"The eyes are where the life essence of the Mankestre snake is, and it looks like this huge snake is about to die!"
Murphy looked at the huge snake, which was in its last moments, and said rather bleakly.
"Be optimistic my old friend!" Towards Murphy's bleakness, Leylin discovered that he actually could not utter any words of comfort.
After all, the casualties, this time, were too much. From a group of roughly 30 people, the Black Iron Guards were completely wiped out, and Murphy was the only acolyte that survived.
Moreover, the city lord and the Grand Knight, Viscount Jackson, was severely injured at this moment, and his life was in peril.
And the source of them all was this huge Mankestre snake!
"City lord? Right, Leylin! Hurry and look at Jackson!" Murphy slapped his forehead.
"You only thought of him now?" Leylin was rather speechless, and walked around the huge snake corpse, coming to the other side.
Viscount Jackson was lying on his back on the ground and his chest was sunken in a cavity. On the corners of his lips were traces of blood, and he was in an unconscious state.
Leylin hurriedly took a look, "3 broken ribs and the arm and leg bones are all also broken. As for the rest they are fine. With the vitality of a Grand Knight, he should be conscious in a few hours.
"That's good! This is the only good news I've heard all day today!"
Murphy walked towards that huge, lifeless snake, and said, "This seems to be a Mankestre snake which has not yet grown to its adult stage. If it was an adult withering huge snake, it could be very likely that the water content in our bodies would have been sucked dry the very moment we entered the cave!"
The huge Mankestre snake's head fell onto the floor, and a pair of eye-shaped pearls were pierced by the pyramid shaft, and dazzling fluid flowed out from within.
"Even so, the materials on this huge snake, would also be worth thousands of magic crystals!"
Murphy caressed the yellow-brown scales of the huge snake as he muttered to himself.
Suddenly, the other eye of the Mankestre snake opened! Its gaze, filled with hatred, immediately landed on Murphy. It opened its jaws, and the razor-sharp teeth was about to snap Murphy into two.
This huge snake was not completely dead!
Earlier it had feigned its death, and right now, it finally revealed its razor-sharp teeth and was about to kill this repulsive human.
Against such an attack, Murphy was completely not protected and he stood there stunned, not moving at all.
"Be careful!"
Right when the snow-white teeth was about to land on Murphy, a silver chain suddenly flew out and wrapped itself on Murphy's waist, pulling him out of danger's way.
A black arrow directly pierced the other eye of the snake, and the Mankestre snake continuously writhed and finally ceased moving.
* Huff! Huff! Huff! *
Murphy panted violently, "Ley... Leylin, thank you! I owe you my life!"
"No problem! You gave your support to me back then too, didn't you?" Leylin smiled as his gaze fixed on the huge snake, up until when the A.I. Chip's voice sounded, [Target has completely lost all signs of life] did he heave a sigh of relief.
Under the detection of the A.I. Chip, although there were no more energy movements from the huge snake earlier, there was still a thermal response.
Of course, many kinds of creatures must be dead for a while before all thermal signs completely vanish.
However, because of that, Leylin was even more vigilant. Besides, intentionally or accidentally, he led Murphy forward and finally verified whether the large snake was truly dead.
"What a pity! If this Mankestre snake were to die before, its other eye would have absolutely been valued over 1000 magic crystals, but right now, the value of the whole corpse is greatly reduced."
Leylin was somewhat helpless at he looked to Murphy, who was at his side.
"About the attack earlier- you actually did not dodge it, which makes me rather surprised!"
An unexpected flush reddened Murphy's cheeks, "After using the rune shackles, my spiritual force and magic power are greatly weakened. In this period, I am just another old geezer on the street...."
With regards to Leylin, who saved him earlier, right now it could be said that Murphy trusted him greatly and actually even shared such a secret with him.
"Alright! Let's hurry and harvest the materials of this Mankestre snake, and then return to Extreme Night City!"
Leylin sized up the chaotic scene. Leylin and the three of them had absolutely no way to move those corpses on the ground, so they could only return back to Extreme Night City and ask people to retrieve these corpses.
With the death of the huge Mankestre snake, this area should no longer pose a threat in future.
"Haha... This time Leylin, your contributions have been the most, so you should be allowed to harvest the best material!" Murphy smiled.
Concerning this matter, Leylin did not have any notions of killing Murphy and claiming all the loot for himself.
Murphy did help him earlier, and on the other hand, right now Murphy and him were the only two acolytes left, so he would definitely monopolise a large portion of the resources, thus he did not have to take a risk and kill people.
From the whole Mankestre snake, the most valuable ingredient would be its eyes, after which the remaining materials would only add up to a total of 1000 to 2000 magic crystals, which was not enough to bewitch Leylin yet.
If right now there was some rare materials worth ten thousand magic crystals, who knew if Leylin would harbour some bad intentions.
"Decent scales, combined with the snake skin, should be able to produce many sets of soft armour." Leylin went forward and unsheathed his cross blade, before dissecting the huge snake. Murphy too helped by his side.
After a moment of being busy, Leylin and Murphy had harvested some of the more valuable portions of the huge snake. As for the remaining items, they could only be transported with help from the city lord's castle.
...
* Gu Lu Lu * The axles of the carriage resounded continuously, and Viscount Jackson opened his eyes.
"I am...still alive?" What entered his vision was a sky filled with resplendent starlight, and he felt his body rising and falling in accordance with the movements of the horse carriage.
Viscount Jackson discovered that his chest was already bandaged, and a refreshing feeling dispersed the pain, which showed that the healing process was extremely professional.
"Who was it that saved me?" A doubt crossed Viscount Jackson's mind, and he tried hard to untangle his thoughts.
"City lord! You are finally awake!" A face with a white beard and white eyebrows appeared in front of Viscount Jackson.
"How is it? Do you still retain your memories?" Murphy shook his finger in front of Viscount Jackson.
"Was it you who saved me? How are the others?" Viscount Jackson struggled to speak, and his voice sounded hoarse, like a ruined bellow.
"It wasn't me, but Leylin who saved you!" Murphy pointed at Leylin who was driving, "We three are the only survivors of the whole group... After exiting the woods, it took me a while to obtain this spacious horse carriage...."
"They're all dead?" Viscount Jackson flung his head to the side and an unexplainable sorrow welled from the bottom of his heart.
"Lord Viscount! It seems like you are alright now!" Leylin turned back, and tossed a green bottled potion, "This is a healing potion, I hope it will be of use to you!"
Murphy caught it, and fed it into the mouth of Viscount Jackson.
After taking the potion, Viscount Jackson only felt a hot wave surging through his four limbs, and he finally regained some energy from it.
"Towards Leylin's generosity and grace of saving my life, I will definitely repay you when we return!"
"If possible, please give me all of the Hove Violet Leaves in the castle. That would be the greatest recompense!" Leylin raised his request without a tinge of restraint.
"Of course!" Jackson was stunned, before immediately agreeing.
With the advance of the horse carriage, the silhouette of Extreme Night City gradually appeared.
A few soldiers were still guarding the post, scrutinising the people that came and went.
...
Jackson looked at the distant scene, and his eyes quivered, and finally two streams of tears flowed....
The city lord's castle's reconnoiter group had perished completely. Even news of Viscount Jackson, as a Grand Knight, having been seriously injured had spread and immediately caused an uproar in Extreme Night City.
Even after two days, the news did not die down. Instead, it even spread throughout the area,
As the city lord of Extreme Night City, Viscount Jackson always used his status as a Grand Knight to suppress many dark factions. However, when the news of him being injured spread, it caused several ripples and undercurrents inside the city.
At this moment, the strength of the city castle was waning, even the few acolytes who were friendly towards Viscount Jackson had died. Jackson who was nurturing his grief had to face with all these, and was rather overwhelmed by all these.
Leylin who stayed in the villa outside the city heard some of the news.
However, since he had returned from the venture, he always holed himself in the experiment lab, and even refused many invitations from the city lord's castle and other factions.
Under the bright light, Leylin stared; his eyes fixated on a petri-dish.
On the surface of the glass petri-dish, a small red lump of flesh continuously swelled, and from it grew many tentacles.
Leylin picked up another pipette, and placed a drop of the yellow potion on the lump of meat.
* Sssii! * The meat dissolved, and turned into a puddle of crimson-red with yellowish blood fluid.
