Chapter 200: Chapter 195: Treasure in the Bug Nest and the Energy Bottleneck

On the battlefield of Three-way Canyon, several utility Golems were dismantling the Scorpion King’s corpse, while a dozen more cleaned the area.

Allen stood at the entrance to the insect hive, watching as two Mining Golems worked with a Pioneer-class tunnel boring machine to reopen the collapsed cavern. Debris and soil were carried out and piled to one side.

Jarvis’s voice sounded over the communication channel.

[Commander, the burrowing probes have detected an anomaly 120 meters underground.]

"What kind of anomaly?"

[A high-purity Magic Power reaction. Preliminary analysis suggests a Magic Stone vein.]

Allen froze for a moment.

’A Magic Stone mine?’

He immediately pulled up the burrowing probe’s feed. The image showed sparse crystals embedded in the rock wall of what was once an insect burrow, deep in the dark underground.

’Did I just strike it rich?’

"Analyze the reserves."

[Scanning... The estimated total deposit exceeds ten million Magic Stones, but most of it has already been mined.]

[Current reserves: Approximately 920,000 to 1,080,000 Low-Level Magic Stones. Quality: Low-grade. Mining difficulty: Low.]

’Ten million Magic Stones!’

"No wonder this swarm of scorpions could thrive and multiply here," Allen muttered to himself. "They were using it as a pantry." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Crystal Shell Giant Scorpions were creatures that could directly consume magic-infused minerals, and their young required a large amount of Magic Power to grow.

With a mine like this, the scorpion swarm’s development rate would naturally far exceed that of ordinary Magical Beasts.

Except now, it was his.

Allen took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement. ’It’s a shame I didn’t get here sooner. If I had, my mine wouldn’t have been squandered down to so little.’

’Still, even with just this, I can build another Freedom.’

"Jarvis, draw up a mining plan immediately. Transfer four more Mining Golems over here and prioritize mining the concentrated areas."

[Acknowledged. Estimated daily output: Over 2,000 Magic Stones.]

’It’ll take more than a year to mine it all, and that’s a conservative estimate.’

Allen turned and looked toward the canyon entrance.

Three-way Canyon controlled a key route, and with a mine of a million Magic Stones beneath it, its strategic value had just been maxed out.

’I have to build a long-term base here.’

Allen brought up a holographic sand table and marked Three-way Canyon with a red dot.

"Jarvis, create a base construction plan. Use the defense configuration of a standard mining garrison as the baseline, but triple it."

[Generating plan... Mobilizing 1,500 Jumper Spiders, 60 Spider Slayer IIs, 20 ’Inferno’ platforms, three PX-1s, and a standard complement of production and logistics Golems. Shortfalls have been added to the production queue.]

"Approved."

Allen didn’t hesitate. "Also, this is a major route. We need to be prepared for Magical Beast hordes."

[Understood. Alert level raised by one.]

Allen took one last look at the dark mine entrance, then turned and boarded the Odyssey.

---

「An hour later, at the workshop.」

Allen walked into the production bay. The first thing he saw was the ’Inferno’ launch platform being assembled on the line—the very same order being prepared for Victor.

Its six-legged frame was already formed and was currently being etched with Rune Circuits. In an adjacent area, components for the Red Lotus Type I Magic Missiles were stacked.

"What’s the progress?"

[Mister Victor’s order is currently 8% complete. Full delivery is expected in four days.]

Allen nodded, walked to the central console, and pulled up the production report.

The workshop had been running at full capacity recently.

Production Line A: Assembling ’Inferno’ launch platforms. Progress: 3/20.

Production Line B: Manufacturing Red Lotus Type I Magic Missiles. Progress: 92/480.

Production Line C: Manufacturing replacement parts for Spider Slayer IIs.

Workshop Magic Power furnace output: 97%.

Allen stared at the last number, his brow furrowing slightly.

97%.

This meant the workshop’s Magic Power supply was nearing its limit.

Allen had planned for three production lines in the workshop, and the equipment was already being utilized to its maximum potential.

"Jarvis, pull up the energy consumption data for all Golems."

[Magic Stone consumption statistics for the First Legion over the past three months:]

[Spider Slayer II, average monthly consumption: 962 Low-Level Magic Stones.]

[Pacifista, average monthly consumption: 14,762 Low-Level Magic Stones.]

[Storm Falcon, average monthly consumption: 5,421 Low-Level Magic Stones.]

...

[Total: 45,000 Magic Stones/month.]

Allen stared at the numbers, silent for a few seconds.

’Forty-five thousand a month.’

’That’s over half a million a year.’

