Chapter 449: The Eighth Layer
"What...?"
Leon stared at William Merlin in disbelief, shock crashing through his mind like a tidal wave. Back in the Apocalypse Plane, William Merlin had obtained a Merlin Family Crest, which contained a soul inheritance. If William Merlin was telling the truth, then the Azure Sage was very likely an ancestor of the Merlin Family.
After a moment, Leon gradually calmed down—it was, after all, just a guess. At this time, William Merlin was fully absorbed in studying the Well of the Stars, and Leon didn’t want to disturb him, so he quietly stepped aside...
He moved to a secluded corner of the study and attached the Elemental Chapter to the Death Tome. Just as he was about to put it away, Leon suddenly remembered the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf in the demi-plane. Not long ago, he’d visited the demi-plane and planted mana vines there, but hadn’t seen any trace of the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf.
Although there was almost no danger in the demi-plane, Leon felt uneasy after not seeing the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf for several months...
Thinking this, he didn’t hesitate to recite the lengthy runes. The next moment, he appeared in the natural semi-plane, tossing out a dozen Wizard’s Eyes. As he walked through the semi-plane, he controlled the Wizard’s Eyes, and after about ten minutes, a fast-moving shadow flashed into his view.
"Awooo, awooo, awooo..."
The Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf clearly noticed Leon too. It let out a few puppy-like howls, but showed no fear of him at all.
"Come here..." Leon frowned, sensing that the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf had changed quite a bit. Its speed alone was several times faster than before, and its strength had undergone a dramatic transformation—it now had the power of a level-twenty-plus magical beast...
The Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf just stood there, unmoved, its little head swaying gently, completely ignoring him.
Leon resisted the urge to curse, pulled a few high-grade magic beast crystals from his pocket. He knew the wolf had no resistance to magical beasts, and sure enough—a blur flashed past, and the palm-sized Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf was already on his hand, devouring the crystals in a whirlwind before looking up at Leon expectantly.
Leon simply rolled his eyes and ignored the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf, casting a mana binding spell and stuffing it into his pocket. Then he recited the incantation to open the Plane Path.
In the next moment, Leon was back in the study. By now, everyone had rested for seven or eight hours, looking refreshed, and it seemed there was no point in staying in the ninth-floor study any longer...
But after searching for more than ten minutes, they still couldn’t find the passage to the eighth layer...
Something felt off...
Leon couldn’t help but frown. When they first arrived in the study, he’d made sure there was no danger, so everyone relaxed and didn’t pay attention to the passage. Now, though, it looked like trouble was brewing...
He’d come all the way down from the twelfth layer, and every floor had a passage—but the ninth didn’t. In fact, the ninth floor was quite small, just a study spanning a few hundred meters. With a dozen people searching, they’d turned the place upside down in a few minutes.
Leon released five Wizard’s Eyes, directing them into every corner of the study. Minutes ticked by; after about ten minutes, he’d swept the study three times with the Wizard’s Eyes, but still found nothing. On the fourth sweep, sweat began to bead on his forehead.
"Found it..."
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. Under the first row of bookshelves, there was a faint magical fluctuation—so subtle that even with his insight, he hadn’t noticed it the first three times. It was only on the fourth sweep that he caught it, a testament to just how weak the magic was. Soon, the group lifted the bookshelf, revealing an alchemical array.
"Teleportation Alchemical Array..."
Leon frowned. He was honestly allergic to teleportation arrays now—back in the Floating Palace, the one Ronan left behind had nearly screwed him over...
Where did this teleportation array lead?
It couldn’t possibly be the Apocalypse Plane again, unless Ronan had lost his mind—one in the palace, another in the magic tower...
"The mana source is depleted..."
Olaro, being a master, saw at a glance that the mana source of the teleportation array was exhausted. After all, it had been thousands of years—even the fact that the array wasn’t broken was impressive.
Leon nodded, pulling a magic crystal from his pocket and placing it where the mana source should be. He guessed this array was almost certainly the way to the eighth layer. Still, he was curious—why a teleportation array here, when the previous floors all used simple passages?