"I have finally managed to purify it, the primordial blood essence of the huge snake!" Leylin looked at the petri-dish, as if seeing the most precious treasure in this world.
"A.I. Chip! Scan composition!"
[Beep! Mission establishing, scanning in progress...]
[The list of genes has been generated, comparing to database....]
"99.8%..."
[Beep! Similarity of the blood essence with a normal huge python: 99.8%! Determined as the blood essence of original huge pythons! After remodelling in the later stage, there were new types of genes...]
The A.I. Chip continuously reported the conclusions, and even projected the list of genes in front of Leylin's eyes.
From the multicoloured image, the blood essence of the huge Mankestre snake that Leylin saw earlier was actually the same with regular huge pythons.
"Indeed! This huge python is the result of an experiment by magicians!" Leylin nodded his head. He still remembered clearly that after the A.I. Chip had scanned the huge python, it had added the words half-adult to its name.
However, if not for the accuracy of the A.I. Chip down to the atomic level, Leylin would never unravel the secret behind it. Even other magicians would not be able to realise the difference.
"Two more days, and that area should be calm again!"
Leylin informed his subordinates that he was going to undergo a very long duration of experimentation and that they are not to bother him with any matters and then he secretly left the villa.
The night was dark, and there was tranquility. Dried up old trees littered the surroundings, and on the branches, there were ravens ruffling their feathers.
* Bang! *
The grass patch below the tree tore open, revealing a dark passage beneath it.
Leylin was draped in black robes, and his face was veiled. One would not be able to see his face.
The nearby villa was still lit with lanterns, and the patrolling mercenaries did not know that their master had already left the villa.
In Leylin's experiment lab, there was a direct passage which Leylin set up himself, with no one being the wiser.
"Since that huge Mankestre snake is an experimental body, there should be some experiment labs nearby from magicians! Moreover, that huge Mankestre snake had actually occupied Dark Night Woods for a few years, and not one magician had stepped forward to deal with it. There could only be one reason for that!"
Leylin's eyes flashed, "That experiment lab is most likely abandoned! The magician in it, due to some circumstances, could no longer look after it, or is most likely dead! That is why the huge snake could escape from it!"
For magicians, seeking ancient vestiges had always been in their best interests.
The remnants left by ancient Magi, such as official Magi experiment labs, would often contain many valuable data and ingredients, high levelled research, spells and magic artifacts with immense might. These were all items that magicians always sought after.
Rumour had it that more often than not, there were examples of acolytes who were lacking having stumbled upon ancient remnants, and beginning to wield tremendous power after that.
Of course, there were failed ventures and explorations where they finally died under the ancient mechanisms or curses from the corpses.
However, for magicians, searching for vestiges was still a very beneficial thing to do.
From an experiment lab which could create a half-adult huge Mankestre snake, any one item in it could let Leylin immediately get rich quickly, and even obtain more precious ingredients and knowledge to pave the way for him to advance into an official Magus in future.
"Since I have already found some traces, I will definitely have a look at the experiment lab!"
Leylin's gaze was determined. He was not afraid of risks, especially when the benefits strongly outweigh the risks.
For this venture, he had specially prepared many items, which were enough measures to counter against any sudden developments.
As for his subordinates? Not only were they easily susceptible to divulging news, but under the traps set up by official Magi, even Knights were only an existence slightly greater than ants. They were completely of no use, hence Leylin even kept his departure from them.
Leylin journeyed for several nights in a row. Since there were no people around, he could use many of his methods.
He splashed a green potion onto the ground, bringing about a ball of green coloured wind particles, which wrapped Leylin's body within them. His whole body seemed to turn into a breeze, and disappeared into the night.
What Leylin used was a hastening potion which he had formulated throughout the years.
As an outstanding Potions Master, no matter if it was using potions to journey or fight, he was entirely in his element.
In the original passage, where Leylin and the others had battled the huge Mankestre snake.
People had already been sent from the city lord's castle to retrieve the mutilated corpses and largely dissected huge Mankestre snake. What remained were many impressions on the ground, as well as traces of flames and frost, which spoke of the intense fight that had occurred previously.
"The scenario from earlier has already been recorded down by the crystal ball given by the academy. To use that to signify the completion of mission is absolutely acceptable."
From the battle previously, Leylin had used the crystal ball to record only most of the exploration mission, especially the corpse of the huge Mankestre snake at the end.
With some ingredients from the corpse, as well as the record from the crystal ball, it could be said that Leylin's mission in Extreme Night City was finally completed.
However, he had no plans whatsoever to leave at all.
Not mentioning whether the mess of a war that Abyssal Bone Forest Academy was entangled in at the moment already had a victor, Leylin did not want to go back during this period.
He had just managed to formulate a modified formula for the Azure Potion. Now would be the best time to break through into a level 3 acolyte, so why would he risk going back to the academy and expose himself in the process?
As for Extreme Night City, Leylin did not even see an official Magus, which put him at ease to carry out his experiments and breakthrough.
Leylin would wait for a buffer of three years after the dust settled for the war of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy. Although his advancement to a level 3 acolyte would still be fast that way, it would not be as eye catching!
At that time, he could figure out an excuse, and cover his tracks easily.
As for the corpses of the acolytes on the floor, naturally, they had already been inspected by Leylin. Back then, he had kept all the valuable items for himself before bringing the heavily injured Jackson and Murphy to leave the place.
"However, that group of acolytes were all paupers, and not a single one of them had more than 10 magic crystals! Only on that Half-Beast Man acolyte, there was still a frost smelted gold rune which can be considered to be rather good!"
Leylin grumbled in his mind, as he came to the centremost area of the cave.
Under the light radiated by the Flash Jellyfish, the whole cave was extremely bright. Leylin could see that on the ground at the centre, traces of where the huge Mankestre snake was coiled were still apparent.
"It actually managed to make such a deep impression, they are indeed of the same nature narrated by compendiums: an extremely lazy being.
Leylin crouched and felt the earth that was sunken in.
"A.I. Chip! Record composition!"
[Recording completed, comparing to normal earth data in the databank. The target has 0.0005% of compound remnants, and is tentatively determined to contain Maike alloy!]
The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.
Maike alloy was a type of artificial metal, made by spells of magicians, that was extensively used to construct incubation pools in experiment labs.
"This is right!" Leylin eyes flashed with glee.
"A.I. Chip, is it possible to follow the tracks of the snake and find its original breeding area?
[Scanning in progress! The target's data has been heavily covered by other creatures and is lacking in important information. Mission failed!] The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.
Leylin scanned the surroundings. The ground was littered with claw marks from various creatures. Such was the devastation left by the parasitic abilities of the huge Mankestre snake.
"What a pity...." Leylin shook his head.
"However, according to the habits of the huge Mankestre snake and the clues left by the other traces, that experiment lab should not be far off from here!"
Leylin commanded the A.I. Chip, "A.I. Chip, scan every item in the surroundings!"
[Missions establishing, beginning imaging!]
Along with the A.I. Chip intonation, the image of a blue coloured map was projected in front of Leylin's eyes.
In the centre was a huge cave, with many small tunnels in the near vicinity. Leylin even found a few parasitic bodies that had survived through sheer luck. However, it was unknown how much longer they could live for when the parent was dead.
The map expanded until it finally reached the limit of its range.
Leylin's brows furrowed, " A.I. Chip, restart scan! Lower the precision to the lowest, and search in an extended perimeter! Begin running through a checklist of radioactive density!"
With the command, the map in Leylin's eyes turned more out of focus. However, the perimeter extended, almost encompassing the nearby geography of the cave too.
"Maintain this area and precision!"
Leylin walked out of the cave and began running towards a direction. Following his movement, the edge of the map also continuously expanded....
A few hours later, Leylin walked towards a large black granite boulder.
"The surrounding areas have already been inspected. Although the radioactive densities are higher, this should be where the shedding of the huge Mankestre snake took place previously!"
"As for the only place with no radiation, but not within the scope of the A.I. Chip's scanning perimeter, this is the only place!"
Leylin looked at the large black granite boulder in front of him. This boulder was of the height of several humans, almost the size of a small mountain.
In the map that the A.I. Chip scanned, this huge boulder had absolutely no traces of radiation. Even standing before it now, the A.I. Chip still did not detect anything.
