Chapter 385: Chapter 363: A New Surveillance Network and the Spirit Realm
Early spring, Hatrafa Port.
The tropical maritime climate of this region can be described as "long summer without winter." While in other places the weather is just starting to warm and life begins to flourish, the changes on the island are not so apparent.
Not only is it unaffected by the climate, but even the stormy affairs among the countries surrounding Potosi have no impact here.
One’s capacity determines one’s meal, and Milan is well aware of his own capabilities.
Early in the morning.
He called Milan to join him and ventured into the tropical jungle on the island, where the evergreen plants were lush and the wildflowers in the grass were blooming brilliantly.
Chirping!
Chatter!
Unknown birds and small animals were very active, revealing a rare vitality in the northern New Continent this time of year.
They walked along a path that had been purposefully cleared, arriving outside a rock cave as tall as two people.
Whoosh——
On a nearby tree, Bess, who was stationed there, flapped its wings and gently landed on Milan’s shoulder.
"Bess, how is it? Any unexpected situations?"
"Coo coo, everything’s normal!"
With growing wisdom and accumulated knowledge, Bess truly had somewhat of the demeanor of a scholarly owl, assisting Milan with simple experimental tasks was no longer a problem.
Of course, it wasn’t just about being studied...
Looking at the rock cave in front of him, Milan felt a bit nervous.
After the last mission finished and he returned to Hatrafa Port, he immediately launched his "Galliot Bird Transformation Technique 3.0" project.
The main goal was the backbone of the current sea bird reconnaissance network—the White Seagulls.
The success of the transformation was not only related to upgrading his reconnaissance network but also crucial for his further Spirit Realm exploration and continuous progress as an Official Wizard.
It was of great significance!
Especially as a wizard whose fundamental power is the soul, having not undertaken the first Spirit Realm exploration months after advancing was quite inexcusable.
If this were a normal School, Milan might have already been tossed into the Spirit Realm by his mentor.
Previously.
Although he had what he believed to be a mature transformation plan, this endeavor involved the transformation from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
To be safe, Milan captured over a thousand White Seagulls, most larger juveniles with higher plasticity, from the north to the south for the winter, all at once for the experiment.
Even if the transformation success rate for these demonized-like creatures was low, the massive scale should yield sufficient output.
The only drawback was the substantial number of test subjects, with the overall cost of the transformation being considerable, enough to construct a brand new Level 6 Cruiser. Though it may seem extravagant to outsiders, to Milan, it was not an issue.
After all, wasn’t all the effort to make money just for this moment?
Keeping an eye on the "Data Visualization" timer and the cave’s movements, he deemed the time had come.
"Let’s go in."
Bloop——
Milan stepped forward and pierced an invisible barrier at the cave entrance, releasing a peculiar smell, somewhat like egg white, somewhat like amniotic fluid...
But the two people and one bird, who were mentally prepared, walked in without frowning.
Tap.. tap.. tap..
They passed through a narrow passage into the spacious interior of the cave, which had drastically changed from the originally discovered cavern.
The ground and walls were covered with a layer of pale red jelly-like flesh, and the surface was densely packed with eggs identical in shape, size, and color.
Particularly under the glow of a fist-sized Blood Essence Stone above, the alien hatchery scene was incredibly hair-raising to behold.
Milan softly closed his eyes, spiritual light flickering, seemingly in communication with something, then quickly reopened them:
"It should be fine; the ability has solidified."
Just as he finished speaking.
Crack! Crack! ....
Among the over a thousand eggs, successive seagulls which had transformed successfully began breaking out of their shells.
"Chirp chirp chirp..."
Amid a cacophony of calls.
Their nanopore feathers dried quickly as they shook off the mucus, spreading their 1.5-meter snow-white wings and taking flight.
Whoosh——
In the next half-hour, more and more White Seagulls hatched, ultimately yielding a total of 152 new White Seagulls from over a thousand eggs.
As for those still unresponsive, it was evident they would never hatch.
Although the success rate is only slightly above 10%, after all, it involves extraordinary transformation, and Aiven is quite satisfied with this ratio.
"It’s enough!"
He stepped forward, looking at the flock of birds circling overhead, and lightly snapped his fingers.
Snap—
Immediately, white light slowly overflowed from the surface of the seagulls flying around the cave.
Then the shape of the birds gradually blurred into a faint light and shadow, passing directly through the stalagmites in the cave without obstruction or avoidance.
And they seemed completely unaware.
