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“Wake up, Eshmund,” Sage’s voice echoed in his head. Eshmund groaned, shifting under his blanket. “Is it time already?” He rubbed his eyes, still half-asleep. “Yes, it’s almost midnight. There should be fewer people at the lake now.” Eshmund stretched before sitting up. “Remind me again – why did we choose the lake? Wouldn’t it be freezing at this hour?” “You’re the one who suggested either the lake or the forest. What, are you backing out now?” Eshmund sighed. “We just need a large, empty space with fewer people, right?” “Exactly. And between the two, the forest is a hassle – too many obstacles, and sneaking around at night would look suspicious. What would you even say if someone see you? That you’re out there trying to capture magical beasts with your red and white Gacha ball?” Eshmund snorted. “Alright, fair point.” “At least the lake makes sense. People fish at night all the time. And you even have a fishing rod – it’s the perfect cover.” Eshmund yawned. “Fine, let me fully wake up first.” He shuffled to the small counter and started boiling water for tea. As he took slow sips of the hot drink, he asked, “Did you inscribe the Void Stones?” “Yeah, they’re ready. I used the builder bots to split them into multiple smaller size, each should at least be able to bind a 10 square meter subspace. We can bind them immediately if we find them.” “Wow really? all of those stone I gave you are low levels, the maximum they can bind is 10 meter square. I bought 5 pieces of void stones, how many pieces did you split them into?”

“Each initial stone is divided into 5 smaller sized stones with 5mm diameter, since you bought 5 stone, now you have 25. I trimmed all of them into diamond shape, and the trimmed access are made into a component for the detector nanobots.” Sage explained “That’s amazing, I didn’t know that was possible” , Eshmund said “I found out about it just now while you’re asleep, the simulation test confirms that the size of the void stone doesn’t matter much as long as it is above a certain size. with our current capabilities, a low grade stone can only be bound to a 10 square meter subspace, no matter how big the void stone is. This uses our improved rune arrangements though.” “We are able to reduce the size of the void stones required since we have the builder bots to etch the magic circles for us. It’s impossible for others because it will be too small to sense, unless probably for a Cultivator with superior spiritual sense” Sage explained Eshmund nodded, though there was a hint of regret in his voice. “Too bad they’re all low-level ones.” Sage responded matter-of-factly, “This is a beta test anyway. We’ll get better ones next time.” Eshmund sighed, then stood up. “Alright, let’s go.” With that, he went out of the herb garden area and made his way through the academy grounds. At this hour, the campus was mostly deserted, save for a few night owls heading back to their rooms.
He kept his pace steady, moving toward Tuangran Lake, which was about a fifteen-minute walk from the main complex. He could easily reach the place in a couple of minute using the phantom steps but he found it relaxing walking while watching the scenery at night. The countless star at the sky, flickering lights from building, sound of crickets and frogs. It soothed his mind. Occasionally, there’s mosquito trying to suck his blood but a normal mosquito couldn’t even penetrate his skin these days. The toughness of an expert level martial artist are no joke. They can look but they can’t touch, they can smell but they can’t eat. Poor mosquito As he approached the lake, the chill in the air became more apparent. The water reflected the faint glow of the moon, creating an eerie yet peaceful atmosphere. A few scattered figures could be seen along the shore, some actually fishing, others just sitting in silence. This is actually a scenery sought after by people, if he was still on earth. Its quite beautiful, a place where couples in heat test the compatibility of their tools together and plan their future. Usually when the morning come, the rubber byproducts and some empty bottle or cans from their late night compatibility testing will be littered around. leaving it around for the lake maintenance people to clean up. A disgusting behaviour. Eshmund picked a relatively isolated spot near the reeds and sat down, assembling his fishing rod for appearance’s sake. He cast the line into the lake, then leaned back against a rock. “Alright, let’s get to work.” Eshmund activated the isolation plate and a dome like transparent energy shield grow outward from the center of the plate. When the dome’s size grow to a radius of 50 meter, it stopped expanding. On the outside of the dome, multiple spot glowing with multicolored light appeared on the ground along the edges of the dome. Eshmund know, this is where he supposed to put the energy gathering plates. He took out those plates and put them on each of those spots. The dome’s energy field start to flicker from time to time. When he finished placing the last energy gathering plate, in the inside of the transparent energy dome, multiple spot glowing with white light appear along the dome’s edges, distributed on even distance from each other.