"This kind of scenario has happened several times back at the academy. It is due to the spell formations set by official Magi, which are interfering with the detection of the A.I. Chip!"
Leylin stroked the surface of the large black granite boulder. It was ice cold, damp, and had algae growing on it.
"However....What I must do to enter?"
Leylin exerted strength in his right arm and grabbed some of the rock powder.
"A.I. Chip! Analyse composition!"
[Beep! Mission establishing, in the process of gathering data....] The A.I. Chip's voice continuously intoned, and a screen appeared in front of Leylin that was densely packed with the various data of the granite rock.
"It seems like there are no differences between this and a normal granite rock!" Leylin drew the data of normal granite rock and made a comparison. However, he finally had to acknowledge that the magician defended his secrets very well. Leylin had absolutely no way of finding the entrance to the experiment lab.
"However, since that huge Mankestre snake was able to come out, it means that the defense in the spell formation has some sort of problem. I just require more time to inspect...."
Leylin stroked his chin and began setting up a tent beside the granite rock.
He decided to stay here for a long time in order to continuously detect any loopholes or weakness in the spell formation, hoping to find a way to enter.
After all, there won't be anyone coming to the vicinity of the withering woods anymore, especially when the city lord's castle has sent people to retrieve the corpses of the acolytes, troops and the huge snake.
After chewing on several biscuits that he brought along with him, Leylin began to analyse the spell formation on the large black granite boulder.
Of course, he only dared do this as he was sure that the owner of the lab was already dead through his observations and conjectures. Who knew if that unknown magician had long since died a natural death.
"After having been here for so long, yet with no magicians coming out, the accuracy of this conjecture has yet been raised by 30%.
Leylin stared at the large black granite boulder before him with a zealous expression contained within.
"If I manage to dispel the spell formation, the items in there are all mine!"
For Leylin, who was a level 2 acolyte, an experiment lab belonging to an official Magus was a huge treasure trove!
"Only that... The traps set by official Magus are extremely dangerous. I must absolutely not be blinded by greed and fall into a trap!"
Time passed by. In the blink of an eye, Leylin had tarried beside the large black granite boulder for 5 days.
In those five days, Leylin tried every method he knew on the large black granite boulder. He finally found a few loopholes he could exploit.
Leylin already confirmed that the granite boulder had a spell formation set up within. But it was in a damaged state.
According to the wear and tear, this formation had already been in effect for over a hundred years.
The cause of this extensive damage might very well have had something to do with the huge Mankestre snake's escape earlier.
"Some portion of the magic spell formation has already been damaged by that snake. That's why there are detectable traces leaking out. Without those leaks, even with the A.I. Chip's assistance, finding this place would not have been easy."
Glee spread across Leylin's face.
Due to his experiments these past few days, he managed to assemble a set of spells that gave him a 70- 80% chance of opening the entrance to this experiment lab.
The cyclical timing inherent to this spell formation meant that the damaged parts only appeared at certain times. Leylin needed to wait for this window of opportunity.
The sun gradually set and the surrounding area became shrouded in darkness.
Owing to the death of the huge Mankestre snake, the withering woods would eventually recover its former vitality. Unfortunately, this would require at least a hundred years. Right now, there was only that deathly suffocating silence permeating the withering woods, which would insidously choke anyone who dared enter.
Leylin did not care a whit. Oblivious to the heavy atmosphere, he sought out a level rock and started brewing potions on it.
Moonlight fell. Very soon the woods was enveloped in a layer of silver sheen. The full moon today was exceptionally bright. Curiously, there was a tinge of saffron tinting the moon.
Leylin snapped open the pocket watch he brought with him, "It's almost midnight!"
He rose and sauntered to the side of the large black granite boulder. As moonlight from the full moon shone on the surface of the granite rock, its black stone skin suddenly came off and revealed a network of blood vessels coalescing into a silvery archway. They pulsated continuously as if absorbing the moonlight.
"This is it!" Leylin's eyes flashed. He quickly emptied the contents of the potions he just brewed onto the surface of the granite rock.
* Sssii! * A large amount of white mist rose and corroded the surface of the rock, leaving the network of blood vessels in chaos.
"Karamanda...." Leylin chanted the incantation softly. His voice sounded extremely depressed like the muttering of a jilted woman.
In time with the chanting noises, the silvery network of veins settled and continued to combine, then finally turned into a circular passage.
Seeing this, Leylin was elated. His chanting voice became more frenzied as he repeatedly tossed the few ingredients in his hands into the passageway.
* Bang! * Along with Leylin's final chant, the large black granite boulder completed its shape change. Close to Leylin, the silvery archway earlier disappeared. Instead, the entrance to a dark tunnel materialized.
"A fake passageway actually got conjured!" Leylin shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
At that instant, the eyes of the black raven perched on his shoulders, glinted with human intelligence.
"By harnessing some of this spell's effect, I should be able to use this raven to break into the experiment lab in a short timeframe. Everything it sees would then be relayed into my right eye like a holographic projection!"
As Leylin shut his right eye, the raven cocked its head lightly before giving a cry. Then, it directly flew into the dark tunnel.
Many scenes flashed past Leylin's closed right eye.
He felt like he was flying. The scenery below him were all relayed into his mind's eye.
The passage was extremely short. In moments, the raven reached the other end.
Leylin saw a small-sized villa appear in front of him. Its walls shimmered with spell light.
Green coloured vines crawled and filled the wall. On it were some sort of red-coloured flowers with what looked like bone petals.
"This is...." Astonishment surfaced from the depths of the raven's eyes, "Devil Vines? Bone Eating Flowers? I originally thought they were all extinct, but there are actually some in here!"
On the villa's entrance was a jagged circular hole the size of Leylin's palm. Leylin surmised that this could be the spot the Mankestre snake broke through during its escape--way back when it was but a youngling.
Near the hole, a white skeleton draped in black robes lay on a grey-coloured stone platform!
"According to the way the skeleton is positioned, it was obviously an acolyte like me who accidentally stumbled upon this place. He tried to break into the villa and perished in this sorry state!"
Leylin's steeled his heart. He telepathically maneuvered the raven to alight beside the bones and let the bird pluck on it with its black claws.
A crash resounded, a heap of items fell from the robes.
A book, several yellow parchment paper, a heap of bottles, and a yellow bronze ring tumbled onto the floor. A 'K' symbol was inscribed on it.
"Seems to be some kind of identity verification!" Leylin casually had the bird fiddle with the ring and peep at the book.
After using the raven's feathers to clear the dust, a row of esoteric patterns and cursive handwriting emerged.
"These characters...? They seemed to be in Ancient Terrestrial Elven language! I have seen these before in the library!"
Leylin was stunned. He immediately began to decrypt the words, "Terrestrials... Terrestrial Elves! Alchemist of the Terrestrial Elves, Torozar!"
"It is actually information pertaining to alchemy!"
Leylin was in ecstasy, "It was mentioned in the library's records that the Ancient Terrestrial Elves were renowned for their exquisite alchemy, as well as their enchanting capabilities! If I were to obtain these information, I may begin attempting some of the things recorded in the Lowian Academy Teachings...."
With the A.I. Chip's overpowered calculation abilities, the Lowian Academy Teachings, which Leylin bought earlier, was already completely decrypted. Part of data was about a method for synthesizing a magic artifact.
Of course, it was only a low-grade magic artifact. However, in Leylin's current state, this was a rather huge temptation.
He, alas, spent most of his time on Potioneering and Magic studies, so he had next to no inkling whatsoever concerning Alchemy and Enchantment. Moreover, such high level information was always kept under rigorous control. Regular acolytes did not have the clearance to access them.
Even if Leylin had a way to synthesize a magic artifact, it would still be extremely difficult.
Luckily, with the Alchemy information material here and the simulation capability of his A.I. Chip, Leylin completely believed that he would be able to synthesize this magic artifact once he became a level 3 acolyte.
"Bring this book out!" Leylin was already thinking of retreating.
To him, just knowing that within the granite walls was an abandoned experiment lab with degraded defenses made today's probe an extremely fruitful one. Obtaining advanced information on Alchemy was an unexpected bonus.
The raven grabbed the book with its claws with much effort. As it turned around, it lightly brushed the parchment paper. With a hissing sound, the ancient piece of paper disintegrated
Leylin was stunned, "Has it already eroded to this state?"
