"The large-scale application of Anti-Gravity Runes is what created the advanced aerial combat forces of the Wizard Civilization. From the Flying Brooms you use every day, to continent-spanning Floating Cities and Void Battleships that traverse Plane Rifts, their core levitation technology is rooted in this."

In the Advanced Rune Engineering class, Professor Bach’s voice echoed throughout the tiered lecture hall.

His lectures always delved straight into the cutting edge of engineering in the Wizarding World.

With a wave of his hand, the professor displayed a blueprint of the underside of a magnificent Floating City on the Magic Light Curtain.

Countless blue Rune Circuits crisscrossed the city’s underside, forming a massive Rune Matrix several kilometers in diameter.

"But take note: the energy consumption of an Anti-Gravity Rune Array does not grow linearly with its volume and mass. When the load exceeds a certain threshold, the energy required to maintain stable levitation increases exponentially."

"Furthermore, to cope with spatial turbulence and gravitational anomalies, the Anti-Gravity Rune Arrays for large Mechanical Bodies become exceedingly complex. This requires Alchemy Wizards specializing in Advanced Rune engineering to spend months, or even years, on their design and implementation."

Allen sat in the classroom, his main consciousness listening to the professor’s lecture and committing this high-level, strategic knowledge to memory.

His primary subroutine was fully synchronized with DSeek, deconstructing and studying the Anti-Gravity Rune Array model the professor had just displayed.

[Core modules detected: ’Gravity Cancellation,’ ’Multi-Point Stability Anchors,’ ’Buffer Runes’...]

[Model complexity: High. Requires at least thirty-two independent Runes to work in synergy.]

He now had a more direct and quantifiable understanding of the concept of ’power’.

The Heart of Molten Fire, the heirloom of the Tieyan family, was merely an insignificant component in the face of such an engineering marvel.

Floating Cities, Void Battleships—these terms represented the pinnacle of military projection platforms in the Wizarding World. They might also be an indispensable part of his future plans.

Professor Bach, seeing that his students were awestruck by the sheer scale of the Floating City, brought the topic back down to earth.

"For you, at your current stage, it’s more important to understand the application of anti-gravity technology in small-scale Mechanical Bodies. How to achieve maximum levitation efficiency and minimum energy consumption within limited volume and cost—that is a perennial challenge."

...

And this very problem was the focus of Allen’s current research.

Inspired by the professor’s lecture, Allen had already devised a viable solution.

He pulled up the design proposal.

[Project: Optimization of the Anti-Gravity Rune Array design for a small reconnaissance unit.]

[Constraints: Absolute silence, extremely low Magic Power fluctuations, operational endurance greater than twelve hours.]

[Proposal One: ’Energy Cycle’ Design. Utilizes a miniature Rune Array to absorb ambient stray Magic Power for slow charging, then outputs it to the Anti-Gravity Matrix at an extremely low wattage. Pro: Enhanced endurance. Con: Increases the complexity of the Rune Array.]

[Proposal Two: ’Inertial Levitation’ Design. After the Anti-Gravity Rune activates, the device enters a ’gravity lock’ state, minimizing energy consumption. Pro: Low energy consumption while hovering stationary. Con: Each movement requires reactivating the Rune, which generates Magic Power fluctuations and increases the risk of detection.]

[Proposal Three: Hybrid Optimization. Adopts the ’Inertial Levitation’ design as the base framework, supplemented by a miniaturized ’Energy Cycle’ module. When stationary, it uses inertial levitation; during movement, the ’Energy Cycle’ module provides support to extend its operational endurance.]

After class, he returned to his dormitory in the Black Tower of the Forge to get back to work.

Heavy, soundproof curtains completely blocked out the outside light.

In the living room, the ’Precision I’ Alchemy Machine, standing about half as tall as a man, stood silently. On the workbench beside it rested a half-finished black sphere.

It consisted of two hemispherical shells that were not yet joined. The casing was a deep, matte black that seemed to absorb all light.

This was the special metal Allen had purchased at a high price from the trade market—Silent Iron.

This ore naturally possessed excellent properties for containing and shielding against Magic Power fluctuations, making it a superb material for building stealthy Mechanical Bodies. The price was equally steep; the materials required to craft this fist-sized spherical shell alone had cost him seventy Low-Level Magic Stones.

Previously, when he’d used the ’Precision I’ Alchemy Machine to shape the Silent Iron, his progress had been exceptionally slow. The machine handled ordinary steel with ease, but it seemed to struggle when faced with a magical material like Silent Iron.

It seemed this small device, purchased from the Apprentice Market, could no longer keep up with his project’s technical demands.

’After the competition, I have to apply to rent one of the academy’s official Alchemy Workshops as soon as possible.’

Allen made up his mind.

The equipment in there was far beyond what his ’Precision I’ could ever compare to.

For the past two days, he had spent every spare moment in the library.

He read a vast amount of literature and data on Illusion Runes and Detection Magic models.

DSeek absorbed and organized all this knowledge, helping Allen lay a solid foundation for the design and construction of the Demon Eye.

Now, only the most crucial step remained.

On this curved inner wall, less than five millimeters thick, he had to etch a miniature Anti-Gravity Matrix composed of forty-one Rune nodes.

[Target material ’Silent Iron’ possesses high energy resistance. Machining accuracy may be compromised.]

DSeek’s warning appeared, causing Allen to frown.

’Difficult? It doesn’t matter how hard it is, I have to do it!’

For two solid hours, Allen’s Spiritual Power was stretched as taut as a bowstring.

A faint blue Rune flashed across the black metal inner wall before vanishing. The Anti-Gravity Rune was complete.

Next was the Illusion Rune Array, which would be etched onto the outer shell. Its purpose was to distort light and achieve visual invisibility.

This part was slightly simpler.

Another hour later, the Illusion Array was finished.

Ah Fu appeared at just the right moment, offering him a towel and a hot drink.

Allen leaned back in his chair for a brief rest, while Ah Fu stood by silently, ready to offer a Spiritual Power recovery potion at a moment’s notice.

A moment later, he picked up the ’Firefly’ Micro-Engraving Light Pen and the walnut-sized, nearly complete multi-layered crystal—the ’eye’ of the Demon Eye.

The incredibly precise microsurgery continued.

By the time the final Magic Spectrum Detection Rune was etched, Allen could feel a throbbing pain in his head—a sign that he had overexerted his Spiritual Power.

But he didn’t stop.

Only the final assembly remained. Allen planned to finish it in one final push.

Allen’s consciousness sank into his Sea of Spirit as he activated his Core Witchcraft—the Cluster Linkage Formula.

A sliver of his Spiritual Power branched off, and he branded his unique formulaic imprint onto the Demon Eye’s Control Core. This particular Control Core was simple in function and inexpensive.

He placed the core inside, fixed the multi-dimensional detection lens into its reserved internal slot, set the Middle-Tier Magic Stone in the power supply slot, and connected all the Rune Circuits.

Under the precise control of his Craftsman’s Hand, the two Silent Iron shells closed perfectly. The lens fit flush with the casing, without the slightest protrusion.

The Demon Eye was complete!

Allen closed his eyes and issued its first command.

’Activate!’

On the workbench, without any warning, the black sphere silently lifted off the surface. It hovered in mid-air, quietly defying gravity, as stable as if it had been welded into the very fabric of space.

A faint red glow emanated from the round, multi-dimensional detection lens on the sphere’s surface. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The Demon Eye slowly rotated, silently scanning the entire room.

A real-time visual feed immediately streamed into Allen’s mind through his spiritual connection.