A rain of fire poured down upon the blackened earth, sizzling as if dropped into a cauldron of boiling oil. In an instant, the flames intensified, spreading into a blazing sea that engulfed a hundred meters in every direction. The slumbering Skeleton Warriors were jolted awake, their phosphorescent eyes flickering in confusion as they darted and crashed about the inferno like headless flies.
This was a ninth-level spell—Firestorm. Among mage-level area spells, its power was second only to Thunderstorm Tempest. In fact, against undead creatures, Firestorm was even more devastating than Thunderstorm Tempest. Hordes of Skeleton Warriors scattered and crashed about, but how could they possibly escape a sea of fire spanning a hundred meters?
Within moments, at least a dozen Skeleton Warriors had fallen in the inferno...
If this had happened earlier, Leon would have been thrilled—a dozen Skeleton Warriors down meant several more pieces of Necrotic Essence for the taking.
But right now, Leon had no time to celebrate...
He’d avoided using Firestorm and other wide-area spells before, worried the commotion would get him surrounded by undead. But now Leon couldn’t afford to care. A Nether Iron Vein stretching hundreds of meters—something that would make even the top powers of the magic civilization’s golden age green with envy—was right in front of him.
And in this era, it was even more priceless...
Never mind mining the whole thing—if Leon could just slip over in the chaos and nab a single magical gemstone from the vein, that alone would be worth more than everything he’d gained today.
Whether it would attract more Skeleton Warriors—or even awaken the Bone Demon sleeping underground—Leon couldn’t afford to worry about that now.
With such an incredible Nether Iron Vein right in front of him, if he didn’t at least grab a souvenir, Leon would never forgive himself.
Even a single ordinary magical gemstone from the vein would be worth over a hundred thousand gold coins—enough to propel the Gilded Rose to new heights. At the very least, it would equal half a year of the old steward’s hard work. And if he managed to snag something better, like an Abyssal Magic Diamond... well, that was another story entirely.
With one more Abyssal Magic Diamond, Leon could upgrade that grandmaster-level alchemical array—the Plane Path would stay open for at least an hour!
Extending his stay in the Bone Plane by half an hour wasn’t just about collecting a few extra pieces of Necrotic Essence. It meant Leon could expand his reach, venture deeper into the Undead Plane, hunt stronger undead creatures, and claim even rarer resources.
Everything depended on how much time he could stay.
"Gotta hurry!"
A Wizard’s Eye and a Firestorm—those two spells had already burned nearly a minute. Leon’s time in the Undead Plane was running out. Worse, as the fire raged, he felt the ground tremble beneath his feet, and a deep, guttural roar echoed from the heart of the black wasteland.
Leon knew—the Bone Demon sleeping underground was probably awake. He had to act before it appeared, or else this wasteland’s overlord would give him a firsthand taste of near-Magus-level power.
As that guttural roar echoed, Leon pressed himself tightly against the rocks behind him. No chanting, no spellcasting—just pushing his magic vortex to its limits, again and again, reaching new peaks, smashing through barriers. In just ten seconds, his mana was boiling.
Suddenly, a burst of fire flared up.
Leon’s entire form transformed into a blazing flame, streaking across hundreds of meters in an instant and landing right at the heart of the inferno...
Once a mage shatters their Mana Vortex and steps into the realm of Grand Mage, they fully merge with their own magical power. Not only does their strength multiply tenfold and spellcasting become effortless, but more importantly, a Grand Mage can wield a terrifying archmage ability called Elemental Avatar. Their body transforms completely into an element, rendering them nearly immune to all physical attacks and granting them the full properties of that element.
But this powerful archmage ability lasts only a short time—even the most elite Grand Mages can maintain it for barely a minute.
For Leon, the duration was even shorter...
Leon wasn’t a Grand Mage yet. What he’d just displayed wasn’t a true Elemental Avatar. That burst of fire was a product of his era-defying mastery over magic, forcibly simulating the mana flow of Elemental Avatar and casting it in a way that should’ve been impossible.
This was spellcasting beyond all limits, so the duration was even shorter than the average Grand Mage.
Leon estimated he’d have, at most, ten seconds...
If he couldn’t finish everything in those ten seconds, once the Elemental Avatar faded, he’d face not only the wrath of the Bone Demon but also the weakness that came after his mana boiled over.