* Hehe! Haha! *
Just as Leylin's raven was about to fly off with the book, the surrounding area reverberated with a child's ominous laughter.
"The defence formation activated! Damn it, I only have two more minutes!"
The black raven flapped its wings, preparing to rise and fly away.
*Ka-cha! * The grey coloured platform split open, revealing a huge jaw serrated with razor sharp white teeth.
In one ferocious snap, the raven was torn to pieces.
* Pu! * On the surface of the giant black stone, Leylin crouched down and grabbed at his right eye with his hands.
A wave of searing pain hit him. It felt like someone was digging out his eyeball directly from its socket.
* Huff Huff Huff * panting heavily, Leylin slowly recovered a good while later.
The muscles of his handsome face contorted and red veins could be seen filling the white of his right eye. A blood vessel burst and drops of blood fell to the ground.
"Magic spell backlash!" Leylin sucked in a lungful of cold air and withdrew a red potion from his sack. He unplugged it and began drinking its contents.
Several moments later, Leylin stood up, feeling much better.
"Careless! I never thought that apart from the Devil Vines and Bone Eating Flower, there was even a Gnawing Slate."
Leylin looked at the original position of the tunnel entrance. The surface of the huge black granite boulder remained smooth. The entrance seen earlier seemed to be merely an illusion.
"Devil Vines, Bone Eating Flower, Gnawing Slate, and other mechanisms. I cannot infiltrate in this place right now, what a pity...."
Leylin deduced this from the spells he had in his possession and the ingredients he owned.
"I'm afraid that only after I advance into level 3 acolyte, will I be able to enter this experiment lab!"
Leylin concluded, "Anyway, I now known the true location and its access protocols. Moreover, I have visually confirmed the presence of precious informative material regarding Alchemy inside. So this venture was not a complete waste of effort!"
Right now, the experiment lab was too dangerous for Leylin. He was not someone who got easily dazzled by greed. He decided to leave exploring this place to a later date and returned to the villa to cultivate.
Leylin calmed down as he focused on resting and recuperating from the damage done to him by the spell earlier.
He then went towards the tent area where stowed his things. He then erased all traces and tracks left by his recent activities.
"This defence spell formation has lasted over a hundred years. There were almost no loopholes a random passerby could exploit. I only need to erase my tracks. Adding more defensive measures or illusory spells would be superfluous."
Having finished arranging everything, Leylin took a last glance at the black rock. Then, without the slightest bit of hesitation, he left.
"I have warned them before about the laboratory in the manor, so Anna and the others would not dare enter it. If I can return undetected to my laboratory, I can keep what happened here a secret."
"Concerning Extreme Night City, Jackson only suffered some superficial injuries. He should be mostly have recovered by now after following my treatment. He is most likely pretending to be seriously injured to lure any turncoat and renegade from their snake holes!"
"Whatever the case may be, matters regarding the city lord's castle are not my concern. I need not understand them. When I get the promised Hove Violet Leaves, I will immediately begin brewing the potions needed to breakthrough into level 3."
To Leylin, increasing his own power was all-consuming. Otherworldly influences and the sort were considered a waste of energy. Since he did not care about such things, he was also disinclined to paying attention to these matters.
But if anyone dared to entertain the idea of harming him, he would kill them!
As far as magicians were concerned, eradicating a few worldly powers or factions required almost no effort.
The heat wave caressed the earth. In the blink of an eye, a few months passed, and it was autumn.
In the small villa, Leylin swirled a tastefully refreshing iced grape juice in a wine glass.
He was attired in a leisurely frivolous apparel favoured by nobles and looked quite lackadaisical.
"A.I. Chip! Bring up my current stats!"
[Beep! Leylin Farlier, level 2 acolyte, Knight. Strength: 3.1, Agility: 3.3, Vitality: 3.2, Spiritual force: 7.1, Magic power: 7 - (magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force). Status: Healthy]
"I have finally reached the 7 spiritual force bottleneck!" Leylin sighed as he looked at the data.
After getting back from his solo exploration several months ago, Leylin got busy brewing potions to breakthrough the spiritual force bottleneck.
Viscount Jackson had expeditiously sent over a warehouse full of Hove Violet Leaves. At the same time, Fraser and the others continued to purchase ingredients found elsewhere as per Leylin's standing orders.
Sadly, the modified Azure Potion's brewing success rate was on the low side while consumption of Hove Violet Leaves was outrageously high. On top of that, Leylin could only take in the potion during the most optimal times recommended by the A.I. Chip for maximum medicinal effect. It was only now that he reached a spiritual force of 7.
"Young Master! Fraser's back!"
On the other side of the door Anna wore a black gauze ensemble that showed off her alluring curves beneath the fine muslin, especially her snow white thighs which was seductively enclosed in black fishnet stockings.
Right now she acted as Leylin's chief aide, at the same time she had control over the finances, which could be considered as having high authority. However, in the presence of Leylin she was as gentle and as obedient as a little pussycat.
"Let's go! I'll go meet him!"
Leylin got up and left the room, his leather shoes gave off a thudding noise on the floorboard with each step.
"Young Master!' Upon seeing Leylin's arrival, two maids hurriedly curtsied.
"En?" Leylin suddenly walked in front of a maid. She had snow white thighs and perky breasts, but right now her head was lowered and she dared not move.
"You're new here?" Leylin caressed her smooth chin. Her face still had some residual baby fat on it making her look extremely adorable.
"Yes... Yes, I am Trixy, the daughter of Luke who works in your farm ranch milord!" The maid replied softly did not dare reject Leylin's teasing.
"Work hard!" Leylin waved his hands as he left.
"That maid earlier should now be very agitated huh?" Leylin slowly rubbed his fingers against each other as he revealed a mischievous smirk.
Ever since he had been transported to this world, because he occupied the body of a youth, he realised that his attitude was reverting more and more towards one befitting the host's age. During emergencies or crises, it was not obvious. But now that he was in safe haven, he could not help but have some notions of tomfoolery.
He expunged the expression on his face as he strolled to the warehouse. He was once again the great and stern magician lord.
"Young Master!" Fraser stated as he half knelt on the ground. "Your subordinate, I have collected another 20 pounds of Hove Violet Leaves from Austere Winter City. They have all been stored inside the warehouse!"
"Very good!" Leylin walked to the warehouse, and took a look at the amount and quality of the Hove Violet Leaves.
Amongst the whole pile, the only ones that could be used for potion brewing were those whose central stems were thinner than the stalk of an oat. The amount of spiritual force an Azure Potion provided remained considerable enough to justify Leylin's continued use, despite the increasingly high resistance towards the potion he was developing.
The bizarre purple leaves filled half of the warehouse. There was a strange scent permeating the air, a rather stinging sulfuric pungence.
Leylin casually picked up a purple leave, "A.I. Chip, detect properties!"
[Beep! Gathering data!]
After a brief pause, the various properties of the Hove Violet Leaves were projected onto Leylin's visual field. The chemistry, the medicinal properties- even the smidgen of various residue from other items on the surface of the leaf- all projected by the A.I. Chip.
"Based on this inspection, this batch of Hove Violet Leaves will still do!" Leylin nodded his head.
"Young Master!" Fraser lips moved, yet he did not speak.
"Say what you want to say!" Leylin's brows furrowed.
"All the Hove Violet Leaves in Extreme Night City have now been purchased by us. What remains are those of poor quality. In fact, Greem and I have already seen a number of counterfeit batches from traders who wished to hoodwink us.
"Indeed, Hove Violet Leaves are a special product only found in Eastwood Province. They take at least a year to grow!"
Leylin stroked his chin, and estimated the amount of Hove Violet Leaves in the warehouse.
"Put our purchasing drive on hold until next year's Hove Violet Leaves hit the markets. We can then resume buying them again!"
From this recent batch of Hove Violet Leaves, Leylin discovered that the quality was getting poorer and poorer. Some could not even be used for potion brewing.
Indeed, it seems like he purchased quite a huge chunk of the total Hove Violet Leaf production in this area.
The ingredients in the warehouse should be enough to meet my requirements for manufacturing enough potions to get to level 3 acolyte. As for official Magus, it is not something that I can consider right now.