This was the transformation Aiven had performed using the "Bloodline Transformation Technique" exclusive to official wizards, which completed their transformation, allowing them to achieve extraordinary transformation into demonized creatures while granting them powerful magic-like abilities.
[Magic-like Technique·Spirit Body Transformation] breaks the boundary between the material and spiritual world, allowing seamless switching, at the cost of halving their lifespan.
A normal seagull’s lifespan is roughly around 24 years, but now this group of spirit body seagulls can only live for barely twelve years, unless Aiven can achieve a significant breakthrough in biological transformation technology during this period, it might allow them to break free from this fate.
However, considering the long-term future is still too far off, Aiven is very confident in his growth rate.
Meanwhile.
The extraordinary connection with Bess as the base station has been re-established.
Aiven immediately ordered:
"Release them, let’s check the transformation effect."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!....
The white seagulls turned into white arrows, shooting out from the rocks atop the cave without needing to walk to the entrance.
In the blink of an eye, they reached high altitude and continued to climb rapidly, soon reaching the troposphere at ten thousand meters high. Then effortlessly breaking the boundary into the stratosphere, their flight altitude reached twelve thousand meters!
It’s important to know that three-quarters of the planet’s air mass is concentrated in the troposphere, and for normal birds, flight height generally stays below two hundred meters, this height is simply terrifying.
The change in essence also greatly expanded their senses, making it impossible for situations like back at the Black Dam, where they couldn’t even detect countless lizards hidden in the shadows.
Now, under Bess’s command, 152 white seagulls spread out, utilizing the superlative vision that has reached 36 kilometers, each seagull covers a diameter of around fifty kilometers.
Combined, they resemble simplified satellites, presenting the entire wide region’s scenery before Aiven’s eyes.
From a god’s eye view overlooking everything.
Near Hatrafa Port, a group of soldiers led by Boris is conducting channel exploration, aiming to find the routes leading to the Tasman Islands behind the reef-filled islands.
Within the "Dierben Castle" navy base, two dusty cruisers are slowly returning to port, and a group of soldiers is practicing swordsmanship on the island’s training grounds, while the quasi-legendary battleship "Brilliance" is not staying at the port.
A little farther off in the Far Sails Territory, a large market held to welcome the arrival of spring is bustling, with stalls everywhere, teeming with activity, a rare scene of prosperity and vitality among the New Continent’s colonies.
Further out at sea, a one-sided slaughter has just ended. A group of fierce pirates sank a commercial ship that dared to resist, leaving triumphantly with their blood-stained spoils.
Of course, this is their current detection limit, with relatively limited clarity.
To achieve precise reconnaissance, such as recognizing a face within a certain range, the reconnaissance scale would inevitably shrink significantly.
Besides.
With their spirit body transformation, Milan’s [Mind Connection] further strengthens their short-range signals, turning them into network nodes scattered across the void, even enabling extensive [Telepathy] ability.
Even within a massive fleet of over a hundred warships, they can allow two soldiers on different ships to communicate directly.
This achievement was the primary reason for Milan’s full involvement, and represents a leap in informatization.
Although combat power hasn’t significantly improved, the strong physique is only an accessory after completing the extraordinary transformation, but their abilities in concealment, reconnaissance, and communication have seen exponential enhancement!
Of course, their greatest use is not in the material world, but in... the Spirit Realm.
For extraordinary individuals, the Spirit Realm is an everlasting topic.
Because the initial source of all extraordinary power and knowledge in this world is the "Spirit Realm"!
In ancient mythology.
The "Spirit Realm Sun" is the origin of all mysterious energy, while the "Spirit Realm Sea" is the ultimate destination for all souls (though debatable, as many devout believers’ souls have been absorbed into the gods’ domains).
For any wizard aspiring to reach greater heights on the extraordinary path, this place is a must-visit treasure trove, and a... hunting ground.
In this ostensibly bizarre world from the perspective of ordinary people in the material world, hunting spirit realm creatures can yield extraordinary knowledge hidden within them, obtaining pure spiritual origin.
Schools establish hidden bases and knowledge repositories within.
Countless precious materials are born of the unique environment.
Even merely bathing in the Spirit Realm Sun can enhance spiritual power.
...
The Spirit Realm is a treasure ground for all of the magic system or related extraordinary individuals.
And being a Tier 2 Extraordinary—an official wizard—is the minimum threshold for exploring the Spirit Realm, as only with sufficient soul strength can one resist assimilation from another world.
After transiting various realms, one can still survive and return to the material world!