Heaven's Greatest Professor

Elder Ming couldn't dispute his sentiment; Warden was right. The barrier, as it stood, would shatter like common glass against the power of a single peak-ranked fiend. Against fiends equal to Silver-ranked forces, it might take only a few minutes before they could create holes to infiltrate the main camp.

"The main camp is closest to our world," Elder Ming broke the silence after pondering the implications of Warden's words. "So there has never been a need for superior defences, considering many of our powerhouses reside here."

"So should I scrap my plan and revert to the old circuit?" Warden asked.

Elder Ming met his eyes. "What are you proposing?"

"Four more adepts, at least, to complete it within a week," Warden said. He could have asked for more, but the artificer department seemed already stretched thin to him. "Of course, we can do it for three or four days, and I can handle the remaining work. However, I cannot proceed without the resources needed for the actual drawing. Your adepts weren't efficient in carving either.

Each one of them wastes about 30 to 50% more essence during carving."

Elder Ming snorted. "How much do you need?"

Warden stated the amount of essence gems he needed as another silence settled in the office. It wasn't really too much in the grand scheme of things, but Warden was asking for the exact amount of essence gems he had been supplied to repair the shell.

"Do you know our monthly allowance from the Artificer department?" Finding Warden shaking his head, the elder asked him to guess.

"Well, I don't have the full scope of the military, about how many bases there are and how important they are," Warden said. "But if I had to guess based solely on this main camp, I would say it's several thousand gold-grade essence gems. The number could possibly be close to ten thousand. Wait, that's a guess based on the actual needs of the main camp.

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If it is the actual allotment, then it's probably close to half of that number."

"Still not close. The actual number is close to three thousand if we only count this camp," Elder Ming said. "But you're right about ten thousand being the camp's need. Unfortunately, the higher-ups did not deem such waste necessary. To them, even the thousand silver-grade essence gems the barrier wastes a day were unnecessary, since there hasn't been a real attack in real times."

Warden frowned. "Elder, have you ever considered using ambient energy to power the barrier?"

"Of course, I have, lad," the elder sighed. "But the initial cost is too much for the higher-ups to bear. Coupled with the fact that the warped energy of the frontline isn't easy to source, they have discarded the idea every time I brought it up."

"Well, we can implement Purification runes to purify the warped energy."

"Listen to yourself, boy," the head of the artificer department said. "Ignoring the fact it is one of the hardest runes to master, the sheer amount of essence gems needed to power the Purification array and how easily the runes are damaged, purifying the tyrannical warped energy of the rift—do you think it is a viable option?"

Warden felt like he could argue more, but it wasn't a lost argument as he saw it. He could perhaps create a purification array that wouldn't be damaged easily, but that was it...

"Regardless, what do I do with the shell?" Warden asked. "Should I scrap it? I haven't begun the actual work, so pretty much most of it is redeemable."

"No, keep working on it," Elder Ming said, giving another gaze at the blueprint. "I can help with the manpower; as for the essence gems, I'll see what I can do."

Warden nodded. "The resources we have will last a couple of days," he added before departing.

The moment Warden got back to work, an immediate scowl crawled up on his face. The four adepts he had left behind to work were currently resting in a corner; a couple of them even lay on the ground as if they were here for holidays.

"Get back to work; your laziness won't pay for your keep," Warden shouted at them.

"Please spare us, oh great master Runesmith," cried Aki, the scrawny one of the bunch, "you have stressed us too thin... my mind is numb, eyes bleary... I cannot even stand on my feet."

As if to show it, he tried to stand back, yet before he could do so, he tumbled onto the ground. Warden studied his aura to see if he was really acting—as they had been acting exhausted from day one—however, this time it looked real. The same exhaustion overlapped on his fragile being to have this effect.

Even the others joined in protesting the work. Seeing them like this, Warden could only sigh.

"Have you drunk any rejuvenation potion today?"

All the adepts' faces twitched in unison on hearing the question.

"Master, I drank four yesterday," Jenni said, the only female in the group. She was the most efficient in the group, but unfortunately also the most devious to skip work. "My poor body cannot bear any more without having an arduous effect on my foundation. If that happens, I'll never become a Master Runesmith like yourself, great master.

Then Papa will force me to take over his position in the Craftsman guild. I'll have to marry some fat old man and have to mother half a dozen children... My poor body cannot bear it."

"Please spare me from this torture, Great Master Warden. I don't want to marry an old man and have a dozen kids..."

Jenni's eyes became teary, even though she exaggerated a lot in her story.

Warden sighed. "Take a break for a couple of hours." The adepts visibly relaxed, somewhat. Jenni cried harder as she too lay back on the ground. "But remember, I expect all of you to do your part, even if you have to put in extra hours."

They groaned in unison.