Chapter 48: Magic Development… Success!

The most important conceptual problem was solved. The rest is just the repetitive work of experimenting and optimizing.

This isn’t something that can be done overnight.

Programmer friends who write code should understand this well.

Once you have the idea, writing the program framework is pretty easy. The headache comes afterward when debugging and optimizing performance.

It’s pretty much the same for magic development.

The principle of the magic is figured out, so for Jiang Cha, carefully manipulating her mana to directly construct it inside her body is quite simple. The problem lies in optimizing efficiency and dealing with the various mana conflicts that arise when converting it into a spell model.

Currently, the first version Jiang Cha constructed is roughly equivalent to the effect of just two of her own circuits, but the mana consumption is astronomical. It’s a completely unoptimized half-finished product that still needs her to slowly refine it.

When it’s truly finalized, Jiang Cha estimates that the mana consumption of this magic will be about 50 to 60 mana per second. The simulated brain it constructs can support 40 temporary thought circuits, which definitely can’t compare to a real witch’s brain. After all, hers is an extremely simplified version.

It can’t even really be called a brain because what Jiang Cha created is just a carrier for thought circuits. To describe it simply, it’s like constructing a slice of a brain and then engraving runes on it.

But the advantage of magic is that it can be cast multiple times simultaneously.

That means she can achieve the effect of having “brains” all over her body.

Ignoring mana consumption, based on the current brain model, she can build up to 34 of these simultaneously, totaling over a thousand thought circuits, turning a witch into a true human-shaped computer.

And because of her inherent magic, Jiang Cha already has an advantage in computing power, so the increase is terrifyingly significant.

Of course, this is just an ideal scenario.

In reality, considering the soul’s limited capacity and its much greater fragility compared to the body, a witch below the Sage rank can only simultaneously cast five of these spells at most. Beyond that, there’s a risk of soul collapse.

But even five simultaneous casts mean 200 temporary thought circuits, more than double Jiang Cha’s current number!

This improvement is no longer just Jiang Cha’s personal gain; it’s a substantial enhancement for the entire witch race.

“Master, do you think I can get the Witch Star Medal this time?”

After the basic work was basically finalized, the girl finally had some free time. She looked up at Mortel’s crimson eyes, which showed little stars shining within them.

With simple mana control, she could even draw hearts in her eyes.

“No way.”

The experienced and flirtatious older sister was not swayed by the girl’s little tricks. She shrugged and told the truth.

“Do you think this magic is very difficult to develop?”

“Of course not.”

Jiang Cha knew her limits. This [Thought Overlap] magic is at most fifth-rank, a mid-tier spell, which for top masters is basically child’s play.

But even such a mid-tier magic exceeded her knowledge. Without Mortel’s help, not to mention refining it, just finding the right idea would have been a problem.

People can’t earn money beyond their cognitive limits, and researchers can’t produce results beyond their knowledge level.

If it weren’t for her master pointing her in the right direction, Jiang Cha wouldn’t know how long it would have taken to develop this magic.

“Yeah, so why do you think no one else tries this?”

“Because the experts are working on more fundamental topics…?”

The girl blinked and seemed to understand.

Witches have both research and war qualities, which are catalysts for civilization’s progress. But the witch race isn’t currently in a high-speed development war stage, right?

They are constantly at war outside, but that’s because of resource shortages and emotional venting. Their homeland faces no pressure at all. Look at the Academy Island and the Tech City — everything is so peaceful, far from a wartime state.

In short, they’re in a period of peace.

What kind of civilization is it when it’s peaceful and not lacking in resources?

It’s a state of stability and prosperity, accumulating strength and developing slowly.

“The Witch Star Medal? Don’t even think about it. Plus, intelligence-type magic hasn’t been recognized by academia — even if you submitted it, no one would accept it.”

The Witch Star Medal is awarded to those who have made huge contributions to the witch race.

It’s awarded once every five years, ten recipients each time. The winners are basically the top masters advancing in their fields. Each one is a master on the path to omniscience and omnipotence.

At least Sage rank.

Jiang Cha was only dreaming. She knew very well she wasn’t worthy.

“When will you get our magic recognized, master?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’d like to, but do you have the money?”

Developing any magic takes time, effort, and money.

For example, the paid download paper for the magic Jiang Cha developed cost nearly ten thousand witch gold. And for a magic branch to gain recognition and become equal in status to smaller branches like Space, Time, or Fate magic, you’d at least need to develop a full magic tree system.

Want to be equal to the Six Major Branches?

Simple. Just have three or more Sages among the scholars of that branch.

This is no joke. Back in the day, the witches on the path of omniscience used this method to raise Creation magic to the same level as other branches.

Therefore, among the Sages, the number of Creation Sages is the smallest — a new branch takes longer to develop.

“Hahaha, I’m not spending that kind of money. That’s your problem, master.”

The girl quickly dodged the topic.

Her eyes darted, then she started hinting: “Our academy’s spring break starts next week.”

“Already?”

Mortel was a bit surprised.

She’s been losing track of time more and more lately.

One month feels like a day.

“Yeah, I think it’s so fast too. I’ve been awake for almost three months now without realizing it.”

The girl sighed along with her.

Unlike Mortel, who’s getting less sensitive to time because of her age and turning into a long-living being, Jiang Cha…

She’s just so busy and “full” that time flies.

She hasn’t had to worry about insomnia lately! She falls asleep as soon as she puts down her book!

“Alright then… get ready. Prepare lots of magic tools. When your vacation starts, we’ll set off.”

Mortel wasn’t one to beat around the bush or toy with Jiang Cha. She made the decision straightforwardly.

“Fragmented world…”

The girl looked up at the sky and muttered softly to herself, but you couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

— Because she wasn’t thinking about anything at all.