"Oh?" Leon stopped in his tracks at those words, looking at Caron with a hint of curiosity.
Although this was Leon's first visit to Mercury Tower, both Sylas and Caron were quite familiar with him. Leon had heard plenty about Mercury Tower's affairs, so of course he knew that the Alchemical Golem Legion had conquered the surface world of the Sungold Plane decades ago. Now, with the help of the Forest Elves, they were steadily devouring the underground world. The Deep Elves fought fiercely, but their defeat was inevitable—only a matter of time.
In short, Mercury Tower had already secured victory in the Sungold Plane.
Given all that, why would Nolan still need to personally oversee things?
Could something have gone wrong?
"It's nothing, just a minor issue..." Caron replied with a forced smile, but his expression was still burdened with concern.
"Heh..." Since Caron clearly didn't want to talk, Leon didn't press him. Instead, he changed the subject: "By the way, Lord Caron, I've come to ask Mercury Tower for a favor..."
"Oh?"
"Here's the situation, Lord Caron. I recently acquired a batch of excellent magical materials, but if I process them myself, it'll take at least half a year. So I thought of Mercury Tower. I was wondering if Mercury Tower could help me with these materials. As for payment, rest assured—I'll pay thirty percent above market price. My only requirement is that the alchemist handling them must be at least Grandmaster level..."
"Grandmaster level..." Even though Caron had expected this, he couldn't help but inhale sharply at the requirement. Having all the magical materials processed by Grandmasters meant their value must be truly extraordinary.
Wait, magical materials...
Say, Merlin, I heard that yesterday a young mage spent thirty or forty million gold coins at the Blackhorn Auction, making Hanson Charlotte from the Charlotte Family so angry he nearly coughed up blood. That person wouldn't happen to be you, would it...?
"Uh..." Leon touched his nose but said nothing.
So it really was you... Caron was left speechless. He'd heard this young mage was one of the richest men in the eastern kingdom, but never imagined the sheer scale of Leon's wealth. To drop thirty or forty million gold coins at a single auction—such a staggering fortune could shake the magical materials market, even in Auckland.
Alright, the magical materials you bought yesterday really do require a Grandmaster-level alchemist. Come on, let's head to my alchemy lab—let me see for myself. I've never seen such a massive Starstone before...
As the future master of Mercury Tower, Caron's status there was nearly equal to Nolan's. His alchemy lab, like Nolan's, was at the very top of Mercury Tower—not just a symbol of rank, but also home to the kingdom's most advanced alchemical tools.
Even with Leon's discerning eye, stepping into Caron's alchemy lab was an eye-opener. Compared to this, the lab at the Gilded Rose was downright shabby.
What a display of wealth... Even Caron, who had seen plenty, couldn't help but marvel at the batch of magical materials Leon brought.
No wonder it cost thirty or forty million gold coins...
Truly astonishing...
But this processing plan was different...
This young mage actually proposed separating the dark spell patterns from the Dark Python Hide...
When Caron first saw this request, he could hardly believe his eyes—how could that even be possible!
But as he read on, Caron realized the request wasn't made on a whim. The young mage had provided a detailed, feasible method for the operation—though the difficulty would be enormous...
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Caron did a quick estimate—even if he handled it personally and followed the procedures exactly, it would take him at least two months. As for the other Grandmasters at Mercury Tower, it would take even longer.
Just one Dark Python Hide was already this complicated. The other five magical materials would surely be no easier. Caron understood—the young mage really was trying to rope in every Grandmaster at Mercury Tower...
Can't be helped, Lord Caron. Honestly, only Mercury Tower in all of Auckland has the means to process materials like these. If you won't help, I'll just have to stare at a pile of magical materials and do nothing...
Merlin..." Caron ignored Leon's flattery, looking rather troubled. "It's not that I don't want to help, it's just that your processing plans are far too demanding. To meet your requirements, the entire Mercury Tower would have to drop everything and work for over two months. That might've been fine before, but now...
What's happened now?
To be honest, Merlin, Mercury Tower is in deep trouble over at the Sungold Plane. Even my teacher has gone there...
Really ran into trouble?
Yeah..." Caron stopped hiding anything at this point, giving a bitter smile. "Things are a mess over there. The Forest Elves betrayed the alliance and detained four of our alchemical golem legions. The Deep Elves are acting insane, attacking the surface with everything they've got. It's as if the whole plane suddenly united to fiercely resist us outsiders. In just a month, we've lost hundreds of golems, seven master alchemists, and even Sylas—whom you met before—was seriously injured last week...
That's pretty disastrous... Leon couldn't help but shake his head. Mercury Tower's colonization of the Sungold Plane was almost complete. As long as they could keep the Forest Elves on their side and keep chipping away at the Deep Elves' forces, it would take less than ten years to gain total control over the Sungold Plane.
The Sungold Plane wasn't just any plane...
It was a place every bit as impressive as the Northend World—vast, resource-rich, and full of wonders. If Mercury Tower could conquer the Sungold Plane, their power would skyrocket. Not just in Andalusia, but across the entire Northend World, they'd be a top-tier force.
To Mercury Tower, the Sungold Plane was absolutely vital...
So important, in fact, that Mercury Tower would stop at nothing to claim it!
Merlin, how about this..." Caron, not wanting to outright refuse, offered a compromise: "There are still six or seven Grandmasters left at Mercury Tower. I'll have them start on the simpler magical materials first—maybe two or three. Of course, time will be tight. I estimate that it will take about a month to finish one item...
That's definitely tight." Leon nodded. He'd originally planned to have the Grandmasters at Mercury Tower process all the magical materials within two months, so that the Doombringer Staff and the Arcane Wheel could be completed at about the same time.
With those two Essence Relics, he'd finally have the confidence to venture into the Turan Mountains.
But now, the completion date for the Doombringer Staff would be pushed back quite a bit...
Forget it, better finish the Arcane Wheel first.
Alright, Lord Caron, let's do it your way. By the way, could I borrow your alchemy lab for a few days? I'm not busy anyway, and I'd like to work on that Starstone in your lab...
No problem. Feel free to use any of the alchemy tools here. If you need anything, just let someone know. I'll go arrange for the processing of those magical materials now...