He took out and put smaller energy isolation plate on each of those spots. Each time he put a formation plate on such spot, the dome’s energy field seems to grow ticker and when he put the last small energy isolation plate on the last spot, a faint hum can be heard from the dome’s energy field. The dome’s energy field stopped flickering. Sage activated the nanobots carrying pieces of void stones on them, spreading them into the air like an invisible mist inside the dome. They’re ready to react to any unstable elemental energy fluctuations. For a moment, the nanobots doing the elemental energy detection are sending a stream of signal prompt from the creation of null spaces. It slowed down over time and then only occasionally a few signal alert popped up. A sign that the dome have pushed out the elemental energy inside it. The occasional indicator is probably by Eshmund himself or other small creature inside the dome. Eshmund exited the dome to let Sage and those nanobots do the detection without interferences. Eshmund walked around, outside the dome looking at the night scenery. Minutes passed. Occasionally a flicker of light can be seen inside the lake. Probably some kind of glowing fish, Eshmund thought. The occasional splash of a fish and the rustling of leaves in the wind were the only sounds breaking the silence. Then, Sage spoke. “We have something.” Eshmund’s eyes snapped open. “Where?” “Twenty meters to the east side of the dome. Faint but consistent. Its definitely not the natural elemental energy flow. The nanobots are reacting and simultaneously creating null spaces, quick, we don’t know when it will dissapear.” Sage urged Eshmund rushed inside the dome to the designated area, Sage already marked the approximate points with glowing projection lights. He took out an inscribed void stones the size of a peanut bean and injected it with energy. The air around the void stone flickered with distorted light and the stone flew from his hand. It flew towards a certain spot in the air, but it fall down to the ground after flying unsteadily for a couple of second “Do it again, inject more power so it create a larger null space” Sage said. Eshmund can feel the urgency in his tone. Without waiting for an explanation, Eshmund did what he was told. The same scene happened, but this time, the void stone floated in one spot in mid air. Eshmund can feel, elemental energy surging out from the void stones. “The subspace is stabilising, if the subspace is big, it may take some time, until the subspace decrease it size into one that the void stone can handle” Sage said. Eshmund nodded in understanding. “But why did it fall just now?” Eshmund asked “It’s because the null space that the void stone have generated got filled with air before it reached the subspace opening” Sage said. “I see, If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better if next time, I just do it like putting item inside of a space pouch? Encase an item with energy. But when the rune create an energy encased null space, we poke a hole in the case so that it will only get filled slowly” Eshmund Suggested “Yeah, that what we should have done, we kind of rushed a bit there” Sage said. “It’s alright, it’s faster to learn this way” Eshmund said. Soon the floating void stones plopped to the ground. It took about 3 minutes floating in the same spot mid air before it fell. “It’s done” Sage said.
Eshmund picked up the bound Void Stone and examined it. Sage had cut the stone into a flawless diamond shape, making it both functional and aesthetically pleasing. To test its storage and retrieval functions, he placed a copper coin inside and then retrieved it with ease. Satisfied, he sent his energy into the stone, probing the subspace within. Just as Sage had described, the runes on the Void Stone had shaped the subspace into a perfect 10-square-meter cube. To ensure stability, Eshmund ordered Sage to deploy some spybots inside for monitoring before storing the Void Stone away. “Should we move to another spot?” Eshmund asked. “No, it’s better to stay here for a while,” Sage replied. “According to theories, subspaces tend to form repeatedly in the same area, likely due to spatial instability caused by natural chemical reactions – or, in this world’s terms, the clash of multiple elemental energies. There are theories explaining why this happens, but nothing is proven yet. If this doesn’t align with our expectations, we’ll move.” “Alright, let’s wait. We also need to let the energy-gathering formation release elemental energy outside the dome – that’ll save us some time too,” Eshmund said. As the last traces of elemental energy were drained from within the isolation dome, the alert notifications grew calmer. Then – “We found another one,” Sage announced, marking a spot midair with a projection.

