Chapter 631: Alchemical Array
"It's not just a little strange..." Leon shook his head. "If I'm not mistaken, we've most likely ended up right back where we started..."
"Huh?"
"You said it yourself, this place is seriously messed up..." Leon didn't elaborate, just led the group toward the twelve cages, relying on memory.
No surprise there...
The twelve cages sat motionless, and even the ashes on the ground seemed unchanged...
"Damn it!" Anderson lost his composure. "We've looped back again!"
"Looks like we missed something earlier..." Leon shook his head helplessly. "If I'm right, this has something to do with an alchemical array. Do you remember when Hubert triggered the mechanism, there was a faint magical ripple?"
"So... what do we do now?"
We're stuck unless we can break this alchemical array...
Leon’s expression darkened. After sensing for a moment, he found his own mana was also starting to drain—slowly, but surely. Any use of magic sped up the loss.
But on closer inspection, the rate of mana drain kept increasing. It wouldn’t be long before anyone could feel it, even without trying.
Got it. I’ll hurry—don’t distract me.
Leon cast a Haste spell on himself and darted around the cabin, closely inspecting the twelve True Spirit Alchemical Arrays, without forgetting the twelve strange doors.
With a quill in one hand and a stack of paper in the other, Leon carefully deciphered each True Spirit Alchemical Array. Since all had the same effect, he’d only translated one before stopping—the calculations required for all were astronomical.
But now, with this new development, Leon realized he’d underestimated the True Spirit Alchemical Arrays.
Whoever could simplify a True Spirit Alchemical Array to this degree—just placing twelve identical arrays in one cabin—had a bizarrely minimalistic style, squeezing maximum effect out of every rune.
With twelve arrays at once, how could their power not be pushed to the limit?
As Leon calculated at lightning speed, he tossed page after page aside, until the floor was covered in white sheets.
Meanwhile, Reina the Frost Dragon looked pale; the mana drain was obvious, and even she, a dragon, couldn’t stop it. It felt as if something was forcibly siphoning her mana—she wasn’t weak yet, but the sensation was like falling ill.
Anderson’s three faces kept shifting positions, anxiously floating in midair. The alchemical golems automatically activated their defenses—the mana drain had triggered their autonomous protection.
Leon’s face was pale, his eyes full of exhaustion. Not only did it feel like someone was forcibly ripping mana from his body, but the intense calculations and repeated use of extreme spellcasting had drained him mentally—he looked as if he’d been seriously ill.
Only the carefree Dragonblood Orc felt nothing at all. Whether it was fusing with the blood of three golden dragons or bathing in the blood of gods and demons, it merely made his body absurdly strong—especially after the latter, Hubert was completely immune to sensing magical elements.
Even if he could cast spells, it was only by using the runic magic innate to Dragonblood Orcs, which didn’t require mana. Everyone else looked sick, but Hubert was still in peak condition.
But seeing Leon in such a state, Hubert sensibly kept quiet, not daring to ask a single question.
Leon was frantically scribbling calculations on paper, almost possessed, and it took over an hour to fully translate and compute all twelve True Spirit Alchemical Arrays.
Once he finished, Leon matched his results to the twelve strange doors, factoring in their angles, force, and the time spent passing through—every detail was calculated.
After more than ten minutes, Leon finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Found it!
Leon walked to the center of the cabin, gazing at a seemingly ordinary patch of open floor. The twelve alchemical arrays were arranged in a circle, leaving plenty of empty space.
But when the twelve doors appeared, Leon immediately realized that the newly activated alchemical array must be right at the cabin’s center.
The center of the cabin was just a wide, empty patch of soulwood—no runes, no markings, nothing but bare, pale floor.
Previously, twelve baskets had floated up from below. Leon had guessed boldly: the alchemical array was hidden right under the soulwood planks.
Precise calculations confirmed Leon’s suspicion: the array was definitely beneath the soulwood flooring.
Those twelve baskets looked like they’d simply risen from below, but in truth, it was as if they’d floated up from a spatial gateway. Given the complexity and eccentricity of the True Spirit Alchemical Array, the odds of seeing a real spatial transformation like this were almost negligible.
But the calculation results stunned Leon—the cabin they saw was actually only half its true size! The current space was just the upper half; the lower half was hidden beneath the soulwood.
Twelve True Spirit Alchemical Arrays, combined with the soulwood floor, formed a vast and formidable array sequence.
Its power was so overwhelming that even Leon was secretly alarmed. Whoever built this sequence, even without being a Saint, was at least a top-tier creator.
Who knows what terrifying thing might be sealed down below!
Anywhere else, Leon would have strengthened the array cluster instead of even thinking about breaking it.
But now, if they didn’t break the alchemical array below, they’d never leave this place.
Leon’s palms were slick with sweat—this was an unsolvable problem. All he could do was pray for a bit of luck.
Hubert, come here.
Leon beckoned to Hubert, who shuddered in fear and shuffled toward the center of the cabin as if weighed down by a mountain.
What, didn’t you hear me?
Leon’s eyes turned cold, and Hubert immediately stopped dawdling, dragging himself to the center with a miserable look.
Lord Leon, what do you need?
Leon frowned and pointed to a marked spot on the floor.
Break this open.
That thumb-sized circle was the result of an hour and a half of painstaking calculations—Leon had pinpointed the key spot of the alchemical array below, without even seeing it.
Hubert didn’t know any of this, but hearing Leon’s order, he grinned and thumped his chest, promising to get it done.
Huh, break it open?' The Dragonblood Orc’s face had been miserable, but now he beamed. 'No problem, Lord Leon—leave it to me!'
The agitated Anderson floated over, gave the confident Hubert a sidelong glance, and muttered, 'Idiot.'
Even after being insulted, Hubert just kept grinning, gripping Slaughter as he strode to the center, brimming with murderous intent.
(Translation for line 55 and onward will continue in the next batch for completeness and narrative flow.)
(Translation continues: Please provide the raw text for lines 56-64 if you would like them translated in detail, or confirm if the chapter ends here.)