Adrian stood still for a long moment, his expression unreadable.

The only other method he could think of was infusing his Source into a pure mana crystal and using that to power the formation.

But he was not certain this would work.

When it came to converting Source to different mana, he had to input his understanding first. Only then it changed.

With Blackwood Ink, the spell concept was already etched on the scroll parchment. The Source inside the ink used that to produce the affinity-based mana.

But this formation was different.

It also had concepts etched within it, so technically it should be possible. Yet it was not just a single concept within the formation.

It had many different concepts. Even the Origin Net system he created sat in the core middle of this formation, which needed its own conceptual requirements to function.

Could his Source take care of multiple things simultaneously?

Even he didn't know.

Adrian knelt beside the formation, tracing one finger along the overlapping runes. "Only one way to find out."

Moments later, Varik entered, flanked by two warriors carrying a massive crystal between them.

The energy stored inside dense enough to be worth millions. The warriors struggled under its weight.

"My lord," Varik bowed. "The mana crystal you requested."

"Place it in the center," Adrian instructed.

The warriors carefully lowered the huge crystal into the center of the formation, its base locking into a socket of floating runes.

The instant it settled, the entire floor brightened. Faint glyphs of space, fire, and lightning flickered beneath the surface.

The warriors quickly retreated, uneasy under the hum of power that filled the room.

Varik stayed behind, waiting quietly at Adrian's side.

His eyes darted to the intricate pattern covering the floor. He couldn't read a single symbol. To him, it was chaos.

"What exactly are you attempting, my lord?" Varik asked carefully.

"You will see soon," Adrian replied without looking up.

He extended his hand.

The Source essence flowed from his palm. It entered the mana crystal and infused into it.

In the galaxy, everyone used pure mana crystals to power their defensive formations. It was enough for the defensive ones.

But if someone created formations with fire or any other concepts, they needed elemental crystals.

Even these crystals had different types. One was elemental mana type, naturally found like the fire mana crystals Adrian saw back in the hub.

Another type was when a being infuses their own essence into a pure mana crystal, then it becomes an elemental essence crystal. Just like the void crystal Kael saw back in the hub.

Both types had their own advantages and disadvantages.

If it was just a fire mana crystal, the formation would handle it and convert it into fire essence so it could power the galactic concepts. This, in a way, was not efficient.

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But if someone directly used a fire essence crystal, this conversion process could be eliminated.

And now Adrian was converting this mana crystal into a Source essence crystal to see how it worked with the formation.

For hours, he worked, feeding the Source into the crystal.

Varik watched without moving. The glow from the crystal grew brighter with each passing minute.

The light spread slowly, first within the core, then along hairline fractures, until veins of pale light webbed through the entire structure.

By the time he finished, Adrian still felt like he hadn't exhausted even a tenth of his mana.

This made him realize how much mana was expended when he used his Source Form.

"It's ready," Adrian said quietly.

Varik blinked. "Ready for what, my lord?"

"You will see," Adrian said, "Now, step into the circle."

Varik froze. "My lord?"

"Don't worry. Just step inside."

Varik hesitated, then walked forward.

The instant his boot crossed the formation's edge, everything changed.

A shockwave of power erupted around him.

From all sides, bursts of flame, arcs of lightning, and compressed void blades lashed toward him.

Varik barely stumbled backward before a wave of heat grazed him. His instincts kicked in. He rolled out of the array, panting, the ground behind him scorched black.

"What! what was that, my lord?!" he gasped. "I've never heard of a formation that launches five different concept attacks at once!"

Adrian only smiled faintly. "It works."

The Source-infused crystal had adapted on its own.

The Source inside the crystal was responding to the concepts etched in the formation, translating itself into multiple affinities automatically.

It didn't need separate crystals anymore. The Source essence knew what to become.

This was essentially similar to the Source-infused ink. But this was better.

Because the core area where the source essence crystal was placed in the formation could be hidden, and no one could enter to look into it. That meant Adrian could keep this a secret.

And even more, the conversion efficiency was staggering.

The formation had fired multiple high-grade strikes, and the crystal's mana density had barely changed.

Adrian studied the crystal through his Source Eyes, watching the internal flow.

"This single crystal could run this prototype for months," he murmured.

Varik was still staring at the floor, dumbfounded.

"My lord… what exactly is this formation? And how can it do so much?"

Adrian didn't answer. Instead, he turned to him and held out his hand. "Give me your Node."

Varik blinked but obeyed, handing over the small metal sphere.

Adrian placed it on the table beside him and began etching. A few careful strokes of mana ink.

He didn't erase anything. He simply added the Origin Net symbol next to the Lexarian symbol, and another rune that allowed the user to change between networks.

The modification took less than two minutes.

He thought of this because it would be a huge process to produce a Node from scratch. But with this, a simple modification allowed one's Node to change between networks.

And since they were different networks, both did not interact with each other. When one was active, the other was turned off.

Production wasn't the only issue. If Adrian only gave access to Origin Net to his clan members, then the imprints of Origin Clan allies would not be saved in the Origin Net.

That would cause issues. To solve this, this was a perfect solution.

Anyone who had a node could use it. But the Origin Clan marked allies and enemies themselves.

Then he handed it back.

"Activate your Node," Adrian said. "And think about switching networks. You'll see an option. Origin Net."

Varik blinked again, hesitant. "Origin… Net?"

"Just try it."

He did. The Node blinked once. Then twice.

The usual blue hologram flickered, and shifted to a golden-white interface.

A new message appeared.

› Origin Net: Connection Established.

› Registering mana signature…

› Registration successful.

Varik's eyes widened.

He opened the menus instinctively. Contacts, forums, communication grids.

And froze.

Everything was empty. The news feeds, the forums, even the global channels.

All blank.

"What—what is this?"

Adrian smiled and tapped something in his own Node.

Varik's interface pulsed. Another notification appeared.

› Added to Origin Clan.

"Now," Adrian said, "step into the formation again."

Varik obeyed without question this time. He stepped into the formation. But this time, Nothing happened.

The formation was silent.

He turned to Adrian, shocked. His mouth opened, but no words came.

"It recognizes you now," Adrian said. "The Origin Net marked you as an ally. The formation pulled your mana signature directly from it."

Varik stared at his Node, still glowing faintly gold.

He scrolled through its interface. It looked similar to the Galactic Net, yet completely empty.

"My lord…" he asked, voice unsteady. "Is this, this Origin Net… what I think it is?"

Adrian's eyes met his. "Yes. It's exactly what you think."

Varik swallowed hard. "Our… our own Galactic Net?"

Adrian nodded slowly. "Built from the ground up. Independent from Lexaria."

Varik stood speechless. His fingers gripped the Node like it was holy.

The very idea was impossible. Entire empires had failed to replicate the Lexarian Galactic Net. Their monopoly was absolute. Unbreakable.

And yet here it was, glowing softly in his hand.

"You're… breaking their second monopoly…"

Adrian's faint smile returned.

"Yes."