Leylin entered into deep thought. Right now his spiritual force has already reached 7. He has long since brewed the Reactive Elixirs. Advancing to level 3 acolyte no longer posed any problem for him at all.
However, Leylin still knew nothing about how to advance to official Magus from level 3 acolyte. Even though Leylin was authorized to access the academy's library, he had not found any hint of the process.
It seemed like the academy had forbidden all information pertaining to this topic.
"Whether the academy or the market, I have always paid special attention to information related to official Magus. Until now, I could not even unearth a single clue.
This was also why Leylin was hesitant about leaving Abyssal Bone Forest Academy.
The higher ups in the Magus World kept a tight lid on all information regarding how to advance to official Magus. More so for Leylin, who became an acolyte from afar. He had to fulfil certain requirements and run errands before he would be granted a peek at the advancement methods to study them.
"This is something out of my control. Maybe the Magus experiment lab has something that I can profit from?"
Leylin thought again of the Magus experiment lab concealed near the withering woods.
After his previous stint there, he could already confirm that the person who left the experiment lab was an official Magus. Moreover, it had been forsaken for a long time already.
This was a piece of good news.
He only needed to be rid of all the spell formations laid on the experiment lab. Then, everything in it would be his, including the unlucky magician's items lying just outside the door.
"level 3! I only need to advance to level 3 acolyte, and imbue another set of rank 0 spells so I can depart!"
Leylin made up his mind.
...
In a small secret lab with an extremely simple layout, there weren't many household items, only a wooden bed in the middle.
Leylin sat cross-legged atop the bed. Before his impassive face was a tangerine-yellow potion.
He was prepared and determined to breakthrough to level 3 acolyte.
He did not breathe a word of this to anyone. Like before, he informed Anna that he was just going to carry out an experiment. No matter what happened, he didn't want any interruptions.
It was not that he couldn't trust his subordinates but they had neither the strength nor the ability to render aid if anything untoward happened. They wouldn't be of much use so he might as well hide the fact that he was attempting to breakthrough.
After all, he 'disappeared' from the villa from time to time. His manor staff had gotten inured to it by now.
Once he had accomplished what he set out to do, when he next appeared before his people, everything would have been fait accompli.
Although there might not be any prying eyes or ears, especially any spies sent by his adversaries, he was conscientious of the possibility.
"level 3 acolyte, the final step before official Magus. For first grade and second grade acolytes, level 3 has always been hailed the peak of cultivation.
A level 1 acolyte could merely use energy particles, but could not cast any spells yet. Their fighting strength was roughly equivalent to a Knight's. As for level 2 acolytes, they were able to cast some rank 0 spells. Though these were simple ones, it bolstered their battle abilities to such an extent that they surpassed the Knights.
level 3 acolytes, on the other hand, had exponentially greater spiritual force than regular humans. They had a more profound understanding of spell theory and its uses in combat. They were masters of techniques like instantaneous casting, which enabled extremely rapid casting of prepared spells. Even Grand Knights were not their opponents.
Moreover, level 3 acolyte had always been considered the preparatory stage to becoming an official Magus. The faster one advances as a level 3 acolyte, the higher chances of eventually becoming an official Magus.
Among Magus academies and factions, the number of official Magi was extremely small. Level 3 acolytes were universally considered the backbone of any academy's or faction's battle strength!
Any young level 3 acolyte was counted as a valuable asset of the academy. These institutions were inclined towards dedicating resources to nurture them, hoping that these seeds would advance beyond level 3 acolyte in the future.
"Breaking through level 3 acolyte requires mastery of two spell models, a spiritual force of 7, and the aid of Reactive Elixirs!"
Leylin picked up the tangerine-yellow potion before him.
"I have long since gotten both the elixir and the requisite spell mastery. Now, with the help of the Azure Potion, I have also met the spiritual force requirements, all within a few months. This speed has long since surpassed Jayden's aptitude. A fifth grade acolyte!"
Even if they were genius acolytes of the fifth grade, before the huge gulf between level 2 acolyte and level 3 acolyte, 3 years would be the minimum they would spend getting there.
However, after obtaining the potion, Leylin's speed had long since surpassed that of Jayden and the rest. In no time at all, he had reached the standard required to advance to be a level 3 acolyte.
"As long as my spiritual force gets enhanced, even if the breakthrough fails, I can always make another attempt. My body would suffer some major damage though, so being successful in one go is for the best!"
For the final time, Leylin mentally reviewed all information regarding advancement to a level 3 acolyte. After confirming that he had not left anything out, he popped the cork keeping the tangerine-yellow potion securely plugged.
"This Reactive Elixir is not meant to be drunk!"
Leylin undressed and smeared the Reactive Elixir over his face, limbs and chest.
The potion felt rather cool wherever he smeared it. However, after a few moments, a wave of heat gradually coursed through his skin. In an instant, his skin started to shudder and turn beet red.
[The Reactive Elixir is taking effect, medicinal properties under surveillance!] The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.
As the potion continued to take effect, Leylin felt as if the potion coating his skin had come alive and was worming its way through his pores and into his body.
An itch!
An unbearable itch!
Leylin felt that his bones had split open and many ants came crawling out from within. An extremely itching sensation was coursing through his body at this moment.
"Damn it! And I actually have to enter a deep meditative state under this condition and remodel the mind runes."
Leylin's face turned red. He clenched his teeth and resisted the urge to scratch his body as he closed his eyes.
Due to the adverse yet intense effect on his body, Leylin spent several more times longer to enter a meditative state.
Inside the meditation, Leylin seemed to have come to a place.
The surroundings were a grayish blur. Up in the air, there were many lights which seemed like stars, illuminating this place.
Leylin lifted his head. In the air were 24 mysterious runes- glowing with a fluorescent light- which gathered to form a circle.
These were the mind runes that he had painstakingly constructed during the past few years.
Although these mind runes were all constructed through various special means, each and every one of the construction required a huge amount of effort and time. Previously, Leylin had spent more than a year before he could finally construct them in his mind.
"The mind runes of a level 2 acolyte cannot be considered to have fully consolidated. A level 3 acolyte has to integrate the mind runes together based on the foundation set in level 2 acolyte. Moreover, there needs to be a reinforcement of the sea of consciousness!"
Leylin was extremely curious towards that state too.
Right now, he was in a completely 'conscious' state. The sea of consciousness did not appear in any parts of his body. At least, the A.I. Chip had already used a microscopic scan at the atomic level on his body but yet could not find anything.
"The cultivation of Magi spiritual force, may very well have crossed over into the aspect of souls!"
Leylin let out a sigh from the bottom of his heart. And at this moment, the sea of consciousness had a phenomenon.
A layer of tangerine-yellow light continuously permeated over the blurry, grayish mist. Not long after, the whole of the sea of consciousness turned into a bright tangerine-yellow.
"This is the effect of the Reactive Elixir! It was only with a potion that can be smeared on the body, and I also know of the ingredients it is made up of, but that it can actually affect my sea of consciousness, that is really mysterious...."
Before Leylin could gasp again, the tangerine-yellow light immediately rushed up into the sky, as if it wanted to dye the 24 mind runes into a tangerine-yellow colour too.
* Bang! *
The mind runes let off a glow and rejected the contamination of a foreign object, A huge force of impact travelled over. Leylin's vision darkened, and he almost fainted.
"Suppress it!" Leylin hurriedly borrowed the strength of his spiritual force, to suppress the resistance of the mind runes.
* Pop! *
Towards the mind runes that he constructed, Leylin's mastery over them was not little. A few seconds later, the 24 mind runes all stopped resisting, and they were dyed a tangerine-yellow
Under the contamination of the light, the many mysterious patterns appeared on the surface of the mind runes.
These patterns continuously kept extending till they had completely covered the surface of all the mind runes.
* Bang! * The 24 mind runes finally stuck together, forming into an even greater rune.
In Leylin's sea of consciousness, many patterns also appeared. And after the presence of these patterns, the sea of consciousness turned even more resplendent and transparent, as if it were being reinforced.
After the reinforcement, as if listening to some command, the tangerine-yellow light hurriedly retreated, immediately vanishing in the sea of consciousness.
The large mysterious rune let off a glow, and Leylin's consciousness was pushed out from it.
"Where is this place?"
Leylin grew confused; suddenly releasing that he was in a mysterious place. The area was pitch-black, with no light whatsoever.
