Chapter 396 Mana Currents

"Well, that's because building the colossal magic tower at the top of the Red Goblin Mountains is necessary for us to acquire closer access to the mana currents in the sky and also allow us to monopolize the flow of mana," Vaan casually replied.

"Frankly speaking, a ten-thousand-foot magic tower might not be tall enough. So ideally, I would prefer if we could build a thirty-thousand-foot magic tower or even a hundred-thousand-foot magic tower."

"However, we can't bite off more than we can chew. Time, effort, and resources would be wasted if the magic tower crumbles due to flaws in its construction or if it gets destroyed by our enemies. Thus, we can only take things one step at a time," Vaan stated.

He would only consider upgrading the magic tower to thirty-thousand feet and beyond after stabilizing the situation in the kingdom and confirming the structural integrity of the ten-thousand-foot magic tower.

Nevertheless, the colossal magic tower project was just the first step of his plan to build an orbital tower that could extend into outer space.

He had not forgotten the original purpose of the Red Dragon Clan's migration.

They left Chaos in search of opportunities that could further their potential and advance their power beyond the divine.

However, the world of Pangea that they landed in was devoid of the opportunities they sought.

But just because Pangea lacked the opportunities the Red Dragon Clan sought, it didn't mean the opportunities weren't present in the vast universe.

Vaan suspected the universe had its own group of divine beings that weren't inferior to the denizens of Chaos.

According to Narvim's introduction to Chaos, the current universe was going through its destruction cycle after expanding too much. But thanks to an absolute being of the past, Chaos was created to save the dying universes from returning to nothingness.

As such, it was safer to assume the world of Pangea was situated somewhere in the outermost part of the universe, and the opportunities were located somewhere closer to the center.

Vaan wouldn't have dreamed of interstellar travel in his lifetime, given the world's current level of technology.

However, the power of magic made anything possible to achieve; coupled with his knowledge, it was within reach.

Although it was still a distant goal, it wouldn't be achievable unless steps were taken toward it.

While Vaan briefly thought about his future plans, Astoria and the others had no idea what he was talking about.

"What are these mana currents mentioned, Vaan? How would accessing them help us monopolize the flow of mana?" Astoria enquired curiously, vaguely suspecting Vaan was planning something groundbreaking.

"Just as their name implies, they are currents of mana that can only be found high in the sky," Vaan explained.

"As you all know, an overwhelming amount of mana is constantly pouring into our world at any given moment due to the dimensional crack connecting to Gehenna. As such, the area with the densest concentration of mana is also in front of the dimensional crack."

"However, the Great Ashfallen Forest separates the dimensional crack from the rest of the kingdom. At the same time, mana is weightless, like air. Thus, most of the mana is already scattered by the wind by the time it spreads to the rest of the world. As a result, only a few surface areas are actually concentrated in mana."

"That said, it's an entirely different story in the sky. I discovered the wind currents created by the large dimensional crack have also weaved the endless output of mana into thick mana currents in the air," Vaan stated.

The reason the Red Dragon Clan was so rich in mana was also due to the nine peaks being much closer to the mana currents in the sky.

That's why mana stones were nothing to the dragons, and they could constantly power the fog and illusions around the Thousand Fog Mountains.

"If we can connect to the mana currents via our magic towers directly, we will have an infinite supply of mana, and the value of mana stones will become as cheap as dirt," Vaan claimed.

Everyone was dumbfounded after listening to him; it just sounded like something from a fairy tale book.

But when they pictured a world filled with endless mana stones, they couldn't help but feel excited. It could effectively eliminate poverty and conflicts, and they will never have problems with mana shortage again.

However, the mana stone-producing magic tower would also incite endless greed from those desiring to monopolize it.

Thus, they would also need the strength to protect it—which they did not need to worry about since they had Vaan.

"So we only need to build this ten-thousand-foot magic tower on the Red Goblin Mountains before we can access this endless source of mana? Amazing!" Cyrena exclaimed as her eyes beamed with excitement and anticipation.

However, Vaan shortly killed her expectation with his following reply.

"Of course not." Vaan shook his head and said, "If the mana currents were that close to the surface, everyone would have long discovered it. Unfortunately, the mana currents are much higher in the sky than you think."

"Still, even though building a ten-thousand-foot magic tower on the Red Goblin Mountains would only bring us a bit closer to the mana currents, the concentration of mana up there is still richer."

"Thus, we can still benefit from such a magic tower since the increased mana supply will help with Sunpeak Town's development and ease the burden on our expenses," Vaan added.

"Where do we start, Sir Vahn? What do you need?" Solana asked with bright eyes.

She could already envision the future if everything went according to Vaan's idea. If she weren't wrong, the magic tower would become a central pillar in the Kingdom of Black Rose. Its attraction would transform the entire area into a megalopolis, unlike any capital city she had ever seen.

Although it would also come with managerial issues, among many other kinds of problems, she wanted to believe in the potential future of the kingdom where they weren't held back by such matters.

"I already have a general blueprint of the ten-thousand-foot magic tower in my mind," Vaan stated.

"However, I will need to study the foundation of the Red Goblin Mountains and modify the blueprint accordingly. That should take some time."

"Before I leave, I will write down a list of materials and their estimated amounts required for the magic tower's construction," Vaan stated.

Shortly after, he received a pen and paper and wrote down the list of materials and estimated amounts according to his calculations before passing the piece of paper to Solana.

When Solana glanced at the list, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"T-T-This… isn't this too much? Can we even afford this?" Solana asked while holding onto the list with trembling hands.