Free Web NovelChapter 14: Automated Farming
Rhys remained inside the MSFRM library for nearly an hour after renting the spell structures.
The sleepy librarian occasionally glanced in his direction, probably wondering why someone would spend so much time staring at the same scroll.
Rhys ignored him.
His eyes moved across the intricate geometric patterns contained within the Needle Beak Hummingbird spell.
Unlike Fire Spark and Psychic Ripple, this spell was far more complex.
Summon spells required multiple layers. First came the manifestation structure. To summon any creature, mages first had to understand the biological form of the creature.
This wasn’t an easy process. That’s why those who mastered powerful Summon spells were rare, since the biological complexity of summons increased according to their strength.
Rhys had to study the structure for fifteen minutes to memorize the biological form of the hummingbird.
Since he didn’t have to worry about the application of mana in this form, he moved on to the next section of the spell.
The behavioral structure. He had to imprint the purpose of the summon. For Rhys, it was to kill insects.
Every line had a purpose. Every curve affected the final result.
Fortunately, Rhys did not need to understand every detail.
He only needed to memorize it. That was one of the greatest advantages of the Lifespan Extraction System.
Ordinary mages spent months learning how to channel mana through a spell structure properly.
Rhys only needed to remember the structure itself. The lifespan would handle the rest.
After studying the scroll repeatedly until he could visualize every line with perfect clarity, he finally closed the parchment.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"Done."
The spell structure had already engraved itself deeply within his mind. There was no need to continue sitting there.
He carefully returned the scroll to his Space Stone and left the library. Outside, Azure City was bustling as usual. Merchants shouted from their stalls.
Workers pushed carts filled with supplies. Disciples from the Azure Lotus Sect moved through the streets wearing their blue robes.
Rhys blended into the crowd without attracting a single glance.
Just the way he liked it.
As he walked through the city, he began calculating.
The Needle Beak Hummingbird naturally lasted only two minutes after being summoned.
Two minutes.
That was the default lifespan of the summon. But lifespan could be burned to extend its duration. A whole day contained one thousand four hundred and forty minutes.
Which meant the spell had to last seven hundred and twenty times longer than normal.
Rhys mentally calculated the cost.
His footsteps slowed. Then stopped.
"...Holy shit."
An Apprentice spell required a thousand days of lifespan to cast.
To maintain a single Needle Beak Hummingbird for an entire day required seven hundred and twenty thousand days of lifespan.
Nearly two thousand years.
For one bird.
For one day.
Rhys stared blankly at the street in front of him. People walked around him while he stood there processing the absurdity.
"I think I finally understand why summon mages are rare."
[You are a summon mage.]
"That is different."
[How?]
"I cheat."
The system fell silent. It could not argue against that. Rhys quickly opened his status screen.
[Current Lifespan: 8 Years | 99,632,342 Days (~272,965 Years and 117 Days)]
He stared at the number. Then he divided it mentally.
A grin slowly appeared.
Despite the seemingly ridiculous cost, he could still afford it. In fact, he could afford quite a lot.
With his current reserves, he could maintain roughly one hundred and thirty-eight hummingbirds for an entire day.
One hundred and thirty-eight.
A small army.
Rhys rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Now the question is where to deploy them."
Simply releasing the birds randomly throughout the city would be stupid. He wanted efficiency. Maximum lifespan gain for minimum investment.
That meant finding locations with the highest insect density.
The rest of the day was spent exploring. Thankfully, he had taken the day off. Old Chen had happily given him one, saying youngsters needed rest.
Rhys shook his head with a smile. Honestly, it pressured him a little how much the people in the Outer Courtyard worried about him. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
He could only accept their care, secretly swearing he would help them when the time came.
Like reducing the pressure of their jobs by stealing, ahem, clearing their insects.
[And here I thought you had suddenly become a saint.]
’Tsk.’
Azure City was much larger than most people realized.
The residential districts occupied only a small portion of the territory.
Beyond them existed orchards, farms, warehouses, medicinal gardens, irrigation channels, and large stretches of cultivated land maintained by various organizations.
Every one of those places contained insects.
Some contained far more than others.
Rhys spent hours walking.
When he found a promising location, he quietly summoned a hummingbird and observed its behavior.
The tiny spectral creature looked almost identical to a normal hummingbird.
Its feathers shimmered faintly silver under direct sunlight, but most people would never notice.
The bird was incredibly fast.
Rhys watched one zip across an orchard. Within seconds, several insects vanished.
The hummingbird never damaged the crops.
It simply hunted.
Efficiently and relentlessly.
By sunset, Rhys had discovered dozens of ideal locations.
Massive orchards. Large farms. Medicinal plantations.
Dense forests near the outer walls. Every place practically overflowed with insects.
That night, he returned to his horse stall. Diamantakos greeted him with an annoyed snort.
Rhys fed her a few treats before sitting cross-legged on his cot.
One hundred and thirty-eight hummingbirds had been deployed throughout Azure City. Rhys leaned back against the wall.
His reserves had dropped dramatically. But a strange excitement filled his chest as the messages continued flooding his vision.
[You have killed a Stone Cricket. Extracting Lifespan.]
[Lifespan extracted: 52 Days.]
[You have killed...]
[You have killed...]
[You have killed...]
Thankfully, the system filtered most of them so they didn’t clog his vision. Tomorrow would reveal whether this plan was truly worth it.
He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
The next morning arrived quickly.
Rhys woke up to sunlight streaming through the cracks in the wooden stall. He stretched lazily before opening his eyes.
He sat upright. His heart began pounding. Lifespan poured into his reserves like a raging river.
A grin slowly spread across his face. Then he opened his status screen. free𝑤ebnovel.com
For a moment, Rhys forgot how to breathe.
[STATUS SCREEN]
Host: Rhys
Title(s): Creator of None, Father of None, Lawless One
Current Lifespan: 8 Years | 5,037,272,342 Days (~13,800,746 Years and 52 Days)
Rank: Infinite | Shown: Apprentice
Cores: None
Spells: Fire Spark (F), Psychic Ripple (E), Needle Beak Hummingbird (E), Mind Edge (E), Phantom Passage (D)
Silence filled the horse stall.
Rhys stared. Then stared some more.
Over five billion days.
More than thirteen million years.
All earned in a single day. No. Not even a day! A slow smile spread across his face. Then the smile became laughter. Then the laughter became uncontrollable.
"Hahahahaha!"
Diamantakos jerked her head up in alarm. Rhys ignored her. His eyes remained fixed on the status screen.
Yesterday he had possessed hundreds of thousands of years.
Today he possessed millions.
"Not bad..."
