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After Frank made up his mind, he wasted no time and immediately signed the confidentiality agreement with Aresia, promising not to disclose any information about the magic array to anyone. Furthermore, without Aresia’s permission, Frank was not allowed to enter any teleportation array.
The only thing that made Frank feel strange was that the person who came out to sign the confidentiality contract with him was actually the Duke’s daughter Aresia. However, he thought that her Excellency Isis just want to keep her identity. To keep it secret – the name Isis is obviously not her full name, and it may not even be her real name. Why does this Excellency look like a person without a surname – so he also did not think about it.
Now that the agreement was signed, Aresia no longer kept anything hidden and directly handed Frank a blueprint, marking a specific area for him to take charge of.
Frank had a lingering question in his mind as he looked at the blueprint. Even though he was bound by the confidentiality agreement, he wondered if there was any risk of someone deciphering the teleportation array once it was completed.
He knew that the Mage Association took great measures to ensure that their teleportation arrays for sending messages couldn’t be deciphered by outsiders. Except for specific individuals, no one was allowed to access those arrays. But this teleportation array was different. It was not only set up in a public place, making it difficult to avoid other people’s contact, but also how could they ensure that no one would decipher it?
Miss Aresia and Isis didn’t seem concerned about this, as they didn’t require him to sign a confidentiality agreement. Frank’s doubt was finally resolved when he saw the blueprint.
The entire magic array depicted in the blueprint was extremely complex. Apart from the central pentagram, there were hundreds of combination magic arrays and magical symbols embedded within the teleportation array. These symbols seemed to be interconnected with auxiliary functions and should have a positional effect. Among these magical symbols, Frank noticed that some were special numerical symbols.
They were not any texts known to him, and he couldn’t understand them at all.
Aresia explained, “They are coordinates. You need a special calculation method to obtain the correct coordinates.”
If a teleportation array had the correct coordinates, even if it was built, it couldn’t be used without the coordinates. The teleportation array relied on coordinates to locate the destination.
Aresia didn’t know how the Mage Association’s teleportation arrays were positioned. The coordinates were derived from star charts, maps, and complex calculations. The numerical symbols used to record coordinates were actually a newly researched special rune in the high magical world, dedicated to recording coordinates.
Moreover, the coordinates on this teleportation array were only suitable for its current location. If someone moved the teleportation array, the coordinates wouldn’t match the actual position, rendering the entire array useless until someone obtained the new coordinates. Frank understood that Aresia’s method involved high-level magical knowledge. Unless this world advanced to the level of high magic, it was impossible to decipher it.
The only person who knew about this was Frank. The confidentiality agreement he signed was of a higher level, and if he leaked this information, the contract would take his life without any chance for escape.
After settling the matter with the teleportation array, Aresia put in a lot of effort. In fact, if it were not for the protection of patents or intellectual property laws, she wouldn’t have to take this responsibility. After all, once the teleportation array was completed, it would definitely need to be promoted on a larger scale. Aresia’s actions were more about not allowing others, especially the Mage Association, to easily take away the teleportation array she had worked so hard to create. This showed her true opinion of the Mage Association, or rather, she didn’t like some of their practices.
With Frank’s involvement, the speed of the teleportation array’s construction increased significantly. At this point, several experts in magic arrays and magical symbols, including Charlie, came to assist Isabelle. When Aresia asked Charlie about their situation, she chose five of them to help, on the condition that Frank was also included. The others were enough to reject.
With six mages, plus the seemingly decorative magical pen that could work autonomously, there were a total of seven designers working on the teleportation array. The time required for the construction of the teleportation array increased by six times, or maybe two to three times.
Now that they had this additional help, Aresia took the materials for another teleportation array that had been stored in the Duke’s mansion in Holy Lotean City. They set up a new teleportation array next to the existing one. The six mages were divided into two groups, each responsible for constructing one teleportation array. As for the coordinates part, they needed to wait until the completion of the first array before carefully removing the stone slabs from the castle square and re-laying them.
As a result, the completion time for both teleportation arrays was shortened to ten to fifteen days, leaving about half of the summer vacation.
In reality, drawing magic arrays was a tedious and mentally exhausting task. However, the five mages who came to help were full of enthusiasm. Not only did they have the opportunity to learn previously unexplored knowledge, but they also had a knowledgeable Teacher nearby to answer their questions and clear their doubts.
Although Aresia was initially portrayed as aloof, antisocial, and not fond of interacting with others, she had a protective and caring side when it came to being a Teacher. This explained why Aresia had accepted their sincere questions and provided genuine answers.
The five mages who came to help were not only interested in the teleportation array but also had some knowledge and research experience in related fields. Meeting a Teacher who clearly surpassed their level was an excellent opportunity for them.
When someone attempted to ask a question they had long been puzzled about, they received thorough explanations. Their thirst for knowledge was insatiable, and they were grateful for the chance to learn. Regardless of the questions they asked, even if Isis claimed not to have much research on a particular topic, they would still receive helpful suggestions.
Their admiration for Isis (True Aresia) was evident, and their interactions were filled with respect and humility, as if they were awaiting guidance from a revered teacher. As a result, “Aresia’s” relationship with the other mage went beyond being the Duke’s daughter teacher; she became affectionately regarded as a Teacher by the other peer mages.
Aresia was aware of the positive impact of actively answering people’s questions. Besides her character setting, there was the added benefit of rewarding those who helped. Although she couldn’t openly compensate them, she took note of their questions and subtly offered suggestions. The mages appreciated this unexpected gain in addition to the knowledge they acquired.
The atmosphere among the group was harmonious, and their cooperation and coordination improved. The construction of the teleportation array proceeded smoothly.
Just as the completion of the teleportation array was imminent, Aresia received news from her father.
“The Duke’s troops have entered the Duke’s territory and are expected to arrive at the castle by this evening.”
This significant news was immediately relayed to the castle. According to Charlie’s report, the Duke had brought a force of over 5,000 warriors.
Upon hearing this news, Aresia felt a sense of unease. Her intuition told her that her father had brought these soldiers back because of Isis.
It was quite a challenge to bring such a large military force, and she wondered how Duke Rogest managed to convince the Emperor, for the Legion to leave the post.
At this moment, the more pressing matter was arranging accommodations for these people. After all, Aresia was the owner of the castle, and she couldn’t simply ignore their presence.
She asked Charlie, “Has the accommodation for these people been arranged?”
Charlie nodded and replied, “We have received notice, and preparations have been made. The castle is ready to accommodate them.”
Indeed, 5,000 people were quite a number. The castle was initially built to accommodate a population of 10,000 and had been expanded several times. It was now sufficient to house the entire Gryphon Legion. Additionally, there were plenty of spare rooms available in the castle to accommodate them.
The trouble, however, was that many of the people who arrived this time brought their beast companions. Mounts were the first choice for the Gryphon Legion’s beast companions.
The size of these mounts was not insignificant.
At this moment, it was difficult to estimate how many of them brought beast companions. However, a letter from Holy Lotean City had already noted that around 500 people brought their beast companions.
Five hundred beast companions exceeded the 200 members of Aresia’s escort. Upon receiving this information, Charlie had already prepared an area for the escort to temporarily stay, but now it needed to be expanded. The beast companions were not at ease if they were not living with their owners, and it inconvenienced their owners. The living conditions there were much worse than inside the castle.
However, it shouldn’t be a problem to house the new beast companions in a separate area.
Regarding the arrangement of accommodations, Aresia nodded and then asked, “Has the sea beast meat that my teacher sent arrived?”
Hmmmm