It had to be said: after Leon's stay in the Bone Plane stretched from a fleeting thirty minutes to a full three hours, his harvest soared to astonishing heights. The last time Leon returned, he had only brought back a handful of magical gemstones—apart from a Frost Witch’s Heart, the rest hardly amounted to the value of a single legacy magic item.
But this time, the spoils were extraordinary. Just the Necrofire Bombs from the Bone Demon—twenty-three in total, each worth at least a splendid magic item. Add to that the staff clutched in Leon's hand, a true soulbound artifact, not to mention the Obsidian Bloom, a source of boundless corruption, the alchemical golem whose terrifying might could rival a Bone Demon, and the two new Limit Spell slots that had appeared, as if conjured from thin air, on the Sage’s Chapter…
In short, this trip to the Bone Plane had yielded far more than Leon could have ever imagined.
And there was also that legacy-level ring…
Earlier, while in the Bone Plane, Leon had been pressed for time and hadn’t managed to study the legacy ring in detail. He’d only had the chance to extract the control rune for the alchemical golem from it before setting it aside. Now, away from the dangers of the plane, Leon finally had the luxury to examine it thoroughly…
For someone like Leon, who had survived over twenty years in the apocalypse, cracking a legacy magic item was hardly a challenge.
It took Leon less than half an hour to break the ring’s enchantment.
"A spatial magic item!" Leon's eyes lit up with a sudden spark of excitement. This legacy ring was no ordinary trinket—it was a spatial relic, a rare treasure among magical artifacts.
Strictly speaking, a legacy-level spatial relic shouldn’t have been enough to get Leon this excited.
In this era, alchemical array technology was nearing perfection. Warping space was no longer a distant dream. In fact, the pockets sewn into Leon's black robe had undergone similar alchemical array treatment—their actual capacity was almost doubled, a subtle but ingenious enhancement.
The truly astonishing spatial relics are those at the Soulbound or even True Spirit tier. Only when they develop a relic spirit or even a full avatar does their true power emerge. A legacy-level spatial relic, in terms of value, isn’t much more precious than the ordinary kind.
What truly excited Leon was the origin of this spatial relic.
This spatial relic was left behind by an Archmage.
Back in the Bone Plane, Leon had kept wondering: why would an Archmage only leave behind a staff? Now, seeing this ring, he finally understood—the rest of the relics were all inside this spatial relic.
Once Leon realized it was a spatial relic, cracking it became even easier.
Leon simply drew a basic alchemical array, severed the magic flow to the spatial relic, and the glow on the ring faded instantly. Then—boom!
Leon didn’t even have time to react before he was buried beneath the avalanche of items that suddenly poured out.
"Damn it..." Leon finally clawed his way out, and when he looked around, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath.
The study was now completely packed with chunks of ore—cold to the touch, with a deep blue gleam. Nether Iron Ore, what else could it be? And scattered among the piles, glittering mana crystals—one, two, three... Leon gave up after the third; there were simply too many to count.
"Just how hardworking was this Archmage from the Black Tower..." Leon stared at the study, overflowing with Nether Iron Ore and mana crystals, momentarily lost for words.
Leon had thought his previous haul was already impressive enough.
But the most astonishing treasure turned out to be inside a single ring.
If this study’s worth of Nether Iron Ore and mana crystals hit the market, it would easily fetch tens of millions of gold coins—and that’s just selling them as raw materials. Once the Gilded Rose processed them, that number would probably double!
Leon rubbed his flushed face and called a servant in from outside. "Go tell Uncle Pavi to send me a few—no, a dozen carriages!"
……………………………………………………
This unexpected bounty of Nether Iron Ore and mana crystals sent the Gilded Rose’s alchemy workshop into a frenzy. Farrow, having forced Grand Alchemist Hawkins to back down just days ago, had now cemented his authority at the Gilded Rose. With Howes, the scheming turncoat, stirring up trouble, it wasn’t long before Farrow had all the alchemists Bartholomew sent whipped into shape.
Under Farrow’s watchful eye, the Nether Iron Ore and mana crystals were swiftly transformed into alchemical wonders that flooded the markets of Seaview City. For a brief spell, the alchemy merchants could only cry out in alarm, "The wolves are here!"
The Gilded Rose now truly had it all—skill, talent, resources. In just ten days, the old steward had expanded the business four times over, growing from a single shop to thirteen and nearly blanketing every corner of Seaview City.
Recently, I’ve barely shown my face at the Gilded Rose. Most of my time is spent at home tending to the Obsidian Bloom. With its poison so potent, no ordinary servant can get close. In this household, only I—an Archmage—can use magic to shield myself and approach it at all.
Today was no different. After caring for the Obsidian Bloom, I read in the study for a while. Just as I was about to head to the Gilded Rose to check if the caravan to Razor Gorge was ready, an urgent, rapid knocking sounded at the door.
*Knock knock knock, knock knock knock!*
Leon cast a curious glance at the study door. "Come in..."
"Young master, young master..."
"Uncle Pavi?" Leon was startled. Honestly, with that frantic knocking, he’d thought it might be Remy, Farrow, or even Raymond from distant Auckland. But he never expected it to be the ever-steady old steward.
"Young master, there’s a guest outside. He..." The old steward’s expression suddenly turned peculiar. "He says he’s your cousin!"
"No way, Leon’s generous and kind Uncle Fario only has a daughter—don’t tell me it’s a secret son?"
"No, no, not Fario’s son. He says he’s the son of your real uncle!"
"What?" Leon nearly choked on his own spit. Since when did uncles come in 'real' and 'fake' varieties?
************
Another failed attempt. Past midnight again—my apologies! No rolling on the floor today!