End Of The Magic Era

by Stayrr

The world that nurtured the civilization which reached the pinnacle of magic was on the verge of destruction. The last survivor transmigrated to the past, when the magic civilization started growing, as countless mages were still fumbling their ways through the thorny paths of magic knowledge. He, who came from the end of the magic era, aim to reach the pinnacle of magic.

3. 65

Read End of the Magic Era - Chapter 65 - Rotten Flower online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter 65: Rotten Flower

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Sauss didn't guess wrong. Besides the Magic Spring potion that could restrain the poison fog, Lin Yun had indeed also prepared a potion to strengthen the poison mist.

This was the real reason that Lin Yun had dared to enter the Poison Fog Canyon alone. He knew that he was at an overwhelming advantage inside it.

The current Poison Fog Canyon wasn't very well-known…

Thousand Sails City's people didn't understand why Sauss' Viper Nest would occupy such a poor territory.

The only person in Thousand Sails City that could make sense of Sauss' decision to expand there was Lin Yun.

This was because he knew that a hundred or so years later, numerous forces would fight over the Poison Fog Canyon. Initially, a mercenary group found a temple from the 3rd Dynasty in the depths of the canyon. Later on, that group became one of the peak mercenary groups of the kingdom by relying on the wealth that they brought out.

For some unknown reason, rumors about the place leaked out many years later.

Suddenly, all the powers of the kingdom were like sharks who had smelled blood. They all rushed to try to gain control of the Poison Fog Canyon.

Lin Yun remembered at least three wars that involved more than 10 000 people each. Blood dyed every corner of the Poison Fog Canyon.

The Magic Spring potion that Lin Yun had taken out and the Sunset potion in his pocket had appeared in one of the wars. At that time, the Sunset potion had brought about a true bloodbath. Countless corpses were left in the Poison Fog Canyon, and one of the peak powers of the kingdom was destroyed in the war.

That war was viewed as one of the classic examples of the power of alchemy and would be repeatedly mentioned by alchemists for the following years.

Lin Yun found the formula of the Magic Spring and Sunset potions in the notes of those alchemists.

When he heard Sauss, Lin Yun knew that he wouldn't have to use the Sunset potion.

But Sauss didn't really need to worry about Lin Yun.

After all, what Lin Yun wanted wasn't the wealth of the temple. He just wanted the opportunity to get five Magic Arrays quickly.

Moreover, whether Sauss would be able to obtain the wealth in the temple wasn't set in stone. Unless he had the luck of that future mercenary group or had the help of an Archmage, Sauss wouldn't be able to catch sight of the temple he was yearning for.

But Lin Yun obviously wouldn't tell him that.

"I know that Leader Sauss has been painstakingly expanding in the Poison Fog Canyon for years and definitely wouldn't allow outsiders to go inside. How about this, Leader Sauss. My caravans will establish a path only in the south, and only for a period of three months. After three months, even if the Silver Moon Mercenaries have yet to clear Edge Rift, our Gilded Rose will think of another way to supply them."

"South?" Sauss finally looked better when he heard this proposal.

He would be able to accept it if they only passed through the southern part of the Poison Fog Canyon. After all, the temple was located in the northern part of the Poison Fog Canyon. If they stayed in the south, then even if the Gilded Rose's people had wings, how could they influence his plans?

"That's good, three months." Sauss still felt like he was losing out, though, so he added with clenched teeth, "But I want ten bottles of that potion!"

"That can be done. Come get them at the Gilded Rose tomorrow."

Now that they had agreed, Sauss handled business straightforwardly. When Lin Yun came out of the wooden house, the five Apprentice Alchemists were already there waiting for him. At the same time, Sauss told Lin Yun that he had sent someone to deliver the batch of alchemy items and that they would definitely reach Edge Rift before dark.

Lin Yun said a few things to the Apprentice Alchemists before sending them back. Lin Yun then told Sauss that he wanted to take a look at the southern part of the Poison Fog Canyon to see if there was a location suitable for a road.

Sauss naturally didn't dare to stop him. The Magic Spring potion was in his hand, but he was sure that the young Great Mage still had a potion that was capable of strengthening the poison fog in his hands…

After watching Lin Yun's silhouette fade into the distance, Sauss made a decision while gnashing his teeth. Regardless of how he did it, he had to get a group of mighty alchemists, or else the poison fog of the Poison Fog Canyon would remain a rope tied below his neck, leaving the Viper Nest forever unable to escape the control of that young Great Mage.

Lin Yun was unaware of Sauss' decision, but even if he knew about it, he wouldn't care about such a trivial matter. Regardless of whether it was the Magic Spring or the Sunset potion, they were both just parts of a strategy. For a mage, the most reliable strategy would always be the magic that they controlled. Lin Yun was confident that once he had five Magic Arrays, he would be able to kill every member of the Viper Nest in an hour even without the Sunset potion. This included Great Mage Bell, who currently seemed quite formidable.

Far from the line of sight of the Viper Nest's sentry towers, Lin Yun took out a Magic Spring potion and drank it. Although he had told Sauss that the potion should be placed in a ventilated place to gradually grant his followers resistance to the poison over the course of three days, that would only be effective in the places where the fog was thin.

If one wanted to enter the depths of the Poison Fog Canyon with the densest poison like Lin Yun, they would have to drink the Magic Spring potion.

In this era, no one understood the Poison Fog Canyon more than Lin Yun.

Not even Sauss who had been exploring the area for over a decade.

The current Sauss still didn't know that if he entered further into the depths of the Poison Fog Canyon, the concentration of the poison would become extremely frightening, to the point that it eradicated all life apart from those magic beasts who fed on the poison fog. Even weeds couldn't survive.

Even the Magic Spring Potion in Lin Yun's hands, which would become known as the pass for travelling through the Poison Fog Canyon in the future, could only protect a person for ten minutes per bottle.

But thankfully, Lin Yun had come prepared.

He had over a dozen Magic Spring potions inside his bag.

In other words, Lin Yun would have close to two hours to explore the depths of the Poison Fog Canyon.

After drinking the Magic Spring potion, a faint green mist began spreading on Lin Yun's body. It looked thin, but it was condensing over him, not scattering. Regardless of how Lin Yun moved, that green mist would keep lingering around him.

By this time, Lin Yun had already gone very far into the southern part of the Poison Mist Canyon. The red fog in his surroundings became denser and denser. It was visibly thicker than it had been back at the Viper Nest base.

But after Lin Yun drank the potion, the red mist transformed like ice under sunshine, melting away.

Indeed, melting…

As the red fog came into contact with the green mist, steam drifted into the air.

Lin Yun relied on the protection of the green mist to go deeper into the Poison Fog Canyon.

'It should be near here…' After drinking the 3rd Magic Spring potion, Lin Yun stopped.

The description left behind by the alchemists of the peak era only had vague descriptions of the Poison Fog Canyon. There weren't any maps or even any precise paths to follow. All that Lin Yun could do was to blindly move about while relying on those unclear directions, hoping that he would reach his destination. In any case, he still had a decent stock of potions in his bag, enough to turn back in case of an unforeseen event.

After drinking another potion, the red fog cleared up once more, and Lin Yun could clearly see crimson-colored barren soil ahead of him… It felt as if someone had watered the soil with blood.

'There should be a cave here…' After making a rough assessment of the distance, Lin Yun didn't immediately hurry to find the cave. He instead whispered a few incantations and quickly cast Haste, Levitation, Poison Resistance, Stoneskin, and some other buffs on himself.

Sure enough, just as Lin Yun summoned his Ice Fire Shield, a sudden sound came from below, followed by a bright red color blossoming under his feet. It was like a huge red flower blooming.

But Lin Yun was already prepared, having made his move just when the sound echoed.

The power of the Magic Array was put on full display.

After merging with the Magic Array, the Haste spell was almost twice as effective as an ordinary Haste spell. It was comparable to a Great Mage Magic Conducting Rune.

With this superior Haste spell, Lin Yun's speed was like a gust of wind. Before the bright red blossomed, Lin Yun had already rushed ten meters away, and with the Levitation effect, Lin Yun broke away from the pull of gravity as he hovered above the ground.

At the same time, an instant cast Magic Array was activated, and a huge Fireball hovered in Lin Yun's palm.

Instant cast Flame Burst. A loud rumbling sound thundered out, making it seem as if the entire Poison Fog Canyon was shaking.

A mournful scream echoed. Lin Yun looked down, and sure enough, it was a Rotten Flower.

Rotten Flowers weren't actually flowers. They were merely flower-like magic beasts. They normally hid underground in the Poison Fog Canyon, unmoving for months, or even a year. However, once one of them smelled fresh flesh, it would immediately come out and spread its maws of red petals and swallow its prey in one bite.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 66: Fire Arrow Rain

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

The might of the Flame Burst spell would never leave one feeling disappointed.

Even if it was a Rotten Flower that had reached the 15th level, it would still be maimed by Lin Yun's bombardment of Flame Bursts. A ten-meter-long petal was hit hard by a blast, causing a stinking, dark red liquid to leak out of the wound.

This was Rotten Flower Blood, which was an ingredient that many alchemists liked to use to compound poisons. Poisons that used Rotten Flower Blood were extremely corrosive and would cause decomposition of tissues upon contact or ingestion.

Even a Great Mage like Lin Yun wouldn't dare be careless. Relying on his temporary airborne state that he achieved by combining Haste and Levitation, Lin Yun used his mana liberally, casting Flame Bursts one after the other. In a short dozen seconds of Magic Array activation, Lin Yun rained down a dozen or so Flame Bursts.

A violent explosion followed each of the Flame Bursts, echoed by mournful shrieks as dazzling flames splashed about. The Rotten Flower was struggling to come out into the open from underground a few times, but how could Lin Yun give it a chance to do so? He kept pushing it back with continued Flame Bursts.

A Rotten Flower was a dangerous foe that had far more vitality and tenacity than any ordinary monster. If Lin Yun let it emerge into the open, it would take a lot more time and effort to deal with it.

The amount of Magic Spring potion remaining in Lin Yun's bag wouldn't be enough if it dragged out too long…

Thus, from start to finish, Lin Yun only used one spell, his Instant Cast Flame Burst.

Flame Burst was a mana-intensive spell, and especially so when using the instant cast. The dozen-second bombardment ended up consuming half of Lin Yun's mana.

Naturally, this shocking consumption of mana brought about even more shocking results.

The imposing 15th-Level Rotten Flower never even managed to get out of its hole as it struggled one last time before its entire body went stiff.

After the effects of the Levitation spell wore off, Lin Yun dropped down from the sky. The Rotten Flower had already turned into a black lump. Just moments ago, this had been a lively and aggressive monster.

After landing, Lin Yun quickly gathered the Rotten Flower's mana crystal. Afterwards, the ring on Lin Yun's right hand flashed as pure mana slowly poured into him.

The Elemental Amber that Lin Yun got from the Bone Plane on his last trip was embedded in the ring.

It would be reasonable to say that the best way to use Elemental Amber was to enchant a High Mage spell onto it. This way, even a Magic Apprentice could use it to cast a spell that would normally only be usable by High Mages. This would be an immense increase in power.

But enchanting it with such a spell would be very costly, and furthermore, an Archmage would have to personally do the enchanting, which would incur another huge fee. This wasn't something that Lin Yun could do right now, so he gave up on that method.

Instead, he used mithril to create the ring and carved two miniature alchemy formations on it: one used during meditation to absorb mana, and one normally used to replenish mana. If ten alchemists saw this, nine of them would definitely shake their heads. This was too rough and was a waste of material as excellent as Elemental Amber.

But Lin Yun was used to hard times, so he had no problem with it being rough. It was good enough for him as long as a magic tool worked; he wouldn't needlessly pursue appearances.

For example, these two miniature arrays, absorption and replenishment, were more than enough to take advantage of the properties of the Elemental Amber. Although it was at most an Excellent Magic Tool, when judged in terms of practicality, even most Extraordinary or Inheritance Magic Tools wouldn't be able to compare to this ring.

As the Elemental Amber's radiance lit up the surroundings, the pure mana kept pouring into Lin Yun. The mana he had expended on the bombardment was now nearly all recovered.

After finishing up, Lin Yun cast Life Detection again, and once he was convinced that there weren't any more Rotting Flowers hiding nearby, Lin Yun put the mana crystal into his bag and started looking for the cave.

But he soon understood…

'Don't tell me…' Lin Yun looked up, a lifeless expression on his face.

Lin Yun clearly remembered the notes saying something about entering a cave.

'But how the hell do I enter!' Lin Yun looked up and saw the cave on the sheer cliff, and inwardly cursed those alchemists.

Let alone the fact that the cave was located on the cliff…

The worst part was that Lin Yun could see no fewer than four nests. Swarms of Toxic Dragonflies were wandering around the entrance of the cave. Although Toxic Dragonflies were usually low-level monsters, these were swarms of them…

The entrance of the cave alone was filled with at least a hundred Toxic Dragonflies. Just looking at this would make anyone feel numb…

Lin Yun truly wanted to confront the authors of those notes.

'Entering? What about entering? Don't mess with me…'

But Lin Yun understood after thinking about it.

The alchemists who wrote those notes were at the very least at the High Mage rank, with most of them being Archmages. Such powerhouses didn't even need to worry about the dragonflies. The pressure emanating from an Archmage would be enough to make these Toxic Dragonflies flee.

'No wonder they didn't care to write about these… But it's not like I can enter easily like they could.'

Lin Yun didn't have the tyrannical pressure of an Archmage. The Toxic Dragonflies wouldn't leave him alone if they spotted him, let alone if he tried to get inside.

'Looks like I can only fight my way in…'

Thankfully, there was still a lot of mana in the Elemental Amber and the Rotten Flower's mana crystal, so he could still replenish his mana if needed.

Lin Yun knew that this was an unavoidable fight and that he would have to settle it quickly. The longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous the situation would be. He still had more Magic Spring potions in his bag, but if he wasted time here and something happened in the cave later on, he would only have himself to blame.

Once he decided on a plan, Lin Yun waved his hands a few times to cast some buffs. With the help of Haste and Lightweight, he moved like a nimble cat and climbed the cliff at a lightning speed. He was already at the entrance of the cave after just twenty seconds.

But he had also alerted all the Toxic Dragonflies in the surroundings.

A green, venomous swarm flew over, and it looked like myriad locusts were sweeping through the air. The entrance was narrow to begin with, and now that it was filled with a swarm of Toxic Dragonflies, even a buffed Lin Yun couldn't dodge their advance.

But he had no intention to dodge.

Lin Yun activated the instant cast Magic Array just as the first spurt of venom came out of the swarm. It was immediately followed by a gesture and a thick Ice Wall materialized to block it.

It wasn't too big or too small, perfectly protecting Lin Yun's body.

Numerous spurts of venom landed on the ice, creating a sizzling sound that would make people shiver. Lin Yun managed to avoid being showered in venom, which was the reason behind his earlier apprehension. Besides the issue of quantity, the main problem was how corrosive the venom was, exceeding even the danger of unprocessed Rotten Flower Blood.

In an instant, over a hundred splashes of venom accumulated on the Ice Wall, many of them overlapping, causing it to start melting at an alarming rate. In a mere five seconds, the thick Ice Wall erected by Lin Yun began to collapse.

And Lin Yun would once again be exposed to the venom of the Toxic Dragonflies.

But the Ice Wall managed to buy five seconds, allowing him to complete an incantation.

Flame Barrier!

It was also a defensive spell, but compared to Ice Wall, a Mage-level spell, Flame Barrier was on a completely different level of existence. Flame Barrier was known as a divine art of Fire Magic, and its frightening temperature could even melt steel. More importantly, as long as Lin Yun was willing to keep pouring mana into it to maintain it, the Flame Barrier would never be extinguished, unless Lin Yun himself took damage.

A dozen Toxic Dragonflies had flown too close and directly fell into the Flame Barrier. These pitiful Toxic Dragonflies didn't even have time to shriek before turning into pitch-black husks.

And this wasn't over…

After raising the Flame Barrier, Lin Yun used one hand to control the raging flames while the other hand continued making gestures, matching up with the quick incantations he was still uttering. He was able to cast a second spell, Fire Arrow, and not just one or two of them. He shaped several dozens, close to a hundred. The narrow cave entrance had suddenly become covered in dazzling flames. The Flame Barrier separated Lin Yun from the massacre being wrought by the numerous Fire Arrows piercing through the air.

After merging Fire Arrow into the Magic Array, it was no longer on the level of the simple spell used by fledgeling Mages. Under the support of the Magic Array, the might of the Fire Arrow dramatically increased. The dozens of arrows flying through the narrow cave were like a meat grinder, continuously killing all the scattered Toxic Dragonflies.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 67: The Eye of Reincarnation

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

But that shocking firepower also came with equivalently huge mana consumption.

When a mage used Fire Arrow, they would at most summon one or two flaming arrows. Even with the support of a metamagic, they would only be able to cast a dozen at most. It wasn't because they were unable to cast more, it was because they weren't willing to. Each added Fire Arrow would increase the mana consumption as well as make controlling the spell more difficult.

Someone like Lin Yun, capable of casting a hundred flaming arrows in one Fire Arrow cast was something that any Great Mage would never even thought possible. After all, this magnitude made the spell a hundred times harder to control and consumed hundred times more mana. Even if it was originally only a low tier Mage Spell, after being layered a hundred times, the consumption and the control difficulty reached a frightening level.

Lin Yun had replenished his mana earlier, but already used a huge amount once again. Half of his mana had been used in just a short moment, and the remaining half was quickly dwindling since he was still controlling the Flame Barrier.

Lin Yun could only maintain this kind of limit challenging casting for thirty seconds. After those thirty seconds, Lin Yun felt that the amount of mana within his body was dangerously low. But he didn't panic. The ring on his finger flashed once again and pure mana poured into his body.

With the Elemental Amber's timely mana replenishment, Lin Yun was able to cast yet another spell. He managed the feat of triple casting in such dire circumstances!

Originally, the Flame Barrier and the Fire Arrow Rain formed an impenetrable defense, but the battlefield underwent a shocking change with the appearance of Lin Yun's third spell, a second Flame Barrier.

Two Flame Barriers, one in front of the Toxic Dragonflies, and one behind them, effectively locked the swarm in fire. Countless Toxic Dragonflies were flying back and fro, the heat from the spells making them restless. They wanted to rush out of the flame trap, but they were completely surrounded, they had no way out. The swarm of Toxic Dragonflies was forcefully condensed in a narrow space.

Waiting for them was a Fire Arrow Rain made up of a hundred Fire Arrows…

It only took a short moment before the swarm turned into a pile of pitch black coal. There was no more Toxic Dragonflies once Lin Yun's last Fire Arrow found its target.

"Huf… " Lin Yun let out a long exhausted sigh, using the wall to support himself as he fished out the Rotten Flower's mana crystal. He was deathly pale, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

That fight might have seemed simple, getting rid of a few hundreds Toxic Dragonflies in a few dozen seconds, but only Lin Yun himself knew how dangerous that fight had been.

Three spells cast, one use of the Magic Array, and the unfathomable triple casting, it was reaching Lin Yun's limits. It was no exaggeration to say that those Toxic Dragonflies brought out a huge pressure to Lin Yun, even greater that the Viper Nest's Great Mage, Bell.

Yes, the Toxic Dragonflies were level 10, and any 5th Rank Mage could easily kill a Toxic Dragonfly. But Lin Yun hadn't faced a single Toxic Dragonfly or two, he had faced a swarm made up of four nests, amounting to several hundred Toxic Dragonflies.

If Lin Yun had made a mistake… Like his Flame Barrier not trapping all the Toxic Dragonflies, or if he hadn't completed the 3rd spell… A different situation would have awaited him. Several hundred Toxic Dragonflies waiting outside the cave, ready to spurt venom… At that time, Lin Yun would have had no other choice but to brace himself and kill them all one by one. And it wouldn't have been a matter of a few dozen seconds, nor a few minutes. Lin Yun might have ran out of Magic Spring potions by then.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened…

From the first Ice Wall to the last Fire Arrow, each spell perfectly reached the effect Lin Yun wanted.

Lin Yun recalled every detail of this battle while tightly holding the Rotten Flower mana crystal, slowly extracting the mana it contained and carefully purifying it before slowly pouring it into the Magic Array.

Very few Great Mages would extract mana from mana crystal usually. It was due to the mana from the mana crystal being filled with impurities, and a moment of carelessness would bring danger to the Great Mage, a serious case might even involve mana backlash.

But Lin Yun wasn't an ordinary Great Mage…

After all, the only source of mana Lin Yun was able to access during the end of the magic era was from the Nether Storm. The mana coming from it was filled with much more impurities than a monster's mana crystal. Every time he meditated to extract mana from the Nether Storm felt like withstanding torture to him.

How could the Lin Yun from that era be afraid of some mana crystal's impurities, it's just that the speed of extraction was somewhat slow.

The entire mana extraction cost him another three bottles of Mana Spring.

When Lin Yun stood up from the ground, the mana crystal of the Rotten Flower in his hand had already lost the last bit of luster. It felt like an ordinary stone.

Lin Yun casually threw this empty mana crystal and lifted his hand to cast a Light spell. The dark cave turned bright as daylight.

The inside of the cave was filled with red fog, thicker than the outside. It felt as if it was being congealed there, and even the Mana Spring could only disperse the red fog in a few meters around him.

Following the alchemists notes, Lin Yun kept walking towards the depths of the cave for about ten minutes, and sure enough, the path ahead became more spacious. Lin Yun knew that he was close to the place he was looking for. If the notes weren't wrong, then he only needed to move about two hundred meters forward to reach the center of the cave. There, Lin Yun would be greeted by a tomb from the 3rd dynasty.

Indeed, that was the second historical remain in the Poison Fog Canyon.

Unlike the temple that Sauss wanted to explore, this tomb would only be discovered a millennium later. The Cloud Tower would already be the strongest force of the kingdom and a Great Mage born from the Cloud Tower would casually tour the Poison Fog Canyon.

But he would then encounter a fight at the entrance of the Poison Fog Canyon and would be severely injured. Relying on a few bottles of Magic Spring during his escape, he ultimately entered the unknown cave.

No one knew what the Great Mage encountered in the cave…

In any case, when he left the Poison Fog Canyon, he was holding a True Spirit Magic Tool, that was an existence equivalent to an Archmage. The enemy guarding the entrance of the Poison Fog Canyon didn't last more than ten seconds in front of a True Spirit Magic Tool and turned into a pile of ashes.

Afterwards, the Great Mage returned to the Cloud Tower and wrote a report on his discovery.

That report immediately caught the attention of the Cloud Tower and three Master Alchemists came to the Poison Fog Canyon. They made a discovery at the location the Great Mage found the True Spirit Magic Tool at…

That discovery was somewhat lucky…

Out of the three Master Alchemists, two were Archmages and the last one was actually a Great Mage.

And that Great Mage's Magic Rune was in fact the same Magic Array Lin Yun had been using.

Originally, that Great Mage only had two arrays, but after studying in the Poison Fog Canyon for three months, that Great Mage had five. He had the power to contest against a High Mage with decent fighting strength.

When Lin Yun had read that note, he had been quite surprised at that Great Mage's strange power-up.

After all, the Magic Array could be said to be the most complex and most detailed Magic Rune. Every small upgrade needed quite a lot of investment. Even if the current Lin Yun's knowledge far surpassed that era's magic knowledge, if he wanted to upgrade his Magic Array from two to five, it would take him three years.

But that Great Mage took only three months!

What kind of idea was that…

This was the equivalent of a twelve-fold shortening.

This was the reason Lin Yun cared about the Poison Fog Canyon. In contrast, Lin Yun didn't have much hope for that Spirit Magic Tool. After all, a True Spirit Magic Tool was different from a Spiritual Magic Tool. A Spiritual Magic Tool only had some spirituality, and could keep fighting based on its relation with his owner, intrinsically, it was still a Magic Tool.

