Unfortunately, Leon never discovered the ambush of those skeletal warriors. If he had, he would certainly have re-evaluated his gains from the Death Garden this time. He might even have realized, from their reactions, that not every ability brings about a physical sensation...
By the time Leon returned to Seaview City, it was already deep into the night. Even for him, the day's events had proven a bit too intense—especially that final battle in the Death Garden, which had drained the last of his strength. Originally, when Leon first got back to the Gilded Rose, he intended to study that stone tablet, but the moment he sat down, a wave of exhaustion hit him. Unwittingly, he fell asleep right there in the chair...
He slept straight through until noon the next day. When Leon opened his eyes, he found a blanket draped over him—he had no idea when it appeared—and a breakfast waiting on the table beside him.
Leon knew it was most likely the old butler's doing.
The old man had never dabbled in magic his entire life—he didn't even know if a Grand Mage was round or square—but he stubbornly believed that magical study should never be interrupted. No matter how urgent, nothing was more important than his young master's magical learning. So, for as long as Leon could remember, the old man had always quietly looked after his daily needs. Even now, when covering Leon with a blanket, he did so with utmost care, afraid to disturb Leon's sleep.
Leon smiled, polished off the breakfast in a few bites, then grabbed the stone tablet and headed back to the alchemy lab.
He placed the palm-sized stone tablet on the alchemy table. There was no magical aura, no hint of death energy—it looked just like an ordinary slab. But Leon was convinced its plain appearance only meant he hadn't unraveled its secrets yet.
After all, this tablet came from the Death Garden, forged by endless death energy. Even if it wasn't something as legendary as a Soulstone, it shouldn't be just a plain slab of rock.
So Leon spent the entire morning immersed in the alchemy lab.
At first, Leon tried to analyze the tablet with alchemical reagents, hoping to figure out what it was made of. But he quickly realized he was wrong. After trying seventeen or eighteen different reagents, the results were strangely consistent: nothing special—just a slab of stone...
Fine, if alchemical reagents won't do the trick, maybe I can try triggering it with magic.
Leon picked up the tablet and began channeling mana into it, steadily and relentlessly...
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
At first, Leon was full of hope. But after thirty minutes had passed, he couldn't help but curse inwardly. The damned tablet was like a bottomless pit—no matter how much mana he poured in, there was never any overflow, and not the slightest reaction he had been hoping for.
"Damn it, impressive!" Feeling his mana nearly depleted, Leon finally grumbled, muttering a curse as he gave up on the nearly futile effort.
For a moment, Leon genuinely wanted to ask what on earth this damned tablet was made of. How could it be so stubborn—neither gentle nor forceful methods worked. Was it really that picky?
Wait—maybe it needs to absorb a spell...
A sudden thought struck Leon. The tablet came from the Death Garden, formed by boundless death energy—maybe it had some traits of undead creatures. Why not try a fire spell?
Leon was cautious, though—he worried that a spell with too much power might damage the tablet, so he deliberately chose something simple: Flame Hand.
This nearly entry-level spell was so basic for Leon now that he didn't even need gestures. Holding the tablet, he released a burst of mana—and flames instantly blossomed in his palm.
And just like that, Leon realized he'd actually guessed right this time...
The moment the flames erupted, a surge of death energy was released from the tablet. At the same time, every detail of Flame Hand unfolded directly in Leon's mind.
"Bloody hell!" Leon jumped in fright on the spot. Not only did Flame Hand flicker out, but he even dropped the tablet to the floor...
Whatever had flashed through his mind in that split second was just too bizarre...
Leon stood there, staring at the tablet on the ground, his expression unusually complex—equal parts fear and anticipation...
The tablet's sinister nature far exceeded Leon's imagination—it could directly affect the mind. Yet the ability it held was precisely what Leon had dreamed of: complete spell analysis. In this world, no mage could resist such temptation.
Leon didn't know how long he stood there before his trembling hands finally picked up the tablet again.
He held the tablet, but his expression remained complicated. This time, Leon wasn't going to cast a spell—he was about to use the Mana Harness directly.
When he cast Flame Hand, Leon could control any mishap within acceptable limits. But if something went wrong with the Mana Harness, he'd be as good as dead. To Leon, the Mana Harness was an extension of his life, a brand on his soul—the very foundation of his standing as a Grand Mage.
It took a full ten minutes before Leon finally took a deep breath, gripped the tablet tightly, and began using the Mana Harness to combine spells.
"Just as I thought..." As the Mana Harness began to operate, Leon's furrowed brow gradually relaxed.
Leon could feel it clearly: the moment he gripped the tablet, the efficiency of the Mana Harness nearly doubled. Spells that used to take a minute to combine now took just thirty seconds.
That's enough...
No need to keep experimenting. Leon slowly placed the tablet back on the alchemy table. By now, he understood—what he'd brought from the Death Garden was a component, one capable of analyzing and calculating spells...
As for its rank, it was probably above even a Soulbound Fragment.
Now, Leon no longer envied Sandro...
So what if the tablet's power wasn't as overwhelming as a Soulstone? It was a component. If he ever got his hands on the Book of the Dead from the Bone Plane, adding this component would make its power truly terrifying.
Besides, the component was powerful enough on its own.
After all, the arcane sigil Leon possessed was the Mana Harness. Its greatest headache was its complexity and intricacy—every spell and magical combination took a tremendous amount of time. But now, this component was the only thing Leon knew that could boost the Mana Harness's efficiency.
***********
Let's give it a try!