Translator: AnubisTL
"Reconnaissance spells are divided into two types: enhancement-type and detection-type..."
Enhancement-type spells require little special research, as repeated applications offer no additional amplification. Simply acquiring more corresponding spell artifacts suffices.
The focus lies on detection-type reconnaissance spells.
"Most conventional detection-type reconnaissance spells function like radar, returning results with each use. While the energy cost is minimal, this creates gaps in surveillance."
While continuous-casting spells exist, their effective range is significantly smaller compared to single-use detection-type reconnaissance spells of the same tier.
"I can solve this issue, but the more critical problem remains insurmountable."
Beyond mental power consumption, the primary limitation of detection-type reconnaissance spells is the wizard's information processing capacity.
His rune-imbued magical artifact, crafted based on the cultivation system's high-intensity energy absorption, requires only activation and consumes minimal energy.
If detection abilities were solidified into rune-imbued magical artifacts, reconnaissance spells could be cast continuously without worrying about energy consumption.
However, even if such an artifact were created, Jieming's usage would be little different from a regular wizard casting spells, because his information processing capacity couldn't keep up.
Excessive information would overwhelm his thinking, even blocking his thought processes entirely.
If he used a rune-imbued magical artifact to cast Detection-Type Reconnaissance Spells too frequently, he would collapse under the strain even without enemy intervention.
This is precisely why most Detection-Type Reconnaissance Spells are designed for single-use activation rather than continuous application.
Given the research capabilities of wizards, developing a Detection-Type Reconnaissance Spell with the same range as a single-use spell of the same tier but capable of continuous operation would be relatively simple—but pointless.
A wizard's information processing capacity is finite. Although computational power increases rapidly with advancement in tier, the effective range of Detection-Type Reconnaissance Spells also expands exponentially with each tier, resulting in an even more terrifying increase in the volume of feedback data.
To transform a Detection-Type Reconnaissance Spell into a continuously active effect, it was necessary to reduce the detection range, thereby minimizing the real-time feedback data.
In his previous life, humans used radar with computer assistance. But in this world, most wizards relied solely on their minds and souls to process information.
"...Wait a minute... What if I created a computer-like auxiliary device to help process the information?"
Jieming had a flash of inspiration and activated the magic network to search for relevant information.
The search results were... complicated.
The wizard civilization did possess similar technologies, and they were all extremely advanced.
Artificial souls, Rune Artificial Intelligence, and living spirits—which combined the strengths of both—all possessed computational capabilities.
The problem was... these technologies were far too advanced!
There were two main issues.
First, the difficulty of creation.
Artificial souls were the pinnacle of alchemical technology. No wizard below the sixth tier could even attempt to create one.
Living spirits and Rune Artificial Intelligence were slightly less challenging, but only "slightly."
Creating Rune Artificial Intelligence was no easier than developing AI in his previous life—it might even be more challenging.
From algorithmic logic to response mechanisms and rune program compilation, each aspect was complex enough to take a lifetime to master.
As everyone knows, some things you either know or you don't.
A wizard's cultivation primarily enhances their "hardware"—computational power, thinking speed, and similar attributes—while their "software," such as logical reasoning, remains largely unaffected.
Just as even the most powerful supercomputer can only solve mathematical problems through human programming.
As for "living spirits," the technology supposedly combines the strengths of Rune Artificial Intelligence and artificial souls.
The problem is that the difficulty of creating such a being also combines the challenges of both technologies.
"Trying to create an assistant from scratch with my current abilities is practically impossible..."
Even if he purchased the complete manufacturing methods, mastering them and fully constructing the device would take an unimaginable amount of time.
With that much time, Jieming would be better off focusing on improving his core strength.
It wasn't until his power reached a bottleneck, requiring a significant period of consolidation, that he could finally turn his attention back to studying these matters.
"The trade-off between improving strength and expanding knowledge? Worlds with extraordinary powers always seem to present such dilemmas..."
Another problem was adaptability.
Similar to space rings, most of these artificial creations could only function in one or a few specific planes. Once transported to a new plane, they were likely to fail due to differing rules or fundamental constants.
The solution, as with space rings, was "simply" to find a sixth-tier wizard to stabilize the rules.
"After all this, the problem circles back to where we started."
Jieming scratched his head, pondered for a moment, and then delved deep into his soul to consult his golden finger for a solution.
A moment later, he opened his eyes with a frown.
"This is more complicated than I thought..."
The Great Dao Library Pavilion offered several potential solutions, such as manipulating souls or creating array spirits.
However, the same problem persisted as in the Wizard World: his current power level was insufficient to execute them.
For the simplest method of controlling souls, using them for calculations required a far more delicate approach than the brutal refinement used for the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. The soul's integrity had to be preserved as completely as possible.
For cultivators with insufficient cultivation levels, even preserving a soul's integrity was a daunting task.
"There is a solution, but even with my current strength, I can't implement it. It seems... I need to raise my cultivation level."
Although his plan to enhance Detection-Type Reconnaissance Spells was temporarily stalled, he could still create rune-imbued magical artifacts for reconnaissance.
Over the following weeks, Jieming devoured knowledge from the magic network, purchasing texts on runes, alchemy, material science, planar studies, and sensory witchcraft with insatiable hunger.
However, even researching simple reconnaissance-type rune-imbued magical artifacts proved far from straightforward.
Detection runes were far more intricate and complex than attack or movement runes.
How could a rune-imbued magical artifact "see" things, rather than simply releasing energy?
How could the information it "saw" be transmitted back?
How could it operate without emitting energy fluctuations that would alert enemies?
Jieming experimented with various rune combinations, but he soon discovered that many detection runes in the wizard system relied on extending the caster's mental power.
Directly solidifying this mechanism into an external spell artifact often resulted in drastically reduced effectiveness or exorbitant energy consumption.
Consequently, many reconnaissance artifacts merely amplified existing senses, such as enhanced vision or life vision, or resorted to indirect methods like projecting light and shadow onto target areas rather than directly casting reconnaissance spells.
(End of the Chapter)
Translator's Corner
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