But a True Spirit Magic Tool was different…

A True Spirit Magic Tool represented the pinnacle of alchemy. Any alchemist who managed to craft a True Spirit Magic Tool could confer a soul to the Magic Tool. They were known as "Creators". Only three True Spirit Magic Tools appeared at the peak of the magic civilization, and the alchemists who made these True Spirit Magic Tools had supreme positions. Even Heaven Mages would lower themselves in front of them.

After all, True Spirit Magic Tools had genuine life of their own, that reached the very limit of alchemy.

Each incarnation of a True Spirit Magic Tool was different.

To become the true master of the True Spirit Magic Tool, one had to become its master by receiving the approval of the True Spirit Magic Tool's incarnation. But in reality, there were almost no True Spirit Magic Tool that wished to change its master. Apart from the alchemist that created them, they would almost never accept a second master. That Great Mage of the Cloud Tower must have had heaven defying luck, that's the only possible explanation Lin Yun saw.

He wondered if he would have such fate…

Compared to an illusory True Spirit Magic Tool, the Reincarnation Eye that was able to increase the amount of Magic Arrays from two to five was much more practical.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 68: Tomb Surroundings

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Under the protection of the Magic Spring, Lin Yun went a few hundred meters deep in the cave before finally finding the mentioned stone tablet. The stone tablet wasn't that imposing, however, words in Nesser language were inscribed on it.

'It's actually Nesser characters…' The inscription on the stone tablet brought some sort of shock to Lin Yun.

There would be no issue with the Nesser runes being there if it was a newly built tomb, after all, it was already considered to be relatively widespread among mages. High Mages and stronger mage powerhouses would usually study such Nesser runes.

But this tomb was a tomb of the 3rd Dynasty…

In the 3rd Dynasty, only the members of the royal family could understand the Nesser runes. That was a dynasty ruled by bloodlines. The ranks between different bloodlines were strict, and the mages who weren't part of the royal family, no matter how powerful or otherworldly they were, couldn't get a chance to learn the Nesser language. Only one outcome awaited them if they were found guilty of learning the Nesser language in secret, immediate execution.

'So it's a member of the 3rd Dynasty's royal family…'

After a short surprise, Lin Yun's eyes fell onto the stone tablet once again.

Although the inscription on top of the stone tablet was in Nesser language, it was far less complicated than the magic knowledge Lin Yun usually came in contact with. Thus Lin Yun spent less than ten minutes to decipher the inscription on the stone tablet.

From the stone tablet's inscriptions, the person buried there should be a prince who should have lived during the early stage of the 3rd Dynasty. It could be seen from some grammatical parts that were commonly used during that time. Lin Yun relied on those details to make an approximative guess of the tomb's origin.

'Strange…' After reading the inscription, Lin Yun was filled with doubt.

Normally, an ordinary tomb inscription would be a review of the tomb owner's life. Even if it wasn't detailed, it would surely carry some important bits of information. But this stone tablet didn't say anything about the prince's life, it was as if the prince's life was blank.

However, Lin Yun understood after figuring out the identity of the tomb owner. No wonder such a shocking amount of wealth was hidden in a temple in the Poison Fog Canyon.

The 3rd Dynasty's royal family believed in the Haiba Dragon God of War and Power.

Among Noscent's legends, the Haiba Dragon God was one of the two Dragons at the birth of Noscent, it was in charge of war and power. Someone who obtained the favor of the Haiba Dragon God would have the power to triumph in every battle. The Haiba Dragon God's most loved offering was wealth, whether it was dazzling gold or glistening gems, they would both make the Haiba Dragon God happy. How much care a follower would receive depended on how much wealth he would offer.

A prince's offering to the Haiba Dragon God could naturally be described as outstanding.

Thinking about this, Lin Yun was naturally looking forward to exploring this tomb.

After all, the 3rd dynasty was famous for their lavish burials. Even when a civilian died, they would be buried with all their savings, let alone members of the royal family… Every royal tomb could be considered a huge treasure.

Who knew how many powerful mages became rich by being grave robbers during the peak of the magic era. Even a tomb of a member of the side branch of the royal family would make a High Mage rich overnight. That was a crazy era, almost no member of the 3rd Dynasty royal family would escape the fate of being disturbed by the livings. From emperor to prince, from duke to baron, people used this method to do an archaeological study of the 3rd era's high society.

That was a crazy era, but it was also an era that would make one rich overnight. During that era, mages began to make an inventory and discovered that 3rd Dynasty's royals amounted to almost half of Noscent's wealth.

Once he was done reading the inscription, Lin Yun started carving all kinds of marks on the inside of the cave.

Every 3rd Dynasty family royal tomb had fixed rules. These might be unknown to people of this era, but not to Lin Yun.

This was due to those grave robbers during the peak of the magic era, they excavated nearly all of the 3rd era's royal tombs. What kind of tomb were built for people of different status, what kind of rules were established for what kind of tomb, all of these secrets were already classified into a specialized school of magic knowledge, becoming a mage's essential knowledge at the time.

Although Lin Yun didn't specialize in learning that kind of knowledge, he had seen countless explanations about it in the decaying library, it was to the point that he could easily figure out the layout of a prince's tomb.

What Lin Yun had to do now was marking out the position of every room of the tomb.

'That should be the prince's resting place, I should leave it for later…'

If it was an ordinary tomb, then the priority would be to dig up the dead's resting place, because that would be the place the tomb owner was sleeping in, and there would be buried the most precious items of the entire tomb.

But the tomb he was now excavating was the tomb of a prince of the 3rd era.

Lin Yun clearly remembered that beside being extremely proficient in magic knowledge, they were also very good with Bloodline Curse Magic. That was a power coming from their bloodline. The purest the bloodline, the stronger the spell power would be. Moreover, that power wouldn't disappear after their death, remaining lingering like a ghost. Countless of those grave diggers during the peak of the magic era died to that power.

Lin Yun wasn't sure he could withstand this Bloodline Curse Magic…

'I should first start with the surroundings…'

Lin Yun made his decision and chose to first start with the outer part of the tomb. Usually, the tomb's surroundings wouldn't have items that were usually buried with the dead, however, it was also unlikely to be dangerous for the same reason. He was going to open up the tomb's surroundings first, but more importantly, he would make sure he could retreat anytime.

Nothing could be done about it, he only had 10 Magic Spring left in his bag, counting the ones he would have to use on his way back, he would only be able to stay 40 minutes here at most, with such a short time, even if Lin Yun entered the resting place of the prince, he would likely not have much gains.

Rather than going on a wild good chase, it would be better to first prepare a way out.

That way, if he met any danger, he would be able to timely retreat.

As for profits, it wasn't that urgent.

From his talk with Sauss, he gained three months. Three months were enough to excavate the prince's tomb.

Once he made a decision, Lin Yun quickly sprang into action.

To be honest, for a powerful existence like a Great Mage, the matter of digging up a tomb was very simple. Even if Lin Yun didn't do the job himself, he unhurriedly chanted a few sentences to summon a few Rock Puppets. These stiff and slow elemental lifeforms were almost useless outside of providing cover during battle. However, they were extremely useful when it came to digging a grave

Rock Puppets moved very slowly…

But their strength couldn't be matched, and they would never tire. Lin Yun only needed to add a Sharpness enchantment to the limbs of each puppet, with the help of the enchantment, the few Rock Puppets would quickly clear up the path leading to the core of the mountain.

Lin Yun couldn't help shivering as he felt a gloomy cold wind blowing out of the passage. Suddenly, Lin Yun heard some mournful scream, it felt as if a ghost would rush out from the passage as a gloomy aura filled the mountain.

'Trying to scare people!' Thankfully, Lin Yun was prepared and let out a Light spell he had been preparing.

In a flash, the entire mountain was lit up with dazzling lights. The originally gloomy aura was swept clean in a split second.

Once everything was over, Lin Yun sighed in relief.

Lin Yun knew that it was the power of the Bloodline Curse. Each tomb of the royal family was protect by that kind of power. What affected Lin Yun a second ago was just a trace leaking from the tomb. He would be able to feel the true horror of that power once he went deeper in.

Lin Yun didn't stop chanting after the Light spell dispelled that sudden gloomy aura, incantations kept coming out of Lin Yun's mouth, Lighten, Haste, a few Rock Puppets, and once he was done he let off a Mage Vision, to make the puppets' vision temporarily linked to his own.

Afterwards, Lin Yun passed down a few commands to the Rock Puppets.

Several Rock Puppets entered the passage, and by relying on the floating effect of Haste and Lighten, he steadily left the tomb's surroundings.

Lin Yun had summoned a total of five Rock Puppets. They didn't move together after entering the tomb surroundings, but scattered instead. Each Rock Puppet explored one direction, and with the Mage Vision, Lin Yun was able to understand the layout of the entire tomb.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 69: The End of the Hallway

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

The entire tomb was like a huge palace. Five Hasted Rock Puppets searched the surroundings for ten minutes. They explored a small area, and just as Lin Yun thought, there was no harvest nor any danger. Apart from several signs of the place being from the 3rd Dynasty, there was nothing noteworthy.

After drinking another bottle of Magic Spring, Lin Yun assessed that he would only be able to maintain the Rock Puppet summoning for a few more minutes. He thought for a bit before deciding to interrupt Mage Vision and personally enter the tomb to take a look. The Rock Puppets had already made sure that there shouldn't be any danger in the passage.

But before he could stop the channeled spell, the vision he got from one of the Rock Puppet had suddenly changed.

'What happened!' The Rock Puppet field of view had changed so suddenly. Just a moment ago it was looking at a spacious and desolate area, but now it was a garden. It was a lush and verdant flower garden.

Lin Yun frowned.

He had never relaxed while looking through the five Rock Puppets' eyes, always remaining focused, yet, in a split second, the sight changed without him noticing.

'Did it touch some spatial trap?'

It seemed unlikely. If it was a spatial trap, some spatial fluctuation would appear when the trap was triggered. Lin Yun was sure that he would have been able to detect these spatial distortions, regardless of how small they were, they would never escape his sight.

But if it wasn't a spatial distortion, what was it? How could a large Rock Puppet suddenly change location on his watch? And in such a particular location?

After all, the whole tomb was covered by the prince's Bloodline Curse, even the passage leading to the tomb leaked some traces of the curse which almost made a Great Mage like Lin Yun hallucinate. The power of the curse where the Rock Puppets were was ten times stronger…

'How could a lush garden appear in a place filled with such a potent death energy?'

'Hold on… Death energy…'

Something suddenly flashed in Lin Yun's mind, 'This place… It couldn't be one of the legendary Death Garden?'

He had seen the words Death Garden in the notes of a Necromancer. That Necromancer was named Sandro, he was one of the three existences during the peak of the magic civilization who managed to conquer the Undead Plane. It even came to the point that very few people would dare to mention his name, everyone would address him as Sovereign of Death.

That Sovereign of Death once wrote about his youth in his notes, how he mistakenly entered a Death Garden and set foot on the Necromancer path. Unfortunately, that Sovereign of Death didn't describe the Death Garden in details. He only mentioned that the Death Garden was a treasury left aside by the deads for the livings. It was a place full of endless opportunities and dangers…

Nothing could be done about it, the notes that the Sovereign of Death left behind were mostly about his understanding of Necromancy, there were only a few sentences about the Death Garden.

But later on, the notes fell in the hands of other mages, and after changing hands quite a few times, it was put in the decaying library, before the era of mana exhaustion. When Lin Yun saw it, it was already filled with a lot of mages' comments and annotations.

Among them were speculations about the Death Garden.

There were several mages of different eras who believed that the Death Garden was born out of a large amount of death energy. It lay between true and false, it could exist, it could also be illusory. Not only were there a lot of dangers within, it also had various ressources.

When he read those notes, Lin Yun felt the content novel and interesting, but he didn't take it seriously.

But now, the Rock Puppet sudden change of environment made Lin Yun recall these notes.

If that place was really a Death Garden…

Thinking about it, Lin Yun had the Rock Puppet look at the surroundings, but his expression turned blank just as the puppet's head turned, he couldn't help smiling bitterly.

He had suddenly lost connection with the Rock Puppet.

Not just with the one that entered the Death Garden, but with all five of them.

He didn't have to think much to understand that the summoning spell had reached its limit.

It seemed that if he wanted to get to the bottom of it and explore the Death Garden, he had to go himself.

Fortunately, the surroundings had already been explored by the puppets and no dangers had been found, the only thing he needed to pay attention to was the Death Garden, but that strange place existing between true and false couldn't be explained with common sense. In any case, he would only be able to understand it once he checked it.

After making his decision, Lin Yun chanted a few spells, Haste and Lighten. Lin Yun didn't rush in this time, he used some mana to cast a Vine spell. Vine was a low level spell with no fighting strength, but it had quite a few applications, like when he had used it to get Fario out of the frozen swamp.

Lin Yun's Vine Spell had a similar purpose, but instead of dragging someone out, he planned to drag himself out.

If he met any danger, Lin Yun would only have to give a command and that vine would come from the entrance to smoothly extract him from the dangerous situation.

Once this was done, Lin Yun lightly jumped, and with the floating momentum brought by Lighten, he flew above the ground of the tomb.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Lin Yun felt the power of the Bloodline Curse. It was far thicker than the trace he had felt earlier. It attacked him the moment he touched the ground, and a strange scene appeared before his eyes. Ten women wearing white dress were standing around Lin Yun, laughing strangely.

The ground under his feet was turning soft, just like a swamp, but when he looked down he only saw blood and limbs. He tried to struggled out of that bloody hell, but the strange laughter of those ten white dressed women filled Lin Yun's ears as they tried to drag him down to the depths of that bloody hell.

"Fuck off!" Lin Yun coldly snorted. His right hand fluctuated as the Mind Defense he had prepared was sent out. In a flash, only a silver ripple came out. Whether it was the women or the bloody hell, they both instantly disappeared.

'Bloodline Curses are truly vicious…' Lin Yun wiped the sweat off his forehead. Even if he knew that it was all an illusion, that frightening scene still made Lin Yun somewhat fearful.

An illusion targeting one's mind, was one of the most dangerous. If he made a mistake, he would sink in a never ending illusion and turn into a mindless corpse, forever unable to break off from the Bloodline Curse control.

Although he had some defenses against mind attacks, Lin Yun still didn't dare to stay in this place for long. With the help of Haste, Lin Yun only spent a few minutes before reaching the place the puppet had been at before the change happened.

'It's here.'

Lin Yun could clearly see the long hallway from his position. Both sides of the hallway were covered in thick stone walls which were adorned by a few light yellow oil lamp. No cold wind came from the hallway, if it wasn't for the flames flickering within the oil lamps, it would feel as if time had been frozen.

Lin Yun's shadow was dragged pretty far by the oil lamps, swaying along the flickers of the lamps. Lin Yun took a deep breath before slowly walking forward. He knew the place the puppet had been at before its surroundings changed, the end of the hallway.

A painting was hung at the end of the corridor. On the painting was a gorgeously dressed lady.

But for some reason, Lin Yun felt that the eyes of the lady were focused on him and that her faint smile was trying to convey something.

This feeling made Lin Yun more vigilant.

Although Lin Yun hadn't stopped walking, his Magic Array was already prepared. Five spells, four metamagics, ready to be used at anytime.

Fifty meters, forty meters, thirty meters, twenty meters…

Lin Yun was getting closer to the end of the hallway…

When Lin Yun stepped in to the last ten meters, those lamps suddenly got extinguished. In a flash, the entire hallway became pitch black as an ear-screeching laughter rose up. Lin Yun didn't think and instantly cast an Ice Wall, intercepting an attack.

At the same time, the Magic Array activated and a huge mana fluctuation filled the hallway.

A tempest of flames came out as Flame Storm was cast, this was the only Great Mage level spell that Lin Yun had merged into the Magic Array. Lin Yun was using his strongest firepower at this moment.

Even the air seemed to combust under the pressure of the extreme heat.

Thanks to the radiance of the flames, Lin Yun was finally able to clearly see. Long red hair had pierced his Ice Wall.

And the lady in the painting was slowly coming out.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 70: Ice and Fire

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Lin Yun clearly saw the lady coming out of the painting, her bright eyes had turned into soul fire, blood slowly falling down from her eye sockets, leaving behind bloody marks on her beautiful face. Her long red hair was like red snakes, emitting some hissing sounds…

A cold wind blew through the hallway, carrying a hoarse and sinister laughter. In an instant, the hallway was filled with a thick bloody smell.

'Blood Banshee?' Lin Yun frowned. Although he already knew that the painting was strange, he never expected it to be that strange…

That was a Blood Banshee…

Even among undead lifeforms, Blood Banshees were known for their evil ways. Every Blood Banshee had inevitably experienced endless pain and torture. It was said that they suffered enough torture for their souls to be completely ripped apart before they could transform into a vicious ghost and mature into a Blood Banshee. They were level 16 at the very least and had all kinds of abilities. Even peak Great Mages weren't willing to deal with Blood Banshees, even if they ended up winning, it wouldn't be without a cost.

'So unlucky…' Lin Yun inwardly cursed. He didn't stop moving his hands, doing a few gestures and controlling the storm of flames to block the Blood Banshee's attacks.

Lin Yun's Magic Array had merged a total of four metamagics and five spells, of which Flame Storm was the only Great Mage level spell. Under the effect of the Magic Array, that Flame Storm's might was already approaching High Rank.

But Lin Yun clearly knew that even if this Flame Storm could pin down the Blood Banshee for some time and give her some injuries, it still wouldn't be able to kill the Blood Banshee.

The Blood Banshee was an undead lifeform, her power originated from her soul shattering. She might dread flames and loathe light, but the only way to kill a Blood Banshee was to destroy that shattered soul.

Sure enough, Lin Yun's Flame Storm forced the Blood Banshee in a corner. Within the crazily rotating storm, countless flames were burning the Blood Banshee's body. Due to the Magic Array's strengthening, the might of each flame wasn't inferior to a Flame Burst. But it only caused the Blood Banshee to let out a blood-curdling scream.

Lin Yun felt pain even with his mind protection, that was the scream of the banshee, directly attacking the mind and soul. If it had been in Thousand Sails City, that scream would have been enough to kill hundreds of people.

The hallway still felt shaky after the banshee scream was over. Countless lamps had fallen from the stone walls, and cracks had appeared on Lin Yun's Ice Wall…

'No wonder no one is willing to provoke a Blood Banshee…' Lin Yun was frowning, the Blood Banshee was such a strange lifeform. It really was nauseating. Even if his mind defenses could withstand the scream, the intensity almost made him deaf.

Lin Yun Flame Storm exploded up when the banshee's scream shattered his Ice Wall…

Bright flames flew as a rumbling sound echoed. The might of that explosion was far more astonishing than the previous Flame Bursts and Fire Arrow Rain.

However, Lin Yun's expression became heavy.

He had noticed the shadow flitting across the flames…

That was naturally the shadow of the Blood Banshee. The hallway lost its only source of light after the explosion of the Flame Storm, plunging in the darkness once again. Lin Yun's reaction could be considered quite fast, a Light spell immediately following the descent in darkness. But the Blood Banshee's speed was far faster than Lin Yun.

Lin Yun only heard a gust of wind as the shadow swept over. Before the light could blossom, a red snake was already flying over. Only a "bang" could be heard as the Light and that red snake exploded together. The long hallway was once more covered in darkness.

'So fast…' Lin Yun's heart tightened. He hurriedly put up an Ice Fire Shield. A blue and red radiance firmly guarded Lin Yun.

Lin Yun knew that this kind of dark area was the prefered fighting environment of undead lifeforms, especially for a frightening monster like existence such a Blood Banshee. Once in the dark, their fighting strength would be doubled. This was too disadvantageous to himself.

The only thing Lin Yun could do right now was using the Ice Fire Shield to protect himself… And wait.

Wait until the Magic Array spell combination was completed…

The Blood Banshee launched her real attack when the Magic Array combined the spells. Her monster-like speed even made Lin Yun, who had been using a Magic Array-merged Haste, breathless. The red and blue radiances flickered very fast as the Ice and Fire Shield started being overworked.

Gasping breath, frantic roars…

That dark hallway felt like one of those monster arena.

The Blood Banshee's sharp nails ripped through the air, leaving behind some sharp sounds. Lin Yun simply didn't have the time to cast a spell, he could only rely on his Ice Fire Shield to protect himself, only able to instant cast one or two spells from time to time to counterattack.

That was Lin Yun…

If it was another 1st Rank Great Mage, he or she would have already died under the hands of the Blood Banshee. That was aberration among undead lifeforms, even a peak Great Mage might not be willing to rashly provoke such a lifeform. They not only had monster-like speed, they also had all kinds of abilities that could target one's mind and soul. This was a nightmare for mages.

Only someone like Lin Yun, someone with so much battle experience that they couldn't gain more, would be able to force a Blood Banshee in a stalemate in a dark and tight hallway.

At this moment, Lin Yun entered a state of extreme composure. Darkness, restricted space and extremely aggressive Blood Banshee, it was as if those didn't exist. Lin Yun's mind was entirely focused on the Ice Fire Shield. The two flickering radiance had already exceeded the Ice Fire Shield's limit.

Regardless how fierce the Blood Banshee offensive was, the Ice Fire Shield would always appear at the right place at the right time. Countless red snakes, lightning-fast sharp nails, none of those managed to reach Lin Yun. Every attack was intercepted by the Ice Fire Shield.

The entire fight kept going for no less than ten minutes…

After Lin Yun drank another bottle of Magic Spring, he finally merged two spells with a Metamagic.

'It's time to reverse the tide.' Lin Yun smiled. The Flame Barrier he had prepared a while ago was cast. The high temperature flames forced the Blood Banshee away, giving enough time for Lin Yun to start his first incantation of the fight.

The incantation wasn't very long, but it was strangely divided into two parts. One was the Flame Spear, while the other was the Frost Lance. Fire and Ice, two opposite type of magic appeared in the same spell. If it came out, all of Noscent would be shocked.

This was considered impossible, even the Ice Fire Shield which could be considered to be a spell of Ice and Fire was in fact just a channelling of both the Ice Shield and Fire Shield.

Ice Magic and Fire Magic were two diametrically opposed extremes, only an Archmage could operate both at the same time, even High Mage couldn't do it because their power was insufficient to curb the conflict between the two powers. That kind of conflict was no joke, a moment of carelessness and the mana would collapse.

High Mages couldn't do it, let alone Great Mages…

But now, blue light flickered in his left hand, a dazzling red light in his right hand. This was a sign of convergence between two type of magic power. This was an extremely strange scene, and yet it was happening in the tomb of a prince of the 3rd dynasty…

This was all because Lin Yun's Magic Conducting Rune was the Magic Array.

Two spell of completely different attributes merged with the metamagic Elemental Burst. That explosion of power far surpassed the previous Flame Storm. This wasn't the might of a single spell, but the might of the Magic Array, one of the most powerful Magic Conducting Rune in the magic civilization. It was revealing its might at this moment.

Flame Spear, Frost Lance…

Completely merged in the Magic Array.

The moment Lin Yun chanted the spell, a dazzling light shone in the dark hallway. It was followed by a blood-curdling scream. This wasn't a banshee scream aimed at his mind or soul, but the last scream of the banshee.

Silence filled the hallway.

The soul fire turned bright once more as snake after snake died, turning into beautiful red hair once again. The bloody scar on her face disappeared, revealing her beautiful face on again. Finally, the Blood Banshee turned into a black mist and returned to the painting.

"Phew…" Lin Yun let out a relieved breath. This fight could be said to be the hardest fight ever since Lin Yun transmigrated.

The Blood Banshee's threat was far higher than anything he met before.

But…

After a tough fight, it was time for the rewards.

Lin Yun picked up the Soul Essence left on the ground, that was the crystallization of the Blood Banshee's shattered soul. The mana contained within far surpassed the mana contained in the Rotten Flower's mana crystal. Most importantly, the Soul Essence of the Blood Banshee was very likely to retain some of the Blood Banshee abilities. It would give him great benefits on his magic path if he was able to study it carefully.

