Of course, Xia Duo did not want to dismantle the statue to make physical code materials. In fact, he very much suspected that this kind of Saluk witch statue was simply petrified from a living Saluk witch.
After all, ordinary statues only resemble each other on the outside, but this kind of statue is not only lifelike and imposing on the outside, but also has numerous complex structures inside.
Such as muscle texture, tissues and organs, bones and blood vessels, etc., although they are the same black obsidian-like stone, people can easily distinguish the differences.
If this is just a statue, is it necessary to make it so complicated?
As long as the appearance is in place and the required magical effects are present, it doesn't matter what it looks like on the inside.
With Xia Duo's current level of magic, it is not difficult to see that its internal fine structure is not set up to achieve a specific magic effect. In his opinion, these internal structures are very redundant.
Therefore, it is not difficult to think that these statues are likely to be petrified from living Saluk witches. Only in this way can the fine structures inside the statues be relatively easily realized without additional measures.
Although Xia Duo was not prepared to dismantle this statue to make codex materials, the petrification magic on the statue was the main target he needed to learn from this time.
Currently, Netheril's mainstream transmutation petrification spells can only perform some relatively superficial transformations within the earth elemental realm, such as transforming loose soil into solid stone.
Even the transformation of metal into stone is very rare, let alone the transformation of flesh and blood into stone. Xia Duo has only seen descriptions of petrification magic from the travel notes of some archmages.
Of course, since there are real-life cases (such as basilisk), there must be related spells.
It's just that these spells that involve the essence of the [element-matter] relationship are not so easy for Xia Duo to obtain.
Even the Tower of Time only has part of the magic data transformed from [Mud-Stone], and there is no more in-depth information.
However, he found a kind of petrification magic that goes deeper into the field of earth element from the statue of Saluk Witch. This magic can transform human flesh and blood, even personal leather armor and short blades, into stone.
This point has been personally verified by Jabas and his adopted son Pork when they discovered the remains of the ancient Saluk witch-cat in their territory.
In addition, the petrification magic on the Saluk Witch and Snake Statue also has a kind of high efficiency that ordinary petrification spells do not have!
General petrification spells, such as [Convert Mud to Stone], can transform ordinary soil into stone, but this transformation is incomplete.
Not only will it leave an obvious remnant of magical aura, but it can even easily reverse the process by suppressing the magic web, turning the stone into soil again.
If you want to completely transform, you basically can only rely on time to pass by slowly. This process takes about a year or two!
Just imagine, if Xia Duo used such a spell to create a code pillar or stele or something, it would be ridiculous if someone cast a spell from the side and interfered with the stability of the petrification magic, causing the code to collapse.
The high efficiency of the petrification magic on the Saluk Witch and Snake Statue is reflected here. It only takes a week at most to completely transform it into a real stone.
If Jabas and Pork had not been rescued in time and had waited more than ten days, they would never be able to change back. Even if some flesh-and-blood spell could be found to restore them in the future, those body tissues would not be the same as before.
version.
Of course, it is more likely that they will not be able to hold on for more than ten days at all. The connection between the petrified part and the flesh and blood part is transmitting severe pain all the time. Maybe they will die of pain after only three to five days.
…
After re-checking the obsidian-like stone properties of the Saluk Witch and Snake Statue, it was confirmed that it was no different from what he remembered. Afterwards, Shado took some samples to test the constancy spell.
What the Ioun Stone brings to Xia Duo is by no means as simple as three pieces of magic equipment and three relatively rare transformation spells. There are also all kinds of ingenuity behind the production method.
In the past, Sha Duo has always believed that magic items made through magic constant methods are easily disturbed by the outside world, and even have a greatly reduced service life.
But now, he doesn't think so, especially after going through [The Birth of Projection Plane Cormanthor].
Many of the magic items from the elves pursue the so-called artistry, so it is difficult to adapt to the shape of mithril components in terms of shape. Therefore, many magic items are made through the method of constant magic.
Of course, in elf culture, this is also a form of expression of art, even a higher form. After all, magic and even high art are.
Doesn't the more difficult it is, the more it shows the superb artistic attainments!
Compared with mithril component type magic items, although the production threshold of magic constant type magic items is higher, the performance stability of truly high-end products is not inferior to that of mithril component type.
There are many such magic items in the High Mage Lore in Sword of Dominion, and in Netheril, the Ioun Stone is an outstanding example of a magic item with constant magic.
The physical Daxia Codex is intended to be kept in the territory for a long time, and it is also required to be a magic item, so choosing a magic constant type that is easy to maintain is almost a must.
If you choose the mithril component type, due to the existence of elemental transmutation, the mithril component will definitely deteriorate over time. Once it deteriorates to a certain extent and affects the flow of elemental energy in the magic circuit, then the magic item is considered broken.
.
And since mithril components often need to be encapsulated, maintaining them is almost as easy as making a new one.
If you choose the magic constant type, it will be much simpler. Although the threshold for production and maintenance is high, the high threshold does not mean that the process is complicated and time-consuming.
Since the magic is constant, it only requires casting spells, and does not require additional supplies or equipment.
For Xia Duo, it is more trouble-free.
As for the permanent magic technology developed by Tilak, although Sha Duo attached great importance to it, strictly speaking, he only valued the cost reduction brought by this technology, and he did not attach much importance to the technology itself.
Basically, this is a reduced version production plan that takes into account the characteristics of mithril component type and magic constant type. Apart from lower cost, there are almost no other advantages.
Of course, in many cases, the best product may not be the best-selling product, nor may it be the most profitable product.
However, the physical Bactrian Codex established in the territory is not a commodity that can be sold, but serves as a symbol of the territory's laws and a symbol of the lord's authority. Naturally, it must be as good as possible.
To this end, Xia Duo is willing to make more attempts.