Could it be that the eighth layer was special...
Leon shook his head and tried to activate the array, but it didn’t respond. He frowned, studied it for a few minutes, and finally noticed a miniature alchemical array embedded within the teleportation array. He’d have to crack the miniature array for the teleportation array to work.
Leon pulled out a quill and half a bottle of Blood-Solvent Ink. Just as he was about to write on the miniature array, Olaro’s voice sounded.
"Mage Merlin, wait a moment..." Olaro’s voice was soft, tinged with a bit of fear toward Leon. After he spoke, several others—including Soran Monchi—looked at Leon with strange expressions. The recently awakened Dragonblood Beastman was already grinning with schadenfreude.
Olaro jumped in fright. He’d clearly seen the young mage frown as he squatted down. Hastily, he explained, "Mage Merlin, please don’t misunderstand... I didn’t mean to interrupt you. It’s just that this array is strange—a miniature array is embedded within the teleportation array. Even the slightest mistake could cripple the whole array, and once it’s broken, it can’t be repaired..."
Hearing Olaro’s explanation, everyone looked relieved but a bit worried.
If the teleportation array broke, they’d be trapped here forever. The tenth layer was already overrun by alchemical golems—there was no way back.
Yet Leon acted as if he hadn’t heard Olaro at all, his quill already moving with Blood-Solvent Ink across the miniature array—at a blistering speed...
Everyone watched Leon with bated breath, especially Olaro, whose robe was soaked with cold sweat. Was the young mage really writing without calculations? That was basically suicide...
As a master, it would take him three to five days of calculations to crack a miniature array, but the young mage was being reckless...
Damn it, he’s going to get us all killed!
"Done..."
While Olaro was still fretting, Leon had already set down his quill. Instantly, Olaro’s look toward Leon changed. He’d once feared Leon for his strength, but now it was awe—anyone who could crack a miniature array without calculations was a top-tier master, far beyond his own skills!
Leon activated the teleportation array, and in a blink, his feet landed on soft earth, surrounded by a thick aura of life.
All around, shade from green trees, grass everywhere, warm sunlight pouring down from above, the air thick with the scent of flowers.
"Where are we...? Did we return to the Turin Mountains?"
The group stared wide-eyed at the scene. Dalson was the first to react, looking around in excitement. They’d meant to reach the eighth layer via the array, but now it seemed they’d returned to the Turin Mountains...
"It really does look like the Turin Mountains..." Dean rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"This is the eighth layer of the magic tower..."
Leon’s voice rang out, cold as water, dousing the group’s excitement. He glanced around and said, "This place is identical to the Turin Mountains, but it’s definitely not. Try sensing the rules of earth, water, fire, and wind here..."
As soon as Leon finished speaking, several people—including Weiss and Soran Monchi—changed expression. All of them were Title Mages, familiar with the rules. Sure enough, just as Leon said, this wasn’t the Turin Mountains!
"Then, Mage Merlin, what’s going on here?" Weiss looked at Leon, his gaze complicated.
"This place uses an advanced spatial expansion alchemical array, copying part of the Turin Mountains here..."
Leon marveled at it all—the manpower and resources needed to build this were unimaginable. Only now did he understand why Ronan called the magic tower a fortress of war.
Of everyone here, Leon knew Ronan and the Long-Legged Majesty best. He knew both were beings beyond the Sky Rank, so when he saw this place was identical to the Turin Mountains, he grew suspicious—and soon realized it was the eighth layer of the magic tower.
And the fact that the ninth layer led to the eighth not by a passage, but by a teleportation array, explained everything...
Those spatial expansion arrays were advanced, but easily affected by outside forces—so they were designed to be sealed, with entry and exit only by teleportation. If the ninth layer had a passage, the arrays would be damaged much faster over time...
"Mage Merlin, how do we get to the next layer...?" Dalson looked around, face falling. He’d thought they’d returned to the Turin Mountains, but it was just wishful thinking.
"We’ll just have to cross this mountain range and find another teleportation array..." Leon frowned. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure.
But at this point, there was no other choice.