Eshmund rushed over, retrieving another prepared Void Stone. This time, he grabbed a large, dead branch nearby, pretending to store it inside the stone. Channeling energy into the branch, he then pressed it against the Void Stone. The stone reacted instantly, absorbing the energy he had infused into the wood. A moment later, it expelled a duplicate energy structure in the exact shape of the branch. Eshmund deliberately punctured a hole in the branch-shaped energy shell. As soon as he did, the branch got attracted by the Void Stone but he held tightly to the branch stopping it from moving. The Void Stone, along with the branch shaped energy shell, shot toward the marked location in midair and floated there, bound to the subspace. Before Eshmund could catch his breath – “Another one! Here!” Sage marked another spot. Eshmund repeated the process, then another, and another. The spots kept appearing. The frequency escalated. “Damn, this is intense!” Eshmund muttered, his movements becoming sharper, more efficient. He pushed his Phantom Steps to the limit, zipping between locations without pause. Then – “We’re out of Void Stones,” he panted. “Who would’ve thought things would escalate like this?” Sage said, sounding equally surprised. Eshmund exhaled deeply and collapsed onto the grass, exhausted but satisfied. A triumphant grin spread across his face. “I think we just got rich,” he said, looking up at the night sky. “25 Void Stones successfully bound to a subspace,” Sage confirmed. “I can’t wait to analyze them, but you’re out of elemental energy.” “Yeah I’ll rest a bit, then we’ll head home. This is a pretty successful beta test.” Eshmund lay there for a few minutes, gazing at the stars. Tonight, they didn’t look like distant celestial bodies. Instead, they looked like sparkling gold coins, just waiting to be picked.
At home, Eshmund let out a satisfied sigh as he sat down. His energy was finally back, and it was time to check his haul. He pulled out the Void Stones one by one, inspecting them carefully. Each had successfully bound to its own subspace, making them fully functional as storage units. Sage’s voice chimed in. “Alright, let’s count them.” – 15 stones bound to 10-square-meter subspaces. (Market price : 30,000 points each) – 3 stones bound to 8-square-meter subspaces. (Market price : 20,000 points each) – 5 stones bound to 5-square-meter subspaces. (Market price : 13,000 points each) – 2 stones bound to 2-square-meter subspaces. (Unknown market price) Eshmund frowned at the last two. “Two square meters? That’s tiny. What the hell am I supposed to do with those?” “Yeah, those are basically worthless for resale,” Sage said. “Might as well use them for experiments.” Eshmund shrugged. Not a total loss. “Total estimated earnings: 575,000 contribution points.” He whistled. Not bad. With that kind of money, he could reinvest and get even better Void Stones. Sage pulled up the prices of blank, unbound Void Stones: – 1.25 million points for top-grade – 250,000 points for superior-grade – 50,000 points for high-grade – 10,000 points for medium-grade – 2,000 points for low-grade “You need to buy more Void Stones, and better ones,” Sage said. “It’s a waste. Those small storage spaces could’ve been much bigger, judging by how long they took to bind and stabilize. But we missed the chance because we don’t have better Void Stones.” Eshmund rubbed his chin. “So, better stones mean bigger subspaces?” “Not necessarily,” Sage replied. “A high-grade Void Stone can still bind to a small subspace, but that’s not a problem – we can just unbind it and try again.” “The real issue is when a low-grade Void Stone binds to a large subspace. It won’t be able to handle it properly, and when it stabilizes, the subspace will shrink – capping out at 10 square meters max.” “In contrast, a high-grade Void Stone can bind to a subspace up to 300 square meters.” Sage paused for emphasis. “Imagine having a 300-square-meter space reduced to just 10. That’s a massive waste.” Eshmund exhaled through his nose. “That’s a huge loss.” “Exactly. That’s why we need better Void Stones.” Sage continued, “They’re indeed expensive. Each grade costs five times more than the one below it, but if we can cut them into multiple pieces like we did with the low-grade ones, we could make serious profit.” Eshmund sighed. “Obviously. But first, we need more contribution points to get higher grade Void Stones” Selling too many Void Stones through official sect channels would definitely attract attention. Someone would start asking where he got them. That was a problem. Silver was better since it will be harder to track. “We could try getting Void Stones from somewhere else,” Sage suggested. “But that will