---Sylvia's pov---

The next morning, I arrived early at the lab. So early, in fact, Susie hasn't arrived. I let myself into the lab and continued my work from last night. An hour later, Deverick walked into the lab. He handed me a warm bag.

"I figured you might be here so I got you breakfast."

When I opened the bag, I was greeted with 2 loaves of bread with some meat filling. I guess that saves me the trouble of raiding Susie's fridge. I put down the stuff I was working on and started eating. Deverick walked over to the machine from last night and took out the lens. I followed him as he brought it to another part of the lab.

"What are you going to do with it?" I asked filled with curiosity and munching on my food.

"I am applying some finishing touches," he replied without looking back.

"I thought that was already done?" 

"It is, but there are some things I can do to preserve the lifespan."

"Wouldn't your thing last a long time as it is? Abyssal obsidian isn't exactly brittle."

"It does. If left alone, the material could last about 80 years in its current state. The only thing is that this isn't exactly an easy material to get. And I would rather not have to make this again. You have to know that there are a few things crafters can do to make their products better. Since I can, why would I not? The only stuff I use are the best. That's why I make a lot of the machines myself."

He makes sense. And it appears that he doesn't lack money, skills, or channels for his projects. Eventually, he brought me to a part of the lab without any machines. A bunch of tools hung on the racks and cabinets lined the walls. A few wooden blocks were scattered around the room. I assume they are tables with other functions. What these functions are, I can't tell. 

"Just how big is this place? How come I have never seen this room?"

"This room is the workshop. Although I call this a lab, it really has all the materials and machines needed for crafting. Like every craft there is. Maybe some more. I always need a bunch of fields when making my projects."

That's very cool, but something struck me as odd.

"How did you manage to fit all this underground? If it really is as big as you said, then wouldn't it be interfering with the city?"

In fact, now that I think about it, this room should collide with the sewer system in the city. It should not be possible for this place to exist.

"Unless this is not in a normal space," He finished that thought for me. 

"And you are correct. This space is not normal."

I have a faint suspicion, but I can't believe it.

"What did you do?"

"It's exactly what you think."

"But that shouldn't be possible with the current magic."

"That's where you are wrong. Have you heard of spatial rings?"

"The super luxury item that allows the wearer a portable space?"

"If a ring could have space..."

He trailed off. I waited for him to finish the sentence, but he never did. Instead, he stared at me. I guess he wants me to do the honors.

"Then why can't you expand the space underground."

"Correct." He nodded in approval.

"So how much did you expand the space? And is it only this floor?"

"Let's just say however much you think I did, I definitely did more."

What do you mean by that? Are you telling me that this place is bigger than I can imagine? Just how big is this place?!?!

"Yes."

"..."

"..."

"Is there any way to stop you from reading my mind?"

"No."

Why not?

"Because I'm not reading your mind."

"Then how are you able to tell what I am thinking?"

"An insane level of analysis. A skill I developed in childhood."

"So you're guessing what I am thinking with no indications?"

"To be exact, my words are the indication. I will make a simulation of all the possibilities and eliminate the ones that are unlikely. Then I summarize what thoughts you might have and craft my responses to fit the most likely one."

"That sounds really demanding."

"You overlooked how many mental units I have."

I thought back to when he introduced this term. 

"But that shouldn't allow you to be so precise."

"And I never said 17 was my limit. And you have to realize that once it becomes instinct, it becomes a lot easier."

What a freak. I really pity whoever makes him an enemy.

"My enemies wouldn't even know how they died. I always make sure of that."

Scary. Also, to anyone else, you look like a madman talking to yourself.

"That's the point. People don't realize what I am doing until I analyze them enough to get into their heads."

Ok. Please stop. This is too freaky.

"Very well. Let me apply the finish and we can get started."

He took a cloth with irregular hair lengths. Some are longer than others, some are shorter, and some look like needles. Everything about that seems off. Noticing that I was staring at the tool, he explained its purpose.

"This was made from the fur of a silver moon fox. They make very durable, but soft cloths. I had modified the lengths so that it can apply oil very thoroughly while keeping some strands for polishing."

He then walked over to a tub full of a bubbling liquid.

"Fat of a deliver whale. Because they live so deep, they have mutated to contain a dark element in their skin."

He dipped a corner of the cloth and started rubbing the lens in his left hand. After a few seconds, he shifted the cloth a little and continued rubbing it.

"There. all done."

"That's it?"

