Chapter 609: Chapter 13: The Meeting

Fiery Flame City, Council.

Lynch sat at the head of the long meeting table, with a dozen or so people seated along its sides. Their appearances varied greatly, from young girls to old men, giving the feeling of a family meeting being convened.

However, anyone familiar with the layout of Fiery Flame City and even the Jade Land would be greatly shocked by the sight.

Julia, the Holy Daughter of Light from the Light Church…

Mila, the master of the Alchemy Workshop, and Kali, the president of the Minstrel Association…

Jeraf, the Witch Master of the Jade Tower…

Sophia, the Witch Master of the Dark Emblem…

Karina, the Queen of Orendale…

The councilman of the Fiery Flame City Council…

From commoners to nobles, from the mundane world to the Extraordinary World, the top forces of Fiery Flame City and even the Jade Land were gathered here, representing the current structure of the entire Jade Land.

And the topic these bigwigs were gathered to discuss was only one—

The excavation and extraction of the Underground City.

Lynch’s gaze swept across the people on both sides, and he simply began the meeting: “I won’t waste any more words. Let’s get straight to the point.” The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel★fire.net

With that, his gaze fell on Fred: “Councilman Fred, report on the current overall excavation status of the Underground City.”

Erwin’s journey had reached its end, and now the councilman of Fiery Flame City was his carefully groomed successor, Fred.

Fred immediately stood up, slightly bowed, and acted meticulously. He unfurled a scroll in his hand that shimmered with magical light, and his voice was steady and clear, like reading an important financial report:

“By order, Guardian. As of this moment, within the Jade Land’s sphere of influence, a total of 163,752 underground city ruins have been registered, numbered, and incorporated into development plans.”

He paused, allowing the monumental number to settle in everyone’s minds, then continued:

“Among them, there are over 156,900 Apprentice Level underground cities. The exploration and excavation completed account for about seventy percent of the total.”

“There are 6,800 Wizard Level underground cities. Of these, there are 5,200 Elementary Wizard Level; 1,300 Mid-level Wizard Level; and 300 High-level Wizard Level. The overall excavation progress is less than fifty percent, with higher levels progressing even slower.”

“Currently, only 38 Mystical Level underground cities have been discovered and confirmed. Of these, only 13 are undergoing exploration. The excavation progress… is exceedingly slow.”

Lynch nodded slightly, not surprised by the distribution, but the numbers and progress of the Mystical Level were clearly below his expectations.

“What is the main reason for the slow Mystical Level excavation?” he asked directly.

Before Fred could respond, Julia’s cold voice rang out: “The root lies in ’people.’ Although the Mystical Altar has been put into use, the number of adventurers who can truly step onto the altar, withstand, and successfully imprint the rune is currently very few, only dozens at most.”

The foundational threshold for imprinting the rune is extremely high. The primary condition is that the adventurer’s own strength must reach the physical and willpower level of a Great Knight. This single condition alone excludes over ninety-nine percent of elite adventurers. Without a sufficient number of qualified bearers, mere altars and ruins cannot naturally speak to efficiency in excavation.

Lynch furrowed his brow.

After a moment of silence, the tapping of his fingers ceased. The air in the meeting hall seemed to freeze. He needed faster excavation, deeper knowledge, and the bottleneck was clearly stuck at the lack of high-end combat power.

“Understood.” Lynch’s voice broke the silence.

After a moment of deliberation, he continued: “Since the natural growth rate doesn’t meet the demand, let’s expedite this process by leveraging magic.”

His gaze turned to the other side of the long table, to a middle-aged man with a gentle demeanor, dressed in a robe embroidered with silver laurel and herb motifs — Regga, the Witch Master of the Moon Magic Tower.

The Moon Magic Tower, or Moon Tower, was formerly the Dark Moon Tower, the headquarters of the Dark Moon Church.

After Lynch took over, he incorporated all relevant potion areas within his power into the Moon Tower and conducted extensive personnel changes inside and out, eventually appointing Regga to replace the former Witch Master Bruno.

Now, this was the most concentrated Magic Potion discipline Wizard Tower under Lynch’s influence.

“Regga.”

“Yes, teacher.” Regga promptly stood, showing respect.

“You will lead, have the Moon Magic Tower spearhead, and integrate all Magic Potion resources from the towers.” Lynch’s voice was clear and strong, “Devise a plan of the highest priority. I need a batch of Magic Potions that can efficiently assist Knight Level and Great Knight Level adventurers in breaking through their physical bottlenecks and refining their willpower.”

“Do not be too frugal with materials. Input what you must, whatever the quantity, you have full discretion. What I need are results — to cultivate more seeds meeting the threshold of the rune imprint in the shortest time possible.”

Excitement flashed in Regga’s eyes, and he immediately bowed without hesitation: “Yes! Teacher! I will immediately summon all high-level potion masters to consolidate the formula library, listing the optimal solutions and resource lists.”

At that moment, Sophia, shrouded in a dark purple starlit hood, let out a soft, low chuckle, drawing everyone’s attention. She slowly lifted her head, revealing half of her delicate yet mysteriously smiling face beneath the hood.

“Guardian,” Sophia’s voice carried a uniquely hoarse magnetism, “if it’s ancient formulas that rapidly enhance physical strength and unlock potential we’re talking about, my ’Dark Emblem’s secret archives do hold some interesting collections.”

Her slender finger lightly tapped the table, “For instance, the ’Blood Boiling Elixir’ can burn a warrior’s potential to the extreme for a short time, with power and speed increasing several-fold; or the ’Bone-Eroding and Muscle-Forging Soup,’ which forcefully temper the muscles and bones through intense pain… the effects are remarkable, but…”

She deliberately elongated the tone, “the side effects are also quite ’interesting,’ from mildly depleting longevity and potential to… well, not remaining human in form.”

She paused, then shifted her focus to Regga: “However, if we could get the full support of the Moon Magic Tower and combine your expertise in neutralizing and blending potion properties, it might be possible to remove or significantly reduce these side effects. Witch Master Regga, would you be interested in collaborating?”

Hearing this, Regga’s eyes lit up. Ancient formulas often contained unique concepts and potent efficacy, the side effects were challenges and opportunities alike. He immediately looked at Lynch.

Lynch nodded slightly, addressing Sophia: “Thank you, Witch Master Sophia, for sharing generously.”

“In that case…”

“Regga, the ancient formulas provided by Witch Master Sophia are precious knowledge, ensure full cooperation in the research and improvement. Potions research requires collective brainstorming.”

“Yes! Teacher! Lady Sophia, please discuss in detail after the meeting!” Regga promptly replied, full of enthusiasm.

The direction to solve the high-end combat power bottleneck was set. Lynch’s gaze sharpened again, sweeping towards Karina, Fred, and Kali.

Mystical Level is just the very few at the top.

To truly significantly increase the number of adventurers and the excavation progress of the Underground City, the main focus must be on here…

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