He wanted to reach out, but there was no concept of "hands" as if he never had any hands before.
In this manner, he floated in the air with no concept of time, yet he couldn't move.
To Leylin, in this space, every minute was like a dozen years.
This feeling could completely drive a sane person over the cliff.
Leylin was somewhat frustrated, "Haven't I advanced into a level 3 acolyte yet? Why would I come to this space? How long has the time passed?"
Suddenly, Leylin's heart jumped, "A.I. Chip!"
[Beep!] A bright blue screen was projected in front of Leylin and although it could not illuminate the darkness, still it made him feel much better.
[Scans have picked up that the Host's spiritual force is in an abnormal state. Under this circumstance, the Host will fail the breakthrough to a level 3 acolyte in 5 Minutes 23 Seconds! 13 Hours 45 Minutes later, due to the failure of all organs death will ensue! Whether to use magic power to get rid of the status? Yes/No?]
"Yes!" Right now Leylin completely did not feel any magic power left in his body, but the A.I. Chip could still circulate it, which made him elated.
[Obtained Host's confirmation and now transferring magic power. In the process of getting rid of the abnormal status....] Along with the A.I. Chip's voice intonation, there was suddenly a strange movement in the pitch-black space.
Leylin's eyes flashed open. He realised that he was still in the secret lab and that not much time had passed since he began.
"During the advancing to a level 3 acolyte, there are actually such strange scenarios!"
Leylin's expression was solemn. His degree of progress was too quick, most of his knowledge had been obtained from the library and also from the simulations and conjectures of the A.I. Chip.
He had no info about some scenarios of advancing into level 3 acolyte.
"Normally speaking, when many level 2 acolytes are in the midst of advancing, they all have their Professors to explain in detail to them... but I'm unfortunate! Even Professor Kroft wouldn't have expected that I would face a breakthrough this quickly!"
Leylin held onto many secrets and would never tell the truth. In Kroft's eyes, he was just a newly advanced level 2 acolyte, so why would he tell him about some notes to pay attention regarding the advancement to a level 3 acolyte?
Furthermore, the books in the library were available commonly. Many things in it had vague explanations. Even if Leylin had the A.I. Chip and was able to erase the false information, together with his experiments, he wouldn't be able to obtain the perfect results.
This caused Leylin to encounter a phenomenon that occurred during his advancement and he was at a complete loss.
"Luckily I had the A.I. Chip this time, if not I will be finished! The road to becoming a Magus is indeed very precarious!"
There was some lingering fear in Leylin's heart.
But this, too, confirmed his deductions. The A.I. Chip had been with him when he was transported and for some unknown reason, it had merged into his soul.
Hence, when his soul met with an abnormality and was isolated and without help, he could still activate the A.I. Chip to get rid of the inner influences from the outside.
"So, advancing to a level 3 acolyte is not about the combination of the mind runes nor reinforcing the sea of consciousness, but about the space of darkness that comes after!"
Leylin suddenly understood much more. All these were usually precious information secrets that were not announced by professors or the academy, many factionless acolytes usually died during this aspect.
[Beep! The Host's spiritual force has some change and is more lively. The Host has advanced into a level 3 acolyte! spiritual force increasing....] The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.
Following which, Leylin felt dizzy, and his spiritual force increased at a rapid speed.
7.2
7.3
7.5
...
9.7
10.1
The spiritual force which seemed to ride on a rocket had continuously increased. When the final number jumped, it turned into 10.1, and finally stabilising itself.
"My head hurts!"
With the sudden increase of the spiritual force, right now Leylin's body could still not adapt to the change. He had a runny nose and when he touched the area, he realised that he was bleeding from his nostrils!
"The increase in spiritual force is too fast, and the body could not take it!"
Leylin smiled wryly but very soon his expression changed and cracking noises came from within his body. At the same time, intense pain travelled from all parts of his body continuously.
Leylin's facial muscles contorted and he fell flat on the bed, like a shrivelled up shrimp.
"Damn it! Damn it! The Reactive Elixir's effect is up and the backlash from the potion has started!"
Leylin howled, "A.I. Chip! Begin to coordinate with the magic power and get rid of the remnants from the elixir!"
A layer of a grayish-black halo of light appeared and floated on his body, enveloping his whole body. Along with the flickering of the halo, much of the yellowish-black pus was expunged from Leylin's pores, releasing a very acute stench.
A dozen minutes later, Leylin struggled to get up. He took out a red-coloured potion from the bag lying beside him and drank it fully before his expression changed for the better.
At this moment his body was drenched in sweat and pus, bringing about an acidic stench, as if he had just been scooped out from the sewers.
Leylin tried to pick himself up. His face was pale stricken and he was weak in the knees. His eyes were sunk in as if having been bedridden with an illness for many months.
After pushing open the door of the secret lab, Leylin jingled the bell placed beside the door.
* Ding Ling Ling! *
A crisp yet penetrating sound rang, and it travelled far after a while.
"Young Master! You..." A few minutes later, Anna brought two maids as she rushed over. It seemed like Leylin's lips were covered by his hands.
"It's fine! Send me to the bathroom! I wish to take a shower!"
"Do you want me to call the herbalist or doctor over?"
"No need!"
...
Half an hour later, Leylin lay in a pool that was constructed from marble. The warm water flowed over his body, bringing away the dirt and grime from him.
Anna was buck-naked as she nestled up against Leylin. She used a white towel to scrub his body.
"Mi....Milord! Your deer blood soup and steak!"
On the other side, Trixy too was stark naked, and her delightful curves were all exposed in front of Leylin eyes. She blushed, as she carried a propped up tray over.
The ray was made of wood and floated on the pool. Leylin picked up his utensils and ate voraciously.
Some time later, Leylin wore a loose bathrobe and reclined on a nearby chair. His back leaned against Anna's chest and enjoyed the sensational perky abundance.
And at his side, Trixy and another beautiful were giving a massage to Leylin.
They had only donned some clothes, which were smaller than a palm. The private areas weren't covered, only faintly discernible at times. This made it even more embarrassing yet alluring.
Trixy and the other maid were only daughters of farmers and they had toiled in the farms since they were young. They had a layer of calluses on their hands even. However, they were extremely young and their slender figures were beautiful. Their bodies radiated the vibrancy of youthfulness. Compared to Anna, it was a kind of wild flavour.
However, right now Leylin completely did not have any interest to engage in an intense bout with them. Instead, he felt somewhat traumatic about the advancement today.
"A.I. Chip! Bring forth my current stats!" Leylin commanded inwardly.
[Beep! Leylin Farlier, level 3 acolyte. Strength: 3.1, Agility: 3.3, Vitality: 3.5, Spiritual force: 10.1, Magic power: 10 - (magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force). Status: Healthy]
The A.I. Chip projected the data in front of Leylin's eyes. Apart from him, nobody else could see it.
Leylin closed his eyes, yet his mind was rapidly processing and thinking.
"En! My vitality has increased by 0.3, which should be related to the use of the Reactive Elixir. Also, not only did my spiritual force increase to 10.1, I can feel that my spiritual force is brimming with more energy as compared to before. My perception towards energy particles in the air has increased too, so casting rank 0 spells should now be easier!"
"The realm of a level 3 acolyte is indeed not something a level 2 acolyte can compare to. However, the process of advancing is too perilous!"
Leylin put on an expression of lingering fear. No matter if it was his consciousness being trapped in the black space, or the backlash from the Reactive Elixir, they were all developments which he had not expected.
To Leylin, all the data and information he had garnered was still too little. Although the A.I. Chip's calculation abilities were extremely tremendous, if the basic information was not there, being able to simulate the correct advancement technique was already considered to be not bad.
As for the setback met during the advancement, due to the various differences in vitality between people adding on to the shortage of information, even the A.I. Chip was unable to predict them.
"After all, in the library that Abyssal Bone Forest Academy opened for its students, much information had been restricted. Some high levelled information was not even released to be read by the acolytes!"
"Also, even if the A.I. Chip's calculation abilities are comparable to 10 supercomputers, the Magus World has, at least, tens of thousands of years of history. With all of the hundreds of thousands of acolytes experiments, the results and models will surpass the A.I. Chip's calculation abilities!"
"The advancement, this time, was indeed rather lucky, and luck played an important factor in it!"