But to Lin Yun, what was more important was the Death Garden behind the Blood Banshee…

Lin Yun clearly remembered that there was one reason why Sandro was called the Sovereign of Death, that powerful Necromancer's control over undead lifeforms was far higher than his peers..

Sandro never told anyone how he gained this ability.

But many mages guessed.

Sandro's ability most likely came from the Death Garden.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

The ability Sandro had in those years was known as Undead Contract.

Sandro was able to sign a contract with all undead lifeforms, he was even able to ignore the level difference in some cases. It was said that Sandro had a Bone Dragon fight for him when he was a High Mage, an Archmage level lifeform!

When Sandro became an Archmage, his Undead Legion made all his enemies feel despair. That was the most powerful undead army since the birth of Noscent. Sandro had conquered over ten planes with this army, including the famous Undead Plane.

To a Necromancer, an ability like the Undead Contract could only be described as heaven defying.

Even Lin Yun felt that if he came in contact with this ability, he would be unable to resist the urge to become a Necromancer.

Naturally, there was very little chance of this happening.

Sandro wasn't the only one in Noscent history who had been able to enter a Death Garden, but he was the one who had the greatest gains. As for the others, some obtained good abilities, and some only got resources. A Death Garden was like a slot machine, no one knew what they would get.

Lin Yun put the Blood Banshee's Soul Essence into his bag, he then took out a bottle of Magic Spring and drank it. He walked to the end of the hallway once he was done. Under the radiance of a Light spell, Lin Yun could clearly see that there was nothing at the end of the hallway beside the painting. It was the same thick stone wall, and there was no difference from the rest of the hallway.

But Lin Yun knew that this place was definitely different.

He knew that this was the place the Rock Puppet had been looking at before its surroundings changed.

Lin Yun carefully examined the thick stone wall for a moment before a smile appeared on his face, 'So it is like that…'

Lin Yun didn't hesitate and started walking to the end of the hallway. It was strange, there was definitely a wall there, but when his foot reached the wall, it passed through. It was as if the wall had never existed to begin with.

'Worthy of a Death Garden.' Lin Yun went straight through the stone wall and reached a verdant and lush garden. Lin Yun had noticed that this wasn't a stone wall, even the hallway might be part of the illusion. This was all an illusion created by the Death Garden.

The Rock Puppet didn't experience this because it didn't have a soul, illusions had no effect on it.

But what Lin Yun saw was the wall at the end of the hallway.

But an illusion was an illusion, it didn't have the same feeling as something real. When Lin Yun stood there, he could see the stone wall, but the mana he emitted wasn't obstructed. As a mage, Lin Yun had the most faith in his mana, this trust even surpassed the trust in his own eyes.

He knew that sometimes, his eyes could deceive himself, but his own mana would never deceive him.

Thus he unhesitantly walked over…

He then saw a lush garden.

At this moment, Lin Yun at the edge of the garden, he only needed one step to experience everything Sandro experienced.

But Lin Yun stood there for a long time, not taking that final step.

He was recalling everything he learnt about Death Garden.

There was definitely a lot of people who entered Death Gardens in Noscent history, and Sandro was obviously among the most influential ones. This was why Lin Yun thought of him first when he saw the Death Garden.

But the most influential didn't mean the most valuable source of information.

Nothing could be done about it, for some reason Sandro only left a few sentences about the Death Garden in his notes. Lin Yun thought about it for a bit, but he decided that these sentences had no value. 'What about danger and opportunity co-existing… Everyone know about that.'

Lin Yun went through his memories for quite some time, before finding what he wanted in the notes of Master craftsman.

Compared to Sandro, the conqueror of the Undead Plane, that Master was certainly weak. In fact, if it wasn't for that Master Craftsman participating in the construction of the Shelter Tower, his notes wouldn't have qualified to be put in the library.

Furthermore, the rewards that Master gained from the Death Garden were far from good compared to Sandro.

After all, Sandro not only gained the Undead Contract ability, he also got the Soul Stone every Necromancer yearned for. That was an heaven defying existence that could transform Soul Fire into mana. With the Soul Stone in hand and the support of his Undead Legion, Sandro had close to unlimited mana.

As for that Master Craftsman…

He only gained some uncommon resources in the Death Garden.

They both found a Death Garden, but the differences were huge.

But in Lin Yun's eyes, that unlucky Master Craftsman was far more lovable than Sandro, because regardless of his luck, this lovable guy left behind some clues. And it wasn't like the "danger and opportunity" rubbish.

Lin Yun recalled that Master mentioning the Death Garden was a real yet dangerous illusion. Every person who entered the Death Garden would meet different illusions. Moreover, after a few years, the Master added some speculations about the Death Garden at the end of the notes. That Master felt that each choice picked in the illusion might decide the final reward.

But even if this was mere speculations, it was hundred times better than Sandro's nonsense.

After making sure he recalled the notes properly, Lin Yun took a deep breath. He drank another Magic Spring before taking the last step.

Just as Lin Yun took this step, a rotten smell assaulted his senses. The originally verdant and lush garden turned into a field of corpses. Rotten bodies everywhere, dried blood covering the ground. A frightening sound resounded as his feet touched the ground.

Above his head was a cold crescent moon, in front of him was a precipitous slope, and behind him was a terrifying precipice.

And the most frightening part was the group of Skeleton Warriors at the bottom of the slope, clumsily charging their way forward.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 72: Passing the Illusion

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"Fuck! How come there are so many of you!" Lin Yun was startled. That amount of Skeleton Warriors far exceeded what he could have imagined.

In contrast, the gathering of Skeleton Warriors at the Bone Plane Nether Iron Vein was not worth mentioning, it was just a small hundred Skeleton Warriors… What he was now facing was a sea of Skeleton Warriors, a thousand at the very least!

'What should I do…'

The first thought in Lin Yun's mind was using Lighten to jump off the cliff.

But just as he was about to chant the spell, he recalled the Master's notes. This was a true and dangerous illusion.

This sounded like a contradiction, but Lin Yun knew that the important part of this sentence was the word "true"

What did a true undead army look like? Sandro's notes taught Lin Yun this part. Lin Yun was certain that if he used Lighten to get down the cliff, what would await him would most likely be a large group of Gargoyles, or a dozen Obsidian Statues, or even some Bone Dragons.

A place like a Death Garden wasn't something that could be explained with logic. It was a place where a huge amount of death energy was continuously converging, transforming into an extremely strange Death Garden. The Death Garden itself was the embodiment of death power. On a certain level, there was also the trace of the Shadow Law. Facing such a strange existence, how could he get what he want with a cheap trick?

The first wave of Skeleton Warriors were already rushing up the slope, raising rusted scimitars.

Lin Yun didn't have much time to think, he chanted a few sentences and a Flame Barrier was quickly erected at the bottom of the slope. Lin Yun was a Great Mage now, his strength was ten times higher compared to when he had entered the Bone Plane. That Flame Barrier rose up in the middle of the first wave of Skeleton Warriors, blossoming with terrifying might. A dozen Skeleton Warriors turned to ashes before they could even react.

Moreover, the appearance of that Flame Barrier also gave rise to chaos among the Skeleton Warriors. The fear of flames was instinctive in all undead lifeforms, cannon fodder-like lifeform like the Skeleton Warriors weren't an exception. The Skeleton Warriors which were facing the Flame Barrier wanted to retreat while the one behind them tried to rush up.

Chaos ensued.

Lin Yun took advantage of the chaos to complete his Flame Storm incantation. He only heard a bang before chaos appeared amidst the Skeleton Warriors. A sphere of flames appeared among the Skeleton Warriors, spinning frantically as temperature instantly rose up. It was like a tornado made up of flames swallowing everything on its path. Only ashes were left in the path of the Flame Storm. The spell lasted ten seconds, reducing over a hundred Skeleton Warriors to ashes. The entire first wave of Skeleton Warriors was almost decimated.

But he knew that this was only the beginning.

Sure enough, as the first wave was cleared by Lin Yun, the remaining Skeleton Warriors started climbing the slope. The closest one was less than a hundred meters away, and there were ten times more than the previous wave.

Lin Yun knew that once surrounded by this amount of Skeleton Warriors, not even a High Mage would be able survive. No one beneath the Archmage rank would be able to survive a siege of a thousand Skeleton Warriors, that was a sea of undeads. If one tried to surrender… Well… They would be drowning.

The only thing Lin Yun could do was raising his casting speed to its pinnacle and overwork his Magic Array to keep casting Fire Magic continuously. It was a method Lin Yun wasn't completely clueless about as he recalled the knowledge he had on Flame Tyrant Max.

If not for the Skeleton Warriors being too numerous, Lin Yun would have considered this fight to be a good opportunity. Every fire spell gave him more understanding of the Flame Tyrant style. In the end, Lin Yun even felt that he had fell into Max's shoes. It was like that fight between the Flame Tyrant and the undead army at Ghost Town.

Skeleton Warriors falling one after the other, quickly being replaced by their brethren.

The entire fight felt like a battle of patience and willpower to Lin Yun. Lin Yun didn't even remember how many spells he had cast, nor how many time his mana had been exhausted. He only remembered extracting mana from the Blood Banshee Soul Essence every time he ran out.

Fortunately, the Blood Banshee was a ghost lifeform, the mana contained within her Soul Essence was far more pure than a similar mana crystal. Lin Yun actually had an easier time absorbing mana from within, except from one problem. Absorbing mana from it caused some nauseating negative feelings. His mind would become restless every time.

But he couldn't deal with that right now.

If the Blood Banshee was the most troublesome enemy he met since coming to this era, then this fight was the longest fight he experienced.

The icy crescent moon already fell quite a bit as the first ray of sun started peaking from the eastern sky.

The greater part of the night passed.

Lin Yun was still slaughtering endlessly, the entire slope filled with ashes and burnt broken bones. A fire spell came out of Lin Yun's hand, followed by a Skeleton Warrior falling to the ground. This felt like an endless battle.

Lin Yun was still casting another spell when the sun had reached its peak, but when the spell was cast, Lin Yun discovered that there was no more Skeleton Warriors standing on the slope.

'Finally over…' Lin Yun was panting. He took out the soul essence from his pocket and absorbed mana from it one last time. His legs shook as he stumbled and then sat on the floor.

That fight had been too long, at least half a day. Lin Yun had been continuously casting, continuously fighting. No other Great Mage would have been able to handle it, this was far from what a 1st Rank Great Mage could handle.

Thankfully, it was finally over.

The surroundings changed just as Lin Yun sat, the rotten corpses disappeared, the dried up blood faded away, both replaced by a verdant and lush garden. Lin Yun knew that he passed the Death Garden's illusion.

He was anxiously looking forward to the imminent reward.

That Master wrote at the end of his notes that it was likely that every choice made in the illusion might influence the rewards.

Lin Yun thought about it carefully. He didn't make any choice in the illusion, he simply fought from the beginning till the end. What kind of reward would he get?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

The Death Garden greatly changed the moment Lin Yun walked out of the illusion.

The lush garden's trees started withering, the verdant lawn slowly turned yellow, the flowers shrubs withered one after the other, and even the wings of the butterflies fluttering in the garden stiffened, as they fell to their deaths. It felt as if the originally bright and lush Death Garden was dying, turning into a frighteningly sinister tomb.

It was all due to the fading of the death energy surrounding this place.

A strange existence like the Death Garden was the produce of a huge amount of death energy, now that this energy was dissipating, the garden would naturally follow.

Lin Yun leaned on a withered tree trunk, calmly looking at the change. He didn't know how much time passed, but he was suddenly startled. He quickly put his hand in his bag to retrieve another Magic Spring, but as he was about to drink it, he discovered that the fragrant green fog was still surrounding him, stopping the red fog from the ancient tomb from approaching within 10 meters.

This discovery gave Lin Yun a whole new level of understanding towards the Death Garden.

It was worthy of being a strange existence born of death energy. He had obviously fought in the illusion for half a day, but Lin Yun's Magic Spring effect hadn't dissipated. In other words, the Death Garden already reached the level of distorting time. Lin Yun wasn't even sure if he had been transported to an illusion, or if it had been all in his mind.

'Time distortion, spatial movement, how frightening was that?'

But fortunately, he cleared it.

Lin Yun thought about it with some lingering fear while watching the last petal withering in the Death Garden. The Death Garden completely faded, leaving only ruins as far as one could see. Black soil, rotten trees, dried-up spring, as well as a gray stone tablet the size of a palm.

'This…' An unsightly smile appeared on Lin Yun's face, giving off a sad feeling.

At first, Lin Yun couldn't help being overjoyed when the Death Garden disappeared without leaving any magic material, thinking that he wasn't as unlucky as that Master Craftsman.

But Lin Yun couldn't feel happy when his eyes fell on that stone tablet, it was devoid of any mana fluctuation.

Death Gardens had always been an unsolvable mystery of Noscent, even the powerful mages at the peak of the magic era couldn't explain the theory behind them. But even if Lin Yun didn't know the theory behind it, experiencing it himself gave him some understanding.

He was able to understand that the Death Garden was in fact a world born of death energy. But that world was very frail. If someone passed through the illusion, that world would collapse, and without world absorbing the death energy, the later would condense into some things. Those things could be abilities, magic materials, or maybe other things.

It could be concluded that it was because of this that no one in Noscent history was able to get a Death Magic Tool in a garden, Magic Tools came as a result of alchemy after all. Death Garden were strange and formidable, but they couldn't replace the refining process of alchemy.

But regardless, the things the Death Garden left behind inevitably contained a huge amount of death energy since they were condensed from death energy itself. The stone tablet he received was devoid of mana fluctuation… Didn't that mean he came here for nothing?

'Well, stone tablet aside…'

No ability had appeared in Lin Yun's mind.

He couldn't be deceived, as a Great Mage, his understanding of his body was top notch. A tiny change couldn't be concealed from him. He had carefully paid attention to his body the instant the Death Garden disappeared, but no changes happened, meaning that he didn't receive any ability.

'Aren't I too unlucky?'

Lin Yun felt very disappointed.

This was a Death Garden, an existence that led to the rise of the Sovereign of Death. Lin Yun took such a big risk, spent so much of energy… But what was the final reward? He wasn't an existence with heaven defying luck like Sandro who got both Undead Contract and Soul Stone, but couldn't he get a reward at the very least?

Wouldn't that be good…

No ability appeared, and the only reward he got was a mere stone tablet with no mana fluctuation.

Lin Yun ultimately sighed and put the stone tablet in his bag. After inspecting his bag, he counted five Magic Spring left.

He knew that it was time to leave this tomb.

Next time he would have to prepare enough Magic Spring. He definitely had to find the Reincarnation Eye, only the Reincarnation Eye could make up for the loss of the Death Garden.

After casting a Magic Array-enhanced Haste, Lin Yun used his fastest speed to rush out of the passage. He made a command and the magically enhanced vine softly coiled around Lin Yun and dragged him out of the prince tomb.

Maybe because he was too fast, or because he was crestfallen, but the always careful Lin Yun didn't notice the ambush that had been prepared for him.

Mana Skeleton Warriors were actually waiting at the entrance of the tomb, all wearing a complete set of armor and scimitars in perfect conditions, the standard equipment of the 3rd era royal guards.

There was at least a hundred of them. And with this equipment, even Lin Yun would suffer once surrounded.

These Skeletons had been waiting in ambush for a long time, their soul fires flickering. But when Lin Yun entered, these skeleton royal guards all unanimously retreated, their flickering soul fire instantly darkening.

If mages who had studied undead lifeforms saw this, they would be frightened.

There was only two possibilities for undead lifeforms' soul fires darkening, one was imminent death, and the other was fear.

The first could be ruled out. A hundred of lively undead royal guards, how could they be in danger of imminent death?

It could only be the second.

But only a higher level undead lifeform could make one of them feel fear, how could a mage like Lin Yun scare them?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 74: Component

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Lin Yun never noticed these ambushing Skeleton Warriors, otherwise he would have re-evaluated the reward from the Death Garden. Through these skeletons' reaction, he might have even though that not every ability would induce a change in one's body.

It was already late in the night when Lin Yun arrived at Thousand Sails City. What he experienced today was too stimulating, even for Lin Yun. Especially that final fight in the Death Garden, it completely exhausted Lin Yun's stamina. He had planned to research the stone tablet after returning to the Gilded Rose, but he felt the fatigue assaulting him when he sat down. He fell asleep on his chair without even noticing.

He slept until noon. When he opened his eyes, he found out that a blanket had been put around him and breakfast had been put on the side of the table.

He guessed that it was most likely the old butler.

The old butler had never came in contact with magic, he didn't even know much about Great Mages. But he stubbornly believed that magic study shouldn't be disturbed. A huge issue couldn't be compared with his young master's magic study. Thus, the old butler had always been taking care of his young master's daily need stealthily, just like he did now, secretly putting a blanket around him while he slept and putting some food on his table, afraid of waking Lin Yun from his sleep.

Lin Yun smiled before making the breakfast disappear in a few mouthful. He then took out the stone tablet and return to his laboratory.

The palm sized stone tablet was put on a refining table. It had no mana fluctuations, nor any death aura. It looked just like an ordinary stone tablet. But Lin Yun was convinced that this stone tablet looked ordinary because he had yet to find its secret.

This was a stone tablet from the Death Garden, the convergence of a huge amount of death energy. Even if it wasn't something heaven defying like a soul stone, it shouldn't be a common stone tablet.

Thus, Lin Yun spent a few hours in his laboratory.

Lin Yun used alchemy reagents to analyze it at first. But he quickly understood that he was wrong. He used two dozen alchemy reagents and came to the same result. There was nothing strange about it on the material side, it was a stone tablet.

'Well, if the analysis of alchemy reagents is inconclusive, then I can try to make it react to mana.'

Lin Yun held the stone tablet in his hand and began pouring a large amount of mana.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes.

Lin Yun had some expectations at the start, but he couldn't help grumbling inwardly after thirty minutes, 'This damn stone tablet is a bottomless pit!' Regardless how much mana he poured in, it couldn't be filled. Yet the reaction Lin Yun was expecting never happened.

"Fuck, so annoying!" Lin Yun angrily cursed it when he felt that he was running out of mana and stopped this futile effort.

Lin Yun truly wanted to know what that damned stone tablet was made of. How could it be so stubborn, why wouldn't it yield. Or was that damn stone tablet picky about the food?

'Right, can it eat a spell…?'

Lin Yun suddenly got an idea. The stone tablet was from the Death Garden, it was condensed from a huge amount of death energy, maybe it had some of the properties of undead lifeforms? 'What about a fire spell?'

Lin Yun was careful, afraid of the stone tablet being harmed by a powerful fire spell, thus he chose a simple Flaming Hand.

Lin Yun didn't even need to use gestures to use this kind of beginner level spell. He grabbed the stone tablet and cast the spell, flames instantly rising from his hand.

Lin Yun then noticed that his thought pattern had been correct.

Death aura was released the instant the flames appeared. At the same time, the details of his Flaming Hand appeared in his mind.

"What!?" Lin Yun was startled. His Flaming Hand was extinguished, and the stone tablet also slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground.

What appeared in his mind just now was too strange.

Lin Yun stood there, looking at the stone tablet in a daze, an extremely complicated expression appeared on his face, a mix of dread and expectation.

This stone tablet strangeness far exceeded what Lin Yun imagined. It could affect his mind, yet the ability contained within was something Lin Yun yearned for. Complete analysis of spells. No mage could resist such a power.

It took a long time before Lin Yun decided to pick up the tablet from the floor with shivering hands.

Lin Yun's expression was very complicated with the stone tablet in his hand, because the next thing he had to try was using the Magic Array.

Lin Yun would be able to deal with losing of control of his Flaming Hand spell, but if a problem happened with the Magic Array, he would only be able to close his eyes and wait for his death. The Magic Array was an extension of his life, the mark of his soul, it was the foundation of Lin Yun as a Great Mage.

After no less than ten minutes, Lin Yun took a deep breath and tightly held the stone tablet as he used his Magic Array.

'So it's indeed like that…' As his Magic Array was activated, Lin Yun's brows relaxed.

He had noticed that the efficiency of his Magic Array had been doubled with the stone tablet. He originally needed a minute to be able to complete a melded spell, but he only needed thirty second now.

'That's enough.'

There was no need to keep experimenting. Lin Yun put back the stone tablet on the refining table. Lin Yun had finally confirmed that he had taken a component of the Death Garden, a component able of computing and analysis of spells.

As for its rank, it should be above True Spirit.

Lin Yun no longer envied Sandro.

Even if the power of this stone tablet wasn't as good as the soul stone, this was a component. If Lin Yun got his hands on the Book of Death and merged them, then the power of the Book of Death might reach a frightening level.

Not to mention that this component was powerful enough by itself.

After all, Lin Yun's Magic Conducting Rune was the Magic Array, the most annoying part of the Magic Array was its complexity and details. The merging of every spell's incantation and metamagic would take a long time. Lin Yun could now improve the efficiency of his Magic Array with this component in hand.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 75: A Shame

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"Boss Merlin, Alchemist Bassoro is here." The doorbell of the alchemy lab was rang by Remy as Lin Yun was still immersed in the study of the component.

"Okay, got it. Let Bassoro wait a bit, I'll finish up here and go over quickly." Lin Yun was very satisfied with the stone tablet, so much that he wasn't even bothered by Bassoro interrupting his research.

Lin Yun met Bassoro in the reception room a few minutes later.

That Great Alchemist seemed more uncomfortable facing Lin Yun than during their last meeting.

It was caused by a piece of information he received this morning.

Yesterday evening, a young Great Mage invaded the Poison Fog Canyon on his own and successfully coerced the first underground force of Thousand Sails City to open up a trade route.

When he heard that, Bassoro's heart started beating furiously. He then made some inquiries and confirmed that the Great Mage's name was Mafa Merlin.

That gave Bassoro a fright.

Bassoro did indeed know that Mafa Merlin was very powerful, powerful to the point of being able to use a Wind Blade to cut the wrist of a Magic Apprentice in front of two Great Mages.

But Bassoro never expected him to be such a monster.

That was the Viper Nest…

The first underground power of Thousand Sails City!

They had been building in the Poison Fog Canyon despite the hostile environment all those years. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe the place as well-fortified. To boot, they also had the Great Mage Bell, someone who even Solomon praised.

Yet Mafa Merlin went in alone and forced them to yield to him and open up a trade route.

Who could make sense of this?

"Hello, Great Alchemist Bassoro."

"He… Hello, Great Mage Merlin." Bassoro took a deep breath, trying to appear calm. But his nervousness was immediately betrayed once he opened his mouth.

This couldn't be blamed on Bassoro.

This was a person that had single-handedly attacked the Poison Fog Canyon. Even Sauss would bow to him, who could avoid being nervous in front of him?

Bassoro quickly managed to calm down a bit. The Great Alchemist then said with an enthusiastic smile on his face, "Great Mage Merlin, I heard about an interesting matter in the past two days…"

"Oh?"

"I heard that the Monchi Family's Twin Moons Splendor has already been sealed because of some quality issue with their items. They might also face a hearing."

"That's a shame…" It looked as if Lin Yun was feeling sorry for them.

"Great Mage Merlin didn't hear about it?" Bassoro was startled when he saw Lin Yun's expression. 'Twin Moons Splendor's misfortune is unconditionally due to your fortune, so why don't you own it?' But as he thought of this, Bassoro's focus was brought back to the conversation with Lin Yun's next sentence.

"How could I? It's been too busy recently, there are too few alchemists in the Gilded Rose. Even myself, the owner, has to work. I haven't been able to go out for several days."

"…" Bassoro inwardly felt like spitting on the floor. 'Too shameless. You say that you haven't left for a few days when you actually did yesterday and forced Sauss to open up a route for you. If you had remained here for a few days, then who sent Sauss' sentry towers flying with Flame Bursts yesterday? A ghost?'

But Bassoro was worthy of being an old fox. Thinking about Merlin's words, he understood the important point. It wasn't Merlin not leaving, but rather the pitiful amount of alchemists.