still costs money.” Eshmund sighed again. “And selling too many at once would raise too many questions.” “If people ask where you got them, it could be trouble.” Sage said “Exactly. We can’t just dump a ton of them on the market and expect no one to notice.” Eshmund nodded The safest approach? Selling to separate buyers. But selling small amounts to different people would be too slow. He wasn’t looking for a one-time deal – he needed a long-term business arrangement. “Carlan and the other merchants might help,” he thought aloud. If he spread out the sales through them, it wouldn’t attract attention. “You’ll need to make sure they stay quiet too,” Sage reminded him. Eshmund leaned back, thinking. “Keeping people quiet isn’t easy but maybe we don’t have to.” “To be safer, we need a secret identity. If our business partners ever get pressured, they should be able to tell the truth without putting themselves – or us – at risk.” Eshmund said “Agreed” Sage replied. That way, even if someone traced the supply back to his contacts, they wouldn’t be able to trace it back to actual him. They’d only find a fabricated identity – someone who didn’t exist. It would at least buy him time. Time to gather more resources. Time to strengthen himself. Because in the end, the only real protection was his own power. They spent the next few hours brainstorming and planning the best approach. This wasn’t just a side hustle anymore. It was becoming a real business.
With the sales plan outlined, Eshmund and Sage moved on to their next challenge – binding multiple Void Stones to a single subspace. Sage pulled up a projection, displaying his test results. “Alright, here’s everything I’ve found so far.” Eshmund skimmed through the data. “The first Void Stone binding works fine. We find a naturally occurring subspace, bind it, and it stabilizes. No problem there.” “Yeah,” Sage confirmed. “The issue comes when we try binding a second Void Stone to the same subspace. It just doesn’t work.” Eshmund crossed his arms. “Why?” Sage zoomed in on a specific data set, highlighting energy fluctuations. “The core problem is energy leakage. When we bind the first Void Stone, it creates a feedback loop. The stone supplies the same amount of energy that the subspace releases, keeping it stable.” “Right, that’s why the space doesn’t collapse or shrink further.” “Exactly. But when we try binding a second Void Stone, we create another tear in the subspace. That tear also releases energy from the subspace to the outside, but the first stone’s feedback loop can’t compensate for it correctly.” Eshmund frowned. “Why not?” Sage sighed. “Because the energy released from the second tear disrupts the first feedback loop’s calculations.” “It keeps adjusting, but it’ll never get it exactly right because it needs a few iterations to measure the correct amount of energy it needs to supply. If the energy in the space keeps changing with each iteration due to the second tear continuously releasing energy, the amount will never be accurate.” Eshmund tapped his fingers on his knee. “So the second Void Stone never gets a chance to bind because the subspace doesn’t stabilize?” “Correct. Imagine you’re trying to wedge a door open, but before the door even touches the wedge, someone kicks it away and change its position. Or, imagine an opponent that keep changing the goal post, you will never get a score” That’s what’s happening – the second stone gets rejected before it can anchor itself.” Eshmund grimaced. “What if we try closing the second void stone’s feedback loop first? Then we bind it to the subspace?” Sage shook his head. “Impossible. That’s actually worst. It’s like trying to plug a hole in a dam while water is gushing out. The pressure keeps pushing against the patch, making the hole bigger instead of sealing it.” Eshmund narrowed his eyes. “Wait, that’s weird. The first tear doesn’t behave that way, right?” “Exactly,” Sage said, pulling up another comparison chart. “The first tear behaves differently because it naturally shrinks over time. The subspace opening gets smaller as it stabilizes, reaching a balance with the surrounding pressure. Most of the load is handled by the feedback loop, keeping the subspace intact.” “But the second tear?” “It does the opposite. Instead of shrinking, it keeps getting bigger. The feedback loop in the first Void Stone unintentionally pulls the space fabric toward itself. So the second opening becoming larger.” Eshmund ran a hand through his hair. “So binding multiple Void Stones to a single subspace is impossible?” Sage hesitated. “Not necessarily impossible. Just that our current method doesn’t work. That’s what we need to figure out.” Eshmund sat in silence, deep in thought.