Leylin's face turn solemn, "I cannot go on like this next time! This is only for advancing to a level 3 acolyte! In the future, when I advance into an official Magus, I won't be so lucky if something like this happens again!"
The difficulty of the advancement from a level 3 acolyte to an official Magus far exceeded that of advancing from a regular human to a level 3 acolyte,
And if at that time there were some mistakes or oversights due to negligence, even if Leylin had a few lives, it wouldn't be enough to save him.
"After returning, I must inquire greatly about all the details pertaining to advancement into an official Magus, and not try to break through blindly again!"
Leylin gave himself this mission for the future.
"What's next is to wait until my body has adapted to the sudden increase in spiritual force, and muster the few rank 0 spells that only level 3 acolytes can learn, then go back to reexamine that lab!"
Leylin opened his eyes and sent Anna and the other two maids away. After setting up a circle of warning with a spell formation, he dragged his weary body onto the bed on the other side and entered into slumber.
...
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed like that.
Night and the splendor of moonlight shone upon the ground. It was another full moon night.
Nearby the withering woods, beside that same large black granite boulder, Leylin muttered an incantation and repeated the same procedure as before.
Seeing the same dark hole of the cave, Leylin smiled and walked in.
After the observation of his previous exploration, he had already roughly understood the rules that were governing the spell formation. Moreover, he recorded all the danger inside there and had a way to counter them.
Furthermore, he had already advanced to a level 3 acolyte and had more confidence to break the defensive mechanisms laid by the unknown Magus.
The black tunnel passage was very short, and the surface was extremely shiny, reflecting Leylin's black robed figure. It was even projected at multiple angles on the wall behind Leylin.
The villa that Leylin had seen previously was at the back of the tunnel. The Devil Vines and Bone Eating Flowers still littered the floor. There were even grey slates on the floor, and within it resided the Gnawing Slate.
On the door of the villa, there was a circular hole. At the side of it was a corpse and a black diary which brought lustre lay beside the corpse. Seeing this book that had records of Alchemy, Leylin's heart began to palpitate faster.
In Leylin's eyes, the exterior of the villa was set up with a dangerous halo of light coming from magic spells, and it was unknown how many traps were concealed under the brilliant light.
* Hehe! Haha! *
Just as Leylin's right foot stepped on the stone slate, a childish laughter sounded. The slates on the floor twisted open and revealed a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, snapping viciously at Leylin!
"The first defense! Gnawing Slate!" Leylin smiled and tossed a gob of black stuff into the huge mouth.
* Ka-Cha! * The huge mouth gobbled up the black mass.
* Pu! * The grey mouth chewed, and immediately spit the black residue out. A red tongue continuously flickered outwards, and spat a yellowish green spittle.
This scene looked very much like a regular human eating something disgusting and spitting it out.
"With Stinky Stench Flower, Faeces Carapace Mantis, and the Rotten Stemmed Grass as the components of this vomiting powder! It is indeed the bane of the Gnawing Slate!" Leylin looked at the grey slate vomiting again, which immediately grew two small legs as it ran away, and the sight made Leylin laugh.
"To the unknown Magus, this should be a temporary lab since the spell leaned towards concealment. As for its resistance, there should only be 3 layers! Moreover, using the Gnawing Slate, Devil Vines and Bone Eating Flowers combination, this is the trademark defensive measures of the Michael School of Thought!"
Leylin walked towards the front door, and immediately grabbed the black diary with his hands.
It was extremely heavy, and carrying it felt like carrying a brick. It was probably made with special materials.
Leylin kept the diary in his robes and walked towards the large door.
A layer of blackish green vine immediately wrapped around the door, and on it, many red petals bloomed. The petals assembled, and actually formed the face of a female.
"Intruder! This is somewhere that you shouldn't have come!" The petals formed the opening and closing of the lips as the female talked.
"The Magus in there is already dead, I will inherit his fortune! As for you, I will keep your existence alive, and give you all the nourishment you require for evolving, how is it?"
Leylin took a red coloured fruit from his sack, "To you, the whole experiment lab cannot even be compared with this ingredient in my hand!"
"With it, you may even leave in the future, and regain your freedom, returning back to the woods where you came from...." Leylin spoke softly, with a tinge of beguilement.
"Freedom!" Hesitation and contemplations streaked across the woman's face.
"I cannot betray the promise from before! Outsider, please leave!" The woman struggled, but she still rejected Leylin's proposition. A green vine continuously writhed, as if it would strike anytime.
"Sigh...." Leylin returned the fruit to his sack and sighed, "I thought that I wouldn't have to strike!"
"Stubborn intruder, only death will be your ending!"
The Bone Eating Flower howled, this time changing into the face of a male, and many black vines immediately came lashing forward.
* Bang! * The black shadow charged forward, and Leylin ducked with his body. The thick vines slapped the floor, and the stone pieces flew in the air, revealing a huge pit.
"Don't be so impulsive, what if you damage the experiment lab?"
A layer of green light flew into the vine in the air, turning into a ball of light, and enveloped the flower and vine completely. The vine's attack speed decreased.
Leylin's brows furrowed and he took out a black powder from his sack, before sprinkling it all over the ground.
Moreover, as he scattered the powder, Leylin hurriedly chanted an incantation.
"Intruder! Die!" The human face formed by flower petals roared, and continuously changed, sometimes it was the voice of a male, and sometimes it had the face of a female.
* Bang! Bang! Bang! *
The blackish green vines were continuously brandished and hit many holes in the surrounding walls of the cave.
Leylin relied on the stats of a Knight to dodge, and his incantation never stopped.
Finally, after Leylin ran around the villa, the surrounding was already scattered with the black powder.
At this moment, the chanting stopped. Leylin pointed a finger at the human face, "Go to hell! Cloud of Afterlife!"
* Boom! *
The black powder continuously dissolved, turning into a gaseous body, and formed into an ominous black cloud that engulfed the entirety of the villa.
* Sssii! * From within travelled noises, which made Leylin recall the decomposition process of a man eating plant.
The black clouds grew denser, finally shielding what was happening within.
However, there were the occasional sounds of the Bone Eating Flower which continuously waned and finally disappeared, only leaving behind decomposing sounds, which would make people cringe.
5 minutes later, the black smoke dissipated, revealing the villa from before again.
By this moment, the surface of the villa had been severely corroded, and it looked as if it was going to collapse any moment.
The Devil Vines and Bone Eating Flower had long since disappeared, leaving behind only a few remains.
"What a despotic spell! Cloud of Afterlife, a rank 0 spell which only level 3 acolyte can muster. Each use costs 5 spiritual force and 5 magic power, but it is worth it!"
Leylin nodded his head approvingly.
With one use of Cloud of Afterlife, not only did the Devil Vines and Bone Eating Flower disappear, the villa had suffered from extreme corrosion, leaving behind only part of the defense, which could be said to no longer pose a threat to Leylin.
Moreover, the Cloud of Afterlife was a Shadow, Dark Element spell which was the least destructive. It was something Leylin specially chosen in order to destroy the spell formation on the villa, at the same time leaving behind the construction of the villa.
"Only that.... The villa seems to have been corroded, and cannot stay erect for much longer!"
Leylin walked forward and knocked on the wooden door. * Crash! * The wooden door immediately crumbled into many pieces and fell to the ground.
"I must hurry!" Leylin strode into the villa.
"A.I. Chip! Scan the main structure of the villa!"
[Mission establishing, beginning scan....]
Previously, the A.I. Chip could not scan the blueprints of the villa due to the layer of spell formation and defensive measures on the surface of the villa.But, that was not the case now.
Very soon, a layer of light in the shape of a blue map appeared in front of Leylin's eyes.
"En! There are two storeys in the villa. On the higher floor, it's the bedroom and bathroom! The first floor would be the guestroom. As for the experiment lab, it is located underground! The entrance is built into the back of a wardrobe!"
Under the scan of the A.I. Chip, the interior of the villa was displayed in front of him fully.
"To the bedroom first!" Leylin rapidly ran up the second floor.
Gripping the yellow bronze handle, Leylin opened the large door to the bedroom. A layer of dust immediately infiltrated his nose. The surface of Leylin's body automatically created a layer of black coloured light membrane, shielding him from the dust.
Leylin then scanned the area, "Everything is all neatly placed!"
The bedroom was very small, with only a bed, a table and a chair, and a closet.