'I see, I see…'

'Great Mage Merlin wants alchemists!'

It was very normal considering the situation. After the appearance of the Hope Potion, the Gilded Rose's business was booming, each day better than the previous one. They might soon become the most influential alchemy shop in Thousand Sails City. Yet the number of alchemists didn't raise much.

It was because 99% of the alchemists of Thousand Sails City were in the hands of the Alchemist Guild. He could only recruit enough alchemists through the Alchemist Guild.

If someone else had suggested something like this, Bassoro would probably refuse and turn him down. After all, why was the Alchemist Guild the one in charge of the alchemy market in Thousand Sails City? Why could they seal stores, seize goods, and conduct hearings? Wasn't it because the majority of the alchemists were in the hands of the Alchemist Guild?

How could such an important resource be so casually transferred?

Unfortunately, he couldn't turn down the person sitting in front of him so easily…

Not to mention his mastery of that alchemy formula, as a Great Mage, he had swept the Viper Nest. Bassoro had to think carefully, he wasn't sure Merlin was someone that could even be turned down. After all, the stronger a mage was, the more eccentric they would inevitably become. Solomon was a good example. It would definitely become a big problem if this young mage got irritated after being denied.

Thus, Bassoro not only didn't dare to decline, he was actually looking for a way to agree. He was afraid his own answer wouldn't be enthusiastic enough so he meticulously squeezed out an earnest smile.

"Haha, we are in a similar situation, Great Mage Merlin, I'm so busy I barely have free time. There are hundreds of Alchemists in the guild and I have to arrange all of their jobs. I'm having headaches trying to find them jobs. Oh, that's right, Great Mage Merlin, aren't you planning to expand the Gilded Rose? Can you do me a favor? Can you recruit a group of Alchemists for me? I dare say that the Alchemists under me are all above standard. There are even a few remarkable ones. If they work hard they might even be able to attack the Great Alchemist level."

"No problem, no problem." Lin Yun also smiled, "Not too many for now, let's start with fifty."

"…" Bassoro nearly choked, 'Fifty? Not many?'

'Damn, the amount of Alchemists the Alchemist Guild can get a hand on hasn't even reached two hundreds!'

"Okay… Perfect. On-only fifty, I'll have to find another home for the others." Bassoro stuttered with an extremely stiff smile. It looked like he was about to cry.

He couldn't re-discuss this…

Although neither side said it clearly, they both knew that this deal entailed something else. Once the fifty Alchemists were transferred, Bassoro would obtain the alchemy formula he yearned for.

Bassoro's expression eased up when he thought of the various benefits this alchemy formula would bring him. After some small talk, Bassoro even told Lin Yun a piece of information.

"Oh right, Great Mage Merlin, I heard that the Monchi Family is planning on organizing an alchemy exhibition too."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

In fact, Monchi had no other way.

After Locke Merlin's shipwreck, Thousand Sails City's alchemy market was in chaos. This was the best opportunity for the Monchi Family who had been painstakingly looking for a way into the alchemy market. For this opportunity, Monchi didn't hesitate to spend 4,000,000 golds in the Black Horn Auction to get the Volcano and Ghost potions in order to get the assistance of two Great Alchemists from the Black Tower.

He originally thought that it would only be a matter of time before he could monopolize the alchemy market thanks to these two Great Alchemists' help and Monchi Family's huge financial resources.

But it happened that Locke Merlin's son, a boy named Mafa Merlin, re-opened the Gilded Rose.

To be frank, Monchi truly didn't put Mafa Merlin in his eyes at the beginning. How could a youth that wasn't even twenty and an old man past his sixties create any storm in Thousand Sails City?

But Monchi quickly discovered that he had been wrong all along.

Because that Mafa Merlin's rise was too fast, so fast that he couldn't react on time.

After all, Mafa Merlin was a mere Magic Apprentice owing 80,000 golds after his father's death. But he then turned his life around, becoming a Mage able to take out over a million golds in the Black Horn Auction to get a bottle of Red Flame Fish Oil.

It was at that time that Monchi started taking him seriously.

But he was late. That Mafa Merlin released the Hope Potion in the Gilded Rose, startling the entire Thousand Sails City. Moreover, he had learnt from Granger that Mafa Merlin had most likely become a Great Mage.

And this wasn't all…

This morning, just like Bassoro, Monchi received the news that the Poison Fog Canyon, which had been fortified for ten years by Sauss, was attacked by a single Great Mage. Two sentry towers had been sent flying by two Flame Bursts, forcing Sauss to open a trade route. And that young Great Mage's name was Mafa Merlin.

When he heard that news, Monchi felt ten years older.

He knew it was too late.

Locke Merlin's son had matured, matured to the point even he had to treat him as an equal.

Fortunately, there was still the Black Tower behind him.

Several days ago, the Black Tower had agreed to his conditions. As the provider of the Ghost Potion and Volcano Potion, Monchi obtained the opportunity to share the results of the two Great Alchemists' studies. The advanced skills the two Great Alchemists obtained from the study of the Volcano Potion and Ghost Potion would be provided in priority to the Monchi Family alchemy shops.

This was great news to Monchi.

The Black Tower's answer gave a crushing advantage to the Monchi Family in term of alchemy skill. Two Great Alchemists as well as the advanced skills of the Volcano and Ghost potions will make the Monchi family the leader of the alchemy market for a decade at the very least!

The Hope Potion was only aimed at Magic Apprentices after all.

But what Monchi was about to display was the work of two Great Alchemists as well as the skills used in the Volcano and Ghost potions!

Monchi Family's alchemy exhibition was scheduled three days later.

The exhibition content were the same, potion, but it was two of them this time. One could make a Swordsman go berserk for a short duration, temporarily giving him the fighting strength of Great Swordsman, the Berserk Blood Potion. The other could instantly twist space, giving a second of immunity to physical attacks, the Nothingness Potion.

Those who participated in the Black Horn Auction could naturally see that these two potions were inferior versions of the Volcano and Ghost Potions.

But even if they were inferior version, they shocked over half of Thousand Sails City.

The Volcano Potion and Ghost Potion had been the finale of the auction, reaching the price of 4,000,000 golds, a new record for the Black Horn Auction House.

Although the effects of the Berserk Blood and Nothingness Potions of the Monchi Family were quite far from the Volcano and Ghost potions, they could still be considered rare potions.

Almost everyone felt that the Gilded Rose was meeting a stronger opponent this time.

After all, the Gilded Rose had been in the limelight because of the Hope Potion. If not for the lack of alchemists, the Gilded Rose would have shops all over the city. Such a fierce rise could be said to have shocked the entire Thousand Sails City.

Tongues were wagging endlessly after the Monchi Family announced this exhibition. Some were rejoicing in others' misfortune while some were secretly worried. At this moment, few were optimistic about the prospects of the Gilded Rose.

Nothing could be done about it, the Monchi Family was a huge entity. A thousand years old clan was no joke. With the support of high-end alchemy skills, it wouldn't take long before they enjoy monopoly of the market like Locke Merlin did.

At this time in the Black Horn Auction House.

"I wonder what Monchi would think if he learnt that his treasured Berserk Blood and Nothingness Potions were basically leftovers from Great Mage Merlin's work…" In Cadgar's study, Faleau was standing on the balcony, looking at the people crowding around the alchemy exhibition as he harshly mocked.

"Haha…" Cadgar chuckled, but didn't answer.

With his identity as the Black Horn Auction House's Chief Auctioneer, he naturally couldn't mock them like Faleau. But this chuckle would have given Monchi a horrible premonition if he had been here.

"Oh right, Faleau, the Gilded Rose is recruiting Alchemists…"

"Ah?" Faleau stood at attention. How could he not know who the owner of the Gilded Rose was? The words Mafa Merlin uttered during the Black Horn Auction made his alchemy skills advance by leaps and bounds. How could he not understand the meaning behind Cadgar's words.

Thinking of this, Faleau's breathing became rough.

"I already spoke with Great Mage Merlin, you should look for him in the next few days."

"Ah… Thank you High Mage Cadgar, thank you Great Mage Merlin…" Faleau managed to say under the shock of such a pleasant surprise.

"Good, you can go then. I summoned you for this."

"Yes, yes, thank you High Mage Cadgar…" Faleau happily left.

Faleau didn't know that the Gilded Rose didn't just hire one Alchemist, but a full fifty. This was a deal Lin Yun had with Bassoro, fifty Alchemists for the alchemy formula, and Bassoro was quite efficient. No less than fifty Alchemists quickly arrived at Lin Yun's shop.

But these fifty Alchemists' mood weren't as good as Faleau's.

As esteemed members of the Alchemist Guild, they were actually reduced to work in an alchemy shop. And fifty of them were sent together… Were they sold at a discount?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 77: Arrogance

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Bassoro might have felt that letting Lin Yun know about the Monchi Family's alchemy exhibition was selling the young mage a favor, but unfortunately, Lin Yun didn't think so.

Lin Yun had no time to care about an alchemy exhibition at the moment. The Gilded Rose was accepting fifty Alchemists today, and Lin Yun had to talk to each of them personally and make arrangements for each of them. He was overworked, so let alone the Monchi Family alchemy exhibition, Lin Yun wouldn't care even if they had a funeral.

He truly was too busy.

Of the fifty Alchemists, some were proficient in potioneering, some in puppet refining, some in enchanting, some in setting arrays, and so on. Lin Yun was the only person in the Gilded Rose that could understand their true level through an interview and arrange jobs suitable to their levels.

Lin Yun didn't have time to even deal with these fifty Alchemists, much less the Monchi Family alchemy exhibition.

These Alchemists weren't easy to deal with. As member of the Alchemist Guild, they normally didn't put the alchemy shops of Thousand Sails City in their eyes. Even if they would occasionally accept a job, they would be full of arrogance. Even if the bosses of the alchemy shops were in front of them, they wouldn't mind flipping a table and cursing at them, not giving them any face.

And no one would say anything.

A saying spread through Thousand Sails City Alchemist Guild.

"Running an alchemy shop is very simple. It doesn't matter if there is no materials, funds, or even an owner. An Alchemist is more than enough."

That saying might sound exaggerated, but it was indeed true most of the time. When it came to the matter of alchemy shops, the most important part was the Alchemist. Usually, an alchemy shop's boss was only in charge of providing supplies to his Alchemist. What about being cursed at a few times? As long as they were willing to earn money, a few curses were nothing.

These Alchemists who were used to being respected were now packaged and sent to the Gilded Rose by Bassoro, it was impossible for them not to feel dissatisfied.

But Bassoro's position in the Alchemist Guild was only inferior to Leader Lys, his words couldn't be discussed. Even if these Alchemists were extremely bold, they still wouldn't dare to make Bassoro's dissatisfied.

But being afraid of Bassoro didn't mean they were afraid of Lin Yun.

They were all members of the Alchemist Guild, and fifty of them being packed and offered to the Gilded Rose was more than enough to make them feel wronged, yet they didn't expect that this Gilded Rose's boss wouldn't consider them valuable. He split up the Alchemists and gave them different jobs, putting some in charge of upgrading items, some in charge of enchanting, some in charge of choosing materials, some in charge of potion mixing…

A few Alchemists with bad temper flared up on the spot, asking him what he was up to, after all, weren't those the jobs usually given to Apprentice Alchemists?

'He had to be joking.' Was what they thought. Even if the Alchemists didn't participate in the business part of the alchemy shop, they always had the final say in the alchemy laboratory. 'Does that Gilded Rose's boss not understand? If you were really such an expert, then why would you need us Alchemists for? You can calmly count your golds, why would you give us random orders?'

They originally thought that the commotion created by those few Alchemists would restrain the Gilded Rose's boss.

But they hadn't expected him to not even blink and ask them with a smile, "Should I ask Great Alchemist Bassoro to personally come for the arrangements?"

Once he said those words, even the bad tempered Alchemists turned good.

'Who in the entire Alchemist Guild doesn't know that you are taking advantage of your connection to Great Alchemist Bassoro? If you really call him here to make arrangements, which of us could still have a good future?'

In the end, only two Alchemists were still complaining.

But Lin Yun ignored them.

He just paid some attention to the two Alchemists, one old one young. The old one was in his fifties and the young one in his twenties. Lin Yun actually knew the young one, it was an Alchemist Bassoro had personally recommended, Hauss. He was turning 25 this year and had been an Alchemist for three years. In other words, he was a genius that had became an Alchemist at 22. His talent was only inferior to Black Horn Auction House's Faleau.

It's normal for young geniuses to be arrogant, especially someone like Hauss. A 22-years old Alchemist could be considered gifted and fortunate, someone with great prospects. But he was packed and sent to the Gilded Rose on Bassoro's words. It would be wrong to say he wasn't dissatisfied.

But the other one made Lin Yun frown.

That Alchemist was over fifty, had a mediocre appearance and mediocre skills. He was one of those that might be easily forgotten even after meeting ten times. When Lin Yun heard him calling himself John, he felt that his name was as unremarkable as his appearance, there were hundreds of John in Thousand Sails City, it was a common name among common names.

But it was that particularly Alchemist that attracted Lin Yun's attention several times. That John was usually the type to remain within the mass, a quiet one. But every time other Alchemists complained, he would always be the one echoing the complaint in a fiercer way.

It seemed that Bassoro had delivered a troublesome one.

Lin Yun didn't say much, but he had already remembered that John.

It was the middle of the afternoon when Lin Yun was done talking to every Alchemist and making arrangements, he had to take them to their workplace to have them adapt to their new environment.

"Boss Merlin, what do you mean by this!" But problems ensued when it came to Hauss.

The Gilded Rose had made a lot of efforts in order to house these fifty Alchemists, the old butler had bought over a dozen houses in one go which were all transformed into alchemy laboratory. Lin Yun and Hauss were now in one of the remodeled alchemy laboratory.

This was the alchemy laboratory Hauss had been assigned to, but that young talented Alchemist was clearly dissatisfied.

"What do you mean?" Lin Yun couldn't help frowning. Although he didn't say much, he was already annoyed at Bassoro.

'I straightforwardly gave you the alchemy formula, but you, you gave me a bunch of arrogants pricks. That Hauss is especially annoying.'

"Boss Merlin, take a look at these magic materials, isn't the quality too poor? Materials of such quality are only given to Magic Apprentices to practice. Moreover, this refining table.. Your Gilded Rose is not serious, is it? These tools have been replaced by the Alchemist Guild ten years ago! Did you find them in an antique shop?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 78: Which One is Bigger?

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"Ah?" Lin Yun walked over and glanced at it, knowing that this kid was looking for trouble again.

The poor materials Hauss was talking about all came from the Silver Moon Mercenaries. That was the best mercenary group in Thousand Sails City and there has never been an issue with magic materials they have sold over the years. How would Sasu react if he heard Hauss' words…

As for the alchemy tools Hauss was talking about…

Well, Lin Yun had to admit that compared to the Alchemist Guild's, they were indeed outdated.

But nothing could be done about it, the Alchemist Guild had an insurmountable advantage over the alchemy shops, the most comprehensive knowledge and the best of equipments. How else would the Alchemist Guild be able to keep 99% of the Alchemists of Thousand Sails City?

This advantage wasn't something the Gilded Rose could match with. Even when Locke Merlin had the monopoly of the alchemy market, the Flashing Gold chamber of commerce still couldn't rival the Alchemist Guild's resources.

Hauss wasn't an idiot, there was no way he wasn't aware of this.

There was only one reason for him saying this, he was looking for trouble.

"It looks like Alchemist Hauss has a major complaint about the Gilded Rose." Lin Yun stood there, smiling at Hauss.

"That's right, I have a complaint about it, so what!" Hauss hadn't know that he was digging his hole deeper and deeper. Seeing Lin Yun's smile, he felt that Merlin still had a good disposition.

It was unfortunate that Hauss didn't know Rios.

That Great Swordsman of the Viper Nest would have been frightened to death if Lin Yun smiled at him like that, he wouldn't dare having any complaint.

"Knock knock…"

Hauss was saved from digging his own hole by the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Boss Merlin, there is an Alchemist named Faleau outside."

"Faleau?" Lin Yun just remembered that when he had visited the Black Horn Auction House the day before yesterday, Cadgar had mentioned that Lin Yun's words had helped Faleau make rapid progress and he was already standing at the door of the Great Alchemist rank. Unfortunately, he couldn't breakthrough, so he was hoping for pointers from Lin Yun.

Lin Yun had thought about it and told Cadgar that there was no problem, but after Faleau accepted his pointers, he would have no relationship with the Black Horn Auction House and had to work for the Gilded Rose for at least ten years. It was because Faleau would inevitably come in contact with some core formulas of the Gilded Rose, and might even take his place in compounding the Hope Potion. This was the core of the Gilded Rose and simply couldn't be leaked.

At that time, Lin Yun felt that Cadgar would hesitate to part with such a young and promising Alchemist. But he hadn't expected that Cadgar would actually agree immediately.

Lin Yun couldn't help inwardly sighing, impressed, Faleau was truly lucky.

This was the caring attitude of the older generation towards the younger generation. Cadgar was hoping Faleau would have a good future, regardless of whether it would profit the Black Horn Auction House.

"Faleau?" While Lin Yun was reminiscing, the young Hauss on the side couldn't help standing at attention when he heard the name.

How could he not know Faleau.

That was Black Horn Auction House's talented Alchemist. Apprentice Alchemist at 13, Alchemist at 18, and standing at the entrance of the Great Alchemist rank in his twenties. Hauss had always considered Faleau his target and idol, always hoping he could work at the same place as Faleau, being able to work in an amazing place like the Black Horn Auction House and reach the peak of the Alchemist rank in his twenties.

"Hmm, Alchemist Hauss, wait a bit."

Unfortunately for Hauss, Lin Yun hurriedly said a few words and hurried out, not even leaving him a chance to ask one of the questions that were on the tip of his tongue.

Lin Yun came out of the alchemy laboratory and saw Faleau waiting for him in the hallway.

At this moment, this young Alchemist looked like an excited child hiding his anxiousness.

"Merlin… Great Mage Merlin, High Mage Cadgar sent me here." Faleau was somewhat nervous. Others might not know, but he knew that the person before him was a Great Alchemist extremely close to the Master rank. In Thousand Sails City, only Leader Lys was worthy of being considered his equal.

Last time at the Black Horn Auction, Great Mage Merlin only had to say a few sentences to let him have great progress in alchemy. Now that he was on the verge of breakthrough, if he could obtain pointers from this Great Mage, he would inevitably be able to become a Great Alchemist in the near future.

This was an opportunity Faleau had been waiting for a long time.

"Yes, High Mage Cadgar discussed this with me." Lin Yun nodded. But he didn't have time to manage Faleau's excitement and anxiousness. The fifty Alchemists Bassoro sent him made him feel too edgy and annoyed. He didn't even have time to study that stone tablet, and Faleau just happened to arrive now.

"That… Faleau, you came just on time. There is an Alchemist inside which I just recruited. Help me familiarizing him with the alchemy laboratory and giving him some potion mixing work. You can then look for me in the reception room, I have some words for you."

"Yes, yes, I'll take care of it right away." Faleau was filled with excitement, he really hadn't thought that he would be entrusted with heavy responsibility after arriving at the Gilded Rose. It looks like he would become a Great Alchemist soon.

After respectfully seeing Lin Yun off, Faleau pushed open the door of the alchemy laboratory.

"Alchemist Faleau!" Hauss' eyes shone. He didn't expect that he would be able to meet his idol in the Gilded Rose, he was so moved he didn't know where to put his hands, "Alchemist Faleau., I-I-I… I am Hauss, from the Alchemist Guild. I admire your accomplishments. Oh, right, Alchemist Faleau, does the Black Horn Auction House need Alchemists? I would love to work in the same place as you!"

"…" Faleau opened his mouth, but no sound came out of it, he was speechless.

He was thinking, 'Is that Hauss an idiot? He has already entered the Gilded Rose, yet he want to go work for the Black Horn Auction House. Do you not know who the owner of the Gilded Rose is? Are you blind? I haven't been able to sleep in the last two days just from being accepted in the Gilded Rose!'

Faleau really wanted to take a seed and a watermelon out and ask Hauss: 'Which one is bigger?'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

This wasn't a joking matter.

'Beside Cadgar, is there a single exceptionally outstanding Alchemist in the Black Horn Auction House? And even Cadgar himself would be startled and full of admiration at the mention of Lin Yun's name. He even felt that Great Mage Merlin would become Thousand Sails City's first Artisan.'

Faleau really wanted to ask Hauss if something was wrong with his brain.

'You are in Gilded Rose's laboratory, yet you want to go work for the Black Horn Auction House, are you brain dead?'

But he decided that he didn't really care. 'Forget it, his brain issues don't matter. I have hundreds of admirers in Thousand Sails City, it's normal for a few of them to be completely stupid. I'll deal with you and then go to the reception room. I can't let Great Mage Merlin wait for too long.'

Faleau quickly gave up on this admirer.

"Hmm, Alchemist Hauss, right? You should know these alchemy tools, I won't introduce them to you. Let's talk about your work. You'll work on mixing alchemy potions for the time being. I'll have some people deliver some semi-finished potions and you'll be in charge of handling them."

"Yes, yes, no problem."

People were strange sometimes.

If Lin Yun had spoken to Hauss with such an indifferent tone, that young, talented Alchemist would inevitably have become hostile. But since the one who said those words was Faleau, Hauss felt that those instructions were quite proper. Faleau was Thousand Sails City's most outstanding Alchemist, someone that would soon become a Great Alchemist. It was already a rare and precious occasion to have him talk to him, how could he hope for more?

After all, great characters weren't like Merlin, great characters needed arrogance deserving of their status!

Hauss could find all sorts of reasons for thinking so highly of Faleau.

If Hauss learnt that Faleau was just doing things half-heartedly because he was in a hurry to meet the kind-hearted Boss Merlin, who knew what he would think?

"Okay, I'll be on my way."

He wasn't interested in what Hauss thought, so after quickly dealing with him, Faleau hurried to the reception room.

He stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. He knocked on the door only after calming his heart and unwrinkling his robe.

"Come in." Lin Yun was looking at the data he had on the Alchemists, and he casually pointed to a chair. "Sit down, Faleau."

Faleau naturally didn't dare to trouble him and simply sat across from Lin Yun. A few minutes later, Lin Yun was done looking through the Alchemists' data so he asked, "Faleau, do you understand why Cadgar sent you over?"

"Yes, I understand…" Faleau naturally knew that Cadgar had seen him stuck at the boundary between Alchemist and Great Alchemist for some time before he resolved himself to send him to the Gilded Rose. Whether it was Cadgar or himself, they both felt that the only one able to help him make a breakthrough was Great Mage Merlin.

"Cadgar talked to me a few times, and he said that you are among the youngest Alchemists of Thousand Sails City, one with the brightest prospects. He was hoping I could help you, and I agreed. I think that if you are hardworking enough, you'll become a Great Alchemist within three months. "

"Re-really?" Faleau froze, 'Gr-Great Mage Merlin… He is saying that I'll be able to break through? And within three months!'

Faleau would be suspicious if anyone else claimed this…

But who was the person standing in front of him?

He was a peak existence among Great Alchemists, someone only a step away from the Master Alchemist rank. Moreover, Cadgar had been sighing in regret quite a few times, sad that this Great Mage was spending too much time on magic at the expense of his achievements in alchemy. If that Great Mage Merlin was willing to spend more time on alchemy, even just a bit, he would have already become a Master.

Moreover, he might become the first Artisan of Thousand Sails City.

Unfortunately, this Great Mage's focus wasn't on alchemy.

"Yes, three months." The peak Great Alchemist that even Cadgar admired once again gave his guarantee, making Faleau's heart race. Becoming a Great Alchemist, even reaching the Master rank didn't feel as remote as before.

"I… I'll definitely work hard!"

"That's good, this is your contract. Sign it if you are fine with it. Later, I'll show you around my alchemy laboratory."

"Okay." Faleau took a glance at the contract and then signed without thinking too much about it.

