So Leon read this volume, "Maxwell Formula Explained," with exceptional care...
He turned the pages much slower than when he'd skimmed through "Arcane Sigil Construction Examples" earlier...
For Leon, who was about to venture deep into the Bone Plane, every battle Maxwell had with different undead creatures was worth paying close attention to—even if they weren't Bone Demons. After all, no one could guarantee that, once Leon defeated the Bone Demon and claimed the Netheriron Mine, he wouldn't encounter other undead beings.
Just as Leon was carefully reading "Maxwell Formula Explained," Solon suddenly noticed a shadow flicker outside the library doors. After a long moment, the figure peered through the crack and beckoned to him...
"..." Solon shuddered instantly, because that shadow was unmistakably Salomon.
A dignified Archmage, sneaking around like a thief...
With a head full of black lines, Solon left the library. As soon as he reached the door, Salomon pulled him aside: "Is that guy reading Arcane Sigil Construction Examples?"
"Yeah, why?" Solon was a bit puzzled. Was a book on arcane sigil construction really enough to make a dignified Archmage so agitated?
"It's nothing!"
...
"Alright, alright, just go out for now." Seeing that Solon still wanted to ask something, Salomon quickly waved him off, shooing away his only apprentice.
What a joke—if his only apprentice ever found out he came to the library just to learn a young mage's opinion on "Arcane Sigil Construction Examples," how could he ever maintain his dignity as a mentor?
It really did seem a bit absurd—a dignified Archmage sneaking into the library just to hear a young mage's thoughts on "Arcane Sigil Construction Examples." Who would believe it if word got out?
But the truth was, that's exactly what was happening...
Lately, the kingdom's mage circles had been abuzz about four data points—figures that could very well prove Vanrison's Formulas wrong. Yet most mages only knew the data came from the Seaview City Mage Guild, from Star Sage Joey's apprentice, Salomon.
But Salomon knew those four data points weren't his. They belonged to a mage not yet twenty years old—a young man named Matthew Merlin, who just months ago was a failed apprentice unable to form a Mana Vortex.
But Salomon had never said a word about it...
It wasn't that Salomon wanted to claim the credit for disproving Vanrison's Formulas; he simply knew that even if he told the truth, no one would believe him. It was too absurd, too bizarre—ten out of ten people would think it was a joke.
Not even Salomon himself, who had witnessed it all, could quite believe it.
To get some answers, he'd even tried probing at the Blackhorn Auction.
Inside the VIP Suite at the Blackhorn Auction, the two of them had shared quite a lengthy conversation.
Salomon hadn't shown anything on his face at the time, but inwardly, he was already caught in a storm of shock.
Because Salomon suddenly realized that this was someone who could hold a direct conversation about magic with him...
Though he had initiated the topics and tried every probing method he could think of, the other seemed to know exactly what he was up to—always stopping just short of deeper discussion, never giving him a chance to dig further.
Yet, with just a few words, he could always lay bare the heart of the problem.
Yes, that was exactly the feeling.
No matter how complex or difficult the problem, once it reached this young mage, it seemed to dissolve into a single sentence—casually, effortlessly. At the time, even Salomon himself fell into the illusion that maybe the problem had always been that simple.
But when Salomon returned and thought it over, he was startled. These weren't problems that could be solved so casually—even as an Archmage, some of them had taken him years, even decades to unravel. How could that young mage grasp the key so instantly?
Salomon remembered clearly: several times, when he raised a question, the young mage seemed distracted, but whenever he spoke, his words hit the crux of the matter. It was like a terrifying instinct—completely unconscious, automatic.
This realization sent a chill through Salomon's entire body...
It wasn't until then that Salomon truly believed those four data points had come from that young mage.
Now, it was the same library, the same young mage, and the same centuries-old, hotly debated problem...
Salomon was truly curious to know what this young mage thought of "Arcane Sigil Construction Examples"...
Unfortunately, Salomon was disappointed...
After copying out the construction methods for enchanted gear, Leon set aside "Arcane Sigil Construction Examples" and started reading "Maxwell Formula Explained" in earnest. This left Salomon, waiting outside, feeling as if he'd stepped into thin air—awkward and deflated...