So, the instant Leon landed in the heart of the inferno, he unleashed five consecutive Fireballs.
Thanks to the instant-casting boost from Elemental Avatar, Leon fired off those five Fireballs in rapid succession, barely pausing between each. The air was filled with the muffled booms—"boom, boom, boom..."—and the Nether Iron Vein before him was blasted open, a gap over ten meters long torn into it.
Fragments of ore shimmered with a faint black light as they scattered—each one high quality, easily worth thousands of gold coins. But Leon didn’t spare them a glance. Bracing against the blades swinging toward his head, he lunged straight for the flickering points of light ahead.
Elemental Avatar was already blindingly fast, and Leon’s forceful surge of mana pushed that speed even higher—another twenty percent. A streak of fire flashed through the inferno, and before the scattered points of light even hit the ground, Leon had snatched them up.
(Irrelevant system prompt skipped.)
Almost at the same moment, the ground beneath Leon shook violently.
Then came a deafening roar—a creature covered in bone spikes burst from the earth, towering four or five meters high. Hundreds of ghostly soul flames swirled around it, and at the center of its skull, a fist-sized Infernal Fire burned fiercely.
Its aura rivaled that of an archmage. The dense ranks of Skeleton Warriors in the inferno all bowed their heads—even as the flames incinerated them, not a single one dared move. The chaos vanished the instant the Bone Demon emerged.
After quelling the Skeleton Warriors’ frenzy, the Bone Demon let out another guttural roar. With a surge of magical energy, several soul flames from its chest shot outward.
Their target: Leon, who’d just claimed the scattered points of light...
Even archmages feared the Bone Demon’s soul flame projectiles. There was no way Leon would let his knockoff Elemental Avatar take a direct hit. The moment the Bone Demon attacked, Leon unleashed a Flame Blink...
Now the value of Firestorm really showed—an inferno spanning hundreds of meters became Leon’s best escape route. With Flame Blink, he darted through the fire like a fish in water. Before the Bone Demon’s projectiles could land, Leon had already used three Flame Blinks in a row, reaching the edge of the inferno in an instant.
Then, Leon spat out the activation rune, and the Plane Path to Northend appeared once more.
Leon hurried up the Plane Path, glancing back through warped space at the black wasteland. It would be at least a month before he could return.
As the space around him twisted, Leon stepped onto Northend’s soil once again. The three Abyssal Magic Diamonds, their power exhausted, now looked dull and lifeless—just ordinary stones, stripped of their former brilliance. Darkness returned to the basement.
"Three just isn’t enough..." Leon shook his head. That grandmaster-level alchemical array devoured magic like the sea. Three Abyssal Magic Diamonds were the bare minimum, and every time their power ran dry, it would take at least a month to recharge.
In other words, Leon would have to wait a month before entering the Bone Plane again—and even then, he’d only get thirty minutes inside.
That was brutal...
Thirty minutes was nowhere near enough—not just in terms of profit, but for something Leon had been scheming for a long time. If he pulled it off, he might get his hands on a legendary magic relic: the Death Tome!
That’s right—the very same extraordinary artifact wielded by Grand Mage Bain: the Death Tome!
But that would take time...
Thirty minutes was nowhere near enough. Leon estimated he’d need at least three days—and not a single mishap in between. Four days would be safer. That kind of time couldn’t be fueled by just three or four Abyssal Magic Diamonds.
Without a hundred Abyssal Magic Diamonds, it was out of the question...
"Still way off..." Leon patted his pocket. Inside were a dozen or so Necromancer Essences and six magic gemstones found alongside Nether Iron Ore.
Leon tossed the Necromancer Essences aside—they were only good for enchanting weapons, and their price rarely fluctuated. Better to let the old steward handle them.
Then he took out the six magic gemstones, one by one.
"Huh!" The first magic gemstone gave Leon a pleasant surprise.
It was a high-quality Firestone, naturally imbued with both poison and flame. Usually used for inlaying—whether in weapons or jewelry—once a Firestone was set, the item gained terrifying lethality, completely independent of the user’s strength. Even a three-year-old could easily kill a dozen thugs like Jimmy.
No wonder Firestones fetched such a high price...