’And that’s just consumption from daily patrols and small-scale skirmishes. If we were to fight another large-scale battle, replacing the Magic Stones alone would cost another hundred thousand plus.’

"This isn’t a long-term solution."

Allen turned and walked toward the back of the workshop.

There, the Freedom Gundam stood silently in its dedicated hangar, the Singularity Engine in its chest emitting a faint blue glow, steady and powerful.

Allen looked up at the eighteen-meter-tall machine.

’The Singularity Engine.’

’It’s the most advanced energy technology I currently possess, capable of drawing Magic Power directly from the Sea of Magical Power. Its cost-effectiveness far surpasses using Magic Stones for power.’

’The problem is, this thing is too damn expensive.’

The manufacturing cost for a single Singularity Engine was as high as sixty thousand Magic Stones.

That price was enough to mass-produce two Pacifistas.

"It would be great if I could install a Singularity Engine in every Golem, but I’d go bankrupt instantly," Allen said with a self-deprecating smile.

Besides, with his current level of technology, he was completely unable to miniaturize the Singularity Engine.

The Freedom Gundam’s Singularity Engine was three meters tall and weighed four to five tons.

Only large Golems over ten meters tall could accommodate something of that size.

A PX-0?

Even if the engine were free, that Golem was only four meters tall in total. There was no way to cram it in.

"So, I either have to lower the cost or shrink the size, neither of which I can do right now."

Allen paced back and forth in the hangar.

"Or... I could try a different approach."

He stopped and looked toward the Magic Power furnace in the center of the workshop.

The three-meter-tall cylindrical device was humming deeply, countless Runes flashing across its surface as it continuously output a standard flow of Magic Power for the workshop’s use.

"The principle behind the workshop’s Magic Power furnace is essentially the same as the Singularity Engine’s," Allen muttered to himself.

"They both draw Magic Power from the outside world, refine and convert it, and output stable energy. The principle is the same. The only difference is that the Magic Power furnace is stationary, larger, and can also draw Magic Power from the planar leylines, giving it higher conversion efficiency. The Singularity Engine, on the other hand, is mobile and smaller, but it can only convert raw Magic Power from the Sea of Magical Power."

His mind began to race.

’If I can fully master the technology of the Singularity Engine and reverse-engineer the manufacturing method for the workshop’s Magic Power furnace...’

’...then I can add more Magic Power furnaces to the workshop and expand production capacity.’

’I could even build a small Magic Power furnace at each mining site, allowing the garrisoned Golems to recharge directly and saving them the trouble of traveling back and forth.’

The more Allen thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

He walked back to the central console and pulled up the complete design schematic for the Singularity Engine.

A dense network of Rune Arrays unfolded in the holographic projection.

The Original Magic Power Connection Array.

The Magic Power Refining Matrix.

The Multi-stage Energy Storage Crystal Cluster.

He had already mastered every single module.

’The problem is, the way these modules are combined is optimized for mobility and compactness.’

’If I sacrifice mobility and allow for a larger size, I can increase conversion efficiency. A slight increase in cost would also be acceptable.’

Allen’s fingers flew across the console.

"Jarvis, create a model. Parameters: size increased to five meters in height, unlimited weight, fixed installation. Objective: increase conversion efficiency by 50%."

[Simulating...]

A model of a new device slowly took shape in the holographic projection.

It was thicker than the Singularity Engine, with a more spacious arrangement for the Rune Arrays, and the number of energy storage crystal clusters was doubled.

[Simulation result: Verification required. Estimated cost: 70,000 Magic Stones.]

Allen stared at the model, a glint in his eyes.

’I can accept this price.’

"Jarvis, what’s the probability of success for this plan?"

[Based on current technological reserves, the success rate is 60%. The main risk factors are the stability calibration of the large-scale Rune Arrays and achieving the desired increase in conversion efficiency.]

The success rate was a bit low, but he had to try. Allen took a deep breath.

"Greenlight the project. Codename: ’Project Furnace.’ Objective: manufacture the first independently designed workshop Magic Power furnace."

[Acknowledged. Allocate resources?]

"Hold off," Allen said, shaking his head. "Let’s deliver Victor’s order first."

He turned and walked out of the workshop to think.

Outside, the setting sun dyed the workshop’s steel exterior a deep crimson.

Allen stood at the workshop entrance, gazing at the distant, rolling mountain range.

The mine at Three-way Canyon, Victor’s order, and the soon-to-be-launched Project Furnace.

Everything was proceeding step by step, according to plan.

"Once Project Furnace succeeds, I’ll be able to completely break free from the constraints of relying on Magic Stones for power," Allen murmured.

"Only then will my Golem Legion truly have the foundation to wage a war of attrition."