"What the hell..." Salomon waited outside for ages, but Leon never put down "Maxwell Formula Explained." The Archmage couldn't help but grumble to himself—was this kid deliberately messing with him...?
Salomon knew the contents of "Maxwell Formula Explained" well. Supposedly, it detailed the fire magic insights of Maxwell, the Flame Tyrant, but there actually wasn't much of that. Most of it consisted of real battle anecdotes—Salomon himself had once described it as "highly entertaining."
Honestly, a magic book this entertaining shouldn't need such serious reading.
But this time, Salomon had really misjudged Leon...
The reason Leon was so focused wasn't because the fire magic insights of the Flame Tyrant required deep study. For Leon, he'd already mastered fire magic theory a decade ago—even if Maxwell himself returned, he wouldn't necessarily outdo Leon in theory.
What Leon was truly studying were those real battle accounts—specifically, the battles between Maxwell, the Flame Tyrant, and undead creatures.
After all, the author of this book was a disciple of the Flame Tyrant.
Most of the battles Maxwell, the Flame Tyrant, fought were also witnessed firsthand by the book's author. These firsthand accounts were what mattered most to Leon—especially the fights against Bone Demons.
"Maxwell Formula Explained" records two battles with Bone Demons. In one, the Flame Tyrant had already advanced to Archmage, crushing over a dozen Bone Demons with ease—nothing worth mentioning. But the other took place when the Flame Tyrant was still a fifth-rank Grand Mage, outside Ghostspire, where he encountered a roaming Bone Demon...
That was a real, brutal fight. Generally, Bone Demons have combat power between level fifteen and nineteen—roughly equivalent to a fifth- to ninth-rank Grand Mage. At the time, the book's author had just begun following the Flame Tyrant and witnessed the battle firsthand.
According to his recollection, the Bone Demon Maxwell faced was almost at Archmage level. Maxwell had to use every trick he had, even risking magical backlash to wield a Soulbound Relic, barely managing to defeat the Bone Demon. It was one of the most perilous battles of his life.
Naturally, such a dangerous battle left a deep impression on the disciple, and the account of it is extremely detailed. To Leon's delight, this disciple even noted that, years later, Maxwell reflected on the fight, listing his mistakes and claiming that, had he not erred, he wouldn't have needed the Soulbound Relic to win.
That reflection was incredibly meaningful for Leon...
It was as if someone had pointed out a clear path—a way for Leon, even as a fifth-rank Grand Mage, to challenge a Bone Demon above his level.
So Leon read with absolute focus—so focused, in fact, that he didn't even notice Salomon waiting outside the door...
……………………………………
While Leon was reading "Maxwell Formula Explained" in the Sage's Spire, the Gilded Rose was hosting an alchemy symposium.
This time, the symposium featured four exceptional magical items, two enchanted weapons, and an alchemical golem named Miner, designed specifically for mining. But the real highlight was an alchemical potion called the Elixir of Hope.
That's right—the very Elixir of Hope that allows mage apprentices to easily reach the ninth rank.
With the debut of the Elixir of Hope, this small-scale alchemy symposium instantly caused a sensation throughout Seaview City.
And with this symposium, the name Gilded Rose became widely known. Many learned that after Roger Merlin's death, the Goldspark Trading Company hadn't vanished; they still had an alchemy shop on Triumph Avenue called the Gilded Rose—the very place that had developed the wondrous Elixir of Hope that could easily advance mage apprentices to the ninth rank.
Once everything was ready, the old steward cheerfully set the price for the Elixir of Hope at two hundred thousand gold coins, announcing to the public that only one bottle was available, and the next batch wouldn't appear for at least a month.
Two hundred thousand gold coins was a price that could only deter ordinary mage apprentices—those without background or savings, for whom the sum was astronomical. But Seaview City had plenty of extraordinary apprentices: children of powerful factions, heirs to wealthy merchants—just like Roger Merlin once was. For them, the only worry was whether they'd be fast enough to snatch it up...