Thinking carefully, from the moment this Limit Spell appeared to the spell mark becoming dim, barely half an hour had passed. If it couldn’t even last half an hour, then how did Bain single-handedly defeat the entire Highland Temple back then?
For a moment, Leon’s mind was flooded with countless questions, each more perplexing than the last.
Could it be that this Sage’s Chapter is actually a defective product?
That doesn’t make sense…
Aside from the issue of the Limit Spell’s lack of power, this slab is completely indistinguishable from the Sage’s Chapter that Bain wielded. If even this counts as a defective product, then wouldn’t its quality be a little too high for something flawed?
But if it isn’t defective, then why is the Limit Spell so weak?
It was supposed to have the power of a fourth-tier spell, but what actually manifested probably wasn’t even at the third-tier level. The gap was enormous—almost as if the difference between a Mage and a Grand Mage had been erased entirely.
“Wait, Necrotic Essence!”
Just as he was racking his brain for answers, Leon suddenly remembered: the only reason he’d been able to activate the Sage’s Chapter earlier was because of a piece of Necrotic Essence.
That’s right, it’s most likely related to the Necrotic Essence.
At first, I hadn’t considered it—I’d simply treated the Sage’s Chapter as an ordinary arcane module. But if I shift my perspective and view it as a Magic Relic, everything becomes easier to understand. Magic Relics require magical power to operate; every relic must have a source of mana, even legendary ones like the Book of the Dead are no exception.
So, does the Sage’s Chapter also need some kind of energy source to function?
By now, Leon was almost certain—the Sage’s Chapter probably worked just like a Magic Relic, requiring a specific kind of energy to power it. But this energy wasn’t mana; it was Soul Fire—the animating essence of undead creatures!
Necrotic Essence itself is just the material left behind after Soul Fire cools down…
The reason I was able to activate the Sage’s Chapter just now was because there was a trace of Soul Fire left in that piece of Necrotic Essence. But that trace was incredibly faint, and the essence itself came from a lowly Skeleton Warrior—so it wasn’t enough to support the Sage’s Chapter in transforming Hand of Flame into a Limit Spell.
Maybe there are other reasons I haven’t figured out yet—but I’m probably not far off.
Thinking this, Leon pulled another piece of Necrotic Essence from his pocket, planning to use his homemade tool to infuse it a second time.
But as soon as he took out the Necrotic Essence, Leon sensed something was off. The last piece had needed three miniature arcane arrays to finally activate the Sage’s Chapter. This time, though, as soon as the Necrotic Essence got close to the Sage’s Chapter, a visible wisp of Soul Fire separated from it and instantly merged into the Sage’s Chapter. The Necrotic Essence then turned into a pile of black dust that scattered with a gentle breath.
Throughout the entire process, Leon hadn’t even moved a finger—it was the Sage’s Chapter doing all the work.
Could it be that the last piece of Necrotic Essence not only powered the Sage’s Chapter, but also awakened it? Thinking about it, Leon found this explanation much more reasonable. The Sage’s Chapter he’d taken from the Death Garden had been in a dormant state, and although he’d triggered some reactions with Hand of Flame, those were merely instinctive responses from the Sage’s Chapter.
It wasn’t until I infused the Sage’s Chapter with the lingering Soul Fire from the Necrotic Essence that it truly began to awaken, finally revealing its extraordinary properties as a Soulbound Fragment.
But this awakening is still far from complete…
Leon knew that right now, the Sage’s Chapter was only in a state of partial awakening. True awakening was still a long way off. The most obvious sign was that it still couldn’t manifest an avatar—this was a Soulbound Fragment, a legendary construct whose power even surpassed True Spirits, yet it couldn’t manifest an avatar. That only meant Leon’s understanding of the Sage’s Chapter was still woefully incomplete…
"Maybe there just isn’t enough Soul Fire." This time, Leon realized it immediately—Soul Fire was clearly vital to the Sage’s Chapter. Otherwise, that tiny spark wouldn’t have roused it from its slumber.
With this in mind, Leon simply took out all the Necrotic Essence he had. In an instant, he watched as wisp after wisp of Soul Fire separated from the essence and merged into the Sage’s Chapter. In just moments, every piece of Necrotic Essence in his hand had turned to black dust.
Then Leon cast another Hand of Flame.
This time, the spell mark that appeared on the Sage’s Chapter was noticeably brighter than before.
When Leon channeled mana into it, the resulting power finally reached the third tier.
"But it’s still not enough…" After confirming that the Hand of Flame still hadn’t reached the fourth tier, Leon shook his head. Yet this time, there wasn’t a trace of disappointment on his face. He knew he was finally on the right track—restoring the Sage’s Chapter’s legendary power was only a matter of time.
After all, he now ruled the entire Bone Plane!
It looks like I’ll have to revise my plans again.
Originally, Leon had intended to wait until he possessed five Mana Harnesses before venturing back into the Bone Plane. By then, his combat power would be approaching that of a Grand Mage—he was confident that even if the slumbering Bone Demon appeared, he could hold his ground.
But now, he couldn’t afford to wait. The Sage’s Chapter required vast amounts of Soul Fire, and to Leon, its importance rivaled that of the Mana Harnesses. The sooner the Sage’s Chapter fully awakened, the more efficiently the Mana Harnesses would operate, and the greater the power of his Limit Spells.
More efficient Mana Harnesses and stronger Limit Spells—these would be the foundation for Leon’s next expedition into the Prince’s Crypt.
After all, the Prince’s Crypt held an Eye of Reincarnation…
Leon made his decision almost without hesitation—to return to the Bone Plane. But this time, he wasn’t after the vein of Nether Iron, but the mountains of Soul Fire…
After leaving the alchemy lab, Leon simply greeted Farrow, telling him to organize the alchemists, and hurried out of the Gilded Rose. He called for a carriage and was soon home.
He made his way straight to the study, followed the passage to the underground chamber, and after months of repairs, the Abyssal Magic Diamond was shining once again. With a Frost Witch’s Heart providing abundant mana, Leon estimated he could stay in the Bone Plane for at least three hours this time!
Leon took a deep breath, stood before the Frost Witch’s Heart, and began chanting the incantation to open the path between planes…
**********
I just want to sleep…