Lin Yun smiled, as he hadn't expected Faleau to be so straightforward. This was a magic contract. He couldn't back out once he signed it, or else the contract's mana would make him pay a huge price.

"Good, Faleau, welcome to the Gilded Rose." Lin Yun extended his hand and shook Faleau's. Just as he was about to lead Faleau to his laboratory, knocking sounds came from the reception door.

"Knock knock knock, knock knock knock…"

Rapid and loud knocks rang out, far less polite than Faleau's, making Lin Yun frown. "Come in."

Sure enough, the newcomer was Hauss…

"Mafa Merlin! What are you up to!?" Hauss entered the reception room filled with fury. He threw his worksheet on the long table, using an impolite tone and even omitting the "Boss" part, using his name directly instead.

"I already said that I am an Alchemist, not a damn Apprentice Alchemist. Why is there no one to help me operate my alchemy tools! Why is there no one to help me process magic materials! Don't tell me that the Gilded Rose is so poor that it can't hire a few Apprentice Alchemists? You should know that an Alchemist's time is very precious. This is practically a crime!"

"…" Lin Yun scratched his chin and picked up the worksheet in front of him. He didn't know what to say for some time. Indeed, the processing of magic materials and the manipulation of alchemy tools were the work of Apprentice Alchemists in ordinary alchemy shops. But the Gilded Rose wasn't an ordinary alchemy shop. What ordinary alchemy shop could hire fifty Alchemists?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 80: Preparations

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Usually, an Alchemist needed a minimum of five Apprentice Alchemist assistants. The work of those Apprentice Alchemists wouldn't be too complicated, mostly consisting of some minor jobs that Alchemists were unwilling to do or disdained doing, such as magic material processing, temperature control, tool manipulation, numerical calculations, and so on…

In fact, the former Alchemists of the Gilded Rose had been allocated with that standard number of assistants. But it couldn't be done now. The Gilded Rose now had a total of fifty-one Alchemists, including Faleau. Even if they were given the lowest number typically required, they would need a total of 255 Apprentice Alchemists. How could he find so many Apprentice Alchemists in such a short time?

Naturally, this didn't mean that the Gilded Rose wasn't going to provide the Alchemists with assistants, it just wouldn't be that fast. They had just gotten 51 Alchemists today, where could they find 255 Apprentice Alchemists?

Lin Yun said nothing after thinking about this issue.

It was because he knew that talking was useless, as Hauss would still come looking for trouble anyways.

"Faleau, take care of it…" Lin Yun picked up Faleau's contract and left without even looking at Hauss.

"You…" Hauss almost had a stroke. 'Too arrogant. As the boss of an alchemy shop, he actually dares to treat me like this? Regardless of what happens today, I must leave this damn Gilded Rose and go back to speak to Great Alchemist Bassoro to see if he could let me work at the Black Horn Auction House. That way, I'll be able to get some pointers from Alchemist Faleau.'

But here, Hauss finally realized something.

'Hold on… Alchemist Faleau…'

Hauss' face paled.

He suddenly noticed that his idol was standing in front of him, and he didn't seem to be in a good mood.

"Al-Alchemist Faleau." Hauss subconsciously gulped. Although he didn't know why Faleau's expression was so unsightly, he could feel extreme annoyance coming from his expression.

That's right, Faleau was truly infuriated.

He was having a nice discussion with Great Mage Merlin and had even received an invitation to the most mystical alchemy laboratory of Thousand Sails City, but now that kid rushed here and angered Great Mage Merlin over a trivial matter. 'Are you seeking death?'

"Fucking…" Faleau originally wanted to curse at him, but upon opening his mouth and pointing, he realized that he had forgotten his name.

"Hau-Hauss." The pitiful young genius had no choice but to timidly remind him.

"Eh, Alchemist Hauss it is…" Faleau first nodded, before his face sank. "Has your teacher never told you that personally processing magic materials and manipulating alchemy tools is a required task for Alchemists? You can't even do such a trivial matter, yet you want to be an outstanding Alchemist? And who do you think you are? You are just an Alchemist! You aren't a Great Alchemist, nor a Master Alchemist! What qualifications do you have to be picky? If you don't believe me, go back to Bassoro and watch his expression when you tell him that the Gilded Rose didn't allocate any assistants to you!"

"Al-Alchemist Faleau… That's not what I meant, I only…" Hauss' mind was thrown into chaos by Faleau's harsh words, his tears quickly falling down. He didn't even know why Faleau was getting so angry, but he kept apologizing as he tried to explain himself.

"Go back and think about it, ask yourself whether the Gilded Rose is actually mistreating you!"

Faleau didn't care about Hauss' feelings, and he didn't care how talented he was. There were too many "geniuses" in the world of alchemy. A few would appear every years, but in the end, only a few would become Great Alchemists.

Even Faleau himself was dubbed a young genius. When he became an Alchemist at the age of 18, everyone had said that he was a rare genius only seen every hundred years. But once he was in his twenties, still an Alchemist, people would only say that he was promising.

Yes, just promising.

In the world of alchemy, if you weren't a Great Alchemist, you were nothing, someone promising at most.

If it wasn't for his encounter with Great Mage Merlin and the pointers he received at the Black Horn Auction, he would still be that promising Faleau.

Of course, Faleau wouldn't tell this to Hauss.

He just left the room after saying his piece. He originally planned on looking around and familiarizing himself with the Gilded Rose, but after walking for a bit, a Magic Apprentice named Remy told him that Great Mage Merlin was calling for him to go to his alchemy laboratory on the second floor.

Gilded Rose's 2nd-floor alchemy laboratory!

Faleau's eyes shone. Others might not know what it was, but how could Faleau not know about it?

That was Thousand Sails City's most mystical alchemy laboratory. The Ghost Potion and Volcano Potion that sold for 4,000,000 golds at the Black Horn Auction had been created in that laboratory. That was Great Mage Merlin's working space, it was where miracles were born.

Faleau composed himself in front of the stairs. He calmed himself down and slowly walked up the stairs to enter that mystical place.

Faleau noticed the fumes lingering around the refining table as soon as he entered. A crucible filled with thick liquid was letting out some bubbling noises as it stood over the fire. A tense, young Great Mage wearing a black robe was busying himself in front of the refining table. When he noticed Faleau coming in, he only nodded, "You are right on time, come and help."

"O-okay." Faleau couldn't hide the emotion in his voice. He knew that Great Mage Merlin was starting his teaching.

But Faleau was only half correct.

Lin Yun hadn't come to his laboratory to teach Faleau. The harvest of his trip to the Poison Fog Canyon had far surpassed Lin Yun's imagination. The Death Garden's stone tablet was a True Spirit level Component.

True Spirit level, and a Component to boot. This was a treasure that could make countless mages fight each other to the death over it, even at the peak of the magic era. It had now quietly fallen into Lin Yun's hands.

This made Lin Yun have greater expectations of that prince's tomb.

But it was just that the last time he went to the viper tomb was to cause trouble for the Viper Nest. He hadn't thought that he would go deep in the prince tomb, and thus the Magic Spring potions he had on hand were insufficient. Over a dozen Magic Spring potions, one Hope Potion, and he didn't even have any mana replenishing or healing potions. This was the reason that Lin Yun didn't dare to go deeper in the prince tomb after clearing the Death Garden and could only retreat to Thousand Sails City.

He would make ample preparations for his next trip to the prince tomb. After all, his true target was the Reincarnation Eye situated in the depths of the prince tomb!

This was the real reason that Lin Yun went into his alchemy laboratory. As for giving pointers to Faleau, it was something he could do on the side.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 81: Angel Potion

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Because of the curse power, the prince tomb was teeming with rampaging, undead lifeforms. And he would have to go to the Bone Plane soon after, so Lin Yun was naturally compounding a potion to deal with undead lifeforms.

As a matter of fact, potioneers of this era didn't have many methods to deal with the undead. This was mostly the work of enchanters or array refiners. A weapon enchanted with Holy attribute or an array that could intimidate undead lifeforms would be a great increase in strength when facing them.

But this was only for the alchemists of this era…

It wasn't difficult for Lin Yun to accomplish this.

What he was currently preparing was an Angel Potion.

The formula for the Angel Potion didn't exist in this era, because this most important formula wouldn't appear until some three thousand years later. It was due to the formula's calculations being far too complex, and the fact that the alchemists of this era didn't possess the necessary computing ability.

In fact, Lin Yun didn't have that kind of computing ability either.

But he had the answer…

So he shamelessly cheated and directly used the result of those calculations in the formula.

Now, both the formula and the solution were given to Faleau.

"Faleau, follow those and help me arrange the formula and complete the recipe."

"Okay." Faleau straightforwardly grabbed the paper and quickly started making some calculations on a refining table. As an experienced Alchemist, he didn't need Lin Yun to give him more details.

But soon after, his forehead became filled with beads of sweat.

He had yet to calculate a tenth of the formula, but the further he progressed, the more alarmed he became. For a second he even wondered if Great Mage Merlin would silence him once he finished the calculations.

Nothing could be done about it, as this formula was truly too astonishing!

After the calculations were done, it would be possible to create five completely new recipes with a bit of arranging. Moreover, each kind would be a recipe never before seen in Thousand Sails City that would create a stir. And all of this was casually handed to him by Great Mage Merlin.

Never in his wildest dreams would Faleau have ever believed that he would one day have the opportunity to come into contact with such a formula. If this formula came out, let alone Alchemists and Great Alchemists, even Master Alchemists would race over to see it. It was too frightening…

No wonder Great Mage Merlin dared to guarantee that he would become a Great Alchemist within three months.

To someone who had mastered such formidable knowledge, three months was more than a generous time period. Faleau felt that as long as he studied this formula carefully, three weeks would be enough for him to easily become a Great Alchemist.

At this time, Faleau truly felt that separating from the Black Horn Auction House to join the Gilded Rose was the best decision he had ever made. If he hadn't joined, how could he have gotten the personal guidance of Great Mage Merlin, and how would he have been able to come into contact with this kind of knowledge?

Faleau had originally been a bit dissatisfied when he quickly read the magic contract and noticed the required ten years of work and the nondisclosure clauses. He had felt that this Great Mage was being overly careful. But Faleau now knew that it wasn't Great Mage Merlin being too careful, but that the knowledge being offered was too frightening.

If Faleau had known what he did now when he was signing, he would have vehemently protested, saying that just a period of ten years was too short!

Faleau completed the arrangement of the formula after three hours and quickly prepared three magic materials based on the outcome of the arrangement.

Once he was done, Faleau watched the young Great Mage throw the seven materials separately into the crucible, and then he saw one potion after the other get placed on the refining table, rippling with Holy power. Faleau ultimately couldn't help but ask a question.

"Great Mage Merlin, wh-what is this potion?"

"This is called Angel Potion, it mainly provides Holy power that can be used to intimidate undead lifeforms. Moreover, it can strengthen one's body and replenish mana."

"…" Faleau couldn't help being shocked when he heard this.

A potion usually had a single effect. This kind of potion with holy, bodily and mana effects at the same time was something that had never been seen among the potions of the Great Alchemist level. This Great Mage Merlin was indeed good; he casually handed a formula to Faleau, letting him do the calculations as instructed, and once done, it became a potion with heaven-defying effects.

'How could he be so frightening…'

"Oh right, there is quite an amount of magic materials left. You should have learnt a bit when calculating the formula. If you have time, you should use these leftovers to practice. This should benefit you." Lin Yun left these words as he picked up the ten Angel potions and departed from the laboratory.

Now that he had refined the potions, he had to study the stone tablet. He only had to join the Gilded Rose's next caravan to Edge Rift and then take a trip to the prince tomb, in hopes of finding that Reincarnation Eye.

Faleau's eyes followed Lin Yun as the latter left the room, before falling back onto the magic materials on the table, and then to the paper filled with all kinds of data. Only after he managed to calm his heart did he do as Lin Yun instructed.

Faleau remained in the alchemy laboratory that entire afternoon.

But Faleau was only an Alchemist, after all. Both his skills and his experience were quite inferior to those of a Great Alchemist. After working for a full afternoon, he only completed two potions that were far inferior to the Angel Potion.

Of the two potions that Faleau compounded, one was named Meditation Potion, used to increase mana recovery speed, and the other one was named Dragon Strength Potion, used to strengthen one's body.

These two potions copied parts of the effects of the Angel Potion, but Faleau's level was far from Great Mage Merlin's, and thus, each of these potions only had one out of the three effects of the Angel Potion. As for the remaining Holy power effect, he couldn't reproduce it at all.

But it didn't matter.

Faleau wasn't in a hurry after discovering such frightening alchemy knowledge. He knew that as long as Great Mage Merlin allowed him to remain in the Gilded Rose, he would be able to compound an Angel Potion sooner or later. He would become the most formidable alchemist of Thousand Sails City, Great Mage Merlin excluded of course!

As he thought about that, Faleau glanced at the two potions in his hands.

It seemed that these two potions could also be used for an alchemy exhibition.

Although they were just knock-offs of the Angel Potion, they weren't worse than the two potions introduced by the Monchi Family. Especially the Dragon Strength Potion, which was an enhanced version of the similar Berserk Blood Potion.

The Berserk Blood Potion only produced a short duration Berserk effect while the Dragon Strength Potion brought about a comprehensive increase in body strength. Only a fool wouldn't know which of these two potions a Swordsman would pick.

Others might not know the origins of the Monchi Family's two potions, but how could Faleau not know? They came from the analysis of the Ghost and Volcano potions, and the Monchi Family actually had the nerve to use them against the Gilded Rose.

'Good, good. Great Mage Merlin might not care about bothering with you, but I'm definitely not that good-natured.'

After Faleau cleaned everything, he returned to his own alchemy laboratory. Before going upstairs, he told Remy, "Remy, please get me Hauss!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 82: Interaction

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

The Monchi Family was in a pretty good mood at this time. The alchemy exhibition ended on a good note, and the large number of orders swept away the clouds that had been previously hanging around the Monchi Family. The always stern Monchi patriarch would occasionally smile. And he didn't have any headache when looking at Mason now… In fact, he looked pleasing to the eye.

Monchi's current mood was pretty good.

A few days ago, the Monchi Family had been in a rather unfavorable situation. They hadn't managed to get the house of Locke Merlin, nor were they able to win the Red Flame Fish Oil for Solan during the auction. Following that was the formidable rise of the Gilded Rose as well as the Twin Moons Splendor being sealed. Monchi almost let things escape his control.

Fortunately, Solan of the Black Tower helped them once again.

Solan personally persuaded the Black Tower council to give advanced alchemy skills to the Monchi Family as well as the support of two Great Alchemists.

And thus, the Nothingness and Berserk Blood potions appeared.

The appearance of these two completely new potions allowed the Monchi Family to reverse the unfavorable situation. And now, an endless stream of orders arrived at the Twin Moon Splendors, less than a day before the end of the alchemy exhibition. Moreover, the leaders of a few great mercenary groups came to visit them, displaying great interest toward the two new potions.

These mercenary groups added up to somewhere from several thousands to tens of thousands of mercenaries. The number of potions they would consume every year would reach an astronomical number. As long as they could have a deal with several large mercenary groups, the Twin Moons Splendor's position would be unshakable.

Monchi's only regret was that these few mercenary groups didn't include the Silver Moon Mercenary Group.

But he didn't worry about this.

When the effects of the Nothingness potion and the Berserk Blood potion were widely acclaimed, the Silver Moon Mercenary Group would definitely give up on the Gilded Rose.

This was the advantage of having superior skills. The Nothingness Potion brought an instant of physical immunity, while the Berserk Blood Potion induced Berserk for a short period, which could instantly raise the strength of a mercenary group. The Gilded Rose was far too inferior in comparison. The potions they had were far inferior to the Berserk Blood potion and the Nothingness potion.

'It doesn't matter if Sasu is unaware, wouldn't he understand once he saw them? And as for how…'

Monchi considered the matter.

'People of the same trade definitely interacted with each other, so there is no need to worry.'

"Ryan, go to Great Alchemist Hawkins."

The Black Tower sent two Great Alchemists, but most of the time, Monchi would be dealing with the one named Hawkins. This was due to the fact that Great Alchemist Hawkins had always been drawing closer to Solan's side. He had helped the Monchi Family a lot ever since he arrived at the Monchi Family, both in the open and in the dark.

As for the other one, Lavin, he had kept a businesslike attitude.

It was said that his backer in the Black Tower was actually opposing Solan, so although he had to work for the Monchi Family due to his orders, Monchi felt that Lavin wasn't putting much effort into it.

This was why Monchi would always contact Hawkins when it came to dealing with the Gilded Rose.

…

Several days later, Lin Yun was still studying the stone tablet.

He knew that his understanding of this stone tablet was far too shallow, at a level that couldn't even be described as superficial. It was a Component that reached True Spirit level at the very least. What kind of concept was True Spirit level? That was power on par with an Archmage! Comparable to the Artisan title for alchemists!

But Lin Yun's current usage of this stone tablet was only limited to raising the efficiency of his Magic Array. He couldn't even activate its power.

He wasn't worried, though. A Magic Tool or Component that was True Spirit or above would definitely contain secrets. Even the Cloud Tower's Great Mage with heaven-defying luck took a hundred years before being able to command the True Spirit Magic Tool that he got from the prince tomb.

Lin Yun didn't have that heaven-defying luck to rely on.

Thus, he only hoped to be able to understand just a bit more. Even a tiny bit would give him a huge increase in power. This bit of understanding might be the decisive factor that could reverse the outcome of a battle.

Lin Yun spent an entire week immersed in the study of the stone tablet.

Lin Yun didn't even know that Faleau had already made progress with the first knockoff of the Angel Potion, nor that he had dragged Hauss into it. The two also spent a full week in the alchemy laboratory.

"Control the temperature, control the temperature! How many times do I have to say it! Control the flames' temperature! Can you even control the flames? I really don't know how you became an Alchemist!" Faleau's temper was far worse than usual currently in the Gilded Rose's laboratory. On one side he was nervously working on a refining table, while on the other side he was shouting at the sweating Hauss.

"I'm sorry, Alchemist Faleau, I didn't mean it!" Hauss wiped the sweat off his forehead as he hurriedly operated the crucible, flustered. There were four crucibles lined up on the refining table, and every operation made Hauss breathless.

After an entire hour, forty bottles of Dragon Strength were arranged on the refining table.

Faleau took a deep breath and told Hauss, "You… Hmm."

"Alchemist Faleau, I am Hauss…" The pitiful young genius felt like weeping. He had been working here for an entire week, yet Alchemist Faleau still hadn't remembered his name.

"Oh, Hauss." Faleau massaged his temples and said with an exhausted voice, "Go see Remy and tell him to plan for an alchemy exhibition."

"Understood." Hauss nodded and left the alchemy laboratory. But the young genius came back three minutes later.

"What is it? You didn't find Remy?"

"No, that's not it. Alchemist Faleau, Remy sent me to get you. An Alchemist of the Twin Moons Splendor came, he wants to have skill exchange with the Gilded Rose."

"Oh?" Faleau frowned. After working for the Black Horn Auction House for so many years, Faleau definitely knew that this so-called skill exchange meant.

"Should we notify Boss Merlin?"

"No, there is no need for the time being." Faleau shook his head. He knew that Great Mage Merlin hadn't left his own room for a week. He was definitely in the middle of some important research and couldn't be disturbed. It was better for him to go and check this out himself first.

"You… Hmm… Come with me."

"…" Hauss was about to remind him, but ultimately decided against it. He only nodded with a wronged expression and followed Faleau.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 83: Hawkins

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

In fact, Faleau didn't know that Lin Yun was already aware of the presence of the Twin Moons Splendor's Alchemist.

While researching the stone tablet, Lin Yun had a stroke of inspiration and wanted the old butler to recall Raymond. But when the old butler came, Lin Yun didn't have the time to mention Raymond before the old butler told him about the Alchemist dispatched by the Twin Moons Splendor for "interaction".

The old butler relayed this news to Lin Yun with a look of worry plastered all over his face.

After being at Locke Merlin's side for so many years and seeing so many matters, how could the old butler not know what this meant? It was an attempt to suppress them. They wanted to seize the market by showing that they had superior skill.

An exchange of skill sounded nice, but its true purpose was to make a competing business lose its reputation.

"Haha, it really came." Lin Yun wasn't surprised at all. He knew that something like this skill exchange would have come sooner or later when the Monchi Family organized that alchemy exhibition.

The Monchi Family couldn't get involved in the alchemy market without fighting the Gilded Rose. The appearance of the Hope Potion made the Gilded Rose one of the best alchemy shops of Thousand Sails City. By the time the shop expanded, the "one of" part could be removed. Although the Twin Moons Splendor had been quite famous, they had still been lacking a signature potion like the Hope Potion.

But now that they held the alchemy exhibition and announced the Nothingness and Berserk Blood potions, they had the confidence to pressure the Gilded Rose in term of skill.

Lin Yun would have doubted Monchi's intelligence if he hadn't taken that opportunity.

But Lin Yun wasn't anxious at all.

Lin Yun guessed that the Nothingness and Berserk Blood potions were knockoffs of his Ghost potion and his Volcano potion.

Monchi had spent 4,000,000 golds to buy the two potions in the Black Horn Auction, after all. Lin Yun knew that they had bought them to try to learn what techniques had been used to create them.

But so what if they researched them?

Alchemy skills couldn't be learnt so easily.

A decently skilled Great Alchemist might be able to analyze some of the skills used if he spent enough time, perhaps regarding the processing of magic materials, the theoretical planning, or the usage of manipulation skills.

But in Noscent's long history, there has never been a Great Alchemist able to copy the work of a Master Alchemist!

Let alone a Master Alchemist, a Great Alchemist has never been able to copy the work of another Great Alchemist solely through potion analysis.

Only the most superficial skills would be obtained through analysis, as some of the core content would never be able to be analyzed.

Thus, alchemy knowledge would only be spread through master-disciple inheritance.

Some things could only be understood from the mouth of one's teacher.

Those things were the core of alchemy.

Only if one was an Artisan Alchemist would one be able to easily analyze an Apprentice Alchemist's work and instantly understand it.

What the analysis of the Ghost and Volcano potions brought were only inferior knockoffs like the Nothingness and Berserk Blood potions.

One second of physical immunity and a short Berserk effect.

Lin Yun didn't even bother to look at that kind of stuff.

…

Faleau had already taken Hauss to the Gilded Rose's lobby. It was completely filled with people. They had all heard that the Twin Moons Splendor and the Gilded Rose were going to have an exchange of skills. Some came from the neighboring Sage Tower, some from the nearby Mercenary Guild, and some were even bosses and alchemists from other alchemy shops.

In any case, Faleau was surrounded by over a hundred people when he entered the lobby!

'How could there be so many people,' Faleau inwardly cursed. These guys came to rejoice in others' misfortunes. They ran over one after the other when they heard that there was something interesting going on. 'Fuck, why aren't you checking on the Silver Moon Mercenary Group's Edge Rift expedition? Scared of being hurt?'

After having these harsh thoughts, Faleau took another glance at the crowd and couldn't help frowning.

'It's actually Hawkins?' A middle-aged person was standing in the middle of the crowd. Hawkins was in his forties. He looked ordinary and was wearing a shabby black robe.

But Faleau knew that this was a Great Alchemist.

A Great Alchemist from the Black Tower!

Faleau had been studying alchemy at Oakland before he joined the Black Horn Auction House. That place was within the Black Tower's area of influence, and Hawkins had already been quite famous at the time as a Great Alchemist in his thirties. Hawkins was once invited to teach them a class.

It didn't take long before he was recruited by the Black Tower. Faleau also knew that besides being a Great Alchemist, he was also a very powerful Great Mage. When Faleau left for Thousand Sails City, Hawkins had already become a 5th Rank Great Mage. His current strength should be between the 6th and 7th ranks.

'Troublesome…' Faleau worried.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Hawkins, Twin Moons Splendor's Great Alchemist. I believe everyone should have heard of our recent alchemy exhibition. Of the two potions presented, the Berserk Blood Potion is my work." Hawkins' eyes swept around the crowd as he talked, but they didn't stop on anyone. This was because Hawkins felt that no one here was worthy of his attention.

