

"What a beautiful young lady."

Fang Heng even heard Sky Blue Fantasy blurt it out.

"We meet again. Good evening, everyone," the girl said softly, her voice clear and ethereal. "May I sit here? There are no seats elsewhere."

Luo Yu frowned and was about to refuse, but someone eagerly answered first, "Of course you can!"

The youth looked speechlessly at Sky Blue Fantasy beside him.

"My name is Sky Blue Fantasy. You can call me Sky Blue, beautiful young lady." Sky Blue Fantasy curiously examined the girl, as well as the enormous suitcase she held in both hands. Sometimes, she could not help wondering whether that slender, delicate waist would be snapped by such a huge case.

"Young... lady?" The girl paused slightly and looked at Sky Blue Fantasy from behind her veil with pale blue eyes.

Those eyes were crystal clear, holding not the slightest secret, as though her inner world were laid bare without reservation. Sky Blue Fantasy's heart skipped a beat or two despite the fact that she herself was a girl.

After a brief pause, the girl introduced herself. "My name is Sylvid. This is my maid, Shesta."

With suspicion in her light violet eyes, the maid looked over every person present one by one. Still, she folded her hands over her apron, leaned forward slightly, and greeted everyone with a bow.

Only after receiving Sky Blue Fantasy's permission did Sylvid place the suitcase beside a chair and let out a soft sigh of relief.

For a moment, the area fell quiet. Faced with a girl as beautiful as a doll, no one knew what to say.

Sylvid seemed long accustomed to this and took the initiative. "Were you discussing that contestant just now?"

Only then did Fang Heng come back to himself and nod.

Sylvid replied, "I know her name is Hong Ye. She is nineteen this year. By your definition, I am a native, so I do not know how long she has been in this world. But she is a registered level-thirteen alchemist with the Gula Port Artificer Association. The Flexible Construct she specializes in using is the Annihilator QV700."

"Annihilator?" Fang Heng was somewhat surprised. "A magic-oriented Flexible Construct?"

Jita looked at him, then at the blonde girl, before answering quietly, "She's right. Y-yes, that's true..."

"How do you know that?" Luo Yu frowned at the girl and asked in an unfriendly tone.

His questioning tone made Sky Blue Fantasy pinch his arm hard. The pain made his brow twitch.

Sylvid seemed not to notice the hostility and answered gently, "Because I also live in Gula Port. Miss Hong Ye is a very famous chosen Combat Artificer there, and she is highly respected among ordinary people as well."

Only then did Luo Yu fall silent.

Sylvid continued, "I'm sorry. I don't know whether this information will be useful to you, but that is all I know..."

"Of course it's useful!" Sky Blue Fantasy immediately answered loudly, giving Luo Yu an annoyed glare in the process.

Fang Heng was still pondering the matter of magic-oriented Flexible Constructs when the loudspeaker in the arena sounded.

"Contestant Shaya, contestant Shaya, please enter the arena—"

Upon hearing that strange alias, Sky Blue Fantasy turned back and grinned at Fang Heng. "It's your turn, it's your turn! Brother E—no, Brother Shaya, good luck! Your goal is the next opponent!"

She had apparently already dismissed Wu Di and his Dreadnought from consideration. That was simply too monstrous. The Dreadnought's actual combat power was practically equivalent to that of a level-seventeen combat-class player.

No matter how blindly confident she was, she did not think Fang Heng had any hope of winning.

Fang Heng nodded as well, then stood and walked toward the arena. He fastened the brass clasp of his Magic Furnace and adjusted its position before turning back to look at Etila and the others. Perhaps it was an illusion, but Fang Heng unexpectedly saw a somewhat peculiar gaze fixed on him—it was Sylvid's.

But the girl quickly lowered her head.

The crowd closed in again, blocking the view over there. By the time Fang Heng had recovered from his slight daze, he had already reached the arena.

The surroundings grew somewhat quieter—

Because the preliminary arena had not drawn much attention, many people were seeing Fang Heng, the legendary "lucky fellow," for the first time. Most watched with curiosity. After all, throughout all this time, Fang Heng was the only contestant to advance from the preliminary matches into the finals bracket.

Though he had done so by unconventional means.

Fang Heng could even hear hushed discussions assigning him absurd titles that made him not know whether to laugh or cry—Lucky Shaya, the alchemist who stepped in dog shit, and so on.

At the same time, he was seeing his opponent from the Taboris Oak Knights for the first time—Hong Ye. She was a spirited-looking girl wearing a simple shirt, an engineer's leather skirt, and long boots. Her equipment did not look particularly remarkable; she wore almost no "brand-name" gear. Her Magic Furnace was a Kingfisher Workshop product one grade above his own, but it was still nowhere near as expensive as a luxury item like the Central Nervous System.

Its ports, however, were packed with plugins: a shield generator, a shield recharge device, and an external heat dissipation unit.

The moment Fang Heng saw that external heat dissipation unit, his heart tightened slightly. He suddenly thought of an old tactic associated with magic-oriented Flexible Constructs.

Overload Flow—

He instinctively looked toward her left hand and, sure enough, saw a dial-like piece of equipment there. Noticing his gaze, she reflexively covered it with her hand, but it was useless. Fang Heng had already recognized it—a Magic Stabilizer.

It really was Overload Flow.

Fang Heng thought that he had not seen this tactic for a long time. Even in the virtual community, it had been at least several years.

On the other side, Hong Ye was also frowning as she looked at Fang Heng. She did not know what his earlier casual glance had meant. Was it merely a coincidence, or had he noticed something?

But Overload Flow was an extremely niche school. She did not believe a contestant from the preliminary matches could see through the secret of that Magic Stabilizer. In fact, let alone a preliminary contestant, even those two Silverwood Spear geniuses—

Hong Ye felt that they might not recognize it either.

Among Combat Artificers, different specialties were worlds apart.

Thanks to the new alliance leader, Post-90s Non-Mainstream Youth, for the donation. That means I owe another bonus chapter. Wait until the release, wait until the release.

Also, reader Luoyu Jiushang made a setting post in the review section. While its contents do not completely represent my own ideas, the organized setting details and most of the explanations are basically correct. I do not have time to post setting material for now, so if anyone has questions about the setting, you can check the pinned post. Treat it as setting-related material.

Also, the Traveler's Respite storyline is nearing its end. This is, after all, a relatively important plot point in the early stage of the book. And while I'm at it, please vote and add it to your collection.