At this moment, the mood throughout the Monty Family was quite good. The alchemy symposium had ended successfully, and the flood of new orders that followed swept away the gloom that had hung over them in recent days. Even Monty, who was usually stern and unsmiling, now wore a rare trace of a smile. Even Mason, who used to give him headaches, seemed much more agreeable now.
Monty was indeed in high spirits...
For a while, everything had gone wrong for the Monty Family: they failed to acquire the house left by Roger Merlin, missed out on the Crimsonfire Fish Oil that Solan had specifically requested, and as if that wasn’t enough, the sudden rise of the Gilded Rose and the closure of Twinmoon Radiance on Triumph Avenue had almost spun things out of their control.
Fortunately, Solan Monty, far away in the Black Tower, had once again come to the family’s aid.
Solan personally persuaded the Black Tower Council, securing advanced alchemical techniques for the Monty Family, along with the full support of two Grand Alchemists.
Thus, the Void Elixir and Berserker Elixir came into being.
The arrival of these two new alchemical potions immediately turned the tide for the Monty Family. Less than a day after the symposium ended, a steady stream of orders was already pouring into Twinmoon Radiance. Just moments ago, the leaders of several major mercenary companies in Seaview City had come to visit, all showing great interest in the new potions.
Combined, these mercenary companies numbered in the thousands, even tens of thousands. Their annual consumption of alchemical goods was astronomical. As long as the Monty Family could secure their orders, Twinmoon Radiance would be unbeatable.
For Monty, the only regret was that these major mercenary companies did not include the Silvermoon Mercenary Company...
But Monty was in no rush...
Once the effects of the Void Elixir and Berserker Elixir were proven, the Silvermoon Mercenary Company would surely abandon the Gilded Rose without hesitation.
This was the advantage brought by advanced technology: the Void Elixir provided instant immunity to physical damage, while the Berserker Elixir granted a brief berserk state—both could directly boost a mercenary company’s combat strength. By comparison, the Gilded Rose was far behind. The potions they offered were nowhere near as effective as the Void and Berserker Elixirs; the difference was like night and day.
Seth’s ignorance didn’t matter—just put them side by side and see for yourself.
As for how the comparison would be made...
We’re all in the same business; a little technical exchange shouldn’t hurt, right?
"Ryan, go invite Grand Alchemist Hawkins."
The Black Tower had sent two Grand Alchemists, but most of the time Monty dealt with Hawkins, since he knew Hawkins was closely aligned with Solan. Since joining the Monty Family, Hawkins had helped them both openly and behind the scenes.
As for the other one, Raven, he was strictly business...
Rumor had it his patron in the Black Tower Council was Solan’s rival, so although he was forced to assist the Monty Family by order, Monty always felt Raven was just going through the motions.
So, for any exchange with the Gilded Rose, it was obviously better to send Grand Alchemist Hawkins.
…………
Over the next few days, Leon was absorbed in studying that stone tablet.
Leon knew his understanding of the tablet was minimal—barely scratching the surface. This was a component of True Spirit rank or higher. What did that mean? Its avatar’s power could rival a Title Archmage; it was hailed as the ultimate creation of alchemy.
But for now, Leon could only use the tablet to improve the efficiency of his mana array. He couldn’t even manifest its avatar; this barely counted as scratching the surface.
Still, Leon wasn’t in a hurry. Whether it was a magic item or a component, once it reached True Spirit rank or above, it held endless mysteries. Even a thousand years later, that lucky Grand Mage from Cloudspire Tower, after finding a True Spirit artifact in the Prince’s Tomb, spent over a century before mastering its use.
Leon didn’t have that kind of luck...
So now, Leon just hoped to learn a little more about the tablet. Even the slightest improvement could greatly enhance his combat power. Maybe, just maybe, this tiny bit of knowledge would turn the tide at a crucial moment.
For a whole week, Leon was completely immersed in the tablet.
Leon didn’t even realize that Farrow had already tried to copy the Angel Elixir, dragging Howes along. The two of them spent a week in the alchemy lab without leaving once.
"Control the temperature, control the temperature! How many times do I have to tell you? Control the flame’s temperature—can you even do that? I really don’t know how you became an alchemist!" Farrow stormed into the alchemy lab, far more irritable than usual, barking at Howes while frantically working at the station.
"Sorry, Alchemist Farrow, I didn’t mean to!" Howes wiped the sweat from his brow, fumbling with the crucible. Four crucibles lined up on the alchemy station, and every operation left Howes gasping for breath.
After a full hour, forty bottles of Dragonforce Elixir were set out on the station. Only then did Farrow finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hey, you..."
"Alchemist Farrow, my name is Howes..." The poor young genius was nearly in tears. He’d been working here for a whole week, and Farrow still couldn’t remember his name.
"Oh, Howes." Farrow rubbed his brow, exhaustion in his voice. "Go tell Remy to arrange an alchemy symposium for me."
"Alright." Howes nodded and left the lab, but less than three minutes later, the young genius was back again...
"What’s going on? Didn’t I tell you to go find Remy?"
"No, it’s not that, Alchemist Farrow. Remy asked me to tell you that an alchemist from Twinmoon Radiance wants to have a technical exchange with the Gilded Rose."
"Oh?" Farrow’s brows furrowed instantly. After working at the Blackhorn Auction House for so many years, there was no way he didn’t know what this so-called exchange meant.
"Should we notify Boss Merlin?"
"No, not for now." Farrow shook his head. He knew that Archmage Merlin hadn’t left his room for a week, clearly busy with some important research. This was no time to disturb him—it would be better to check things out himself first.
"Hey, you—come with me and take a look."
...Howes opened his mouth, wanting to remind him again, but in the end said nothing—just nodded, looking aggrieved as he followed Farrow.
***********
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