The power of Fireball never disappoints.
Even the level fifteen Blightbloom, under Leon's Fireball barrage, was instantly crippled. Its petals, spanning over ten meters, were blasted apart, and a foul, dark red viscous liquid oozed from the wounds left by the explosions.
That was Blightbloom's blood—prized by many alchemists for crafting poisons. Any toxin made from it is fiercely corrosive; a single drop can leave a person with ruptured intestines and a rotting belly.
Even as a Grand Mage, Leon dared not touch it lightly. Relying on Haste and Featherlight for brief levitation, he unleashed Fireball after Fireball, burning through his mana in a relentless barrage during the short window of spell activation.
Each Fireball brought a violent explosion and agonized screams, the flames scattering in every direction. Blightbloom struggled to crawl out from underground, but Leon never gave it the chance—every time, he forced it back with another Fireball.
Blightbloom's vitality far exceeds that of ordinary magical beasts—if it fully emerged, Leon would have to spend much more time subduing it.
The Arcane Spring potion in Leon's pocket couldn't withstand such consumption...
So from start to finish, Leon relied on a single spell: Instant Fireball.
Fireball is already mana-intensive, and casting it instantly is even worse. In just a few seconds of bombardment, Leon had burned through half his mana.
Of course, such staggering consumption yielded equally staggering results.
The formidable level fifteen Blightbloom never managed to crawl out of the ground. Leon pinned it down with Instant Fireball, and even at its death, it couldn't free itself.
By the time Featherlight wore off and Leon landed, Blightbloom was already a charred husk—unrecognizable as the lively beast it had been seconds before.
After landing, Leon quickly harvested Blightbloom's magic crystal. Then, the ring on his right hand flashed, and pure mana began to flow into his body.
The ring was inlaid with the Elemental Amber Leon had brought back from the Bonewhite Plane.
Ideally, Elemental Amber should be used to solidify a Mage-level spell. Even a magic apprentice could wield a Mage-level spell with it, greatly boosting their combat power.
But solidifying a Mage-level spell is costly; it requires a titled Mage and enormous resources. Leon knew he couldn't afford that, so he gave up on the idea.
Leon’s ring was crafted from mithril and inscribed with two micro alchemy arrays—one for absorbing mana during meditation, one for replenishing mana at other times. Most alchemists would scoff at this crude use of Elemental Amber.
But for Leon, who was used to hardship, roughness was no problem. As long as a magic item worked, he didn’t care for flashy features.
These two micro alchemy arrays—absorption and replenishment—were enough to unleash the Elemental Amber’s power. Though the ring was merely of fine grade, in terms of practicality, it surpassed even many legendary or heritage magic items.
As the Elemental Amber glowed in the cave, pure mana flowed endlessly into Leon, quickly replenishing most of what he had spent in the bombardment.
After finishing, Leon cast Life Detection to make sure no other Blightblooms were lurking nearby. Satisfied, he pocketed the magic crystal and began searching for the cave mentioned in the notes.
He quickly found out…
"No way…" Leon stared upward, mouth agape and face blank with disbelief.
Leon distinctly remembered the alchemists saying the cave could be entered on foot.
"But how is anyone supposed to walk in?" Leon gazed up at the cave perched on the cliff, feeling a strong urge to curse the alchemists’ entire family.
The cave was on a sheer cliff—that much was obvious…
Worse, a glance revealed at least four dragonfly nests, each swarming with venomous dragonflies. Their level wasn’t high—none above ten—but sheer numbers made them terrifying.
Just at the cave entrance, there were over a hundred venomous dragonflies. The sight alone made Leon’s scalp tingle.
Leon really wanted to question those note-writing alchemists.
Was this really supposed to be walkable?
Don’t lie to me…
But Leon quickly figured it out.
The alchemists who wrote those notes were at least Mage-level, most of them titled Mages. At that level, they didn’t need to fight—their mere presence was enough to send these low-level venomous dragonflies fleeing.
No wonder they could just walk in…
But Leon couldn’t just walk in.
Leon didn’t have the intimidating aura of a titled Mage. He couldn’t just stand there and expect the dragonflies to flee—in fact, even if he knelt, they’d still swarm him.
Looks like I’ll have to fight my way in…
Thankfully, there’s plenty of mana left in the Elemental Amber, and with the Blightbloom magic crystal I just harvested, I can replenish quite a bit.
Leon knew he couldn’t avoid this fight—and he’d have to end it quickly. He only had a dozen Arcane Spring potions, and if things dragged out, he’d be in trouble if something else happened in the cave.
Resolute, Leon cast several buff spells. With Haste and Featherlight, he scaled the steep cliff like a nimble cat, reaching the cave entrance in twenty seconds.
He also alerted the surrounding venomous dragonflies.
In an instant, a barrage of green venom splashed toward him, like locusts sweeping over a field. The cave entrance was narrow, crowded with dragonflies—there was no room to dodge, even with buffs.
Fortunately, Leon hadn’t planned to dodge.
As the first dragonfly spat venom, Leon activated his instant-cast ability and raised his hand—an Ice Wall erupted with a boom.
It was just enough to shield Leon.
Venom splattered against the Ice Wall, making a hair-raising sound. Leon survived the onslaught, but the dragonflies’ venom was even more corrosive than Blightbloom’s blood.
Hundreds of venom blobs hit the Ice Wall, which melted rapidly. In five seconds, Leon’s wall collapsed with a crash.
Leon was exposed once again to the dragonflies’ venom…
But the five seconds bought by the Ice Wall were enough for Leon to finish chanting his next spell.
Flame Barrier!
Another defensive spell, but compared to Mage-level Ice Wall, Flame Barrier is on a whole different level. Said to be blessed by the Flame Demon, its extreme heat can melt steel. More importantly, as long as Leon supplies mana, the Flame Barrier is nearly eternal—unless someone breaks through it, it will keep burning.
A dozen dragonflies strayed too close and were instantly incinerated by the Flame Barrier, reduced to blackened cinders without a chance to scream.
And that wasn’t the end…
After casting Flame Barrier, Leon controlled the roaring flames with one hand while his other hand wove gestures and chanted rapidly—completing a second spell: Rocket Spell. Not just a few rockets, but dozens, even hundreds. The cave entrance was instantly bathed in fire as rockets screamed through, slaughtering the dragonflies.
With the support of the Arcane Gear, Rocket Spell was no longer a simple Mage-level spell. Hundreds of rockets crisscrossed the narrow cave, like a terrifying meat grinder, tearing through the fleeing dragonflies.