As a Great Alchemist from the Black Tower, Hawkins was full of pride.

Even if he looked at the entire Thousand Sails City, only three alchemists living there were worthy of his attention. One was one of the big three of the Sage Tower, Thorpe. Another one was the leader of the Alchemist Guild, Lys. And the last one was Black Horn Auction House's Cadgar. The first two because they were close to the Master Alchemist rank, and the last one because he was backed by the Black Horn chamber of commerce. Besides them, no other Great Alchemist was worthy of his attention in Thousand Sails City.

Because he was a Great Alchemist of the Black Tower!

As for the Gilded Rose, there was no need to even mention it…

Even the Gilded Rose's Hope Potion wasn't worth mentioning. Apart from the production cost, the Hope Potion wasn't a particularly amazing potion. In the end, the Hope Potion only targeted Magic Apprentices. The alchemy knowledge required was only at the Alchemist level. As long as they had the recipe, any ordinary Alchemist would be able to complete it.

If not for the Monchi Patriarch asking over and over again, even promising all kinds of precious magic materials, he wouldn't have been willing to come to the Gilded Rose.

'What skill exchange… How could a bunch of ordinary Alchemists be good enough to exchange skills with me?'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 84: No Hurry

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

'Forget it, I'm already here… I just have to do as Leader Monchi told me and teach these poor Alchemists what potioneering truly is!'

Hawkins helplessly shook his head, hoping that he wouldn't waste too much time here.

"I came here today because I heard that the Gilded Rose had some accomplishments in the potioneering field. The Hope Potion that has been released some time ago has been called the most mystical potion of the past ten years in Thousand Sails City… Haha…"

Hawkins stopped there, his chuckle full of clear disdain as he made fun of his counterpart.

"Great Alchemist Hawkins, how come you have time to visit the Gilded Rose today?" Faleau knew that he had no other choice but to step up and respond.

Honestly, if it had been before, Faleau would definitely have turned around without a word upon being confronted by Hawkins. What a joke, with his status as a 9th Rank Mage and Alchemist, how could he oppose someone who was a Great Mage and a Great Alchemist? Wasn't that asking for trouble?

In fact, during his time at the Black Horn Auction House, Faleau had always done so.

There wasn't anyone in the Black Horn Auction House that was better than Faleau at reading body language and adapting to the situation.

He worked there for many years and the only time he made a mistake that got him in trouble was when he met Lin Yun.

But Faleau had no plan to retreat today.

"Who are you?" Hawkins asked.

"I am Faleau, the Gilded Rose's Alchemist. I listened to your lessons a few times at Oakland."

"Oh, Faleau. I'm sorry, I'm getting older and my memory is playing tricks on me," Hawkins said, smiling contemptuously.

Hawkins was only in his forties and was far from losing his memories due to old age. He only said this because he didn't feel like speaking to a mere Alchemist. He was an esteemed Great Alchemist, so wouldn't it be a loss of reputation if people learnt that he met an acquaintance in such a place that was a mere Alchemist?

Saying that his memory was playing tricks actually meant, 'Sorry, I don't know you, don't act familiar with me!'

Unfortunately, Faleau was far less tactful than Hawkins imagined.

After being ridiculed by Hawkins, Faleau acted as if he hadn't heard him and revealed an extremely passionate smile.

"I really didn't expect to come across Great Alchemist Hawkins in Thousand Sails City. Oh, right, I heard you mention an exchange of skill with the Gilded Rose? That's very good, Great Alchemist Hawkins, I've always kept in mind your profound knowledge after your classes in Oakland. If you have time, please give me some pointers.

"This… Faleau, I'm very busy right now," Hawkins muttered while showing obvious displeasure. 'Fuck, did you not hear me saying I couldn't recognize you? Was my meaning not clear enough? I don't know you, okay?'

"That's strange, Great Alchemist Hawkins, didn't you come to the Gilded Rose for an exchange of skills?"

"Yes? What about it?"

"Well, in my introduction, I did say that I was an Alchemist of the Gilded Rose…"

"I…" Hawkins almost choked. At this time he really felt like pulling Faleau's ear and asking if he was dumb enough to not understand what he meant by exchange of skills. 'I came here to smash your reputation. You didn't expect the great me to come from the Black Tower to give some pointers to the Gilded Rose's inept Alchemists? I just received a lot of precious materials from Leader Monchi to cause trouble down here.'

'Calm down, calm down…'

Hawkins took a deep breath and kept telling himself to keep his composure.

He was an esteemed Great Alchemist, how could he lose his manners in front of an Alchemist and a bunch of onlookers? That would bring shame to the Black Tower.

'Forget it, isn't it just giving some pointers? What kind of knowledge could an Alchemist in his twenty have access to? I could easily do it even if ten of him participated.'

After convincing himself of this, Hawkins thought about how to proceed.

'Okay, let's just go with pointers, I'll use this opportunity to show everyone how poor the level of the Gilded Rose's alchemists is. If they still dare to talk about compounding the most mystical potion of the decade after that…'

"Okay, Faleau, ask your question, I am in a hurry."

"Thank you, Great Alchemist Hawkins." Faleau hurriedly fished out a paper from his pocket and explained, "You see, Great Alchemist Hawkins, this formula only lacks one key piece of data. I computed it for a few months, but there has been no result. Can you help?"

"Sure, let me see…" Hawkins carelessly took the paper and checked the formula written on it.

One minute later, Hawkins was faintly frowning.

Ten minutes later, Hawkins' expression became grave.

Thirty minutes later, Hawkins finally pushed away the crowd to look for a table, before taking a quill and starting to jot down some computations.

One hour later, his forehead was soaked in sweat.

Two hours later…

Two hours later, it was Faleau's turn to become impatient!

"Hmm, Great Alchemist Hawkins, have you computed the result yet?"

"Hold on…" Hawkins wiped some sweat from his forehead and quickly wrote more calculations on a sheet of paper. One piece of paper wasn't enough, so there were now several dozens of sheets spread before him, filled with all kinds of characters and figures.

But the more he calculated, the more Hawkins felt powerless. From where did that damn Faleau get such a broken formula? It was like a maze. Regardless of how hard he tried to solve it, it felt as if he was getting lost in that maze.

"Great Alchemist Hawkins, it is already evening, do you want to eat dinner?"

"Snap." The quill in Hawkins' hand broke.

"Hmm… Go get a new quill for Great Alchemist Hawkins. Bring a blanket too, he might be spending the night here."

"Understood, Alchemist Faleau." There was no need to ask. Hauss knew that Faleau was asking him. He quickly changed Hawkins' quill. But when he fetched the blanket, he noticed that the Great Alchemist was glaring at him in anger. He didn't know whether or not he should hand it over.

"Don't worry, Great Alchemist Hawkins, there is no need to hurry, you should take your time to make sure you do it properly."

Faleau's expression looked sincere, but he was already inwardly laughing. 'What a lousy Great Alchemist, he really thought that he was omnipotent and dared to come to the Gilded Rose for an exchange of skills. Did you even check who this building belongs to? Do you understand now? A formula that Great Mage Merlin casually gave me to practice can easily stump you.'

Hawkins' quill was filling page after page. Besides Faleau occasionally asking a few concerned questions, there was actually no sound in the entire lobby as all the remaining onlookers were curiously wondering what kind of formula would take a Great Alchemist like Hawkins a whole afternoon.

Only Faleau knew the real reason.

This formula had been given to him by Great Mage Merlin some days ago. It was to be used as daily practice. Faleau remembered Great Mage Merlin saying that the day he was able to complete the calculations for the formula would be the day he advanced to become a Master Alchemist.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 85: Loss of Reputation

Translator:Shiraishi

Editor:TheAlliance

Although Hawkins had been a Great Alchemist for many years, it was clear that he was still far from advancing to become a Master Alchemist.

And let alone Hawkins...

Even other Great Alchemists who were senior to Hawkins such as Bassoro, Granger, or even Cadgar were far from being at that level. In Thousand Sails City, only Thorpe and Lys were close to that realm.

With Hawkins' current level, challenging this difficult formula would only end in tragedy.

True enough, Hawkins was quite pitiful at this moment...

He had been in a hurry to deal with Faleau. After all, what kind of complicated question could an Alchemist come up with? He planned to solve it quickly and then leave, but he ultimately ended up in a bind. 'Damn, is this really the kind of knowledge an Alchemist can come into contact with? Are you kidding me?'

It wouldn't be that bad if Faleau were a Great Alchemist, as in that case he could have just said that he couldn't solve the issue. So what if he couldn't solve it? He could just throw the problem back, and since Faleau couldn't either, it could have easily been put aside if no one could solve it.

The problem was that Faleau was an ordinary Alchemist.

This was truly annoying.

An Alchemist asked for pointers from a Great Alchemist on a formula he had issues with. Wouldn't it be shameful to throw the problem back after being unable to solve it?

Hawkins felt his heart grow cold.

What could be done… If the stalemate persisted, would he really have to stay the night as Faleau said? That would be such a huge joke, yet the people of the Gilded Rose even prepared a blanket!

'But if I can't get out of this stalemate, wouldn't I have to admit defeat to an Alchemist? Me, an esteemed Great Alchemist? If this spread, how could I have any reputation left…'

Hawkins felt like he was like a slice of meat on a barbecue: regardless of which side was on the grill, he would still be roasted.

Beads of sweat accumulated on Hawkins' forehead as time passed. He finally stopped calculating and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Over a hundred completely filled pages had fallen near his feet as he was already sinking in despair due to that formula. That simply wasn't a problem he could challenge. Hawkins was now only thinking of finding a way to escape this predicament, and as for that formula…'To hell with it!'

In the end, an entire five hours passed.

But none of the remaining onlookers were willing to leave, as they all felt that a rare, amusing show was unfolding.

Since matters reached this point, even the most slow-witted onlookers could see that the Great Alchemist Hawkins might end up like a fool.

This Great Alchemist Hawkins came to the Gilded Rose to exchange skills, or in other terms, to trash their reputation, but ultimately, he didn't even meet a Great Alchemist from the Gilded Rose, yet he was stymied by a young Alchemist in his twenties. They could rarely see such a good show, so who was willing to leave?

And thus, Hawkins' pressure was increased quite a bit.

Losing face was losing face, but Hawkins was truly unable to accept having his reputation trashed in front of so many people.

'No, I have to find a way to counterattack! Right, there is still the Berserk Blood Potion!'

Hawkins' eyes suddenly brightened, and his thoughts became clear, as if a bolt of lightning streaked across his mind. 'Fuck it, I'll make Faleau lose his mind. I came today to the Gilded Rose for a skill exchange, not to help you with a problem.'

Indeed, it was really a loss of reputation for a Great Alchemist to be unable to answer an Alchemist's question. But since that already was the case, he might as well pull the Gilded Rose down with it.

'In the end, you have to see whose reputation is affected the most!'

"Ah… Faleau…" Hawkins made his decision and immediately put the quill down to the side before slowly standing up. "I already have an idea on how this formula should be calculated, but I'm short on time today. I'll look into it after the exchange of skills is over."

All the onlookers felt disdain for him when they heard those words.

'Damn, that's a true Great Alchemist, he is so much more thick-skinned than the Alchemist.'

This kind of lie definitely couldn't be believed. He hadn't managed to calculate the formula in five hours, and his sweat was completely drowning the Gilded Rose. Even idiots would be able to understand that he hadn't found the answer. Saying that he had an idea and that he would share after the exchange of skills, didn't he mean in his next life instead?

But Hawkins had already made a decision. Since he decided to use the Berserk Blood to drag the Gilded Rose down, he wouldn't care about the audience's contempt. He already lost face anyway, so what was a bit more? At this moment, Hawkins felt as if he had touched upon the pinnacle of shamelessness!

"Then I shall thank Great Alchemist Hawkins…" Faleau was still smiling cordially, but everyone could see the ridicule hidden within.

"Hehe, you are welcome…" Having committed to this route, Hawkins' facial expression became natural. He even ignored Faleau's ridicule and smiled as if nothing had happened as he took out a red potion from his bag.

"This is a bottle of Berserk Blood, everyone should already know of its effects. But our Twin Moons Splendor has always insisted on sharing skills, and thus we do not plan on keeping the formula and recipe of the Twin Moons Potion secret. Of course, that is as long as the Gilded Rose can take out a formula and recipe with similar effect. Our shops can still go through the skill exchange even if the potion is a bit inferior. I believe the Gilded Rose wouldn't refuse? After all, this would give more alternatives to the customers, unless the Gilded Rose doesn't think about their customers…?"

Hawkins' words were quite fierce. This showed why Monchi would want to send this Great Alchemist for an exchange of skills. He truly wasn't a typical Great Alchemist, always immersed in knowledge and experiments. He was a Great Alchemist from the Black Tower! How could one survive in that place without the ability to scheme?

With a few sentences, the Gilded Rose was pushed to the edge.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

'Not attaching importance to their customers!'

Such a serious accusation, not leaving any escape route for the Gilded Rose.

The sensation caused by the Twin Moons Splendor's alchemy exhibition was catching up to the one caused by the Hope Potion. Almost everyone knew that the Berserk Blood Potion was tailored for Swordsmen. The immense surge of power of the Berserk effect could let a Swordsman ignore the difference between ranks and have the ability to contend against a Great Swordsman.

Moreover, the Berserk Blood could be mass produced.

One Swordsman might not be much, and perhaps ten weren't enough, but one or two hundred Swordsmen would be enough to make a High Mage feel numb once they drank Berserk Blood.

At this time, even the harshest onlooker would have to admit that the effects of the Berserk Blood Potion were truly formidable.

People were worried about the Gilded Rose at this moment.

Their gazes converged on Faleau.

Everyone wanted to know how this young Alchemist who had managed to make Hawkins lose face would answer.

"I naturally heard about the Berserk Blood Potion, but Great Alchemist Hawkins, the skill exchange you are suggesting might have to wait a bit…" Faleau was still smiling. He walked out of the crowd and stood in the middle of the lobby.

"Our Gilded Rose will be organizing an alchemy exhibition. The content of the exhibition will also be two potions. One called the Meditation Potion, and the other called the Dragon Strength Potion!"

The lobby burst with chatter after Faleau's words.

'The Gilded Rose is organizing another alchemy exhibition?'

Many people had participated in the previous alchemy exhibition and had witnessed with their own eyes the sensation created by the Hope Potion in Thousand Sails City. They originally thought that even if the Gilded Rose had formidable technical skills, the next exhibition wouldn't be for a long time.

After all, the research and development of potions would usually be counted in years. Only the previous Flashing Gold chamber of commerce was able to release a new potion every year.

But how long has it been? Just one or two months?

"Excuse me, Alchemist Faleau? What are the effects of the Meditation and Dragon Strength potions? And can you introduce their creators?" Someone couldn't help asking Faleau, as this was big news, after all.

Coming here was truly worth it! Not only did they get to see a shameless Great Alchemist, but they would also get to attend the Gilded Rose's alchemy exhibition!

"Haha, the effect of the Meditation Potion is to increase the rate of mana recovery, while the effect of the Dragon Strength Potion is to strengthen one's body. As for their creator… You are looking at him. It was me, Faleau!"

"An insignificant Alchemist dares to convene an alchemy exhibition?" Hawkins immediately snorted on the side, his face filled with disdain and ridicule.

He originally thought that the Meditation Potion and the Dragon Strength Potion were the works of the same creator as the Hope Potion, making him feel anxious.

But it turned out that the creator was Faleau.

'The work of an insignificant Alchemist, how could it be comparable to the Berserk Blood Potion? How big was the gap between an Alchemist and a Great Alchemist? How could he not know?'

But as his thoughts reached this far, Hawkins suddenly became vigilant.

'Hold on… This was something even idiots knew, so how could he not know? Could it be that Faleau wants to get the formula and recipe of the Berserk Blood Potion this way?'

Hawkins immediately felt regretful. He regretted being so full of himself a few minutes ago, saying that they could have a skill exchange even if the potion was inferior. 'Could it be that he wants to use this loophole? Right, this is quite possible. But he is too naive.'

A sneer appeared on Hawkins' face once again. He hurriedly spoke out with ridicule before Faleau could say anything.

"Faleau, you wouldn't dare to use two shoddy potions for the recipe and formula of the Berserk Blood Potion, would you? Do you think that I'm stupid, or are you that naive? Think about it, you are a mere Alchemist, what qualifications do you have to exchange skills with me. Go look at yourself in a mirror and ask yourself if you are worth it."

"Haha, Great Alchemist Hawkins' words are quite funny…" Faleau didn't get angry. He had already sharpened himself after working for years at the Black Horn Auction House. When needed, Faleau could face any humiliation with a smile on his face. Even if his counterpart spat at him, he wouldn't mind wiping it before continuing to chat with a smile on his face.

Naturally…

If there was the need, Faleau could also spit at someone's face!

"Okay, everyone, this is a bottle of Dragon Strength." Faleau didn't pay attention to the gloomy Hawkins as he fished out a bottle from his bag. It was filled with a red liquid, just like the Berserk Blood Potion. When displayed there, it looked like a pure ruby. "Let's take a look at the effect of the potion. Hmm… You, come over."

"Alchemist Faleau, what do you need?" Hauss obviously knew that he was the one being called for, so he hurriedly rushed to Faleau's side, and after glancing around furtively to make sure that no one noticed, he quietly reminded Faleau, "Alchemist Faleau… My name is Hauss…"

"Okay Hauss…" Faleau patted the young genius' shoulder before turning back to the others. "Everyone, allow me to introduce you Alchemist Hmm… Hauss. He is a 5th Rank Mage, and this information is in the records of the Alchemist Guild. If someone isn't convinced, they can investigate anytime. Oh, and I need a Swordsman, 8th or 9th Rank if possible, anyone willing to help?"

"Me!" Just as Faleau's sentence ended, a strong man suddenly stood out. He seemed to be in his thirties, and he looked tough and courageous. He was carrying a greatsword the size of a man.

When standing in front of him, the somewhat below-average Hauss felt like a dwarf…

"Hauss, drink this."

"Understood." Although Hauss didn't know what Faleau wanted him to do, he was willing to do anything for his idol. Thus, he grabbed the Dragon Strength Potion and drank it in two gulps.

"Oh right, Friend, you should introduce yourself to everyone," Faleau said to the sturdy Swordsman while Hauss was drinking the potion.

"I am Bill, 8th Rank Swordsman of the Reckless Ox Mercenary Group. Most of those taking missions at the Mercenary Guild every day know me. If you don't trust me, you can ask them."

"Haha, Reckless Ox Bill, who doesn't know you…" Some kind laughter came from the crowd.

"Okay, Swordsman Bill, how about fighting our Gilded Rose's 5th Rank Mage in a bit?"

"Sure, there is no problem, but Alchemist Faleau, what if I injure him? My blows are a bit heavy, after all…"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 87: Worth (2)

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

"It's fine, go all-out," Faleau irresponsibly said while taking out a greatsword from a nearby shelf and strenuously giving it to Hauss. "Hauss, fight Swordsman Bill."

"Ye-Yes." Hauss hesitated a bit, but he quickly agreed. The difference in power between an 8th Rank Swordsman and a 5th Rank Mage wasn't large. 'It should be fine if I use a few control spells…'

But something was wrong. 'No… hold on… Why is Alchemist Faleau giving me a greatsword?'

Hauss' face suddenly paled as he recalled the Dragon Strength Potion that he just drank.

'No way… Alchemist Faleau, yo-yo-you… You want me to fight Bill at close range?'

"Al-Alch-Alchemist Faleau?" Hauss looked at Faleau with a complicated gaze. It was filled with doubt, pleading and fear. It seemed like he was on the verge of crying.

'Alchemist Faleau, please tell me this is a joke!' he thought, on the verge of panic. 'That's an 8th Rank Swordsman, look at his greatsword, it's bigger than me! There is no way I can fight him in close combat, is there?'

"What are you afraid of? You just drank the Dragon Strength Potion, what's the problem with handling an 8th Rank Swordsman or two? Even if you lose your hands, feet, or head, the Gilded Rose will forever remember you!"

"…" Hauss almost let go of the greatsword. ' So what if I'll be remembered, it's over for me if I lose my head!'

"Okay, Swordsman Bill, Hauss is ready. Begin!"

"Hey…" Hauss wanted to complain. 'Since when was I ready?'

Unfortunately, Hauss didn't have time to struggle out of this. He was caught off guard by someone pushing him from behind, which made him stumble forward. He staggered toward Bill, his greatsword falling down due to his balance being disturbed.

Bill was a true 8th Rank Swordsman, and as a member of the Reckless Ox Mercenary Group, he had experienced many dangerous battles. His reaction speed couldn't be compared to that of a 5th Rank Mage like Hauss who had never seen blood. Only a "clang" was heard as the blade was parried.

This was followed by a deafening sound as Bill counterattacked, hacking downward a few times, scaring Hauss to the point that he didn't even dare to resist, making him run away toward the crowd instead.

"Hauss, if you don't hurry and counterattack, you'll lose your limbs," Faleau reminded him, not at all caring about Hauss' plight.

"…" Hauss went pale when he heard that, thinking, 'You don't want me to use magic, yet you want me to strike back at a 8th Rank Swordsman. How am I supposed to do that?'

Unfortunately for him, Bill didn't give him time to breathe as the greatsword in his hand continued slashing down. With a few attacks, he forced Hauss into a corner and followed up with a heavy strike.

"Fuck…" Hauss couldn't retreat anymore, so he let out the swear he had been holding back and raised the greatsword to block.

Only the "clang" was heard.

The audience couldn't bear to look.

A 5th Rank Mage trying to block the attack of an 8th Rank Swordsman, and a strong one like Reckless Ox's Bill at that. Everyone felt sure that this 5th Rank Mage wouldn't be able to use his hands in the future.

"Eh?" Hauss let out a surprised yelp. He was shocked to find out that he was actually stronger than he'd imagined. It was a simple block, yet he hadn't felt any resistance from Bill's attack. No, more than that, he actually made Bill retreat a few steps.

Moreover, his hands weren't shaking after that collision, he didn't feel any discomfort at all…

'Is this the effect of Dragon Strength?

Hauss thought of this and tried raising the greatsword. Now that he had calmed down, he realized that the seemingly heavy greatsword was a lot lighter than he would have thought. He was actually lifting it effortlessly, and a simple movement would create a heavy blow.

The power of that blow was so heavy that even Bill had no other choice but to fall back.

The Dragon Strength Potion was truly a potion that gave the strength of a dragon!

After personally feeling the effects of the Dragon Strength Potion, Hauss' fear disappeared. He held the sword in his hands tightly as he started his counterattack. The offensive power of the greatsword was so tremendous that Bill actually had to go all-out to match Hauss.

The two of them kept clashing in the center of the lobby while the audience's mouths were wide open, expressing their shock. The Dragon Strength Potion could let a 5th Rank Mage battle a 8th Rank Swordsman evenly in a melee fight, and the latter had to go all-out to be a match… Wasn't this a bit too inconceivable?

'Hold on, it's not just evenly matched…'

Some audience members quickly recalled that Hauss was just a 5th Rank Mage. He hadn't gone through proper swordsmanship training, yet he was able to contend against Bill. This was all due to the power of Dragon Strength. If Hauss had done some swordsmanship training, Bill might have already collapsed.

After ten minutes, Faleau stopped the fight.

"Many thanks to the two of you."

"No problem, Alchemist Faleau…" Bill was panting. Even a particularly powerful 8th Rank Swordsman who was nicknamed the "ox" in his mercenary group was physically exhausted after this battle.

But it was different for Hauss. He had felt no discomfort at all and was actually asking Faleau with an excited expression, "Alchemist Faleau, is it the Dragon Strength Potion? Is it the Dragon Strength Potion?"

"Yes, yes, it's the Dragon Strength Potion…" Faleau sent Hauss away with that answer and walked to the center of the lobby once again before smiling at the pale Hawkins.

