With that decided I start working on a formation to turn any type of mana into pure mana. That way, Lin and I will be able to draw mana from the crystals and use it easily. It takes some testing and several failed attempts, but after a while I figure it out.


    After that, the only hard part is carving the formation into the crystals. The crystals are hard, but I already know that they can shatter fairly easily. So, in order to carve the formation I have to use exactly the right amount of pressure.


    Unfortunately, I can''t do the carving with mana because the crystal would just absorb it. The only way around that would be if the crystal was full, but if I could fill it I wouldn''t need the carving. First, I practice carving the formation into some random materials.


    I want to practice before trying it on the crystal and I need to make sure the formation works. The formation does work, but it isn''t as efficient as I was hoping, so I make some changes. As it is, it wouldn''t be able to purify the mana as fast as it was gathered by the enchantment.


    I am still working on it when Jarvis reminds me that I need to wake Lin up for breakfast. I hurry upstairs to wake her up and then we have breakfast with the kids. Lin starts the lesson for the kids as soon as they are done with breakfast.


    I head downstairs and go back to try to improve the purification formation. When I have improved it as much as I can and tested it, I take it upstairs and have Lin take a look. As expected, she has several suggestions about how I can improve it further.


    Her magical knowledge is still several times better than mine and it is really impressive. I immediately head back downstairs to try out her suggestions and test them. Thanks to Lin''s help, I finally get the formation to where it can keep up with the enchantment.


    After that, I spend the next hour practicing engraving the formation on some scrap materials. Once I am done practicing, I take the first crystal and start engraving the formation. I take my time and slowly figure out just the right amount of force to use when engraving.


    Once the formation is done, I gather a bit of normal mana and feed it to the crystal. The formation works perfectly, the mana is purified as it is absorbed into the crystal. Once I have verified that, I start putting the enchantments onto the crystal.


    It is a little tricky, I have to place the enchantments all at once to keep the crystal from absorbing them. It takes several failed attempts before I figure out the trick to it. When it finally works, I check to make sure that the enchantments are working properly.


    That''s one down, eleven more to go, but before that I take a break to have lunch. I join Lin and the kids, we chat and joke around as we eat, making it a nice relaxing meal. After lunch, the kids head to the training room, Lin heads to the library, and I return to my workshop.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Now that I have figured out the process, finishing the other crystals goes quickly. However, there is another problem that I need to find an answer to. That is the mana, with twelve crystals in one place they consume a ton of mana.


    If I keep them in the castle, then there won''t be any mana for me and Lin to absorb. One crystal would be fine, but twelve is just way too much for a small area. However, if I move them out to the ship, they might affect the function of the ship itself.


    The ship has to absorb a massive amount of mana for all the enchantments to function. In fact, I might have made the ship a little too dependent on mana, but it can''t be helped. When I do the upgrades to the ship I will do my best to streamline the enchantments.


    In fact, I should probably completely dis-enchant the entire ship and redo the enchantments completely. That would also make it easier when it comes to adding the new enchantments. However, I am going to need Athena''s help to do that since the enchantments are linked to her core.


    Anyway, that is a worry for later, right now I need to figure out where to put the crystals. I could gate back to those floating islands and leave them there, it should be safe. I doubt that any human is going to happen across them, but a monster might.


    Knowing my luck, some random monster would come along and eat all of my crystals. At that point, the only thing I could do is cry since I don''t have the materials to make more. Although, thinking of the floating islands does give me another idea for the crystals.


    I can make a small floating platform just for the crystals and have the ship tow it. To keep it from interfering with the ship I can attach it by a rope, like a kite. If the rope is attached to the main mast, then the platform can fly high above the ship.


    I can put it under Athena''s control so that she can real it in if there is a storm or something. Besides, being higher in the air should mean there is even more mana available. After thinking it through, I can''t think of any downside so I go ahead and go with the idea.


    The platform itself is easy enough to make and I still have some extra floating metal. Once everything is made and enchanted, I head outside with the crystals. The first thing I do is explain everything to Athena since she will be in charge of the platform.


    After that, all I have to do is attach the platform to the mast and release it. The platform works perfectly and Athena is fully able to control it, which is a little surprising. I was totally expecting at least one thing to go wrong, that is my normal luck.


    Once the platform is floating at the proper height, I fly up to check on the crystals. All twelve of the crystals are properly absorbing and purifying mana. It will still take weeks for them to be fully charged, but I am fine with that.


    With that settled, I return to the castle and join Lin and the kids for dinner. Once the kids have run out of things to talk about, I bring up something that I forgot about. I ask Lin if she would be willing to let me further improve her body.


    Lin says "What kind of improvements? Just what are you up to? Is this because I can''t match your stamina?"


    "Well, if Mulan is willing to help I was thinking about using her blood. You would still be a human, but you would have a phoenix bloodline. You would physically improve beyond what a human is normally capable of and you would also gain benefits related to fire. Probably."