"It looks easy, but that's only because of the cloth. If a normal craftsman tried to do this process, it could take them a few hours."

He then threw both items up into the air. My eyes followed them up. When they reached the top of their trajectory, they stopped. It seems that the array has caught them. Then, they started drifting in different directions. It's a weird sight, to say the least.

"Come. Let's go make something."

He started walking again.

I followed him to a big room that looks like a warehouse. On the left side of the room, there are shelves reminiscent of the place we visited during the Cantora event. On the right, there are a bunch of shipment boxes stacked neatly in a pile. We walked through the aisles formed of shelves and all the way to the back. Eventually, we stopped in front of a big long metal box with a complicated lock.

Deverick squatted down and started inputting passwords into the lock at a rapid frequency. Despite this, the lock took 5 minutes to unlock. Just what did you do to make such a complicated requirement? But what I saw justified the cautiousness. It was an Ether tree. A whole ether tree. Roots and leaves. All of it. How did he get something so rare?

"The Adinilini has two of these in stock. This is one of them."

That clarifies the source. The Adinilini family was the family with the biggest supply of magic materials. So much so that 70% of the market has some kind of connection to them. 

"And they just gave it to you?"

"Mom's pretty influential among the family. That and the spatial expansion technology is enough to exchange for it."

That explains how he got his hands on it. With how advanced spatial expansion is, I would be surprised if he didn't get such a commodity. I should probably explain why an Ether tree is so precious. For one, the wood is a perfect mana conduit. That means mana can pass through it with no loss of power. Well, a few materials have this property. Not that much, but a good amount where a decent mage can afford a staff made of it. 

What makes ether wood stand out is when mana is channeled through it, it attracts similar mana and gathers it around the wood. It is this property that makes it the ideal material for the staff of mages. Spells cast by mages that wield ether wood are significantly stronger than normal and a fraction of the cost. 

Then there are the leaves. Apparently eating them can cleanse the body and make the person more attuned to mana, leading to an increase in the consumer's talent. Yes, an increase in talent, Something that's unchangeable under most circumstances. Just for comparison, all products that can increase the talent of a mage are very rare and precious.

Encountering any of them can change one's life if they can use it. A fortuitous encounter that many dream of. These two parts are the ones I am aware of, though I am sure there are other surprising uses for the other parts. Can't help it. People don't exactly go around telling others about such precious materials. The only way to know is to either find someone with the information and pay a big price or do the experimentation yourself. 

Another reason the wood was so precious was that it takes a long time to grow, but there are very few of them in the world. Most of the remaining ether trees can only be found in the wilderness. And I am not talking about random places plants and stuff. I am talking about places full of magical beasts and other factors. You have to remember that only mages have advanced technology. For the rest of the world, they are stuck doing everything by hand.

This means that although there are mages spread around the world, there are also areas that are very dangerous to mages. Areas that many dare not enter. We tend to call these places danger zones. These areas are filled with opportunities for those willing to take the risk. Should they find something useful, they will earn a fortune. This, though is rare as most that enter do not return. It is basically a place intended for the strong. 

Then there are the calamities. We give that label to anything that can destroy a city. This includes living creatures. And you know where these creatures tend to live? Right in these danger zones. Anytime a calamity shows up, it would require the combined efforts of many mages to fend them off. Most of the time, the appearance of a calamity leads to severe damage to a city. There are even rare instances where entire towns have been destroyed. 

Lucky for everyone, calamities rarely happen. With how many legendary mages we have around, most calamities decide to not mess with cities or towns. And the few that do show up for whatever reason are easily detectable and repelled. This is why life has been so peaceful so far. But things change if one is unlucky enough to meet such a creature in the danger zones. When venturing into the wilderness, one doesn't have the magic weapons to repel these monstrosities. Nor the firepower to defeat them. So the only outcomes of such a situation are either death or escape.

I think part of the reason life has been so peaceful is a silent agreement between the creatures in the danger zones and the mages. I am speculating right now, but I think the beasts had an understanding that as long as they don't attack people outside of these zones, we won't bother with them. In turn, we would respect the same rules.

I don't know how this agreement was established, but it was a major balancing act for the countries. This made it so that countries won't try to eradicate each other unless they want to face devastating consequences. In turn, conflicts are also limited to a smaller scale, forming a system that allowed for the formation of global companies. It's weird how everything links together when I think about it. World structure aside, what is Deverick going to do with the tree?