Leylin opened the closet, "The clothes have all disappeared, it seems that the owner here has prepared to abandon this place!"
Although he had thought of this before, Leylin was still somewhat disappointed.
He immediately rummaged through the bedroom but found nothing of value. Even the drawers of the table were empty, and there was only some blank parchment paper in the corners of the room.
"These should be remnants of the diary or record book! A pity that there's nothing written on them!"
Leylin felt that it was somewhat a shame. His eyes suddenly flashed, "Diary! I got it!"
The yellow parchment paper was very old and seemed as if would break into many pieces. However, to Leylin, these few pieces of parchment paper were supreme treasures!
"A.I. Chip! Scan the traces on the parchment paper!"
Leylin ordered, and a layer of blue light was immediately projected in front of his eyes. As for the parchment paper, lines of red handwriting were intermittently surfacing.
"This is something that the Magus wrote on a piece of parchment paper, but traces of his handwriting were left on these pieces of parchment!
Leylin was somewhat elated. Magi would only use spells to appraise items, but there were spells that defended against such attempts. However they had absolutely no defences against Leylin's previous world's graphology, and he eventually found some clues.
The information on the parchment paper was extremely disorderly. Many characters were overlapping with one another, and even the A.I. Chip was unable to differentiate between them.
After putting together the scattered pieces, what little information Leylin gotten should have been this diary:
September 1st, clear. Extreme Night City is a very tranquil city, I hope I can carry out my experiments here peacefully....
December 5th, dark. Oh! Damn it! The experiment has failed yet again, as expected! The difficulty of synthesizing bloodlines has far exceeded my expectations....
What remained was extremely vague, and even the dates could not be deciphered:
After reading Wayne's letter, I conducted a few more experiments. I have to admit, he was right, I was heading in the wrong direction all along, this is indeed some sorrowful news....
The experimental body has failed completely. As for what's left of the eggs, even if they could hatch, my plan has completely failed. Oh, my heavens....
There is nothing of value here anymore. Maybe I should go to the Dylan Gardens to have a look. Wayne said that his experiments have already achieved a few stages of success, this is a great piece of news for us....
The contents of the diary stopped here, it was a continuous record of a Magus' failure and ended in the abandonment of the lab.
Besides a person called Wayne from the Dylan Gardens, Leylin gained nothing whatsoever.
However, there were too many Wayne's, and as for Dylan Gardens, Leylin never heard of it before.
"Not right, wait a minute!"
Leylin's eyes suddenly flashed, and in the corner of the parchment paper, he discovered a name.
The faint red writing was extremely vague, hence, Leylin almost missed it earlier.
"Nor... Norco Curadu Sfar!"
"Norco Curadu Sfar!" Leylin's eyes widened, "Great Magus Serholm!"
"Could it be that the owner of this lab was the great Magus Serholm?"
Norco Curadu Sfar was a legend of the south coast! In the legends, not only was he an erudite scholar, he had obtained extremely outstanding results along the path of a Magus. He had even led the whole of the south coast Magi to repel the countless advances of the subterranean people and marine creatures.
This kind of great Magus was the role model for all Magi in the south coast.
Earlier in the market, the dishonest merchant who tried to sell Leylin the Lowian Academy Teachings had tried to pass off the original decrepit page as the writings of the great Magus Serholm, but it was seen through by Leylin.
"A respected figure like this, his legacy would definitely be of value. A pity that the two storeys were left with nothing and there definitely would not be any legacy or things of the sort!"
Regret streaked across Leylin's face, but he still memorised the contents on the parchment paper.
"I hope that there will be something to gain from the experiment lab!"
Leylin gave the bedroom one last disappointed glance before he puffed out a breath, and blew the parchment paper into bits.
Coming to the wardrobe on the first floor, originally, the in built wardrobe should have been stuck on the wall. However, due to a small crack, Leylin could now see the passage behind it.
This should be something that was done by the Mankestre Snake.
Leylin shifted away the emptied wardrobe, and the black passage appeared before him.
* Pa! * Leylin snapped, and a layer of light illuminated the area, dispelling the darkness and revealing a flight of steps that led downwards.
Leylin's eyes flashed fervently as he walked down.
* Clang! *
The leather shoes and ground made a dull noise from friction.
Compared to the villa above, the underground space was more spacious, and was almost the size of 3 to 4 villas.
Criss-crossed walls littered the area, separating the underground lab into a few large areas.
Leylin continued down the passage, and from time to time, he could see the labelling of the areas.
An ancient handwriting was used. However, it had some relevance to the Byron language. As Leylin walked, he looked.
Data area, garden area, incubator area, potioneering area, herbology area... Each and every special area appeared in front of Leylin's eyes.
After seeing the incubator area, Leylin's eyes flashed, and he walked in.
A ball of light always floated around him, illuminating the sight of the incubator area.
What initially entered Leylin's sight were many circular glass domes, but the glasses had already cracked, revealing many rotten eggs of mysterious organisms.
Under the alert from the A.I. Chip that there were no signs of life around, Leylin put on a pair of gloves, and held a grey egg that resembled a granite stone in his hands.
[Scanning in progress, similarity level to the Mankestre Snake: 73.2%, Huge Wood Python: 34.5%, Huge Tree Lizard: 13.8%]
The A.I. Chip continuously projected the results of the scan.
"It seems like these are all the brothers and sisters of the half adult Mankestre Snake!" Leylin gasped as he saw the many dead eggs within the glass domes.
If they were all still alive, Leylin would most likely not be able to escape.
After some searching, Leylin discovered a strange incubating pool. On the surface of the glass ball, there was a circular hole that was cracked through, and the remnants of some egg shells.
"The Mankestre Snake from earlier should have been bred in this incubating pool...."
Leylin sized up the area and was unresigned as he continued searching, finally obtaining nothing. He could only pick up a dead egg that looked like a stone and toss it.
Data area, garden area, potioneering area, herbology area...
Leylin looked over everything once. The great Magus Serholm would have definitely spent a lot of time and effort on it. The set up in each area was extremely thorough.
However, when he left, he brought along everything with him. Leylin, who originally wished to get lucky, had now also completely tossed that notion away.
Apart from the few blank pieces of parchment paper in the bedroom, there was nothing that Leylin found.
"The final area! The dissecting room!"
Leylin wore a disappointed expression that he found difficult to mask, and walked into the room.
* Clang! *
The steel door boomed opened and a concentrated aura of dense negative energy permeated the air. Leylin could even hear the faint wails of countless souls.
"On the way of a Magus who seeks the truth, one can never avoid spilling blood!" Leylin muttered the maxim of the great Magus Serholm.
After sizing up the area, Leylin noticed that there were some traces of black blood on the white experiment table. He picked up some powder from it.
"A.I. Chip! Scan!"
[No surviving cells were detected! Due to various intense radiations, there are deficiencies and mutations in the fragments of the cells, unable to detect source!]
The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.
"F*ck!" Leylin felt utter disappointment as he kicked the experiment table.
Towards Magi who loved explorations, nothing was more disappointing than devoting countless effort and energy to enter the vestiges of ancient times and returning empty handed.
Although the Alchemy diary could already be considered to be extremely beneficial to Leylin, compared to the great Magus Serholm, that kind of loot was somehow inadequate.
This was the great Magus Serholm!!! An official Magus that was at least rank 4!!!
But in his lab, Leylin gained nothing at all, which made him extremely vexed.
"Forget it! At least I still have the diary of that unlucky fellow. I did not suffer any loss. Moreover, this experiment could very well be a lab that the great Magus Serholm used when he was a rank 1 or 2 Magus. If not, I would have definitely not been able to enter...."
Suddenly, Leylin was rather glad.
If he had trespassed into the lab of the great Magus Serholm when he was at his peak. and if there had been some curse laid out, Leylin certainly would have been unable to resist right now.
* Bang! *
As if kickstarting some kind of chain reaction by kicking the experiment table, a gust of wind blew past the ground, turned into a whirlwind, and coiled the dust up in the air.
"Eh?" Leylin's face tightened, and his right hand extended into his waist pouch.
The cyclone grew larger and larger, before finally forming into a translucent human figure.
"How many years... How many years has it been already! I have finally caught a whiff of a living human!" The translucent figure seemed to gasp and revealed a vague elderly visage.