"Great Alchemist Hawkins, I can answer your previous question. I have no plans on using the Dragon Strength Potion to get the formula and recipe of your Berserk Blood Potion. Do you think I would be so naive? Is your potion worth an exchange of skills? You should go look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are worth it."

After saying that, Faleau spat at Hawkins' feet.

The entire Gilded Rose fell silent.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 88: Change

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

After the battle, there was no need to prove which of the two potions was superior.

The Berserk Blood Potion only brought ten seconds of Berserk, and under the Berserk effect, an ordinary Swordsman could withstand a Great Swordsman. But the Dragon Strength Potion brought at least a full ten minutes of physical enhancement. That enhancement could let a 5th Rank Mage have the same physical strength as an 8th Rank Swordsman.

And that was the effectiveness when used on a Mage!

The physical strength of a swordsman was on a completely different level when compared to that of a mage, especially when the swordsman was someone like Bill, who was as strong as an ox. Mages could be considered very delicate, yet even a delicate mage was able to be evenly matched with a strong Swordsman.

If it had been a 5th Rank Swordsman, maybe even a Great Swordsman would have had to rely on Aura and advanced swordsmanship to suppress him. If they were only competing on physical strength, maybe even a Great Swordsman might not be the 5th Rank Swordsman's rival.

It wouldn't be fair to put the Berserk Blood Potion on the same the level as the Dragon Strength Potion.

This was a whole different level altogether!

"Great Alchemist Hawkins, you can take your Berserk Blood Potion and go back to Twin Moons Splendor. The Gilded Rose doesn't need such a skill exchange."

Faleau had no plan to let Hawkins off easy. He was looking at the Great Alchemist with a sneer. Besides disdain and ridicule, there was also a hint of pity in his eyes.

'Who knows how Hawkins would react if he knew that the Dragon Strength Potion which crushed the Berserk Blood Potion is only a cheap imitation. Would he die from excess anger and shame…?' he mused.

'No no no, it isn't just the Dragon Strength Potion. Even the Berserk Blood Potion in his hands is a pitiful imitation of Great Mage Merlin's potions. I really don't know where Hawkins got the courage to challenge the Gilded Rose with a mere imitation. He wanted to crush us with it, yet he was crushed by another imitation. Ignorance is bliss…'

"No… No… I don't believe it. This is a scam! This is definitely a scam! He isn't a 5th Rank Mage, he is a Great Swordsman, I saw him using Aura!" The sore loser, Hawkins, was in chaos. Even his words seemed incoherent.

"Haha, Great Swordsman…"

"How could he be a Great Swordsman, he is obviously a Sword Saint!"

"It's too late for you, Great Alchemist Hawkins, you should go sleep…"

Laughter filled the lobby. Hauss was a member of the Alchemist Guild. Whether he was a 5th Rank Mage or not didn't matter, he was an Alchemist, that much was certain. How could the Gilded Rose falsify this? Moreover, to mention Aura… Thousand Sails City would have already gone crazy if a Great Swordsman in his twenties had appeared.

This farce finally came to an end with Hawkins' incoherent accusations. He left the Gilded Rose, crestfallen, not even staying for the unveiling of the Meditation Potion. It was good that he left, or else his self-respect would have taken another blow with the Meditation Potion.

Today's alchemy exhibition was neither promoted nor prepared, and even the start of the exhibition hadn't been announced. It could be said that it was the first time the Gilded Rose had ever been so negligent and hurried.

But such a negligent and hurried alchemy exhibition instantly caused a sensation in Thousand Sails City. In the afternoon, most of the inhabitants had learnt that the Hope Potion's Gilded Rose was unveiling two new potions.

The Dragon Strength Potion, which completely outshined the Berserk Blood Potion, and the Meditation Potion, which could let mages break away from mana disturbances.

Lin Yun never appeared. His study of the stone tablet had now reached a critical juncture.

Lin Yun had gotten the stone tablet ten days ago, but besides finding that it could increase the efficiency of his Magic Array on the first day, he didn't find anything else. However, Lin Yun didn't give up on his research because he knew that a True Spirit Component was full of secrets. Spending some time and energy on it was worth it.

And sure enough, the time and energy Lin Yun spent finally paid off.

Lin Yun kept researching the stone tablet after the old butler left the alchemy laboratory. He had originally planned to pour mana into it today. For that sake, he had prepared a small tool, a mithril support with a mana crystal, as well as three miniature alchemy array configurations. These three miniature alchemy arrays had different effects: extracting mana, controlling mana, pouring mana. Lin Yun used this improvised tool to extract mana from the mana crystal and then pour it into the stone tablet.

This mana test hadn't made any progress at first.

The material of the stone tablet was very strange. It looked like stone, but its mana capacity was nearly limitless. In one afternoon, Lin Yun had changed mana crystals four times, and each of them was level 10 at the very least, so the mana contained within couldn't be considered small. Even a Great Mage might not be able to endure that much mana, yet the stone tablet didn't react to it, giving off the feeling of a bottomless pit.

When the 4th mana crystal was emptied, Lin Yun replaced it, but he actually used an Undead Essence this time.

This caused a change in the stone tablet.

The originally ordinary stone tablet suddenly flashed and released death energy. Even Lin Yun was unable to breathe, but he reacted quickly enough. Just as the stone tablet flashed, he grabbed it and cast a Flaming Hand spell.

The radiance instantly disappeared and the stone tablet returned to being an ordinary piece of stone, as if what just happened had been an illusion.

But Lin Yun knew that this wasn't an illusion.

He could clearly see something new on the stone tablet after the light disappeared.

A flaming hand the size of a fingernail… The magic symbol of the Flaming Hand spell had been inexplicably engraved onto the stone tablet.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 89: Sage Chapter

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Lin Yun's hand nearly slipped when the magic symbol appeared, almost dropping the stone tablet for the second time.

Shock appeared on Lin Yun's face as he looked at that fingernail-sized magic symbol, his mind unable to focus.

'Sage Chapter, this is the Sage Chapter…' he realized.

'The 4th chapter of the Extraordinary Magic Tool Book of Death, the Sage Chapter! An Extraordinary Component that is rumored to be able to turn spells into Ultimate Spells at will!'

For a mage, the existence of ultimate spells was not inferior to the secret Magic Array. Every mage had spells they were especially good at. They would keep researching and improving those spells over the years and their understanding of those spells would be far more profound than that of other mages. In their hands, the might of those spells would reach an unfathomable level.

These spells were Ultimate Spells!

But completing an Ultimate Spell would take a great amount of time. Even the powerhouses at the peak of the magic era didn't have many Ultimate Spells, because it required time and energy.

Naturally, there was an exception to everything.

The Heaven Mage from the Ivory Tower, Bane, was that exception.

That man used a total of thirteen Ultimate Spells during a war, and with the strength of one man, defeated an entire highland shrine. That fight defied the common sense of all mages, and two thousand years later, after Bane had disappeared in the endless planes, mages were still discussing that battle and seeking to find the truth behind those thirteen Ultimate Spells.

That secret ultimately spread after the fall of the Ivory Tower.

Bane's thirteen Ultimate Spells didn't originate from Bane himself, but rather from one Component of his Extraordinary Magic Tool, the Book of Death. That Component was the 4th chapter of the Book of Death, the Sage Chapter!

'No wonder…' Lin Yun now understood. No wonder that stone tablet's power was so strange! Analysis and spell calculation were some of the essential factors of Ultimate Spells. Only with continuous analysis, continuous calculations, and a thorough understanding of a spell's details, could one make an Ultimate Spell have this kind of unfathomable power.

And his Magic Array was a perfect fit for this. The complicated and detailed Magic Array was also quite dependant on analysis and calculations. It could be said that the Sage Chapter was more important to Lin Yun than it was to Bane.

Lin Yun originally had come up with a complete plan for his Ultimate Spells.

Ultimate Spells would take too much time to complete, so a mage wouldn't have many during their lifetime. Thus, Lin Yun already made a decision: he wouldn't worry about Ultimate Spells before becoming an Archmage. Once the Magic Array was refined enough, he would be able to attack with Elemental Incarnation.

That's right, Elemental Incarnation.

Only someone from the future could know how the mages at the peak of the magic era fought. In comparison, the mages in Lin Yun's current era such as Larry and Ryan could only be described as incapable. He didn't even feel that powerful mages such as Solomon and Cadgar were battle-ready after talking to them.

After all, these mages were just controlling mana in a simple way while the ones at the peak of the magic era had turned battle into an instinct. Each one, without any exceptions, chose Elemental Incarnation as their Ultimate Spell. Frightening movement speed and a powerful elemental body allowed them to dominate battles with ease.

After all, during the peak magic era, a 5th Rank High Mage could clear out a plane like the Bone Plane in a few days, Bone Dragon included.

Right now…

If a group of ten High Mages went into that plane, they would only be offering a sumptuous dinner to the Bone Dragon.

All in all, the mages of this era hadn't gone through many battles, and they didn't know the power of Elemental Incarnation. Only when the Plane Colonization era came would the mages understand how powerful Elemental Incarnation was because of the plane wars.

…

When Lin Yun realized what he was holding, he had no choice but to change his original plan.

This stone tablet meant he had a lot of choices. But after thinking about it, Heaven Mage Bane had used thirteen Ultimate Spells in that battle!

'What's going on?' As Lin Yun was thinking of his future plans, the magic symbol of the stone tablet was darkening.

Lin Yun was startled.

He didn't think too much about it and directly used mana to release that Flaming Hand. In a flash, dazzling flames filled Lin Yun's sight. The heat that spread from his hand couldn't be compared with a normal Flaming Hand spell. Its might was at least on the level of Flame Burst.

But Lin Yun's expression sank.

'Not enough, not powerful enough.'

Lin Yun knew what a true Ultimate Spell should be like.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that a 1st Rank spell such as Flaming Hand should at least become 4th Rank after being turned into an Ultimate Spell.

Everyone knew that mages would have a leap in strength every 5th mage Rank. Besides the powerup from the mana whirlpool and the Magic Conducting Rune, there was also the fact that mages could learn completely new spells every 5th level. Spells before a Mage's 5th Rank would be known as 1st Rank Spells. The spells between a Mage's 5th and 10th Rank would be known as 2nd Rank Spells.

Thus, 4th Rank Spells could be mastered by Great Mages between the 5th and 10th Rank.

But the Flaming Hand he had just released, though it admittedly seemed quite powerful, had yet to reach the power of an Ultimate Spell. Let alone the power of a 4th Rank Spell, it was still a bit short of a 3rd Rank Spell.

'What's the reason behind it?' Lin Yun put down the stone tablet and sat in front of the refining table, thinking hard about it.

The weakening of the magic was a problem. Moreover, why was the magic symbol darkening?

'Could it be that the spells put on the Sage Chapter slowly lose their might over time? But if it is a matter of time, wasn't this amount too short for that to happen?'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 90: Soul Fire

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

As he thought about it carefully, no more than half an hour passed before the magic symbol started darkening again. If they couldn't remain for more than half an hour, then how was Bane able to defeat the Highland Shrine?

Finding out that the stone tablet was the Sage Chapter didn't clear up Lin Yun's questions. Instead, it only added more difficult ones.

'Could this Sage Chapter be defective? There is no way…'

Besides the problem of the Ultimate Spell's power, the stone tablet completely fit the description of Bane's Sage Chapter. If it was a defective item, wasn't the power difference too high? But if it's wasn't a defective item, then why was the power of the Ultimate Spell lacking?

'It should have had the power of a 4th Rank Spell normally, but it couldn't even reach the 3rd Rank. The difference is too great. It's a whole entire Rank, from Great Mage to Mage…

But Lin Yun suddenly remembered after being puzzled for a long time. 'Hold on, Undead Essence!'

He had been able to activate the Sage Chapter because of a piece of Undead Essence.

'Indeed, it has to do with Undead Essence.'

He hadn't thought about it at first because he had considered it to be an ordinary Component, but from another point of view, if the Sage Chapter was considered as a Magic Tool, it would need mana to work. Every Magic Tool needed a source of mana to function. Even an Extraordinary Magic Tool like the Book of Death was no exception.

'Wouldn't the Sage Chapter also need power to function?'

Lin Yun had already understood most of it by this time. The Sage Chapter needed energy to function, but that energy wasn't mana, it was Soul Fire, the Soul Fire of the Undead!

Undead Essence itself was the material remaining after Soul Fire was cooled down.

He had been able to activate the stone tablet because of the remaining Soul Fire within the Undead Essence, but the amount was too low, and because it had come from a lowly Skeleton Warrior. It wasn't enough to transform the Flaming Hand into an Ultimate Spell.

'There might have been other reasons that I do not understand yet, but I should be pretty close.'

After thinking about it, Lin Yun fished out a piece of Undead Essence from his bag. He wanted to use that self-made tool to pour more energy into the stone tablet.

But there was something wrong with the Undead Essence he just pulled out. The previous Undead Essence had smoothly awakened the Sage Chapter through the three miniature arrays. But this time, the Undead Essence only approached the Sage Chapter before a small Soul Fire could be seen separating from the essence and entering the Sage Chapter, followed by the Undead Essence turning into black dust, which scattered into the air.

Lin Yun didn't do any of that intentionally. The Sage Chapter had been the one in control.

'Could it be that the Undead Essence not only provided power to the stone tablet, but also awakened the Sage Chapter?' Lin Yun felt that this was quite a reasonable assumption. The Sage Chapter he had gotten from the Death Garden had actually been in some sort of slumber. Although he had induced some sort of reaction with his Flaming Hand, it had only been an instinctual reaction.

The Sage Chapter only started awakening when he took out the Undead Essence and fed it to the stone tablet, revealing some of its power.

But that awakening was far from over.

Lin Yun knew that at this point the Sage Chapter was only in the process of awakening. It was still far from fully awakening. It was clear that the current Sage Chapter was unable to manifest itself. This was an Extraordinary Component, which could have power easily be above True Spirit. The fact that it couldn't manifest itself meant that his research of the Sage Chapter was still far from being complete.

'Maybe the Soul Fire isn't enough.' Lin Yun could clearly see that Soul Fires were very important to that stone tablet, or else the slumbering Sage Chapter wouldn't have been awakened by one.

Since he came to that conclusion, Lin Yun straightforwardly took out all his Undead Essences and watched as the Soul Fires came out of them to enter the Sage Chapter, one after the other. All the Undead Essences in Lin Yun's hands crumbled away into black powder in a short time.

Lin Yun then cast another Flaming Hand.

The magic symbol on the Sage Chapter was clearly brighter than before.

When Lin Yun triggered it with mana, the might of the spell released had reached the 3rd Rank.

'Still not enough…' After confirming that the might of that Flaming Hand still hadn't reached the 4th Rank, Lin Yun shook his head. But there was no disappointment on his face this time because he knew that he was already on the correct path. The Sage Chapter could recover the power of an Extraordinary Component. It was only a matter of time.

Simply because Lin Yun had the Bone Plane!

His plan had changed.

Lin Yun had originally planned on entering the Bone Plane once he had five Magic Arrays, since that would be when his power would rival that of a High Mage. By then, even if the slumbering Bone Devil woke up, Lin Yun was confident that he wouldn't lose.

But he couldn't wait anymore because the Sage Chapter needed a large amount of Soul Fire. And the Sage Chapter's importance wasn't any less than that of his Magic Array. The sooner his Sage Chapter awakened, the sooner his Magic Array's efficiency would increase and the sooner the might of the Ultimate Spells would increase.

The more efficient the Magic Array became, the stronger his Ultimate Spells would become. This would be the foundation that he would rely on to explore the prince's tomb.

The prince tomb was where the Reincarnation Eye was.

Lin Yun unhesitantly made his decision. He would enter the Bone Plane once again, but this time he wouldn't go for the Nether Iron; he would go there to hunt for more Soul Fire.

After Lin Yun came out of the alchemy laboratory, he greeted Faleau and put him in charge of the group of Alchemists before leaving the Gilded Rose in a hurry, riding a carriage home.

After arriving home, he went through the passage to the hidden chamber. Now that they had recovered for a few months, the Abyssal Magic Diamonds were already glittering. Lin Yun estimated that with the Frost Lich's Heart, he would be able to stay in the Bone Plane for three hours this time!

Lin Yun took a deep breath, stood in front of the Frost Lich Heart, and chanted the incantation to open the Planar Path.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

After a short spatial distortion, Lin Yun once again set foot onto the Bone Plane.

The dark crimson crescent moon had already fallen, but the gloomy sky was still giving off a suffocating feeling. As a sea of black clouds was covering the land and cold breezes carrying a rotten smell were blowing past, Lin Yun couldn't help pulling at his black robe. The soft and damp soil under his feet that was mixed with rotten weeds and dead leaves was emitting a disgusting stench.

The surroundings of the Dark Iron Vein were filled with a sea of Skeleton Warriors, and although the Bone Devil was still sleeping underground, the death aura it was emitting was tangible. Even Lin Yun felt that the atmosphere was suffocating. This kind of high-level undead was very powerful, its strength nearing the High Mage Rank, and it could create a crushing pressure simply by emitting its death aura.

Fortunately, Lin Yun didn't have any intention to provoke the Bone Devil on this trip.

Lin Yun's target was the sea of Skeleton Warriors.

Lin Yun had cast Detect Undead the second his feet touched the ground.

'Ten thousand Undead Warriors at the very least…' Lin Yun was a Great Mage now, so his detection spells were far sharper than before, and he also had a better understanding of the black wasteland. In a short moment, all the nearby undead creatures appeared in Lin Yun's mind.

The entire black wasteland and over ten thousand Skeleton Warriors were divided into several dozen areas of various sizes. Apart from the Bone Devil's area, Lin Yun marked the others as hunting grounds.

The first one Lin Yun went for was the nearest area from the Plane Path. Nearly fifty Skeleton Warriors were gathered there.

Lin Yun chanted a few lines and a Flame Barrier instantly rose up, followed by a Flame Burst landing exactly in the path of the Skeleton Warriors. An explosion thundered out as flames blossomed amidst the dozens of skeletons.

At that moment, only flames could be seen in the sky as they fell onto the black wasteland. About a dozen skeletons were unable to move, and they eventually turned to ashes from the unforgiving heat.

Right as he cast that Flame Burst spell, Lin Yun was already prepared. Two lights, one blue and one red, were spiralling around him, the Ice Fire Shield. Lin Yun knew that a Flame Barrier couldn't completely stop the undead lifeforms, which were unafraid of death. He would have to endure the crazy counterattack from the Skeleton Warriors now that they had been alerted.

Sure enough, a dozen skeletons were already on the move before the flames of the Flame Burst fell down. The flaming barrier was unable to stop their path. After initially losing some among their number, they quickly rushed out of the Flame Barrier's encirclement. They were less than fifty meters away from Lin Yun.

Lin Yun kept chanting, casting one Flame Spear after the other at the Skeleton Warriors at the forefront. He then started to retreat while preparing another Flame Burst.

Lin Yun had only been using Fire Magic so far.

Those combat techniques came from – Explanation of the Max Formula –. The Flame Tyrant believed that in a fight against the undead, it was better for one to use Fire Magic, because firstly, Fire Magic itself was the bane of the undead, and secondly, using a great amount of Fire Spells would rouse the Fire Elements in the surroundings, increasing the elemental affinity for fire magic.

This would create an environment suitable for a mage's battle which would not only increase the might of Fire Magic, but would also weaken the undead.

That battle strategy could sum up the entirety of the Flame Tyrant Max's life experiences of battling the undead.

After falling back for ten meters, Lin Yun's Flame Burst was ready to be cast again. Now, he was only waiting for those skeletons to approach so that he could bathe them in fire.

But, at this time…

The group of Skeleton Warriors that was rushing towards him suddenly stopped. Moreover, their Soul Fires all twitched, just like candle flames flickering in the wind. It looked like they would extinguish with just the slightest disturbance.

Then, the Skeleton Warriors started retreating.

"What the!" Lin Yun was shocked by the change, but he couldn't just watch them. Almost as if it was a reflex, Lin Yun forcefully interrupted his Flame Burst as he was about to chant the last sentence and turned it into a Flame Barrier instead.

The Flame Barrier rose up, yet the retreating skeletons didn't hesitate at all, rushing straight through the raging flames.

None of the Skeleton Warriors turned back, as if they felt that Lin Yun was more frightening than a Flame Burst or a Flame Barrier… as if they would rather go through the Flame Barrier than turn around and confront Lin Yun.

The damage dealt by the Flame Barrier was shocking. With the active Fire Elements, the power of that Flame Barrier had risen an entire rank. Thirty Skeleton Warriors went in, but less than ten came out. Lin Yun only had to use a few more Flame Spears to deal with the remaining Skeleton Warriors.

'What just happened…' Lin Yun was suspicious as he took out the Sage Chapter. In a flash, a dozen nimble Soul Fires flew over to him and quickly merged with the Sage Chapter.

Normally, Lin Yun would use a spell to test the power of the Sage Chapter, but he didn't care about it right now. His mind was totally focused on figuring out the shocking scene that had just happened.

Lin Yun couldn't understand why the Skeleton Warriors who were rushing at him suddenly turned around and ran away.

'Their Soul Fires were flickering, what did it mean? If I'm not wrong, that would only happen to the undead when they are on the verge of death or are completely terrified,' he recalled.

'They certainly weren't on the verge of death. They were running very quickly when they turned around, they must have had plenty of energy,' he reasoned.

'But if they weren't on the verge of death, wouldn't that mean that they were utterly frightened?'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

'This… Sounds a bit unreasonable…'

Everyone knew that the undead didn't fear death and couldn't succumb to fatigue. Even if they knew that a deathly trap awaited them, they would still jump in with both feet. Only stronger undead lifeforms could instill fear in an undead creature.

But did Lin Yun look like an undead lifeform?

'Could it be caused by the Sage Chapter? No, that's wrong…'

The Sage Chapter had been in his pocket all along.

This wasn't an ordinary pocket. It was one of the things that had been useful to him during his life back at the end of time, so when he transmigrated, one of the first items he personally enchanted was this black robe, and more importantly, its pockets. He used a total of three alchemy arrays on them. Besides temperature regulation in order to preserve potions, it also had the effect of sealing mana fluctuations.

The Sage Chapter had been in his pocket earlier and had been unable to absorb the Soul Fires, so how could it have affected the Skeleton Warriors?

In order to confirm his hypothesis, Lin Yun had to do a test. He first put the Sage Chapter on the ground and then used a delayed exploding Fire Bomb to lure in a Skeleton Warrior.

When one of them passed by, it completely ignored the Sage Chapter, not even giving it a passing glance.

After dealing with it by tossing out a Flame Spear, Lin Yun stooped down and retrieved the Sage Chapter. This test confirmed his previous hypothesis, that the Skeleton Warriors' fear was unrelated to the Sage Chapter.

'But if it's not the Sage Chapter, what is it?'

Lin Yun carefully recalled his recent adventures. The only matter related to the undead was the prince tomb in the Poison Fog Canyon, and the Death Garden contained within was the most suspicious.

But… the only thing he did at the Death Garden was retrieving the Sage Chapter…

'Hold on!' Lin Yun was startled as he thought of something. 'What if the Sage Chapter wasn't the only thing that came out of the Death Garden?'

'It's an ability! An ability I received from the Death Garden!'

As he started thinking of it that way, Lin Yun remembered one person.

After the Sovereign of Death Sandro, there was the 2nd powerhouse to conquer the Undead Plane, the Heaven Mage who withstood Sandro's Undead Legion by himself, Charles the Conqueror!

When he was 8 years old, his entire family was killed by Sandro's Undead Legion. Luckily, Charles had managed to escape and survive for ten years as one of the dregs of society. Clinging onto his hate of Sandro, he managed to become a Mage at the age of twenty. In reality, a 20-year-old Mage wasn't that special, and at the time, Charles could only enter a 2nd-tier mercenary group.

But it was within that 2nd-tier mercenary group that Charles soared. He became a Great Mage at 21, High Mage at 25, and he managed to enter the ranks of Archmages at 30.

