Mage Adam
Chapter 259: The Forest Elves

Growing the special fungi wasn't as tough as Adam had made it sound to Lord Svorsi.

These fungi couldn't make ether crystals, but boosting their power output was pretty straightforward.

Adam had played up how hard it was to manage expectations. He made it seem more difficult so Lord Svorsi would be more impressed and thankful when things went better than expected.

Adam wasn't completely happy with how cautious and tight-fisted the Titans were.

Before these fungi, the Titans depended solely on underground energy sources. All minerals, including these energy sources, came from the Origin and, to a lesser extent, from the Mother Lode.

If only they had let Adam tweak the Mother Lode, things would be a lot easier.

Adam also knew that he had to earn the Titans trust step by step.

He wasn't a plant expert, but he had folks in his team who were.

The forest elves were all now level-two Nature Controllers. Their leader, Lina, was at the top of this second level. With their knack for controlling plants, growing these conversion fungi, which were kind of like basic plants, was...

"Not very hard, master," Lina said confidently.

From the moment Sofia vanished, Lina was ready for Adam to summon her. That was why she had her people stop everything in the summoning space so she could answer Adam's call anytime, perfectly ready.

The new world stunned her---it was totally barren of plant energy, a real shock for these forest elves.

Knowing Adam wasn't one for small talk, Lina saluted and then went straight to the basic fungi. "These fungi are interesting, and they're very simple."

Lina put her powers into the fungi. Spores quickly formed, and the fungi grew fast in her hands.

In that short time, the original fungi were outdone, leaving only a more advanced type that stored more plant power.

"I've boosted their ability to reproduce. The fungi that grow from these parent ones will keep this enhanced form," she explained.

The advanced fungi then gathered together. Adam put them in a dish in front of Lina and kept feeding them elemental power.

The fungi ate up the elements and started to ooze a fine, sticky fluid. When this fluid came together, it turned into energy blocks.

Adam told Lina that the fungi's job was to make energy blocks. The better the fungi, the better the energy blocks they made.

He needed her to boost their skills and how quickly they could reproduce. He showed her four types of fungi and told her to improve them as much as she could.

"Like the worms in the Dragon Plane?" Lina asked thoughtfully, then took a piece of the fungi and ate it. "I get it. I can do this."

Adam was pleased and gave her all the fungi samples. "Take these, I'll send you back."

But Lina seemed unsure. "Master," she started carefully.

"What's up?" Adam noticed her hesitation.

"Master, once I'm done with the fungi, can I stay with you?" Lina asked shyly.

Adam was going to say no since her powers weren't much use in the Titans' world. But then he thought of something and said, "Alright, do it quickly."

...

Every day, Qi 31 would update Adam on the factory construction work. Then, he'd stick around, watching Adam work on a strange device and type in characters he had never seen.

After watching for three days, Qi 31's curiosity got the better of him. "Mithril 99, I mean, Adam, what are these things?"

Adam didn't avoid his question because the info wasn't secret, and he knew the Titans wouldn't get it anyway. He answered honestly, "These are the things I'm going to make next and the recipes I need for them."

He pointed at each item as he talked about them on the projector: "Magnetic metal, Space Metal, Elemental Metal, Special Metal, and so on. Here are the gears we need to make from these metals."

Qi 31, being an Intelligent, was eager to learn about new technology. The names Adam used sounded fascinating, and he was bursting with questions, but just as he started to ask, Adam cut in, "How's the factory coming along?"

Qi 31 hesitated, then slowly began to explain after a pause.

When a community pulls together, they can achieve incredible things; thus, the magnetization smelting factory was being built at an unbelievable speed. It was up and running faster than Adam had expected.

Maybe calling it just a factory was underselling it. With every Intelligent who arrived turning the place into a learning hub, it was more like a high-tech zone now. It was busy everywhere, except in the areas Adam had kept clear for the main buildings.

"What are those outlays for? Also, do you really not need us to bring any tools?"

"No need, just come with me."

Adam didn't want to delay. If he could finish the products faster, it would calm the Titans' concerns and speed up the project.

The news that a visitor from a different world was going to show his techniques quickly spread among all the Titans in York City.

Except for those who had to patrol and couldn't come, everyone else gathered around the factory. They watched Adam closely, curious to see what he would do.

"Put the energy blocks into the spaces I've set aside, and make sure there are no empty spots."

"Fill them all the way?!" Qi 31 said, shocked. "How many energy blocks will that use up?"

He wasn't the only one surprised. The other Titans couldn't believe what they were hearing either. In their view, energy blocks should be used in Vital Generators, and putting them underground seemed like a sin.

"Just do it, and you'll understand why soon." After that, Adam went to the middle of the main factory building. He positioned his mithril body at the last connection point of all the energy paths. Then, he took apart his body, arranging it to match the layout of the energy paths.

The Titans reluctantly did what Adam asked. Once the energy blocks were set up, Adam melted his Vital Generator, leaving only the Original Flames burning brightly at the center.