Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World - Chapter 47

Luna
Luna wearily rested her chin on the desk, her stunning emerald-green eyes fixed on a vial before her. Inside it, a cracked purple seed bobbed at the bottom, sheltered from the flame heating it up.

“Another failure….” Luna grumbled, banging her head on the desk a few times in frustration. “The temperature is spot on, but the magic circle is too unstable. The increase in temperature seems to stir the Fire Mana inside the seed, causing the energy to escape in two ways: a milder one and an explosive one. It’s like trying to contain a ticking time bomb.”

“Well, now I know why those other mages in the Central Region threw in the towel on stabilizing these seeds.” – She mumbled and let out a deep sigh – “Even a tiny increase in temperature can lead it to explode. It’s only stable in the freezing cold of the North, but outside of this region, forget it. There are also dangers for a living organism to hold it in their hands since there can be heat exchange. Damn!”

Luna let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. She had been working on stabilizing the Torch Tree seeds for months, but progress had been slow and frustrating. It seemed like every breakthrough was followed by several failures.

But she refused to give up easily, even if the task seemed impossible. She had fled from her family in the Central Region and traveled to these freezing lands just to study the Torch Tree Seeds. All of that to find out the secrets of these seeds, which might be a great help for her breakthrough to a new level of strength.

*Sigh*

Lina sighed as her hands powerlessly dropped on top of the armchair, closing her eyes. – “I would have brought my whole laboratory if I had the time. I will need a better equipment and materials to make any real progress. However, Mana Crystals are just too few in this region.”

Mana Crystals were an extraordinary mineral, found only in specific geological formations, much like diamonds or gold. They were not a renewable resource and were extremely challenging to mine.

These crystals were the product of millions of years of sedimentary deposits. The mineral-rich rocks acted as a natural barrier, trapping pure Mana deep underground. Over time, the Mana crystalized and became a highly concentrated and pure source of energy. The thick blanket of Ice in the North made it extremely hard for the pure Mana to invade and permeate the ground. It led to the existence of only a couple of mines throughout the whole North.

Luna was fed up. She tugged her furry coat up to her neck, muttering under her breath, “Patience, Luna. You need those Torch Tree Seeds, and this kingdom is one of the only place to get them. I’ll try to stabilize this thing once more.”

With a sigh, Luna stood up and grabbed the vial from her desk, pouring it out the window, watching the seed touch the floor. She glared at it, relieved when it didn’t explode like a grenade once again

“Well, that’s a small win.” – She muttered.

Luna settled back at her desk, relived and ready to experiment once again when suddenly, the walls and the ground beneath her makeshift wooden house powerfully shook, followed by a huge explosion.

Boom.

“What the–“- Luna scrambled to her feet, heart pounding in her chest. A massive explosion had just rocked her small wooden house, sending shrapnel flying everywhere.

“Ice Wall” – Luna acted fast, conjuring up a magical ice wall to shield herself from the debris.

However, her relief was short-lived – “My house!”- Luna screamed, kicking the ground in frustration.

-x-

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Henry who was on top of his Snowfire Horse heard a shrilling voice as a smile flashed on his lips. – “There we go again. I should ask the masons to come back here.”