Charles' legend started from that point on.

Charles took that 2nd-tier mercenary group and conquered several dozen planes in a hundred years. Through glorious achievements, he earned the title of Conqueror.

Ultimately, Charles entered the Undead Plane alone and used his own power to crush the Undead Legion that Sandro had left behind, cleansing the entire Undead Plane of its undead inhabitants. That battle shook all of Noscent. Charles was deified, but despite having conquered so many planes, he didn't hesitate and he followed Sandro's footsteps, entering the Endless Plane through a floating spatial distortion. Not a single communication was sent back to Noscent since then.

These two men were legendary existences in the entire magic era.

Lin Yun had read that Charles the Conqueror had also entered a Death Garden. Moreover, he had publicly admitted to receiving a reward from it, an ability known as Undead Predator.

In those days, the Undead Predator ability allowed Charles to naturally exude a sort of pressure when facing the undead. Even Elder Ghost Dragons and Skeleton Titans, those kinds of legendary existences, would shiver in front of Charles because he had slaughtered thousands upon thousands of the undead. Every undead lifeform would be instilled with a deep fear when facing him.

Although both Sovereign of Death Sandro and Charles the Conqueror entered the Endless Plane, the legends they left in Noscent didn't disappear. Who knew how many powerful mages were looking for Death Gardens, all because of the Undead Contract and Undead Predator abilities.

Especially Undead Predator.

Because all mages would agree that even though Charles' greatest pride was that he had fought the undead all his life, the greatest regret was also that he had fought the undead all his life.

If there had been some other types of lifeforms among Charles' enemies, he might have found out that his ability affected more than just the undead.

Unfortunately, it could never be proved, as the Undead Predator ability disappeared alongside Charles.

But Lin Yun might have the opportunity now.

He was fairly certain that the ability he possessed was most likely the Undead Predator ability that Charles the Conqueror had possessed.

It was no wonder that he didn't feel it. Undead Predator was different from Undead Contract. Undead Contract was an active skill while Undead Predator was a passive skill.

In other words, Undead Predator would remain in effect as long as he was alive and wouldn't bring any change to his body.

As for the reason that he got that ability, he could more or less guess.

'That unlucky Master Craftsman wasn't wrong… Every choice made in the illusion might affect the rewards.'

Lin Yun had been worried at the time. He had kept casting in the illusion, always fighting, not making any choice, only fighting. He had been worried that he would gain nothing because of that.

But Lin Yun finally understood.

Continuously casting, continuously fighting… This was also a choice.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

'This is a pleasant surprise.'

Lin Yun had thought that his only reward from the tomb was the unknown stone tablet, but he then had some fortuitous surprises over the course of the past ten days. First, he learned that the stone tablet was actually the Sage Chapter of the Book of Death, and now, he figured out that he gained the Undead Predator ability.

In Lin Yun's eyes, Undead Predator was far better than Sandro's Undead Contract.

After all, Undead Contract was tailored for Necromancers. If a non-Necromancer like Lin Yun obtained that ability, they would only be able to summon a few extra lifeforms. Without Necromancy spells to strengthen them, the summons wouldn't be that powerful.

But Undead Predator was different.

Lin Yun was now sitting on the entire Bone Plane, so the existence of the Undead Predator ability would allow him to conquer the entire Bone Plane faster. Once the Book of Death was in his hands, with the addition of the Sage Chapter, Lin Yun's fighting strength would be able to reach a shocking level. Even a High Mage wouldn't be Lin Yun's match.

Moreover, the Undead Predator ability still had secrets that could be researched. Those mages from the peak of the magic era all believed that the Undead Predator ability wasn't merely limited to the undead.

Lin Yun would be the first to question the merits of an unproven theory, but he now had a lot of time to experiment with Undead Predator and see whether that theory was correct.

Lin Yun was more relaxed after the fight thanks to the Undead Predator.

What he wanted to do now was to find the place with the largest amount of Skeleton Warriors and use his highest ranked spells to bomb them indiscriminately, not having to worry about a potential counterattack due to the fear created by the pressure from Undead Predator. As he put his plan into motion, they often rushed at him initially but then froze foolishly or tried to escape.

'This is simply a harvest…'

In a quick two hours, the Sage Chapter absorbed over a thousand Soul Fires, and aside from the high mana consumption, Lin Yun hadn't met any troubles or threats. The Ice Fire Shield hadn't been breached at all.

Lin Yun still had about one hour left. He prepared to go harvest another group of Skeleton Warriors but then he suddenly discovered that he had unconsciously approached the Nether Iron Vein.

Last time he came to the Bone Plane, it was night time, and his Light spell had only been able to illuminate a ten-meter area, so his only choice had been to rely on a half-solidified Mage Eye. Naturally, he hadn't been able to see everything clearly. This time, although the sky was covered by a sea of clouds, it was still daytime, so after casting a Mage Eye, Lin Yun was able to clearly observe the Nether Iron Vein.

The Nether Iron Vein was on a plain surrounded by Skeleton Warriors, with a dense death aura being emitted from underground, and the Bone Devil was slumbering at the densest part of the death aura. The Nether Iron Vein was over a hundred meters away, completely exposed to the surface, the kind of vein that miners loved most. Hardly any effort would be needed to easily exploit it.

Moreover, the resources contained in that Nether Iron Vein were very shocking. Even from this distance, Lin Yun could feel the powerful mana fluctuations. Some came from the Nether Iron Vein itself, and some came from the magic gems born from it.

Lin Yun took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to provoke the Bone Devil right now, and he forced himself to look away.

But as the Mage Eye flew across, Lin Yun discovered a dark cave at the end of the Nether Iron Vein with some bloodstained clothes at its entrance.

"Fuck…" Lin Yun's eyes suddenly widened at the unexpected sight.

What did that mean…

Those clothes proved that Lin Yun wasn't the first person to enter the Bone Plane!

Naturally, that human was already long gone. Being wounded in the Bone Plane was no different from death. Under the assault of endless death energy, a small prick on one's finger would be deadly.

In fact, it wasn't just the Bone Plane. Any plane was like that. The completely different environments made it so that no one could stay in foreign planes for a long time, including the formidable mages of the peak magic era.

This was also the real reason that even the self-proclaimed god mages could only fall when Noscent's mana was exhausted.

In those final years, who knew how many mages went insane trying to find a way out? Unfortunately, no one was able to survive in those planes. Only mages on the same level as Sandro and Charles were able to struggle forward, fleeing to the Endless Plane, through a spatial crack.

But what awaited them was an unknown fate. It might be a new world, or it might doom them to drift for all eternity.

In short, no matter who the owner of those clothes was, that person was most likely already dead.

This was almost a certainty.

But Lin Yun still felt that he should take a look. After all, they would belong to a human that had come to the Bone Plane before him, over a thousand years before the three young mages of the Ivory Tower! Lin Yun really wanted to know who that was!

With that in mind, Lin Yun controlled the Mage Eye to fly towards the entrance of the cave and explore it.

But suddenly, Lin Yun's sight darkened.

'It couldn't…' Lin Yun froze, and the Mage Eye shockingly faded away!

The Mage Eye had been stopped by some sort of magic barrier…

A Mage Eye could be said to be the most fragile among mages' constructs. It was based on the condensation of a mage's mana and it would collapse when met with a bit of mana interference.

Lin Yun had met many situations where a Mage Eye would collapse, so this wasn't something to fuss about. But the collapse of this Mage Eye made Lin Yun feel suspicious.

Bloodstained clothes were strange enough, but there was also still mana remaining in that cave!

Lin Yun thought for a bit before casting a few spells. He used Haste, Stoneskin, Conceal Aura, and Undead Camouflage, casting the buffs on himself one after the other.

Lin Yun then started slowly walking toward that dark cave.

Fortunately, there weren't many skeletons around after the harvest earlier. Even if one or two occasionally emerged, in front of Lin Yun with his Undead Predator skill, it was only a matter of one or two Flame Spears.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 94: Spiritual Magic Staff

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

Ten minutes later, Lin Yun had bypassed the Nether Iron Vein without disturbing the Bone Devil and was now standing in front of the bloodstained clothes. At this time, Lin Yun could clearly see that the bloodstains on the clothes had already dried up, only leaving some darkened areas.

Lin Yun didn't touch the bloody clothes because he was aware that in a place like the Bone Plane, which was filled with death energy, everything would decay ten times faster. The bloodstains had already dried up and it had been seriously eroded. If Lin Yun touched it, it would turn into a pile of ashes.

Lin Yun crouched and carefully inspected the dried up bloodstains. He then found out that the bloodstains were leading deeper inside the cave.

This made Lin Yun frown. Could that unknown person have fled into the cave after being injured?

If that was the case, then this cave might not be that simple.

'Looks like I really have to go in.' Lin Yun thought for a bit and cast a Light spell inside the cave. He lowered his head and entered.

This cave was very narrow and was extending downward. The precipitous slope made it hard for Lin Yun to proceed. After ten meters, Lin Yun felt some abnormal mana fluctuations. These were definitely the mana fluctuations that disturbed the Mage Eye.

The cave was under the Nether Iron Mine. As Lin Yun walked down, he could see that both sides of the wall had a lot of exposed Nether Iron, and of high quality. If an outstanding blacksmith smelted those, the ore would easily be turned into exceptional materials for Magic Armors and Magic Weapons.

Lin Yun spent no less than ten minutes walking down the sharp and narrow slope. The path became flat and wide when he reached the bottom of the cave.

But Lin Yun frowned.

There was a skeleton in front of him.

Those strange mana fluctuations were coming from the skeleton.

'Sure enough…' Lin Yun knew that his previous guess was correct the moment his eyes fell onto the skeleton. The unknown man had fled into the cave after being injured.

This certainly seemed to be the case, but after thinking about it, he felt that this wasn't what an ordinary person would do.

A regular person wounded in a place like the Bone Plane chose to rush into the depths of this cave instead of leaving to recuperate… This seemed a bit strange.

Unless there was something special in that cave…

Lin Yun secretly raised his vigilance and crouched down in front of the skeleton before gently flipping it over, which revealed the source of the abnormal mana fluctuations, a magic staff.

"No way…" With the magic staff in his hand, Lin Yun knew that things were serious. That magic staff was far more powerful than he had imagined. This was a genuine Spiritual Magic Tool, an existence that already held spiritual wisdom.

To master this kind of staff, one needed to be a High Mage at the very least, and not just any High Mage could. Only an existence at the peak of High Mages like Solomon could completely master something like this Spiritual Magic Tool.

Fortunately, and most likely due to the passage of time, the spirit of the magic staff was already slumbering, so Lin Yun only felt a faint resistance after picking up the staff. The staff didn't react after Lin Yun poured mana in to suppress the faint resistance.

Lin Yun had been examining that Spiritual Magic Tool. Once a Magic Tool reached the Spiritual level, it would take on another shape. At this point, it couldn't be compared to Excellent and Inheritance Magic Tools. Just based on the shaft made of Burning Spirit Wood, the value of the magic staff could be compared to the Abyssal Magic Diamond. Burning Spirit Wood was known as an unending source of mana. Even a small piece would provide an unending flow of mana.

But this wasn't the most important thing. The most important part of that magic staff was the precious gem inlaid at the top.

That was a fist-sized Elemental Amber.

"Holy shit…" Lin Yun was speechless as he looked at it. He had one Elemental Amber already, but it was extremely lacking compared to that one on the staff. Whether it was size or purity, they simply weren't on the same level.

The amount of mana that could be stored in that Elemental Amber was at least ten times that of Lin Yun's current Elemental Amber!

'Ten times…'

That would be the increase Lin Yun's pool of usable mana, which was already formidable.

And the most important function of Elemental Amber wasn't mana storage…

Rather, the most important function was to store spells. Lin Yun estimated that he could store five High Mage rank spells within that Elemental Amber. As long as he had those five High Mage rank spells in hand, even if he didn't wake up the spirit of the magic staff, he would still be able to fight the Bone Devil.

Naturally, getting a source of High Mage rank spells was the problem.

After all, not every High Mage was willing to pay such a huge price.

But this wasn't a problem for Lin Yun, because he now held the Sage Chapter. If he couldn't use High Mage rank spells, he could totally use Ultimate Spells instead!

For Lin Yun, who held the Sage Chapter, the importance of this magic staff was even higher than that of a Spiritual Magic Tool!

But Lin Yun's frown resurfaced when his eyes fell onto the back of the staff. It was due to the black lightning symbol engraved there.

'Fuck! The Black Tower!' Lin Yun was startled. Others might not know, but how could he not know about that symbol that was famous during the peak of the magic era?

The black lightning represented one of the strongest magic powers of the realm. It fought the Cloud tower for over ten thousand years without a victor emerging from either side!

And the person that fell there was a High Mage from the Black Tower!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 95: Black Tower's Interest

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

The Black Tower of this era was just one of the many forces of the kingdom, and it wasn't considered a peak force in the eyes of the masses. But Lin Yun knew that in at most ten years, the Black Tower would quickly rise and become one of the two strongest forces in the kingdom alongside the Cloud Tower.

At its peak, the Black Tower controlled the entire eastern side of the kingdom and a few dozen planes of all sizes. It bred countless powerful mages, and their fighting strength could be rated as being amidst the top forces of all of Noscent.

Lin Yun had already made some speculations when the Mage Eye first found those bloodstained clothes.

Lin Yun had been wondering who had been the first to enter the Bone Plane. Was it this house's former master, or the following master, Locke Merlin? But Lin Yun hadn't considered that it might be a mage from the Black Tower.

Although the current Black Tower wasn't as formidable as it would be ten years later, it would definitely have one or two Archmages. If they learnt of the existence of the Bone Plane, Lin Yun would never have the opportunity to take advantage of this place.

Furthermore, Lin Yun clearly remembered that the Black Tower never controlled the Bone Plane.

'Could it be that this mage met misfortune in the Bone Plane before he could inform the Black Tower?'

The more Lin Yun thought about it, the more strange it seemed. He scrutinized the Spiritual Magic Staff in his hand while considering the situation.

'Hold on…' Lin Yun's eyes fell onto the back of the magic staff.

He had been startled by the black lightning symbol and hadn't taken the time to examine it carefully. He understood after taking a longer look at the symbol. There was a lance crossing through the middle of the black lightning symbol.

'I see…' Lin Yun was now able to relax.

Lance and Lightning, that was the symbol used by the Black Tower around three hundred years ago.

At that time, the highest authority of the Black Tower was the Council of the Seven. Battlemage Gaugass had owned three of the seven seats, until the Black Tower underwent a major change. Battlemage Gaugass announced that he was splitting from the Black Tower to migrate 250 kilometers into the Savage Highland. From that point on, the Black Tower forever lost the lance symbol.

In other words, that pile of bones was over three hundred years old.

Lin Yun immediately understood when he recalled this.

Indeed, that unfortunate mage hadn't been able to send news to the Black Tower. The only thing that the Black Tower might know was that there was something unusual about his house, but they surely weren't expecting that there was a Planar Path leading to the Bone Plane. And the dramatic changes happening at the Black Tower due to Gaugass' departure took a bit over two hundred years to settle…

Would the Black Tower have left a place as fertile as the Bone Plane alone if they knew about it?

But it seemed that some people had started paying attention to this place in recent years.

Lin Yun couldn't help frowning while thinking of that. The Monchi Family had been targeting his house continuously ever since he transmigrated. From Fario's debt to the actions of Larry, the 9th Rank Mage of the Viper Nest, how could Lin Yun not see it?

Whether it was Fario or Larry, there was the shadow of the Monchi Family behind them.

Lin Yun even suspected whether Locke Merlin's shipwreck was linked to the Monchi Family.

But fortunately, it was only the Monchi Family for now.

In other words, the entire Black Tower wasn't paying attention to this location, only a powerful member of the Black Tower was. That powerful person was most likely someone with a seat at the council. Otherwise, how could he easily transfer two Great Alchemists to serve the Monchi Family?

Lin Yun's heart was a bit less strained as he arrived at this conclusion.

It wouldn't be a big issue as long as it wasn't the entire Black Tower.

The only thing Lin Yun lacked was time. There would be nothing to worry about if he had the time to get the Book of Death.

That Extraordinary Magic Tool was not only the crystallization of the Bone Plane's power, but it was also the control center of the entire Bone Plane.

As long as he had the Book of Death in his hands, Lin Yun would be able to completely control the Bone Plane. No person or power would have the chance to touch the Bone Plane. What they would be facing then wouldn't be Lin Yun, nor the Bone Plane, but rather, the Universe's Plane Laws.

Lin Yun was now racing against time. Once he had five Magic Arrays, and once he had the fighting strength of a High Mage, only then would Lin Yun be qualified to seek the Book of Death.

When he held the Book of Death, Lin Yun wouldn't even need the Planar Path anymore, because the Book of Death was the key to the Bone Plane. Lin Yun would be able to enter the Bone Plane as he wished, and he would also be able to control anything he wanted in the Bone Plane. At that time, it would be that powerful member of the Black Tower that should be worried. Lin Yun could use the power of the entire Bone Plane to deal with him.

But too much time was needed to reach five Magic Arrays. If Lin Yun relied on his own ability to set them up, it might take a couple of years, and even that would be considered extremely short.

The only shortcut was the Reincarnation Eye in the prince tomb.

'Looks like I have to set up a caravan and leave for the Poison Fog Canyon once again after finishing up here.'

After making sure there was no danger, Lin Yun collected the staff with a feeling of relief and then kept searching the old remains.

There was something strange about it. That skeleton had been in the Bone Plane for at least three hundred years, but it showed no signs of becoming undead. After all, this was a place filled with death energy, so the skeleton normally would have been eroded by the abundant energy.

But he had been in the plane for over two hours, so he didn't have the time to pursue this line of questioning. He could only finish plundering the remains as fast as he could before leaving for the Bone Plane. Otherwise, he would be stuck in the Bone Plane once the Planar Path closed.

Unfortunately, the rest of the harvest was far inferior to the previous one.

Lin Yun searched for a long time and only found an Inheritance level ring. But he couldn't test the effect just yet. He would only be able to slowly study it after going back to the Gilded Rose.

After making sure that he hadn't overlooked anything, Lin Yun got up and checked the surroundings with his Light spell before planning to return to the surface.

Who would have thought that this would create a problem?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Parts of the wall behind Lin Yun fell down as the light shone.

Immediately after, Lin Yun felt the ground shivering under his feet.

'What…' Lin Yun's eyes became round. What could create such a situation? What could cause an earthquake to occur in the cave?

It didn't take long for Lin Yun to come up with the answer.

'Bone Devil!'

'This is definitely the Bone Devil waking up, what else could create such a big movement in this black wasteland? I celebrated too soon, I was so happy after getting that staff… So the damn Bone Devil woke up to cool me down…'

Lin Yun almost broke into a run. But a mere Great Mage in his current state was but a dish in front of a Bone Devil. If he was too slow, he might lose a few body parts. If he didn't take advantage of the Bone Devil's momentary torpor after just waking up, would he have to just wait for death?

'No!' Just as Lin Yun was about to move, he realized his mistake. The more anxious he was, the faster he would lose his mind. The Bone Devil was awakening outside. If he thoughtlessly ran outside, wouldn't he run into it? The Bone Devil wouldn't have to do anything, Lin Yun would be serving himself up for breakfast.

'This isn't like last time…'

Last time he had been able to rely on Elemental Incarnation and the sea of fire to break away from the Bone Devil. He didn't have sufficient preparation this time. If he couldn't break free from the Bone Devil in under an hour, wouldn't he become stuck in the Bone Plane?

'This is no good, I can't run outside.'

Lin Yun controlled the Light and quickly searched around the cave before finding a narrow passage on the other side and immediately rushed into that passage.

Lin Yun wasn't planning to get away through this route. That would be almost impossible. An underground cave like this could lead anywhere, whether to the surface or to a dead end. If Lin Yun could choose where the path led, he would definitely choose to escape to the surface, but he couldn't be that lucky.

Lin Yun only planned to hide in that passage, waiting until the Bone Devil disappeared before looking for a way to return to Noscent. As for where that path led, it didn't matter to Lin Yun.

After going through the passage, Lin Yun stopped controlling the Light and had it float two meters in front of him while he held the magic staff with his now empty right hand.

Besides the Sage Chapter, the most powerful item in Lin Yun's hands was that Spiritual Magic Staff, even if the spirituality of the staff was still slumbering,

Lin Yun could clearly feel the mana coming from the Burning Spirit Tree in his hand pouring into the Elemental Amber continuously. That feeling could be compared to a beautiful note of music. It made people unconsciously feel intoxicated. But this time, Lin Yun had no time to appreciate its beauty. He quickly took out the Sage Chapter, storing two Fire Arrow spells in a row.

Lin Yun relaxed when he saw the two Fire Arrow symbols. The thousands of Soul Fires he had harvested truly weren't wasted. Those Soul Fires were already enough for two Fire Arrow Spells to be upgraded to Ultimate Spells.

These two Ultimate Spells were the last card Lin Yun prepared. If the Bone Devil followed his aura into the cave, then Lin Yun would have to do his best with what he had. Under normal circumstances, Lin Yun's current strength wasn't enough to contend with the Bone Devil. He could only rely on the narrow terrain as well as the two Ultimate Spells stored in the Sage Chapter.

After finishing his preparations, Lin Yun stopped and took a deep breath as he calmly waited for the final outcome.

There were only two possibilities right now.

The Bone Devil could return to its slumber after going crazy for a while, or it might sense the aura of a living being and follow Lin Yun into the cave.

The first would naturally be the ideal choice for Lin Yun. The second would mean that he would have to put his life on the line.

The seconds ticked by as the cave continued shaking.

But Lin Yun's expression gradually darkened. He could hear them, the footsteps of the Bone Devil slowly getting closer. Those heavy footsteps echoed in Lin Yun's head. Each step would put more pressure on his mind.

Then, a world-shaking roar echoed, making the entire cave tremor.

'Fuck…' Lin Yun cursed.

He knew that the Bone Devil had found him. That roar was filled with anger at someone infiltrating its territory, but it was also filled with the excitement of discovering prey. It was the same roar as the previous time.

Lin Yun looked at the passage in front of him, then once again at the empty cave, and after thinking for a short time, he decided to go a bit deeper. He hoped to make it harder for the Bone Devil to track him by putting some distance between them, and he also planned to used the narrow passage to help him if he had to go all-out against the Bone Devil.

After all, he had two Ultimate Spells in hand. He didn't have the power for a fight against a Bone Devil.

'Strange…' Some doubt appeared on Lin Yun's face after walking a few dozen meters in. The pathway was too smooth compared to the outside. It didn't look naturally formed… it seemed man-made. Sure enough, some traces of ironware could be seen on the surface of the walls.

'Could the Black Tower's High Mage have carved it?' he wondered.

'…No way, a High Mage wouldn't have that kind of physical power.'

It would appear that the walls had been carved by alchemy puppets.

But if it had been done by alchemy puppets, then why couldn't he find the remains of such puppets outside? Even if this was the Bone Plane with its abundant death energy, alchemy puppets couldn't have eroded to nothing in just a few hundred years.

'Could it be that there is still more if I go deeper?'

Lin Yun decided that in any case, going deeper inside was the best solution to avoid the Bone Devil. If he really found those alchemy puppets and found a way to reboot them, he might be able to use them to dig an alternate path to the surface.

With these thoughts in mind, Lin Yun went about thirty meters deeper. At that time, the Bone Devil seemed to have found the source of the aura of a living being and was now going through the precipitous slope, slowly entering the cave's depths.

Heavy footsteps, a sinister roar…

Hearing both put huge pressure on Lin Yun's mind, but he forced himself not to look back. Among the undead, Bone Devils were very sensitive to humans. Just the act of turning around might actually give away his exact location.

Lin Yun continued walking along the narrow passage, and just as he was wondering how much farther it would go, it became more spacious.

Afterwards, Lin Yun saw a figure that was wearing plate armor and holding a lance!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter